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Minutes Of The Woodford-Cum-Membris Parish Council Meeting Held On Tuesday 08 July 2008 In The Memorial Hall Woodford Halse Starting At 19.00 Hrs. Present P. Bainbridge, Ms. S. Barrett, K. Cochrane, Mrs. H. Glanville, Mrs. A-M. McLean, E. Martin, T. Rigby, Mrs. B. Rogers [Chairman], Mrs. M. Smith. Seven members of the public including D Griffin [District Councillor]. G P Smith [Parish Clerk]. C103/08 Apologies Apologies were received and accepted from: D. Barnfield, Mrs. K. Coles, Mrs. R. Davison and Dr. B. Timmins. Apologies were also received from Mrs S G Ogden OBE [County Councillor]. C104/08 Members’ Declarations Of Interest Council received none. C105/08 Minutes Of The Last Meeting Council approved the minutes of its meeting of 10 June 2008 and there were no matters arising. C106/08 Blue Folder Members noted the items of general information in the Blue Folder and raised no issues. C107/08 Public Session No matters were raised. C108/08 Youth Services Mrs Glanville introduced Matthew Johnson, volunteer youth worker, who addressed Council on his proposal for a Woodford Halse Youth Group, as follows: § Is there a need? The first task is a consultation with the young people of Woodford targeting 13-19 year olds, to gauge their interests, leisure pursuits and what they currently do in the local area. I plan to talk with youngsters I already work with and visit the village 5-6 times during July consulting the young population. With the information gained I will be able to put together a programme of events best suited. § What is the youth group’s purpose? It is to provide positive activities for young people and a safe & exciting place to go away from outdoor areas of Woodford where they may well be unwelcome or in danger of causing themselves and others trouble. I hope to devise a mission statement with young people once a steering group has been formed. § Who will run and develop the youth group? Primarily by me with other adult volunteers. I plan to involve the young people and encourage them to run it themselves with support of the adult volunteers. I plan to invite youngsters during the consultations to join a Youth Steering Group who will take part in some of the decision making and give their opinion on how the youth group should be run. I would like to work in partnership with Northamptonshire Voluntary Youth Action [“NVYA”] so the steering group can be supported and achieve accreditation for their volunteering. I would also like to invite other agencies to deliver workshops and/or activities as the youth group develops e.g. Northamptonshire YMCA development team, Connexions and Time 2 Talk. § Why would this work and what’s my experience? Youth councils/steering groups have been used all over the country where it has been used to great success. At Daventry Phoenix Youth Centre where I am currently based we have a waiting list for young volunteers. Despite the negative portrayal of young people in the media, NVYA reports a 51% increase in youth volunteering. I know firsthand as a volunteer at the Phoenix Centre that given responsibility and opportunity young people have a great deal to offer to others in the wider community. I have over 500 hours of volunteering experience in youth work 200 of which are NVYA accredited. I have received training in first aid, food hygiene, project planning, media and youth leadership. I am soon to undertake training as an arts awards advisor. § How will the youth group be funded? It will hopefully be able to gain funding from the NCC Youth small grants funding programme that supports start up youth groups, although I have researched many funding bodies through my Phoenix Centre contacts I could gain support and information on a range of sources. § What needs to be in place, before the youth group starts? Public liability insurance, employers’ liability insurance, CRB checks on adult volunteers, risk assessments and policies & procedures. § Action Plan. Complete consultations with local young people during July. Invite youngsters to join a steering group supported by NVYA. Hold two steering group meetings in August. Make applications to the NCC small grants and the Money4Youth funds. Have all insurance, CRB checks, risk assessments, policies & procedures complete by the end of August. Devise a programme of workshops and activities for September/December by the end of August. Council supported the proposal and resolved to cover the reasonable costs of the consultation exercise, including Matthew’s travelling. [Youth Services budget.] The Chairman thanked Matthew and invited him to report further at Council’s September 2008 meeting. C109/08 Public Meeting Re Local Policing Following its resolution [minute C98/08] to hold a public meeting on 29 July 2008 [followed by a special Council meeting] Council approved the content of the presentation to be made there by the Chairman, as follows: Background The parish is part of the Staverton Beat, serving the 12 parishes of Staverton, Badby, Newnham, Catesby, Hellidon, Fawsley, Everdon, Charwelton, Preston Capes, Byfield, Cannons Ashby and Woodford-cum-Membris. This beat extends from Daventry to the extreme south western extent of the County, some 15 miles. The areas of the parishes do not match the population numbers. Some are of only a few hundred residents, while Woodford-cum-Membris has a population as large as some towns. Routinely, the beat is served by one Police Constable and a PCSO. However, their availability depends upon demands upon manpower generally. For example, officers are more than occasionally called to events in Northampton town. The travelling time within the beat often results in considerable delay between the notification of a call for police and attendance at the site. Currently the traditional police officers have been augmented by Police Community Support Officers (PCSO). Although the powers of the PCSO are restricted, they have proved to be very effective. Their powers include: § Issuing fixed penalty notices; § Power to confiscate alcohol and tobacco; § Power of entry in emergency; § Power to demand identity of a person acting in an anti-social manner; § Power to request a person to remain until a police officer arrives; § Removal of