2021 Parish Council Meeting Agendas

NORMANBY-BY-SPITAL PARISH COUNCIL

AGENDA

To all Councillors – you are hereby summoned to attend a meeting being held on Thursday 11 March 2021 at 1930 hrs.

a virtual meeting using ZOOM

If any member of the public present wishes to voice their views on any subject, they may do so prior to the meeting starting. If the subject does not appear later on the agenda, then the subject cannot be discussed by Council at this meeting but, if wished, it will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of meeting held on Tuesday.

3. District Councillor’s report

4. County Councillor’s report

5. Police report – recent crime

6. Highways: Private Lane Highways maintance.  

7. Finances:

FUTURE KNOWN PAYMENTS

8. Payment for Cemetery foot path vote on payment of £514.11 

9. Councillor Training – Burials Training – Cllr Hanson – May 2021 at a cost of £45.00

10. Digital Mapping – Cllr J Goodchild

11. Planning Applications received up 02 March 2021. 

12. Trustee Nominations for the Normanby Education Charity

13. War Memorial – Maintenance and Cleaning

14. Neighbourhood Plan – Update – Cllr J Goodchild

15. Community Park: Update – Cllr A Hanson

16. Dog Bag Dispenser bins – Where it is to be placed.  

17. Correspondence: received up to 02 March 2021

18. Date and venue of next meetings     

The Council will then go into closed session.

Angela Hanson

Interim Clerk to Normanby by Spital Parish Council                                       

  Agenda Item 6 Highways - Road Closures 

Private land from Chapel Lane to end period of restriction 1 April 2021 to 30 Sep 2021

Further informationis available via  http://one.network// or telephone 01522 782076

Agenda item 17 - CORRESPONDANCE

2nd February 2021

Name and addressed redacted for GDPR reasons

Dear Clerk

RE: Normanby and Owmby Community Park

Following the last parish council meeting where spending on items for the community park was raised as a point of consideration, I felt compelled to write to Normanby by Spital Parish Council to ask for further clarification.

As a resident of Normanby with two pre-school children, the creation of the park has been an invaluable resource. It is much loved by my children as a green space to play in and the equipment to play on. We really value and appreciate the work so far of everyone involved to create this space for our villages. Throughout the lockdowns over the last twelve months, I am sure we are not the only family who have found walking their children to the park a much-needed change of scene. 

I know quite a few residents of both villages have requested that some further play equipment, namely swings, be added for the children to use. Having done some initial investigations as to cost of play equipment of this kind, it does not seem an excessive amount of money to spend on an item that will immediately benefit many.

I wanted to enquire as exactly what funds the Community Park Committee has left to spend from the money raised by the people of Owmby and Normanby, grant monies that had specific uses attached to it, and if any section 106 money remained unspent? My understanding is that the community group has quite a considerable sum of money unspent and I would, with respect, like to ask for further  clarification on the following points:

• the plans for this money;
• the priority areas of spend;
• how the committee membership, remit and monitoring are taking place;
• upcoming consultation with the community to be clear as to funds left, and what both villages would like these spending on.

I feel that rather than holding a large sum of money in an account, the community group would be better placed to conduct a consultation exercise with the residents of both villages, giving us more information about their intentions, how they perhaps intend to work with existing village links such as the school or the Friends of Normanby School to gain insight. Whilst I am aware that not all residents will want swings, there are other options to create something different such as outdoor gym equipment that adults can also use or a community garden or allotment. These are just some ideas.

Most importantly, I feel that the community should be able determine the spend of the money available on areas highlighted as priorities and that the community park group be the means of facilitating this, rather than deciding the priorities without further engagement, for our community.

Having a background in community engagement, I would happily volunteer some time to assist with any consultation or engagement exercise that could easily be done via social media and/or paper survey.

I look forward to hearing more from the Parish Council regarding this and thank the Council for their time on this matter.

