Corsenside Annual Parish Meeting

Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 13th of May 2024

Corsenside Parish Hall, West Woodburn at 7.00pm

 

Opening Remarks: Cllr C. Hamilton welcomed all to the meeting.

 

Apologies for absence: None

 

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 15th of May 2023: These were agreed as correct and signed promptly in July 2023.

 

Matters arising from the minutes held on Monday 15th of May 2023: None.

 

CPC Chairman’s Report: Delivered in person, a copy of the report will be uploaded to the CPC online archive.

 

Corsenside Parish Hall Committee: Delivered in person by Frederica McComb. Two new trustees have been added to the committee with hopes of another joining soon. The hall now opens regularly on a Wednesday afternoon for coffee. Income is coming from the hire of chairs, tables and crockery. Overall income is exceeding expenditure. Cllr Traill expressed thanks to Diana, Freddie and Andrea for the work they are doing in helping to open the hall.

 

Ridsdale Village Hall Fund: An email was read aloud explaining that technically the fund remains open but the remaining money was donated to Corsenside Parish Show.

Mission Hall Trust: Report from Peter Scott read aloud. 

The Corsenside Parish Show: Report from Danny Findler read aloud. A copy will be uploaded to the online archive.

 

Parochial Church Council: Report delivered in person by Diana Staszewski. Northern cross pilgrims have been hosted while enroute to Holy Island.

 

The Ridsdale Community Group – The Gun at Ridsdale: Report from Alison Thomson read aloud. A copy will be uploaded to the online archive.

 

Friends of Corsenside: Report delivered in person by Christine Woodcock, a copy of the report will be uploaded to the archive.

 

Parish Council Finance: Report delivered in person by Christine Woodcock, a copy of the report will be uploaded to the archive.

 

Any other Business: None

 

Meeting closed 7.37

 

REPORTS:

Chair of Parish Council’s Report
Good evening and welcome to the 2024 Annual Parish Meeting. As ever, I would like to begin by taking this opportunity to thank all who have taken the time and effort to make their contribution, by whichever means, to this meeting. I would also like to thank all those who give their time and energy to keep our various parish organisations running and thanks to all those who support them in various ways. These organisations keep parish life vibrant, help increase community cohesion, encourage a sense of belonging and help to make our parish a place we are all fortunate to call home. After a couple of years where we saw several changes to the membership of your Parish Council due to councillors standing down for various reasons and new councillors being co-opted, I’m really pleased to report that the year 2023 - ’24 has been a one of stability with no changes to the membership. Your councillors are Karen Traill, Sarah Smith and Dawn Anderson from West Woodburn, Dawn Mole from East Woodburn and Andy Wilson, Carol Hawman and myself from Ridsdale. We usually meet on the first Monday of each month with the exception of August when we normally don’t meet due to the summer holidays. Unusually, this past year we have also had two other months where we haven’t met, these being June due to the May meeting being very late last year because of the extra bank holiday for the Kings Coronation, and also January due to a lack of availability. This means the PC have met 9 times since the last APM in May last year. In our meetings we have addressed ourselves to 160 separate agenda items, an average of 18 agenda items per meeting. Our meetings are held in the Parish Hall in West Woodburn and we have brought the start time forward by half an hour this year so we now begin at 19:00. In the colder winter months, usually December, January and February, we decamp to the warmer surroundings of the Bay Horse and we thank them very much for their willingness to have us and for providing a room, separate from the bar, to facilitate our meetings and at no expense to Parish Council funds and the public purse. All agendas and previous minutes of CPC’s meetings are displayed on the three noticeboards in the parish in Ridsdale, West Woodburn and East Woodburn and also continue to be available on-line. On our website, you will also find contact details for your councillors, an events diary, a news page and information and links to local clubs, societies and groups. Agendas, minutes and other more general notices are also regularly posted on the Corsenside Clarion Facebook group which we encourage parishioners to join, and our thanks go to Peter Scott and the clerk for facilitating this. Please do pass on Parish information you come across via digital means to other parishioners you know don’t have access to such means of communication. 2 As always, we continue to work to the highest levels of financial scrutiny to ensure complete transparency and accountability and are confident that we adhere to the best possible practice. As previously mentioned, our ongoing internal audit carries on as usual, on a quarterly basis, thanks to Andy Wilson and my thanks also go to Hazel Goodall, a parishioner who is a qualified accountant, who continues to provide annual audit services for us. Our external auditing procedures are scrutinised by the accounting firm PKF Littlejohn. I feel it remains important to mention, as I have in previous reports, that being a parish councillor is so much more than just turning up to a meeting every month and I make no apologies for taking this opportunity to thank all Corsenside Councillors both personally, and also on behalf of the parish. They all give up their time freely and without complaint to represent the parish at various different levels and on the various forums we have input to. I’d also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Alison Thomson of Ridsdale and to Frederica McComb, or Freddie, of West Woodburn. Alison continues to represent our parish on the board of the Reay Wind Farm Community Interest Company. Alison is our conduit for the flow of information between the two organisations and provides us with regular written reports and takes our queries and comments back to the board. Freddie has now begun to act as our representative on the Parish Hall Committee and will hopefully be confirmed as a trustee at their upcoming AGM. A special mention also goes to the volunteers of the Ridsdale Community Group and all the staff at the Gun Inn for their undoubted commitment to community spirit in continuing to manage the affairs of the vital community resource which The Gun undoubtedly is. Thanks for all your unseen work, you are truly ‘the swans legs’ keeping The Gun gliding along so smoothly. Now to matters we have been dealing with in the past year. Firstly, dog waste. This is unpleasant to see lying around, awful to have to clean up if trodden in and can carry various diseases therefore also represents a significant health risk. Please remember that there is a byelaw in Northumberland which states that you must pick up after your dog wherever it may be and dispose of the waste appropriately. Sadly, dog waste remains an issue in certain parts of the parish and is our number one cause of complaint. Please can I appeal to everyone to help keep our parish clean and safe, be considerate of others and be a responsible owner by picking up any waste left by your pet and do remember that dogs are not allowed in the play area. When exercising your dogs, please don’t leave poo bags behind they are unsightly litter and don’t degrade quickly or even at all. Owners should dispose of them in the dog-waste bins provided or they should be taken home to put in your own bin. Remember, as a dog owner, it is your legal responsibility to do this. It is very frustrating to have to report that we are still without the interactive road signs in Ridsdale which were removed for repair more than a year ago and that the faulty signs in West Woodburn still haven’t been repaired. We have been in constant communication to chase progress with TWM, the company who supplied the faulty signs and also undertook to repair the Ridsdale ones, and have had a very difficult experience. TWM seem to have quite a turnover of staff resulting in a lack of continuity resulting in confusion and misunderstanding of previously agreed actions with the consequence being complete inaction on their part. Happily, after much effort by Chris, it looks as if we may have a resolution to the situation and hopefully all signs will be repaired or replaced by mid-June. 3 Power cuts have once again been a fact of life over the winter months and these in turn have once again highlighted the isolation suffered by our community during such times due a change over form the copper wire telephone network, which carried its own power line independent of the electricity supply network, to a fully digital service which does not have independent power. This has meant that, at times of power outage, we have been unable to use our landline phones and as our local mobile masts have also been subject to the power outage, our mobile phones have been out of action too. I wrote to Guy Opperman, our MP, on behalf of the parish, to highlight how dangerous this situation is, that at times when the help of the emergency services is most likely to be required, the people of this parish have literally no way to summon such help. I eventually received a reply after chasing up my first communication, and he says he does want to help and asked if I had any thoughts on BT’s and Ofcom’s response to the issues. As these responses largely seemed to assume mobile communications would continue during a power outage, I once again pointed out that this wasn’t the case and suggested that from a public safety point of view, our local masts need to be provided with permanent automatic back up generators to ensure they are always in service. I haven’t yet had a further reply but will continue to press for action. I believe that the dangerous implications of being unable to communicate caused by this so-called progress with our telephone network has not been properly considered and that our community deserves nothing less than to be able to summon help and support at all times but especially at those times of potential greatest need. Flooding of the road from West Woodburn to Bellingham has again been problematic over the extremely wet winter. We have, for many years, sought practical solutions to this and improvements to the road surface and drainage have already been made. Communicating the problem to road users remained a difficulty however, resulting in people driving all the way from Bellingham unaware that the road was impassable due to flooding near West Woodburn. Sometimes this has led to unnecessary risks being taken by drivers attempting to get through leading to cars becoming stuck in the flood. We have been in touch with NCC and the Environment Agency and thanks to work by Chris and Sarah, who met with representatives of these organisations, we hopefully now have a solution ready to roll out. This is in the form of extra signage including new fold-down ‘Road Closed’ signs at either end of the road along with a linking together of the Community Flood Wardens in West Woodburn and Bellingham who have the authority to ‘activate’ these ‘Road Closed’ signs and prevent motorists making long journeys before encountering the flooding. Our thanks go to our Flood Wardens, all volunteers, who remain vigilant and monitor river levels during extreme weather and stand ready to take appropriate action to warn the public and maintain safety. In each of my reports to the APM, over the years, I have mentioned how frustrating it can be in dealing with Northumberland County Council and sadly this situation continues. We always try our hardest to bring any matters brought to our attention to a satisfactory and timely conclusion but fully appreciate that it may not seem so to the onlooker or if you have asked us to progress an issue. For any matters which require the involvement of the County Council, the cogs in the County Hall ‘machine’ continue to turn extremely slowly, with ever tightening budgets and greatly reduced staffing levels in all departments resulting in the extremely long waiting times we often experience between request and action. I do feel it important to stress once again that it is not inaction on our behalf. Once we raise an issue with NCC we are in constant touch to keep reminding them until action is taken or a suitable resolution arrived at. Indeed, progress often seems to depend upon developing good working relationships with officers of the council and by the extra time and effort put in by the clerk and individual councillors in being persistent with their 4 requests. We are in the process of arranging a meeting with the leader of NCC and John Riddle, our County Councillor, to discuss these issues and hopefully find some sort of resolution or improvement at least. Chris, our clerk is now well into her third year of service and continues to provide us with an excellent clerking service. As our parish clerk, Chris is also the Responsible Financial Officer for the council and ensures our financial affairs are properly taken care of. A huge thanks to Chris for all her hard work and diligence, it’s very much appreciated. Chris also continues to make a further contribution to parish life as a volunteer with the Friends of Corsenside group so thanks also for all you do with them. Finally, may I, thank Carol for her support and assistance this year as Vice Chair and, once again, say a huge thank you to all the Parish Councillors, on behalf of all parishioners and also from me personally, for all the amazing work they do on behalf of the parish, for giving up their time, entirely free of charge, and for their willingness to serve the wonderful parish of Corsenside. Thank you. Carl Hamilton Chair - Corsenside Parish Council. 13 th May, 2024

