August 2021 Minutes
Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday 16 August 2021 commencing at 7.30 p.m.
Present: With Cllr Edmund Done (Chairman) there were present, Cllrs – Mrs Heather Devereux (newly co-opted to join with immediate effect), Mr David Freeman, Mrs Jan Morris-Holmes (Vice-Chairman), Mr David Powell
Absent: Cllr Mr Mark Clayton, Richard Hammond.
In their absence there were no reports of County or District Councillors, or the Police.
The Chairman declared the meeting opened at 7.30 p.m.
20. Chairman’s Announcements
The Chairman wished to express his sincere sadness and regret at the recent death of Mrs Ali Evans, a past resident of the village and member of the Parish Council.
21. Apologies for absence and reasons given
Apologies for absence with valid reasons given were received and accepted from Cllrs Clayton and Hammond.
22. Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 not previously notified and/or consideration of any written request for Dispensation
There were none.
23. Notes of the Annual meeting of the Council held on Tuesday 4 May 2021 to be approved as Minutes and signed by the Chairman at a later date
It was proposed by Cllr Morris-Holmes, seconded by Cllr Powell and:-
RESOLVED – That the notes of the Annual meeting of the Council held on Tuesday 4 May 2021 be approved as a correct record to be signed by the Chairman at a later date.
24. Casual Vacancy
It was proposed by Cllr Freeman, seconded by Cllr Powell and:-
RESOLVED – That Heather Devereux be co-opted to the vacant seat on the Council with immediate effect, paperwork to be signed at the next meeting.
25. Village Repairs and Renovations
(i) To receive an update on progress with renovations of street furniture; it was noted that no works had commenced, Clerk to chase up as appropriate;
(ii) to consider and decide upon repair/renovation of War Memorial at a cost of £1200, to include the hire of scaffolding; it was RESOLVED – (a) That the sole quote received be accepted with works to go ahead as quoted, Clerk to arrange for an October 2021 start date.
(iii) to consider a proposal by Cllr Freeman that the telephone box be considered for bedecking with flower troughs for next years’ spring/summer season; the matter of maintenance and watering was discussed, with volunteers to be canvassed through the VV. Consideration deferred to next meeting.
(iv) to consider any further ideas to progress the renewal of the village signs; proposal from Cllr Freeman to be re-circulated to Members and consideration deferred to next meeting;
(v) to receive an update on the LCC response to the request for replacement of stiles with kissing gates and to decide how to proceed, if at all, to progress matters. It was RESOLVED – (b) that the Clerk be instructed to contact LCC to request details of ownership of land and stiles and to raise the issue of condition of the public rights of way in respect of overgrowth of nettles and difficult passage over one of the stiles due to the placing of an additional bar.
26. Litter Picking Equipment
The donation of 10 x sets of litter pickers, hoops and bags from ELDC was noted and welcomed, with thanks. Cllr E Done undertook to carry out the risk assessment and co-ordinate volunteers, with publicity through the VV and Community page and Facebook pages. The matter of extra ppe would be discussed at the next meeting.
27. Financial Matters
(a) Monies at bank
Current account - £8160.89
Bus account - £6032.00
(b) To approve payment of outstanding invoices
It was proposed by Cllr Morris-Holmes, seconded by Cllr Powell and:-
RESOLVED – (a) That payments detailed at (b) be noted and approved.
(c) Members noted the request that bank correspondence be transferred to another signatory and Cllr Morris-Holmes undertook to accept future bank communications on behalf of the PC.
28. Planning Matters
Members noted the following planning application; Planning Permission - Change of use of existing childrens' residential home, which is a listed building to form a private holiday let.
- OLD HALL FARM, HIGH STREET, HAGWORTHINGHAM - APPROVED
29. Highways Matters
(i) Clarification to be sought from Cllr Clayton regarding his report of overhanging trees on North side of High Street; the Clerk is asked to contact the County Councillor to request his assistance with overhanging trees in general obstructing bus access.
(ii) Community Speedwatch Exercises
It was RESOLVED – That resumption of speedwatch exercises and refresher training be deferred to Spring 2022 with publicity via VV and social media.
Note: The absence of police presence at meetings and in the village was noted, despite direct requests from the Clerk for speed monitoring to be carried out on the A158 through the village.
30. Parish Council LCC Website Management Service
It was proposed by Cllr Powell, seconded by Cllr Morris-Holmes and:-
RESOLVED – That the Parish Council subscribe to the LALC LCC website management service for the initial trial period at a cost of £15.00 per month.
31. Lincolnshire Treescapes Fund Survey
Whilst the offer of trees for planting in the village was welcomed, the timeframe to respond in detail was short; Cllr Morris-Holmes undertook to contact LCC with an expression of interest and request for extension of time.
32. To receive reports from Councillors relating to outstanding projects
The Clerk was requested to liaise with the County Councillor regarding overgrown trees at JJ’s Café and with regard to issues around the new highway drainage system repairs, with blockages already in evidence. Both matters to be discussed at the next meeting.
The matter of church grass maintenance was raised, with volunteers sought to assist with cutting and strimming, to be publicised in the VV and on social media.
33. To receive reports from the Clerk in relation to Council matters
There was none.
34. To receive general correspondence
There was none.
35. To confirm the date of the next meeting of the Council
It was proposed, seconded and:-
RESOLVED – That the date of the next meeting of the Parish Council be agreed as Monday 11 October 2021 at 7.00 p.m. in JJ’s Cafe.
Note: Cllr Done announced a special weekend at the Church to be held on September 11th and 12th, with all welcome, particularly new parishioners, with exhibitions, tea, refreshments, etc. Councillors were in favour of a contribution by the Parish Council towards costs and this would be referred to the Clerk to advise.
The meeting closed at 8.30 p.m.