Nocton Club - race night

Parish Council - next meeting

Tuesday 12 Jun 2018

The next meeting will be held in the Village Hall at 7.00pm on 12 June. This is the Agenda for the meeting.

Item 6: Redevelopment of Village Hall

The sums involved with the rebuilding of the Village Hall will amount to half a million pounds or more, much of it funded from our council tax over the next 50 years, so it is only to be expected there is public scrutiny over how this sum is being spent.

Looking back in my blog dated 16 Feb 2018, I summarised the Tree Officer's concerns over the planning application. Since then, we have seen that planning permission has been granted, but with certain conditions. I note that before any work can commence demolishing the current Village Hall, North Kesteven District Council have required site investigation works to be undertaken.

1. I am interested to see if the scope and nature of these works have now been agreed with the District Planning Authority - and whether or not this work has been contracted out and what the extra burden will be on the public purse?
2. With the delay in starting work on rebuilding the Village Hall and potential alterations to the construction design, is it clear yet how this will impact on the overall projected costs from Simons Construction e.g. will the revised costing still be able to be contained within the extent of a Public Works Loan of £500,000... or will further funds have to be raised?
3. There were also other issues to be ratified, one of which is concerning legal advice on a number of covenant-related matters. This also involved contact with the owner of the Village Hall car park to obtain approval to the new designs for the Village Hall. Whilst I see this is proposed to be dealt with following the exclusion of the public and press, a broad outline of the issues involved could perhaps be highlighted?

I see there is an Agenda entry about the Proposed Redevelopment of the Village Hall for the meeting on Tuesday 12 Jun 2018. It would be very helpful to the community if councillors could give a comprehensive update of the current situation, especially regarding the above mentioned aspects.

Response from Parish Council

From: Ian Goldsworthy
Sent: Monday 11 June, 11:29
Subject: RE: agenda on website
To: Geoff Hall

Dear Geoff,

Thank you for your email of 8 June, 2018 to the Parish Clerk. Which Ruth has forwarded to me as she is now on holiday for two weeks.

There was, in fact, a very detailed discussion about the project to rebuild our village hall at the Annual Parish Meeting on 22 May when all of the points you have raised, and others, were covered with Simons’ representatives who were also present. As you have noted, there will be a further discussion and update on this matter at the Parish Council meeting tomorrow which, of course, you would be most welcome to attend.

I would, however, like to reassure you that as councillors we are working extremely hard to ensure that the overall cost of the project is kept as low as possible as we are all acutely aware of the need to minimise the call on the public purse.

Kind regards
Ian Goldsworthy
Chair of Nocton Parish Council

The following is an extract of my reply:

From: Geoff Hall
Sent: Monday 11 June, 13:21
Subject: RE: agenda on website
To: Ian Goldsworthy

Hi Ian

Thanks for the reply.

I note your comments but have concerns that the meeting you refer to has no formal record of proceedings or content.

I and possibly others, were unable to attend the Annual Parish Meeting and I may not be able to attend Tuesday either due to personal reasons, hence my email to the Clerk.

Non attendees can only rely on formal Minutes and the Parish Council is there to cater to all the populous, not just the few who can attend meetings.

I would therefore hope that the full details of the current situation can be documented on Tuesday evening...

Regards,
Geoff

Parish Council - for your information

Minutes and Notes of Meetings

The formal Minutes for the meeting held on 10 April 2018 are now available on the Parish Council website.

The Notes for the meetings held on 8 and 22 May were slightly delayed due to workload pressures, but these have also been published:

8 May 2018 - AGM
8 May 2018 - Ordinary Meeting
22 May 2018 - Extra-Ordinary Meeting

Source: Ruth Keillar - many thanks

Picnic on the Green

Source: Thanks to MaryAnn Williams for the poster

Parish Council - Extraordinary Meeting

Tuesday 22 May 2018

Please note an Extraordinary meeting will be held in the Village Hall following the Annual Parish Meeting which starts at 7.00pm.

