DRIGHLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

 

 

Clerk: D W Lacey 105 Rein Road

West Ardsley

Nr Wakefield

WF3 1JQ

Tel: Leeds (0113) 2532528

 

 

 

The monthly meeting of the Drighlington Parish Council was held on Monday 19 October 2009 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Hall, Moorland Road.

 

PRESENT

Councillors Thornton (Chair), Slater, Scholes, Day, Simpson, Brown, Wynn and the Clerk.  Cllr Finnigan, Leeds City Council, was also in attendance.  There were 26 members of the public present.  Police personnel in attendance were Sgt Hebden, PC Senior and PCSO Emmerson.   

 

APOLOGIES

Received from Ward Cllr Gettings and Cllr Warren

 

ABSENT

Cllr Felton.

 

MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER MEETING

The minutes of the previous meeting, which had been circulated, were proposed by Cllr Slater and seconded by Cllr Brown that they be accepted as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

MATTERS ARISING

See item further on headed Highways and presented by Cllr Brown.

 

POLICE MATTERS

 

Neighbourhood Policing Team

Once again, Sgt Hebden asked if Sgt Haigh reported on their pledge.  

 

Regarding Walton Drive and the area around Alisha’s. Alcohol has been seized youths taken home to parents and two arrest made. Police have attended on Friday and Saturday nights up to the time of the shop closing.  Some youths were told to disperse and one had a direction to leave order issued (48hrs). This remains a priority and patrols will continue in this area.

 

There have been fewer calls to the police re anti social behaviour.

 

There has been a burglary in King Street since the last meeting.  Enquiries are still on-going.

 

It was reported that Scooters are again being driven irresponsibly on Moorside Road, Moorland Road and King Street. Sgt Hebdon advised that we try to obtain reg. numbers if possible plus dates and times.

 

A resident reported that a white van had been seen driving around Dean Park estate. Again Sgt Hebdon asked that reg. numbers be reported to the NPT or the 0845 number.

 

 

 

HIGHWAYS

 

Co-op

Cllr Brown reported that there was little progress with regard to a recent meeting with Simon Booker and the improvements around the Co-op area. Simon will look at this in the next financial year. There are lots of legal processes to overcome e.g. consultation with shops, Arriva etc.

 

Whitehall Road

The mobile speed camera will shortly be in place. A resident reported new white lining had been carried out but hatchings were yet to be done.

Dean Park Drive

A resident mentioned that a hole in the road was repaired within two days of being reported via e mail.

 

Drighlington by Pass

The Parish Council has received an e mail from a motorist with regard to turning right from the By Pass onto Station Road and the dangers faced by traffic overtaking at this point. We have replied that all safety measures have been implemented, and further work is not envisaged.

 

PARKS

Beeches Nursery are to supply free, 200 pansies for the flower bed near the notice board in Whitehall Road, in return for advertisements in the newsletter. Mark, a local gardener, will plant them.

 

Victoria (aged 7) a pupil at Drighlington Primary School has designed a sign for the park gate and has been presented with a voucher for her efforts.  It is hoped to obtain funding towards the cost.

 

The closure spring recently fitted to the gate by LCC is considered to be of no use. Contact has been made to LCC and a site visit will take place.

 

DROPPED KERBS

Cllr Finnigan (LCC) asked where the dropped kerbs should be placed. Leeds City Council will then look into our request. A list will be prepared by Cllr Day.

 

MEMORIES BOOK

Cllrs Thornton, Slater and Scholes were complimented on the achievement of a Village Book of Reflections and Remembrances.  This was launched at the Morley Literature Festival on Saturday 17th October to which approx. 60 people attended.  Books are on sale now priced at £4.99 and will be on Amazon shortly.

 

 

MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION

None.

 

 

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next Drighlington Parish Council meeting will be held on 16th November 2009 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Hall, Moorland Road.

 

 

 

DRIGHLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

 

 

 

Clerk: D W Lacey 105 Rein Road

West Ardsley

Nr Wakefield

WF3 1JQ

Tel: Leeds (0113) 2532528

 

 

The monthly meeting of the Drighlington Parish Council was held on Monday 21 September 2009 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Hall, Moorland Road.

 

PRESENT

Councillors Thornton (Chair), Day, Scholes, Rhodes, Warren, Simpson, Brown, Wynn and the Clerk.  Also in attendance were - one Ward Councillor and 22 members of the public, Police Sgt Haigh and PCSO Osborne.

 

APOLOGIES

Received from Cllrs Finnigan, Leadley and Parish Cllr Slater.

 

ABSENT

Cllr Felton.

