February 2023 DRAFT Minutes (Amended)
MINUTES OF THE HOGSTHORPE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 2nd FEBRUARY 2023AY 1 APAY1 APRIL1
Present: Cllrs Les Wildman (Chairman) Chris Rolph, Mary Banks, Ellen Smith and Brian Worley
Clerk & RFO: Valerie Anne Worley
PUBLIC FORUM
- A member of the public spoke about the amount of caravan parks in Hogsthorpe. He started that there were had been 35 applications for caravans in the area and over 500 objections to the most recent planning application. He asked if the Parish Council would contact other Parish Councils in the area to object to this application. The Chairman agreed that there are already too many caravans in the area and the matter would be looked into and reported back.
- Another member of the public spoke about the 89 houses being developed in Hogsthorpe and the digging out of an entrance and encroaching on private land. She asked if she should refer this to the District Councillor Graham Williams. The Chair agreed.
- CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
- APOLOGIES – No apologies.
- RESOLUTION ON WHETHER TO MOVE INTO CLOSED SESSION
It was resolved that the Council would not move into closed session regarding account discrepancies and, with a view to being open and transparent, this should be discussed in public. The Chair stated that when he took over in September, he had requested to see the accounts from the Clerk. This request had been refused and his subsequent requests had also been refused. He stated that members of the public can legally get access to these accounts. A member of the public, had gone through the accounts supplied at meetings in detail and found various discrepancies. She gave out schedules of her findings. and referred the Councill to some of the differences from her detailed analysis. Each individual member of the Councill was asked to examine the contents and refer back to Council. Cllr Rolph asked that as this concerned the clerk, the matter should be examined by the Staffing Committee. It was agreed to initially take this route.
- CO-OPTION OF COUNCILLOR
At the previous meeting there had been a discussion on allowing a candidate to become a councillor. It had been stated that he would be an asset to the council as he had previously been a council member. However, proper procedure had not been followed and therefore there had been no acceptance. As the clerk had been asked to provide him with the paperwork, there was discussion on whether this constituted acceptance. It was agreed that as there had been no proper vote by a show of hands and none of the councillors could remember agreeing to his acceptance, the councillors had not constitutionally agreed to accept the proposal. The vote was again taken by a show of hands. Two councillors voted for acceptance and three against. The vote was therefore not carried and the candidate would not be accepted at this time.
Cllr Rolph stated that the proper procedure had not been followed at the previous meeting to elect him as Vice Chair as there had been no show of hands. He asked that the procedure should be followed again correctly. The Chair asked the councillors if they would accept Cllr Rolph to be Vice Chair. This was agreed and ratified by a show of hands. Cllr Rolph agreed to accept the position.
Another candidate, Mr George Green, showed interest in becoming a councillor. In reply to being asked why he wished to become a councillor, he replied that although he now lived in Chapel, he was born and brought up in Hogsthorpe and his interest was in the village. The Chair pointed out that it was not just a matter of attending meetings but he may be asked to help with other duties in the village. He stated he was quite prepared to do that. The Council was asked if they wished to accept Mr Green as a member of the Council and this was agreed unilaterally by a show of hands. Mr Green would be given be given the appropriate paperwork to complete and would be welcomed at the next meeting.
- DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None
- APPROVAL OF NOTES OF MEETING
The Chair refused to sign the Minutes as true record of the proceedings and these would be re-presented at the meeting in March.
- CLERK’S REPORT
The clerk stated that this will follow She had now placed the approved policies on the web site.
- FINANCIAL MATTERS
Payment of accounts were made for £717.70 to V Worley for salary, £94.80 to HMRC Tax, £12.40 for printer ink, £26.00 to V Worley for homeworking allowance and £15.00 for hire of village hall.
- REPORTS FROM OUTSIDE BODIES
The Vice Chair stated that a number of complaints had been received by the staffing committee. The clerk had no knowledge of these. These would be looked into by the Staffing Committee at the earliest opportunity.
There were no further reports.
- POLICIES
As the policies on Standing Orders and Financial Regulations had not been read by Councillors, it was agreed to leave these until the March meeting.
- DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Thursday 2 March 2023.