Meeting of FPC 26.02.2026

9 members of the public.

Residents queried whether the Council were going to recover the costs of felling the beech tree and pollarding the cherry tree from two other residents in attendance.  It was established that the residents had offered to purchase a replacement tree and/or pay something towards the costs of the works but at no point had they offered to cover the costs outright.

Residents noted that the Draft minutes of 22.01.2026 did not specifically state that the petition referred to the felling of trees. They also wished for the decision made for the Council to take over maintenance of the Arbour to be struck out.

Chair disclosed that there is a conflict of interest within the Complaint and Freedom of Information process as some of the remarks are directly against the Chair. It was agreed that the Chair would not participate within these sub committees.

Cllr. A. Brown retains an open mind on all planning matters. His current view is:-

Community Funding has been approved for £7000 for 2026-2027.

Kex Gill is still on track to open in June.

Cllr. A Brown will assist with attempting to contact the Street Lighting Team in an attempt to obtain a date of when works may be undertaken.

Not done

Clerk and Cllr. J. Walton have gone over the budgets and proposed some adjustments as follows for next years budget:-

Clerks Expenses                                                                                                   £200

Clerks wages                                                                                                          £5200

Advertising/Website/IT Expenses (combined)                                        £510

Street Lighting/Repairs/New Lighting (combined)                                £1600

Electricity Supply                                                                                                 £1000

Institute Rent                                                                                                         £450

Election Expenses                                                                                                  0

Maintenance / Walling/ Gardening/Trees                                                 £3029.25

Actions Development Plan                                                                                0

YLCA Membership                                                                                               £240

Insurance                                                                                                                £1500

Newsletter/ Stationery / Printing                                                                  £90

Audit                                                                                                                          £140

ROSPA                                                                                                                      £100

Play Area Rent / Lease                                                                                       £10

Peggy Wilson Trust Insurance                                                                       £70

Data Protection Fee                                                                                            £52

Legal Fees                                                                                                               £1600

Grant Provisions                                                                                                 £200

Contingency                                                                                                          £1500

Reserves                                                                                                                 0

Section 137 payment                                                                                          0

Defibrillator                                                                                                         £200   

Training                                                                                                                  £500

Total                                                                                                                         £18191.25                                                                      

It was resolved that the above is approved.  Figures to be carried forward were agreed in the previous meeting. Once end of March has passed Clerk will be able to see exactly what funds are available within the account, that may not already be allocated to see if they can then be used towards other projects currently with 0 balance.

This is now underway. Unfortunately, the person wanting to do this individually has not responded to Clerks correspondence.

Cllr W. McDonald has been able to source two very reasonably priced planters for £156 which is within budget and will also leave some further funds to purchase soil and seeds.

It was resolved that Clerk will contact the Canal and River Trust and request permission to place them on the canal under the premise that the Parish Council will maintain them.

Cllr. W. McDonald proposed an amendment to item no. 225/26 to state:-

“A Petition for the Council to not fell the Beech and Cherry tree on the Arbour was presented with 370 signatures undertaken by two talented local children at a school from a neighboring village”.

It was resolved that clerk will amend the minutes of 22.01.2026 as above and thereafter both minutes of 22.02.2026 and 11.02.2026 are approved.

• Traffic Measure Rocks – It was resolved that Cllr. S. Close can instruct the contractors to remove the traffic measures.

·        Encroachment – It was resolved that the fencing is in place for seeding of the grass and this will be removed once the process has completed

·        Maintenance Contract – It was resolved that in order to strike something from the minutes it must be brought back to the next meeting under the correct heading where it can be agreed upon to amend the minutes in question .  Once this is done the item can then be rediscussed if this is what the Council agrees at the next meeting.  Clerk to place Minutes of 22.01.2026 back on the agenda for the next meeting.  

It was resolved that Cllr J. Walton will draft a letter to the owners and request that the trees be inspected and if necessary for any appropriate action to be undertaken. Once approved Clerk will send this on to the Estate Manager.

                                     Committee  

It was resolved that Cllr. A. Brown, Cllr J. Walton and Cllr D.Atkinson will act as subcommittee for the Internal Review dealing with the Freedom of Information Requests.

There was discussion about the complexity of the complaint and the time constraints on doing justice to the complaint in the standard meeting of the Council with an already full agenda and it was resolved that a separately covered complaints committee would be able to hear the complaint more fully. Cllr W.McDonald, Cllr S.Close and/or a possible 3^rd Cllr TBD and the Clerk.

