Agenda: Parish Council Meeting on 4 November 2020
Full agenda for the meeting of the Parish Council being held remotely on 4 November 2020
Download a copy of the meeting agenda by clicking here.
Meeting Details
Day/Date: Wednesday 4 November 2020
Time: 7.30 pm
Meeting to be held remotely, via video-link
Platform: Zoom
Access: Please click on the link below to join
Notes for Members of the Public:
- This meeting is being held remotely in accordance with regulations made under S.78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. There are, therefore, no paper copies of the agenda or the accompanying documents.
- All documents (other than those which are restricted) can be accessed from the Parish Council’s website — www.shavingtononline.co.uk.
- If you wish to make a statement, or ask a question under the Public Question Time slot, please ensure that you submit this in writing, by email to clerk@shavingtononline.co.uk by no later than Tuesday, 6 October 2020.
- Please join the meeting 10 minutes before its commencement to enable the Clerk to make a note of the full complement of speakers.
1 APOLOGIES
2 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
Members to declare any (a) disclosable pecuniary interest; (b) personal interest; or c) prejudicial interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda, the nature of that interest, and in respect of disclosable interests and prejudicial interests, to withdraw from the meeting prior to the discussion of that item.
In these circumstances, the Chairman will control the ‘presence’ of the appropriate Member and give him/her a time slot at which he/she can re-join the meeting.
Members are referred to the Code of Conduct for guidance (issued with the agenda papers for Annual Council on 8 May 2019 and adopted at that meeting).
Whilst the Clerk can advise on the Code of Conduct and its interpretation, the decision to declare, or not, is the responsibility of the Parish Councillor, based on the circumstances.
3 MINUTES
To approve as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 October 2020.
4 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Members of the public are able to ask questions under the Parish Council’s Standing Orders and have been asked to submit their questions in writing by no later than Tuesday, 3 November 2020.
5 POLICE MATTERS — BEAT MANAGER’S REPORT
To receive a copy of the Beat Manager’s Report. These are forwarded to Members as and when they arrive. At the date of publication of the agenda, there have been no recent reports.
6 BOROUGH COUNCILLOR DAVID MARREN
GUIDE TIME (10 MINUTES)
6.1 Report
Councillor David Marren to report on Cheshire East Council matters of interest and provide an update in respect of outstanding parish matters.
Councillor Marren’s report will be e-mailed to Members under separate cover.
6.2 Questions
Members are able to ask questions of Councillor Marren in respect of his report presented under item 6.1 above. This is limited to Councillors and is not an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions.
7 NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
Mr Bill Atteridge, Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group to report progress on the examination stage of the Neighbourhood Plan.
8 REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY — 8 NOVEMBER 2020
To update the Parish Council on arrangements for Remembrance Sunday. The service, which is to be live-streamed, commences at 10.40 am, with residents being encouraged to ‘Watch from home’.
9 PLANNING
9.1 Planning Applications
The Parish Council is asked to comment on the following planning applications.
20/4622N
2 Withnall Drive, Shavington CW2 5HG
Proposed side and rear extension
The deadline date for observations is 11 November 2020.
20/4755N
15 Springwell Close, Crewe, CW2 6TX
Single-storey rear extension and two-storey extension with front porch addition
The deadline date for observations is 18 November 2020.
20/4764N
27 Barons Road, Shavington, CW2 5EW
Demolition of existing extension and replace with kitchen/dayroom
Flat roof extension
The deadline date for observations is 25 November 2020.
9.2 Pre-application consultation Adams Planning and Development — Proposed Ecological Burial Site at Forget-me-not Fields, Old Pusey Dale, Main Road, Shavington CW2 5DU
Adams Planning and Development is seeking the Parish Council’s views on this proposed development.
It is suggested that an informal meeting be held, at which members of the public can attend and participate.
The company has offered the evening of 9 or 10 November.
10 FINANCIAL MATTERS
10.1 Receipts & Payments Statement — 1 April — 30 September 2020
To receive a Receipts and Payments Statement for the main Parish Council account showing the half-year position. It is expected that a statement for the Village Hall account will also be available, but the Clerk is awaiting bank statements for the period.
