Present: Cllrs. P.A. Wise (Chairman), J. Booth, P. Burnham, D. Carless and R. Milliken.
PC Andy Vale and a colleague, one member of the public and a member of the press were also in attendance.

Apologies for absence: Councillors W. Evans and J.S. Flanders. The Clerk also sent apologies.

Declarations of interest: Councillor Burnham declared an interest in Agenda Item 9 Correspondence re Annesley lagoons.

Approval of the Minutes of the meeting held on 4th October 2006.
The Minutes of the Parish Council meeting were approved and were signed by the Chairman after an amendment to 13.4 adding Councillor Burnham to the Parish Plan committee.

Matters arising from the Minutes.

The event for the opening of the skate park had not yet taken place. The Chairman would liaise with Mick Leivers and the Youth Service. She would inform Councillors when a date had been arranged. A date has still to be arranged. This remains ongoing. The artists have started with the young people to graffiti the skate board ramps.

The Clerk would contact Gedling BC again re. the narrowing of the footpath on Hucknall Road outside Hopping Hill farm. The Clerk would contact GBC again as no response had been received. This is the responsibility of Notts. CC and will be done in the next few weeks.
The decorative railing at Chapel Terrace is still missing. The Clerk would again inform Gedling BC. Gedling BC have acknowledged that the panel is missing and that despite a search the original template is also missing. Gedling BC claims that the panel will be expensive to replace and there is no funding.

There is the need for another bin at the Cemetery. This has now been supplied.

The amount of rubbish which had accumulated in the back garden of 55 Tilford Road has not been cleared. The rubbish is still in evidence and rats have been seen in the area.

A new gate to the skate park has been installed, but there are still concerns over the back exit which is being used by bikers to access the park. The crossing of the main road is dangerous. Gedling BC is liaising with the Forestry Commission over access to the woods opposite the park. This remains ongoing.

The report from Nick Crouch of Notts CC on Hopping Hill has now been received. Cllr Carless is seeking funding for Hopping Hill.

The litter bins at the Miners Welfare are full and are not being emptied on a regular basis. The Chairman would follow this up with the Trustees at their next meeting. This is ongoing.

The Council was informed that the notice board in Newstead Abbey Park is broken. This will be replaced.

The roadside between Chapel Terrace and Hazelford Way is becoming narrower because of overgrown vegetation. The Clerk has contacted Gedling BC.

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

PC Andy Vale introduced a police support officer to the Council. He reported that the off-road bike team had been to the village on two occasions recently. One bike had been seized and the owner charged with road traffic offences. It was suggested that the creation of a meeting place for the youngsters of the village would be helpful. A possible location could be Glenalmond Park. It was suggested that a shipping container could be purchased and be used for a shelter. Funding may be available for this project through the RCC.

A member of the public informed the Council that there is Japanese knotweed in the Cemetery carpark.

Accounts:

Receipts. £6542.75

Payments. £1640.17

The accounts were approved by the Parish Council and were signed by the Chairman.

Matters concerning Newstead Village.
Councillor Burnham brought to the attention of the Council that no trains will be stopping at Newstead outside of peak hours. A temporary hourly bus service between Hucknall and Newstead would operate. This service would be in operation from 22nd October until 9th December. The reason given by Central Trains for this decision is “leaf fall”. The Council considered this was an unsatisfactory service.

A choice of funders has been identified for the Hopping Hill project. Councillor Carless will work with Mike Klymko on the grant applications.

Matters concerning Newstead Abbey Park.
No issues were raised.

Correspondence.
Re. the seats in the skate park. Cllr. Carless will rescue the seats and look at the potential of re-siting them.

Re. insecure building. Gedling BC would be informed.

Planning Applications.
There were no planning applications.

Reports from External meetings.
Cllr Burnham had attended a meeting of the Friends of Annesley Lagoons. The consensus was that the latest submission from Atkins who represent Annesley Developments is flawed. Ashfield DC will be contacted by the planning officer from Notts. CC.

Cemetery Issues
The Chairman is in the process of gaining quotes for the improvements close to the wall of the Cemetery carpark.

It was agreed to ask Anthony Clarke to reduce the height of the posts outside the Cemetery to 30/45 cms., and to extend the run to the woodland so leaving no space for the parking of cars.

Cllr Milliken brought up the issue of tree thinning in the woodland next to the Cemetery. He asked if the use of firms which offer chain saw training could be investigated as this would offer an opportunity for trainees to gain experience and would possibly be less expensive for the Parish.

Items that the Chairman considered urgent.
There were no matters which were considered urgent at this time.

Closure and date of next meeting.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.45pm. The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Wednesday 1st November 2006 commencing at 7.30pm.