5th January 2021 - Minutes
Notes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held using Zoom on Tuesday 5th January 2021 at 7.37 pm.
Present: Cllrs P Ireland, A Lennox, S Poulton J Stapleton and N Rooke, Mrs D Scott (Clerk),Cllr Sally Tarry Cllr S Ogden (NKDC).
1/21 Welcome - At Cllr Ireland welcomed all to the meeting and wished everyone a happy new year.
2/21 Apologies for absence – none
3/21 Declarations of Interest and Applications for Dispensation – none
4/21 Notes of the previous meetings, 3rd November 2020 – approved as accurate record. Arrangements were made for signing at a later date.
5/21 Finance 2020-21
i. Mrs Scott had shared copies of transactions to date. It was noted that income received since the last meeting was £15 from Gazebo hire, as mentioned at the last meeting, and the VAT refund of £21.85 for the period November 2019 to October 2020.
ii. Payments were approved for the Clerk £167.28 (December and January), inc expenses (postage) and HMRC £39.00 (mth 10 due 19/2/21)
6/21 Finance 2021-22 – Mrs Scott had shared the precept paperwork received from NKDC for next year. Unfortunately the parish tax-base had decreased slightly, meaning that even to maintain the same Precept a slightly higher Band D rate would be necessary. Councillors considered the projected expenditure for 2021-22 and the low level of general reserve projected for the end of the current year.
It was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously that the Precept be raised from £2,100 to £2,200 for 2021-22, effectively a £1.94 per annum increase on the Band D Council Tax. Mrs Scott to submit the necessary forms to NKDC.
7/21 Clerk’s Report and Correspondence
i. Covid-19 updates from LCC, NKDC, LALC and LRF - noted
ii. NKDC - Council Tax consultation (closed) – noted. Cllr Tarry offered to enquire about the response level.
iii. YMCA/Community Lincs newsletter - noted
iv. NKDC Register of Electors (and January update) - noted
v. LALC – Standards Matter consultation - noted
vi. Census 2021 – invitation to webinar 13th January - noted
vii. NKDC Residents Survey 2020 (closing date 4th January) - noted
viii. Keep Britain Tidy - noted
ix. Lloyds Bank Statements - noted
x. LALC – NALC’s covid-19 update - noted
Cllr Lennox reported that she had registered to join the Heathwatch Lincs Citizens’ Panel, as mentioned at the last meeting, but had heard nothing since.
8/21 Policing Update – Mrs Scott had shared the second NPT newsletter recently received. Problems in other parishes included problems on playing fields; hare coursing had not been so prolific in the parish, but Cllr Poulson commented that a number of cases of dog-snatching were now being reported.
9/21 Highways Matters
i. Potholes – potholes continued to be a problem on the Fen. It was noted that this was technically a classified C road for its whole length and therefore a Highways responsibility. A general deterioration in the road surfaces was noted. Any specific large potholes to be reported to LCC as necessary.
10/21 Flooding – It was noted that recent heavy rain had led to further flooding. Cllr Ireland had been in touch with Cllr Barry Young LCC but had not yet received a reply to his enquiry about the extra shoring work carried out behind the phone box, without resolving the issue of the culvert under the street-light being blocked. Cllr Tarry reported back on her further conversations with NKDC Officers who advised that the LCC Street Lighting Officer had spoken to Highways Officers who were asking the IDB to resolve the matter, possibly by diverting the culvert to avoid having the move the streetlight. Councillors were not convinced that this would be an effective solution and asked for a
meeting with all parties involved as soon as possible. Cllr Tarry kindly agreed to ask Cllr Young to make the arrangements.
11/21 Broadband – Cllr Ireland reported that a public Zoom meeting had been arranged for 12th January for Quickline to explain their current proposals to use wireless signals to reach most of the residents and cabling only for those outside the wireless signal area.
Cllr Ireland would supply details for the website and the village facebook site, all welcome.
12/21 Planning Matters
Planning Applications – see www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/planningonline
i. 20/1256/HOUS 19 Fen Road NG34 9BD Erection of front porch and pitched roof over garage it was noted that this had been approved by NKDC 5th November. It was also noted that most of the work seemed to have been completed now, much improving the property’s appearance.
13/21 Planning Inspectorate –
i. Viking Link – the community newsletter had been sent by the company to residents, by post/email.
ii. Triton Knoll – no update
(The Zoom meeting closed briefly and resumed at 8.12 pm, without Cllr Ogden).
As the meeting resumed, Cllr Lennox reported the recent sudden loss of her neighbour, Mr Bleach. He had been a great supporter of village projects. Condolences to the family were shared.
14/21 Phone Box and Community Defibrillator – it was noted that checks were ongoing. Cllr Poulton’s new zip-pulls on the bag were appreciated. Work on repainting the phone box would resume when the weather improved. Cllrs Lennox and Rooke had removed water-damaged books following the heavy rainfalls.
15/21 Dog Fouling – it was noted that a resident had found video footage of dog fouling and had warned that further instances would be reported. Cllr Tarry confirmed that NKDC would prosecute if there was strong evidence of the incident and the identity of the responsible person.
16/21 Land at Pump Lane – Mrs Scott confirmed that the application had been submitted and a decision was expected by the middle of the month. She thanked those involved for securing the necessary supporting information, the response to Cllr Poulton’s facebook item had been very helpful. Cllrs agreed to arrange a date for a working party, depending on the Covid regulations, to clear the area and install the gates and fencing if the application was successful.
It was also noted that the area around the bus shelter needed attention, a recent fallen branch had been moved off the path but not removed.
17/12 Parish Council Communications
i. Website – Cllrs thanked Mrs Scott for her work on the website which was now live. Mrs Scott explained that she would welcome more photographs and comments about the website and what to include on it. Cllrs Ireland, Lennox and Rooke agreed that their mobile phone numbers could be added. She would also add links to Cllrs Young, Tarry and Ogden’s contact details.
ii. E-newsletter – Cllr Ireland suggested that future parish newsletters could be electronic and shared on the website and by email. It was noted that residents would need to opt-in to receive them and details stored in compliance with GDPR. It was suggested that the next newsletter should include an ‘opt-in’ form to be returned to the Clerk. It was also noted that the village facebook page had around 67 members, most of whom were village residents, so the reach through that was already quite high but not 100%.
18/21 Clean-Up – it was agreed that a further clean-up be held on Sunday 7th March, depending on the Covid-19 regulations at the time. Mrs Scott to request use of the kit again, to be delivered to Cllr Rooke and arrangements would be made for publicising the event to residents and on site. Cllr Poulton agreed to produce a flyer for distribution.
19/21 Matters for the next meeting – standing items, including final plans for clean-up, next steps for Pump Lane
20/21 The Dates of Meetings for 2020-21, at 7.30pm
2nd Mar, 4th May (Annual Meeting, Annual Parish Meeting)
The meeting closed at 8.41 pm.
2nd March 2021 - the Minutes were agreed as a true record and were signed by Cllr Paul Ireland