Tim Prater

24
Sep
2024
Parish Council Meeting Minutes 23-09-2024

Parish Council Meeting Minutes 23-09-2024

The minutes of Sandgate’s Parish Council meeting, held on 23rd September 2024, in Sandgate Library.

Minutes-council-meeting-23-09-2024

Meeting video at: https://www.facebook.com/sandgatepc/videos/1630959000800052

Previous Sandgate Parish Council Meeting Agendas and Minutes. We publish agendas a few days before a meeting. We then post draft minutes in the week after a meeting.

Most of our meetings are also broadcast live on our Facebook page. Those recordings are left on Facebook for a few months after the meeting so can be watched back later.

We broadcast our meetings live on our Facebook page (although we’re sorry: this one was not). Those meeting recordings are then left live for a few months after the meeting, giving you the chance to watch it back later!

The next suitable meeting will formally approve the draft minutes of this meeting. When approved, the Chairman of that meeting then signs them.

The signed minutes of the meeting serve as the legal record of what has taken place at the meeting. Before a meeting approves the draft minutes of a preceding meeting, the meeting may, by resolution, correct any inaccuracies in the draft minutes. The attendance (or otherwise) of the Chairman or those voting in favour to amend or approve of the minutes is irrelevant.

Only if meeting minutes are found to be inaccurate after they have been signed can they then be altered. Inaccuracies in signed minutes can only be amended by resolution at a subsequent meeting.

Posted by Tim Prater in Council, Minutes
24
Sep
2024
Planning Committee Minutes 23-09-2024

Planning Committee Minutes 23-09-2024

The minutes of Sandgate’s Parish Council Planning Committee meeting, held on 23rd September 2024, in Sandgate Library.

Planning-Minutes-23-09-24

You can find previous Sandgate Parish Planning Committee Agendas and Minutes on this website. We publish agendas a few days before a meeting. The Clerk then posts draft minutes in the week after a meeting.

We broadcast our meetings live on our Facebook page. Those meeting recordings are then left live for a few months after the meeting, giving you the chance to watch it back later!

The next suitable meeting will formally approve the draft minutes of this meeting. When approved, the Chairman of that meeting then signs them.

The signed minutes of the meeting serve as the legal record of what has taken place at the meeting. Before a meeting approves the draft minutes of a preceding meeting, the meeting may, by resolution, correct any inaccuracies in the draft minutes. The attendance (or otherwise) of the Chairman or those voting in favour to amend or approve of the minutes is irrelevant.

Only if meeting minutes are found to be inaccurate after they have been signed can they then be altered. Inaccuracies in signed minutes can only be amended by resolution at a subsequent meeting.

Posted by Tim Prater in Minutes, Planning
23
Sep
2024

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 22nd September 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 22nd September: We harvested our very first and precious lemon from the tiny lemon tree

We are now officially into autumn and the weather pattern changed once again after our last newsletter, to dry, sunny and humid.  Perhaps it is summer having a final fling, as it seems the coming week will be giving plenty of rain and cooler temperatures.  It will certainly be a relief to see the rain again, as the plants we are currently establishing are suited better to less heat.  It will also be easier on us too as we have had to start watering again, having thought we could put away the water pump and hose pipe – however it was not to be.

There have been plenty of reports confirming that the butterfly population is very much depleted this year, and we agree with that although the cabbage white butterflies are certainly around on the plot, constantly flapping around the brassicas and trying to lay eggs through the mesh in the netting.  Happily they have plenty of alternative plants ready to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the caterpillars, being the nasturtiums, of which there are oodles.

The spent broccoli plants got taken out and composted, and space was found to plant spring onions and more spinach which should carry over into winter and spring.  The coriander seedlings we planted just over a week ago have completely disappeared, leaving no trace, but as we make a habit of bringing on more plants than we have space for, luckily we had plenty of plants waiting in the wings for such an occasion and so we hope these may survive.

