Tim Prater

16
Jul
2024
Parish Council Meeting Agenda 22-07-2024

Parish Council Meeting Agenda 22-07-2024

The agenda for the Sandgate Parish Council Full Parish Council meeting, to held on Monday 22nd July 2024, in Sandgate Library at 6.30pm.

Agenda-council-meeting-22-07-24

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
16
Jul
2024
Planning Committee Agenda 22-07-2024

Planning Committee Agenda 22-07-2024

The agenda for the Sandgate Parish Council Planning Committee meeting, to held on 22nd July 2024 at 7pm or at the fall of the Full Council Meeting whichever is later.

Planning-Agenda-22-07-24

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
15
Jul
2024

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 14th July 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 14th July: Everyone you talk to in the growing world is saying the same thing.

We are still stuck in this weather pattern, and it seems that the cloudier, showery weather is to stay for a while longer.  Everyone you talk to in the growing world is saying the same thing about their heat loving crops – that they are struggling and really slow in getting going, so at least we are all in the same boat!

We cleared some weeds from around the pond which were climbing up above the other plants, as well as the Quaker grass which needed to be stopped from dropping all of its seeds.  The beetroot bed was cleared and more compost added, as was the pea bed.  We had a good crop from the small amount of peas we planted this year.  Initially planted for pea shoots, and then developed mange tout pods followed finally with big fat pea pods with as many as nine or even ten peas in each one.  They were really sweet and delicious, totally worth the task of having to shell them.

The radicchio seeds got sown, and we are just about to embark on starting to sow the seeds for more autumn crops such as winter radish and Chinese cabbages.  It seems unbelievable that this is where we are in the season when it feels like we are still waiting for summer to make an appearance.

A couple of us were on a course this week looking at the role of microbes in the regeneration of your gut biome and the regeneration of soil.  They are so very tightly linked together that the conversations spilled over from one to the other.  There is so very much to learn about all of this, and it makes you realise just how little we really know or understand about this whole area.

We are into the holiday season and many of our gardeners are either away or about to do so.  There will not be a newsletter next week on 21st July, but we will be back the week after for more updates. 

What’s Next?

  • Cut back the strawberry runners or they will be everywhere!
  • Check on the pot plants, if they are pot bound
  • Need to clear the bind weed in the tool box area
  • Cut back the shredded leaves from the banana tree
The heat loving plants are struggling this year
The vegetable plot on our course
We learnt about herbal remedies too

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden
11
Jul
2024
Environment Committee Minutes 08-07-2024

Environment Committee Minutes 08-07-2024

The minutes of Sandgate’s Parish Council Environment Committee meeting, held on 8th July 2024, in Sandgate Library.

Env-Minutes-08-07-24

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
11
Jul
2024
Planning Committee Minutes 08-07-2024

Planning Committee Minutes 08-07-2024

The minutes of Sandgate’s Parish Council Planning Committee meeting, held on 8th July 2024, in Sandgate Library.

Planning-Minutes-08-07-24

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
10
Jul
2024
PWLB Loan Reserve Report July 2024

PWLB Loan Reserve Report July 2024

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

Loan Reserve Report

PWLB-july-meeting

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
10
Jul
2024
Financial Reports June 2024

Financial Reports June 2024

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

Payment and Receipts Summary

Summary-report-01.04.24-to-30.06.24

Receipts in Month

Receipts-up-to-30.06.24

Payments in Month

Payments-up-to-30.06.24

Reserve Balances

Reserves-up-to-30.06.24

Bank Reconciliation

All-banks-rec-up-to-30.06.24

VAT Summary

VAT-summary-30.06.24

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
08
Jul
2024
Planning Committee Agenda 15-07-2024

Planning Committee Agenda 15-07-2024

The agenda for the Sandgate Parish Council Planning Committee meeting, to held on 15th July 2024 at 7pm or at the fall of the Finance Committee whichever is later.

Planning-Agenda-08-07-24

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
08
Jul
2024
Finance Committee Agenda 15-07-2024

Finance Committee Agenda 15-07-2024

The agenda of Sandgate’s Parish Council Finance Committee meeting. We will hold the meeting on 15th July 2024 at 6:30pm. It will be held in Sandgate Library.

Finance Committee Agenda

Finance-Agenda-15-07-24

Sandgate Parish Council – Quarterly Financial Report April to June 2024Download

Our Finance Committee meeting is open to press and public. Please could any member of the public who wants to attend notify us via clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk in advance. This allows us to ensure we have sufficient seats and allow reasonable spacing.

We publish our financial reporting on the “in-running” budget monthly. So at this meeting we will consider the reports since the last meeting.

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

We use (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, and 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.

The 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.

We’re now publishing our reports monthly, exceeding that requirement. Consequently we will consider the reports at the next Parish Council Resources Committee meeting.

Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Resources
08
Jul
2024

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 7th July 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 7th July: Parts of the garden are starting to take on a jungle appearance.

The rainfall for June was 17.5 mm.  We are now into July and most of us have given up trying to predict what the weather is going to do as it swings from being chilly and windy to bucketing down with rain to glorious sunshine.  It is a proper rollercoaster.

Most things in the garden are coping well, and currently the weeds are coping far too well, popping up all over the place.  In fact parts of the garden are starting to take on a jungle appearance.  The pond has nearly disappeared, surrounded by growth, and where the herb garden is we can no longer see the bench although we know it is there somewhere! 

The slipper gourds got planted with the cucumbers; the Siberian kale, cabbages and Romanesco cauliflowers also got planted out.  The purple sprouting got pricked out into modules, and more got sown.  The tomatoes have been throwing out loads of side shoots which had to be removed apart from the Roma variety which never seems to like to conform to being a cordon tomato and insists on doing its own thing.  The chives collected for seed sowing, got sown into modules, with plenty left to carry on into next year.  Swiss chard, more coriander and parsley got sown.

The sweet corn is growing well amongst the winter squashes and is currently of no interest to the badgers until they develop their cobs.  However the badgers have been in the beetroot patch and chomped the roots, neatly leaving the stalks and leaves in a pile where they were growing.  We are not going to let them know that the cabbages this year are so delicious and sweet, and luckily they have never taken any notice of the spring onions – thank goodness!

What’s Next?

  • Sow some radicchio
  • Clear the beetroot bed and pea bed – prepare for replanting
  • Repot some of the pot plants
  • Clear some of the Quaker grass from around the pond
There is a pond there somewhere
There is a bench in there somewhere
Interplanted beetroot with onions
The banana tree has had a battering this week

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden