Meeting of the Parish Council 7th November 2024 Minutes

Dawn Lacey — Parish Clerk & RFO

claygate PARISH COUNCIL

caring for Claygate Village

Claygate Parish Council

Claygate Village Hall

Church Road

Claygate

Surrey KT10 0JP

☎ 07741 848 719

email: clerk@claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk

website: www.claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk

15th November 2024

MINUTES OF THE CLAYGATE PARISH COUNCIL Meeting held on Thursday 7th November 2024 at 8.30pm

Present:	Chair: Cllr Holt
Council Members:	Cllr Bingham, Cllr Bray, Cllr Coffey, Cllr Collon, Cllr Freeborn, Cllr French, Cllr Herbert, Cllr Moon, Cllr Sheppard
In attendance:	Dawn Lacey (Parish Clerk & RFO) Seven members of the public including Elmbridge Councillor Rollins

1.	To accept apologies for absence.
	None.

2.	To receive Declarations of Interest in items on the agenda.
	None.

3.	To confirm the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Thursday 10th October 2024
	There were two adjustments made to the minutes. These were signed and dated by Cllr Holt. ACTION: Clerk to update minutes on the CPC website.

4.	Actions from the previous meeting held on Thursday 10th October
	Item 5:1 Completed Item 5:3 Completed Item 14:1 In progress ACTION – Clerk to get a much better breakdown of what is covered by CIL and what isn’t ACTION – Chair to contact John Smith at HTC Item 14:2 Ongoing Item 15 Completed Item 16 Completed Item 20 Ongoing Item 21 Ongoing

5.

To answer any questions from the general public.

a: Why do the Accounting Statements for 23/24 show Staff Costs going down when in reality the financial year was an exceptionally expensive one for Clerk-related expenses? Cllr Holt explained that due to the advice of PKF Littlejohn and Scribe we are unable to show consulting fees on our statements. b: In view of the rosy financial picture depicted in the Accounting Statements for 23/24, why did the Parish Council see the need to increase the precept at all this year—let alone by 12%, when both Elmbridge and Surrey increased their council taxes by just 3%? Cllr Holt explained that the Precept had been unchanged for eight years before the increase was put in place, making money extremely tight indeed for core services, especially following the high levels of inflation we have recently experienced. c: Why is the Parish Council considering a grant of £50k to Holy Trinity? Cllr Collon explained that we are considering the application because it has been made. But it has not yet been decided. Cllr Collon also explained that this is not an application for a grant from the Parish Council but an application for CIL funding.

6.	To receive a report of EBC’s Oversight & Scrutiny Committee & agree action as appropriate.
	Cllr French reported that if there are any concerns about strychnine that they need to send a complaint to the Clerk who will forward this to the appropriate channels. Apart from this there wasn’t any action for CPC.

7.	To receive a report of EBC Audit’s and Standards.
	The meeting was cancelled and so there was nothing to report.

8.	To receive a report from the Planning Committee.
	Cllr Sheppard reported that the Inspector considers the Elmbridge Local Plan unsound and that a full revision of housing numbers in accord with the Government’s existing standard calculation is required. EBC have written to the Inspector asking for an extension of 12–15 months to re-complete their plans.

9.

To receive a report from the EHT Committee.

With reference to the Minutes of the last EHT committee meeting on 3rd October, Cllr Bray made the following main points: a. The new governance structure created to enable the continuation of CTWF work under the CPC umbrella is now well developed, though some “bedding in” is probably still required. In particular, advisory groups need to get approvals from relevant Committees before proceeding with initiatives. b. There is to be a Green Elmbridge networking event at HTC on Nov 20th. It is being run by Peter Stevenson, leader of the Environment and Sustainability group. c. The idea of a possible community garden off Coverts Road was discussed. It was agreed that, working from previous correspondence by Peter Stevenson, Cllr Bray should write to The Crown Estate to try to determine their current position. d. Cllr Bray had welcomed Ben Full to the EHT Committee, as leader of the Traffic and Parking Advisory Group. e. The potential new bench for The Parade—and initiative being driven by Cllr Holt—was noted.

10.	To receive an update from Claygate The Way Forward (CTWF) on the meeting held on 25th September.
	Cllr Bray noted that the main point of this meeting was that Dawn Crewe had undertaken to launch a piece of work—to be distinct and separate from the current “New Vision for Claygate” work—to develop and promote a number of options for the future of Torrington Lodge Car Park.

