Middleham Town Council has now confirmed the contract with Gavin Smith Ltd for the development of the new burial ground, the town council heard at its January meeting.
Waste bins. – Cllr Sue Fairhurst said she still had not received a response from Richmondshire District Council (RDC) regarding the reinstatement of collections from the general waste bin at the skate park.
The councillors believed that this affected the cleanliness of an area used by skateboarders and younger children at Messy Boots. It was agreed to ask the head teacher if pupils could produce artwork to be submitted to RDC’s CEO and Corporate Director of Operational Services to raise these concerns.
The RDC still had not inspected the specific location for siting an additional dog waste bin along Park Lane. It was noted that uncollected dog waste was particularly bad at present.
Community garden. – It was reported that the tenant of the Sports Field Paddock had agreed to a small reduction in the size of the field to enable Middleham Sports and Community Wellbeing Association to extend the community garden.
The council was informed that at a future time the Community Garden could support creation of compost heaps and wormeries but materials must not contain food waste.
Food banks. – Two councillors said they would attend a virtual meeting being organised by Leyburn’s Co-op to discuss the possibility of linking to a food bank in Leyburn.
The town council will also consider establishing a community fund to receive donations and to provide local assistance.
The council agreed to cover the cost of supplying 40 hampers to the community further to the £100 previously approved. Thanks had been received on behalf of the Luncheon Club.
Maintenance work. – A tender had been received for relocating the information board to a less accident-prone location.
It was agreed to go ahead in the meantime with affixing reflective panels to provide further protection against vehicle impact.
It was also agreed to postpone altering the bus stop timetable board and honesty box notice as the necessary tools were not available.
The council was told that Mr Burren had undertaken to work with the Bell Tower volunteers to repaint the sign on the Jubilee light on the main square; and that Mr Adamson had offered to ‘adopt’ the phone box.
Additional spraying of moss and weeds on the Town Wastes will be carried out by the contractor.
It was agreed to ask North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) if it could clear the storm drains at the west end of the town which were probably overflowing due to run-off from the Moor.
Frauds and Scams. – Some frequent and widespread scams, their impact upon individuals and also the counter measures and successful prosecutions by NYCC were documented in a report received from Ruth Andrews, head of investigations and safeguarding for the county council’s trading standards department.
A copy of that report is on the town council’s website.
Next meeting. – This will be a virtual meeting at 7pm on Wednesday February 24.
