Neasham Parish Council

23/150 - WELCOME

K Sandick welcomed Councillors to the meeting. Apologies for absence were accepted from M Hannaford (Working).

23/151– DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no Declarations of Interest.

23/152 - MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

The minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 6 February 2024 were confirmed as a correct record.

23/153– MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETING / PROGRESS REPORTS

There were no matters arising from the previous meeting. It was agreed to delete this item from future agendas.

23/154 – PACT REPORT

Contact had been made with the PCSO for the area, who agreed to liaise with the Chair and clerk over forthcoming meetings. A meeting had been held at Middleton St George on the 29 February. Unfortunately, M Hannaford had been unable to attend, as he was working.

23/155– ROADS AND FOOTPATHS

1. There was nothing to report regarding the recording of the condition of the existing main roads in the village.However in a following discussion, it was noted that potholes were a national problem and Darlington BC had carried out a lot of road repairs throughout the area, but there were still areas in a state of disrepair. They appear to complying with their 40mm deep rule and not addressing any pothole with a depth of less than this.
2. Darlington BC had also carried out a considerable amount of drainage and road repair works on the road to Low Dinsdale during the road closure, but further works were still required.

23/156– ENVIRONMENT AGENCY MATTERS

1. The Agency had recently been on site carrying out work to curtail mole activity in the flood bank and appeared to be on top of the problem.
2. The small tree affected by erosion in the flood bank had been removed and arisings taken from site. However there is a considerable amount of debris which has been washed downstream in the floods and deposited at the east end steps and which needs removing. Clerk to inform the Environment Agency.

23/157 – VILLAGE GREEN

1. M Hannaford and B Crossen had agreed to monitor the gardens with a view to establishing the extent of maintenance works required in March/April. A budget of £50 was agreed. A further budget of £75 was agreed for remedial work to the raised bed boarding. Quote required for the renewal of the order for maintenance work to the verge adjacent Kent Beck bridge.
2. It was resolved to reinstate the goalposts in their former location.
3. P Dunn summarised the position with the planters. The replacement of the wooden planter at the east end of the village would be done when planting up, two had been stolen/broken and need replacing, one round wooden tub could be retained with the other to be replaced in plastic. One tub on Neasham Hill had been damaged but it was hoped to use it for this year. The two donated stone tubs would be located at the wrought iron bench near the Square. It was agreed to purchase the flowers together with compost from Neasham Nurseries. P Dunn confirmed that this would include flowers for planting around the stone.
4. J Pennock (89 Teesway) had informed the clerk that he would be unable to cut the grass in the verge at the front of his property due to ill health. The Chair agreed to speak to the grass cutting team and request they do it.

23/158 – PLANNING

1. Applications received since last meeting:-
   24/00068/FUL 40 Teesway, Neasham, Darlington, DL2 1QU – Enlargement of existing bungalow with two and single storey extensions to front elevation, first floor extension over existing with balconies to rear elevation, removal of existing conservatory and erect single storey extension to rear and detached store in garden. The members agreed a response of APPROVED.
2. Neasham PC are not now notified of decisions on planning applications and the information can be obtained by accessing the planning portal.
3. 22/00875/FUL Dinsdale Park Golf Club application, response awaited regarding complaint to Darlington BC about the process of approval of the application. L Tostevin stated that D Coates had intended to respond some time ago and that she would remind him. It was stated that the works on site at the golf club had progressed and the height of the bund appeared to have been raised without significant importing of material.
4. There has been no formal announcement on the Appeal against the enforcement notice for the siting of 4No mobile caravans and associated works at Skipbridge, Neasham Road. Unofficially it is understood that the appeal is likely to be upheld.
5. The Vice Chair reported that legislation regarding biodiversity has now come into effect (except smaller developments of up to 9 dwellings which come into force in April). This requires applicants to satisfy the planning authority that the development complies with this. Neasham PC should also carry out checks.