Source: Parish Council website - Agenda

N.B. the official notice published for the Annual Parish Meeting appears to show an incorrect day of Thursday - I presume this should have been shown as a Tuesday

Parish Council - forthcoming meetings

Agendas

The next Parish Council meetings are scheduled for Tuesday 8th May commencing at 7.00pm - these are the Agendas:

1. Annual Meeting [AGM]
2. Parish Council Meeting

The Clerk's Report is also available for viewing.

N.B. this is a reminder that the Annual Parish Meeting is to be held on 22 May.

The Nocton News - May

The full copy can be located on this weblink.

Annual Parish Meeting

Source: Parish Council website

Parish Council - notes of meeting

Meeting of Tuesday 10th Apr 2018

The Notes of the Meeting have now been published on the Parish Council website - here is a copy for your perusal.  Thanks are expressed to the Clerk for the early publication.

Parish Council - next meeting

Agenda

The next Parish Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 10th Apr at 7.00pm - this is the Agenda for the meeting.

The Nocton News - April

The full newsletter can be viewed on this link.

Parish Council - notes of meeting

Meeting of Tuesday 13th Mar 2018

The Notes of the Meeting have now been published on the Parish Council website - here is a copy for your perusal.

Nocton Village Hall - planning decision

Approval with conditions

Further to my blog dated 19 Mar 2018, I can now report the planning application 18/0073/FUL has been approved.

I am particularly pleased to see that strict measures have been applied to ensure the three mature lime trees are fully protected. Indeed, there are special conditions that have to be satisfied even before work can commence. I have extracted the relevant paragraphs from the Decision Notice dated 22 Mar 2018:

Paragraph 3
"Notwithstanding the letter from Simons dated 1 March 2018, prior to the commencement of any development (including the demolition of the existing village hall), additional site investigation works shall be undertaken, the details of which shall have first been agreed with the District Planning Authority, to ascertain the most appropriate method of construction within the Root Protection Areas of the 3no. TPO trees on the eastern boundary of the site.

For the avoidance of doubt such details shall include the method of implementing the disabled access ramp. The site investigation works shall inform a method statement for the carrying out of those works within the RPA, which shall also be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to the commencement of any development. Thereafter works shall be carried out entirely in line with the agreed details."

Paragraph 7
"Prior to the commencement of any works on site (including demolition and site clearance or tree works), a Tree Protection Plan (TPP) and an Arboricultural Method Statement (AMS) for the protection of all retained trees, hedges and shrubs, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the district planning authority."

The following paragraph also places a condition that has to be complied with before the new Village Hall is first occupied:

Paragraph 6
"Prior to the first occupation of the village hall hereby approved, the existing tarmacked surface/hardstandings within the root protection areas of the retained trees (on the eastern side of the existing village hall) as shown within the figures contained in the submitted CF landscapes tree survey dated July 2017 shall be removed in full and all arising's removed from site."

If you want to study the Decision Notice in its entirety, it can be located on the Planning Portal of North Kesteven District Council using the planning reference mentioned above.

Parish Council - next meeting

Tuesday 13th Mar 2018

The next Parish Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 13th Mar at 7.00pm.

This is the Agenda for the meeting and this is the Clerk's Report too.

The Nocton News - March

The full newsletter is available to read here.

Parish Council - notes of meeting

Redevelopment of Nocton Village Hall

The notes of the Extra-ordinary Meeting from Tuesday, 13th Feb 2018, have now been published on the Parish Council website - here is a copy for your perusal. You may also like to read my blog of 10th Feb 2018 - to clarify why the Press and Public might have been excluded from this Parish Council meeting.

It may appear rather pedantic to pursue this matter in more detail, but I feel it is important to try and establish exactly why it was felt necessary to exclude members of the community from attending the discussion about the 'Redevelopment of Nocton Village Hall'.

I can accept that the Data Protection argument might have applied to Item (a) about '... the legal representative of a third party...' and possibly to Items (b) and (c) on financial grounds, but that's where it ends in my opinion.

The final Item (d), relates to a decision taken to form a 'Working Group', whose remit will be:

"to investigate and research any necessary aspects of the project in order to prepare information for the Parish Council..."

Q: Why exactly was this aspect deemed 'Confidential' - surely this Item could/should have been debated in the public domain before the public attendees were asked to leave the meeting?

