Meeting of FPC 26.03.2026

 Chair Cllr. J. Waring, Cllr J. Walton and Cllr. Brown have all sent in apologies

It was resolved that all apologies are accepted.

  None received

5 Members of the public in attendance

I member would like to ask questions during the maintenance of the arbour section which was allowed.

Council Tax states gone up 7% for FPC when FPC confirmed they increased it by 5% it was agreed that the Clerk will go over figures again and check with the Council to see if they can shed any light on this.

A resident would like to know if the Council will try and recoup the full fees from the resident who stated the recent tree works were to be done for aesthetic reasons.  The Council confirmed that the resident did offer to make a contribution and/or pay for a replacement tree but this was not taken into account during any decisions made by the Council this was subsequent to works that remained incomplete.

It was resolved that the Council made an informed decision for the good of the Community on the facts to hand, provided by tree experts and Insurers. Eg. The trees have been declared end of life and in poor condition.  The Council had to consider the expense these two trees at end of life were going to cost the Parish in the long run and the fact that if they are not removed then the parish will not be covered by insurance should anything untoward happen owing to them being end of life. The Council confirmed that they are happy to contact the resident who has kindly offered to make a donation when a decision has been made as to suitable tree replacement should the resident still wish to make a donation towards the costs.

Residents in attendance confirmed that they are looking for communication, transparency, procedure and protocol.

It was resolved that permission can be granted

No response from CRT regarding the planters.  Volunteers happy for anyone to join them with fresh ideas or the Clerk at Kildwick meeting has contact with the volunteers who may be able to pas this information on.

Canal Trust Volunteer group .

Clerk confirmed would still need CRT written permission to do this.  It was resolved that Cllrs  W. McDonald and D Atkisnon will speak with them.

It was resolved that these minutes are approved.

It was resolved that the minute confirming decision to take over maintenance of the arbour can be removed from these Minutes and readdressed under a clearer heading.

The resident who does some maintenance on the upper arbour was in attendance at this meeting and very kindly confirmed that he would in fact be happy to continue doing this for the Parish at no cost and has agreed to sign a health and safety document.

 297/26                Updates from the sub committees of Internal Review meeting and      

                                complaints meeting.

The complainant failed to attend but sent apologies the meeting went ahead and matters were assessed thoroughly. The outcome of the review has been shared with all Councillors and sent to the Complainant it was resolved that this matter is now closed.

                                 meetings.

It was resolved that the Clerk will have a decision tree set out with regards to excessive complaints and Freedom of Information Requests and SARS requests This will be typed up and distributed to all.

300/26                 The Arbour

• Review of the Arbour Policy

It was proposed that the policy be reviewed to have a village wide consultation to see what they all think how the lands would be best used for the whole community at the annual meeting of the parish , Maintenance of the land, policy for trees, policy for trees outside of the legal requirements , take the whole thing and review the policy.

It was resolved that this proposal is accepted.

• Traffic Measure Rocks Removal

These have been removed by the contractor and residents have kindly filled the voids to avoid any tripping accidents.

·        Encroachment

The area that has been fenced off by a resident who has been Reseeding the grass verge but the wet weather has meant it was required to be done again.  The fence will be removed once the reseeding has been established.

·        Maintenance Contract

Discuss

Owners land agent has been notified of concerns raised.

Cllr W McDonald confirmed that matters regarding stones and trees have been dealt with, motions have been passed and will not continue with these lines of complaints.

The complaints process was explained to the complainants as the newly adopted policy is not easy to follow and needs re-addressing.

Unfortunately, the Council were unable to get to the bottom of the complaints within this meeting. There was some confusion over which complaints were being addressed.

It was resolved that this will go to a Subcommittee Meeting where the matter can be given the time it requires to fully understand what issues are current. Full details of attendees and a date will be supplied to the complainant as soon as this can be arranged.

303/26                      Proposed plans for works at Farnhill Hall – any feedback for resident

It was resolved that based on the current picture provided of a stone building with a proper roof  and the assurance from the resident that a covenant will be placed on it to state it can never have its use changed from a storage unit to a dwelling something along the lines of “ Not to change the use of the property from storage to any other use, including but not limited to residential use”.  The Council can see no issue with these proposals.

Discuss

To be addressed at the annual parish meeting lead by the Vice Chair.

Review

No issues reported.

Cllr. Close has been looking into this.

It is believed that they may be smaller ones. Link has been provided on the previous minutes for residents to look at.

Cllr. W. McDonald will present his amendments at the next meeting and also at the Annual Meeting of the Parish.

1. Highways – Speed/ maintenance  –

1. Blocked Drains on Main Street – response received
2. Double Yellow lines on Newby Road Consultation process.

It was resolved that the Clerk will write to North Yorkshire Council and find out if the Consultation will be a letter to all the residents that may be affected by this or a notice on the lampposts. If the latter can we have notice when this will be so we can inform the residents of how they get involved in the consultation process.

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. Cobbled track from Hannover street

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

    IV.               Heritage Light on Starkey Lane completed but too bright and affecting sleep.  Council to decide if the lamp should be changed for a frosted glass one at an additional £20.00 or to have the upper glass of the current one screened or taped off. It was resolved this can be done.

       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

1. Update on the Play Area / Carpark retaining wall

Barriers have been removed but a wooden post just left resting up against. Children are trying to use it.

It was resolved that Clerk will instruct ROSPA to undertake an inspection. Cllr. S Close will put the chain back on until a full report of the safety of the equipment is undertaken. There is a public social media account members of the public in attendance are in and they confirmed that they will let other residents aware the play area is still closed as awaiting safety inspection of the equipment.

This date is agreed as long as the institute is available.

A Dry Strone wall on the arbour has collapsed and a second one appears unstable. These have been reported to North Yorkshire Council who have in turn confirmed that they will undertake a site visit.

• Jodie Fieldhouse (Salary February)                                                                             £410.76

Taxable pay £431.04

Pension                                                                                                                                     £20.88

TAX  £-0.60

• Contractor – removal of stones from Arbour                                                           £114.00

(incorrect fee on agenda)

IT Contractor – Microsoft Subscription (Came in after agenda)                     £104.99

All approved

314/26           To Discuss Annual Meeting of the Parish and Annual Meeting of the Council

It was resolved that :-

·        Cllr. J Walton will draft the flyer for the meeting.

·        The meeting will include the Arbour and Bucklar Hill Garages.

·        As the present Councillors do not have access to availability of the Institute, they will hold an unofficial meeting to confirm the dates. An invite will be sent to the police once this is established .

315/26            Minor items of business & items to go on Agenda next meeting