 

THE OLD MISSION HALL TRUST

We are pleased to report on the last year’s activities as follows:

Our activities are always driven by the number of requests received from within the parish and controlled by the amount of income we receive in a year. Interest rates are at last beginning to rise, so hopefully next year will be far better for our budget. As always, getting our message across to the community is always a problem, despite FB announcements, there is currently little demand for financial assistance. In some ways, this is an advantage, allowing us to build up funds which would be of better help to applicants in future years.

It is always tempting to give them larger awards out of capital, but then that would mean less income would be generated in following years.

This year we only received one application for assistance, but we hope it made some difference to their situation.

Peter Scott

Clerk to the Trustees

 

Corsenside Parish Show

Report to Parish Council Meeting; 13th May 2024

Following last year’s successful show and the AGM in March, the Parish Show Committee is in full swing organising this year’s show and associated fundraising events. This year’s show will take place on Saturday 21st September.

Feedback from last year’s show was really positive, with parishioners appreciating a free or low-cost enjoyable day for the whole community. We do not charge entry either for the show itself or for industrial class entries; the bouncy castle and climbing wall are also free to use and hot drinks are provided free of charge. The costs of providing these are covered by fundraising activities, grants, donations, sponsorship and advertising, as we believe it is important to enable as many people as possible to benefit from this unique community event.

Interest in the show from local community groups is growing with a number of requests for stands at the 2024 show from groups such as yourselves (the Parish Council), Friends of Corsenside, North Tyne & Redesdale Partnership, Redesdale Archaeological Society, and B4RN. We also have interest from potential new committee members and suggestions from local people for new competitions, all of which is encouraging for the future of the show.

