May 2024 Minutes EOM
MINUTES OF SILK WILLOUGHBY EXTRAORDINARY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Held on Tuesday 7th May at 7.00pm in Silk Willoughby Village Hall
Councillors Present: Cllrs Bell, Roberts (Chair), Thackray, J. Wright and K. Wright
In attendance: D. Cllr Jackson, R. Boden (Clerk) and 26 members of the public.
AGENDA
Cllr Roberts explained that this was a Parish Council meeting and not a Village Hall Committee meeting. Members of the public can ask questions but if it is specifically regarding the VH then the PC will not be able to answer and it will have to be directed to the VH committee.
24048. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION
Questions or Points raised by residents and members of the public. A member of public commented that the footpath along School Lane and around Rowan Drive is in very bad condition and wanted to know if it is going to be upgraded. Footpaths are the responsibility of Highways and LCC and the PC have not heard of any upgrades.
COUNCIL SESSION
24049. Apologies for Absence: To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting. All Cllrs were present
24050. Declarations of Interest: To receive Declarations of Pecuniary Interests of all parish councillors. There were no declarations of interest.
24051. To discuss the future of the Village Hall and Post Office. Cllr Roberts gave an update on the room above the VH and explained what advice the PC had taken. A meeting had been held on the 26th April between the VHC and some of the Cllrs. At this meeting concern over insurance had been raised. This covered the insurance for both the VH and the PO and this was the reason the PO was closed on the 29th. It was reported that this had been sorted on the Monday and the PO reopened on the Tuesday.
Over that weekend 3 trustees had resigned with immediate effect and this had left only 2 trustees. As they are no longer quorate the remaining trustees had decided to close the charity and were in the process of speaking with the Charity Commission.
As custodial trustees the PC have a duty to look after the building and therefore a fire door has been installed and locked, with the PC holding the keys. The room that had been set up as a bedroom has now been emptied.
Both the PC and VHC have been working very hard on this and it is still very fluid. Moving forward the VH needs to know who will be the contact for the utilities and who needs to be added to the banking mandate.
It was resolved that the clerk will be the contact for the utilities.
It was resolved that Cllr Roberts and the clerk will be added to the banking mandate and then when the charity closes those trustees will be removed.
It was then discussed if the PC are willing to take on the PO. The parishioner that has previously paid the rent for the PO to the VH no longer wishes to pay it due to the way that the VHC is being run. In the short term the VHC are happy for the PO to stay open with no rent being paid. If the PC doesn’t take on the PO then a letter to vacate will be initialised.
Cllr Roberts has spoken to Victoria Giles at HLM and a commercial agreement is required rather than the occupational license that is in place at the moment.
It was resolved that the PC take on the PO. The clerk had explained to the Cllrs that the PC do not have a power to pay the rent of an individual business.
It was resolved for Cllr Roberts to contact HLM regarding the PO agreement.
Residents asked if they could ask further questions.
• Is it too late for the VHC to add members, as people have posted on social media that they are willing to help. This is something that needs to be discussed with the VHC and for the trustees to speak to the charity commission and decide to either keep it open/close it down.
• Who is cleaning the VH at the moment. The hall has a cleaner come in once a week.
• There are concerns that 3 trustees have resigned. Are there other problems that are not being spoken about? Everything has been explained and there is nothing else.
• Is the VH financially viable or are they in trouble? Yes, it is all financially ok.
A former trustee explained that they were advantages/ disadvantages of being it is a charity. They explained that the CC had insisted that the PO be asked for rent. Cllr Roberts stated that the PC will not take on the charity.
A resident asked what was the PC intent to the running of the clubs etc if they took on the VH. Cllr Roberts explained that the PC does not have enough people to run the VH. At present the PC is reliant on the VHC to close the charity as this is not something that the PC can do. Once the VH comes back under the PC then the next steps can be looked into.
Cllr Roberts said that at present the Preschool at Quarrington is looking for new facilities and usually pay between £1,000- £1,400 a term using the building 4 days a week.
The issue regarding parking facilities has always been a problem but it is something that the PC is looking at. The previous chair had discussed it but nothing had come of it. Members of the public have been back to the PC asking for a car park. It has been placed on hold at the moment due to the VH.
24052. Date and Time of next meeting. To note the next meeting on the 30th May 2024 at 7.00pm in the village hall.
The meeting closed at 7.42pm