Parish Council Minutes

Little Milton Parish Council

Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 23rd April  2008

in Pine Lodge, Little Milton 

 

Present:                                                   

                                                                Cllr. Stuart McGill (Chairman)

                                                                Cllr. Barry Coward

                                                                Cllr. Alison Shelton

                                                                Cllr. David Wakeling

                                                                Cllr. Tim Robinson

                                                                Mr Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)

 

                                                                There were two members of the public present.

 

13/04/08     Apologies for Absence:      Cllr. Mabel Wood, Mr David Turner ( County Councillor )

 

14/04/08     Declaration of any personal or prejudicial interests of members

 

                    The following interests were declared by Council members

                    Cllr. Stuart McGill      -          a personal interest in the Village Hall and shop related matters

                    Cllr. Alison Shelton   -            a personal interest in shop related matters

 

The Clerk confirmed that, after a consultation with Mrs Margaret Reed and Steven Corrigan of SODC, Cllr Barry Coward did not have a personal interest in either the village hall or shop related agenda items due to his wife’s membership of both bodies.

 

15/04/08     Extension to Village Hall to incorporate a shop and post office

 

Cllr. Stuart McGill and Cllr Alison Shelton declared a prejudicial interest in this agenda item and joined the members of the public. Cllr Barry Coward took over the chair.

 

The Chairman explained the reasons why the Council meeting had been convened as result of a meeting of the Shop Liaison Group meeting on the 16th April 2008. He stated that although there had been a request from the Village Hall Management Committee to extend the hall to incorporate a shop and post office and to which the Parish Council had agreed to in principle, the situation had been complicated by the possibility that the Village Hall would be required to charge the shop a commercial rent. Cllr Stuart McGill indicated that the IPS could not afford a commercial rent in the short term and very unlikely in the longer term.

 

The Clerk briefly explained the various options as to how the project could be managed. The option whereby the Parish Council granted a lease on the land designated for the extension to the IPS to allow it to build and equip the extension was the option that the Parish Council were being asked to consider. The Chairman asked Cllr Stuart McGill the advantages of this option. He stated that it was a less complicated option and gave the IPS more freedom. The Chairman referred to the lease between the Parish Council and the Orchard Pre-School where a similar arrangement was in place and highlighted a number of clauses within the lease in respect of non-assignment and termination. The Chairman stated that these would be matters that the Council would need to consider if it pursued this option.

 

The Council sought clarification on the funding differences as a result of the ability to recover VAT if the IPS funded the project compared to the Village Hall option where any VAT on the building would not be recoverable as the extension/annexe would not be zero rated for VAT purposes. However there was an opportunity to recover tax if the donation made by Mr & Mrs Mogford was gift-aided to the village hall. The end result was that both options broadly generated the same level of funding after taking account of VAT recovery and possible tax recovery on gift aid.

 

The Clerk explained that the Parish Council if it obtained Quality Council Status would have more powers to support the IPS than at present but he could not guarantee that the Council would be granted the power although it was highly probable. However it was recognised that a future Parish Council may not be able to maintain its Wellbeing powers if it failed to meet the required criteria. The power of Wellbeing could allow the Parish Council to give a grant to the IPS if it received a higher rent from the Village Hall as a result of a commercial rent being charged by the Village Hall to the IPS. This would mitigate the effect of the rent on the IPS.

 

The Council concluded that it wished to ensure that the IPS was successful at acceptable risks to all the parties involved. The two options under consideration had no material financial differences but there were potential issues for the Parish Council under the option of a lease of the land between the Council and the IPS although it had advantages for the IPS. The Council RESOLVED that it would explore at the same time the option that would allow the village hall to build the extension and have a sub-lease with the IPS and the option that would set up a lease on the land designated for the extension with the IPS and the IPS building and equipping the extension. It was also RESOLVED that a robust risk analysis should be undertaken to determine the Parish Council risks under both options. Before the Council would seek legal advice it required confirmation on the following points:-

 

·         The position of the Village Hall Managements Committee in respect of both options and it was RESOLVED that a letter should be sent to the Chairman of the Village Hall.

 

·         The need to have in writing confirmation that grants applied for on behalf of the Village Hall can be transferred to the IPS. This work would be undertaken by Mr Stuart McGill .

 

·         The Clerk was asked to seek confirmation that the current planning approval was valid for both options.

 

Councillors Stuart McGill and Alison Shelton re-joined the meeting.

 

16/04/08     Exchange of Information

 

The Clerk asked that the Council give consideration to an issue that occasionally arises when the Village Hall is hired to third parties. The recreation ground is not part of the hire but hirers sometimes wish to use it for related activities of their hall hire. The Council need to give the booking secretary of the village hall guidance. This matter will be included on the agenda of the next Parish Council meeting.

 

The Council confirmed that it would provide wine and soft drinks for the Annual Parish meeting on May 14th 2008.

 

17/04/08    Date of Next Meeting

 

The Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 14th May 2008 at 8.15 p.m. in The Pine Lodge Little Milton unless there is a need to convene any planning or other meetings. This will be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and it will be preceded by the Annual Parish Meeting at 7.00 p.m.

 

The meeting finished at 8.07 p.m.

 

Parish Forum

 

                There were no matters raised under this agenda item

Signed by Chairman…………………………………………………Date