Letwell Parish Council

Minutes – Ordinary Parish Council Meeting 26th September 2024

This meeting was held at Letwell Village Hall at 7pm.

Present: Councillors: Amanda Wood (Chairperson), Louise Addy, Christina Warr,

Martin Horn

The Acting Clerk: Martin Horn

Parishioners:  Three parishioners were in attendance.

Ref 24-137 To receive and approve reasons for absence

Cllr Ladbrook

24-138 To receive declarations of interest in respect of business on the agenda.

Cllr Addy is on the Letwell Community Group committee

24-139 To authorise the chairperson to sign the minutes of the meeting held on the 25th July, as true and correct records.

The minutes were confirmed as a true and correct record and the Chairperson accordingly signed the file copy.

24-140 To identify any agenda items which may be considered following the exclusion of the press and public, due to the confidential nature of the business to be discussed.

It was resolved that no items required the exclusion of press and public.

Update from Letwell Community Group

1. Will the Parish Council pick a date for a litter pick. A date was picked as Sunday 3rd November at 11:00. The village hall will be open for refreshments. The clerk will book the litter picking with RMBC.                 Clerk

2. LCG has accumulated a large sum of money and would like to donate £750 to be held by the PC for spending on the village hall. The PC agreed it will be accounted for separately and only spent on the village hall.                

3. Can the LCG have a web page on the PC website for minutes and activities that have taken place in the village. It was agreed that the PC would like the clerk to ask RMBC to add a LCG page. Clerk

4. Will the LCG remain on the PC agenda going forward, Cllr Wood said yes.

5. Christmas party, the LCG has booked the band. It was agreed that the ticket price will be £10.00 for adults and children free.                

6. VE day celebration has been booked with the Lah Di Dahs for Sunday 11th May 2025 starting at 3pm. The Parish Council will add the cost of the event to the budget for 2025-26                 Cllr Warr

24-142    Open Forum for Parishioners in Attendance – Public Participation Session  (up to 30 minutes will be allowed)                

1. The Art group and Quilter groups are having exhibition days in October and will be donating all funds raised to the village hall. The funds donated will accounted separately to PC income.                

2. The floor in the hall is not very clean. The cleaner will be asked to clean the floor.       Cllr Horn

3. Can the PC fill the gaps in the hedges on Lamb Lane. The hedges are not the responsibility of the PC.                

24-143 Update on previous actions.                

24-043 Horse signs and speed limit in the village 

RMBC have installed the new signs. They have agreed that the sign on Gildingwells Road is in the wrong place. Instead of moving it they will be installing another sign closer to Gildingwells near Moorelands Farm entrance.                

24-076 Bus shelter light 

Another electrician has been asked to quote but the job is too small. Cllr Wood has organised an electrician who will look at connecting the new switch.                  Cll Wood

24-079 New photographs for the website

Email to residents to ask for new photographs for the website.                 Clerk

24-080 Advertising for a new clerk

Job description and advert have been published on the internet. There has been some interest in the position. The PC has received applications and the applicants will be interviewed in the near future.                

24-085 VAT claims  

YLCA has confirmed what the Parish Council can claim. The PC also has the VAT login required to make claims and details of the last claim made in November 2022. A submission will be made in October for the period April to September 2024. Cllr Warr

Cllr Horn 24-090 Village Hall Lease 

Copies of the original document from 1930 gifting the building to Sheffield Diocese has been found along with the lease from 1994, and also a Charity Commission Scheme to allow the Church Room to be used as a village hall. The Parish Council is seeking legal advice on the next actions to be be taken. A request has been sent to YLCA to ask for advice.                 Clerk

24-094 Broadband 

A mobile broadband has been installed. 24-095 Heating controls – The heating controls have been installed and are now managed over the internet. 24-098 Village Hall electricity supplier – The supplier move has been completed to Octopus. A complaint was made to EDF about the delay in the transfer and they have made a payment of £50 as compensation. 24-110 Cleaning of village hall gutters – The window cleaner has been asked to clean the gutters at a cost of £15 to £20 per side, they will also be asked to check some loose tiles on the roof.                 Cllr Warr

