Minutes of meeting on 23 May 2022
Witham on the Hill Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Witham on the Hill Parish Council (Min 22-01) 23 May 2022 at 7.30 p.m. held at St Andrews Village Hall. Witham on the Hill
Open Forum
Frances Plummer and David Clifford wanted to talk about the Jubilee celebrations and what was happening about the commemorative mugs, the bench and tree. She said that she understood that these were agreed at the last meeting but there was nothing that seemed to have happened. The Chair apologised that there seemed to have been some misunderstanding as this was not agreed. Mrs Plummer knew of 2 other Parish Councils that were paying for celebrations and would be disappointed if they did not have any funding from the Council. It was explained that these suggestions were on the agenda for discussion later in the meeting.
The meeting was formally opened at 19.25
1, To elect a Chairperson and to receive the Chairperson’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office and if not then received to decide when it shall be received
Cllr Henriques was the only nomination and was duly elected as Chair for the forthcoming year.
2. Declaration of Acceptance of Office for Chairperson
Cllr Henriques signed the Acceptance of Office which was witnessed and signed by the Clerk
3. To elect a Vice Chairperson
Cllr Smith was the only nomination and was duly elected as Vice Chair for the forthcoming year
4. Cheque signatories and banking arrangements
Resolved: that all Councillors be cheque signatories. Any two could sign a cheque.
5. To adopt and/or amend the Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and Risk Assessment
Resolved that as the Standing Orders and Financial regulations had not been amended there was no need for further amendments and that they should be adopted. The same applied to the Risk Assessment
6. Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies
No apologies were received as all Councillors were present. It was noted that Lynne O’Hara had resigned from the Council. The Clerk explained that the vacancy was being advertised and if no one requested an election by the 6th June we could then advertise that we would co-opt at the next meeting. Janet Kirkwood had also resigned and in the next few days the notice advertising the vacancy will go into the noticeboards.
7. 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
No one declared an interest in any matter that was on the agenda.
8. Minutes of the last meeting held on the 14th March 2022 (21-05)
Resolved: That the minutes of the 14th March 2022 were signed by the Chair as a correct record.
9. Matters to Report
The Clerk explained that he had given Lynne O’Hara 3 minutes books allowing her, Janet Kirkwood and Sue Pennant – Jones to look through them to see if they could find anything about the disposal of the Stocks. He would like them returned for safe keeping. Cllr Pennant - Jones confirmed that she had them and would return them at the July meeting.
In relation to the Bywells Cllr Henriques explained that this matter was still being looked into.
Cllr Pennant Jones said that the road surface in Bottom Street was in need of repairs and wondered if this should be reported on Fix My Street. It was explained that this had already been done and that some of the repairs to potholes had been dealt with.
It was understood that some of the stiles in the village were not dog friendly and you have to pick up your dog to get over them. It was explained that this preventative action was taken by the famer to protect livestock following the loss of a bullock, that had been injured.
10. To receive a report from the County and District Councillors.
County Cllr Charlotte Vernon was not present and had not sent a report.
District Cllr Penny Robins had sent her apologies and a written report as follows
District Matters
Our busy Revenues staff within #TeamSK are making great progress ensuring householders receive their £150 Government rebate to help counter energy price rises.
Almost 36,000 Council Tax rebate payments have reached householders' bank accounts. This is a total rebate of £5,399,550 for those who pay Council Tax by direct debit on 1, 11 and 21 April - to those whose bank account validation checks have all been confirmed.
Margaret Thatcher statue was installed in St Peters Hill Grantham on Sunday reactions have been mixed. The overall view is in favour. The Grantham Journal are running a pole to see what opinions are and if it is the right home for it. At the moment it is 52% for the statue to remain.
Ukrainian refugees: SKDC Accommodation checks update as of the 12 May: 86 accommodation checks completed. The Count of properties received today from LCC is at 124.
Mallard Pass – I had a meeting with the Developers SKDC Leader and Planning today for 2 hours to discuss the Stage 2 consultation and there were many things that we advised them to change prior to the publishing of the Consultation. I cannot say the date this will be published as it is confidential, but it is imminent.
11. Clerks Report and Correspondence received.
The Clerk had circulated in advance notice of the various e-mails received since the last meeting. If anyone wanted to see any e-mails they should let him know and he would send it on.
