Draft minutes of AGM held on 18th May 2017

Draft minutes of AGM held on 18th May 2017

May 25th, 2017

Minutes of the Parish Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on:  18^th May 2017

Present:
Cllr Phil James (PJ – Chair)
Cllr Carol Berry (CB)
Cllr Geoff Carter (GC)
Cllr Martin Delaney (MD)
Cllr Chris Houghton (CH)
Cllr Alan Lingard (AL)

Clerk:  Mike Ainsworth (MA)

Members of the Public: None

Apologies:  Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; LCC Cllr Vivien Taylor

cc:  Parish Councillors; Joanne Porter (Wyre Council); Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Sue Pimbley;
LCC Cllr Vivien Taylor

Meeting opened:  20:00
Meeting closed:  20:15

Agenda

1. Minutes of the AGM held on Thursday 19^th May 2016
2. Matters Arising from the minutes of the 2015 AGM
3. Chairman’s Report
4. Election of Officers
5. Financial Report
6. Wyre Council Report
7. Any Other Business

Next meeting Scheduled for:  Thursday 17^th May 2018 at 8pm

Status:  DRAFT

1. Minutes of the AGM held on Thursday 19th May 2016
The elected members agreed that the minutes of the AGM of 19th May 2016 were a true record and were countersigned by the Chair Cllr. Phil James.

2. Matters Arising from the minutes of the 2016 AGM – none.

3. Chairman’s Report

INSKIP-WITH-SOWERBY PARISH COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

As is my practice, before putting pen to paper in writing this annual report I referred to my submission of 2015-16. As I began to read last year’s offering I soon got a sense of deja-vu as my opening paragraph made reference to fracking and housing development.

I then went on to say, and I quote, ‘As to where we’re up to with the aforementioned ongoing issues, this will be discussed during the course of this evening’s Parish Council Meeting but one thing I feel certain of is this: we won’t resolve any of them tonight.’

See what I mean?

Then, the other day, I heard a TV commentator, making reference to the forthcoming General Election, say ‘Four weeks is a long time in Politics’. Is it? Think about how long the fracking and the housing issues have been going on, and still are! Those are big issues to a small community such as ours, yet our elected ‘superiors’ allow them to drag on, and on. By ‘superiors’ I refer to those in office at Whitehall, County Hall and Breck Road. And I use the term ‘superiors’ because we, as a Parish Council, as the lowest form of democracy, have little, almost no power to get such issues sorted in more acceptable timescales.

Matters such as fracking and housing allocations are way beyond the control of the Parish Council, but we must continue to make our voice heard, as best we can, in the hope those who make the decisions, take note when making their deliberations.  As far as those deliberations are concerned, there at least appears to be light at the end of the tunnel with regard to the new Wyre Local Plan for 2011-2031. And before anyone asks, I did say 2011-2031. On a positive note however, it should be finalised this year, in which case it would only be six years late.

As for the fracking issue at nearby Roseacre Wood, clearly those in high places didn’t like it being turned down and it will now be the subject of another enquiry next April. I wonder, should by chance it be turned down again will there be a further enquiry and more enquiries until it is approved or am I just being a little too cynical?

Whatever the outcome on these and other issues I have every confidence that Inskip with Sowerby Parish Council will continue to do its best for the community despite, or in spite of, our limited powers and resources.

Finally, I’d like to record my appreciation to our Clerk, Mike Ainsworth and our Lengthsman, Andrew Maxfield for their sterling work throughout the year, something I hope my fellow councilors will fully endorse.

Thank you

Phil James
Chairman, Inskip-with-Sowerby Parish Council.                                            May 2017

4. Election of Officers

Cllr. Martin Delaney proposed that Cllr. Phil James should be elected to the position of Chairman of the Parish Council to server until the AGM in 2016. The proposal was seconded by Cllr. Carol Berry and was agreed unanimously. Cllr. Phil James elected to serve as the Parish Council Chair for the year 2017/18.

Cllr. Alan Lingard proposed that Cllr. Martin Delaney be elected to the position of Vice Chair; the proposal was seconded by Cllr. Phil James and was agreed unanimously. Cllr. Martin Delaney elected to serve as Vice Chair to the Parish Council for the year 2017/18.

5. Financial Report

5.1.    In line with previous years the Parish Clerk reported that the income, expenditure, and year-end balances for the previous 4 years were:

• Details of public land and building assets owned by the Parish Council: Carr House Green Common, an area of open land at Carrs Green, Inskip covering 60.37 acres, purchased in 1955 for the sum of £5. A number of commoners have rights to graze this land;
• Details of all items of expenditure over £100 – appended;
• It was also confirmed that the Annual Governance Statement, end of year accounts, and audit reports would also be published on the website in due course.

6. Wyre Council Report – none.

7. Any Other Business – none.

Details of all Items of Expenditure over £100