Village Greens Project £3,332.63 (2 further stage payments are to be made to the Peak District National Park Authority PDNPA)

It was proposed by D Davies, seconded by R Lord and agreed unanimously to accept the financial accounts, a copy of which are appended.

Audit Assurance – B Greasley reported that the Parish Meeting has complied with everything required by the Audit Commission. One of the requirements was an internal audit and this was carried out by Mrs E Plumtree. It was suggested by B Greasley that some form of recompense should be offered for this quite lengthy task. After discussion it was agreed that a small gift to show our gratitude for her good work should be offered. The amount of £25 was proposed by R Lord, seconded by B Greasley and agreed unanimously. C Davies is to check with DALC that it is in order to make this gift payment. This has subsequently been done and found to be in order.

All statements of Assurance were read to the meeting by B Greasley to show they had been complied with and unanimously approved by the meeting. This was then signed by the chairman and the clerk.

Amenities Fund – this account, which is completely separate from all parish meeting accounts and is held by Bron Slack, exists to support up front expenses for Sheldon Day.

B Greasley, the financial officer, explained the draft precept item by item. The increase over last year’s precept will be just £20, giving a total precept for 2003-4 of £900. This works out at approximately £23.08 for a Band D property, which is slightly less than the current year. The contingency fund of £100 was voted on and agreed unanimously as a proper amount to allow for any unforseen difficulties and to ensure that we moved towards a suitable and prudent contingency fund build up.

It was proposed by J Naden and seconded by R Swindell to accept the draft precept of £900. This was carried unanimously.

D Davies agreed to obtain an estimate for grass cutting of both the greens and the playing field for the year 2003-4.

The chairman thanked the finance officer for all his excellent work in preparing the accounts and maintaining good finances for the Parish meeting.

Severn Trent Water have been twice to flush out the drains and have checked them with cameras. This problem now seems to have been largely solved but the chairman asked people living at the top end of the village to let him know if any smell is noticed.

Kirkdale – The chairman reported that it has been agreed in principle by the PDNPA, Derbyshire County Council and Chatsworth Estates to build a footbridge over the river Wye on Chatsworth land which will then be part of a re-directed right-of-way from the A6 to the bridge linking up on the other river bank with the existing footpath. This will make the Kirkdale road much safer with pedestrians being given another footpath on which to walk so that they miss the dangerous bend by the river. A site meeting will be held on 27^th November to finalise the details and final approval will then be sought from Chatsworth Trustees. Ashford in the Water Parish Council, in whose parish this land is, have been kept informed and fully support this project. The parish meeting decided that there would be no benefit in a separate footpath on the left-hand side of the road which leads off the A6 towards Sheldon.

Trees on the first bend at the bottom of Kirk Dale have been attended to by PDNPA. It is hoped that agreement can soon be reached regarding removing the remaining trees on the second bend after further negotiation with the owner of the land.

84.02 Playing Field

The chairman stated that there is a strong possibility of the electric cables being moved underground before next Sheldon Day.

Substantial grants are available, but one of the main conditions is that there is in place a properly constituted committee structure.

It was agreed that the Playing Field Committee should be renamed to take account of these new developments and meet and agree a formal constitution which will be submitted to the next parish meeting for approval.

The meeting asked, and the chairman agreed to discuss with the owner of Holmdene the way in which the new garden area between his boundary and the small car park layby be returned to village green. The original agreement was that this area would be used purely for planting bulbs in the existing green.

It was reported that some of the stones surrounding the greens have become loose. This is felt to be a safety issue and the chairman agreed to speak the officer at the PDNPA who managed the greens refurbishment project to try to find a remedy.

The chairman also agreed to investigate the possibility of white lines being painted along each side of the road through the village to aid visibility during foggy weather. Members at the meeting also asked that residents not park on the road unnecessarily during bad weather. It can be dangerous driving through the village in the dark.

This has been carried out voluntarily by Mrs C Davies since the formation of the Parish Meeting. The chairman felt that this position should be made official and an honorarium offered. It was proposed by R Lord, seconded by R Swindell and agreed unanimously that Mrs Christine Davies should be officially appointed clerk to Sheldon Parish Meeting. Mrs Davies has accepted this position. The chairman thanked Mrs. Davies for all her hard work and pointed out her importance in the efficient running of the Parish. He also expressed the thanks of the meeting that Mrs. Davies has agreed to continue in the post.

The chairman informed the meeting that he had received notification from the planning section of the PDNPA about planning enforcement notices being prepared for issue to the occupier of Home Farm concerning a) unauthorised use of land for the storage of motor vehicles; b) installation of a gas tank without the necessary planning permission; and c) conversion of a barn to residential accommodation without necessary planning permission. The fourth issue: the storage and assembly of ring binders which was also investigated by PDNPA was found to be outside the provisions of planning enforcement because of the length of time this activity had been in operation.

J Naden reported back to the meeting on the Parish Councils Day which was held on 12^th October 2002.