N.B. I see the Nocton Village Hall Rebuilding Sub-Committee was actually established during public session, so this rather reinforces this viewpoint [Parish Council Minutes - 9th Feb 2016].

Rebuilding Sub-Committee v Working Group

Let's have a look at what these Minutes recorded:

Item 7. Nocton Village Hall Redevelopment - Next Steps

"The Parish Council considered a proposal to establish the Nocton Village Hall Rebuilding Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee would oversee the day to day management of the Village Hall redevelopment project...

The Parish Council agreed:

(a) to establish a Nocton Village Hall Rebuilding Sub-Committee, and to appoint Cllrs Williams, Kaye and Jones (and the Parish Council Chair in an ex-officio capacity) to serve thereon. The first meeting of the Sub-Committee would be held in the Village Hall on Monday, 22 February, 2016 at 6.00 pm."

If you also read the Constitution and Terms of Reference for this Sub-Committee, you can see the extent of its remit. This is the opening paragraph in the Constitution:

"In order to ensure that all of the various issues associated with the project to rebuild the Village Hall can be dealt with in the most effective way possible, the Parish Council has established a small Sub-committee with the power to take decisions on such matters."

... and here are some of the Terms of Reference:

5. Ensuring that the necessary planning and other regulatory approvals are obtained.
6. Liaising as appropriate with the successful Contractor to ensure that the Project is delivered on time and to budget, including (i) resolving routine and other minor matters relating to the interpretation of the Project Brief; and (ii) dealing with any issue which may arise during the construction phase.
7. Investigating the availability of grants from outside bodies, making the necessary applications and advising the Parish Council thereon.
8. Preparing all financial and other information relating to the overall cost of the Project, including issues associated with VAT, and advising the Parish Council as appropriate.
9. Preparing, for the Parish Council’s approval, any funding application to the Department for Communities and Local Government, including proposals for the necessary public consultation.

What's the difference you might ask?

The Rebuilding Sub-Committee was set up to focus on the redevelopment of Nocton Village Hall and to make decisions without having to refer to full Council. It is a formal executive Committee of the Parish Council subject to strict rules, requiring a notice of Agenda for attendees and for Minutes to be taken and recorded. Members of the public are able to attend these meetings, unless excluded where confidential information is going to be discussed.

An informal Working Group is set up for a short-term purpose and is not subject to the strict rules that apply to formal council meetings - so they don't have to be held in public. However, a Working Group cannot make decisions on behalf of the council and must report progress to the Parish Council for decisions to be made, where these aspects will be recorded in the Minutes of the meeting.

Given the extent of remit to the Terms of Reference for the Sub-Committee, it is difficult to see why a more informal Working Group is now felt necessary.

There is no detail in the Notes of the Meeting dated 13th Feb 2018 to explain why this business would now be dealt with by an informal Working Group. Furthermore, as members of the public were excluded from this part of the meeting, it was impossible to hear the debate on how Council arrived at the decision.

I still hold the view expressed in my blog of 10th Feb 2018, that having a broad descriptive Agenda for a meeting e.g. Redevelopment of Nocton Village Hall, is not helpful. The public cannot see the individual topics to be discussed (or why they might be asked to be excluded from the meeting), nor will Parish Council members called to the meeting be aware of the specifics to be discussed.

It is therefore easy to see how a non-Confidential Item might arise inadvertently in private session and then be incorporated, when really the point should have been discussed in the public domain..

It just reinforces to me why the policy of excluding the public and press from public meetings should be used very sparingly and with a great deal of thought beforehand.

Nocton and Potterhanworth Neighbourhood Plan - amendment

NKDC Meeting 28 Feb 2018

There is a 'Neighbourhood Planning' item that appears on the Agenda of the Communities and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Panel, due to be held at the offices of North Kesteven District Council on Wed 28 Feb 2018 at 5.00pm.

This will incorporate a report from the Partnerships Manager, but will also include a representation from Nocton Parish Council.