11.	To confirm arrangements for Remembrance Sunday on November 10th.
	Cllr Bray confirmed that everything is in place. The Clerk has sent the invitation letters to leading residents to lay wreaths on the day. Cllr Moon and Cllr Coffey will erect the large RBL poppies around the village. Letters to residents—informing them of the event and road closure—will be distributed 10 days before the event.

12.	To provide an update on the requested tree surgery work on the Meadow Road village green
	This was completed during Item 14 which was moved to earlier in the meeting at Cllr Bray’s discretion.

13.

To discuss the Weeds and Kerbs and Pavements and to agree the next steps.

Cllr Bray is still waiting for a response from SCC Leader Tim Oliver. Cllr Bray noted that SC Cllr Sugden had tabled a member's question on the matter in the SCC meeting of Oct 8th and also—by later email—that the matter was raised by other SC Cllrs later in that meeting. He also noted that the Clerk and he had made presentations to two recent SALC Zoom meetings: one for Clerks, another for Cllrs. It was agreed that Cllr Bray would discuss next steps with SC Cllr Sugden, one of which might be a further letter. He also noted that Matt Furniss has said that he is more than happy to come and visit with individual Councils. Proposed by Cllr Bray and seconded by Cllr Sheppard. Carried unanimously.

14.

To discuss any grant applications that have been received.

i: An application was received by Holy Trinity Church for their Way Maker churchyard project. It requested CIL funding for £50,000 which would cover approximately 20% of the overall costs of the project. Councillors put their questions regarding the project to John Smith and general discussion ensued. It was agreed—most importantly—that the Clerk would ascertain from EBC which aspects of the project qualify for CI—for the CIL-qualifying parts of the project. It was agreed to revisit this application at our meeting in December giving the church time to find out more information and resubmit to the Council. ACTION: Clerk ii: An application was received from Michael O’Brien regarding the tree surgery work on the Meadow Road village green. (As per item 12 on the agenda.) An estimate of £936 had been received from Elmbridge Tree Services Ltd for the work to be completed. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact them regarding this and organise a date for the work to be completed. The Clerk will stay in touch with Mr O’Brien regarding this. Proposed by Cllr Bray and seconded by Cllr Collon. Carried unanimously. ACTION: Clerk iii: An application has been received from Claygate Village Association for the Christmas Tree on the Green for £480 including VAT. This was proposed by Cllr Bray and seconded by Cllr Collon. Cllr Herbert abstained from voting. All other councillors agreed.

15.	To report on finalisation of the external audit for 2023/2024.
	The Clerk reported that this has now been finalised and everything is correct. The accounts will be added to the CPC Website over the next couple of weeks. ACTION: Clerk

16.	To review the Quarterly Financials and Budget and sign off the reconciliation for September.
	These were discussed and agreed to be fine. The September reconciliation is still to be signed off. ACTION: Clerk

17.

Green Elmbridge networking event being held on Wednesday 20th November.

NVA Peter Stevenson has been asked for a breakdown of costs for this event—especially as regards hospitality—so these can be approved. The hire of the venue is already known to be £135. Payment for this was proposed by Cllr Bray and seconded by Cllr Sheppard and carried unanimously. ACTION: NVA Peter Stevenson will send an estimate of hospitality costs to the Clerk in order for them to be approved in the next meeting in November.

18.	To confirm the 2025/2026 Budget.
	Due to the absence of Cllr Holt and Cllr Moon this item has been postponed to our next meeting.

19.	Approval of the Courier.
	Peter Whitehead will be sending a copy of this to Cllr Collon for proofreading and then to Councillors for signing off and sending to print.

20.	To confirm whether we can apply for a £1,000 grant from the Elmbridge Community Fund towards the development of the 'This is Claygate' website.
	On discussion it was agreed that we should be able to apply for this grant and will ask Cllr Holt to do this. ACTION: Cllr Holt.

21.	Matters for Information purposes only.
	There were two points on the agenda for this. Parish Council and 'This is Claygate' website and an Update on the New Bench on the Parade. Both points were postponed until the November meeting when Cllr Holt will be with us. ACTION: Cllr Holt

22.	Date of the next meeting.
	The next meeting will be held on Thursday 7th November at Claygate Village Hall, Small Hall, Church Road at 7.30pm.