Minutes of Meeting 16 September 2024
Present: Councillors: Richard Burbidge, Charles Henriques, (Presiding) Susan Pennant-Jones and
Paul Smith,
Residents:
Others: Bernard Champness – Clerk, County Cllr Charlotte Vernon
Open Forum
There were no residents present and there was no open forum, and the meeting was formally opened at 19.01
33. Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies
33.1 As all Councillors were present there were no apologies. District Cllr Robins had sent her apologies
34. 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
34.1 No one declared an interest in any matter that was on the agenda.
35. Minutes of the last meeting held on the 15th July 2024 (24-02)
-
34.1 Resolved: That the minutes of the Meeting held on the 15th July 2024 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.
36. Matters to Report
36.1 • Cllr Burbidge said that he was concerned that the footpath from the village to the crossroads on the A6121 was now overgrown with grass and weeds and in places making the path very narrow. Also the surface was broken up in many places and really needs to be resurfaced, Cllr Vernon was asked if she could take both matters up with Highways. She said that she would gladly do so and would impress upon Highways that the path was used mainly by school children who had to walk to the crossroads to catch a bus and soon the path would be icy and very slippery. As for the resurfacing she felt that they might not consider this a priority but she would still ask then to do the work. She also advised the Councillors to report the matter on FixMyStreet.
• Cllr Smith said that he was pleased to report that the large bramble bush on the northern side of the crossroads on the A6121 has been cut back and this has improved visibility of cars travelling from Bourne.
• Cllr Smith also said that the new pub car park was working very well and there were very few cars parked in front of the pub and hardly any at all opposite East Green. He did mention that initially some patrons had mistaken his drive for the car park access.
• Cllr Henriques said that he had sent another reminder to Mike Brown about the split tree trunk in Bottom St as he had not heard from him since the meeting he had with him in May. He had also requested an update on the resurfacing works needed in Bottom St. He was still hopeful this matter would soon be resolved and would keep the council informed.
37. To Co-opt a Councillor
37.1 The Clerk confirmed that the Council were now in a position to co-opt. It was noted that two individuals might be willing to offer their services and come onto the council, so we could be in a position to formalise an appointment at the November meeting. The Clerk would send the appropriate forms out for prior completion as soon as the position can be clarified.
38. To receive a report from the County and District Councillors.
38.1 County Cllr Charlotte Vernon was present and reported as follows:
• The County council were taking very active steps to try and reach as many pensioners as possible to apply for pension credit now that the winter fuel allowance had been stopped. She was wondering if we could put this on the noticeboard as well as possibly in the Three Towers.
• There was no update yet on our request for a weight restriction for lorries travelling through the village, but she would look into this for us.
39.2 District Cllr Penny Robins sent her apologies but had sent an email mentioning that South Kesteven District Council wanted to update us on the community plan project and to reiterate the offer to any parish that may wish to create such an emergency plan or would like more information. As part of my work with our partners in the LCC Emergency Planning team and linked to the work of the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum I am a sponsor and chair of the Resilient Communities Project Group. This group is looking at this very issue at a county level along with a number of other related topics such as volunteers. While I am keen to reach every community, we can I am of course very keen to engage with as many communities as we can in SKDC that might wish to.
County Cllr Vernon said that whilst this was not her council she knew a little about it and said she would like us to consider this plan and possibly join forces with other local parish councils. It was agreed that this would be placed on the November agenda.
39. Clerks Report and Correspondence received.
39.1 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.
The one matter that Cllr Smith wanted to discuss was the email about NFC dementia wristbands. Lincolnshire Police have launched the Dementia Safeguarding scheme which sees members of our communities who are living with dementia offered a wrist band like a watch. The watch contains their next of kins contact name and number. This allows the person to retain their freedom and independence but also gives them a safety net in the event they become lost or disorientated when out and about. He understood there was a leaflet with the email which the Clerk showed the Council. It was agreed that this would be placed on our noticeboard and in the Three Towers.
40. Planning applications:
40.1 Planning Applications to Approve: there were no applications to approve
40.2 Planning Applications approved: none to note
40.3 To note any Planning Applications refused or withdrawn: none to note
40.4 To note any Application appealed or any decision made regarding an appeal: none to note
41. To receive any data from the reactive sign
41.1 Cllr Henriques said Cllr Smith had now agreed to take over the management of the reactive sign. Cllr Smith said that when he downloaded the data it was only from the 23 March until the 26 May 2024 when the battery expired During that period 5,500 vehicles had passed through the village and of those, 130 exceeded the speed limit by up to 10% and 5 were over the speed limit by more than 10 m.p.h. The average speed recorded was 28 m.p.h. The battery had been recharged and the sign was now at the East Green location. At the Little Bytham Rd end we now have the mounting plate on the 30mph speed sign post and whilst the sign will be recording approach speed and not speed within the village, it was hoped the sign would act as a reminder for traffic to slow down.
42. To note the conclusion of the Audit
42.1 The Clerk explained that he had received a letter from the external auditor saying they had received the papers together with the Certificate of Exemption. Unless anyone wrote to them during the required period asking about any of the transactions we would not be hearing from them again. That period has now expired, and the audit was therefore complete.
43. To discuss whether we instruct the pest controller to carry out more work on The Green.
43.1 It was explained that the pest controller had not carried out any further work since the work done a couple of months ago. It was suggested that as the land was owned by South Kesteven District Council we should ask them to carry out any further pest control work. Cllr Robins would either let us know who to write to, or take the matter up on our behalf. If South Kesteven District Council were unwilling then we would get competitive quotes in order to establish a more regular eradication programme.
44. To confirm Expenditure
£160.00 – MozzyMak (fee for mole control)
£192.00 – D Thornburn (Internal Audit fee)
£402.32 – B M Champness (salary July August & September)
£100.60 – HMRC (PAYE)
£2.20 – B M Champness (postage)
[ ]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 - £
44 1 It was resolved that the payments be made.
45. Any other business – Reminder – by law no decision can be made under this item only information exchanged.
45.1 The Clerk reminded the council that at the November meeting we would be discussing the precept for 2025-26. Any new projects being considered should be mentioned then. There being no other business the meeting was formally closed at 20.02
46. The date of the next meeting – to be held on Monday 4 November 2024 at 7.00 p.m. at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Witham on the Hill