The regular competitive industrial, fruit, veg and flower classes will take place with attractions this year to include a bouncy castle, quoits competition, the Army Cadets and their climbing wall and a fire engine (the latter two being dependent on availability). New for this year will be a Scarecrow competition – details in the show programme which will be distributed at the end of May/early June to all households within the parish. There will also be a range of refreshments including tea & cakes, bar, hot food van and ice cream van.

Positive feedback was also received following past fundraising events with enquiries as to when the next event will be. Planning for the following fundraising activities for this year is well underway:

· Coffee morning with cake stall, plant stall, raffle & tombola at the Bay Horse on Saturday 18th May, 11am

· Prize Bingo evening with raffle and refreshments in Otterburn Memorial Hall on Thursday 20th June, 7.30pm

· Pub Quiz at the Bay Horse on Tuesday 23rd July, 7.30pm

· Race Night at the Gun Inn in on Saturday 17th August, 7.30pm for 8.00pm start

· Darts and Dominoes with Christmas raffle at the Gun Inn on Saturday 7th December, 7.30pm

Advertising and sponsorship opportunities in the show programme are currently being promoted to help fund the printing of the programme and prize monies.

We look forward to a summer of successful community events and another great show day.

Report prepared 3rd May 2024; Danny Findler, Chairman, Corsenside Parish Show

Other Committee Members: Maureen Johnson (Secretary), Stephen Donnelly (Treasurer), Paul Johnson, Helen Patterson, Sam Robson, Debbie Fenwick

 

RIDSDALE COMMUNITY GROUP LTD

Annual report 2024 The year as of the previous year has been challenging. This year being the worldwide energy crisis that has affected every household and business. This has had a significant impact on the business the Gun at Ridsdale. We have had to alter trading hours throughout the winter as footfall changed. Despite the economic challenges facing all businesses, there have been many highlights and events throughout the year. We celebrated the Coronation in style with a buffet, music and a community day where we made planters to decorate the village. The annual leek club took place in the Autumn and there have been several well attended music events. The Thursday quiz is extremely popular and well attended. As well as the continuation of the pool and darts teams, we also have a monthly book club after the success of the book corner. We hope going forward to have more varied clubs and events like these. We have held several coffee mornings and charity events in aid of Macmillan, air ambulance and guide dogs to name a few. More recently, we have opened a cafe during the week to provide low cost meals and a place for visitors and locals alike to meet during the day. The Gun took part in Four in the Bed and while we did not win, we received a lot of favourable comments along with the continued positive reviews we receive regularly. Going forward, we hope to weather the constant economic challenges we face and continue to provide a service to the community.

 

Friends of Corsenside

Events this year have included a fungal foray walk at Fourlaws, a reptile survey in the churchyard and of course continuing to care for the hay meadow by scything it in September. We have taken more steps this year to engage with the local community and as such our membership (members are folks on the mailing list) continues to grow. Thanks to the community and comitee for their ongoing support. 

 

Parish Council Finance

I am pleased to present the end of year financial statement for to April 2024 for Corsenside Parish Council. Throughout the year, we have maintained our commitment to financial prudence and accountability, ensuring that our spending remains within the overall budget while effectively supporting our work for the local community.

Financial Overview:

Total Income: Our total income for the year 2023-24 was £11,459 which includes the council tax precept and grants.

Total Expenditure: Our total expenditure for the year was £9,845 encompassing expenses related to landscaping, asset maintenance, insurance, clerk’s salary and the Christmas Play.

Budget Compliance:

I am pleased to report that our spending remained well within the overall budget allocated for the fiscal year. Through careful planning, monitoring, and prioritisation, we have effectively managed our resources to maximise impact while upholding fiscal responsibility.

No Financial Concerns:

Furthermore, I want to assure our members and stakeholders that there are no financial concerns or irregularities to report. Our financial records have been meticulously maintained and subjected to internal controls and audits to ensure transparency, accuracy, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Gratitude:

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Councillor Andy Wilson & Hazel Goodall for their ongoing help with internal checks and audit reports.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the financial health of Corsenside parish council remains strong, and we are well positioned to continue advancing our work in the year ahead. As we move forward, we remain committed to maintaining transparency, accountability, and prudent financial management in all our endeavours.

Should you have any questions or require further clarification regarding our financial statement, please do not hesitate to contact us

Sincerely,

Christine Woodcock Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer