Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed representatives to the meeting.

The Chairman to inform Members of the Public of the emergency evacuation procedure.

This was noted

The minutes of the last Parish Liaison Meeting held on 13 October 2009 were presented.

            Resolved

            That the minutes of the Parish Liaison Meeting held on 13 October      2009 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Neil Irving, Head of Policy and Partnerships for North Yorkshire County Council, will be presenting this item and taking any questions.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Mr Neil Iriving, Head of Policy and Partnerships for North Yorkshire Council who had submitted a report (previously circulated) in connection with the proposal to develop a Parish Charter between North Yorkshire County Council, parish/town councils/parish meetings (and district councils) and an agreement setting out the respective roles and obligations. 

Mr Irving gave a brief presentation on the proposal which had first been put to YLCA member parish/town councils in January of this year.  Since that time a slightly amended draft version of the charter had been produced to reflect feedback arising from YLCA branch meetings that had been held, and this was appended to the report.

It was reported  that the overall response rate had been poor and parishes were urged to respond, either collectively or individually,  before the closing date of Thursday 15 July 2010.

The purpose of the charter was to improve communications and working relationships between parishes and local authorities.  It set out in one document what parishes could expect from NYCC and what NYCC should be able to expect in return.  It also set out arrangements for parish/town councils to have a greater influencing role in the county’s community planning processes via Parish Plans.

It was considered that the parish charter was well drafted, with something in it for every parish, however small.

It was emphasised that service delegation was a choice issue and that services would be delegated only if the parish/town council could deliver the service at the present standard or above.  There would be no additional cost to parishes as the necessary funding would be provided by NYCC provided that the service could be delivered at no extra cost when compared to the current service provision. 

An area outlined in the parish charter were proposals for the hosting of information and access points, which was thought to be of particular interest to parish councils in rural areas.  NYCC would be unable to provide funding for this but could provide officer time. 

In response to a question from the floor, it was confirmed that Ryedale District Council currently had two charters – one for town councils and one for parish councils.  Plans were in progress to develop a charter for parish meetings, as each of the three types of councils had difrferent needs.  The current proposals from NYCC added to, rather than detracted from, the existing arrangements.

Resolved

That the report be noted.

Clare Slater, Head of Transformation for Ryedale District Council, will update the meeting.

Clare Slater, Head of Transformation, presented a brief report on the current position relating to the Petition Schemes which were to be adopted by both Ryedale District Council and North Yorkshire County Council.  The purpose of the schemes was to encourage communities to petition on particular areas of concern.  It was agreed that, in view of the detailed nature of the scheme, a summary would be forwarded to town/parish councils.

Resolved

That the report be noted

Gary Housden, Planning Services Manager, will update the meeting on progress to date and the next steps. 

Gary Housden, Head of Planning, reported on the progress to date and next steps with regard to the Local Development Framework. 

Since the last Parish Liaison meeting a series of meetings of the Council had been held relating to the Draft Core Strategy; Sustainability & Appraisal; the Council’s responses to the consultation event held last summer.

There would be a six week consultation period with all consultees on the data base, followed by a period of appraisal, with the final document being submitted to Council on 29 July.

A question was raised about the implications of recent government announcements relating to RSS and, as this had not yet been formally abolished, it remained as part of the development plan.

Questions were also raised on affordable housing and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and these were taken on board.

Gary Housden, Planning Services Manager, will introduce the new public access system for viewing documents associated with planning applications. Members of the planning services team will be demonstrating the system for parish representatives following the formal section of the meeting.

The Planning Services Manager introduced Karen Hood (Senior Technical Officer) and Sally Dobson (Systems Officer) who gave a presentation on the new public access system for the electronic viewing of documents associated with planning applications.  The system had gone live in March of this year and it was reported that Ryedale had a high number of electronic applications compared to other districts.

The Planning Services Team would demonstrate the system for parish representatives following the formal part of the meeting.

Beckie Bennett, Streetscene Manager, will be launching the new information pack and members of the Streetscene team will be available to meet parish representatives and answer any service queries following the formal section of the meeting.

Beckie Bennet, Streetscene Manager, reported that a new information pack relating to work undertaken by Streetscene was to be launched.  Copies were available for representatives and members of the Streetscene team were available to meet parish representatives and answer any service queries following the formal part of the meeting.

In response to a question from the representative from Amotherby Parish Council in relation to the most recent call box consultation, the Head of Planning Services reported on the current position with communications with BT, and was able to respond to individual questions on this matter at the end of the meeting.

Questions were also raised relating to Government recommendations that planning issues be dealt with at parish level.  This had not yet been decided and it could be that there would be a need for changes in secondary legislation, it was confirmed that any consultation papers received by the Council would be shared with parishes, as would any information.

The Chairman emphasised the importance of communicating by e mail wherever possible as this was the most cost effective, and asked representatives to provide the e mail address of the key contact at their parish.  It was acknowledged that a number of parishes had no Broadband connection and it was requested that parishes inform the Council if this was the case. 

There being no Other Business, the Chairman thanked representatives for their attendance and invited them to remain for refreshments and the informal demonstration of the Public Access System for Planning and to speak to the Streetscene Team about the service provided.

Date of next meeting 3 November 2010