MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING OF

MELMERBY  & MIDDLETON QUERNHOW PARISH COUNCIL

ON Wednesday 15^th May 2024

Melmerby Village Hall

Present Cllr J Foster; Cllr S Duckett; Cllr P Kettlewell; Cllr T Richardson

Apologies          Cllr Kettlewell

Chairman’s report

 This has been the first year of new Yorkshire Authority after amalgamation. Nick Brown County Councillor no longer attends meetings on a regular basis but he holds meetings every two months to which two councillors attend..

New defibrillator cabinet is easier to access.  New CPR training courses are planned using the new defibrillator kit courtesy of local Dr Kate Dickinson. One of the Councillors has attended the course and said it was excellent.

More repairs scheduled for playground equipment and some to be repainted.

Pot holes are a perennial problem.  These are now being done in house and they seem to be taking more care.  We have obtained a grant of £500 to install a solar panel to ensure the speed sign works better.

The new Christmas tree and lights installed with the Village Hall committee were very successful and will be repeated this year.

Report from joint Council Meeting

4.99% increase in Council tax this year. The next shortfall is just under a million but this will be covered by reserves. Savings have been made by the amalgamation but it will take time. They will next year see if there are any assets that can be sold. 

There are 100 requests per month for planning related to new developments on roads and estates.

There are 10,000 requests or complaints re the roads every year.

Village hall report

Village hall is in a good state though more help would be appreciated. A resident suggested that if more help is needed perhaps suggesting roles would make people volunteer.

Open forum

A resident was concerned about the increase once again of the amount of dog fouling in the village.  Was there anything we can do about this?

The Clerk to speak to new editor of Village Life if there can be a whole page advert about dog fouling. Resident to design leaflet email it to clerk and Council for approval.  To be printed and hopefully delivered with the Village Life.

Another resident asked if there were any commuted sums we could get back from North Yorkshire.  The Clerk had tried but was told either we had already had our allocated budget or there was no money left. The clerk had inquired recently for some funding for new football nets for the playing field but there did not seem to be a budget that fitted these.

Street light outside 1 Whitwell Terrace has been out of action for 6 months and despite numerous residents reporting it has not been repaired.

If tractors leave mud on the road it is the responsibility of the owner of the machinery to clear the road.

Illegal fly tipping is on the increase again around the village and needs to be reported to the council.

There are a number of vehicles over 7.5 tons using Underlands Lane

Flooding on all the lanes around the village was particularly bad this year.

Annual Parish Council Meeting 15/05/2024

1. Present Cllr J Foster; Cllr S Duckett; Cllr P Kettlewell; Cllr T Richardson

2. Apologies Cllr Kettlewell

3. Election of Chairman

Cllr Foster was nominated as Chairman by Cllr Richardson and seconded by Cllr Duckett

4. Minutes of last meeting agreed and signed

5. Matters arising none at this time

6. Planning Matters

Alltons of Coldstone Farm solar panels          APPROVED

Mr Barnett Access to farm traffic from Underlands Lane APPROVED

A new Attenuation  pond at Barkers Industrial Estate      PENDING

7. Playing field

New goal posts have been suggested for playing field and Cllr Foster has looked into this to purchase a pair.

8. Accounts

The accounts were seen and approved

9. Highways covered above

10.Correspondence

A donation to Wath Church of £100 for grass cutting

Two Councillors needed for YLCA - Cllr Foster and Cllr Richardson volunteered

11. Date of next meeting Wednesday 14^th August 2024