A MEETING of Stokesley Town Council was held by Zoom on Tuesday, February 9.

County and district.– County councillor Bryn Griffiths noted that floods had been an issue near the bridge on Station Road. He was concerned that the pumping station might lack capacity, but had also heard that a drainage ditch might have been filled in when the bypass was built. County will try to check if this could have happened by studying old maps. Cllr Griffiths had been assured that resurfacing work on Pinewood and Linwood Avenues would be completed in April and May.

District councillor Andy Wake gave a brief update regarding the old British Legion building on North Road. He said that he was also keeping an eye on the land next to the building. The clerk had received information suggesting that there were new owners, who apparently were looking at the possibility of demolishing the building.

Cllr Griffiths had made contact with the senior technical director of Kier regarding the impact of piling etc on existing neighbouring properties. He had had some positive feedback and thought that there may also be some changes to the plans to prevent a number of properties being overlooked.

In respect of concerns regarding poor visibility at the Tanton Road Junction, Cllr Griffiths understood that County Lighting had initially been taken on by Kier to give advice. He had been told that if the junction was to be lit, the whole stretch up to Strikes Roundabout would also need lighting. Cllr Mike Canavan had spoken to the Planning Inspectorate to see if its ruling regarding lighting took precedent and was awaiting a reply. It was agreed to pursue the matter in order to get lighting between the Kier site entrance and the Tanton Road junction. It was noted that lighting at the junction with the A172 and Thirsk Road was also an issue. Cllr Griffiths said that Highways were reluctant to take measures as there had been no accidents recorded at either junction.

Cllr Nigel Johnson reported that North Yorkshire had said no to attaching Fair Trade signs to their road signs.

Open spaces.– Councillors were disappointed that North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) had refused to increase its Urban Grass Cutting Payment and felt that the town council’s arguments appeared to have been ignored and sidestepped. The clerk had submitted a grant application to the Making a Difference fund to assist with the project to clean the war memorial and surrounding area.

Cllr Dave Oxley informed councillors that the plans for the River Leven Project had now been submitted for a final pre-application review.

Charging points.– Cllr Johnson said that some of the information received regarding electric vehicle charging points had been useful, but was fairly limited. Cllr Oxley stressed the need to plan for doing the survey, as access to funding would be dependent upon it. Cllr Canavan asked why Hambleton District Council (HDC) would want to put charging points in their unused car park and thought that it would be better for the town council to work with Hambleton to get charging points put in useful places in the town centre. Councillors however thought that the district council would be unlikely to want to do so.

VAS system.– Plans were progressing regarding establishing suitable sites for the vehicle activation systems. Cllr Griffiths said that he had been advised that one at Thirsk Road was not needed, but councillors agreed with him that speeding was a particular issue along that stretch, so it would be reinstated.

Stokesley Bounce Back.– Cllr Chris Johnson informed councillors that he was awaiting the arrival of the double-sided noticeboard. The board for the bus shelter would be put up the following week. He was also pleased to see that another pop-up shop was opening in the old beauty shop next to the Cooperative Store on the High Street. He hoped that it would be a successful enterprise and would encourage businesses into the town centre.

Residents’ letters.– A letter had been received from residents of Glebe Road and Station Road regarding the cemetery. There were reports of groups and individuals parking down Glebe Road, blocking access to properties and climbing over the fence into the cemetery. Cllr Griffiths said that this had been going on for a long time. He said that it was up to the Church Commissioners to decide if they wished to do anything about the fence, but otherwise it was really a police matter and residents should be encouraged to report any incidents.

A letter had also been received from residents of Carrick’s Corner regarding their concerns about parking on Thirsk Road, near to the junction with West End. Cllr Canavan observed that there was a clear risk caused by cars parking right up to the junction. Cllr Griffiths had taken the matter up with Highways, but with no accident statistics, he was again not hopeful of a positive response. Councillors agreed that Carrick’s Corner residents should be encouraged to keep a record of near misses. Cllr Katriina Makinen said that she was aware that residents of the terraces on West End were parking there and would need alternative provision if double yellow lines were introduced. Cllr Griffith said that it would be better to just allow parking on the other side. Cllr Oxley agreed that double yellow lines were needed between the junction and Carrick's Corner entrance and then up to beyond the bus stop.

Other matters. – Cllr Mark Wilson will join a number of committees on a temporary basis until the review of committee membership occurs in June.

Cllr Makinen felt that the next step in developing Stokesley as a gateway to the National Park was to consider the different groups that they needed to connect with. It was agreed to set up a working party.

The next town council meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 9.