Matters Arising
·
Barley School
David Phipps was invited to attend the
meeting as he had recently taken over as Chairman of Barley School
Governors. The Parish Council is aware that there seems to be some
“history” between the Parish Council and the school. The Parish Council
is interested in the school and is anxious to establish a good rapport
and help where possible to move the school forward. It is aware that
numbers are falling and has heard comments that standards are also
falling.
David Phipps advised the meeting that
the County Council has accepted that it, and not the school, is
responsible for the cost of the Club Room dilapidations. The news was
welcomed by the Councillors.
Councillor Carlisle commented that it
was disappointing that the school had decided not to share a new Parish
Council/Scout Hut facility as the result would probably be that the
village had two new halls. David Phipps agreed that the village
probably did not need two new halls but said that there were
difficulties around shared use because of school security issues and
public access. It was suggested that the facility could be
partitioned. David Phipps said that the decision would be made at
County level as this would be financed from their budget. He did not
think that the County would fund a new school hall for at least five
years but might do so sooner if premises (and costs) were shared.
Councillor Carlisle asked whether the
County Council was sure that the school could definitely not use the
Club Room as it would have to spend money on that because of the
dilapidations as well as fund a new school hall. They have apparently
said no, both to continuing use and a shared new hall that would be too
far from the school for the children. It was agreed that the Parish
Council would revisit this with Hertfordshire County Council and that
David Phipps would ask the headteacher to speak to the County Council
about sharing premises.
The school governors want to open up
the school more to the public and will endeavour to reach out to the
community. An Open Day was held before the summer break but was not
well attended. David Phipps recognises that communication has been poor
and the governors have therefore brought in a communication plan.
It was suggested that a social event
could be held at the school to give the governors a chance to meet with
the Parish Councillors.
The school now has a full complement of
teachers and school numbers are at normal levels. The upper part of the
school suffers from older children moving to private education and
numbers did drop to 43. They are now at 45. There are concerns over
Royston middle schools and parents are choosing to put their children
into Cambridgeshire/Essex schools to avoid that. The situation is not
helped by the fact that Cambridgeshire and Essex have a two-tier system,
while the system in this part of North Hertfordshire is three-tier.
This year sees an abandonment of the
legacy system (where children with siblings already at a school were
given an automatic place) and there is now virtually no choice of middle
or senior schools.
Barley School had its best ever SATS
result this year with one area achieving the highest grade. All other
results were very good apart from attendance, which suffered from
parents taking their children out of school for holidays. The governors
have no control over teaching apart from being able to comment following
inspections.
·
War Memorial
The Clerk said that she is waiting for
Jack White to start work on the wall round the War Memorial, which he
had said that he would do in September. Councillor Elliott agreed to
speak to Mr White to find out when he would now begin the work.
·
Planning consent and s.106
agreement for Greenbury Close
District Councillor Howard Marshall has
spoken with John Welch of Howard Cottages who says that there is no
s.106 agreement in force. Furthermore, there is nothing in the
documentation to specify that this should be treated as affordable
housing only. It appears that the Parish Council was seriously misled
and that Howard Cottages have gone through the initial process as a
matter of practice, but there is no further control going forward. There
is therefore no additional designated affordable housing in the village.
Councillor Carlisle will write to North
Hertfordshire District Council and/or Howard Cottages for an explanation
of the position. The Clerk was asked to provide a copy of the minutes
of the meeting attended by Howard Cottages where these matters were
discussed. As the District Council was the vendor, Councillor Carlisle
will also take this up with District Councillor Howard Marshall
·
Highways
Bogmoor Road: The Clerk read out
e-mail correspondence between District Councillor Howard Marshall and
Adrian Redrup, Area District Manager for Hertfordshire Highways,
explaining the current position regarding the Bogmoor Road closure. The
project has apparently included several elements; a ground survey, soil
analysis and a scheme design with associated construction plans. The
initial designs are nearing completion and further site visits will be
made with the works team regarding construction. Once any issues are
resolved, the works should be programmed within this year’s schemes.
The Clerk confirmed that she had had a telephone conversation along
similar lines with Menfredi Giliberti who is the project area engineer.
However, he had commented that he could not say how long the whole
process would take and could not therefore say when Bogmoor Road was
likely to be reopened.
Gullies: Councillor Elliott has
checked the gullies down to Putty Hall Cottages and reported that these
have not been cleared. The Clerk will write to Hertfordshire Highways.
·
Public Footpaths
David Phipps was made aware that the
public footpaths round Crossways were being used by horses and was asked
to ensure that these were not brought through the gate leading from his
field.
·
The Club Room
The Clerk reported that she had been
contacted by Scottish and Southern Energy to say that that they supplied
the electricity to the Club Room. It was agreed to continue with this
supplier for the time being as there should be little electricity used.
Councillor Carlisle reported that a
settlement of the dilapidations claim against the County Council had
been proposed and provisionally agreed between the respective surveyors,
subject to client approval, at £34,000 ex VAT. The County Council will
have to pay VAT on top of this as the Parish Council has not opted to
tax the premises for VAT purposes.
It was agreed that the Parish Council
needed to explore the possibilities for the future use of the Club
Room. Councillor Carlisle will ask Bidwells to advise on possible
future uses having regard to the current market conditions.
Councillor Elliott reported that the
shed used by the school to the rear of the Club Room has now been moved.
Councillor Elliott confirmed that he
inspects the Club Room once a week, as required for insurance purposes.
·
Lock-Up
Councillor Smith reported that two
builders have been to examine the work required to the Lock-Up and he is
now waiting for them to send their quotations.
·
Hedges
The hedge at Homestall Cottage on
London Road still needs cutting back. The Clerk will write again to the
tenant and also to the owner.