It was resolved that Clerk will respond to 3 of the emails received. 1 inviting complainee to the complaints committee, 2. Notifying that complaints regarding conduct of Councillors are out of the Parish Council remit and directing the complainee to the monitoring officer, 3. Updated response following this meeting confirming that the traffic measure rocks will be removed.

271/26                      Proposed plans for works at Farnhill Hall – any feedback for resident

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

It was resolved that the Clerk will chase for a copy of the proposed covenants that may be attached to the property transfer before any final decisions can be made.

Cllr. W. McDonald has updated the Emergency Plan and shared this with Kildwick Village. This will need to go back on the agenda next month for approval but only things that has changed is the contact details.

It was resolved that Cllr. S. Close would see if he can assist with obtaining a better price. Clerk will resend the Grant application to the Chair for signature and the Chair will drop this off.

Cllr. W McDonald looked into the new recycling bin policy and confirmed that this new policy is definitely coming to Farnhill. If residents wish to know more about the new scheme there is a link attached which should take you to the correct website.  Right thing, right bin | North Yorkshire Council if residents have any concerns about the policy which are not covered within the frequently answered questions and/or the chat bot then you will need to contact North Yorkshire Council directly.

1. Highways – Speed/ maintenance  –

1. 20MPH Request for Starkey Lane / Mary Street- Consultation period has now finished and the 20mph policy approved.  Signs will be getting put up in March.
2. Blocked Drains on Main Street-engineers have this on a list. – It was resolved that the Clerk will try to obtain further information with regards to any repairs on the blockage lower down Main Street. Clerk to also ask if they could revert to the old system which worked very well, whereby they give notice to the Parish Council and then residents will be personally notified of when drain cleaning will happen so there is not cars blocking access.
3. Double Yellow lines on Newby Road Consultation process. The Consultation process for waiting restrictions to be placed on Newby Road is hoped to be started in the next few weeks.

1. Lighting Issues –

       II.               Request for old post on back Mary Street light to be replaced with a heritage post to match the new heritage lamp.

    III.               Request for light replacement on Starkey Lane House with a heritage light.

    IV.               Heritage Light on Starkey Lane completed but request to have a different bulb made as too bright. – this item has been flagged as a priority to NYC by FPC.

       V.               Heritage Light on Main Street

    VI.               Heritage Light at back of play area – old post to be replaced with heritage post to match the new heritage light.

 VII.               Missed LED conversion for Heritage light on Parsons Bridge

It was resolved that Clerk has chased these items a substantial amount of times both by email and telephone highlighting the issues with Starkey Lane as being a priority as this is affecting residents’ sleep.  At least one other resident has also been chasing for a resolution with the light on Starkey Lane. All we know is that it is on a list.  Cllr A. Brown is also going to send an email to see if he can get a better response.

1. Update on the Play Area / Carpark retaining wall

It was resolved that Chair will organise a walkabout with the current contractor with a view to seeing if any further areas need to be brought into the schedule for 2026-2027

It was resolved that the Chair will attend a training course for working with AI. Costs of this was approved. Clerk will book the same.

It was resolved that Clerk will request a Saturday morning session based on the responses of the residents that were within the meeting.

An Internal review will take place as well as a complaints review .

• Jodie Fieldhouse (Salary February)                                                                             £410.76

Taxable pay £431.04

Pension                                                                                                                                         £20.88

TAX  £-0.60

• Tree Surgeons                                                                                                                     £1080.00

It was resolved that all invoices can be paid.

283/26           Clerks workload (closed session press and public will be excluded)

The Council is receiving a significant number of collaborated frequent requests and complaints from an organised group with a scattergun approach. The weight of the emails and the extent of the demands being made are having a significant impact on staff and Councillors alike preventing Clerk and Councillors from carrying out their usual duties for the Parish Council and consuming more hours than Clerk is even hired to work.

It was resolved that going forward Clerk is to solely concentrate on Council Business and preparing for the year end. If there is time thereafter then to assist with responding to the above matters.

284/26            Minor items of business & items to go on Agenda next meeting

Minutes of 22.01.2026 item 234/26 Encroachment discussion.

Emergency Action Plan

Updates from the sub committees of Internal Review meeting and complaints meeting.