MINUTES OF EXTRA ORDINARY MEETING OF NEWBY AND SCALBY PARISH COUNCIL
to be held in the Committee Room, Community Hall, Scalby Road, Scalby,
on Wednesday, 24th March 2015 at 7pm.
PRESENT: Cllrs. D Bastiman, S Gething, Mrs G Kendall (Chairman till 7.04pm when left meeting), TW Miller (Chairman from 7.04pm), R Pickersgill, R Towse, Mrs D Wiles.
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Mrs J Marley (Clerk).
ABSENT: Cllrs. Mrs E Black, W Black, S Foote, Mrs C Snow, RI Thompson and B Watson.
The Chairman reminded those present that filming, photographing or audio recording of the proceedings was allowed – persons wishing to record were asked to notify the Clerk of their intention prior to the start of the meeting. In the interests of encouraging public participation, it was requested that anyone filming did not include members of the public “in shot”.
48/15 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Received & accepted from Cllrs. Mrs E Black and W. Black (visiting relatives abroad), Cllr. Foote (other commitment), Cllr. Mrs C Snow (family commitment), Cllr. R Thompson (prior commitment) and Cllr. Watson (poorly).
49/15 PROCEDURAL MATTER Cllr. Mrs Kendall proposed and it was resolved that Standing Order 7 be suspended until the end of April.
50/15 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
50/15.1 Cllr. Mrs Kendall declared a personal interest in agenda item 4 as her husband was Chairman of the Community Hall Trust. She stated that in the interests of openness and transparency it was her intention to leave the meeting for agenda item 4 even though she could have remained but not voted.
51/15 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
51/15.1 In the light of Cllr. Mrs Kendall’s Declaration of Interest and her intention to leave the room, it was necessary to elect a Chairman for the remainder of the meeting. Cllr. Mrs Kendall proposed and it was resolved that Cllr. TW Miller be Chairman for the remainder of the meeting.
At this point Cllr. Mrs Kendall handed chairmanship of the meeting to Cllr. Miller and she left the room at 7.04pm.
52/15 EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC
Resolved that in accordance with section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the next items of business on the grounds they involved the likely disclosure of information relating to an individual or the financial or business affairs of a person (including the authority) or was likely to reveal the identity of an individual.
53/15 LETTERS RECEIVED AFTER PREPARATION OF AGENDA
53/15.1 The Clerk handed all present a photocopy of a letter dated 24/3/15 from R. Kendall of Newby & Scalby Community Hall Trustees and addressed to all parish councillors. The letter was received & noted. It was resolved to respond “thank you for your letter of 24th March 2015 the contents of which are noted”.
53/15.2 On behalf of Cllr. Miller as Chairman of the meeting, the Clerk also read out an undated letter to the Chair of the Parish Council from R Kendall as Chair of the Trustees. The letter was received. It was noted the letter stated the hall trustees had decided not to attend tonight’s council meeting. As some of the trustees are also parish councillors, this brought into question the reasons for absence offered by some councillors and accepted by Council at Minute 48/15. Council resolved to let the previously accepted reasons for absence stand without change.
54/15 PROBITY & INTEGRITY
Received a verbal report from Cllr. Towse regarding the Council’s reputation and risk management concerns in respect of the Community Hall Trust’s recent problem with its staff. Members took the view the reputation, probity and integrity of both Council and Councillors was in danger of being compromised as the public’s perception is that the Community Hall is run by the Parish Council. Following a robust debate, it was resolved Council should seek alternative premises and full authority to obtain suitable premises, sign any necessary agreements and organise any move was delegated to the Clerk in consultation with Cllrs. Towse as Vice Chairman and Bastiman.
There being no further business on the agenda, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.15pm.