Yours sincerely

Answer from NPC 

Reference: Freedom of Information Request Dated 2 February 2021

Thank you for your letter outlining your concerns regarding the management of the Community Park.  As you are aware because of the nature of your requests it was decided that it would be dealt with under The Freedom Information Act I am now able to give you answers to your requests.

The Community Park was gifted, along with £10000 under a 106 agreement, to the Parish Councils’ of Normanby by Spital and Owmby by Spital to be developed as a community asset that could be used by residents of both villages.  To enable this to happen in a coordinated manor the Parish Councils formed a joint committee to manage the day-to-day maintance and development of the field.  This committee remains a committee of the joint Parish Councils to ensure that the views of both villages are represented in the development of the Community Park.  The Committee reports direct to the Parish Councils who retain overall responsibility for governance, all financial matters, and the way in which the funds are spent.   Under the Terms of Reference for the committee they are directed to hold public meetings on a quarterly basis. All volunteers must be ratified by the Parish Councils at a joint meeting that should be held once a year, normally in May.  Due to COVID restrictions there was no meeting held in 2020.   I have enclosed, at serial 1, the minutes of the last joint meeting, held in May 2019, for your information.  This Council has requested a joint meeting but as yet no date has been agreed with Owmby Parish Council.

Normanby by Spital Parish Council has a Volunteer Policy that all Volunteers are required to sign to say they are fully aware of the Terms of Reference for the Committee, and that they will adhere to the Councils Standing Orders and Code of Conduct.   Please see serial 2 attached.   This policy has been introduced recently and has only just been issued to the members of the Committee.

As of 20 November 2020, an amount of £4729.58 is in the Community Park Account that is held alongside Owmby Parish Council’s account.  Please note that the Normanby by Spital Parish Council Chair has not verified the Accounts for 2018 and 2019 as he has raised several queries with Chair of Owmby Parish Council, the Chair of the Committee, and the Treasurer, we await their answers.  Of the balance none of the funds can be attributed to the 106 Agreement nor is there any grant funding that is ring fenced for specific projects.  There is no formal plan in place, showing how the money is to be spent, it is our understanding that an outline plan and budget has been put together but as of todays date not shared with Normanby Parish Council for consideration and approval. The plan and budget are to be discussed at the next meeting of the Community Park Committee to be held on 8 March 2021 via Zoom commencing at 1930. 

Currently the Committee consists of 7 members who have been ratified by the Joint Councils plus a Chair.  Below I have outlined the committee members along with their areas of responsibility:

• Jeff Summers – Chair (Glentham Resident)                         
• Mrs Isabelle Brooke - Treasurer/Secretary - OPC Parish Councillor
• Mrs Sara Carter – OPC Parish Councillor
• Mrs Denise Leah – OPC Parish Councillor
• Mrs Angela Hanson – NPC Parish Councillor
• Mr Jamie Marshall – Owmby Resident
• Mrs Barbara Moulson – Normanby Resident
• Mr John Moulson – Normanby Resident

Regarding public consultation, an initial consultation took place in the Autumn of 2018 there has been no further consultation to date.  However, I can say that Normanby Parish Council is in the latter stages of compiling a village survey that has a section dedicated to the Community Park.  This element of the survey seeks to elicit the views of the residents of Normanby to determine how they feel the Community Park should be developed going forward. The survey is designed to be completed by all residents of Normanby over the age of 16 to gain a good cross section of views and ideas.  Once this has been completed the results of the Community Park element will be fed directly to Owmby Parish Council and the Committee. 

This Parish Council would like to thank you for your offer of help with community engagement and will be in touch with you separately regarding this.  I would also like to say that the Community Park Committee is always looking for volunteers to assist in all different ways I will pass your details to the committee along with your suggestion of linking with the Friends of Normanby School who, I am sure, will have some valuable ideas to share with them. 

If you have any supplementary questions or queries regarding the running of your Parish Council and its committees, please do not hesitate to contact me further.

Yours sincerely

Enclosures:

Serial 1 – Minutes of the Joint Parish Council Meeting held on 28 May 2019

Serial 2 – Normanby by Spital Parish Council Volunteer Policy – adopted 2020