Parish Council December 2015 Meeting Agenda

WITHIEL PARISH COUNCIL

Members of Withiel Parish Council are hereby summoned to attend: Withiel Parish Council Meeting, Village Hall

Wednesday, 2nd December 2015 at 7.15 pm

Members of the Parish and Public are invited to attend

Robin Turner, Parish Clerk, 26th November 2015

AGENDA

177/15 Attendance. 

178/15 Members Declaration of Interest and any requests for dispensations.

Councillors and members of the public co opted to serve on Council committees and sub committees who have registered a Dis-closable Pecuniary interest in relation to any item of business being transacted at a meeting, shall leave the room whenever the item is being discussed.

Councillors and members of the public co opted to serve on Council committees and sub committees who have declared a non Registrable interest, in relation to any item of business being transacted at a meeting, shall leave the room whenever the item is being discussed.

179/15 Invitation to address the meeting:

 Cllr Batters, Cornwall Council, PCSO Andrea Crocker, members of the public.

180/15 To approve the minutes of the extraordinary meeting of 11th November 2015. 

181/15 To consider matters arising from minutes of 11th November 2015 which are not agenda

items below. 

182/15 Finance matters:

– Approval of accounts payable as per schedule. (Schedule to be distributed at meeting).

– Finance officers report.

– To discuss and approve amount for 2016/17  Precept notification to Cornwall Council.

– To approve appointment of Mr P R H Roberts as auditor for 2015/16 annual internal audit of Withiel Parish Council and fee payable in this regard of £80.

183/15 Planning: To consider and approve a comment for the planning application listed below and any others received prior to the evening of the meeting.

None received as at 26th November 2015.

For further details about any planning application, note the reference number and go to the

Cornwall Council website http://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/

184/15 Planning: To report planning decisions of the planning authority received prior to the evening of the meeting.

None received as at 26th November 2015

185/15 To adopt a Withiel Council policy statement for S106 grant strategy. 

186/15 To discuss and consider a S137 grant to Withiel Playing Fields Association in the sum of £700 for the installation of Wi-Fi facilities to the village hall for the benefit of Withiel Parish. 

187/15 To discuss the current vacancy for a member of Withiel Parish Council. 

188/15 Correspondence: Various correspondence that may be received prior to the evening of the meeting and not included as an agenda item above. 

189/15 Invitation of members of the public to address the meeting. 

190/15 Advise dates of next normal meetings as being 6th January 2016, 3rd February 2016 and 2nd March 2016.

 

Re agenda item 185/15 

Withiel Parish Council’s Policy in respect of handling S106 Grants.  CALC have suggested we agree a strategy for these disbursements.

WPC is considering applications for grants from the S106 Fund held by Cornwall Council, and currently amounting to about £20,000.

Overarching Policy

WPC should disburse funds to organizations who fall into the following categories:

• Community
• Sporting
• Education

and who have:

• Written Constitutions or a Trust Document
• Trustees
• Bank Account
• Audited Accounts
• Charity Number or Exemption Therefrom

Detailed Policy

Community

The two community organisations that fulfil these requirements and hold property are:

Withiel Parochial Church Council.  Withiel PCC maintain a 800 year old, Grade One Listed, Church which was last valued at £2.7M.  They do this without assistance from Truro Diocese with money raised from the village at various events held throughout the year.  Indeed, they contribute £5K a year to the Diocese before they start funding building projects and maintenance.  They may from time to time need help with this.  However, they have recently spent £190,000 on the Roof and Tower and £40,000 on the Organ.  While there are always projects to hand, it is unlikely that they will need to call on S106 Grants in the near future.  There is no question of using S106 money for Mission and Ministry purposes.

They are a charity exempt from Registration

Withiel Playing Fields Association

The WPFA Committee manages the Village Hall and Playing Field.  The Playing Field is currently the only sports infrastructure in the village.  Thus, The WPFA falls under two of the three funding categories: Community and Sports.

Letting income and charitable fundraising fund the day-to-day cost of running the Hall.  Charitable fundraising (Autumn Show, Johnny Cowling, Pantomime, Auction of Promises etc) is necessary because the letting rate for village institutions with members on the WPFA committee is less than cost.  These institutions are:

• Bell Ringers
• Bowls Club
• PC
• PCC
• Ruthern Valley Players
• WI
• Yoga

It follows first that these institutions represent the whole village, and that the hall has to fund improvements for its building through applications to grant making bodies, such as the Withiel Parish Council’s S106 fund.  Recent projects include:

 

Project	Funder	Cost
Swings	Awards for All	£10,000
Gas pipe replacement	Self Funded	£4,500
Installation of Air Sourced Heat Pump Heating	S106	£10,000

 

Future project for the next five years include:

 

Project	Funder	Cost
Defibrillator	FLEET	£4,000
Router and Telephone (in support of above)	WPC S137 Grant (Plan Grant)Cllr Batters Community Chest	£1,050
Stage Curtain	S106 Grant applied For	£3,000
Window Curtains and re-decoration main hall	St Breock Wind Farm	£5,000
Disabled Toilet	Awards for All	£10,000
Kitchen Refurbishment	TBD	£15,000

 

The WPFA have Trustees, a bank account, and are registered with the Charity Commission with a Charity Registration Number.

Other Community Projects

S106 funds have been applied to low-level community projects to release further public funds.  An example is the Street Light Collector in the Village.  S106 funds may support the Village Magazine, and the Ruthern Valley Players.

Education

Although Withiel does not have a school or play group, a number of Withiel Children attend schools in Nanstallon and St Wenn.  These institutions could apply for S106 grants if they have a suitable project to fund for which public funding is not available.

Conclusion

The WPFA is required to support the village by providing a vital asset – a modern, well-maintained Village Hall.

The Hall and the Church are the only substantial assets in the village “owned” by the community.  This paper shows that it is unlikely that the Church will require to draw down S106 funds.

It follows that the WPFA require the bulk, but not necessarily all, of the S106 grants from the Retire Solar Farm and the St Breock Wind Farm to improve their Hall and keep it up to date for the benefit of the Village.

The Council will make grants in accordance with these principles.

End