Parish Council Minutes 2003

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 8^th January, 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mr Young, Mr Tailford, Mr Ayliffe, Mr. Iley, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, County Councillor Bentham, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 11^th December 2002 had been previously circulated. They were approved as a true record and signed.

It had been previously agreed to obtain a second estimate from Kirkley Hall. All efforts to contact Kirkley Hall for this purpose had proved to be unsuccessful. It was decided to accept the estimate from Northumbrian Landscapes for £140.

A special meeting of the Council met on 17 December 2003 to agree to a Recovery Plan to address the Council’s present financial crisis.

As of 3 March 2002 the general Fund Balance was £47,000, £238,000 less than previously expected. To restore balances to a prudent level the council would need to increase revenue/reduce expenditure to £670,000 in 2003/04.

There would be a strategic and planned disposal of assets to generate capital and reduce expenditure on ageing and costly buildings.

The Council is to commission an investigation ‘to review the financial systems, processes and procedures and circumstances that led to overspends in 2001/02, make recommendations aimed at preventing any recurrence and to further identify what went wrong and also where the responsibility lies.’

· Conduct a review of expenditure especially in Assets and Facilities and Environmental Services.

· Apply to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to capitalise cost of the Council’s new ITC systems.

· Call for applications for early retirement for staff over 50 and voluntary redundancy from staff under 50.

· Dispose of Housing Office in Morpeth, a car park in Morpeth and an industrial site in Hadston.

· Continue to work to dispose of the Council’s Offices and surrounding site and relocate the council to a new site.

· Withdrawal of funding from Miners Welfares over three years and hand over to their Parish Councils.

· Establish a charitable trust for the Morpeth and Ponteland Leisure Centres and reduce running costs through exemption from National No-Domestic Business Rate.

The government has awarded the Council £1 3m under the Major Repairs Allowance scheme for 2003/04. This money has been allocated to bring the council’s housing stock up to what are considered decent standards.

The government has given £172,000 to recycling services to start a new kerbside collection scheme for all major settlements in the District. This is good news for Heddon where we have found it almost impossible to find a suitable and acceptable site for the ‘bring’ recycling scheme. The money will buy specially designed boxes and bin bags to be used alongside the wheelie bins. Householders will be required to pre-sort their waste into these new containers in the way they do now when taking their rubbish to a recycling site.

The government is presently gauging whether public opinion is in favour of holding a referendum to establish a Regional Assembly for the North East.

It has sent out a consultation document to all principal councils to be returned by 3^rd March 2003. Castle Morpeth is to consult its Parish Councils on the matter. It will also look at the possibility of testing the views of local citizens in the local press, through the council web-site and from letters and petitions sent to the council.

Part of the consultation will deal with a review of local government structure which is necessary if a referendum should take place. Should the region be in favour of on assembly, the government thinks that there would be one tier of principal authorities too many. They think that unitary authorities are the best solution for Northumberland, Durham and the other shire areas.

The Boundary Commission could be asking for Castle Morpeth’s view on the ideal unitary structure for Northumberland as early as June of this year. At the last review of Local government in 1994 Castle Morpeth preferred the status quo for Northumberland. This time that option will not be available.

A statement about the purpose of the referendum will proceed the question on the ballot paper:

You can help to decide whether there should be an elected assembly in the North east region. An assembly would be responsible for a range of activities that are currently carried out mainly by central government bodies, including regional economic development. Where it is proposed to establish an elected regional assembly, it is also intended that local government should be reorganised into a single tier in those parts of the region that currently have both county and district councils. There would be no such reorganisation of other local authorities in the region."

Councillor Bentham gave a report on the County Budget. The final settlement figures were not expected until early February. A range of scenarios had been prepared for consideration reflecting the proposed increases. There would be a significant effect from the increase in the education budget.. A number of priorities for Service Improvement requiring growth resources for the period upto 2005 have been identified.

The County Council Small Grants Scheme was again mentioned by Councillor Bentham. There had been no applications from Heddon, and Councillor Bentham suggested that that there must be some organisation in Heddon which could apply. It was decided to advertise the existence of this scheme.

The above expenses were agreed for payment. A cheque for £345 was drawn on the Bank of Ireland to pay these expenses

Demolition of garage & erection of attached garage, utility, w.c., family room and storage area together with a front porch. PERMITTED with a hipped roof instead of a flat roof.

Demolition of existing house, erection of a new dwelling house and attached garage. PERMITTED with conditions

Extension to living room & bedroom & replacement of pitched roof in lieu of a flat roof.

This application was the subject of a vigorous discussion. It appeared that this development was building in front of the building line to the disadvantage of the neighbours. It would also set an undesirable precedent. It was also felt that this could also be over development of this site. The undesirable effect on the "street scene" was also considered. CMBC Local Plan Policy H13 para (i) was particularly relevant in this context. There was some discussion on covenants which might apply in this case but it was pointed out that the Parish Council could do nothing about these even if they existed. It was decided to communicate the above observations to CMBC.

1) Byeway 29 between Heddon Nurseries and to 460m South of Northshop Cottage. To be prepared with a 3m wide tarred stone surface

Byeway 30 between Rose Cottage Farm/Mount Hope Farm(East Heddon) to a point 190m North of Breckney Hill Farm. To be prepared with a 3m wide tarred stone surface

There was considerable discussion on these proposals, although it was finally agreed that there was nothing that could be done. Councillor Bentham, a member of the N.C.C. Rights of Way Committee put the point of view of the Rights of Way Committee detailing the responsibilities which they had to treat matters such as this according to the rules.

In spite of the visit and presentation last month further interruptions in supply have occurred. NEDL have been contacted and an explanation for the breaks in supply had been offered. The faults were unrelated and it was hoped that there would be no repetition.

After some discussion centring around the grass cutting problem, it was agreed to impose a precept of £20,000 on CMBC.

A Parish Council representative was required at this meeting. Mrs Laws volunteered to attend.

A meeting is to be held to discuss the above topic on Wednesday, 15^th January 2003 at County Hall, Morpeth, at 2.00pm. This is said to be an important meeting as it could affect N.C.C. services in our area. Dr Selman and Mr Armstrong volunteered to represent the Parish Council.

INTRODUCTION OF A WEIGHT LIMIT OF 7.5T ON THE C257, ROAD BETWEEN RUDCHESTER AND THE A69

N.C.C. proposed to introduce a weight limit on the road which runs between the Military Road at Rudchester and the A69. The comments of the Parish Council were invited. This topic was the subject of a vigorous discussion. The proposal would have the effect of keeping quarry traffic, which currently uses this road to re-join the A69, on the Military Road and thus through Heddon. It was pointed out that there was a large number of empty lorries passing through the village on their way to the quarries and these were causing serious problems. The effect of imposing this weight restriction would be to divert loaded lorries through Heddon, with the predictable results. It was decided to object strongly to this proposal. It was also decided to inform all of the residents of the Military Road of this proposal, inviting them to make their own objections.

A meeting was required to discuss the pruning and general maintenance of the Memorial Park. It was decided to hold this on Wednesday 15^th January at 9.30am, in the Memorial Park. It was also decided to invite Mr Jones, of Northumbrian Landscapes to this meeting.

The hedge on the steps in Killiebriggs steps was said to be overgrown and obstructing the handrail. It was decided to write to the owner of the hedge, requesting him to cut the hedge and make the handrail accessible. It was also agreed to put these steps on the gritting schedule

There was considerable discussion on the role and duties of the handyman. In particular the gritting of the shops area and the ramp was considered to be very important during icy weather.

The use of the salt bins for the treatment of private drives was again raised. This was not allowed and it could be regarded as theft.

A meeting of the Parish Council, acting as Trustees for the Memorial Park, was held in the Memorial Park at 9.30am on Wednesday, 15^th January 2003

The party toured the Memorial Park examining it in detail. A comprehensive maintenance programme was devised, with Mr Jones acting as advisor.

That shrubbery should be cut back where appropriate to leave the pathways clear.

There should be a careful pruning of some of the mature trees and larger shrubs to allow light to penetrate into the borders, and to remove the temptation of tree climbing and damage

The prunings and cuttings were to be shredded and used as a mulch. This however would be subject to the weeding programme.

Mr Jones was to submit an estimate for the above work. The weeding programme was to be the subject of a separate estimate.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council Planning Committee was held on Wednesday, 29^th January 2003 in the Supper Room of the Knott Memorial Hall, commencing at 9.30am.

PRESENT Planning Committee members Dr B.J. Selman (Chairman), Mr I Armstrong, Mr B. Tailford, Mr M.Iley. Other Councillors Mrs H. Thompson, Mrs L. Cruickshank, Mrs J. Laws.

Minutes of the previous Planning Committee meeting held on 22^nd October 2002 had been approved at the Full Council meeting held on 13^th November. 2002. All subsequent Planning Applications had been dealt with at full Parish Council meetings

Extension to existing garage with pitched roof in lieu of a flat roof PERMITTED.

Demolition of joiners workshop and erection of detached dwelling house with garage.

This application was discussed in detail. There was agreement that any development on this site was better than the present structure. However it did appear that the submitted plans were inadequate in some aspects. The plans did not give a very good impression as to how the development related to the surrounding properties. There was also no indication on the plans as to the construction materials to be used. It was agreed to inform CMBC Planning Authorities of these apparent failings in the plans. There were obviously archaeological implications for a development on this site.

A telephone call had been received from Mr S. Munro, CMBC Planning Officer regarding the above project. It was said that there had been some modifications to the plans for the project, and that CMBC were probably going to approve the Application. The Parish Council was asked if it still wished to pursue the objections expressed at the Parish Council meeting of the 8^th January 2003 and conveyed to CMBC in a letter dated 9^th January 2003. After considerable further discussion it was agreed that the changes in the plans did nothing to alter the overall impression of the development. It was decided not to withdraw the comments made in the previous correspondence. It was decided to inform Councillor Avery of these developments and enlist his support if possible.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 12^th February 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, (later) Mr Young, Mr Tailford, Mr Ayliffe, Mr. Iley, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, County Councillor Bentham, Borough Councillor Avery, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

The Chairman gave a report on the meeting he had attended at N.C.C on the budget. proposals. This would be amplified by Councillor Bentham in his County Report

The financial crisis at CMBC was still evident. The budget proposals were expected to be presented on Thursday 13^th February. Some hard work had been carried out to bring the council’s accounts into order. There would be a meeting of the full council at the end of February which would set the Council Tax and balance the budget. An independent report on the problems in financial services had been presented to members and was being considered. The District Auditor was to report to the Council on Thursday 13^th February. This would be the third report from the District Auditor. CMBC has been given to the end of March to solve its problems. Further to this the court case involving the former waste recovery officer has concluded. He pleaded guilty to two counts and has been find a total of £1000. CMBC had counted on recovering considerably more as a result of this case and this small amount has upset their financial plans. The proposed protocol for public speaking at Planning meetings had been approved and should be in operation for the next Council meeting. More Planning decisions are delegated so that Planning agendas are not as lengthy as they used to be. This protocol would maintain the Parish Council’s right to speak but also give applicants and objectors the right to speak. A CMBC publiction which was to have been sent out to all residents had not been received by any of the Councillors. It concerned safety and door step selling. Councillor Avery was questioned as to the actual amount of overspend at CMBC. It was stated that the only complete figures related to the financial year April 2001 to March 2002.

The Ponteland Strategic Partnership had been initiated. Councillor Bentham quoted the finances which had been already achieved by the Rural Coal Field Partnership and by Morpeth. Heddon would be in the Rural West Partnership. Councilor Bentham gave his report on the N.C.C. Castle Morpeth Area Committee which he attended on the 15^th January 2003. It was not a very fruitful meeting. A further meeting was held on 6^th February. This was much more fruitful and it was made clear that it was intended to enhance the importance of Area Committees by enabling local people to raise matters of local concern by for instance co-opting members from Parish Councils. However it was likely that attendance at meetings would be severely limited by the distances involved. Area Committees would be given authority to determine priorities for Highway schemes such as the provision of footways, maintenance, traffic signs, and road marking. They would also have the opportunity to comment on the Local Transport Plan. The Preparation Bill for Regional Assemblies paves the way for Referenda to be held on directly elected Regional Assemblies. N.C.C. considered the Bill on 6^th February. N.C.C. agreed to support the establishment of directly elected regional government and to support a referendum for the North East subject to a consultation exercise which is to be held. N.C.C. received a "Good" rating in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment. The target now was to achieve an "Excellent" assessment as achieved by Gateshead and Sunderland. N.C.C. has been successful in a joint bid with Tynedale for funding from DEFRA for a recycling service for 12,000 households in the Tyne Valley. This will be introduced in April this year. There was discussion on the condition of the A696 between the airport and Carter Bar. The length of time taken to construct the new roundabout in Ponteland was also discussed. There was to be a meeting on the 19^th February at which the Council Tax for the County would be discussed. The suggested increase was 12.8%

The following were discussed at the Planning Committee meeting held on 29^th January 2003

Extension to existing garage with pitched roof in lieu of a flat roof. PERMITTED

Demolition of joiners workshop and erection of detached dwelling house with garage

Extension to living room and bedroom and replacement of flat roof with a pitched roof.

The minutes of this meeting are included with the minutes of the meeting held on 8^th January 2003

This application has been discussed at both the Council Meeting of 8^th January 2003, and at the Planning Committee meeting of the 29^th January 2003. A copy of the proposed recommendations of the CMBC Planning Officers to the CMBC Planning Committee had been received. This document recommended that the development be approved. The development was approved at the CMBC Planning Committee which met on Tuesday 11^th February. There was considerable discussion on this development and it was felt that an undesirable precedent had been set. It was agreed to protest to CMBC about this decision

It was agreed that the amended plans were a considerable improvement on the original. A paling fence was to delineate the land which was to remain as agricultural land. Councillor Avery gave a summary of the CMBC attitude to this development. It was agreed to approve the new plans with the proviso that the agricultural land be delineated and that there should be a restriction on the as yet undeveloped land.

Extension of existing kitchen and 1no bedroom on ground floor with 1no bedroom with en suite in roof space.

After the storm of protest from Heddon residents this would not now be progressed. N.C.C is individually informing those residents who protested

The meeting will discuss Regional Assemblies and Unitary Government. There will also be a presentation on the present financial crisis at CMBC and the steps taken to alleviate it. The Chairman asked for the views of the Council on the desirability of a referendum and there was a view in favour of the referendum. There was some further discussion on Regional Assemblies. The Chairman and Mr Iley volunteered to attend the meeting on the 16^th February

The Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council which took place on the 15^th January in the Memorial Park had been circulated. They were accepted as a true record, and are included with the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on the 8^th January 2003. Estimates had been received from Northumbrian Landscapes for the maintenance work in the Memorial park.. After discussion these were accepted unanimously. The work which had been commissioned in the Welfare field was in abeyance until the field was a little drier.

The rat infestation has re-occurred on the allotments. CMBC have been contacted to bring the problem under control. There would be a charge for this service

The Freedom Of Information Commissioner has accepted that the Model Scheme adopted in December is appropriate for the Parish Council. It is only in force for 4 years and a new scheme will need to be adopted in February 2007.

N.C.C. did not own the land in front of Church House. However it was once a part of the highway. The owners of Church House wished to incorporate this piece of land as part of the curtilage of Church House. They had the right to do this and N.C.C. do not object. However because it was once part of the highway this means that it cannot be closed off or walled in. The rocks which were presently in place were also discussed. It seems that these are an obstruction of the highway. N.C.C. are considering ways of having them removed and also considering the subsequent actions. Mrs Thompson read out an extract from the Parish Council minutes of 1924 regarding the enclosure of land by Mr Malthouse. It was agreed that bollards should not be used and yellow lines would be the better approach. It was agreed to convey these views to N.C.C.

As reported to the October meeting (Page 617, item 11) the insurance inspection found some of the playground equipment required repair. A quotation has been received from Climb ‘n Slide for the replacement of the chain links on the tyre swings and the making safe the exposed concrete on the large slide. This was for £250. After some discussion this estimate was accepted.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR HOLDING THE ANNUAL ELECTORS MEETINGAND THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL 2003

Due to various commitments and the large number of Bank Holidays the calendar has become very congested in April and May. This was the time in which it was necessary to hold the Annual Electors Meeting and the Annual Parish Council Meeting. There was considerable discussion during which the legal constraints on the timing of both of these meetings were outlined. It was agreed to hold the Annual Parish Council Meeting on Tuesday 6^th May and the Annual Electors Meeting on the 21^st May. If necessary this would be preceded by the normal May meeting of the Parish Council.

The N.T.C. were requesting financial assistance. It was agreed to donate £30 to this organisation. It was also agreed that the Parish Council would cover any deficit for the production of Tartuffe to be held in March.

STATE OF GUTTERS. It was noted that the gutters in the village and on the main roads were badly blocked with leaves and general detritus. It was agreed to contact the relevant authorities.

DUMPING OF TYRES. About 30 tyres had been dumped on Mill Lane (the Back Lonnen). It was agreed that they should be removed. CMBC was to be contacted.