12. Planning Applications to Approve:
S22/0889 - Proposal: Conversion of existing barn to two storey dwelling (amendments to
S08/LB/7038) Location: Palace Farm, Main Street, Witham on The Hill,
App Type: Listed Building Consent. Response by 30 May 2022
S22/0888 - Proposal: Conversion of existing barn to two storey dwelling (amendments to
S08/0987) Location: Palace Farm, Main Street, Witham on The Hill, App Type: Full Planning Permission. Response by 30 May 2022. Resolved: that we had no objections provided that all necessary criteria were met in respect of the listed building consent.
On the day of the meeting the Clerk had received the list of planning applications received by South Kesteven District Council. On the list was a planning application in Witham on the Hill. This was S22/0988 – nonmaterial amendment for application S19/0873. Addition of a balcony to serve master bedroom at St Halina, Bottom Street. The Clerk explained that we could call a special meeting or give him delegated authority to respond. The latter was chosen and after considering the matter it was agreed there were no objections.
Planning Applications approved: - S22/0273 - Proposal: Single storey side extension, installation of roof lights, erection of single garage and external staircase at rear of double garage. Insertion of first floor window on south elevation at Acorn House Main Street
13 To receive any data from the reactive sign
Cllr Henriques said that the data collected would be downloaded in due course after the sign had been in place a while longer. He also mentioned that in accordance with the suppliers recommendations, it would remain in place until the batteries were fully discharged.
14. To discuss a request from Jubilee committee if the Parish Council will fund a bench (£400 approx.) to go outside the village hall and the planting of a tree on East Green/the Green, cost tbc.
This matter was discussed in the Open Forum as well as at the last meeting. After discussing the matter, it was resolved that we would give the Jubilee committee a budget of up to £650.00 which included VAT to enable them to proceed with the purchase of a bench and tree. It was on the understanding that the committee would be responsible for the purchase and siting of the bench and tree
15. To discuss the present position with the Mallard Pass Solar Farm proposal
A letter had been received from the Stakeholder Group explaining that their Stage Two Statutory Consultation is planned to run for ten weeks and take place between Thursday 26 May and Thursday 04 August 2022. They will hold a webinar on Tuesday 24 May at 5:30 pm, via Zoom. They explained the following
Our upcoming Stage Two Statutory Consultation will feature a series of both in-person and digital exhibition events, providing opportunities for the community and key stakeholders alike to provide their feedback. During this time, we will be seeking views on more developed plans for the project which have had regard to Stage One feedback and the results of ongoing environmental surveys. We will also be presenting a more detailed design for Mallard Pass, which will include our suggested mitigation and enhancement measures, as well as visualisations and photomontages to show how Mallard Pass could look to local residents and visitors. Our consultation material will include the results from the environmental studies and surveys that have been carried out to date, which will be published in our Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) and summarised in the PEIR Non-Technical Summary (NTS) to enable community and technical consultees to have the chance to further understand and influence the proposals for Mallard Pass Solar Farm.
Upon the launch of our consultation period, we will provide your parish with copies of our consultation information and notices of our events, in addition to a suite of digital materials that we will provide to enable you to advertise and promote the Stage Two consultation via your own websites, newsletters, social media and online community forums, as you deem fit. If you would like to also request additional hard copies of our Stage Two consultation materials, please let us know by contacting our project team at the contact details provided below.
16 Audit of 2020/21 Accounts
To approve the Annual Governance Statement 2021/22, Resolved: that the Annual Governance Statement 2022-22 be approved after answering the required questions
To accept the Accounting Statement 2021/22 as a true record. Resolved: That the Accounting statements be accepted as a correct record.
To sign and approve the Exemption certificate. Resolved: that the Exemption Certificate be signed by the Chair and submitted for Audit.
17. To agree a long-term arrangement with Zurich Insurance to one of the following
• A 5-year LTA premium of £175.81
• A 3-year LTA premium of £178.25
• A 1-year standard premium of £180.64
Zurich Municipal had written saying that we had come to the end of the agreement we had and wanted to know if we wanted to enter into a 1 year, 3 year or 5-year agreement, the cost of which is set out above. After considering the matter it was resolved that we would enter a 5-year agreement which would cost £175.81.
18 To confirm Expenditure
£175.81 – Zurich Municipal (Insurance premium depending on the outcome of Item 17)£300.12 – B M Champness (salary for April May and June) £75.00 – HMRC (PAYE)[ ]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 - £
19. Any other business – Reminder – by law no decision can be made under this item only information exchanged.
There being no other business the meeting was formally closed at 20.21
20. The date of the next meeting – to be held on Monday 4th July 2022 at 7.00 p.m. at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Witham on the Hill