It was no surprise that we found the first signs of blight on the tomatoes.  We decided to cut our losses and immediately take them out, rescue what we could of the tomatoes, ripe or green, and compost the plants being a perfectly safe thing to do.  Many of the tomatoes have been lost to the blight, but the rest have been put into the greenhouse at Pent farm to hopefully ripen over time.  This same week blight appeared in the outdoor tomatoes at Pent Farm and so they have been removed too.   

After what we believe must be an entire year, we harvested our very first and precious lemon from the tiny lemon tree hugging the brick wall.  We had waited and watched whilst the single lemon had grown then turned from green to bright yellow over the summer months until at last it was picked.  Having passed it around the gardeners for a scratch and sniff to take in all the lemony wonderfulness, it has gone to make many a lemon and ginger tea – and they were very good too!  It is reassuring to note that the little tree has more flowers just appearing, and so with any luck we may be presented with another lemon next year.

What’s next?

  • Clear out some of the older borage plants and squashes
  • Put fresh compost down on cleared plots
  • Clear a path to the bench in the garden
  • Clear the lettuces going to seed
Summer squash
Collecting the tomatoes
Our very first lemon

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden
17
Sep
2024
Planning Committee Agenda 23-09-2024

Planning Committee Agenda 23-09-2024

The agenda for the Sandgate Parish Council Planning Committee meeting, to held on Monday 23rd September 2024 at 7pm or the fall of the preceding Full Council Committee meeting, whichever is later..

Planning-Agenda-23-09-24

The Planning Committee meeting is open to press and public. If any member of the public wishes to attend, please can they notify clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk in advance. This allows us to ensure we have sufficient seats and allow reasonable spacing.

Previous Sandgate Parish Council Planning Committee Agenda and Minutes. We publish agendas a few days before a meeting. We then post draft minutes in the week after a meeting.

Most of our meetings will be broadcast live on our Facebook page. Recordings of the meetings will be left on Facebook for a few months after the meeting so they can be watched back later. Comments left on Facebook broadcasts during the meeting are not be monitored and are not a way of feeding back to the Council.

Minimum Notice

We issue agendas at least three clear days before a meeting. We display them on the noticeboard in the library, Parish noticeboards on the Village Green and by Enbrook Valley shops, and on our website.

The minimum three clear days for notice of a meeting does not include:

  • the day of issue of the agenda, or;
  • the day of the meeting, or;
  • a Sunday, or;
  • a day of the Christmas break, or;
  • a day of the Easter break, or;
  • of a bank holiday, or;
  • a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.

Meeting in Public

All meetings of our Council are open to the public, except in limited defined circumstances. We can only decide, by resolution, to meet in private when discussing confidential business or for other special reasons where publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest.

Those reasons might include, for example, discussing the conduct of employees, negotiations of contracts or terms of tender, or the early stages of a legal dispute.

Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Planning
17
Sep
2024
Parish Council Meeting Agenda 23-09-2024

Parish Council Meeting Agenda 23-09-2024

The agenda for the Sandgate Parish Council Full Parish Council meeting, to held on Monday 23rd September 2024, in Sandgate Library at 6.30pm.

Agenda-council-meeting-23-09-24

The Council meeting is open to press and public. If you would like to attend this meeting, please notify clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk in advance. Letting us know allows us to make sure we have sufficient seats for you and allow reasonable spacing.

We keep a full list of previous Sandgate Parish Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes on this website. We publish those agendas a few days before each meeting, and will also post draft minutes in the week after a meeting.

Most of our meetings are broadcast live on our Facebook page. We’ll then leave those recordings on Facebook for a few months after the meeting so you can watch them back later.

Minimum Notice

We issue agenda’s at least three clear days before a meeting. We display them on the noticeboard in the library, Parish noticeboards on the Village Green and by Enbrook Valley shops, and on our website.

The minimum three clear days for notice of a meeting does not include:

  • the day of issue of the agenda, or;
  • the day of the meeting, or;
  • a Sunday, or;
  • a day of the Christmas break, or;
  • a day of the Easter break, or;
  • of a bank holiday, or;
  • a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.