24-121 Survey of the horse chestnut at the end of Church Lane 

The Parish Council are still looking into the ownership of the land. Item deferred to the next meeting. Cllr Ladbrook

24-133 Water company complaint 

A complaint was made to the water regulator and they have declined the claim and do not believe the water company has done anything wrong. 24-144 To receive an update in respect of planning matters and consider any further action on ongoing applications. https://rotherham.planportal.co.uk/?id=RB2024/1262

Site Address: 5 North Farm, The Dovecote, Ramper Road, Letwell, Rotherham, S81 8DR

Description: REAR EXTENSION AND MINOR INTERNAL ALTERATIONS

No comments raised by the Parish Council. FINANCIAL MATTERS 24-145 Bank Account The Parish Council has been advised that it should have dual authorisation to meet audit requirements. It was discussed at length and agreed that the PC will wait until a new clerk starts before making a decision. Agreed by all.   

24-146 VAT Claims

Claim will be made at the end of September by Cllr Warr and Cllr Horn.

24-147 Agree payments

See attached. Agreed by All. 24-148 Balances at 1st September 2024

Bar 300.00

Current 896.30

Petty Cash 40.00             

Sum Up 0.00

Reserve 1957.24            

Total 3193.54                

24-149 Agree reimbursements                

Payment to Cllr Horn of £14.98 for cleaning items for the village hall. Approved by all                 Cllr Addy

24-150 Outstanding debts                

Insurance 3 more payments of £168.26 total £504.78 EDF electric for telephone box £68.68                

24-151 Plan budgeting for 2025-26 precept                

Cllr Warr has started budgeting for the next financial year and it was briefly discussed.                 Cllr Warr

24-152 Managing cash receipts and payments                 

Cllr Warr is looking at how the PC can better audit cash movements. Deferred to next meeting. Cllr Warr

Village Hall

24-153 Upgrade lighting in the hall

Cllr Wood will get a quote to replace all the strip lights in the hall with LED lights Cllr Wood To receive information on the following issues and decide further action, where necessary. New rubbish bins in the village. The Parish Council would like 2 new bins. One at the bus stop and another on the mound next to the new bench. Approved by All. Clerk 24-155 Cutting of Ramper Road hedges. There are general comments about the fact that the Ramper looks scruffy most of the year.

Cllr Horn suggested that the hedge should grow out to the treeline before it is cut and future cutting is inline with the trees. This year just the top of the hedge will be cut slightly higher than last year. The public

will be asked not to cut the hedge around the trees.

An offer has been received from Letwell Music to pay for the hedge cutting. It was felt that as this was

a PC cost the PC should pay for it and budget for it. Letwell Music will be asked to make a donation to the village hall where the money will be accounted for separately and only spent on the hall.   Clerk

24-156 Change of water supplier                

The present water supplier cost is £203 per annum. A new supplier Clearsight/Waterplus has quoted an annual charge of £119.31 for a 3 year contract. Part of the bill is fixed for 3 years. Proposed by Cllr Horn seconded by Cllr Warr to move to new supplier. Agreed by All.                 Cllr Horn

CLERK CORRESPONDENCE Parish Council website and email addresses. It is recommended that Parish Councils change to a .gov.uk website and email addresses. Councillors agreed that they would like a PC email address. Cllr Addy has received a quote for a .gov.uk domain name at £50 per annum and  25 email addresses for £49.99 from Cloud Next. It was agreed the proposed website will be letwellpc.gov.uk. Agreed by All.                 Cllr Addy

24-158 Information Commissioners Office registration

The cost for registering is £35 if paid by direct debit. Proposed by Cllr Wood, seconded by Cllr Horn to setup a direct debit to make the payment. Agreed by All.                 Clerk

To confirm the time and date of the next meeting is Thursday 28th November at 7pm.