abandoned vehicles; § Use of reasonable force to detain. It has become clear that crime and anti-social behaviour problems are very significantly affected by police presence. In this respect the PCSO is as effective as a Police Officer. This has been confirmed by the level of occurrences when neither officer has been available. The logs of calls to the control room do not necessarily reflect this, as there is a regrettable tendency not to report events when the received wisdom is such that no officer is available locally. These observations are not intended to be critical of the Northampton Constabulary as manpower is constrained by the available Police Authority budget. That there is adequate work for an officer devoted to this parish is clear from the above. It will be recalled that until recent years a constable was dedicated to & was resident in a Police House in the parish. The cost of the Northampton Police Authority is collected by the County as part of the council tax. At present this charge amounts to 43p per day for a Band D dwelling. Partnership Agreements These agreements have been implemented as a means of providing additional police presence, by splitting the cost between the Constabulary and a local area such as a parish or group of parishes. Such an agreement provides for the respective area to have the exclusive availability of a PCSO on a shift basis. The Chief Constable has to retain power to reallocate a PCSO who is partnership funded but this would only be used if there was a serious emergency. It is confirmed that the dedicated PCSO is additional to normal policing levels and the implementation of such a partnership would not reduce existing officer availability. The uniform and transport arrangements will be provided by the Force. The current contribution, amounting to 50% of the cost, is £15,375 p. a. for a three year agreement. The Partnership cost could be incorporated into the precept & hence into council tax. It would then be equivalent to a daily cost of 2.3p per dwelling & seen as a 5% increase in police service charges. Parish Council Procedure The public meeting was to be held following a resolution of the Parish Council. Immediately following it, there will be a special Parish Council meeting to review the conclusions and to implement actions. If there is clear support for establishing a Partnership Agreement with the Police Force, funding will need to be considered. As from April 2009, this may be included in the parish precept for 2009/2010. No major increase relative to the current level would be implied, as there is currently, a significant one off sum included. For the period from the implementation of an Agreement until April 2009, a proportional sum would need to be sought. C110/08 Oak Tree On Land Adj Hinton Manor Court Council considered application DA/2008/0598: work to tree subject of Tree Preservation Order DA/411. Immediate residents are strongly opposed to having this old and attractive oak reduced to the extent proposed. Some pruning, restricted to lower branches, might be appropriate. Local knowledge has it that large vehicles such as the rubbish collection lorry do have difficulty. Council urged a second opinion on the existence of any disease and the proposed action before proceeding with the application. C111/08 Brookside, 5 Council supported planning application DA/2008/0678: two storey side and single storey rear extensions. C112/08 BT Consultation On Removal Of Payphones Council objected to the removal of the three kiosks in the parish at Hinton Green, Church/School Street and Byfield Road. The volume of calls is not considered a relevant factor. The telephones are an important neighbourhood facility particularly against the demographic profile. Older people may not have or want mobile telephones nor have home ‘phones. Similarly young people may not have their own facilities. The mobile telephone service is poor here. Orange Communications can provide the best reception because it has a base station in the village however even that is unreliable, particularly for the eastern side of the village. C113/08 Village Design Statement Council last considered this in June [minute C87/08]. Mr Cochrane explained that the Group, which includes three members of this Council, currently preparing a Parish Plan would also be the body producing a Village Design Statement. Monetary grants are available and will be applied for. Council confirmed its support for the project and resolved, in principle [costs currently being assessed], to provide funding through next year’s precept. C114/08 District Standards Committee The Committee includes [two being increased to] three parish council members selected by DDC from approved nominations made by their councils. DDC has indicated continuity in membership would be beneficial to the Committee’s business. Council nominated Mrs B J Rogers. C115/08 Internal Audit Report Council accepted the internal audit report for the year to 31 March 2008, provided by Northants County Association of Local Councils’ David Harries, dated 24 June 2008 and concluding: Overall, I remain satisfied that effective systems of control are in place and I have signed Section 4 of the Annual Return accordingly. C116/08 Memorial Centre Floor Covering Item deferred to Council’s September meeting, on Mrs Coles’ request. C117/08 Receipts And Payments Council noted receipts and authorized payments for the last month. C118/08 Other Business In response to questions from T Rigby, the Chairman: § Understood that T C Hall [West Farndon] had been nominated as a Woodford Halse School governor and would liaise with Council on relevant issues. Mr Rigby offered to confirm the position. § Would report to our Police Community Safety Officer a recent incident in Byfield Road where persons were seen scaling a fence. § Confirmed that a letter from Woodford-cum-Membris Bowls Club, presented by Mr Rigby, would be scheduled for Council’s September meeting. It constitutes an item of business [an “expenditure item”] which must be specified on a published agenda, for the benefit of members and the public, before Council can make a decision. There being no further business the meeting was closed at 20.00 hrs.
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WOW Team