COMMON MANAGEMENT. It was agreed to hold a meeting of the Common Management Committee. There was some discussion on the Parish Council actually carrying out work on the Common but there was the question of insurance. There was considerable further discussion on the transfer of ownership and it was decided to convene a meeting of the Management Committee at the earliest opportunity and to invite CMBC Legal Officer and the Countryside Officer. Fences on the Common are damaging trees due to the way the fences were constructed.

STILE AT THE SOUTH END OF COMMON. This stile requires maintenance, or even re-constructing, on the correct site.

ACCESS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE ACT. The Chairman had attended a meeting on this topic. The meeting only covered South Northumberland and the whole of Cumbria, and some of Durham. The Coastal region meeting was to be held in a about a month. The terms of the Act cut out any appeal by land owners. Once the land has been designated the land owner can appeal only on the grounds of mal-administration.

SPORTS FIELD CMBC Planning Authorities were waiting for N.C.C. to inform them of any conditions they needed to put on the application. It was anticipated that the conditions would be standard ones as imposed on other developments of this type.

HEDDON ON THE WALL CHRISTIAN HERITAGE CENTRE Mrs Cruickshank represented the Parish Council on this project. This was now a Registered Charity. It was hoped to use the library as the Centre but there were problems with funding for the provision of a path between the Church and the Library and the provision of disabled toilets.

PLOUGH INN. There had been reports that the Plough Inn, now closed, was to be used as a refugee centre. There had been no official notification of any such intention.

SPEEDING CAR. The presence of a car, suspected of being the source of the alcohol supply to the under age drinkers was reported. Any further sightings of this vehicle were to reported to the police with as much information as possible.

CAR PARKING ON PATH. A car was frequently parked on the diagonal path, or on the grass, leading from Towne Gate to Station Road. This was illegal.

ADAPT. This organisation was holding a meeting at which Mrs Thompson was to represent the Parish Council. This meeting was to discuss funding for a new disabled bus. The organisation as a whole is closely involved with rural transport.

DOG FOULING. In spite of articles which had appeared in Heddon Gossip dogs were still fouling in the village. In particular a dog was reported to be fouling on the Welfare Field and the owner did not remove the resultant mess.

ROAD SIGN OUTSIDE THREE TUNS. The "Heddon Village" sign which had been knocked down by a bus, was now dangerous. It obscured oncoming traffic. N.C.C. was to be informed. If possible its replacement was to be higher than the original as the original was potentially dangerous. It was possible for someone to walk into the actual sign.

RURAL WEST STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP. Mr Tailford had attended a meeting of the Steering Group for this organisation and gave a report. There was discussion on the grants awarded to Strategic Partnerships and the geographical areas to be covered. The Launch event for this organisation will be at Middleton Village Hall on March 20^th 2003. It would now be necessary to involve as many village organisations in this event as possible.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at about 9.30pm.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday,12^th March 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mr Young, Mr Tailford, Mr. Iley, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

Apologies for absence were received from Mr Ayliffe and Councillors Bentham and Avery.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on the 12^th February 2003 had been circulated. They were accepted as a true record and were signed by the Chairman

A meeting had been arranged of the Heddon Common Management Committee to which the CMBC Legal Officer had been invited. There was no indication as to when the work in the Memorial Park would start. The Contractor was to be contacted. The Welfare Field had been damaged by a contractors vehicle. The land in front of Church House was to be transferred to the owners of Church House. The rocks were still present. N.C.C. had been contacted. The road sign outside the Three Tuns had been removed and would be replaced in due course.

In the absence of Councillor Avery there was no District Report. There was some discussion on the issue of bus passes. It was stated that there was no list of taxi firms who would honour taxi tokens.

In the absence of Councillor Bentham there was no County Report. However the Chairman gave a report on the N.C.C. Castle Morpeth Area Committee meeting which he had attended in the afternoon of the 12^th March. At this meeting there was some considerable discussion on the Local Transport Plan and the allocation of the money assigned to Councillors for their individual schemes. There was some discussion on the non-inclusion of Heddon in the Local Transport Plan, in spite of several requests. The requirement for any requests to be submitted in great detail with measurements etc. was outlined. It was decided to bring the matter up with County Councillor Bentham. There was considerable further discussion on the matter of road improvements. Mr Armstrong reported from the Newcastle Airport Consultative Committee Newcastle Airport Local Transport Forum that the Countryside Agency was interested in subsidising a service to rural areas around Heddon and Callerton using funding available up to March. Details were not available at the meeting but it transpired that this item was not fulfilled due to lack of funds. However N.C.C. would contribute £10,000 each to all parishes within the County to bring forward a transport proposal. It would be better however if several parishes combined resources. There was more discussion on the provision of transport facilities and road improvements within the parish. It was decided to attempt to correlate the village requirements and where necessary to draw these out in dimensioned diagrams.

02/D/804, Mr Martlew, 24 Remus Avenue. Extension to living room & bedroom and replacement of pitched roof in lieu of flat roof. PERMITTED

A letter had been received from CMBC Planning Officer explaining their point of view on this development, and this was read out.

Modified Plans for this development as discussed at the last meeting. PERMITTED with conditions.

Extension of existing kitchen and 1No bedroom on ground floor & bedroom with en suite in roof space PERMITTED

The Bank of England had offered to re-purchase the 2½% Consolidated Stock used as income for the Memorial Park. Calculations had been carried out giving the consequences of re-investing the cash liberated by the sale in Charifund bonds. It was decided that this transaction would not be to the benefit of the Memorial Park

A resident on Remus Avenue had requested to purchase land which was adjacent to his house and which was owned by the Parish Council. After some discussion it was agreed to persevere with the past policy of not selling council owned land. The Resident was to be informed of this decision.

Mr Ayliffe was the Parish Council representative on this body. He was to be asked if he could attend.

A meeting of the Newcastle Airport Consultative Committee had been held recently and Mr Armstrong gave a report. Security at the Airport was discussed in some detail at this meeting, including the X-raying of hand baggage and also hold baggage. CMBC run the secretariat of this committee. They agreed to continue with this service provided that a more realistic costing could be used. This would be split between the participating bodies, 50% from the member bodies and 50% from the Airport company. It was agreed that the Secretary would contact the member bodies and ask for their co-operation in increasing their contribution. No letter had as yet been received.. The traffic at the airport was increasing and the forecasts for the future were good.

This event had been very successful and funding was needed for two sessions and not one as originally foreseen. After some discussion it was agreed to support this but ask for a balance sheet or costing.

Dr Selman and Mr Iley had attended a meeting dealing with Regional Government. The meeting was asked to indicate how the parishes would vote on the subject of regional government, but the meeting as a whole refused to do this. The meeting did decide that consultation on regional government through a referendum was desirable. The representative from Government Office N.E. appeared to have little knowledge of or interest in parish councils. The Regional Development Authority for this area has a budget of £400,000,000. This is distributed by quangos with no democratic control. This could be the strongest reason for having Regional Government as this finance would be brought under the control of an elected body. The timetable for the regional government procedures was a referendum in 2004, legislation (assuming a vote in favour and government acceptance) in 2004 – 2005, with the first elections in 2006-2007. The remainder of the meeting dealt with the financial crisis at CMBC and the steps being taken to bring this matter under control

This organisation was holding its inaugural meeting in the 20^th March. Five organisations from the village would be represented.

The Change of Use Planning Permission had at last been obtained for the proposed sports field at East Heddon. This was a complex document and the permission was surrounded by conditions imposed by N.C.C. A second document acknowledging the need for Highway works was also received and this had to be returned to N.C.C. within 21 days. It was suggested that someone outside the Council could head a Committee dedicated to the Sports Field. There were some suggestions and the Chairman agreed to contact the most promising persons. In the meantime it was agreed to have a special Council meeting to discuss this matter. Although no definite date was fixed it was agreed to try to hold this meeting after Easter, probably after the elections.

The External Audit of the Parish Council accounts has been successfully completed and the Audit certificate obtained. The necessary notices are now displayed. The audited Annual Return was accepted by the Council. There was some discussion on the cost of the audit, and this was said to be based on the Council Income and not the Council Precept.

CMBC had adopted the CMBC District Local Plan as modified in April 2002 and November 2002.

The Local Elections were to be held on 1st May 2003. Councillors were reminded of the need to submit all of the necessary documents correctly completed by the due date. It was agreed that members would be reminded of which ward they represented.

Recommendations for the CMBC Meritorious Service Award were requested. Mrs Betty Thompson was suggested as a candidate.

This had been carried out recently. The worn chains and exposed concrete were again highlighted, but these had been repaired. The inspectors recommended that a sign be erected giving the following information: owners name, address, and telephone number, the location of the nearest telephone, the location of the nearest first aid kit, and the location of the nearest public toilet

The resident of Heddon Laws brought some potential planning matters to the attention of the Council. It was agreed that this resident should contact the Planning authorities.

KNOTT HALL. The Knott Hall required a Treasurer. This need was now extremely urgent as the previous treasurer had completely resigned from the post.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at about 9.45p.m.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 9^th April 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Young, Mr Tailford, Mr. Iley, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, Borough Councillor Avery, (part time) and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

These had been previously circulated. They were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman

Councillor Avery gave an account of the process by which the new bus passes from CMBC were arrived at. After several false starts three options were considered

Travel within CMBC and to the city of Newcastle and the towns of Alnwick and Ashington. This was the Administrations preferred option.

Option (b) appears to be the best but unfortunately Option (c) was chosen. From the point of view of Heddon this is not the best option as it precludes travel to Hexham and Corbridge.. It was also noted that although some residents had received a letter time limiting the pass, other residents had not received such a letter. It was agreed that CMBC should be contacted and a protest registered. There was further discussion on taxi tokens, and the difficulties of travelling from Heddon by public transport. Councillor Avery reported that the Corporate Governance Team is not being sent into CMBC. There had been some restructuring of the Officers at CMBC to a CEO and two Directors.

It was agreed to pay the above accounts. A cheque for £825 was drawn on the Bank of Ireland

NZ141669 Extension providing Garage, utility room & porch with 2No bedrooms and bathroom above

This application was discussed at length. Although there were no real grounds for objection it was felt that there were some matters of concern. The development was very large for the site, and it was situated right against the boundary with the next door neighbour. The wall presented to this neighbour was a blank windowless feature. In addition the neighbouring house was unoccupied which meant there would be no objections received from this source. The demolition of the present garages was welcomed.

NZ148 868. Extension providing study, lounge, W.C., shower room, and extending

existing utility room & 1No. bedroom ensuite, bathroom and study on first floor.

Although there were some concerns which emerged during the discussion there were no objections to this development.

This development and its impact on the surrounding area was discussed in detail. There were no objections to this project, although concern was expressed that the neighbours in Killiebrigs may not have been informed.

The Countryside Agency map had been received for comment. It was discussed in detail and the areas within Heddon C.P. were examined. All the details on the map appeared to agree with the Council’s perception of the Common land within the Parish.

Mr Dunbar, CEO of CMBC would welcome the opportunity to attend a Parish Council meeting. It was agreed that he should be invited to a future meeting.

Further correspondence has been received on "quality" Parish Councils. The correspondence announced the launch of the initiative and listed the qualifications required for a Council to achieve "Quality" status. More details can be expected in May.

CMBC can offer assistance with village clean ups. This takes the form of sacks and gloves for volunteers and a rubbish pick up service. It was agreed to bring this service to the attention of Heddon in Bloom

Mr Rand is prepared to carry out this service again for 2003. The cost will be £14 per cut as last year. It was agreed that the contract should be awarded to Mr Rand

Heddon in bloom have made a request for financial support to enable them to carry out the planting schemes in the village. It was agreed that this organisation should be supported financially, with an increase from last year. There was some discussion over the possibility of new planting in the Memorial Park in view of the major overhaul of the shrubbery and undergrowth.

The Newcastle Airport Consultative Committee is requesting that the Parish Council’s Contribution to the Secretariat costs be increased by 100%. This would mean a contribution of £62.60 for the financial year 2004 – 2005. This was agreed.

In response to a question the Chairman gave a summary of the proceedings of the Common Management Committee meeting which had taken place on Tuesday 18^th March.

New timetables had not yet been placed in the new bus stops. The timetable spaces were now being vandalised

There was some discussion on the replacement of bins in the Welfare Field. There had been difficulties sourcing concrete bins. It was agreed to obtain prices for replacement litter bins for both the Memorial Park and the Welfare Field. It was also suggested that a new seat be installed along the hedge at the north end of the Welfare Field.

The 30mph zone at Horsley had been extended. Attempts had been made to extend the Heddon 30mph zone but to no avail. Mrs Laws agreed to take this matter up. It was suggested that the Local Highways Officer of N.C.C. be invited to a Council meeting.

There was further discussion on the land in front of Church House and the situation with parking there. There was further discussion on the possibility of Towne Gate being "one way", but it was realised that there were as many disadvantages in this scheme as there were advantages.

This was a preliminary enquiry . The caravan was required for staff accommodation

A meeting of this group had been arranged for the 10^th April, and the Parish Council was invited.

The future development of the Roman Wall was to be a priority of One North East. Consultants were to be appointed. The Church Heritage Trail was cited as a good example of village participation. The need for toilets in Heddon had been highlighted. An account was given of the present failures of the County Authorities to pursue this matter.

There was further discussion on this topic and the position which was reached sometime ago and the reason for not pursuing the matter was recounted.

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at about 9.45pm.

The Annual Meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Tuesday, 6^th May in the Supper Room of the Knott memorial Hall, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, County Councillor Bentham, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

Apologies for absence were received from Mr Iley and the newly elected Borough Councillor, Councillor Peter Jackson.

SIGNING OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE FORMS AND AGREEMENTS TO CONFORM TO THE PARISH COUNCIL’S CODE OF CONDUCT

All members present signed the Acceptance of Office Forms and the Agreements to abide by the Parish Council’s Code of Conduct. Declaration of Financial and Other Interests forms were distributed. These were to be completed and returned to the Clerk within 28days

Dr B. J. Selman was proposed and seconded. There being no other proposals Dr Selman was appointed as Chairman of Heddon on the Wall Parish Council. Dr Selman signed the Acceptance of Office and Agreement to abide by he Council’s Code of Conduct as Chairman

Mr I. Armstrong was proposed and seconded as the Deputy Chairman of the Parish Council. There being no other proposals Mr Armstrong was appointed as Deputy Chairman of Heddon on the Wall Parish Council. Mr Armstrong signed the Acceptance of Office and Agreement to abide by the Parish Council’s Code of Conduct as Deputy Chairman

The Planning Committee was elected as Dr Selman, Mr Iley Mr Armstrong, Mr Tailford and Mrs Cruickshank

The Allotments Committee was elected as Dr Selman, Mr Armstrong, Mr Tailford, Mr Young and Mrs Laws

Mr Armstrong was re-appointed as the Parish Council representative on this Committee

Mrs Thompson was re-appointed as the Parish Council representative on this Committee

Dr Selman and Mr Armstrong were re-appointed as Parish Council representatives on this Committee. Mr Iley was to be asked if he would agree to take up the vacant third Parish Council place.

Dr Selman, Mr Armstrong, and Mr Tailford. were re-appointed to this Committee. Mrs Laws was appointed to fill the fourth place.

The Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on the 9^th April 2003 had been circulated. They were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The problem of bus timetables had been raised with the authorities, who had promised action, but nothing had happened as yet. The vandalised bus timetable installation had been cleaned up by some one.

In the absence of Councillor Jackson there was no District Report. There was some further comment on the bus pass issue. It was agreed to write to Mr Avery expressing the Councill’s thanks for his service as the Heddon representative on the Castle Morpeth Borough Council.

Councillor Bentham had isolated several items from the recent proceedings of the County Council which might be of interest to Heddon residents. The first item concerned Towne Gate. Councillor Bentham had received some representations regarding the safety aspects of Towne Gate. He had received a reply from the Highways Department which he read out. SLOW markings on the carriage way were proposed and this in fact had been carried out. The recommendations for post sixteen education transport will be effective from September 2003 and affect students over the age of sixteen. Income for 2003 – 2004 would be £66,000, for 2004 – 2005 £162,000, and the net income when all post sixteen students are included would be £325,000. The school role at Hackworth Park Special School, in Hexham would be an estimated twenty six in September 2003. In some groups there would be only one or two pupils whilst others had no students. The County Council had been considering closing the school in August 2004 and establishing special units in middle and high schools with designated resources for children with moderate learning difficulties. An updated plan for Northumberland Food Law Enforcement Plan had been agreed for 2003 – 2004. This item of Coucillor Bentham,s report raised discussion on the present policy of inspectors calling on functions being held in village halls and other similar establishments and inspecting the catering arrangements. The future of Green Acres, Ashington was being considered. The proposed merger of two schools with effect from the 1^st September 2003 was also going to occur. There would be no redundancies and a saving of £25,000 per year. Another e-structuring exercise was in progress. It would involve the Highways, Finance and the Procurement functions. No details were available but the effects could be far reaching. The de-trunking of the A696/A68 is accepted by the County subject to satisfactory arrangements for funding of the future maintenance requirements. £525,000 have been accepted for 2003 – 2004, but this is still subject to long term funding. Local Public Service agreement between the Government and N.C.C. is intended to achieve: a reduction in re-offending of all young offenders;

Successful negotiation with the government will result in a grant of £1,107,382. The successful achievement of each of the targets will result in a grant of £552,000 with a maximum of £6,626,000. A list of costs for various road improvements was available. Councillor Bentham referred to the N.C.C’s Members scheme, and asked for recommendations for the expenditure of part of his allocaton. There was some discussion on how this money should be spent and items discussed were provision of the pavement between the Methodist Church and the W.I hall, the moving of the 30 mph signs, and the provision of red tarmac 30 mph warning signs. Heddon had not been allocated anything in the present road improvement plans. Road maintenance had only £25,000 for the pavement maintenance in Antonine Walk. There was further discussion on other possibilities for expenditure in Heddon.