10.2 Laptop for Community Manager
10.2.1 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3: (The first laptop)
As reported to the meeting held on 7 October 2020, a Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 was ordered for Tim Dobson (Community Manager). The laptop is not expected to arrive until 4 November 2020, and as this date would have been too late to allow Mr Dobson to carry out various procedures related to Remembrance Sunday, a second laptop (a Lenovo) was ordered and paid for and was delivered on 20 October 2020 at a cost of £1,487.98 net, £372 VAT and £9.99 for delivery (£1,869.97). This is to be funded from the £2,000 allocation in the budget which was earmarked for use by the Clerk.
10.2.2 Lenovo (The second laptop)
At the time of publication of the agenda, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 has not yet been delivered, but has been paid for by debit card. In accordance with the Consumer Credit Act 1974, this laptop can be returned under the provisions of the ‘cooling-off’ period which allows a consumer to withdraw from the purchase, within 14 days of delivery of the goods. It is not necessary for there to be a fault with the goods.
The Parish Council is asked to consider if this first laptop should be retained for use by the Clerk. This cost a total of £1,885.17 (£1,582.79 net, £287.99 VAT and £14.39 freight fee).
The budget allowed for one laptop only. If this second purchase is agreed, it can be funded from either unallocated reserves or underspend on other budget heads, notably £6,000 against Youth Club provision in the parish.
10.3 Payments for Approval
The Parish Council is asked to authorise the following payments:
£570.00 Cheshire Community Action
1.5 days of work on the Neighbourhood Plan, at £380 per day.
£270.00 The Leaflet Team
Delivery of Remembrance Sunday service sheets
£73.51 ASH Waste Services
Inv. 900209 (£61.26 net and £12.25 VAT)
£73.75 ASH Waste Services
Inv. 913370 (£61.46 net and £12.29 VAT)
£73.51 ASH Waste Services
Inv. 924013 (£61.26 net and £12.25 VAT)
£305.99 C M Jones
Reimbursement for ink cartridges (order acknowledgement enclosed)
£1,256.40 Scribe (Starboard Systems Ltd)
Inv. №1316 (£1,047.00 net and £209.40 VAT) (as approved 7 October 2020).
10.4 Clerk’s Delegated Actions
To report that the following items of expenditure have been made since the last meeting, in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation.
£104.40 Crystal Clean South Cheshire Ltd.
Village Hall cleaning (£87.00 net and £17.40 VAT (Inv 1468)
£660.00 HSL Entertainment Management Ltd
Live-streaming of Remembrance Sunday service
£519.17 Two Logi-Tech cameras
Initially for use at Remembrance Sunday Each camera cost £254.99 and there was a delivery charge of £9.99.
£60.41 C M Jones
Stationery supplies (receipt enclosed)
£65.00 Beardmore Accountants
Payroll service
£21.00 Councillor Hancock
Printer ink
£660.00 HSL Entertainment Management Ltd
Live-streaming of Remembrance Sunday service
Update on Audit Issues
The following is the only outstanding audit issue raised by the Internal Auditor. The remainder have either been dealt with, or action has been agreed to deal with them.
Recurring recommendation: The Council to ensure that Members are not given authority to take action on behalf of the Council. This is contrary to S.101 of the Local Government Act 1972.
The Clerk is reviewing the Minutes to try to establish if individual Councillors have taken action on behalf of the Parish Council. The Clerk has already undertaken to complete this by December 2020.
10.5 Cameron Avenue — Treatment of Silver Birches
At its meeting held on 30 September 2020, the Environment and Recreation Committee reviewed the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Northwich Town Council.
Although Cameron Avenue does not feature in the SLA, the Clerk was asked to seek quotations for work to be carried out in respect of the four Silver Birch trees at the end of the avenue.
The Clerk contacted three contractors, but only one visited the site and submitted a quotation. As the quotation received is within a few pounds of the threshold, the Clerk has asked for one other quotation which will be available for the December meeting. In the meantime, she is also contacting the remaining two contractors, initially contacted, to establish if they wish to quote for the work.
