September 2019 Minutes
Witham on the Hill Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting of Witham on the Hill Parish Council (Min 19-04) 16th September 2019 at 7.00 p.m. in St Andrew’s Parish Hall
Present:
Councillors: Charles Henriques, Andrew Greenwood, J Kirkwood and S Pennant-Jones
Residents: Roy Lyon
Others: Bernard Champness – Clerk, District Cllr - Chris Benn and County Cllr B Adams.
Open Forum
There were no residents present and the meeting was opened at 19.00 Roy Lyon attended later and was asked if he wanted to Address the Council. He said that he wanted to thank the Parish Council for the work they were doing and for getting the footpath from the village to the crossroads. He was advised that this had been arranged by District Cllr Benn. He asked if it was possible to have details of the council meetings in the Three Towers Magazine. Cllr Pennant-Jones said this was down to her and our meeting was 2 days before the deadline to have articles published.
35. Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies
35.1 Apologies were received from Cllr Lynne O’Hara (personal)
35.2 Resolved: that the apologies be accepted.
36. Declaration of Interest – To receive Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary and Other Interests, as set out in Chapter 7 of the Localism Act 2011 and the nature of those interests relating to any Agenda item
36.1 No one declared an interest in any item of the agenda.
37. Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on the 15th July 2019 (19-03)
37.1 Resolved: That the minutes of the 15th July 2019 were signed by the Chair as a correct record.
38. Matters to report on the minutes of the 15th July 2019 – restricted to items not listed elsewhere in the agenda
38.1 It was reported that there was a car parked on Main Street which was untaxed and had no MOT. Cllr Greenwood said that he would report this to South Kesteven District Council so that it could be removed from the highway.
38.2 It was reported that the garages were still being neglected. It appeared that whenever either the County or District Council were telephoned, they denied it was their responsibility. Cllr Henriques said that he would get an e-mail sent to Cllr Benn to se if he could make sure this problem was investigated.
38.3 Cllr Pennant-Jones said that there appeared to be a lot of dogs barking in the village and the problem was escalating. She was advised that unless she knew who the owners were there was nothing that we could do to help.
38.4 Cllr Kirkwood gave an update of her discussions with the Footpaths officer and what work had been carried out on them.
39. To receive a report from the County and District Councillors on matters relating to Witham on the Hill.
39.1 Cllr Adams said he was hopeful that things were progressing forward regarding the crossroads on the A6121.
- It was agreed that there should be double white lines on the road, but this would not be done until next year.
- It was very unlikely that we would get the speed limit reduced as the policies in place would not allow that but it had been suggested that at the bend there would be a maximum speed sign of 40 mph but it was only an advisory sign not a mandatory sign.
- There had been a discussion with the landowner, and it had been agreed that the hedge on the north west side of the road by the bend would be cut back.
- He had, had a discussion with the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership who were keen on promoting the community speed watch and wanted as many parish councils as possible to be members. 729 letters had been sent out to offenders by the Community Speed Watch team, and 37 being sent out in August. There were 27 visits by Police Officers to habitual speeders. Cllr Adams was told that there was ani item on the agenda about this and we were hoping that we could become members of the Community Speedwatch Team.
- Cllr Adams was advised that the streetlights from the village to the crossroads on the A6121 were being obscured by the trees. This made the street very poorly lit. Cllr Adams advised that this matter be reported through the App Fix my Street.
39.2 Cllr Benn was not present and had not sent a report.
40. Clerks Report and correspondence received
40.1 A report of the correspondence received by the Clerk was circulated. There wasn’t anything that needed further consideration. The Clerk reported that he had since received the following:
- The July and September issue of Clerks & Councils Direct
- A booklet from HAGS advertising playground equipment
- Two letters from South Kesteven District Council showing alterations to the Register of Electors.
- The Clerk was asked if he had a quote for a new noticeboard. He showed the e-mail he had received from Earth Anchors showing the noticeboards they made and the cost. The costs varied from £300- £800. The Chair said that he would have a word with Mr Alsop about a quote for making and installing a new noticeboard,
41. Planning applications – to approve the following planning applications received.
41.1 There are no planning applications to consider but in the Clerk’s Report are details of recent decision made on previous applications.
42. To decide if we wish to purchase 6 passive speed limit signs for £40 from the Community Speed Watch Scheme
42.1 The Chair said that he had heard from the Community Speedwatch Team who had sent a letter setting out their aims and objectives as well as details of passive and well as reactive speed signs. We could purchase 6 passive signs to place around the village. If we wanted to do this, we would have to become members of the team and we needed to prepare a map showing where we wanted the signs to be installed. The Team would then come around to view the sites and would then either agree or reject the proposed sites. It was resolved that we would purchase these signs as it will show the Parishioners that we are taking the matter of speeding in the village seriously and if this did not work then we can tell them the next stage and the possible cost. It was agreed that the Councillors would meet at 6 p.m. on the 19th September to have a walk about to find suitable sites for the signs.
43. To receive an update on the A6121 crossroads and to decide what action might be necessary to progress the matter further
43.1 In view of the comments made by Cllr Adams under Item 39.1 above there was nothing further to add.
44. To decide if Parish Councillors should have a dedicated parish council e-mail address rather than using their private e-mail address.
44.1 The Clerk explained that he had seen a discussion on the Clerks Forum about Councillors having a dedicated council e-mail address rather than using their own private e-mail. It appeared that this was being suggested that all councillors should not use their own private email address as if there was ever a request made under the Freedom Of Information Act then this would mean that the private e-mail could be inspected to look for matters relating to the request. There followed a discussion and it was resolved that each Councillor would not have a dedicated council e-mail address and that they were happy to continue to use their own private e-mail address.
45. To confirm Expenditure
£128.60 – HMRC (PAYE & NI) £194.28 – B M Champness (Salary for July, August & September) [ ]denotes those payments paid between meetings, which have been approved by the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Parish Council or at a previous meeting but not listed Payments made by Direct Debit - £
45 1 Resolved that the above payments be made.
- There was a payment to be made to South Kesteven District Council for £72.49 being the fee for the recent uncontested election. Resolved that this account be paid.
45.2 The Clerk showed a recent bank statement he had received from Lloyds Bank relating to the current account.
The Clerk was asked if he had heard from the bank sowing the amended list of cheque signatories. He had not and was asked to chase this up
The Clerk was also asked to chase the reclaiming of the VAT on the playground equipment.
46. Any other business – Reminder – by law no decision can be made under this item only information exchanged.
46.1 There being no other business the meeting was formally closed at 20.12
47. The date of the next Parish Council meeting – to be held on Monday 18th November 2019 at 7.00 p.m. at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Witham on the Hill.