03/D/285, A.S. Smith, 13, Remus Avenue, Heddon on the Wall, NZ 130 667. Side and rear extensions

This application had been the subject of a pre-application discussion and this was reported in the minutes of December 2002. There was some further discussion but there were NO OBJECTIONS.

Crime Stoppers were appealing for funds. It was decided to support this organisation

the southern boundary of the Roman Fort at Rudchester. This is to accommodate the

Mr Dunbar will attend the Parish Council meeting to be held on 10^thSeptember 2003. It was agreed that this would be satisfactory. It was decided that a list of questions should be prepared during the June and July meetings so that these could be submitted to him in advance. He could then come to the September meeting prepared with answers.

Assistance in this project has been requested by N.C.C. The appointed Consultants were to be in contact but have not so far been in touch. It was suggested that when this review came into effect a rationalisation of bridalways should be carried out. This should give a system of bridalways which interconnected and gave horse riders the possibility of having good rides.

The possibility of subscribing to this organisation at some level was discussed. It was decided that most of the information available from FINE was available from other sources. It was decided not to subscribe to this organisation.

The tenant of this allotment had not, up to a day or so before this meeting paid the rent due for the current half year. In addition the allotment was not being cultivated. Since then however the rent arrears had been paid and the rent for the next half year had been paid in advance. In addition yet another undertaking had been given that the allotment would be cultivated. After some discussion it was decided that this tenant would be given until the end of the year to make some effort to cultivate this site. If no effort was made then the tenancy would be automatically terminated at the end of the current year. In addition it would be expected that some effort would be made to control the current weed growth.

Litter bins were required in both the Welfare Field and the Memorial Park. There was some discussion on the concrete bins but these could not be sourced and did have some disadvantages. Bins made from re-cycled plastic appeared to be reasonably vandal proof. It was decided to purchase one bin and place it in the Welfare Field to act as a trial. If this was satisfactory then more would be purchased.

The Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service is establishing user group panels and is asking for volunteers. Such volunteers do not have to be Parish Councillors. There was some discussion and it was decided to put an article in the "Heddon Gossip" asking for volunteers.

A protest has been registered with CMBC regarding the restrictions on the bus pass. Apparently a very large number of complaints has been received by CMBC from Heddon residents.

This will be held on Sunday, 18^th May, 2003. Representatives of the Parish Council were invited to attend.

Sir Ian Wrigglesworth had written to complain about the "hedge and fencing around the unsightly allotments." The letter had been answered, explaining the situation regarding the allotments. A promise was made to examine the situation regarding the hedge, and some names of possible contractors to maintain the hedge were suggested.

It was reported that the Hexham road was in a very bad condition. Trajan Walk was also said to be in a bad condition. A wall belonging to the N.C.C. was broken down, and there was considerable discussion as to the whereabouts of this wall.

The Park had been maintained and was now looking very good. Some tiles on the roof of the shelter needed replacing. It was also agreed that there should now be an annual programme of maintenance carried out in the Autumn. The installation of "NO BALL GAMES" signs was also suggested.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday,11^th June 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mr. Iley, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, County Councillor Bentham,(part time), Borough Councillor Jackson (part time) and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

These had been previously circulated. They were approved as being a true record and were signed by the Chairman

Councillor Jackson gave his report and he started by saying that the new council was getting off to a slow start. However the bus pass situation would change as from Monday 16^th June. Passes would then be valid for journeys to Hexham and Wylam. Questions were asked as to whether the bus companies concerned had been informed and Councillor Jackson took note of the fact that OK, Arriva and Stagecoach were involved. Unfortunately there was no progress to report on the time restrictions. It was agreed that the Council should write to try to move this forward. The scheme to give refunds for travel before 9.30am was again mentioned and discussed but it was agreed that this was unacceptable. There was some further discussion on transport within Castle Morpeth. Paying for the pass was also discussed but this is not a legal option. The possibility of a County wide pass, by the co-operation from all of the districts, was also discussed. The problem here was the lowering of the concessionary fare age for men from 65 to 60.

Councillor Bentham started his report by referring to the creation of a footpath across Close House grounds. He solicited the views of the Parish Council on this matter and there was a great deal of discussion on this topic. As this matter was on the agenda for Parish Council discussion the detail is given in that section of these minutes. However it was decided not to support this application as it did not serve any useful purpose. Councillor Bentham requested a letter outlining the Parish Council’s views, and this was promised. Councillor Bentham had allocated part of his Members Scheme monies to the construction of the pavement between the Methodist Church and the W.I. hall. The Hadrians Wall Path opened on May 23^rd 2003. The first print run of the guide book had already sold out. The Countryside Service of the County would be concerned mainly with on-going maintenance of the section east from Walwick to Heddon. Questions were raised about confusion in the sign posting. Corespondence regarding this should be sent to Mr McGlade of N.C.C.. There was considerable further discussion on this matter. Councillor Bentham’s next point was The Northumberland and National Park Structure Plan, First Alteration. This plan was considered very briefly by the Policy Board, but not in any detail. The housing strategy was considered in more depth. Ponteland Parish Council had considered the document in great detail, making several recommendations. In Councillor Benthams opinion this document was important. The N.C.C. Policy Board’s opinion was that in the matter of housing, there was insufficient provision made for Northumberland generally, and this recommendation was made to the executive Committee. Ponteland Parish Council did not appear to agree with this. Councilor Bentham had attended a seminar on the Fire Services Risk Management Plan. This indicated a change in approach to Community Safety. Property considerations would not now be the primary criteria in fire cover. The emphasis would be placed on other considerations aiming at prevention and implementation. Saving life would be the main influence and this would supercede all of the present categories of service which were property based. Plans for the Pegswood By-pass will be going ahead, although it will be very expensive. Further delegation of highway funds to Area Committees would be taking place and this would be considered on the 16^th June by the executive Committee, although no details are available. The CLIMBY Inquiry Audit Report had been produced, with eight recommendations. The immediate expenditure entailed in this would be about £299,000.

The above accounts were approved for payment. A cheque for £2718 was drawn on the Bank of Ireland.

Extension providing study, lounge, W.C., shower room, and extending existing utility room and 1 no. bedroom en suite, bathroom and study to 1^st floor. PERMITTED

Extension providing conservatory, porch and pitched roof over garage and dining room.

The minutes of this meeting were accepted and signed after clarification of a point. They are included with these minutes.

This application gave rise to a considerable amount of discussion, and points raised included developments in the gardens of houses. There were concerns regarding the setting of the Roman Wall. It was pointed out that this applicant had received permission to erect a 3m wall around this site. It was decided to bring to the attention of the Planning Authorities the fact that this was a new development being carried out in the garden of an established house. The importance of screening from the Roman Wall was emphasised.

Ground floor extension and provision of first floor bathroom and bedroom with dormer windows.

This was an extension which was approximately doubling the size of the original house. After some discussion it was decided that there were NO OBJECTIONS to this development.

This was an application which generated extensive discussion. Neighbours had been contacted for their views on this project and they were not in favour. The development was very large and there was a major problem with overlooking the neighbours, and interfering with their amenities. A letter from a neighbour was also received, objecting strongly to this development. The roof line of the new structure was very complex and unsightly. It was regarded as over development on this site. It was pointed out that all of the neighbours had not received notification of this development.

Residents of Wylam were interested in establishing a foot path over Close House grounds from Street Houses and also a second path connecting this proposed path with the present footpath from Heddon. This proposal originated because there were fears that Close House and its grounds would be sold. This gave rise to the possibility that some access might be denied by the new owners. The proposal was discussed both during Item (6) and at this point in the meeting, but it is being reported here for clarity as this was an agenda item. The discussion was very varied and included the origin of the proposed path. It was noted that the University Authorities did not restrict access to the grounds of Close House. The proposed path actually went down one golf fairway and cut across two others, and it was decided that this was potentially dangerous The second path, from the end of the path from Heddon into the back of Close House would have some merit. Conversations with the Estate Manager had shown that he would be very unhappy with the proposal to create a footpath across the golf course, but would be less concerned over the second path through the grounds. It was believed that there was a possibility that if the proposal to create a footpath from Streethouses was progressed the University might be provoked into closing access to the grounds entirely.

A new footpath has been established alongside the Military Road from High Seat for a distance of 435m west. This brings the path to the west side of Rudchester fort.

A letter had been received from Heddon on Bloom expressing thanks to the Parish Council for the work which had been carried out in the Memorial Park. It was agreed to ask Mr Tulip to repair the wall which has fallen into Chare Bank.

Mr Dunbar, CMBC Chief Executive was to visit the Parish Council in September. Questions he was to be asked were solicited. Four questions were tabled and noted for the future visit.

Plans of a proposed development on the Heddon Forge Site had been on display for the past week in Heddon Library. It involved the construction of twelve flats and the use of land currently owned by the Parish Council. This land was the small plot adjacent to Chare Bank, originally intended for use as a burial ground. Previous correspondence relating to this piece of land was quoted. As result of this proposed development further investigations regarding the land ownership in this area were undertaken. It appeared from this that the Heddon Forge extension was in part built on Parish Council land. Further discussion on the land required by the proposed development took place. It seemed that the car park and some of the actual building was on parish council land. This appeared to be the same argument which took place over the residential home project some years ago. Further discussion on the principle of selling this land took place. It had been offered for sale some time ago but at the time there was a wide discrepancy in the price being offered and the price the council was prepared to accept. In principle it was decided it was not now for sale. It was also decided to communicate this decision to the developers. There was some further discussion over the use to which the Parish Council would put the land. It was also decided to investigate the misuse of parish council land for building, storage and tipping. In this context it would be necessary to take legal advice.

Mr G. Stewart, Chairman of the Welfare Field Improvements Committee gave a brief presentation to the Council, outlining the discussions which had taken place over the last year, culminating in the award of a contract to H & G Lillicoe to build a Multi User Games Area in the Welfare Field. It had been decided not to proceed with the toddlers playground project in view of the developments taking place in Heddon First School. There was some discussion on the access which would be available. There was an appreciation of the facilities which were being provided in other communities, in particular those constructed by the suggested contractor. The funding of this project was discussed. It was proposed that the Parish Council would provide a grant of £20,000. The remainder of the finance could be loaned by the Parish Council provided the Welfare Field Improvement Committee could provide a business plan which included the repayment of this loan. It would be hoped that this business plan could be produced within the next two to three weeks, or before the next parish council meeting. It would be a good thing if the M.U.G.A. could be in place before the school holidays commenced. The proposal had the support of the Council.

The situation with regard to the goal posts was discussed. Goal posts to an approved specification could be made, and prices are awaited. The Welfare Field Improvement Committee had only a year to run. Its responsibilities, including the debt repayment would be handed on to a Users Group. It was hoped that in time this might be expanded to include the proposed sports field. The wall on the Welfare field had been damaged in a storm and had not yet been repaired. It now appeared that the responsibility of the repair was the Parish Councils. The Insurance Company was to be contacted

The holding of a special council meeting to discuss the proposed sports field was postponed until the outcome of the approaches to a possible chairman had been received.

There appeared to be a dispute between the Land Registry and N.C.C. over the use which the owners of Church House could obtain from this land. The latest information (Telephone Call, 11/6/03) was that the situation had not changed from when this matter was first raised. There was some discussion over what should be done about this land bearing in mind the best interests of Heddon. It was suggested that rather than yellow lines a "No Overnight Parking" rule should be applied. There was some further discussion on this matter, but no decisions were taken.

After some discussion on the real risk involved it was decided not to renew this policy.

FLOODING IN AQUILA DRIVE. The recent storm resulted in flooding on Aquila Drive. This in turn gave rise to sewage being deposited. Northumbrian Water was to be contacted.

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE NOTICE BOARD The possibility of this being placed in the Roman Wall field was discussed, but the matter was for English Heritage to decide.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at about 10.15pm.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council Planning Committee took place on Wednesday 28^th May in the Green Room of the Knott Memorial Hall, commencing at 9.30pm

PRESENT Planning Committee members Dr B. Selman, Mr I Armstrong, Mr M. Iley, Mr B. Tailford, Mrs L. Cruikshank. Other Councillors Mrs H. Thompson

Correspondence had been received from CMBC Planning Authorities regarding the replacement of a building on the British Naturist site. CMBC had no objections to this development. After some discussion it was decided that there were no objections and that CMBC should be informed.

Extension providing conservatory, porch and pitched roof over existing garage and dining room.

Dr Selman declared an interest in this development and took no part in the discussions.

The Committee discussed this development at length considering the various aspects of the impact the development might have on the amenity of the surrounding properties. After this discussion it was decided that there were NO OBJECTIONS.

1) There was some discusion on the trees which had ben "trimmed" and cut down on the Vallum Estate. Some trees on this estate needed pruning. A footway on Marius Avenue was partially blocked by a hedge.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council Planning Committee took place on the 25^th June 2003, in the Green Room of the Knott Memorial Hall commencing at 9.00am

Present: Planning Committee members Dr B.J. Selman, (Chairman), Mr I Armstrong, Mr B. Tailford, Mr M. Iley,, Mrs L. Cruickshank. Other Council members; Mrs H. Thompson, Mrs J. Laws, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

No apologies had been received from Council members, but a member of the public had sent her apologies for not attending.

This project involved building a double garage partly on land already owned by the applicant and building a residential extension over this. The project was discussed in detail. There appeared to have been no objections from residents in the immediate neighbourhood. It seemed that there would be at least one tree to be removed. It was a very big development and concern was expressed over its bulk. The development would look very large on this site. It was thought that as many trees as possible should be left in place to act as screen. It was decided to ask the Planning Authorities to inspect the site and nominate trees which should be retained to act as a screen. The present drive should be lifted and grassed. Concern was expressed over the possibility of a precedent being set. It was suggested that a tree preservation order be put on the trees in the neighbourhood.

This appeared to be a re-application for this site. The first was made in January 2003, 03/D/22, and this file was available for comparison purposes. It was noted that there had been simplifications to the widow design and that the porch roof line had been altered. As with the initial plans, there was little detail of the construction materials to be used. It was agreed that the comments made about the previous application were still valid i.e. that the plans lacked detail regarding the construction materials and finishes

OUTLINE demolition of garage block and erection of 1no detached dwelling house.

This application generated a vigorous discussion. There were serious questions asked about the ownership of the land outlined on the site plan. Some residents in the area were very concerned about this development, and one resident was strongly in favour. Several points were considered

SECURITY. The rear wall of the garages which were to be demolished should be maintained to give the affected residents a screen.

ACCESS . The question of access to the proposed development was raised, but there was no obvious answer to this question. The public access to the turning circle/car park must be preserved.

CHANGE OF USE A development such as this must also involve a Change Of Use planning application.

ROOF LINE If the development was approved it must be a low profile residence such as a bungalow with a low roof line.

There was considerable further discussion on the previous occurrences on this site. In view of the previous history of this site it as agreed that there was a danger of over development. A possible solution was suggested. This would be to make the garage site into a public parking area. Concern was also expressed for the integrity of the turning circle/car park, and the applicant parking his vehicles there. It was agreed to put these matters to the Planning Authorities

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at about 10.00am

A meeting of the Welfare Field Improvement Committee was held in the Green Room of the Knott Memorial Hall on Friday 17^th May, 2003, commencing at 7.30pm.

PRESENT:- Mr G. Stewart (Chairman), Mr I Scott, Mr I. Armstrong, Mr M. Furlonger, Dr B.J. Selman, Mr John Ryan, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates.

The purpose of this meeting was to receive presentations from the three selected contractors regarding the installation of a MUGA on the Welfare Field. The three contractors were, in the order of their presentations:-

Dorin Construction, represented by Mr Richard Osborne (Director) and Mr Mark Scott (Estimator)

The Companies gave presentations lasting about 20mins and then answered questions from the committee members in order to establish what was being provided for the quoted price.

As a result of this meeting it was decided to ask all of the companies for a revised quotation against a standard specification. This specification was decided at the meeting

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council Welfare Field Improvements Committee was held on Friday, 30^th May 2003 in the Supper Room of the Knott Memorial Hall, commencing at 7.00pm.