Meeting in Public

All meetings of our Council are open to the public, except in limited defined circumstances. We can only decide, by resolution, to meet in private when discussing confidential business or for other special reasons where publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest.

Those reasons might include, for example, discussing the conduct of employees, negotiations of contracts or terms of tender, or the early stages of a legal dispute.

Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Council
17
Sep
2024
Finance Committee Minutes 16-09-2024

Finance Committee Minutes 16-09-2024

The minutes of Sandgate’s Parish Council Finance Committee meeting, held on 16th September 2024, in Sandgate Library.

Finance-Minutes-16-09-24

You can find previous Sandgate Parish Council Finance Committee Agendas, Minutes and Financial Reports on this website. We publish agendas a few days before a meeting. The Clerk then posts draft minutes in the week after a meeting.

We broadcast our meetings live on our Facebook page. Those meeting recordings are then left live for a few months after the meeting, giving you the chance to watch it back later!

The next suitable meeting will formally approve the draft minutes of this meeting. When approved, the Chairman of that meeting then signs them.

The signed minutes of the meeting serve as the legal record of what has taken place at the meeting. Before a meeting approves the draft minutes of a preceding meeting, the meeting may, by resolution, correct any inaccuracies in the draft minutes. The attendance (or otherwise) of the Chairman or those voting in favour to amend or approve of the minutes is irrelevant.

Only if meeting minutes are found to be inaccurate after they have been signed can they then be altered. Inaccuracies in signed minutes can only be amended by resolution at a subsequent meeting.

Posted by Tim Prater in Minutes, Resources
17
Sep
2024
Planning Committee Minutes 16-09-2024

Planning Committee Minutes 16-09-2024

The minutes of Sandgate’s Parish Council Planning Committee meeting, held on 16th September 2024, in Sandgate Library.

Planning-Minutes-16-09-24

You can find previous Sandgate Parish Planning Committee Agendas and Minutes on this website. We publish agendas a few days before a meeting. The Clerk then posts draft minutes in the week after a meeting.

We broadcast our meetings live on our Facebook page. Those meeting recordings are then left live for a few months after the meeting, giving you the chance to watch it back later!

The next suitable meeting will formally approve the draft minutes of this meeting. When approved, the Chairman of that meeting then signs them.

The signed minutes of the meeting serve as the legal record of what has taken place at the meeting. Before a meeting approves the draft minutes of a preceding meeting, the meeting may, by resolution, correct any inaccuracies in the draft minutes. The attendance (or otherwise) of the Chairman or those voting in favour to amend or approve of the minutes is irrelevant.

Only if meeting minutes are found to be inaccurate after they have been signed can they then be altered. Inaccuracies in signed minutes can only be amended by resolution at a subsequent meeting.

Posted by Tim Prater in Minutes, Planning
12
Sep
2024
PWLB Loan Reserve Report August 2024

PWLB Loan Reserve Report August 2024

Updated PWLB Loan Reserve report for Sandgate Parish Council to August 2024.

Loan Reserve Report

PWLB-tracker-01.04.24-31.08.24

We have previously issued PWLB Reports quarterly alongside committee reports. We will aim to do so from now using this standalone format.

The PWLB loan reserve was formed following our receipt of a loan of £500,000 from the Public Works Loan Board in August 2018 for the purchase of land which then fell through. Despite lobbying Government, the PWLB (a branch of the Treasury) refused to cancel the loan and take the money back from us without requiring a six figure penalty fee. They did, however, confirm the money could be retained and invested by the Council.

The Council has committed that the costs of the loan will not fall on taxpayers through increased Council Tax without a consultation on doing so. We have held no such consultation to date.

As such, we placed the full loan amount in a defined PWLB Loan Reserve.

  • All payments for that loan (capital repayments, interest payments) come out of that reserve.
  • All income from that loan (currently interest payments on the loan amount) we put into that reserve. The value of the reserve is published regularly (quarterly).

