Present:
: Cllrs. P.A. Wise (Chairman), D. Carless, W. Evans, J.S. Flanders, S.A.T. Gascoigne, V. Leivers-Millership and R. Milliken.
Also in attendance were Cllr J.J. McCauley, 5 members of the public and a member of the press.

Apologies for absence:
There were no apologies for absence.

Declarations of interest:
Councillor P.A. Wise declared an interest as a Trustee of the Miners Welfare, in the request for a donation to the elderly residents Christmas Party by the Miners Welfare to be discussed in Agenda item 8.

Approval of the Minutes of the meeting held on 5th October 2005.
. A correction was made to the item on the Police off-road bike team. Section 59 warrants are verbal warnings and if the offender is seen in the same area again, only then will the bike be confiscated and a fine imposed. If the fine is not paid then the bike will be destroyed. The Minutes were approved and were signed by the Chairman.

Matters arising from the Minutes:

Notts. CC had been contacted by the Clerk re the path between Webb Street and the Welfare. The problem had been passed on to Gedling BC. Plants which had been planted under the BBC scheme have been strimmed. It was agreed to defer action until a more appropriate time of the year for planting.

The water pump in the Cemetery had been repaired but is still not working properly. It was agreed to seek quotations for a replacement pump. The Clerk would progress.

Network Rail has fenced off the area which has been a dumping ground for fly tippers. The Council were pleased that the work had been completed but asked if the fencing could be painted green which would be a colour more in keeping with the area.

A skip would be provided by Gedling BC for residents during November. Residents would be informed of the arrangements.

The Japanese Knotweed has been removed by Martin Gundel from the corner of the Cemetery car park. The field owned by Marshalls which is next to the car park has also been cleared. The Clerk was asked to write to Marshalls to ask them not to plough right up to the car park fence as this would chop up any remaining roots of the weed so compounding the problem. It was suggested that a buffer zone of non-cultivation should be made.

The Chairman was to meet officers of Notts. CC re. Youth Club.

Work on the skate park should commence within the next two weeks.

Councillors wished to meet with Gillian Crawley re traffic through the Abbey Park. It was suggested that she could attend the January meeting or meet with 2 or 3 Councillors during the week. The Clerk would contact her.

A letter had been received from Newstead Welfare Band. The Chairman would reply.

The Chairman had met with the Headteacher of Newstead School re the litter campaign. He would consult with the other members of staff and would attend the February meeting of the Council.

Hopping Hill.
Mr. Paul Bateman was in attendance and he gave a brief outline of the progress which had been made on the allotment scheme so far.
Planning permission has been granted to fence the area.
He pointed out that the area is a SINC (site of important nature conservation).
The Chairman informed the meeting that progress could not be made until the ownership of the land had been determined. It was thought that documentation regarding the land had been held at the Welfare but this was now missing. The Chairman would continue the search for evidence of ownership and would meet with the Land Registry so that this problem could be resolved.
It had been suggested by John Wade that land close to the railway which had been allotments in earlier years and owned by Notts. CC, could be an alternative site, although members felt that it was a little out of the way. The Council agreed to allow the Allotment Group to use the spare gate that is held in storage at Hopping Hill Farm.

The Chairman adjourned the meeting so that members of the public could discuss Parish matters with Councillors.

Mr Dave Fox, Chairman of the Residents Association had spoken to some young people about interfering with the lamp standards with some success.
It was agreed that Mr Fox would be invited to give feed back from the Residents Association at each Parish Council meeting.

Accounts:

Receipts. £6478.24

Payments. £2314.68

The Accounts were approved and passed for payment.

Matters concerning Newstead Village.
The Chairman suggested that bulbs should be planted at the front of the Old Cemetery wall. The planting would be done by volunteers who would be organised by Mike Klymko of Notts. RCC. Martin Gundel would be asked about the weed killing that had been done in this area. The Council agreed a donation of £75 ( £50 for the bulbs and £25 for refreshments for the planters).

Residents have enquired about the possibility of viewing the Minutes and Burial Records held by the Parish Council. An open day would be arranged for viewing in the New Year and this could also include information from the Healthy Living Centre, the Building Better Communities initiative and the Residents Association.

The Clerk was asked to contact Gedling BC re the fencing on Station Avenue which had been placed there by the Borough Council but seems to be unfinished. A sketch map was supplied by the Vice-Chairman for information purposes.

The Council agreed to make a donation of £200 to provide entertainment at the Elderly Residents Christmas Party. The party would be organised by Newstead Miners Welfare Trust.

It was reported that a revised timetable issued by Central Trains was causing problems for passengers. Trains were late, not appearing or dropped from the timetable. The Clerk would contact Central Trains.

Matters concerning Newstead Abbey Park.
It was reported that there was a flooding problem on the Abbey Drive. Water was coming on to the Drive from the surrounding fields and is not able to disperse easily. There may be a problem with the drains under the roadway.

Correspondence.
Mansfield Memorials for a headstone for Craig Richard Stanley. Council approved.

A request for funding from Newstead Church Council towards the Christmas Market was approved. The Council agreed to donate £250.

Cllr. Julie Booth would represent the Council at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday

Planning Applications.

2005/1026 and 2005/1027 The Tower House, Newstead Abbey Park. Erect single storey extension and internal alterations.

No objections.

The Council agreed to revise its procedures for deciding on planning issues. In the future if planning applications have been received, the Parish Council will meet at 7.00pm to consider the applications.

Reports From External Meetings
Green Belt Action Group 5.
Cllr Milliken gave an up-date. The Council agreed to support the enlargement of GAG 5 to include the remaining 6 Parish Councils in Gedling BC.

Newstead Liaison Group.
Cllr Milliken gave an up-date. Concerns were expressed over the issues which were being discussed by the Group. It was thought that some of the issues should be for the Parish Council as elected representatives or possibly for the Residents Association. The Liaison Group was set up originally to obtain funding for various projects at the time that the Community Centre was being organised. Its motivation was to include as many local groups as possible so that the community could benefit from funding which was unavailable to the Parish Council. Cllr. Milliken would remind the Group of the role of the Parish Council.

Newstead Village Website.
This is doing well. Cllr. Milliken asked for information from the Residents Association.

Items that the Chairman considered urgent.
The Council meeting in December would be a short meeting and would be followed by a buffet. Members of the public who have attended Council meetings regularly throughout the year would be invited to attend and also the contractors who have done work for the Council during the year.

Closure and Date of next meeting.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.45pm. The date of the next Parish Council meeting would be on Wednesday 7th December 2005 commencing at 7.30pm. The Clerk will inform Councillors if there are any planning applications to discuss, in which case the meeting will commence at 7.00pm.