PRESENT Mr G. Stewart (Chairman), Dr B. Selman, Mr I Armstrong and the Clerk to the Parish Council, Mr T Bates. There were over one third of the committee members present therefore it was decided that the meeting was quorate.

Apologies for absence were received from Mr M. Furlonger, Dr M. Jackson and Ms Z. Botrell (CMBC Sports Development Officer)

The minutes of the meetings held on the 16^th April and the 16^th May 2003 were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman, after one minor amendment.

i) As a result of the meeting with the contractors on 16^th May a uniform specification was drawn up. This was sent to the three contractors with the request that they alter their quotations as they saw fit. All three contractors had replied and these final quotations would be the basis for the discussion later in the meeting

Apart from the matters reported above, there had been no correspondence. Mr Stewart reported that he had given a presentation to the Annual Electors meeting which had been well received. Two residents expressed their apprehension over the project and Mr Stewart re-assured them.

Mr Stewart read reports from visits to sites at Swarland and Rothbury. G. & H. Lillicoe had constructed both of these sites. The reporters were impressed both by the facilities provided and with the standard of workmanship. There was some indication of the financing agencies for these developments. Comments were made on the presence of the ply re-bound panels. Both of these facilities were based around Sports Clubs. Both facilities appeared to be available to non-residents on payment of a fee.

Quotations based on the finalised MUGA design had been received from all three selected contractors. The final specification is included with these minutes. The quotations were as follows:

Dorins Construction £58,396. There was an allowance £1,125 if excavated material remained on site

All contractors quoted 4 – 6 weeks fore completion and they all included references in the form of past contracts upon which they had worked. All prices excluded VAT.

details of his proposals, and to arrange a contract. Planning permission was required and this had o be attended to.

The survey which was carried out had suggested that a Toddlers Play Area was needed on the Welfare Field. However in view of the developments which were taking place in the school it was decided to place this matter in abeyance for the moment.

Some seats had been highlighted by Mr Furlonger. A design of seat was chosen and Mr Furlonger was to be asked to obtain prices. There was some discussion over the method of fixing the chosen seat. Bins were more of a problem because of the vandalism problem. The Parish Council was to purchase one bin for evaluation purposes. This was to be placed in the Welfare Field, as this appeared to be the main target of vandalism at the moment. A bin had been observed near the Newburn Country Park. It was suggested that the rangers at this park be contacted. There was further discussion on the location of new seats.

The Financial Sub-Committee was to be convened to discus this matter. This sub-committee consisted of Mr King, Mr Avery, Dr Jackson, and Mr Armstrong. The possible funding sources were to be investigated. It had been reported that a number of possible funding sources had ceased to make awards due to a shortage of money, and would not be making awards until the New Year. Some sources were suggested such as the Samares Trust, Northern Rock and the banks. A maintenance fund was to be included in any application.

The chairman reiterated the publicity policy of this committee, which was to provide the maximum of information regarding the committee’s activities using the web site, display of minutes and articles in the Hexham Courant and the Heddon Gossip. It was suggested that a display should be held when the final details of the development are obtained from the contractors. The Chairman was prepared to be present to answer any questions. The school was to be informed through the auspices of Mr J. Ryan, the Chair of Governors. The Planning Application was to be submitted as soon as possible.

The Chairman had held a meeting with a resident who had expressed concern about the broken fence and the damaged wall. The wall had been damaged when trees, belonging to Mr Avery had been blown over. The trees had been removed but the wall had not been repaired, although promises were made that it would be. Mr Avery was to be approached to discuss the situation. There was some discussion over the removal of saplings and some repairs to the fence, in particular, restoring the fence to full height in the corner. Health and safety during construction was discussed with the contractors at the presentations. The siting of the MUGA was discussed. It was pointed out that it was being carefully sited so that it caused the minimum of impact upon any one in the immediate neighbourhood. No problems with current vandalism were reported. Insurance cover would be needed both for the equipment and third party claims. The Parish Council insurers would be consulted.

An offer of goal posts had been made by a resident. Due to great problems with insurance and associated problems it was decided not to proceed with this very generous offer. No prices had been obtained for professionally manufactured posts, but an estimate would be obtained.

A combination lock with the combination being available to a few nominated persons was suggested.

The booking procedure, net storage and charging procedure (if there are to be charges to residents), income generation, encouraging groups to use the facility, such as a Tennis Club. These matters were to be discussed by a sub-committee.

The Chairman offered to provide football coaching, and Mr Ryan would provide Basketball coaching.

Change of use Planning Permission had been obtained but there were conditions imposed, mainly by the N.C.C. Highways. These were detailed and complicated. It was possible that a forthcoming meeting with the new CEO of Castle Morpeth Borough Council might produce some support. Heddon football club badly needed a ground and a new under 19 football club was being formed.

On Wednesday, 21^st May 2003 Dr. B. J. Selman welcomed 17 electors of the Parish to the Annual Electors Meeting of the Parish of Heddon on the Wall. Dr Selman explained that the meeting would take the usual form of the Annual Report, followed by the Financial Report, and reports from the County and Borough Councillors. This year there would be reports from the Chairman of the Welfare Field Improvements Committee and the Chairman of Heddon in Bloom. There would then be an Open Question and Answer session.

Before the presentation of the various reports the Chairman presented the Castle Morpeth Award for Meritorious Service to Mrs Betty Thompson. The Chairman read the citation which praised Mrs Thompson’s efforts on behalf of the WRVS and the Meals on Wheels Service.

The outstanding village event of the year was undoubtedly the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Initial enquiries indicated that very few people were interested in celebrating the event. This soon changed once Joyce Laws got to work. She chaired a village organising committee which produced a full weekend of events centred on the Three Tuns. The Swan and the Knott Hall. Unfortunately, the Three Tuns drew the rainy day. The P.C. backed the events financially up to a sum of £1000. Alas your chairman missed almost all the celebrations through a combination of the surgeon’s knife and being away. However I did get back in time for the very impressive Swan Inn fireworks at the end of the celebrations. Well done everybody. I think it does a community good to let its hair down once in a while.

This year two P.C. vacancies arose through the resignations of Mr Richard Waugh and Mr Arthur Watson. Unfortunately, Richard Waugh died shortly afterwards. We thank both of them for their many services to Heddon. They were replaced by Mr Barry Ayliffe and Mrs Joyce Laws, both by co-option. Unfortunately Barry Ayliffe found himself unable to stand again at the recent election so we now have a vacancy. We shall shortly be advertising for a new member. The Borough Council elections brought a change, Mr Peter Jackson of Belsay being elected as our representative. We thank Andy Avery for all his efforts for the village

A Welfare Field development exhibition was held in March at which 85 people recorded their views on what they would like, or not like, to see happen to the field. The results were analysed by Castle Morpeth BC and as a result a Welfare Field Improvements Committee was set up chaired by Gordon Stuart. I shall leave it to him to report on its deliberations. I would however very much like to thank this committee for all the complicated and hard work they have put in. I look forward to the results

The Welfare Field play equipment has been fully overhauled this year. The stolen swing re-hung, the Wendy house re-roofed, new shock-absorbent tiles laid under the swings. new heads put on the rocking horse, new chain links and shackles installed and exposed concrete removed. We still have some work to do to cover exposed concrete around the slide and also the rocking horse has been vandalised again.

We battle on with getting a sports field for Heddon. This is even more needed now that an under 19-football team is being formed in the village and Heddon Welfare is desperate for their own ground. We now have change of use planning permission for Allerburn Farm. Unfortunately this is a complex document full of conditions imposed by NCC and was accompanied by a second document detailing highway works which they require before work on the field can start. I must say that I am exasperated by the totally unhelpful, indeed. wilfully obstructive actions of NCC in this matter. One would have thought that our senior councils, as public bodies, would be interested in helping a village like Heddon to provide facilities for its inhabitants that most other villages have had for years. Unfortunately this is far from the case. I fail to see what satisfaction they get out of this. Incidentally, those other villages often have sports fields largely paid for by, or through. the District Council

This year a local Strategic Partnership was set up for the rural villages of Castle Morpeth. This is a very important committee because in future they will be responsible for channelling government funds to villages bypassing the district councils. That means the majority of funds available for future projects in villages. Any village organisation can be on this committee in addition to your parish council. Several Heddon organisations are already on it and others could join. There is also now a local transport partnership on which we are represented

Our recycling site closed 12 months ago at the request of Bays Leap Farm following its mis-use and fly tipping. It will almost certainly be replaced by a door-to-door collection by Castle Morpeth BC about which we are awaiting details.

We had the usual discussions on dog waste and costed the provision of dog waste bins. The cost of emptying the bins proved to be very high and the reliability of collection problematic. By far the best was the Borough. Council. Then they decided to withdraw the service to save money.

Grass cutting. This was threatened by the severe financial problems of the Borough . In the end they decided they could only finance 10 of our normal 12 cuts / year. In future the PC will pay the Borough. for the extra 2 cuts to bring them up to the original 12.

Planning. Once again we have had a busy year with up to an extra 2 planning meetings a month in addition to the normal PC meeting. The applications were mainly for small extensions, garages and sun lounges. We have been concerned that the planners have in our opinion been far too lax in allowing extensions to the front of houses on the village estate. We shall continue to oppose what we see as over development in the village. We have heard nothing further about the proposed large development in Station Road and so far no demolition has taken place.

The PC was consulted by Bays Leap Farm on a proposal to install a bottling and milk processing plant in a large storage building on the south side of the farm. This was part of a farm diversification plan and could lead to their production of a range of milk products and employ up to 12 extra people There was the possibility of an increase in farm traffic but it was proposed to direct all west bound traffic directly onto the A69 to turn back again at Throckley roundabout. We also discussed moving the 30 mph sign so that it was sited north of the farm entrance. We considered that the proposals were reasonable and they have now been presented for planning permission

It came to our attention that a County Councillor was pushing for the construction of a new bridge to replace that at Ovingham. The proposal was for a new bridge to be constructed between Ovinghain and Wylam, with a new feeder road up to the A69. This clearly could have a significant effect on traffic through Heddon. We invited Mr. Greg.Perks from the NCC environmental directorate to brief the PC on the proposals. He said that the present bridge would he surveyed for safety, and that any replacement would be very expensive and required central government finance. It is not in the present county 5-year plan and that there was little prospect of a new bridge for a considerable time . We would be consulted if and when any proposal was made. Once again the PC took the opportunity to press for the improvement of the Iron Sign to Wylam cross roads lane to link the Military Road to the Wylam cross roads missing out Heddon

We were horrified to hear that the NCC proposed to redirect heavy traffic down the Military Road through Heddon to join the A69 . Much of this traffic is of laden quarry wagons which are at present directed to the A69 down the C257 from Rudchester. We wrote to all residents along the military road and by West Heddon House suggesting that they write to the NCC protesting about the proposal. So many people wrote and the tenor of their letters was such that the NCC quickly decided to withdraw the order at least for the time being. Well done everyone.

I gather that a similar or even larger number of letters have gone to Castle Morpeth protesting at their shabby treatment of Heddon in respect of the concessionary Travel Tickets for the over60’s. Your PC has protested to CastleMorpeth in the strongest terms at the highly discriminatory nature of their present scheme and we asked our new Borough Councillor to speak on our behalf The present scheme means that full fares have to be paid to visit the doctors in Wylam or the hospital in Hexham. Also while others in Castle Morpeth can travel to Alnwick on a half fare we cannot because we have to get on a bus in Newcastle so the journey neither begins nor ends in Castle Morpeth as is required. Maybe we should leave Castle Morpeth and join Tynedale?

Heddon has a much greater than average number of interruptions of the electricity supply so we invited representatives of NEDL to one of our meetings. By chance there were two power cuts in the village that evening which certainly made our point... They explained that our overhead supply was liable to interruptions due to birds, trees, lightening strikes etc. and the large size of the loop including Heddon . They outlined the work that they were doing to improve the system including new fault finding and quicker acting protection devices which limited interruptions to seconds or less. Hence the brief dips and interruptions that we get. Further improvements are in the pipeline at considerable cost but our overhead lines will always he vulnerable.

There has been a dispute between the owners of Church House and The Old Library over their right to park outside Church house. This is basically a private dispute and therefore not the concern of the Parish Council. However. as it involves the obstruction of Towne Gate it is the concern of the Parish Council. The Parish Council are of the opinion that any parking outside Church House is a dangerous obstruction of the highway and are encouraging NCC to prohibit parking in this area but we do not wish to see bollards erected there.

Heddon in that all Common land above a certain size is open for public recreation. In

Heddon this means the area of The Common nearest to the village and owned by Heddon Banks Farm and the strip of land running alongside the south side of the Military Road from the fence of the A69 to Rudchester. The Hadrian’s Wall long-distance footpath runs up this strip.

The Hadrian’s Wall Path opens this month though the stretch through Heddon will not be completed until a little later. This path will undoubtedly have effects on Heddon. some of which will be welcome and others will not be welcome. like increased parking problems. Each stretch of the wall path has had a committee anticipating these problems and planning their solution. The exception is the stretch from The North Tyne to the Newcastle border. Your chairman, as a member of the Hadrian’s Wall Management Committee, repeatedly pointed out this failure and eventually a committee was set up chaired and serviced by NCC. Two years ago they held their first meeting at which NCC decided that they needed to go out to consultants. No further meetings have been held despite repeated prompting. I need say no more.

Nurseries to the Rudchester-Stamfordham road and byway 30 from Rose Cottage. East Heddon to north of Breckney Hill Farm. This surprised us and we gather that it will not be done for a while when the County has some money.

We continue to press Castle Morpeth to implement new arrangements for the management of Heddon Common past in full council some years ago. The latest suggestion is joint ownership with a joint management committee chaired by the chairman of Heddon PC. This would seem to give us the best chance of accessing grants and also getting hands-on administration. Castle Morpeth has recently appointed a young lady to supervise work on their public recreation land including Heddon Common on an English Nature grant. I have just heard that NCC will rationalise and signpost the bridleways on Heddon Common including putting in horse-friendly and also horse-excluding gates. A gold star to Tim Fish and NCC for once

I hope you are all pleased with the huge improvement to the Memorial Park. The borders have been opened up and the paths pressure washed In future the same contractor will do whatever is necessary each autumn. It was expensive but I believe it was money well spent.

This year we as a Parish Council have had to enact several government directives. One is the Freedom of Information Act. We had to produce an information publication scheme and submit it for approval to the commissioner. We did this successfully in February We did in fact already make public more information than the government required.

We also had to adopt a model code of conduct for the PC and Councillors. This we have also done. We now have to declare publicly our business arid financial interests. It is this that has resulted in some councils being denuded of councillors! Heddon seems to be lucky in having a poor lot — financially that is.

This year we experimented with having a public questions and comments session before the start of our meetings. The first time resulted in 10 members of the public coming to raise questions, almost all being old much-debated questions largely in the hands of other authorities or where the decision had been to leave well alone. The following month no one came. We therefore abandoned the idea. However your chairman will continue to allow members of the public with a problem to say their bit at PC meetings. It is not really how a PC should be run but your chairman believes that it is a good way to do things and will continue to do this until he is put down by higher authority.

We continue our search for a new graveyard. We have had a finaI word from English Heritage on the land we acquired from the county to extend the present graveyard. They have refused permission for the land to be used for burials as it is on the line of the Roman Wall. If anyone knows of a possible area please let us know, Bays Leap Farm cannot at present help as they are still finalising their land requirements.

Castle Morpeth council house maintenance is like everything else at Castle Morpeth being reorganised in partnership with Babcock Service Group who would administer the contractors doing the work. There will be a 24-hour call centre and the contractors will carry a GPS system so that the administrators will be able to find them!

Finally I had to attend a meeting to discuss devolved government for the North Fast of England. I was asked to say whether you wanted it. I replied that I could not possibly speak for you but that a referendum asking you your views might be a good idea. I think that this is likely to occur in the not too distant future. There was an official at this meeting from the N.E. of England Government Office. He said he knew nothing of PC’s and clearly had little intention of finding out However he did have £400 million of government money to spend in the N.E. this year. His office allocates this money without having to refer to any elected body. Maybe an assembly for the N.E. might be a good idea after all.

This has been a good one for the PC in that some large items of expenditure either were not incurred: like paying for an election: or payment was delayed until the following year; like the park improvement. The result is that our strategic reserves in the Bank of Ireland Investment Account have increased by more than expected. This has brought us in a very good rate of interest which allied to our vat refund of £1131 makes our bank balance look very good indeed. I must compliment our clerk for his excellent management of our affairs. This meant that we were able to hold the PC council tax at the same rate for the second year running. Indeed this year it dropped by 0.2%.

This year the government introduced its Light Touch Audit system for Parish Councils. It was claimed that this would cost us less and would reduce the level of accountancy required of our clerk. I can tell you that it miserably failed on both counts! Our audit charges for 2002-2003 will increase because we now are required to employ our own qualified independent internal auditor in addition to paying for an external audit. This is done by a firm in Southampton who have a penchant for asking daft questions. Mr Peter Bassnett is now our internal auditor.

The Charity Commission have now informed us that a government review proposes that charities with an income of less than £l0,000 should be de-registered and that larger charities would be subject to a range of new controls. The small de-registered charities would still retain their charitable status. Heddon PC is responsible for 2 charities: the Memorial Park and The Village Trusts and [think. that we will be relatively unaffected. I also hope this will be the case for The Knott Hall which is also a charity. with the Knott Hall Committee as the trustees, though owned by the PC on behalf of the village.

A fill set of accounts is on the table tonight and is open to inspection by anyone interested.

This year in the May elections there was a change of Borough Council representation for Heddon. Mr A. Avery the outgoing Council representative gave a resume of the financial problems of Castle Morpeth Borough Council.

The situation was sufficiently poor at the end of the last financial year for there to be a possibility of government intervention. This was averted when the new chief executive was appointed, together with new officers. The roots of the financial problem go back about five years. At this time the council financial reserves were about £900,000, that is about 20% of the total council revenues. At the time this was considered to be a prudent level of reserves. Over the succeeding years these balances were dipped into to balance the books. In 97-98 £230,000 out of the balances, and the following year a further £215,000 was taken. At this time there was no political leadership from the elected members. In 1999 the Liberal Democrats and the Independants formed a political administration. This administration planned to restore balances by £125,000 but because of some contentious issues they were forced to remove a further £240,000 from the reserves. In the following year there were plans to restore the balances by £145,00 but in fact at the year end there was a negative balance of £46,000 in the reserve account. The District Auditor noted all of these shortfalls and for three successive years the tone of his management letters to the council became increasingly concerned. Last year the letter said the Council was in crisis and extremely stringent measures had to be taken to get the Council back on its feet. In 2002 a re-assessment of the Council’s services was required and a medium term financial plan was to be in place. Nothing was done ten months later. Before Christmas 2002 the Council had to make £480,000 worth of savings, before the budget for this financial year was even considered. A recovery plan was put in place, services were reduced, there was a proposed sell off of assets, which had been previously recommended, and the doubling of the car parking charges in Morpeth. How had this affected the residents of Heddon? Over the last two years 25.7% more Council Tax for fewer services, and of course the latest controversy over the Bus Passes. There were great difficulties with the Council meetings and committee meetings at which this problem was discussed. Eventually the cash cutting exercise was produced which had no consideration of the geography of Castle Morpeth, work patterns, shopping patterns and access to facilities. The public pressure about this has forced a revue. Mr Avery went on to comment on the position of Heddon within the Castle Morpeth and looked forward to the possibility of "subsidiarity" with more services being delegated to Parish Council level

The newly elected representative for Heddon on Castle Morpeth Borough Council, Mr Peter Jackson took up where Mr Avery left off. The elected Council had nor t yet got itself going. It appeared that the previous problems of the Council had been due to a lack of financial management. The easiest thing for a Council to do is to cut grass root services, whilst maintaining the administrative core in Morpeth. Councillor Jackson intended to keep services to the public to the fore of the Council’s attention. A Committee meeting had been held on the previous evening to discuss the Concessionary Bus passes. It was decided that the scheme would be extended to include Hexham and Wylam. All stops on the route to Newcastle were also included. No progress had been made with the time restrictions, but Councillor Jackson promised to pursue this matter. A resident suggested that a doctor’s appointment card should entitle people to concessionary fare outside the permitted hours, and Councillor Jackson promised to look into this possibility. It was suggested that there was a possibility that Castle Morpeth Borough Council might introduce a "refund" scheme if travel was required outside the permitted hours, but this was agreed to be very bureaucratic. The problem of taxi vouchers was also discussed. It was pointed out that very few firms took these vouchers. Some firms did take them but some of these had a call out charge which took most of the voucher price.

A resident raised the matter of Council House maintenance, making the point that Centurion Way should be the first as it was fourteen years since any maintenance had been carried out on these houses. Another resident raised the matter of waste re-cycling. It was understood that there would be a system of waste segregation introduced but this was still under review. There had been problems when such a scheme was introduced in Morpeth. The poor management of the previous re-cycling site and the possibility of finding other sites within the village were explored again.

In his absence County Councillor Bentham submitted a written report and this was read by the Chairman

In my last Annual Report to the Parish Council the major issue was Foot and Mouth and its devastating effects in the County Fortunately this is all behind us now and lessons have been learned

However, other issues have remained and are constantly referred to at Parish Council Meetings. So far as the County Council is concerned a great deal of effort has been put into the Government’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment Review which classified the County as "Good". The aim now is to achieve the only category above this which is "Excellent". Details of the County’s performance are contained in the publication "Performance Plan" delivered to all households in the County.

The possible introduction of regional assembles in England is a live issue at the present time The Government has stated that if a regional assembly is to be set up, then local government in that region will need to be reorganised. This will necessitate the establishment of a single authority rather than the two (District and County) at the present time. Clearly, there will be a considerable impact on Heddon if the proposals are implemented

Locally, highway matters have continued to be of concern to residents, particularly the maintenance of highways and traffic calming issues. Proposals to impose weight restrictions on the C257 (which would have meant increased quarry traffic through Heddon Village) were successfully resisted The potentially dangerous bend on Towne Gate has been considered by the Highway Authority : Measures to introduce traffic calming — except for "Slow" road markings — have not proved possible

Area Committees for Castle Morpeth District have now been held in Morpeth, Netherwitton, Capheaton and Heddon and are to be held at I-Hepscott, Longhorsley. Matfen. Cresswell and Stamfordham this coming year. Besides having a budget which is available for eligible schemes, the Committee are to be granted further delegated financial responsibilities for elements of the highway maintenance revenue bud get. It has to be recognised that whilst Area Committees are increasing in importance and still do much to improve the involvement of local council tax payers, there continues to be some difficulty in attracting people to attend meetings because of the distances ,involved

Mr Stewart started his verbal presentation by outlining the history of the Welfare field, and said that the area was dedicated for the recreational purposes of the inhabitants of the Parish and the neighbourhood.

He remarked how it had remained dormant for many years until the late 1980s when a new children's playground was built. This was well used as was the unmarked grass football pitch. A need had been expressed for something more by many residents in the Parish.

This was fuelled by the view that many held, that other villages of a similar or even smaller size to Heddon had basic sporting facilities. Heddon had clearly changed in so far as many people of various ages had now started to take part in sport on a regular basis and were obliged to travel several miles

A village survey had been held which supported the belief that sports facilities were needed. The results of the welfare field survey were outlined. He stated that 100 % of those who took part in the survey were in favour of the field being improved.

The following figures were given - 81.5% would use the field. 79% for play. 73% for sport.80% were in favour of a toddlers play area and 68% in favour of a multi use games area.

In response to this the Parish Council formed a committee last May, which was made up of Parish councillors. People concerned in youth issues. Residents living close to the field and other interested people. He stated that a lot of discussion had taken place to ensure that the best possible facilities were provided and any concerns or recommendations were fully investigated.

The committee had agreed to be in operation for two years and then the running of the Field would be handed over to a users group under the control of the Parish council.The Parish council has been asked to develop a maintenance plan,

Mr Stewart gave details of the MUGA that was preferred including the dimensions, Playing surface and intended use. He stated that the decision regarding the sides was yet to be made i.e. breeze block, panelled or full height fencing.

An outline of the costs involved as given and it was suggested that funding opportunities would be sought. He stated that the public was welcome to attend any meeting to discuss any issues they wished relating to the field. The audience was assured that publicity regarding the projects progress would continue. with minutes being available as well. The committee were keen to develop the area which will could be used by the full range of residents and be something to be proud of.

Mr Stewart then invited questions from the floor, Two ladies who lived close to the field were concerned over the current level of disorderly behaviour in the field. He sympathised with them regarding the problem and asked that all incidents be reported to the police, They were concerned that the improvements may attract other undesirables to the area.

Mr Stewart stated that the area could not be restricted to certain people, but as additional car parking was not being provided this may reduce the likelihood of this occurring. Other areas have similar schemes and Heddon’s would not be of a greater attraction than those. Advice had been sought from various experts and they are all of the same opinion that to create diversionary activities such as the MUGA would assist in reducing the levels of anti social behaviour.

He said certain activities would be supervised. Mr Stewart later spoke to the ladies separately and offered to discuss the matter in greater detail with them and if they agreed visit them at their home to reassure them.

Mr D. Chambers gave a summary of the work which Heddon in Bloom carries out within the village. He listed the noticeable connection between Heddon in Bloom and the number twelve – it had been in operation for about twelve years, there was core of twelve people involved, although there were lots of others prepared to carry out specific jobs, there were twelve sites maintained by Heddon in Bloom, they had won twelve awards over the last twelve years and there also about twelve tasks which they undertake. He then gave a brief history of the organisation. The twelve sites were listed and these were the ramp the shops, the corner by the nursery, various barrels were around the village and there was some planting around the garage. There were flower beds by the Roman Wall layby, and the wall planting by the Roman wall. The planting by steps at Overhill were also maintained by Heddon in Bloom.. Over the last two years however most effort had been centred on the Memorial Park. The Memorial Park had just received a major overhaul. Mr Chambers expressed his gratitude to the Parish Council for financing these projects.

Heddon in Bloom work closely with other groups in the village. They worked with the churches, school, the Arts group, and the Stitchers, and this was a deliberate effort to co-operate with these different groups. They did the flower planting and the tubs, and the fund raising, all of which came from organisations and individuals within the village. This year refreshing the bulbs which have been planted throughout the village is another project to be undertaken. Competitions are organised through out the year. The Best Front Garden Competition has caused controversy in the past, because there was a school of thought which argued that it should be a best garden competition. However this was aligned with the Castle Morpeth competition which argued that the garden should be seen to brighten up the area. There were also the Business Competitions, and it is surprising how many businesses and organisations there are in Heddon. Prizes are awarded t the Village Show, were the Committee sponsor one prize and Halls of Heddon sponsor another. Two tidy-ups are organised during the year, but this year there will only be one. The reason for this is that the Northumbria in Bloom competition had not been entered. Heddon in Bloom are very willing to get involved with any event which is being organised within the village. The group was not formal and met in the Three Tuns or the Swan. Publicity was made available and the accounts are in the public domain and were presented to the Parish Council. If the Northumbria in Bloom Competition is entered next year then something special will have to be done and it is hoped to reserve some of the balance for this. Mr Chambers solicited ideas for further developments within the village. The twelve awards which were won amounted to an award every year with possibly one exception. This included the Queen Mother’s Special Merit Award. The Childrens’ paintings are also a high light of the year, and this year the theme is to be the Memorial Park.

A resident asked about the possible re-siting of the 30mph limit signs. He suggested that consideration be given to moving the signs on the west of the illage too. The Chairman explained that this was already under consideration. A possible site for the sign on the Hexham road was the top of the hill at Houghton. This took into account the fact the number of horses in the area had increased. The sign on the Military Road would also be moved to a point further west than the present site. It was also agreed that the signs should be increased in impact and red tarmac signs should be placed on the road. Mr Avery explained the N.C.C policy with regard to 30mph signs, and there was further discussion on the requirements for a 30mph zone.

A resident raised the problem of the postal code. Mr Avery said that there had been a slight breakthrough with the Royal Mail. He quoted at length the case of Stone Cross near Barnsley who had their postal address changed. He was still progressing this matter but it would be a very long process. He thought that there was a possibility of having the post code changed. The Newcastle Great Park development would create enough dwellings to re-allocate postal codes. Heddon might be included in this change. In this context a newly arrived resident had had their insurance premium raised by £100 because of the NE15 post code. There was further discussion and the actual address used for Heddon.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Common Management Committee was held on Tuesday, 18^th March, in the Supper Room of the Knott Memorial Hall, and commencing at 7.30pm.

PRESENT Dr B.J. Selman (chairman), Mr B. Tailford, Mr Colin Marlee (CMBC Countryside Officer) and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

Apologies were received from Mr I. Armstrong. Mrs Sally Row, CMBC Legal Officer had been invited but she also sent apologies due to a previous commitment. No other apologies had been received.

The minutes of the last meeting held on the 7^th February 2001were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman

Japanese Knot Weed Mr Marlee had agreed to deal with this but had not. It had further spread on the Common.

Heddon Common Boundaries. There had been discussions regarding Hillhead. Miss Row had spoken to and come to an agreement with the previous owners but it was not known what this agreement was. An account of this agreement was to be requested. There had been no developments with the new owners.

Mosaics Project. This had been completed by a local sculptor. It took the form of a dragonfly motif on a slate background.

Temporary seat on the Butterfly Haven This had been replaced with a stone seat. It was decided to abandon the idea of carving this seat. Some further small amount of work may be needed.

Calcarious Grassland This was now considered to be impractical. The pond was still considered a possibility, but it may prove difficult

Sign Posting This was considered to be a major need. There was a great deal of trouble with horses, and some pony jumps had been set up. Footpaths were in a bad state of repair, again largely due to misuse by horse riders. The top bridal way path was blocked by gorse. This particular path was to be used by the Heddon based circular walk in the Hadrian’s Wall Trail. Explanation Boards were also necessary.

Orientation Table This was a future project, but again the path to the site was blocked by gorse.

Purchase of a Strimmer Funds for this were in this years Parish Council budget.

Tree Planting Although some Scots Pines had been planted they appear to have died. This was even more important now as the Common had become an important red squirrel haven since the demise of the colony at Close House.

Improvements to the Bridal way The horse gate at the bottom (south)of the Common needed repair. This also needed moving to its correct site. At the moment it leads onto a footpath and not a bridal way. The fence in this area is also broken.

English Nature grant scheme. This could not be accessed because the Parish Council did not manage the Common.

The criteria used by English Nature to examine the way in which Local Nature Reserves were declared and managed had changed. Parish Councils were now eligible. This opened up some more opportunities for the management of the Common. The input of the Borough Council was no longer required.. The transfer of the management of the Common to the Parish Council had been approved by the elected members of CMBC about three years ago, but nothing had happened to realise this. The direction in which the Common Committee now wished to go was discussed. in view of the new options. One option was that the Parish Council actually assume ownership. Several other options were discussed among them Joint Ownership, Leasing, or a Management Agreement. After some discussion it was thought that the Joint Ownership option might be the best with a Management Committee with members from both sides. Which ever option was eventually agreed upon it should happen quickly. There were some difficult problems which needed further discussion such as the boundaries, and the track to Hillhead. The process of initiating the change of ownership was discussed. Informal discussions with CMBC Legal Officer, other officers of CMBC and the Parish Council were suggested as a starting point. In a written submission Mr Armstrong expressed strong opinions in favour of change of ownership/management.

Considerable maintenance work was required on the Common, particularly with regard to footpath and bridal ways and sign posting. Sign posting was particularly important in differentiating between footpaths and bridal ways. There was a problem with flooding of the bridal way on part of the Common belonging to Mr Watson. Possibly ditching may be needed and maybe hard core. This bridal way was part of the circular walk associated with the Hadrian’s Wall trail and the Hadrian’s Wall Trail authorities (N.C.C.) had agreed to maintain this section of path. The quarry fences were in poor repair. There was some discussion about the ownership of these quarries and fences. In his written submission Mr Armstrong suggested that the provision of good information boards was essential to the correct understanding of the Common. Small signs were essential to indicate which paths were bridal ways and which were footpaths, and he made suggestions as to the design. The stile at the bottom of the Common needed repair. A kissing gate at the end of the cut leading from Aquila Drive seemed necessary to prevent horses using this access point. This should provide wheelchair access but restrict horses. The wettest sections of the main footpath needed repair either with hard core or short sections of board walk.

The ownership/management of the Common needs to be agreed before the maximum funds can be accessed. The Parish Council can obtain grants as can CMBC, but not necessarily from the same sources. A joint ownership agreement could be useful in this respect. The Wildspace grants are coming to an end, with a deadline set for April. This was too late for the Common. However there were other grants available, some of which can be double funded. Mr Marlee listed the possible grant funders of which he was aware. It was hoped that Mr Watson would agree to his area of the Common being included in the eventual management scheme. Such an arrangement could have advantages for all parties.

The new Countryside and Rights of Way map was available and Mr Watson’s part of the Common was shown as Common land whilst the remainder was not. The effect of this on the Common was not known. Some grant information was available through an organisation called FINE. This organisation collated funding information for all kinds of purposes at all levels. The LSP’s and the NSP’s were probably significant also. The CMBC and Heddon P.C. would probably be forced into working together if funding was to be obtained.

Heddon Common had a bright future provided funding could be obtained and it could be enlarged and a new management structure could be installed. The opening up of the bridal way which was blocked by gorse was a very important element in the future of the Common.

During an earlier part of the meeting (during Item 3) Mr Marlee gave the news that CMBC had obtained a grant for the employment of Liaison Officer. This new member of staff was to dedicated to looking after Local Nature Reserves, including Heddon Common. This member of staff actually started work on the Monday previous to this meeting. She had actually worked on Heddon Common before and had experience with other aspects of L.N.R. work. The employment of the Liaison Officer could have a significant influence on the future of Heddon Common. The main role of this officer was to be an enabler to get work done. It was established that her contract was a three year fixed term contract.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at about 8.45pm.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Common Management Committee was held on Friday, 20^th June 2003 , in the Green Room of the Knott Memorial Hall, and commencing at 7.00pm.

