Minutes of meeting of 4 July 2022
Witham on the Hill Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting of Witham on the Hill Parish Council (Min 22-02) 4 July 2022 at 7.00 p.m. held at St Andrews Village Hall. Witham on the Hill
Present: Councillors: Charles Henriques (Presiding), Paul Smith, and Sue Pennant Jones
Others: Bernard Champness – Clerk, District Cllr Penny Robins.
Open Forum
No residents were present and there was no Open Forum
The meeting was formally opened at 19.25
21. Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies
No apologies were received as all Councillors were present.
22. 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.
23. Minutes of the last meeting held on the 23 May 2022 (22-01)
Resolved: That the minutes of the 23 May 2022 were signed by the Chair as a correct record.
24. Matters to Report
The Clerk asked if the Minutes Books were ready for collection and Cllr Pennant-Jones said that she would bring them later to the meeting for the Clerk to take away
Cllr Pennant-Jones said that someone had painted an offensive sign onto the road surface leading up to the village from the A612. This was reported to Highways who acted very quickly to have the sign removed.
A question was asked about the step from The Green to the Stocks which was damaged and whether this had been repaired. It had not been, and it was suggested that the matter be reported on Fix My Street
The Clerk explained that the Audit process was well under way. Notices had been placed in the noticeboard and on the website. The time frame for residents to seek clarification on any financial matter relating to the accounts was from the 13th June to the 22nd July 2022. The appropriate papers had been sent to the external auditor.
It was agreed that thanks should be recorded to Valentino Callibresi for the work that he has done around the village on a voluntary basis redecorating the benches.
25. To Co-opt 2 (two) Councillors
The Clerk explained that no one had requested an election to fill the two vacancies so a notice went onto the noticeboards and on the website that we would co-opt. It was noted that Duncan Brock had indicated his willingness to join the Council but could not attend tonight but would be able to do so at the September meeting. The Clerk advised that we could not co-opt him immediately as he needed to be present to sign the papers in the presence of the Clerk and this could be done in September
26. 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 reported the following:
2022/SKDC Community Awards:
You can nominate community champions (people that go over and above to help others)WWW.Southkesteven.co.uk/SKAwards2022. Last year’s winners were
A five year old boy waging a war on litter.
Young “Lives” first responder.
Food distribution heroine.
And a community counselling charity won 2 awards.
Council Tax rebate:
90% has been refunded so far, the remaining are anomalies – maybe the council tax is in a different name to the person paying the bill – please contact SKDC if this is you. Anyone who does not pay council tax will be sent a cheque to take to the post office to cash.
Road closure:
24/7 of the B1176 (to Old Somerby) to and from Woolsthorpe and Colsterworth for approx three weeks.
Mallard Pass:
From now until 4th August you have an opportunity to register your objections to the (2,200 acre) 880 hectare development. It is vitally important that if you have any concerns about this development please register these concerns.
The previous consultation last November was the developers consultation, to gauge public opinion and not part of the planning process.
Email direct to info@mallardpasssolar.co.uk
It will be discussed at a full council meeting so the response given by SKDC will be coming from all councillors.
I am still awaiting confirmation of the date for the Big Clean in Witham but will let you know when confirmed.
27. 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.
28. Planning Applications to Approve:
S22/1224 - Proposed front porch, internal alterations, roof lights and other external alterations including first floor balcony at St Halina Bottom Street. Resolved: no comment on the basis that the Planning Officer must be satisfied that the plans were in line with the Listed Building guidance.
Planning Applications approved: - there were no to note
Planning Applications refused: S22/0988 - Non-Material Amendment for application to S19/0873. Replacement balcony serving master bedroom at St Halina Bottom Street
29 To receive any data from the reactive sign
Cllr Henriques said the battery was now flat and needed to be recharged. The unit would be removed from the pole and data downloaded. He and Cllr Smith would make arrangements for this to be done. Discussion took place about alternative locations where the sign could be sited around the village, but for the time being it would remain by East Green.
30. To consider what action the Parish Council can take in response to residents’ complaints about spear thistle infestation on pastureland adjoining the village..
This was discussed last year and since then Cllr Henriques had tried to contact the landowner without success but would try again to establish whether effective action could be taken to control the spear thistle infestation. If the landowner does not take the necessary steps, then we would need to consider a formal complaint, but it was hoped that the matter could still be resolved by agreement.
31. To consider what remedial action the Parish Council could take to remove graffiti on the road leading up to the village from the A6121
This matter was discussed under Item 24.2 and as the offending graffiti had been removed there was nothing else to discuss
32. To discuss the present position with the Mallard Pass Solar Farm proposal
The Clerk explained that he had received an email saying that further local meetings had been arranged this month for people to see the proposals and to make any objections known. The meetings would be:
Mon 4th July Uffington Village Hall 8pm
Wed 6th July Braceborough Village Hall 8pm
Thurs 7th July Carlby Village Hall 8pm
Fri 8th July Essendine Village Hall 8pm
Sat 9th July Greatford Village Hall 10am
Sun 10th July Ryhall Village Hall 10am
The Clerk was asked to forward this information on to all Councillors
33 To confirm Expenditure
£349.00 – Sloane & Sons (Jubilee bench)
£5.44 – B M Champness (book of 2nd Class stamps)
£156.00 – D Thornburn (Internal Auditor fee)
[ ]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 - £
It was resolved that the above payment be made. In addition, another invoice had been received for £28.80 for the purchase of a tree and it was resolved that this payment be made.
34. 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 20.24
35. The date of the next meeting – to be held on Monday 5 September 2022 at 7.00 p.m. at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Witham on the Hill