Please see the following extracts from the Parish Council Minutes/Notes, which gives more information:

Parish Council Minutes dated 12 Dec 2017

Item 112: Neighbourhood Plan and Local Plan – Growth Targets

"The Parish Council’s attention had been drawn to the apparent interpretation being given by NKDC Planning Officers to the housing growth targets for Nocton and Potterhanworth and to the relationship between the policies of the NPPF, the Local and the Neighbourhood Plan.  This had led to a recent planning application for a single dwelling in Potterhanworth being recommended for approval despite strong local objection, including from its Parish Council.

As a consequence, the Parish Council was extremely concerned to learn that, as things stood, the Neighbourhood Plan may prove to be less effective in preventing development which did not accord with local wishes than was originally understood to be the case.

The Parish Council agreed the terms of a suggested response to NKDC which outlined its extreme disquiet at the apparent situation and calling for an urgent meeting with its Planning Officers to consider what action could be taken to ensure the Neighbourhood Plan was used as residents of both villages intended.  The meeting would also seek to involve representatives of Potterhanworth Parish Council and our local district councillors.

In the meantime, it was agreed that DCllr Kendrick would feedback the Council’s views to NKDC and report back to the Parish Council."

Notes of the Parish Council Meeting dated 30 Jan 2018

Item 128: Neighbourhood Plan and Local Plan

"Following the Examiner’s amendments to the Neighbourhood Plan (NP), it is not able to provide the degree of protection from unwanted/unwarranted development within the two villages as was clearly the intention when the Plan was first developed.  A system for the modification of any NP is, however, possible via a new and untested process.

It was proposed by Cllr Murray, seconded by Cllr Goldsworthy and it was RESOLVED that the modification of the NP be undertaken to make the changes required and that the NP Steering Group be reconvened to develop the required amendment to the NP for submission to the local Planning Authority in accordance with the relevant procedures as defined in the Neighbourhood Planning Act, 2017 (the Act).

This will involve a six week period of consultation and an independent re-examination of the NP.  It was noted that the procedure does not require the holding a further local referendum and it is hoped that the necessary submission to NKDC can be made by the end of April.

A similar proposal is being made by Potterhanworth Parish Council at its January meeting."

Redevelopment of Village Hall - more work to do

Tree Officer still not happy

Background

You may like to refer back to my blog dated 3rd Sep 2017 where I examined the background to the decision to rebuild the Village Hall.

Following attendance at a Parish Council meeting on 12th September, I then provided comment on the withdrawal of the planning application in a blog dated 14 Sep 2017.

I have recently written another blog dated 10 Feb 2018, this time making reference to the protocol for the Parish Council's Extraordinary Meeting relating to 'Redevelopment of Nocton Village Hall'.

Proximity of root areas to the Village Hall

Current position

It is now apparent that despite the resubmission of the planning application [18/0073/FUL], the Tree Officer at North Kesteven District Council still has concerns about the plans. You can review his comments (reproduced below).

Tree Officer
Comment Date: Wed 14 Feb 2018
"Proposal still indicates further incursion into the RPAs (root protection areas) of trees with the establishment of an enlarged ramp. While it is noted that this may be constructed with mini piles etc I am still unconvinced that this will not result in further adversely implicating tree roots. It is unclear why the side entrance cannot be used for access as discussed at a previous meeting.

Proposed foundations to the north are not above ground and only show a minor consideration to the nominal rooting area of T3. As already mentioned in meetings the rooting areas shown as circles are only considered to be indicative and take no account of the constraints on favourable rooting environments imposed by existing hard surfacing which is likely to result in more roots within the open areas of the proposal site.

There has been no submission of existing building foundation design and therefore no assessment of any potential increase in root loss/damage that may occur as a result on new foundation specifications.

Proposed foundations refer to increase of foundations due to tree root influence and potential ground heave. The existing trees predate the existing building so are highly unlikely to cause any soil movements beyond normal seasonal parameters. Regardless of this there appears to be no investigation of the underlying soils that would show soil structure, plasticity and potential for any tree influence or the need for noted foundations."

Future

If I thought there were difficult issues to be addressed back in Sep 2017, it now seems the plan to increase the footprint of the Village Hall might be a major problem, taking into account the constraints imposed by the protected lime trees.

