PEN-Y-FFORDD COMMUNITY COUNCIL

 

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting held in the War Memorial Institute on

Tuesday 30th July 2019

 

Present:               Councillors Mr J Priddin, Mr D Walker, Mrs P Ransome, Mr P Blackman, Mrs M Jones, Mr D Williams,

Absent:                Cllrs Dr J Smith-Bellis, Ms C Hinds, Mr R Wakelam

In attendance:      Mrs S Hughes, Clerk & RFO to the Council

Due to the absence of both the Chairman and Vice Chairman, Cllr Walker proposed for Cllr Priddin to preside at the meeting which was unanimously agreed.

101.          Apologies

 

Apologies were received from Councillors Mr A Wight, Mr R Bestwick, Mrs E Davies and Mr M Rothero

 

102.          Declarations of Interest

There were no Declarations of Interest received.

103.          Double Yellow Lines

Cllr Williams advised that unfortunately Mr Stanford was unable to attend the meeting.

 

He stated that since there has been an uproar regarding the double yellow lines and in particular the layby, he would agree that these are unreasonable and feels that the width of the layby is wide enough for visibility.

 

Cllr Priddin feels that the current situation is dangerous and that the layby should be removed with a pavement installed for a safe passage for pedestrians.

 

Cllr Williams advised that he and Cllr Hinds will be having a meeting on Friday 2nd   August with Steve Jones, Anthony Stanford, Sue Thomas and Ian Roberts whereby they will be looking at the whole infrastructure of the village.  He will email to all members details of what measure they will be proposing and for comments and additional suggestions.

 

Cllr Blackman commented that we need to ensure that there is a safe walkway for children to school.  At present the current situation means that children will be having to walk on either the road or car park which is unacceptable. Cllr Priddin also added that this safety concern also applies to all pedestrians.

 

In relation to the children walking to school, Cllr Walker asked Cllr Williams the progress of a school crossing?  Cllr Williams confirmed that he has received no further information.  Members expressed serious concern and although a letter was sent to FCC and a response received in June, a further letter should be sent as there is now only 4 weeks until the school opens and there has been no consultation on the implementation of a crossing.

 

Cllr Blackman expressed the community council needs to make sure that they do all they can possibly do to ensure that FCC provide the necessary school crossings for the safety of the children in advance of the school opening.

 

RESOLVED: Cllrs Williams and Hinds will be meeting with FCC on Friday 2nd August to review infrastructure of the whole village.  In advance of the meeting Cllr Williams will circulate to all members the proposal and seek any additional comments of suggestions.

 

A letter will be sent to FCC regarding concerns of the school crossing.  A copy will also be passed to Mrs Mulvey, Headteacher of Ysgol Penyffordd, circulated to all members and a copy will be uploaded to the councils website.

104.          Penyffordd War Memorial Refurbishment Project (Section 106 Agreement)

 

                       i.   The Clerk reported as the council did not receive any tenders she sought advice from the SLCC.  As the council have fulfilled their responsibility of an invitation to tender, the council/WMI are able to liaise/approach contractors for quotations. 

                      ii.   The Clerk had been passed two costings from Ms Hubber, one of which is incomplete and the other, on advice from Chris Rhodes (Lovelock Mitchell), further discussions would need to be had as there are discrepancies and some costs quoted are extremely high.

 

The Clerk has liaised with Chris Rhodes and Stuart Guy who both feel that no appointment of contractor can be made at this stage. 

 

The recommendation from Chris Rhodes would be that no decision is made from this meeting, as no tenders were received it has changed the purpose of this meeting.  He suggested that a meeting/interview is held with the contractor who has provided a quote to go through the quotation line by line to review costs and ensure that they fully understand what is expected from Phase 1.  The quote they have been given he feels may include additional works due to the fact the total was in excess of the £200k.  He was expecting the quote for Phase 1 to be in the region of £140-£150k which would include foundation, brickwork, windows, roof – basically making the building water tight.

 

Cllr Priddin expressed concern that there was limited information due to individuals with the knowledge not being able to attend the meeting.

 

Cllr Williams again stated that he would be willing to assist the WMI in obtaining grants, but he has not been approached to do this.

 

Cllr Williams proposed that the council write to the WMI requesting them to obtain 3 quotations for each phase of the project.

 

                     iii.  With regard to the installation of a new gate access, 3 companies were approached to provide quotes, however, only 1 was received back and presented to the council for the sum of £1950.  The information which had been provided was limited and therefore members unanimously agreed that they were unsure of the exact works and were unable to compare costings.

 

RESOLVED:

                       i.   No tenders were received.

                      ii.   Due to the limited information, and the recommendations from Chris Rhodes and Stuart Guy, the Council at this stage will not be appointing a contractor.  The Council will request the WMI to obtain and provide 3 quotations for each phase of the project and express that Cllr Williams is willing to assist them in obtaining grants.

                     iii.  It was unanimously agreed that there was not enough information to make an informed decision.  Further information will be requested from the WMI.

 

105.          Accounts for Payment

To authorise the following accounts for payment:

Payment Method

Payee

Details

Amount

int

Flintshire Crane Hire

Install and deliver 2 x portacabins - Abbotts Lane

£14,400.00

int

Staffing Costs

Jul-19

 

£1,920.74

int

Mr G Davies

Bin Bags

 

£3.98

int

Mrs S Hughes

Stationery, Travel, General Admin etc

£14.63

Int - Internet Banking

£16,339.35

 

Cllr Williams informed members that there has been an issue of the roof leaking from one of the portacabins which Flintshire Crane Hire are addressing.  He proposed that until the work has been completed to a satisfactory state, that a proportion of the payment should be held back.

RESOLVED: the above accounts be processed for payment and was signed by two bank signatories. The Council agreed to make a part payment of £10,000 to Flintshire Crane Hire and as soon as the roof has been repaired the remaining payment of £4,400 will be processed.

106.          Members Items (AOB)

Cllr Blackman raised a safety concern that the Street Operative has been seen working along the bypass. Whilst his dedication is commendable, he is not required to clear this area for his own safety.

RESOLVED: the Clerk will liaise with the Street Operative immediately.

The extraordinary meeting was closed at 7.45pm

 

Chair………………………………………………….. 11th September 2019