2021 Parish Council Meetings

Notes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held in the Chapel, Chapel Lane, Little Hale on Tuesday 2nd November 2021 at 7.55 pm.

Present: Cllrs S Poulton, N Rooke, P Ireland and J Stapleton, Cllr Andrew Key (LCC), Mrs D Scott (Clerk) and 1 member of the public.

Prior to the formal business of the meeting, a member of the public spoke at length about the recent road closure for Anglian Water works on Fen Rd. He suggested a lack of capacity, capability and competence on the part of AW and LCC Highways in causing the road to be closed for so long without the work being completed. The problem had been compounded by the fallen tree and lamppost on Chapel Lane over the weekend. He was most concerned about the fragility of the road system in the village and the potential for the emergency services and residents to be prevented from accessing properties. He asked the Parish Council for its support in making his points to the authorities. He kindly re-donated the gift he’d received by way of apology from Anglian Water, to the Parish Council to be used for a good cause.

In reply, Cllr Poulton thanked him for his tenacity in his dealings with the authorities and added that the fallen tree had been removed by volunteers as soon as it was safe to do so and the lamppost, which had exposed bare wires, had been dealt with promptly by the LCC Highways emergency team.

Cllr Key added that Fix My Street was an important way of reporting any Highways problems including concerns about Road Closures.

It was understood that the AW work was now complete. The Road Closure would be discussed further as part of the agenda.

100/21 Welcome – Cllr Poulton welcomed all to the meeting.

101/21 Apologies for absence – Cllr A Lennox, Cllrs S Tarry and S Ogden (NKDC).

102/21 Declarations of Interest and Applications for Dispensation – Cllr Ireland declared an interest in the matter of the Little Hale Fen Solar Farm .

103/21 Notes of the previous meeting, 7th September 2021 – approved and signed.

104/21 Finance 2021-22

i. Mrs Scott had shared copies of transactions to date. It was noted that the £80 cash received at the last meeting had been banked. The balance at Lloyds was £2475.03, before this evening’s transactions. The balance included restricted funds. A VAT Claim for £9.20 had been submitted for the last 12 months’ transactions.

ii. Payments were approved for the Clerk £167.48 by cheque (October and November), and HMRC £38.80 (mth 7 due 19/11/21) both by Transfer. The Direct Debit for the ICO was due that day (£35, after discount)

105/21 Clerk’s Report and Correspondence, previously shared by email.

1. Updates from LCC, NKDC, YMCA - noted
2. LALC e-news - noted
3. LCC Bus Service update - noted
4. NHS Consultation on Future of Services – to respond individually
5. Queen’s jubilee Event – for next agenda. It was noted that the Little Hale Charities had already agreed to make a donation towards a village event for the occasion.
6. LCC Local Transport Plan Consultation – to respond individually.
7. Letter received at the meeting from Mr Freeman thanking the Parish Council for the letter and gift on his and Mrs Freeman’s retirement as Defib volunteers.
8. Lloyds Bank Statements and any other correspondence received

106/21 Policing Update

PCC Safer Together Team update – noted

Hallowe’en posters – noted

Police Precept Consultation – to respond individually

107/21 Highways Matters

Potholes – Cllr Key urged Councillors and residents to continue reporting potholes on Fix My Street. He added that he would be meeting Rowan Smith in the village at the end of the month and invited a Parish Council rep to attend. Date and time to be confirmed. Potholes on Fen Road and Main Road to be reported.

Roadsigns – 30mph signs on Helpringham Road – the Clerk had reported this on Fix My Street, as requested, the work had been completed. She had checked other signage and the stickers looked to have been removed. It was noted that some stickers remained on the chevrons alongside the Beck near the Red Bridge.

Salt – this had been ordered but not yet received

Road Closures October 2021 – following the earlier discussion it was agreed that Mrs Scott contact Highways to question the need for the road to be closed.

108/21 Flooding – Cllr Tarry had kindly supplied contact details at LCC and Mrs Scott had followed up but no reply had been received as yet. It was understood that the riparian owners had all now completed the necessary works on the dyke. White markings had appeared on the road near the lamppost. Cllrs explained the problem to Cllr Key. It was agreed that the matter should be raised at the meeting with Rowan Smith if work hadn’t started by then.

109/21 Broadband – Cllr Ireland explained the background and added that no progress had been made since the last updated from Quickline. Cllr Key asked for more detail so that he could pursue it with OnLincolnshire. Cllr Ireland to supply.

110/21 Planning Matters

1. 21/1337/EIASCR Solar Farm – noted that this was part of the very early stages of considering the issue, rather than a full application.
2. Street numbering Willow Grange, 2 Main Road. There was concern that this might lead to confusion with Grange Farm, 2 Chapel Lane. It was noted that NKDC’s policy stated that it wasn’t concerned with house names, but advised that any similar names should be avoided. It was therefore felt that this was a matter for residents to resolve.

111/21 Heckington Solar Farm – it was noted that this was planned as an alternative for the site of the Wind Farm and NKDC and LCC Councillors would be looking at the pre-application proposals.

112/21 South Lincs Reservoir – it was noted that the AW consultation had not yet started and although the Little Hale site had featured in the initial public document, it was now understood that it was one of many alternative sites to be considered.

113/21 Planning Inspectorate –

1. Viking Link – No update
2. Triton Knoll – noted work at Little Hale Fen (Trench) and Bicker (Building construction) 

113/21 Phone Box and Community Defibrillator

Reporting – ongoing, thanks to the volunteer group

Painting – it was noted that the Phone Box was looking very smart now the gold paint had been added. Mrs Scott to thank Mr Nickols and Mr Pettitt.

Incident – Mrs Scott had raised the question with EMAS and Community Heartbeat Trust. A preliminary apology and assurance that the code was available on the 999 call handlers system and should have been given to the caller had been received but EMAS were still investigating the incident. CHT had been very supportive.

Defib/ First Aid training – Cllr Poulton’s offer still stood. Cllr Key asked whether Great Hale residents could attend. In his personal capacity he offered the use of GH Village Hale free of charge for a joint venture. Cllrs welcomed the offer and Cllr Poulton and Cllr Key would set dates for two 3 hour sessions, for up to12 attendees each, before Christmas. Sessions to be advertised in both parishes.

114/21 Dog Fouling – nothing to report

115/21 Land at Pump Lane – Cllr Rooke was thanked for the grass seeding. There was a fallen branch to be removed, but work could start on tree planting. A number of residents had offered to help look after the site. Mrs Scott was asked to draw up a list of volunteers so that contact could easily be made.

116/21 Litter Picking –7th November at 10.30 am. The NKDC kit had been delivered to Cllr Rooke. Cllr Poulton would advertise the event on Facebook and Cllr Ireland to look out the signs used last time.

117/21 Parish Council Communications

1. Website – ongoing.
2. Newsletters – next one to include first aid training

118/21 Policies

It was noted that the following policies had been published as agreed

1. Code of Conduct
2. GDPR Policy
3. Publication Scheme
4. Social Media Policy

Amendments to the following policies were agreed, for publication, based on the latest LALC model policies

5. Equal Opportunities Policy
6. Financial Regulations
7. Standing Orders

119/21 Matters for the next meeting – Update from Highways Meeting, Budget 2022-23, Queen’s Jubilee.

120/21 The Dates of Meetings for 2021-22, at 7.30pm, as agreed, 4th Jan 2022, 1st Mar, 3rd May.

The meeting closed at 8.57 pm.

Agreed at the meeting held on 11th January 2022 and signed by Cllr S Poulton