It is commendable that the Parish Council has doggedly maintained their ambition for a larger brand-new redevelopment of the Village Hall, but if planning permission fails to be obtained for a second time, there will be a valid question as to whether this stance should be maintained.

It therefore remains to be seen whether the difficulties highlighted by the Tree Officer can be overcome... and if not what the remaining options might be for improving Nocton Village Hall.

Worth saving

For the chop: the battle to save Sheffield’s trees

Parish Council - notes of meeting

Meeting of Tuesday 30th Jan 2018

The Notes of the Meeting have now been published on the Parish Council website - here is a copy for your perusal.  Thanks are expressed to the Clerk for the early publication.

Parish Council - next meeting

Agenda - Extra-Ordinary Meeting

Tuesday 13 Feb 2018 - 6.00pm

You might like to note the following Agenda which has appeared on the Parish Council website:

Item 3: To resolve whether to exclude the public and press for consideration of the following confidential matters - Redevelopment of Nocton Village Hall.

Why might the public and press be excluded?

Whilst Parish Councils are not bound by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, they are obliged to open their meetings to the public. The legislation is provided by the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960.

However, on occasion a Parish Council may, by resolution, exclude the public from a meeting. This will happen if publicity of the topic to be discussed would be prejudicial to the public interest e.g. where it is a confidential matter, such as the clerk’s employment, or perhaps it includes sensitive details of tenders and contracts etc.

As you can see, the meeting is still advertised in the usual way and the resolution will only be passed if there is a majority agreement of the Councillors to exclude the public and press from the specific agenda items, for the reason of confidentiality or other special reasons.

Let's see what advice is given on the web.

NALC Legal Topic Note 5
[Para 31]
"The meetings of the council (and its committees) must be open to the public (which includes the press) pursuant to the provisions of S1(1) of the 1960 Act. However, the public may, under S1(2) of the 1960 Act be excluded from the whole or part of the meeting if it resolves that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted or for other special reasons stated in the resolution."

Shackleton on the Law & Practice of Meetings
[P361 para 4: 29-12 & 29-13]
The following relates to access to Parish Council meetings:

"Certain other bodies, left behind by the flow of legislation aimed at the principal organs of local government, remain regulated by the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960."

"The body is obliged by the 1960 Act to specifically state in the resolution the reason for its decision that the public is to be excluded. There exists the possibility of legal challenge through the administrative courts should the power to exclude be used unreasonably or improperly. In relation to this power, an affected body may treat the need to receive or consider recommendations or advice from sources other than members, committees or sub-committees of the body, as a special reason why publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest."

Local Council Administration by Charles Arnold Baker
[P60 - Eight Edition]
It appears Parish Councils do have specific advice on this matter, as set out in this leading text:

"In few cases is there any good reason for excluding the press or the public from meetings... As a rule, however, it is desirable to treat the discussion of the following types of business as confidential:
(a) Engagement, terms of service, conduct and dismissal of employees;
(b) Terms of tenders, proposals and counter-proposals in negotiation for contracts
(c) Preparation of cases in legal proceedings; and
(d) The early stages of any dispute."

It is clear from the legislation that the policy of excluding the public and press from public meetings should be used very sparingly.

It is well nigh impossible for the public to see why this matter might be deemed confidential, necessitating their exclusion. If one studies how our local authority drafts Agendas, although North Kesteven District Council are covered by other legislation, they do at least have some indication as to why the restriction might be necessary.

I believe it would have been more helpful to the community if the specific reason for the Extra-Ordinary Meeting on Tuesday 13th Feb 2018 was incorporated into the Agenda item - "Redevelopment of Nocton Village Hall" - which after all is a very generic, wide-ranging topic.

Sources:

• Freedom of Information request - Spennymoor Town Council
• Local Council Administration by Charles Arnold Baker
• NALC - Legal Topic Note 5
• National Association of Local Councils - Tel: 020 7637 1865  Fax: 020 7436 7451 E-mail: nalc@nalc.gov.uk  Website: www.nalc.gov.uk
• Shackleton on the Law & Practice of Meetings