PRESENT Dr B.J. Selman (chairman), Mr B. Tailford, Mr Colin Marlee (CMBC Countryside Officer) Mr I Armsrtrong, Dr A. Lunn and Mrs S Talbot (CMBC Countryside Ranger)and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

These had been previously circulated. Apart from a minor spelling mistake they were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman

This was getting worse. Mrs Talbot was aware of the situation and would deal with it. There was no CMBC policy on Japanese Knot Weed. Each outbreak was treated as it arose using what ever means appeared to be appropriate. Tynedale appeared to be spraying their out breaks along the railway. There was some further discussion on the CMBC policy and it was agreed that this was as good a way of dealing with the problem as any.

The paths had become overgrown and need cutting back now. The area around the Butterfly would need strimming, probably in August. The stepping stones would need to be carefully treated because of the wild flowers growing there Other areas would also need attention, and there was some discussion on the best cutting programme to promote the flowering of the meadow plants.

Mr Marlee had been requested to find out about the agreement which had been reached between the residents of Hillhead and CMBC. He had no details for this meeting but he proposed that a meeting be held with the CMBC legal department to discuss all of the legal issues, including this agreement. It was reiterated that the Parish Council would prefer a Joint Ownership agreement for the Common. This meeting should take place as soon as possible. There was some further discussion on what this meeting should cover including the roadway, and the car park which was constructed without permission by the previous owners. The situation which now exists with the CMBC resolution that the Common should be passed over to the Parish for management also requires clarification.

A strimmer has been purchased. Mrs Talbot is also attending a course on the use of strimmers and brush cutters.

This was to be situated at the top of the Common in association with a seat. Gorse would need to be cleared for this. Originally N.C.C was to put a path straight through the gorse, but this was not now to be done. It was thought that this route through the gorse should be pursued because horses were being diverted straight onto the Common footpaths.

These can now be accessed by Parish Councils as well as Borough Councils. Other grants were also available on the same basis, and were not necessarily mutually exclusive. There was some discussion on the grants available with Mr Marlee giving examples of the way grants could be used.

The bridle way on the old domestic tip is very boggy and almost unusable. This should be filled with hardcore, and ditching. The N.C.C. had offered to deal with this. Some re-alignment may be necessary.

This still needs carrying out, and there was some discussion on the efficiency of the strimmer in this matter.

This was needed opposite Aquila Drive. N.C.C. had volunteered to provide this. This must be negotiable for wheelchairs. It would also be convenient if this could be an access route for machinery. Because of the legal process of re-aligning foot paths and bridle ways this will take a few months

RE-ALIGNMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE COMMON FOOTPATHS AND BRIDLE WAYS BY N.C.C.

Mr Armstrong and Mrs Talbot had met Mr Fish of N.C.C. and walked the footpaths and had agreed a possible programme of work. There was a long discussion over the detail of this work and the way in which the footpaths and bridleways should be aligned, either on the original map line or on the line which was now followed on the ground. The map of the foot paths and bridle ways would need to be re-drawn. N.C.C. would carry out the legal process, but this would take about 12 months. The paths on Heddon Common were Public Foot paths and thus could be financed out of the County foot paths budget. It was agreed that Mr Marlee and Mrs Talbot would draw up new large scale maps showing the agreed lines. They would carry out whatever measurements necessary to achieve this. They would also fill in the necessary documentation to allow the legal proceedings to start. Mr Watson might need to be consulted about some of this development. There was some discussion on the possibility of including Slacks Plantation in the Common. This could be a liability but it was agreed that it could be a sensible development. Signs and interpretation boards could also be provided as part of the New Opportunities Fund, and this could be provided in about 12 months time. There was further discussion on he type of signs needed. It was agreed to put an article on these proposals in Heddon Gossip.

An offer of Spring grazing had been received for a small number of Highland cattle. The proposal was discussed and it was believed it would be a good idea provided the Common was securely fenced and that a water supply could be provided

Scots Pine was going to be planted on the edge of the Common to provide squirrel food. It was reported that the colony of red squirrels at Close house had died and some greys had been reported, however young reds had also been reported.

There was some discussion on this matter, and it was decided to obtain possible dates from Mrs Row. This should be as soon as possible.

No precise date was fixed but it was agreed that it should be late in August, preferably not on a Friday night.

There was a breeding programme for harvest mice for release into the wild. Dormice had been identified near Morpeth.

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at about 8.15pm.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council Planning Committee took place on the 16^th July 2003, in the Green Room of the Knott Memorial Hall commencing at 9.30am

It was noted that this application had been permitted on alternative plans which had not been seen by the Parish Council. It was decided to protest about this procedure to CMBC Planning Authorities.

03/D/464 OUTLINE demolition of buildings and erection of 12 No flats with associated car parking.

The Parish Council Planning Committee was adjourned whilst the Planning Committee asked Mr Amos questions regarding this development. When all of the questions had been asked the Planning Committee meeting was re-convened, and the project considered in the light of the knowledge gained.

The Planning Committee believed that a development on this site was desirable but it had to be sensitively carried out. During the subsequent discussion the following points emerged:

This was an important aspect of this development, especially if access was to be up the Library road. The parking situation at the entrance to the library road would have to change, and possibly the road would have to be re-modelled, although the library authorities had not yet been involved. The entrance past the W.I. has been blocked. The old A69 has been narrowed but it is still wide enough for access, with a considerable improvement to the area. The possibility of making access as a one way street was discussed and considered as a possibility.

It was difficult to imagine just how the building would fit into its surrounding. The plans as presented did little to illuminate this problem. There was no problem with the demolition of the original building. English Heritage would not tolerate digging on the site, but it was possible to build on a raft. They might be concerned with the visual impact on the Roman Wall corridor. The site was the former Mushroom Row. There would be no problem with infill. The possibility of reducing the number of units was discussed. The appearance of the retaining wall for the car park was also a matter of some concern.

There was concern expressed about the number of extra cars which this development would generate.

The development included eighteen car parking spaces. It was pointed out that there was the potential for another six cars to require parking facilities which did not exist.

It was thought that there might be a case of over development on such a small site.

Three letters had been received in favour of the development. The librarians believed that this development would cut down vandalism. Two from residents expressed the view that the apartments would be ideal for older residents to purchase.

There was further discussion on other aspects of this development, such as the outlook some of the lower flats would have to the south, and the likelihood of this development curtailing the activities of the vandals who periodically inhabit the library car park. Surprise was also expressed at the apparent lack of interest shown by the residents in such a major development. In particular the apparent non-involvement of the Methodist Church was remarked upon.

It was agreed that a site visit with CMBC Planning Authorities to discuss in detail the points raised should be requested. This meeting should include representatives of all of the relevant authorities which would be involved, CMBC, N.C.C., English Heritage, and the applicant.

03/D/472 M & L Richardson, Heddon Petrol Station. Extension to store, new store, with w.c.., and siting of diesel tank within a bund

This was discussed and there were no objections. The availability of the toilet to the public was queried. There were concerns voiced over the position and visibility of the new diesel tank and bund. The possibility of siting the tank underground was discussed. It was decided to bring this to the attention of CMBC Planning Department.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 9^th July 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mr Young, Mr Tailford, Mr. Iley, , Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, , County Councillor Bentham, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

These had been previously circulated. It was agreed that they were a true record and were signed by the Chairman

The Clerk raised the matter of the Council’s present solicitors. Eversheds have changed their business emphasis and no longer deal with smaller clients. A solicitor had been recommended. This was Hay and Kilner in Newcastle. It was agreed to contact this firm of solicitors. A footpath map had been requested but this had been priced at £75. It was agreed that Councillor Bentham should contact County Hall to obtain a copy of this document. There was some discussion on the footpath changes on Ryton Island.

Councillor Bentham reported that he believed the Heddon Post Office was closing. This view was corrected. Councillor Bentham continued his report on the N.C.C’s views on the Local Government Re-organisation in the North East. The County’s preferred option was a single unitary authority for the Northumberland. The County had no fall back position. This discussion continued and it is reported in item (9)

These accounts were agreed for payment with the proviso that financial details be obtained from the Acting Up project. A cheque for £1600 was drawn upon the Bank of Ireland to meet these expenses.

03/D/408, M.J. Da Costa, 4, Remus Avenue, Heddon on the Wall, NZ 130 667. Two storey extension and conservatory

OUTLINE demolition of buildings and erection of 12no flats with associated car parking

Extension to store, new store with W.C. & siting of a diesel tank within a bund.

It was decided that these applications should be discussed at a Planning Committee meeting to be held on 16^th July 2003 in the Knott Hall, commencing at 9.30am.

If Regional Government occurs in the North East as a result of the referendum to be held in 2004 the government policy is that there should be a single tier of local government under the Regional Assembly

A small document giving the Boundary Committee’s position on the Local Authority’s re-structuring was distributed. A discussion paper had been received from CMBC giving three options for the re-organisation of local government within the County. The three options were read out by the Chairman and there was a great deal of discussion. These options were to be discussed at a full CMBC council meeting on the 16^th July to which members were invited. The options to be considered were

Option 1 One unitary Authority covering the whole of the County of Northumberland, incorporating all six districts and the County Council. This is the option favoured by the County Council.

Option 2 A unitary structure of two authorities covering the firstly theurban south east (the area currently covered by Blyth and Wansbeck District Councils) and secondly the rural hinterland comprising Alnwick, Berwick, Tynedale and Castle Morpeth District Councils

Option 3 A structure that has three unitary authorities one covering the urban south east as detailed above and two rural authorities. The rural west area encompassing the current Tynedale District Council plus part of Castle Morpeth, and the rural north area encompassing Alnwick, Berwick and the remaining part of Castle Morpeth.

An existing Unitary Authority (such as Newcastle) also had the potential of expanding its boundaries into the neighbouring dual structure authority. The CMBC review also included an analysis of the various options using six criteria.

There was a long and detailed discussion on this important matter, during which all of the above options were considered.. At the end of the discussion it was decided that there was insufficient independent information available upon which to form a conclusion. It was decided that another meeting should be held to discuss this matter by itself. During the intervening time members would carry out individual research into options which are available and consult the Boundary Committee web sites

The Standards Board for England has issued new Ethical Framework regulations. The Chairman reported that he is now a Parish Council representative on the Standards Board. As a result of this it is likely that members of the Knott Hall Committee should apply for dispensation to allow them to take part in Parish Council discussions in which the Knott Hall featured. The new regulations mean that complaints against councillors will be heard by a local Standards Committee. This will give rise to a hearing in which the councillor complained against can give evidence and call witnesses. He may also be represented by counsel or a solicitor or, by agreement, some other person.. The Standards Committee can then give a verdict and if necessary apply sanctions.

DEFRA had produced a document giving the qualifications required for a Parish Council to become a "Quality" Council. At the moment Heddon could not become a "Quality" Council because the Clerk did not hold the necessary qualifications. The "Quality" status will decide what responsibilities a parish council can take on in the future. Heddon as usual was in an unfortunate position with regard to size. However it is possible that in the future it may be advantageous to become a "Quality" council. In particular the position after the establishment of the Unitary Authorities as discussed in Item (9) could make a significant difference to the Council’s position.

This was a conference to be held in Newcastle Civic Centre on July 17^th 2003. There were no volunteers to attend

PARISH COUNCIL CONSULTATION ON PLANNING APPLICATIONS AND PUBLIC SPEAKING AT PLANNING MEETINGS

A review of the new regulations regarding the CMBC Planning Committee was reviewed. There must be at least three objections for an application to be put before the Planning Committee. Otherwise the decision would be delegated to Officers. There was a new regime for allowing the public, applicants and objectors to speak. A useful list of matters which were "Planning Matters" and those which were not was included. The Parish Council’s time to comment has been extended from 14 days to 21 days

Heddon on the Wall W.I. had written to the Parish Council asking for support for the re-cladding of the W.I. Hall. Mrs Laws declared a Prejudicial Interest in this topic. This matter was discussed in detail and there was a great deal of support evidenced. It was agreed that a sum of £1000 should be donated to the Heddon on the Wall W.I. for this cause.

Mr Dunbar, CEO of CMBC is visiting the Parish Council in September. It was necessary to have some questions prepared in advance of his visit. Some questions were put forward at the last meeting and several more were put forward. at this meeting. These will be forwarded to Mr Dunbar so that he can have answers prepared for his visit.

Two applications had been received to fill the casual vacancy on the Parish Council. This vacancy arose because there were insufficient candidates at the Parish Elections which took place in May 2003. There was some serious discussion on the merits of the two candidates. A paper vote was held and Mr Avery obtained a majority vote. The second candidate was to be thanked for his interest and he was to be asked if he would be prepared to act in an advisory capacity in the future.

The Parish Council Accounts had been previously circulated. There were no questions regarding the accounts and they were accepted by the Council.

A meeting of the CMBC Rural West Partnership had been held in Heddon on Wednesday 2^nd July. This meeting had been attended by three representatives of the Parish Council. This organisation was now the primary fund distributor in the area. The Coalfield area has had their Partnership running for some time and it has had large sums of money to distribute. Little has been done to activate the Rural West Partnership until now and there is no money available at the moment. The Chairman proceeded to give his report on the operation of this organisation and he stressed the desirability for all the village groups to participate. The importance of the Rural West Partnership in financing projects was also stressed. This particular meeting was poorly organised because of the very short notice which was given.

The Standards Board for England had published a second edition of the Registration of Interest booklet. This was distributed to all members present.

The Internal Auditors report was available for inspection. After an explanation of the VAT queries was given by the clerk the report was accepted. It was agreed to carry out risk assessment as required by the internal auditor.

The use of the library car park as a race track was mentioned. The police were to be contacted. The Library authorities were also to be contacted, pointing out what was happening on their property. The presence of high-speed traffic in the village was also a cause for concern.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Tuesday, 26^th August 2003 in the Green Room of the Knot Memorial Hall, commencing at 9.30am

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Laws, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

The Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 9^th July were agreed as being a true record and were signed by the Chairman

The minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 13^th August had been circulated. They were agreed as being a true record and were signed by the Chairman

Mr Richardson of the Heddon Service Station had been contacted about the type of store he proposed to include in the re-constructed service station. He gave assurances that although it would be a "Spar" shop this was only because "Spar" was the supplier. It would sell no more than it had under the previous ownership. These sales would largely be incidental to the petrol sales.

03/D/595 L Young, Allerburn Farm, East Heddon, Heddon on the Wall NZ 138 682

PARISH COUNCIL RESPONSE TO THE BOUNDARY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT RE-ORGANISATION

This matter was discussed at length . The options discussed were those outlined in the Minutes of the 9^th July, Page 679, item (9). Of the options discussed it was agreed that the preferred option was Option (3), in which three Unitary Authorities were formed. It was agreed that in this Option Heddon would be placed in the Tynedale Authority. As all of the lines of communication in Heddon flow from East to West with none going in a Northerly direction to Morpeth this arrangement would place Heddon in its natural position as part of Tyndale.

Several letters had been received by the Chairman as a result of his article in "Heddon Gossip". Most of these favoured the option favoured by the Council although two letters did support merging with Newcastle.

There was further discussion on the effect on the Council Tax that this (or indeed any other arrangement) would have. It was decided that this was a question to which at the moment there was no obvious answer, except to say that there almost certainly would be an effect.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at about 10.30am.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council Planning Committee took place on the 13^th August 2003, in the Green Room of the Knott Memorial Hall commencing at 9.30am

The minutes of the meeting held on the 16^th July 2003 were accepted as a true record and were signed by the chairman.

There were queries over the type of "store" which was to be opened on this site. Rumours regarding the possibility of a large "Spar" shop being opened has already had repercussions.

Ground floor extension and provision of 1^st floor bedroom and bathroom and dormer window. PERMITTED

Two Storey extension and conservatory. PERMITTED, with conditions. The conditions applied concerned tree preservation and screening

This application was examined and there were no grounds for objection. It was commented that this applicant tended to leave developments unfinished on this site.

Kitchen and conservatory extension including additional bedroom and garage alterations incorporating pitched roof and entrance porch.

This application was discussed at length. The Council expressed great dissatisfaction with the plans which accompanied the application. They were extremely confusing and difficult to follow. The constant referrals from drawing to drawing was found to be particularly distracting.

The Committee found it very difficult to visualise the actual development. However it appeared that this development was ill-conceived giving rise to some major concerns. These were:

A new garage was to be built in the front of the house with a possible impact on the neighbouring house

The presence of a dormer window in the new garage roof was thought to be unnecessary.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council Welfare Field Improvements Committee was held on Friday, 14^th August 2003 partly on the Welfare Field, commencing at 6.30pm and partly in the Supper Room of the Knott Memorial Hall, commencing at about 7.15pm.

