HAVERAH PARK WITH BECKWITHSHAW PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON Thursday 16 May
2019
Location: The
Village Hall, Beckwithshaw
Present: Councillors – Cllr D
Spence, Cllr A Ellis, Cllr T Muirhead, Cllr Mrs J Ryder and
Cllr M David.
Parish Clerk – Mrs J H Galloway
Commencing at 7.45pm the Annual General Meeting was
held with 3 members of the public present. (Mr A Ross, Mr J Gordon and Mr T Coates)
1. Apologies: Cllr S Lumley and Cllr Miss V Oldham.
2. Election of Chairman :
Cllr D Spence was proposed by Cllr Ellis and
seconded by Cllr Muirhead.
All in favour.
3. Election of Vice Chairman :
Cllr A Ellis was proposed by Cllr Spence and
seconded by Cllr David.
All in favour.
4. Chairman’s Report :
Thank
you for attending our annual general meeting and a warm welcome to you all.
I
would like to thank my fellow Councillors and previous Chairman, Mark Nicholson,
for all the hard work they have put in over the last year. I would like to
propose a special vote of thanks to our hard working and knowledgeable Parish
Clerk Mrs Jean Galloway who has been very helpful to me in my first few months
as Chair of the Parish Council.
During
the course of the last twelve months we have dedicated a lot of time and effort
to reduce speeding through the village. I must express the gratitude of the
Parish Council to Jo Parish and her Speedwatch Team who have consistently braved
the weather to aim speedguns at passing motorists, not all, of whom were
pleased with the presence of Jo and her Team. Jo reported on the 10th
of April that after presenting the latest set of Speedcheck results the 95
Alive Traffic Panel has taken the decision to stand down the Beckwithshaw
Speedwatch Group and use vehicles with enforcement cameras instead. This is an
excellent result as it demonstrates an acknowledgement by the Authorities that
speeds through the village are unacceptably high. Well done to Jo and her team
who I am sure will be monitoring police activities and outcomes.
We
have been informed by Stan Lumley, our County Councillor, that NYCC are in the
process of issuing a new protocol on Speed Signs and hopefully in the next 12
months we will see the installation of an automated traffic speed sign.
Thanks
must also go to Councillor Lora Barovic and District Councillor Victoria Oldham
for the provision of the two speed reduction signs erected at either end of the
village.
We
have dealt with many complaints regarding Pot Holes but thanks to the impending
bike races many of these issues have been resolved though we will continue to
be vigilant.
We
have also attempted to deal with school buses parked at Beckwith Head and are
in correspondence with Councillor Phil Ireland who is currently working to find
a solution. We have been advised by County Councillor D McKenzie that the buses
are not causing an obstruction and no action is required. We were made aware of
increased use of Shaw lane by construction traffic and have worked with the
Police to monitor and hopefully reduce the problem.
Planning
issues continue to be a major part of our duties. This workload has and we
think will continue to increase with the ongoing Planning Applications around
Whinney Lane, Lady Lane and Windmill Farm. We have made objections to all
schemes. We have worked and contributed to the Western Arc Co-operation Group
who made representations to the recent Government Planning Inspectors review of
HBC’s proposed Local Plan. This work helped to persuade the Inspector to remove
a number of rural sites from HBC’s list of preferred options but unfortunately
had no impact on Sites surrounding Beckwithshaw.
Broadband
– Councillors Andrew Ellis and Tom Muirhead and now supported by Councillor
Marcus David continue their work to improve this service in the Shaw Lane area
and thanks go to them for their efforts.
We
carry out an annual inspection of P.C. property and have a contractor in place
to maintain the grassed area opposite Shaw Lane whilst relying on volunteers to
maintain the Copse and a big thank you to all who have contributed. We have
undertaken litter picks in both Spring and Autumn and would like to thank all
those who have helped with this task.
We
have completed a mandatory ‘Village Emergency Plan’ together with a collection
of items available for use should the need arise. Thanks to all Councillors and
members of the public who have helped to complete the Plan and in particular to
Councillor Lora Barovic for providing items for the Emergency Battle Box.
I
would like to bring your attention to the fact that we currently have vacancies
for a Parish Councillor and sadly a Parish Clerk and would like to take this
opportunity to invite anyone interested in filling either of these roles to
contact Mrs Jean Galloway.
Finally
I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the workings of the P.C.
this last year and to remind you that as Parishioners you are welcome to attend
our monthly Parish Council meetings.
The Annual
General Meeting closed at 7.50pm.