At this time, while the costs of the loan exceed the income (due to historically low interest rates), the value of our PWLB Loan Reserve is dropping. Although we seek investments with the best return, we want security for the money (so it is all currently in accounts backed by guarantee up to £85,000 per account) and some investments are not open to local authorities, so there are limits on what we can do.

Financial Reporting

Previous Sandgate Parish Council Resources Committee Agendas, Minutes and Financial Reports.

Sandgate Parish Council uses (the excellent) Scribe Accounts to manage our Council accounts and generate reports.

Sandgate Parish Council’s finances are governed by our Financial Regulations and Standing Orders. Every Town and Parish Council has similar rules. Because those rules govern our financial management, we can only amend or vary them by a Council resolution.

Our Council’s Standing Orders require quarterly reporting of receipts, payments and balances. For instance, they say at 17.c:

The Responsible Financial Officer shall supply to each councillor as soon as practicable after 30 June, 30 September and 31 December in each year a statement to summarise:

i. the council’s receipts and payments for each quarter;

ii. the council’s aggregate receipts and payments for the year to date;

iii. the balances held at the end of the quarter being reported

and which includes a comparison with the budget for the financial year and highlights any actual or potential overspends.

Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Resources
12
Sep
2024
Financial Reports August 2024

Financial Reports August 2024

Updated financial reports for Sandgate Parish Council for August 2024, and the financial year 2024-25 to date.

Payment and Receipts Summary

Summary-report-01.04.24-to-31.08.24

Receipts in Month

Receipts-up-to-31.08.24

Payments in Month

Payments-up-to-31.08.24

Reserve Balances

Reserves-up-to-31.08.24

Bank Reconciliation

All-banks-rec-up-to-31.08.24

VAT Summary

VAT-summary-31.08.24

Previous Sandgate Parish Council Resources Committee Agendas, Minutes and Financial Reports.

Sandgate Parish Council uses (the excellent) Scribe Accounts to manage our Council accounts and generate reports.

Sandgate Parish Council’s finances are governed by our Financial Regulations and Standing Orders. Every Town and Parish Council has similar rules. Those rules govern our financial management, and we can only amend or vary them by a Council resolution.

The Council’s Standing Orders require that we report quarterly on receipts, payments and balances. For instance, they say at 17.c:

The Responsible Financial Officer shall supply to each councillor as soon as practicable after 30 June, 30 September and 31 December in each year a statement to summarise:

i. the council’s receipts and payments for each quarter;

ii. the council’s aggregate receipts and payments for the year to date;

iii. the balances held at the end of the quarter being reported

and which includes a comparison with the budget for the financial year and highlights any actual or potential overspends.

We are now publishing our reports monthly to exceed that requirement. We then consider those reports at the next Parish Council Resources Committee meeting.

Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Resources
10
Sep
2024
Environment Committee Minutes 09-09-2024

Environment Committee Minutes 09-09-2024

The minutes of Sandgate’s Parish Council Environment Committee meeting, held on 9th September 2024, in Sandgate Library.

Env-Minutes-09-09-24

2024-08 Environment Committee action listDownload

You can find previous Sandgate Parish Environment Committee Agendas and Minutes on this website. We publish agendas a few days before a meeting. The Clerk then posts draft minutes in the week after a meeting.

We broadcast our meetings live on our Facebook page. Those meeting recordings are then left live for a few months after the meeting, giving you the chance to watch it back later!

The next suitable meeting will formally approve the draft minutes of this meeting. When approved, the Chairman of that meeting then signs them.

The signed minutes of the meeting serve as the legal record of what has taken place at the meeting. Before a meeting approves the draft minutes of a preceding meeting, the meeting may, by resolution, correct any inaccuracies in the draft minutes. The attendance (or otherwise) of the Chairman or those voting in favour to amend or approve of the minutes is irrelevant.

Only if meeting minutes are found to be inaccurate after they have been signed can they then be altered. Inaccuracies in signed minutes can only be amended by resolution at a subsequent meeting.

Posted by Tim Prater in Environment, Minutes