PRESENT Dr B. Selman (acting chairman) Mr I Armstrong, Mr A. Avery, Mr M. Furlonger. and the Clerk to the Parish Council, Mr T Bates. There were over one third of the committee members present therefore it was decided that the meeting was quorate.

The minutes of the meetings held on the 30^th May 2003 were accepted as a true record and were signed by the Chairman.

Full Planning Permission did not appear to be required. The Planning Authorities would need to be informed in a formal letter, but it was thought nothing further would be required. The involvement of English heritage had been satisfactorily dealt with and there was a letter to the effect that they had no interest in the developments on the Welfare Field.

The wall was to be repaired when the contractor involved could find the time to do it.

Insurance would be required for both the installation itself and for third party insurance. No figures were available, but would be provided when the facility was about to be used.

There was no correspondence which was not being dealt with as part of the agenda

A site meeting had been held with the contractor in late July 2003 and it was at this meeting that several important conclusions were reached. It was decided that a MUGA 40 metres long would not fit lenghthwise across the Welfare Field. It was decided to reduce the length and fit the installation up and down the field. The new dimensions were to be 36metres long and 18metres wide. The footpath was also to be reduced in size to 1metre wide. The fencing was agreed to be 2.85 meters high. The contractor also agreed to re-assess the initial preparation work which may be necessary.

This part of the meeting was held on the Welfare Field commencing at 6.30pm In the light of the conclusions which had been drawn at the site meeting reported in (5) above, the new dimensions were laid out on the Welfare Field to demonstrate the impact of the new proposals. The actual position of the installation was also reviewed. As a result of the various experiments it was decided that the dimensions of 36m x 18m were satisfactory. This was to be placed lengthwise in the field. The position would be with the North end of the MUGA approximately level with the old northerly goal mouth. The actual location would be about 6m from the existing fence, 43m from the hedges of the houses in Hexham road and about 8m from the nearest piece of play equipment (the Wendy House slide)

The clerk gave an account of the trail of undelivered letters which had given rise to series of misunderstandings with the contractor over the price of the MUGA. The quotation which was eventually submitted was £49,500 for the 40m court and including complete Heras fencing. As a result of the site meeting reported in (5) above the contractor revised his price to £46,650.

There was no report from the finance committee. The Parish Council was offering a grant of £20,000 with a possible loan of a further £20,000 which would be paid back over a period of time. The lack of a report from the finance committee was causing serious embarrassment because decisions were being postponed. The clerk was asked to contact some specific grant awarding bodies. These were the Catherine Cookson Trust, The Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, Thompsons of Prudhoe, The various Knott Trusts, the Northumberland County Council Small Grants Scheme, and the Area Committee Community Chest scheme. In spite of this action to be taken by the clerk it would still be expected that the Finance Committee should meet and report. This subject was re-opened and there were further discussions on possible methods of raising funds and demonstrating community involvement at a later point in the meeting. It was agreed that possibly some form of community sponsorship could be tried when the grant situation had been fully explored.

There was some discussion over the accessibility of the installation to users. The unit should be built so that it could be padlocked, but that initially it should not be padlocked. It could provoke problems by having it locked. If it were locked there would be problems with getting it unlocked so that it could be used. There was further discussion on the procedures which would be used for a "booking" system, and who would be booking. Tennis nets posed a particular problem. It was suggested that a locked steel box should be manufactured and this could be placed on site next to the MUGA. This could be used to store the nets and they could be removed and rigged by the participants. There was much further discussion and it was apparent that any combination of booking system and "free play" could be a source of problems and would need to be carefully thought through.

Publicity was ongoing. The minutes were published in the library and post office and on the web site. Notices were placed in Heddon Gossip and Vision. Articles were also placed in the Hexham Courant when appropriate. It was thought that the next big item would be the actual commencement of the project.

New seats were required in the Welfare Field. There was some discussion over the supply of these and a local contractor was suggested.

The chairman proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Ian Scott for initiating this project in the first place.

The question of car parking was raised. No extra provision was being provided. The possibility of parking in the school was suggested but this was would have to be explored with the new headmistress.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 10^th September 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Young, Mr Tailford, Mr. Iley, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, Borough Councillor Jackson and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

Apologies for absence were received from Mr Armstrong, Mr Avery and County Councillor Bentham

The minutes of the meeting held on the 26^th August 2003 were agreed as being a true record and were signed by the Chairman

Due to the August recess there had been little business transacted. The political balance on the Council was currently being negotiated. The current administration has been formed by the Labour and Liberal Democrat representatives. However they do not have a majority on the Council. The Audit Commission Comprehensive Performance Assessment is immanent and there is some concern about this. The Financial Review meeting is also immanent. The central bureaucracy is being increased, for example by the employment of a full time Public Relations Officer. The council’s books were being balanced by the selling off of council owned assets. The debate on the Local Government Reorganisation had been held and CMBC were in favour of the three unitary solution rather than the single countywide authority. The problem was that there was no information to go on. No potential boundaries had been drawn up and there was no information on the council tax implications. These were the crucial items. With regard to Concessionary fares, Heddon had been granted special privileges. However the matter was undergoing further review. Further discussion showed that the concessionary fares system seemed to be working satisfactorily, but one anomaly was reported. There was some further discussion on the Local Government Re-organisation. The subject of the ownership agreement for Heddon Common was raised with Councillor Jackson, and his help was requested in the negotiations for the proposed Sports Field. Councillor Jackson agreed to be a member of a Committee which might be formed to organise the construction of such a Sports Field. The plight of the current Heddon football teams was emphasised and the complete absence of sports facilities in Heddon was discussed. The topic of a burial ground site was also raised. It was suggested that Mr Watson and Mr Cheesebrough be contacted, and contacts with Baysleap Farm be renewed.

The above accounts were approved for payment. A cheque for £850 was drawn on the Bank of Ireland

Extension to store, new store with W.C., and siting of a diesel tank within a bund. PERMITED with conditions

Alteration to front elevation of porch, extension to rear to form sunroom and extension to bedroom 2.

It was thought that the plans for this development were very minimal, but there were NO OBJECTIONS.

Audit together with the associated documentation. Copies of the proposed Statement

The Chairman outlined the need for the Risk assessment, how it should be carried

out and the risks categorised. It was agreed that Councillors should compile a list of

possible risks. A meeting would be convened to classify the various risks the Council

faced and how to deal with them . It was agreed that the Guidance from the NALCC

Practitioners Guide should be circulated to Councillors to assist in this project.

This had been postponed to the November meeting because of uncertainty concerning the Chairman’s and the Vice-chairman’s attendance.

This matter was discussed at the Council meeting of the 12^th June 2003. It is now going before the N.C.C. Public Rights of Way Committee, which meets in October. The Officers recommendation is that both paths be accepted and included in the footpaths map. The Chairman gave a brief history of the project repeating the views of the Parish Council and the views of the University, which were opposing the establishment of the footpath.

This was the footpath along the Military Road West from High Seat. There was some criticism of the actual path, but its installation was noted.

The submission of CMBC to the Boundary Committee was available for inspection. It was considered to be a fair assessment of the situation. CMBC had opted for the three unitary option

The handyman was having personal problems and was also in almost full employment, making it difficult to fulfil his obligations. He had been given leave until November when the position will be re-assessed.

Rats had again invaded the allotment site. CMBC pest control officer had been contacted and was bringing the matter under control

A letter had been received from a resident regarding parking in Heddon by walkers. Some roads had been blocked on one occasion by parked vehicles. This generated a great deal of discussion. The failure of N.C.C. to co-ordinate matters such as accommodation and parking on the Roman Wall Path was a cause for concern. There was much discussion over the provision of camp sites and accommodation

It was agreed to contact Northumbrian Trees and Landscapes for routine maintenance of the Memorial park.

The accounts for the Acting Up project were presented. These showed that the project had run at an overall loss of £56, and this had been met by the organisers.

Mr Iley had attended a meeting of the Airport Consultative Committee in Mr Armstrong’s absence. Complaints had been received from residents that aircraft had been overflying Heddon more than usual. The Airport authorities agreed that this was probably likely because there had been more aircraft movements and the pilots were now free to some extent to chose their own flight path from the airport. They had to achieve a height of 1,500 feet before turning onto the designated flight paths. Negotiations are on going for some routes to take the traffic to the south away from Heddon. In the last two weeks of September trials are being held such that any aircraft taking off from Newcastle will have to turn to the south of Heddon and would have to climb more steeply. They would also be given a route which they must adhere to. For next year routes will be agreed that miss out South Ponteland and Heddon. Any complaints about aircraft noise should be reported individually to the airport. Telephone complaints are preferred. The airport authorities revealed their Master Plan for the Airport, going to 2016. This fore saw the passenger numbers increasing from 3.9million to 9million with the corresponding increase in flight numbers. The Airport authorities are prepared to talk to Parish Councils on this subject.

Misbehaviour of youths in cars was reported. It was recommended that the police should be contacted with as much detail as possible.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at about 9.00pm.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 22nd October 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mr Tailford, Mr. Iley, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Laws, Mr Avery, County Councillor Bentham, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates
Visitors; There were no members of the public present.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Borough Councillor Jackson

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the previous meeting held on the 10th September 2003 had been previously circulated. They were accepted as a true record and were signed by the Chairman

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
The Clerk had received a visit from a resident who was in favour of the Airport Authorities giving a presentation on the current airport operations which appear to have resulted in much more over flying of Heddon. This matter was discussed and Councillor Bentham confirmed that the resident had also contacted him. It was agreed that the presentation would not actually achieve anything. The airport authorities had already stated that the best response from residents was for them to write in or telephone, and complain about disturbance. A letter from the Parish Council would count as one complaint. It was agreed to place an article in the Heddon Gossip outlining this situation.

DISTRICT REPORT
In the absence of Councillor Jackson there was no District Report.

COUNTY REPORT
Councillor Bentham reported that the establishment of Footpaths over Close House grounds had been considered by the appropriate Committee. The footpaths had been confirmed. It was stated that the footpaths had been approved to follow the original line of the path, straight across the golf course. Councillor Bentham had received a list of the outstanding highway works from the Hexham Depot. The list did not appear to be complete and some of the items on the list appeared to be irrelevant. There was no mention of the moving of the 30mph limits or the paving of the verge between the Methodist Church and the W.I.. N.C.C. L.E.A. has received a critical report in an OFSTED inspection. The Director of Education had resigned and had been replaced by Mr Brian Edwards, previously Director of Education in Gateshead. An action plan had been put together to deal with the matters raised in the OFSTED report. It was proposed to set up a Children's and Family Service. The Policy Committee had been asked to consider the voting age. No conclusions had been reached by the Committee.

ACCOUNTS

RECEIVED
Bank Interest, Bank of Ireland £ 265.08
Allotment Rent £ 234.50
TO PAY
Clerk's Salary, Mr. T. Bates £ 300.00
Handyman, Mr. T. Evans, sheets omitted from the last agenda £ 67.50
Planning Permission request for the Welfare Field MUGA £ 55.00
To Petty cash £ 100.00
CMBC, control of rats on the allotments £ 178.49
The above accounts were accepted for payment. A cheque for £470 was drawn on the Bank of Ireland.

PLANNING
Decisions
03/D/439, Mrs B. Donnison, 23, Military Road, Heddon on the Wall
Demolition of Joiners Workshop and erection of 1 no dwelling house with
garage. PERMITTED with conditions. Complaints had been received about the condition of the building presently on this site
03/D/464, Amos Bros, Heddon Forge.
OUTLINE demolition of buildings and erection of 12 No flats with associated parking PERMITTED with conditions
03/D/552, N. Glendinning, 14, Remus Ave.
Kitchen and conservatory extensions including additional bedroom and garage alterations incorporating a pitched roof and entrance porch. PERMITTED
03/D/661, Mr & Mrs Clark, 12, Campus Martius
Sun lounge to the rear. PERMITTED
Application upon which consultation took place
03/D/680 Primelight Advertising, on behalf of Heddon Service Station
Erection of 2 x double free standing advertising units. There were objections to this development.
For Discussion at this meeting
03/D/727, Mr N.R.A. Fagents, Granville House, Heddon on the Wall, NZ 135 669. Proposed granny/guest accommodation.
This application appeared to be identical to the previous application for this site (03/D/387). It was decided to repeat the comments made at that time, i.e., this was a development in the garden of a house and such developments had been refused before, and to emphasise the need for adequate screening.
Update on the Planning Situation with regard to the East Heddon Sports Field
Mr Avery had been investigating the situation on behalf of the Parish Council. The main problem here was with the footway/cycleway from Heddon to the Sports Field. Mr Avery outlined the various options such as building the path to N.C.C. specifications or simply using the French drains. An alternative was to use the bridalway which passes through Bays Leap Farm. Most of this was metalled road, but the part which was not metalled could be re-surfaced at a smaller cost than building the footpath along the slip road. This appeared to be a much safer option. It might also be possible to prepare a "planning brief" and give this to independent contractors and see what their solution to this problem would be. It was thought possible that an organisation, such as the football club who had a bank account, could apply to the Area Committee's Small Grants Scheme. Any grant obtained could be used to finance a "feasibility study" on the safe route to the sports field. It was believed that a proposal needed to be put to the Planning Authorities so that it could be discussed. After much further discussion it was agreed that the if possible the football club should attempt to undertake a feasibility study and produce this as quickly as possible. If necessary a special Parish Council meeting would be held to take the matter further.
Matters brought to the Council's Attention
A large trailer advertising "Diggerland" had appeared in a field on the south side of the A69 and a second trailer advertising Lloyds Lawnmower repairs was on the North side of the A 69. It was decided to bring this matter to the attention of the planning authorities.
South Houghton Equestrian Centre now advertises a tackle shop open to the public. It was questioned if this establishment had Planning Permission and whether Business Rates were being paid. It was agreed to bring this matter to the attention of the Planning Authorities.

CONFIRMATION OF IDENTITY OF CHEQUE SIGNATORIES
A request had been received from the Bank of Ireland that all cheque signatories should be positively identified on their records. This would involve the relevant persons submitting to the bank original documents such as passports, driving licences etc. in order that the bank could positively identify those people. This was in accordance with government regulations to control money laundering. The Clerk had been in touch with the bank and had come to what appeared to be a mutually agreeable arrangement. This was that only the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and the Clerk would have to provide such identification. The reasoning was that at least one of these people would always be a cheque signatory. In the bank's view this would be satisfactory. Secondly it was agreed that original documents need not be submitted. Photo copies of documents would be acceptable provided that they were authenticated by our internal auditor. It was agreed to accept these arrangements

CMBC COMMUNITY STRATEGY
A copy of this document had been received and was accepted. The Rural West Partnership had been legally constituted on Tuesday 21st October.

APPLICATION FOR A PROVISIONAL JUSTICES LICENCE FOR HEDDON SERVICE STATION
An application for a Justices Licence for Heddon Service Station had been received. This matter was discussed at length. It was pointed out there were already two public houses in the village and another "off licence". It was decided to object to this application on the grounds of sufficient provision being available, and potential problems with young people obtaining alcohol which will aggravate an already existing problem. It also seemed inappropriate to supply alcohol to drivers. There were also potential security problems. It was also emphasised that the present post office was also the off licence. Without this additional income the viability of the post office would be under threat. It was decided to communicate these conclusions to the Licensing Justices.

QUALITY PARISH COUNCILS
The SLCC were holding a seminar on the above topic on 21st November at a cost of £25. No members expressed a desire to attend.

CMBC ANNUAL MEETING WITH PARISH COUNCILS
This was to bee held on the 23rd October. There were no volunteers to attend.

CASTLE MORPETH BOROUGH DEBATE
This was to be held on Saturday 24th October. Mr Avery would represent the Parish Council.

BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR APRIL 2004 TO MARCH 2005
The prepared budget had been previously circulated. It was discussed in detail and it was decided to include a sufficient sum for the maintenance of the Welfare Field Play equipment and add a further sum to provide office equipment and a computer for the clerk. The budget would be re-drafted showing these additions and re-submitted to the November meeting for approval.

PURCHASE OF LITTER BINS
CMBC had requested that the Litter bins be replaced on safety grounds. It was agreed to replace all of the bins as requested. This would be two bins in the Welfare Field, two bins in the Memorial Park, one bin at the Three Tuns bus stop and one bin in the Methodist Church bus shelter. This would cost about £2100 plus VAT

CMBC DISTRICT LOCAL PLAN
The final version of this document was now available and was accepted.

VILLAGE HANDYMAN
The village handyman had been on a two months leave of absence and was due to re-started at the beginning of November. There was a great deal of discussion over the condition of the village during his absence. There were a number of jobs which needed doing. It was agreed that he should be re-started.

AGM OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF NORTHUMBERLAND
This meeting was to be held on the 26th November 2003. It was decided to re-consider this at the November meeting.

AUDIT COMMISSION EVALUATION OF CMBC
A questionnaire had been received from the Audit Commission for the evaluation of CMBC as part of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment of the District Council. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman had carried out an initial attempt at filling in the questionnaire, and had agreed on most points. However there were a number of points upon which they disagreed. These points were discussed at this meeting and agreed answers were provided for all questions.

