November 2019 Minutes
Witham on the Hill Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting of Witham on the Hill Parish Council (Min 19-05) 18th November 2019 at 7.00 p.m. in St Andrew’s Parish Hall
Present:
Cllrs: Charles Henriques (Chair), Andrew Greenwood, Janet Kirkwood, L O’Hara and Sue Pennant-Jones
Residents: Gloria Greenwood
Others: Bernard Champness – Clerk, County Cllr B Adams. District Cllr C Benn
Open Forum
Although there was a resident present there was no Open Forum and the meeting was opened at 19.00
48. Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies
48.1 There were no apologies as all were present
49. 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
49.1 No one declared an interest in any item on the agenda.
50. Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on the 16th September 2019 (19-04)
50.1 Resolved: That the minutes of the 16th September 2019 were signed by the Chair as a correct record.
51. Matters to report on the minutes of the 16th September 2019 – restricted to items not listed elsewhere in the agenda
51.1 It was reported that Frances Plummer had donated a large bag of bulbs and would like help planting them. Two days were suggested 30th November or 7th December. It was agreed that the 7th December was the date, meeting at The Stocks at 9.30 a.m.
51.2 It was also reported that an inspection had been made of the Stocks on an informal basis and a a new roof was needed and potentially renews supports. The cost of this work could be in the region of £10,000.00. A question was raised about who owned the Stocks. It was thought that it was South Kesteven District Council. Cllr Greenwood said that he was happy to check this out as it was important that if they were made aware and there was a problem subsequently, the Parish Council’s obligations would be covered. Cllr Benn suggested that we contact the Planning Department as they might know who the owner is.
51.3 Water was once again running onto the road on the Bywells. It was suggested that this matter be placed on the agenda for January as something was needed to be done.
51.4 It was reported that a large amount of water was collecting outside Kiln Cottage on High Street as rainwater was not draining away through the drain. It was thought that a tree root might be the problem. This had been reported on Fix My Street, but nothing had been done Matter to be referred to Cllr Adams if the problem persists.
51.5 Cllr Henriques said that he would like to thank the landowners who cleared the footpaths,
51.6 Cllr Pennant-Jones complained that the area behind the house in East Green was looking very dilapidated and unkempt as nothing had been done to clean the mess and remove the overgrown vegetation. We still needed to find out who owns the land and then we could ask for work to be carried out.
52. To receive a report from the County and District Councillors on matters relating to Witham on the Hill.
52.1 Cllr Bob Adams reported the following:
- There was more good news in relation to the A6121 as it had now been agreed that there would be double white lines on the road and advisory warning signs placed in appropriate places to notify motorists of the hazard/crossroads.
- He was asked if he would help with the problem of the rainwater by Kiln Cottage
- He was asked who the owners of the land, where the garages once were, behind the houses on East Green. He suggested that it must be Housing at South Kesteven District Council. He said that he would look into this.
- He was asked if he could find out who owned The Stocks or who we should contact at South Kesteven District Council He said that he would send the details to the Clerk,
52.2 Cllr Benn said that there was nothing to report but he had checked the planning lists and noted we had no outstanding planning applications and the recent ones that had been lodged had been dealt with and approved. He advised us that we might want to consider applying to have a Neighbourhood Plan as there was a possibility that given a radical reorganisation of local government during the next 4-5 years which resulted in the abolition of District Councils then all planning matters would be dealt with at County level.
A Neighbourhood Plan might influence what development was considered appropriate and where it should take place. However, the Clerk warned that implementing such an initiative was likely to incur significant costs and would be very time consuming, if the idea was taken up.
The Clerk would find out if grants were still available to help with consultant’s fees and who we might consider instructing. Cllr Benn said that Sylvia Bland at South Kesteven District Council might be a good person to contact for help and advice.
53. Clerks Report and correspondence received
53.1 A report of the correspondence received by the Clerk was circulated. He was asked if he could send out the details regarding the Local Plan consultation. There were some other matters that he needed to clarify:
- He explained that he had been to the local branch of Lloyds Bank and had also spoken to Stamford branch on the telephone, but they would not talk to him as he was not a signatory. This would have to be Cllrs Henriques or Kirkwood and they could find out if Cllrs Greenwood and O’Hara had been added as signatories.
- He had ascertained that he could apply as a guest for the refund of VAT and had started to complete the form online but had to stop as he did not have the invoice. He would try again once he had the relevant information.
- He had been asked to supply information about noticeboards as a noticeboard needed to be replaced in front of the Hall. He had sent details for Councillors to consider before the meeting. Cllr Henriques said that he would have to apologise as he now understood the only noticeboard which the Parish Councils responsibility was the one on The Green. The one in front on the meeting room was the responsibility of the Village Hall and he would tell the committee it was their responsibility.
54. Planning applications – to approve the following planning applications received.
54.1 There were no planning applications to consider
55. To receive an update on the purchase of 6 passive speed limit signs for £40 from the Community Speed Watch Scheme
55.1 Cllr Henriques apologised for not taking this matter further. He had started the project but would look into this matter again and let the other Councillors know when his work was complete so they could agree the prosed sites for the signs.
56. To receive an update on the A6121 crossroads and to decide what action might be necessary to progress the matter further
56.1 There was nothing further to dd to what Cllr Adams had stated under Item 52.1
57. To discuss and approve the budget for 2020-21 and to set the Precept for that year. .
57.1 The Clerk had prepared a budget which had been circulated in advance. He pointed out that the figures could be amended either up or down but as it stood the Precept for 2020-21 would be £2,289.00. The figures were discussed, and it was resolved that the Precept should be increased by 3.5% to £2,015.00. The Clerk read the various letters and documents he had received from South Kesteven District Council and pointed out that the request for the Precept should be lodged by the 17th January 2020.
58. To confirm Expenditure
£128.60 – HMRC (PAYE & NI) £194.28 – B M Champness (Salary for October, November and December) £48.00 – PKF Littlejohn LLP (administration charges) [ ]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 - £
58 1 Resolved that the above payments be made with the exception of the payments to the Clerk and HMRC as this information was not available as yet. As for the payment to the Auditors this was approved with some reluctance after the Clerk explained that the payment was as a result of the papers arriving late in their offices.
59. Any other business – Reminder – by law no decision can be made under this item only information exchanged.
59.1 There being no other business the meeting was formally closed at 20.05
60. The date of the next Parish Council meeting – to be held on Monday 20th January 2020 at 7.00 p.m. at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Witham on the Hill.