 

MINUTES OF THE AUGUST MEETING

The minutes of the previous meeting, which had been circulated, were proposed by Cllr Warren and seconded by Cllr Scholes that they be accepted as a true and correct record and were signed by the Chair.

 

MATTERS ARISING

None.

 

POLICE MATTERS

Neighbourhood Policing Team

Sgt Haigh gave information to the Meeting about the Morley Neighbourhood Policing Team and reported on their pledge.  He stated that emergency calls would be answered within 10 seconds.

 

Spring Gardens

Spring Gardens have been patrolled and there have been no serious incidents to report.

 

Walton Drive

Youths have been congregating around Walton Drive.  They have been boisterous and have been seen to arrive in taxis indicating that they are not from the Drighlington area.

 

Arrest

One burglar has recently been arrested. In general burglaries have been reduced by 60%

 

MARGETSON TRUST

After five years of entering talks with the Local Authority, the Trust is now coming back to be re-invested again into the hands of the Parish Council.  There are five Trustees for the fund, namely Cllrs Rhodes, Scholes, Thornton and Cllr Gettings of the LCC, also the local Head Teacher Sue Jackson.  The Trust is not very well off and now only yearly interest is added.  The fund stands at approximately £2,500.  It is hoped to give out one award per year for the area of Drighlington.  The award to be donated on merit.  The Parish Council will now be informed of fund developments.

 

HIGHWAYS

Cross Roads and Parking outside the Co-op

A recent meeting was held with Cllrs Warren and Thornton and Simon Booker of the LCC regarding problems at the Cross Roads and parking outside the Co-op cash machine area.  There is no straight forward answer to this parking problem but Simon Booker will look into it.

 

Dean Park

The pot hole in Dean Park is now on the list of priorities to be attended to.  The problem was caused by a gritter/snow plough during last winter

 

PARKS UPDATE

Manager

A new Manager, Guy Smithson, has taken over from Shaun Wright.  

 

Moor Cutting

Cllr Day has been in contact with Guy and as a result improvement has been seen.

 

Sign for Park

The sign for the gate at the Park is not yet ready. We may be able to obtain a grant towards the cost. The gate spring is still under investigation.

 

Bushes at Cross Roads

The bushes at the Cross Roads have not been fully trimmed.  We consider it best if these are removed and the area grassed over.

 

Hole

It was reported that, after the NCB had attended to the hole on the Moor, people had been seen in this area at night using torches, for purposes unknown. The area is now fully recovered.

 

Kerbs

There was no news of the dropped kerbs in the area.  Cllr Finnigan has this problem in hand

 

OLD SCHOOL – WHITEHALL ROAD

Progress on this is very slow due to the financial situation but plans are looking good.

 

ALLOTMENTS

The site at Fairfax Avenue / Margetson Road is with the Legal Department at LCC.  More news later.

 

BOOK LAUNCH

A book has been produced “Reflections and Reminiscences” which recounts older resident’s memories of life in Drighlington. The launch will take place at Morley Town Hall on 17 October 2009 at 10am. Copies will be on sale on the day or from any Councillor.

 

ADWALTON COMMON

Graham Aston of LCC has written to the Council.  A petition had been received regarding grass length on a strip of land to the south of the school towards Moorland Road.  Mr Aston said there is no record of species being protected in this area; therefore the long grass could be cut once a year and the hay taken away.  No objections were received from those present, and this proposal will be put to Drighlington Conservation Group at its next meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

YOUTH PROVISION

Cllr Gettings reported that work will commence on 19th October to create a Youth Room within the library area. Funding for this will be from the Youth Council and Ward Councillors.

 

MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION

 

BUS STOP

A resident reported that overhanging vegetation was obscuring the bus stop flag at the bottom of Moorside Approach. Councillor Thornton will investigate.

 

 

 

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next Drighlington Parish Council Meeting will be held on 19 October 2009 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Hall, Moorland Road

 

DRIGHLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

 

 

Clerk: D W Lacey 105 Rein Road

West Ardsley

Nr Wakefield

WF3 1JQ

Tel: Leeds (0113) 2532528

 

 

 

The monthly meeting of the Drighlington Parish Council was held on Monday 16 November 2009 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Hall, Moorland Road.

 

PRESENT

Councillors Thornton (Chair), Slater, Rhodes, Scholes, Wynn, Simpson, Brown, Warren and the Clerk.  District Cllrs Finnigan and Gettings were also in attendance.  There were 26 members of the public present.  Police personnel in attendance were Sgt Haigh and PC Meed

 

APOLOGIES

Received from Cllr Day.