RISK ASSESSMENT
It was decided to carry out this important review at a meeting specially convened for the purpose. This would be as held soon as possible but no date was agreed.

CMBC REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE
This will be held on the 9th November in Morpeth. Members were invited to

LETTER FROM LONGHORSLEY PARISH COUNCIL
Longhorsley Parish Council had written to the C.E.O. of CMBC complaining about its consultation process particularly with regard to Planning. The Complaint basically concerned the apparent lack of attention paid by CMBC to the Parish Council's comments. It was agreed that Longhorsley Parish Council's experiences closely matched those of Heddon on the all Parish Council. It was agreed to communicate this to Longhorsely parish Council.

CONCESSIONARY FARES SCHEME
Although Councillor Jackson was not present he had asked for any comments on the Concessionary Fares Scheme. From the experience of Councillors the scheme appeared to be working satisfactorily.

MAINTENANCE OF WELFARE FIELD PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT
The large single tyre swing needed maintenance on the impact absorbing surface and also needed lubrication
The Large Slide also required exposed concrete covered over. Some of this was a new piece of concrete on the rear of the mound. It was agreed to obtain an estimate for this work.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS
BROAD BAND
Wylam and Horsley Parish Councils were combining in an application to B.T to obtain Broadband. The Chairman had been asked if Heddon would also support such an application. It was agreed that this application would be supported. A Press Release had been prepared by Wylam Parish Council.

HEDDON COMMON
CMBC had carried out a large amount of work on Heddon Common, principally opening up paths and signing the bridal ways and footpaths. Some of the signs had been pulled up. There was some discussion about some misplaced signs at the bottom of the Common. This matter would be investigated. It was agreed to place an item in Heddon Gossip regarding the sign posting of the Common.

CATTLE ON THE COMMON
At a meeting of the Heddon Common Management Committee some time ago it was suggested that Highland cattle could be grazed on the lower part of the Common. The problem with this was the difficulty of providing a water supply. The residents of Hillheads agreed that a water supply could be provided from their main, provided that they could graze their horses when the land was not required by the cattle. It was agreed that this was a reasonable arrangement.

NEW BUS TIMETABLES ON THE BUS STOPS
New bus timetables had appeared on the bus stops and most of these were completely wrong. It was agreed that the supplier of the timetables should be contacted.

ROAD SAFETY ON HEXHAM ROAD
Hexham Road going West from Heddon was deteriorating rapidly, traffic was speeding and the road surface was breaking up. The gutters and gullies had not been cleaned recently.

PROVISION OF INFORMATION BOARDS FOR THE ROMAN WALL PATH
These were promised for the bottom of Chare Bank but had not yet been provided. They did appear to be necessary.

Planning Committee Members Mr I. Armstrong (Chairman), Mr B. Tailford, Mr M. Iley, Mrs L. Cruickshank Other Councillor Mrs H. Thompson, and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

03/D/680 Heddon Service Station 2 x Commercial free standing advertising units REJECTED

Extensions to provide conservatory, bedroom, kitchen, lounge bathrooms and garage. This application was discussed in detail. There had been a previous application from this resident (03/D/389) and this had been approved. It was not known what was happening with this application.

After discussion it was agreed that the present application appeared to represent serious over development on this site. It appeared possible that the formula for calculating the permitted area for expansion would in this case be infringed. It was agreed to communicate this view to CMBC Planning Authorities.

It was reported that there had been objections to this proposal and that it was being referred to the CMBC Planning Committee on the 9^th December 2003. The objections were based on increased noise and potential parking problems. Mr Stewart and Dr Selman had agreed to speak in favour of the project. New plans had been requested showing the MUGA situated as far west as possible in the Welfare Field and these had been provided.

A meeting of the Heddon on the Wall Parish Council was held on Wednesday,10^th December 2003 in Heddon Library, commencing at 7.30pm

PRESENT Dr Selman(Chairman), Mr Armstrong, Mr Young,

Mr Tailford,(part) , Mr. Iley, Mrs Cruickshank, Mrs Thompson, Mr Avery, County Councillor Bentham, Borough Councillor Jackson and the Clerk, Mr T. Bates

Visitors:- There were five members of the public present

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Mrs Laws

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting held on 12^th November had been previously circulated. They were agreed to be a true record and were signed by the Chairman

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

BUS SHELTERS A meeting had been held with Mr R. Smith of N.C.C. It had been agreed to erect a shelter on the north side of the B6528 at the Frenchman’s Arms bus stop. It was also thought possible to erect a shelter at the Towne Gate bus stop, but some modification of the present street furniture would be required. Councillor Bentham confirmed that this second shelter was a firm possibility. The Clerk stated that all of the residents likely to be affected by these developments had been contacted. There had been some replies and all were in favour. The Chair of the Frenchman’s Court flats committee had confirmed that they were opposed to a shelter being erected on the South side of the B6528 at the bus stop opposite to Frenchman’s Court. There was some discusion on the maintenance and the cleaning of the shelters. The maintence would be the responsibility of the Parish Council but there was a cleaning contract with the manufacturer for two years.

LITTER BINS These had now been installed and they appeared to be on a very secure base.

ADVERTISING HOARDINGS More hoardings had appeared alongside the A69

DISTRICT REPORT

There has been an interim report on the concessionary travel passes. The main recommendation was to remove the 9.30am bar. A finance working group had also been formed and was now functioning. It appeared that the CMBC finances were on a fairly sound basis at the moment as there had been a few windfalls. Some areas of waste had been identified. There had been some over expenditure on Morpeth Market Place. The Kylins reception area had been refurbished at a cost of £25,000. and they now propose to sell the Kylins. The budget for next year was in the process of preparation and there was a proposal for a 9% increase in Council Tax . This was for increased staffing in order to give better services

COUNTY REPORT

Councillor Bentham promised to investigate the situation regarding pavement maintenance on Centurion Way. Councillor Bentham and Dr Selman had attended a meeting at Craster and the Budget setting had been discussed. Savings of about £20,000,000 had to be made over the next two years. A range of savings were being examined. The preparation of the budget was based on the assumption that Council Tax would not rise by more than 10%. There were strong objections to this. The County proposals for the Unitary Authority had been published. The 487 bus service had been withdrawn. The Parish Council was to have been informed of this change but nothing had been received. A MORI survey had been carried out and this had concluded that residents in Blyth Valley and Wansbeck were more likely to be satisfied with County services than residents in other areas. The footpath between the Methodist Church and the W.I.Hall is still included in the Local Improvement scheme. Councilor Bentham had received further complaints about low flying aircraft and quarry traffic. The County Councils view on changing the voting age was that the age should not be reduced. There was further discussion on the policy of N.C.C. on wind farms. N.C.C. was strongly in favour of these even though their economics were doubtful.

ACCOUNTS

Bank Interest, Bank of Ireland £ 254.78

Allotment Rent £ 30.00

Funds from “Heddon Crew” youth group, Village Trust £ 759.02

TO PAY

Clerk’s Salary, Mr. T. Bates £ 300.00

CMBC cost of 1 extra grass cut during Sept/Oct 2003 £ 606.00

Mr P. Banks, Installation of litter bins, as per quotation £ 180.00

Knott Memorial Hall, Room hire for Welfare Field exhibition £ 5.00

NTC Touring Theatre Donation as agreed 12^th November meeting £ 30.00 Refreshments for Remembrance Day Service £ 11.88

A cheque for £1130 was drawn on the Bank of Ireland to meet these expenses.

PLANNING

The following were discussed at the Planning Committee meeting held on 26^th November 2003

Decisions

03/D/595 A Young, Allerburn Farm

Conversion of office and store to a residential cottage PERMITTED

03/D/680 Heddon Service Station

2 x Commercial free standing advertising units REJECTED

Applications

03/D/847 Mr and Mrs Maxwell, 10, Heddon Banks, Heddon on the Wall

Extensions to provide conservatory, bedroom, kitchen, lounge bathrooms and garage

The minutes of this meeting had been previously circulated and were agreed as a true record and were signed by the Mr Armstrong, Chairman of that meeting

For discussion at this meeting

DECISIONS

03/D/752 MULTI USER GAMES AREA ON HEDDON WELFARE FIELD

A meeting of the CMBC Development Services and Licensing Committee was held on the 9^th December. At this meeting the Planning application for the MUGA on the Welfare Field was approved subject to some conditions.

Proposal for a Bunk House at Houghton North Farm.

A presentation was given to the Parish Council on the proposed Bunk House accommodation at Houghton North Farm for the users of the Hadrians Wall Trail. Conversations were still on-going with the Planning Authorities, and consultation had taken place with a number of interested parties as to the type and level of accommodation. The present plans give accommodation for about 26 people. There would also be the possibility of employment for three people. Parking was available in the farm environs. The scheme was discussed and there were no adverse comments. The farm was very close to the Trail and this was a great advantage.

The Parish Council was in favour of this development.

Planning Application for a Bed and Breakfast on Hexham Road

This Application was discussed at the CMBC Development Services and Licensing Committee which was held on the 9^th December 2003. No notification of this application had been received by the Parish Council. There was one objector from Heddon. The Application was given approval for one year. It appeared that this may have been another development associated with the Hadrians Wall Trail. No details were available as to how this establishment would operate.

For Discussion at this meeting

03/D/859 Mr J. Spence, Whitchester Farm Bungalow, Heddon on the Wall, NZ

099 683 Removal of existing pre-fab. bungalow and construction of 2 storey dwelling house with garage

This applicatin ws discussed and there were NO OBJECTIONS

03/D/871 Mr A Watson, Rear of Heddon Banks Farm, Heddon on the Wall, NZ

132 665 Extension to mono pitch roof to provide garage accommodation.

This was discussed and there were NO OBJECTIONS.

REPAIR OF PLAY EQUIPMENT

Climb ‘n Slide had submitted a quotation of £850 for the repair of the single point tyre swing area and the maintenance of the large slide. It was proposed to fill in the pit in the Tyre Swing area which was caused by childrens’ feet during play. It was thought that if the hole was filled and “Savva mat” installed this might reduce the effectiveness of the swing as a play thing. It was agreed to discuss this matter further with Climb ‘n Slide.

REQUEST BY AMOS BROS TO PURCHASE PARISH COUNCIL LAND ADJACENT TO CHARE BANK.

Amos Bros have made a formal request to purchase the land on Chare Bank owned by the Parish Council in order to further the re-development of their Roman Wall Forge site. The Chairman divided this item into two units for discussion. The first was the general principle on whether or not the land should be sold, and the second was if that principle was established in favour of selling the price to asked. The first matter was discussed in open session. There was a general discussion during which the use, to which the Parish Council could put this land, was argued. There was also some concern expressed over the possibility of setting a precedent for the sale of Parish Council owned land. It was agreed that this land should be sold to the Amos Bros. It was also agreed that this was a special case and was not to be taken as a precedent. The sale must also be to the advantage of the community and must be made at suitable commercial prices. The Parish Council went into private session in order to discuss the possible price to be asked for this piece of land.

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL SUBMISSION TO THE BOUNDARY COMMITTEE ON UNITARY AUTHORITIES

Northumberland County Council’s submission to the Boundary Committee regarding

Unitary Councils was available. The County submission was for one authority to cover the whole county. It was agreed to consider this together with the Boundary Committee proposals (see Item 17) which were for either one single authority to cover the whole county or two authorities, one covering the Blyth Valley area and the second covering the remainder of the County. There was some further discussion on the feasibility of these proposals. Mr Armstrong agreed to review these documents and present his review at the January meeting.

PROPOSED PARISH COUNCIL FORUM FOR EASTERN TYNEDALE AND WESTERN CASTLE MORPETH

This proposal has grown out of a local transport group upon which Heddon was represented by Mrs Thompson. There was now a proposal to widen the scope of the group to include more Parish Councils and to widen its terms of reference to include working together and access to funding. There was some discussion and it was agreed that the Chairman and Mrs Thomson should attend the next meeting which would be held in Wylam on 19^th January 2004.

RISK ASSESSMENT

This had been carried out at a meeting held on the 26^th November 2003, and the assessment had been previously circulated. In general the assessment was accepted but there was some discussion on individual points. Councillor Propriety was a particular point and it was emphasised that declarations of interest must be made by councillors who have an interest in any item on the agenda. It was agreed that future agendas would have “Declarations of Interest” included as a standard item. The problem of accidents which might occur whilst travelling on Council business was a matter which caused a great deal of discussion. It was agreed to contact the Council insurers in an attempt to clarify the matter. It was also agreed to produce new standing orders for Parish Council meetings.

DEVELOPMENTS ON THE WELFARE FIELD AND THE PROPOSED SPORTS FIELD

As has previously been reported Planning Permission has been obtained for the MUGA on the Welfare Field. Finance was now urgently required for this project. It was reported that an independent surveyor had estimated that the footpath on the grass verge on the A69 slip road to access the proposed sports field would cost £20,000. A Funding Officer will be in place with the Rural West Partnership on March 1^st and this development will be submitted to him to solicit funding.

NEWCASTLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MASTER PLAN 2016

A copy of the Newcastle Airport Master Plan had been received for comment. A meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee had been held recently. The Airport Authority had been in touch to arrange a Public Meeting, but there was a problem with finding a suitable date. It was likely to be early February. Mr Armstrong gave a report on the proceedings of this meeting. There had been an increase of 64% in international schedule passengers in 2003 compared with 2002. The charter market has remained much the same over the year. In August there was one complaint about noise from Heddon and this was none specific. In September there were two, and these were also general. In October there were three and two of these were general and the third was about an Easyjet flight. It was emphasised that individual complaints were more effective than one complaint originating with the Parish Council. The airport authorities were now focusing on Heddon on the Wall in order to solve those particular problems. A letter from a resident had been received regarding airport noise and the apparent inactivity of the Parish Council. The new parking arrangements at the airport were severely criticised.. The airport authorities were being charged with polluting the environment over a release of de-icing fluid into the Ouseburn.

HEDDON COMMON MANAGEMENT

CMBC Legal Officer has suggested a meeting between CMBC officers, and Councillors and the Parish Council to try to resolve this issue. There was some discussion regarding just what was needed. The position was clarified by stating that the present suggestion was that the ownership of the Common would be shared with CMBC and that a joint Management Committee would manage it. The present Heddon Common Management Committee was a CMBC committee chaired by Heddon P.C. Chairman. This change of management structure would help to progress matters on the Common. The new CMBC Local Nature Reserve officer is taking an interest in Heddon Common and the situation has improved considerably during 2003. It was agreed that a meeting should be arranged for the end of January.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW. DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NORTHUMBERLAND

This matter was dealt with under Item 11

COUNTRYSIDE AND RIGHTS OF WAY ACT 2000

An updated map relating to the open countryside and common land in Heddon has been received together with leaflets regarding the above act and its application. There is also a description of the Appeal process. It was agreed that the map was correct and acceptable.

ALLOWANCES FOR COUNCILLORS

CMBC have provided information on the newly established Parish Remuneration Panel which now recommends the level of allowances which may be paid to Parish Councillors. If the Parish Council decided to pay allowances to its Councillors these had to be approved by this Panel. The payment of travel expenses was discussed together with the effect of paying travel allowances on insurances. It was agreed to contact CMBC to solicit further advice and information.

VILLAGE FESTIVAL

It is proposed to hold a “Village Festival” in May 2004. The information currently available suggests that the Parish Council is being asked for support. The event will consist of several individual events involving as many residents as possible. No response had been received as yet from the letter which had been sent out, except for the military. A meeting of the committee organising this event would be held when there was something to report

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY AND NATIONAL PARK JOINT STRUCTURE PLAN REVIEW – FIRST ALTERATION

The above document has been received for review and comment. It was noted that the comments which had been made by the Parish Council at the last review had been reported. It was agreed that this revision should be welcomed.

ESTIMATES FOR MAINTENANCE

Mr Banks had submitted maintenance estimates as follows:

Lifting and re-laying uneven paving stones in the Memorial Park £1250.00

Re building damaged school wall in Welfare Field £ 175.00

After some discussion it was agreed to accept the estimate for the re-building of the school wall. However it was agreed to seek further estimates for the maintenance in the Memorial Park

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

1) A letter had been received from Mrs Laws highlighting various items:

a) WALL AT THE EAST END OF HOUGHTON NORTH FARM

This had not been inspected as yet. It was agreed to bring this to the attention of the County

b) FLOODING ON THE B6528

This was due to blocked gutters and gullies.

c) SUBSIDENCE ON TOWNE GATE OPPOSITE IVY COTTAGE

There was a large hollow on Towne Gate which requires attention.

2) SATELLITE DISH ON CARTER’S COTTAGES

A satellite dish had appeared on Carter’s Cottages. This appeared to be entirely inappropriate. It was to be brought to the attention of the Planning Authorities.

3) SECURITY MARKING BY THE POLICE

The police were visiting the Knott Hall to security mark residents property

MINUTES OF MEETINGS - 2003

Parish Council

Planning

Annual Electors Meeting

Commons Management Committee

Welfare Field Improvements Committee