The Financial Regulations [Regulation 11.1 (h)] stipulate that for contracts whose value is in excess of £1,000 but under £3,000, the Clerk/RFO shall strive to obtain three estimates for the work. Financial Regulation 11.1 (h) also states that where the value of a contract is £1,000 or below, the Clerk/RFO shall, in consultation with the Chairman…. be authorised to enter into a contract, having regard, at all times, for the need to seek value for money.
It is important that the process is scrupulous, especially in view of the Internal Auditor’s comments about the Parish Council’s financial management. The Council needs to demonstrate due diligence to avoid any further adverse comment by the Auditor.
Quotations can be considered at the December meeting.
11 CONSULTATION
11.1 STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE
The Committee on Standards in Public Life has recently launched a consultation as part of its review into the institutions, process and structures in place to support high standards of conduct.
Enclosed is an email from the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, together with a copy of the consultation document.
The Parish Council is invited to comment by 4 December 2020, specifically, responding to the questions posed.
11.2 LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION — REVISED PUBLICATION DRAFT SITE ALLOCATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES DOCUMENT (SADPD)
Following the previous consultation in 2019, the draft SADPD has been amended and Cheshire East Council has now published the Revised Publication Draft SADPD to invite further representations before it is submitted for examination by a planning inspector. The consultation will run from 26 October to 5:00pm on 7 December 2020. Full details of the consultation are set out in the formal ‘Statement of the Representations Procedure’.
The consultation can be found at this link: https://cheshireeast-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/planning/cs/sadpd/rpdsadpd.
Enclosed is a letter to town and parish councils together with the Statement of Representations.
12 ‘CAROLS AT CHRISTMAS’ EVENT / VILLAGE HALL LIGHTING
To report that at its meeting on 22 October 2020, the Community Engagement Committee agreed that owing to the logistical problems associated with the purchase of a Christmas tree (although not yet approved by the Council) for siting on the church field, the Committee preferred an alternative suggestions which was the lighting of the Village Hall.
This would provide a festive feature for the village, and the lights, which would be affixed to the outside of the Village Hall, could be used year-on-year.
The cost of providing lighting is in excess of £1,000. In accordance with the Financial Regulations, the Clerk is seeking three quotations which will need to be submitted to an extraordinary meeting of the Council.
13 VILLAGE HALL
13.1 Hire Agreement
Councillors who have been involved in the detailed arrangements for the re-opening of the Village Hall are asked to report.
The hire agreement was updated to reflect Covid-19 arrangements, and the Clerk was asked to contact Lynne Thornton, Solicitor, to confirm that it is acceptable. This was reported to the meeting on 7 October 2020. Subsequent to that, Ms Thornton has advised that it is inadequate as it stands, and she has been asked to re-draft it
It is expected that a revised agreement will be available for the meeting; if it is not available, it will be submitted to the December 2020 meeting.
13.2 Energy Costs
A company called Utility Aid, has made contact to ask if the Parish Council would agree to it undertaking an energy audit, free of charge.
The company claims to be able to secure the best prices for both gas and electricity. This requires the company to be provided with a copy of the most recent bill and a letter of authority from the Council.
Enclosed is a copy of its publicity material.
The Parish Council is asked to consider if this survey should be undertaken.
14 INFORMATION ITEM
New Website and Accessibility
To report that there has been a delay in creating the new website. This is expected to be completed by early 2021.
15 FUTURE MEETINGS
18 November 2020 Finance Committee — deferred from 28 October 2020
2 December 2020 Parish Council meeting
16 EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC
The Council is invited to RESOLVE that in accordance with Paragraph 1 (2) of The Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items owing to the confidential nature of the business to transacted and the public interest would not be served in disclosing that information.
Note: Other than a synopsis, the details on the following item have been omitted from the public agenda.
17 POSSIBLE ACQUISITION OF 140 MAIN ROAD
(Reason for exclusion: Relates to potential contract matters between the Parish Council and the Borough Council)
To consider two quotations for the survey of 140 Main Road, Shavington. Although four companies indicated that they would be able to submit a formal quotation, two have not yet provided them. The Council may wish to defer consideration of this item to the December 2020 meeting.