23/159 – RISK MANAGEMENT

1. There were no defects raised in February.
2. There were no scheduled inspections due in February. Scheduled Inspections due in March are Trees and Village Green (which now includes pump house, gardens, verges etc). These are weather dependant and may not be carried out until April. J Weighell had asked a villager for advice on repairing damaged stonework in the pumphouse who advised that it was wind erosion and cracks should be pointed up with a specialist resin.
3. The annual All Risks Checklist is currently being compiled and will be circulated to the Chair, Asset, Business and Risk managers for completion of their sections, prior to being presented for signing off by the Parish Council.
4. The Vice Chair advised that he had instructed MissTrees to prune the cherry tree at the end of New Lane to lower the height and avoid damage to overhead cables.

23/160 – FINANCE

1. There were no payments made in February.
2. The sum of £55.72 in interest for 2023 had been paid into the NS&I account.
3. The sum of £427.36 for the VAT refund claim to 31 January had been paid into the current account.
4. The Chair outlined his proposals for spending the outstanding monies (£425.00) in respect of the Levelling Up Fund second grant, which will consist of a single pole with a bank of 3 LED’s at the top, the post having an access panel for storage of cable when not in use. Firm costings to be provided imminently. No objections were raised to the proposal.
5. The Chair has contacted P Allen, who has agreed to carry out the internal audit of the 2023/24 accounts.
6. Reminder from ICO that subscriptions due in March. Neasham PC receive £5 discount by paying by Direct Debit.

23/161 REACHING OUT AND COMMUNICATIONS

1. A message had been displayed, when the clerk was logging in, stating “SSL Certificate Expired”, AC Media were informed and who then contacted the server who corrected the fault.
2. The clerk had met P Walters regarding improvements to the Facebook page. It transpired that the current page was a personal page opened by the clerk. Ideally it should be a business page to permit multiple access. It was agreed that the clerk would delete the existing account and P Walters would set up a new business account.
3. The PCSO had agreed to forward posters advertising future PACT meetings for posting on the village notice boards. The April and June meetings would be held at the Grange. It was suggested that the Reading Rooms may be a good location for any meeting hosted by Neasham and the Chair agreed to discuss this with them.
4. The date for the Annual Assembly was provisionally agreed as 21 May 2024, subject availability of the Reading Rooms. The Chair outlined his proposal for the meeting which he wished to be on an informal basis which he felt was more beneficial for those attending. No objections to this proposal were raised by the members. P Dunn agreed to organise the refreshments.

23/162 – WARD COUNCILLOR MATTERS

1. P Walters raised the issue of the illegal access onto Neasham Road which is dragging on. The works which had been badly constructed and with vehicles pulling out onto a vey busy road at a very dangerous location, which is not acceptable. Darlington BC had to carry out remedial works because of this, however these costs had been re-imbursed by the land owner.
2. L Tostevin advised that an application for a diversion of Footpath 6 (from Hurworth to Neasham) had been applied for. This was required as the original route ran through the proposed new house for a disabled child.

23/163 – CORRESPONDENCE (AS CIRCULATED IN FEBRUARY)

Email from NALC regarding Chief Executive’s bulletin (08/02). Various emails regarding the February CLCA meeting have been sent direct to the Vice Chair. The clerk had queried with NALC the limited numbers received, who acknowledged there had been problems with their computer system and subsequently forwarded copies of the missing documents.

23/164 – OTHER VILLAGE MATTERS

1. Following a ballot, the Chair had been nominated to be included in the draw to attend a Buckingham Palace Party, unfortunately he was not successful and the representative for Skelton & Brotton will receive the invitation.
2. In a conversation between the PCSO and parish clerk, the PCSO stated that she had been informed by a parishioner of a possible Bully XL dog in the village. Whilst Neasham PC’s powers are limited in such matters, a similar complaint had been previously reported to the council, who had been given to understand that the dog in question was not a Bully XL. The members felt that it was likely that this complaint could be about the same dog and therefore the dog in question is not a Bully XL. (Post meeting note: The dog’s owner has contacted the parish council and confirmed that the dog is a pedigree Italian Mastiff).
3. P Dunn reported that when walking home from the previous meeting, it was apparent that the lighting on the north side of the road is extremely poor and she had almost stumbled over a step protruding into the pavement which is not readily visible. The Chair agreed to speak to the owner’s son to see if steps could be taken to avoid future accidents.

23/165 – DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Date of next ordinary parish meeting is Tuesday 2 April 2024. The meeting concluded at 7.40pm.