March 2018 Minutes
Owmby and Normanby Community Park Committee
Minutes of Committee Meeting held at The Bungalow, Saxby Road, Owmby-by-Spital
Friday 23rd March 2018 at 7.30pm
Present: Chairman John Moulson (JM), Secretary Abbie Mort (AM), Isabelle Brooke (IB), Sara Carter (SC), Keith Hanson (KH), Barbara Moulson (BM).
Apologies: Treasurer Denise Leah (DL), Chris Brooke (CB), Danny Mellor (DM).
Jude Levy has stepped down from the Committee but has offered to become more involved again further down the line when there is something specific she could help with.
NB: Action points are underlined.
Approval of Minutes: those of 22nd February 2018 were approved.
Finances:
• Committee Bank Account. In DL’s absence, AM reported that there had been no change.
Matters arising from previous minutes:
• Lindsay Johnson was present at the meeting. JM updated Lindsay on our current status and she discussed how we would need to come up with a brief in order for her to work any concepts for the field. Any concept created could be implemented in stages as we gained funds and local help as required. Lindsay pointed out that the villages are currently lacking a village green and that this could be used in a variety of ways throughout the year. It was discussed that the football pitch previously discussed could become the village green and be a less formal grassed area that would be more multi-functional and provide a focus both to the field and the community. The space that will hopefully become the village hall needs some consideration as it will need to be used in the interim but by something that may be removed in the longer term. Lindsay suggested grass/meadow mix that we could mow paths into. She also mentioned that rye grass, which had been suggested for seeding, is very aggressive and that we could consider the percentage used if we wanted a more flexible area, the seed mixture used could also affect the drainage issues in areas of the field. Lindsay left the meeting and asked that we put together more of a brief for her to look at. The Committee then sketched ideas onto a large piece of paper taking into account everything that had been discussed.
ACTION: IB to produce a larger, more comprehensive version of our sketch to discuss with the rest of the Committee at the next meeting.
• Planning Implications: BM had not heard back from Cllr Summers but, after some research, she found that ‘permitted development’ could include benches, bins, play areas etc. and felt that the car parking might be the only part that would need any submitted planning.
ACTION: BM to ring the Council pre-planning advice line to confirm.
• IGAS Energy Community Fund: JM reported that DM had submitted an application for a grant of up to £5000. This will be looked at along with other applications in April.
• Councillor Initiative Fund: BM had not heard from Cllr Summers but wondered if the funding was done on financial years and so will look into this again in April to see if more information can be found.
• National Lottery WI Funding: SC reported that the WI had received £10,000 from the National Lottery and were granted it on the grounds of adding disabled parking. SC states it was a relatively simple process and the National Lottery funding can be re-applied for if another project is suitable. Dave Parker from Normanby by Spital carried out the works and he might be a good contact to remember for when we are at a further stage. BM noted that he is leaving the village but will not be moving too far.
New matters for discussion:
• Charity Status: JM and BM have been looking into the CIO process and stated that we need to have our own email address. John Fox, NPC, has recently gone through the CIO process and offered JM his advice should we need it.
ACTION: AM to set up a new email account and to let JM know once active.
• Feedback from Trustees: The Trustees met to discuss our previous meeting with them. As a Trustee, BM was at the meeting and reported that our proposal had been turned down as it was felt the amount requested was too high for the work proposed. The Trustees once again asked why local farmers had not been asked to do the job. After much debate, a proposal was made by the Trustees that £12,000 be released and that the Committee should ask for reviewed quotes from the companies we had spoken to and also approach local farmers to see if they were able to quote for the works.
Ahead of the Committee meeting an email had been received from Graham Crompton-Howe with feedback from the meeting of Trustees ahead of official minutes. He stated that Charlotte Wright had been in touch with LALC asking for advice on if the OPC could commission work for us and reclaim VAT. They are in turn requesting further advice on this.
There was much discussion from the Committee on this and how we would move forward.
ACTIONS: JM to contact farmers Robert Neeves and Paul Arden to ask if they could quote for parts of the job or provide any advice. IB to provide contact details for R Neeves and JM to ask Roy Bellamy for details for P Arden.
Any other business:
• Normanby Church: KH asked how Normanby Church was used and asked if it might be somewhere we could consider using for events. AM stated that the school occasionally used it but did not know how they went about requesting use.
• Gates: AM raised the issue of gates with a fear of using all available funds for levelling and then not being able to afford to secure the site from unwanted vehicular access. The timing of installing gates also needs to be considered with the levelling as the two things would ideally be done together. KH mentioned that DM had previously looked into gates.
ACTIONS: IB to look into standard sized gates and see what might be suitable for us. DM to update where he had got to on the subject at the next meeting.
• Ratification of the Constitution: Following the previous discussions about the set-up of the Committee, it was agreed that both Parish Councils needed to ratify our Constitution for us to continue in our current format. BM raised that this had been discussed at the NPC meeting and that a change had been requested. The OPC meeting had been postponed but our Constitution is on the agenda for the meeting.
ACTION: SC to request that the Constitution be circulated to the OPC ahead of their meeting.
In order for the Constitution to be amended, a Special General Meeting must be held by the Committee. JM proposed that this be our next meeting.
ACTION: AM to circulate the date of the Special General Meeting to the Committee at least three weeks ahead of the given date.
The next meeting: Thursday 26thApril 2018, The Bungalow, Saxby Road, Owmby-by-Spital.