September 2020 Minutes
MIN 20-02
Witham on the Hill Parish Council Minutes of the Meeting of Witham on the Hill Parish Council (Min 20-03) 14th September 2020 at 7.00 p.m. held remotely by video link
Present:
Councillors: Charles Henriques (Chair), Janet Kirkwood, Sue Pennant-Jones, Lynne O’Hara
Others: Bernard Champness – Clerk, Cllr Bob Adams, LCC.
Residents: Joanne Plews, Frances Plummer, and Lisa Lord.
Open Forum
The meeting was being held remotely by video Link using Zoom. There were three residents present Mrs Plews Mrs Lord and Mrs Plummer who wanted to address the Council about speeding and the recent accident involving a motorcycle. Two e-mails had been received, one from Mrs Plews and another from Mrs Lord, both of which were circulated in advance to the Councillors and Cllr Bob Adams. They were asked if they wanted to add anything else to what was in the e-mails. It was made clear that speeding through the village was a concern and Bob Adams offered to meet with them to discuss this further if required. They also wanted to know about the possibility of having a reactive speed sign at both ends of the village and understood that the County Council is encouraging villages to have speed limits of 20 mph, which they felt would help. Cllr Adams said that he was unaware of such a policy and suggested this may be the case in other areas but he would look into it. He pointed out that it was almost pointless contacting the Police about the issue of speeding as they were underresourced to do much if anything about it. The people to contact were the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership who had Police on their panel and is chaired by an Inspector. The question of hiring a speed gun was also raised but Cllr Adams said it was more likely that the Parish Council would need to purchase one. The Community Speedwatch Team would be able to assist with advice on this option and provide the necessary training.
Mrs Lord and Mrs Plews agreed to make contact with the relevant bodies so that costed options could be discussed at the next Parish Council meeting in November.
Cllr Adams said that we might want to contact InvestSK who could help with crowd funding for equipment if necessary. The Clerk was asked to put the matter on the agenda for further discussion in November.
Mrs Plummer raised the question of acquiring a defibrillator for the village after it had been established that the PC had not purchased the defibrillator installed at the school although this could be used by villagers. This is not easily accessible having been moved recently from its original location and it was felt a better solution was required.
The Clerk said that the cost of purchasing a defibrillator from St John’s Ambulance Service was £1,050 but installation costs would probably add £200. Mrs Plews said that she would make enquiries as she had been able to purchase a defibrillator for £810, including a cabinet, but pointed out there would be an ongoing maintenance cost. It was agreed that she would make further enquiries.
It was generally agreed the appropriate location for the defibrillator would be beside the entrance door to the Village Hall. Mrs Plummer said that she would raise the matter with the trustees and establish the need for listed building consent.
Mrs Plummer also said that some of the play equipment on The Green was in urgent need of attention. In her opinion it needed sanding down and repainting. She was advised that this should the responsibility of South Kesteven District Council but if work was needed to be done it would be quicker to organise a village initiative to do the work and ask the Parish Council to pay for the paint.
Cllr Henriques said that he would write to Mrs Plummer asking her to organise a working party to refurnish the play equipment. He would also write to Mrs Plews and Mrs Lord to confirm what they had agreed to do regarding speeding initiatives. The meeting was officially opened at 19.38
35. Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies
35.1 No apologies were received as all Councillors were present. It was noted that Andrew Greenwood had resigned from the Council for personal reasons. The Clerk was to notify the District Council so we could start to advertise the vacancy.
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 matter that was on the agenda.
37. Minutes of the last meeting held on the 13th July 2020 (20.02)
37.1 Resolved: That the minutes of the 13th July 2020 would be signed by the Chair as a correct record as soon as conveniently possible.
38. Matters to Report
38.1 Cllr Henriques said that he would report the broken fence around the paly area on Fix my Street.
38.2 Cllr Pennant-Jones said that work had still not been done at the back of the East Green garages. She had reported this three times on Fix my Street but nothing had been done. The Clerk suggested she do this one more time and to let him have the reference number so he could liaise with Cllr Adams to ensure that the work was undertaken. She agreed to do this.
38.3 Cllr Kirkwood said that Mrs Plummer had contacted her about the dangerous condition of some corrugated sheet which has been fixed to the style in Church field by the land owner, to prevent cattle getting injured. This was deemed necessary following the loss of a beast frightened by a loose dog. She would contact the Countryside Access team about this and ask them for an update on the other footpaths in the village.
39. To receive a report from the County Councillor.
39.1 Cllr Bob Adams was only able to stay for the Open Forum and had no further report to give. He agreed that if anything else was raised later in the meeting the Clerk should contact him.
40. Clerks Report and Correspondence received.
40.1 The Clerk had circulated a list of e-mails/correspondence. There were no questions.
41. Planning applications:
41.1 S20/1458: Ash (T1) - remove to ground level Yew (T2, T3, T5) - remove to ground level Pissard's Plum (T4) - remove to ground level At Witham Hall Preparatory School, Main Street. Response by 18th September 2020. Resolved: no comments
S20/1451 Proposed single storey external store with covered way adjoining to dwelling.5 additional dormer windows at Bridge Cottage, Bottom Street. Response by 28th September 2020. Resolved: no comments
42. To receive an update on the A6121 crossroads
42.1 As Cllr Adams was not present there was no update, but the Clerk would check if there had been any further developments.
43. To receive a report on the Stocks and Bywells.
43.1 There was no progress on this matter. Andrew Greenwood was to let Cllr Henriques have the information that he had obtained about ownership of the Stocks. Cllr Pennant-Jones said that she had spoken to Jean Clarke who was the Clerk about 30 years ago who remembered that it had been noted in the minutes that the ownership of the Stocks had been transferred to the District Council for a peppercorn payment. The Clerk was asked to go back through the minutes to see if he could locate the article but in the meantime Cllr Henriques would contact Mrs Clarke to ask he if she could remember approximately when the matter was discussed and would let the Clerk know. Once the minutes were located Cllr O’ Hara would then have a word with the individual who she dealt with at South Kesteven District Council who had advised her that the District Council now owned the Stocks.
44. To discuss the matter of a defibrillator for the village
44.1 This had been discussed fully in the Open Forum.
45. To receive an update on the purchase of the temporary speed notices from the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership
45.1 There was no further discussion as this had been dealt with in the Open Forum.
46. To discuss and approve the pay increase for the Clerk in line with the agreement reached between the National Employers and the NJC Union on rates applicable from 1st April 2020
46.1 The Clerk explained that he had received a letter from the National Joint Council for local government services dated the 24th August advising that an agreement had been reached with the National Employers and the NJC Trade Union Side that there would be a 2.75% increase in Clerk’s salaries back dated to the 1st April 2020. His contract of employment stated that he was on SCP 16 and was to work 12 hours per calendar month. In 2019 the SCP numbering was changed so that SCP 16 became SCP6. With the pay increase this meant the hourly rate was now £10.21. Resolved that the pay increased be approved and back dated to the 1st April 2020.
47. To confirm Expenditure –
£324.08 – B M Champness (salary for July - £150.94, August - £86.56 & September - £86.56) £0.00 – HMRC (PAYE & NI) The Clerk is due a 20p tax refund having received a refund in the last Qtr.) [ ]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 - £
47 1 There were no additional payments to approve.
48. Any other business – Reminder – by law no decision can be made under this item only information exchanged.
48.1 There being no other business the meeting was formally closed at 20.12
49. The date of the next meeting to be held on Monday 9th November 2020 at 7.00 p.m. by video conference (Zoom) unless it was possible by then to convene at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Witham on the Hill.