 

MINUTES OF THE 19 OCTOBER MEETING

The minutes of the previous meeting, which had been circulated, were proposed by Cllr Slater and seconded by Cllr Rhodes that they be accepted as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

MATTERS ARISING

None.

 

YOUTH SERVICE

Nick Prica, Youth Services, outlined the proposals to create a room in the library building for youth activities. Grant money has been secured to carry out this work, and funding is in place to operate 2 nights per week with 2 youth workers from 7-9pm. The room will be small and will only accommodate about 20 people. It could also be used by other groups in the village, i.e., children and young people. It is hoped to decide the opening days very shortly.

The three senior schools will be informed of this new venture.

A resident showed concern regarding youths hanging about afterwards. Reassurances were given by Nick that the youth workers would stay behind until all had left the area. Nick promised to come to the December meeting to give further update.

 

POLICE MATTERS

 

Our Pledge to You

Sgt Haigh again reported on Our Pledge to You and explained the response times. A question was asked regarding opening times at Morley NPT office, Mon to Fri 8am to 12 noon Sat/Sun 8am to 1am.

 

Bonfire Evening

On bonfire evening, extra funding had been obtained and the evening had passed without major incident largely due to the increased cover which resulted in a 33% reduction in calls.

 

Crime reality checks

These cover security, crime prevention, and the ANPR team all working together to help reduce crime.

 

Burglaries

There had been two burglaries in the area and arrests made.

 

Fireworks

The question was asked about how long can fireworks be let off.  Although there was no fixed time but it was reported that fireworks should cease by 11.00pm and at 1.00am on Bonfire night / New Years eve and Chinese New Year.

 

Traffic

Vehicles had been seen driving at excessive speed Wakefield Road/Brickworks area. Sgt Clark, the Traffic Officer (Holbeck), will be approached regarding excessive speeding in the village.  A traffic survey has been carried out previously.

 

Car thefts

Once again there had been car thefts, and Sgt Haigh again asked we all take extreme care with keys both for car and house. DO NOT LEAVE THEM ON VIEW.

 

Local priority.

As last month youths are still causing concern around Walton Drive / Alisha news. The area is being used as a meeting point, and they will be advised to move along if becoming noisy. Councillor Gettings asked if Police could monitor selling of alcohol. Councillor Rhodes asked that Spring Gardens be put on the rota for random visits.

 

LEEDS NHS TRUST

1. Michelle Holland and Helen Barker from the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust (based at the LGI) attended the meeting.
2.  
3. The Foundation Trust is a new type of organisation and will be more accountable to local people.  Its formation could be during 2010/2011.  There will be elected governors for the Leeds area.  It is hoped that there will be less interference from Whitehall.  The Trust will be administered at local level but will still be funded by Central Government.  There will be 21 Governors appointed.  The consultation period will cease on Christmas Eve.  The officers from the NHS distributed documents to the meeting entitled Consultation Summary.

 

 

HIGHWAYS

 

Whitehall Road

Speed cameras have been approved for the section of Whitehall Road but no hardstanding has been built to accommodate these cameras.  Cllr Finnigan to look into this problem and report back.

 

Co-op

Simon Booker (LCC) is still looking into the ongoing problem of the area around the Co-op and school parking.  Mr Booker to be contacted regarding any progress. Councillor Finnigan will ask for the Parish Council to be fully informed when work is to be carried out.

 

PARKS

Concern was expressed about the condition of the Cenotaph for Armistice Day.  There was an untidy amount of weeds and leaves around the area.

Dropped Kerbs

The Parish Cllrs need to know the exact location of dropped kerbs, in order for them to report back to LCC, although there may be a shortage of money for these to be placed in all areas around the village.

CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS

The annual switch-on will take place on Thursday 10 December at 6.30pm.  Ronnie the Rhino will switch on the lights and sign autographs.  Drighlington Brass Band will be playing carols and refreshments will be provided in the Scout Hut.

 

BOOK PROGRESS

The book recently published by the Council is now on sale in the Post Office, Strands Gifts and Cards, Leeds Civic Trust, Parish Council office on the first Saturday in the month 10am to 11am, copies can also be obtained from any of the Councillors.

 

 

MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION

A member of the public asked if the wall at the Crossroads (Scotspop old works) could be tidied up – ideas such as painting it or a mural placed on the wall.  It was reported that it would be too expensive to improve and planning permission may have to be obtained to work on the wall, also permission from the owners of the property.  Scaffolding would be needed. Parish Councillors will consult with Ward Councillors for possible solutions.

 

 

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next Drighlington Parish Council meeting will be held on 14 December 2009 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Hall, Moorland Road at which seasonal refreshments will be available.