October 2019 Minutes
Minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2019
Present
Cllr Hinton (Chairman), Cllr Harvey (Vice Chairman), Cllrs Candler, Farley, Hayward, Mellows, Thomas, Webber
In attendance
County Cllr B Adams, 2 members of the public
Apologies
Cllr Goodman
1. Declarations of interest
None.
2. Approve minutes 18 September 2019
The notes of the 18 September were approved as minutes and signed by the Chairman. Proposed by Cllr Thomas, seconded by Cllr Mellows, all in favour.
3. Matters arising - upper green steps
The remains of the spoil have been removed and two JMB workmen were on site on 16 October to finish work on the handrails; JMB had been unable to purchase the agreed pipe connectors and had carried out an alternative solution. Cllrs Hayward and Thomas inspected the work afterwards and took photographs; the Councillors agreed that the alternative work was not satisfactory and will ask for a site meeting with JMB - the third invoice would be paid upon satisfactory completion. JMB had not replied to Cllr Hinton’s letter dated 4 October.
4. County Council matters
County Cllr B Adams said Balfour Beatty had been selected as the new that the Highways contractors from April 2020 – they will give defined reports of issues. A survey by Highways England of the A1 for the next two years will help to send a strong message to the government to invest more to improve the road. Cllr Adams will talk to Sam Dewar and Sylvia Bland at SKDC regarding the unauthorised building work taking place at The Old Quarry in Station Road as planning permission had not yet been granted for all the conditions attached to the applications; the enforcement officer has been made aware of the situation – the Parish Council wants the work to be halted immediately. The contractors were unaware of areas with ecological interest and had almost finished installing the service road for section A of the quarry planning application. There has been an increase in HGVs from Counthorpe quarry travelling through the village; Cllr Adams would need details of the vehicle, day and time in order to progress this matter – Cllr Adams will find out whether Counthorpe quarry has a new manager. Work vehicles parked for the building work on a site in Glen Road were causing disruption and access problems for motorists; Cllr Adams advised to contact the PCSO in a first instance.
Conditions to the planning permission could be requested if great inconvenience was caused.
5. District Council matters
Deferred.
6. Parish Council four year business strategy and plan
Cllr Candler had circulated a revised version of the Plan. Members of the community will be encouraged to take the lead on various areas of the village. The Plan was a work in progress, with prioritisation and funding still being worked out.
7. Castle Bytham Neighbourhood Plan
Cllr Hinton has submitted stage 1 of the Castle Bytham Neighbourhood Plan with SKDC and intends to attend a workshop in November. The Neighbourhood Plan is designed to manage development and will follow on from the existing Parish Plan; Cllr Hinton will chair in the initial stages until a village resident offers take on the project which should take around two years to be completed.
8. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust appeal to raise funds to purchase two fields above the fishpools
Cllr Harvey had prepared a document explaining the importance of the fields for nature conservation; the Councillors agreed a £250 donation to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust towards the purchase of two fields above the fishpools. Proposed by Cllr Hayward, seconded by Cllr Farley.
9. Planning issues - verbal report from the Planning Working Group
Cllrs Thomas and Farley could not find any changes from application S17/2137 to application S19/1437.
10. Planning. S19/1437 – Mark Nichols, Pineview, Holywell Road, Castle Bytham. Approval of reserved matters relating to layout, scale, appearance and landscaping following grant of outline permission ref. S17/2137
The Councillors had no objection to this application.
SKDC has given planning permission to the following applications:
- S191494 - fell 3 conifers; 1 cedar, 1 leylandii, 1 lawson. 21 Sation Road, CB
- S19/1584 - remove 1x horsechestnut, reduce eucalyptus to 12ft, pollarding of 1x hawthorn, reduce height of pear tree by 50%. Waterside, 1 Water Lane, CB
- S16/1623 - remove 2x hawthorn (T1 & T2) and Norway spruce (T3)to just above ground level. Beaujolais, Water Lane, CB
- S19/1625 - various (G3); reduce spread of trees by 2 - 2.5m back to boundary of 2 High Street, CB
- S19/1630 - removal of T1, T2, T3 (ornamental cherry and laburnum trees). 5 Counthorpe Lane, CB
11. Fenland Leisure playing field safety inspection report and quotation for repairs
The quotation for repair from Fenland Leisure was considered too high; Cllr Harvey had carried out the monthly inspection and found that only one of the fort’s posts needed to be replaced - Tim Smith will be asked to provide a quotation for the work. The Councillors proposed to switch back ROSPA for the 2020 annual safety inspection. Picnic benches replacement, possibly plastic based, will be on the November agenda.
12. Upper Green – mowing contractor’s concerns regarding the bank steepness along Castlegate
Michael Wright stated that he does not feel endangered mowing the upper green bank although acknowledging its steepness. The Parish Council will send Michael a letter stipulating that he should not undertake any task which could affect his safety.
13. Amenities Working Group report
A young resident will carry out various tasks as part of his Duke of Edinburgh project. Michael Wright will be asked to remove the ivy from a tree bordering Cumberland Gardens. A cemetery site visit will be arranged and a clear brief put together before quotations were obtained for works on trees and ground repair; Tommy Plummer had given recommendations for the ash tree at the back of 28 Cumberland Gardens but had not yet been instructed to carry any work on the tree.
14. Cemetery matters: discuss tree replacement for felled pine and approve cost; fence repair quotation
The Councillors voted in favour of a 1-1.75m tall Austrian pine in a 35 litre container, at a cost of £200. Proposed by Cllr Thomas, seconded by Cllr Farley, all in favour. John Turner will provide a fresh quotation for fence repair.
15. Pond matters
No matters to report.
16. Website
Cllr Hinton asked for any suggestions for improvement, articles or URL to other websites and encouraged the Councillors to do the website survey.
17. Request for additional financial assistance from the Midsummer Festival towards equipment
The Councillors agreed to an additional £200 donation to the £300 donation agreed at the August meeting
18. Village Hall report – sandbins
Cllr Hayward reported that the two parish council owned sand bins which had been located at the back of the village hall had gone missing, together with the sand bags provided by SKDC and sand provided by LCC. The two missing sand bins are subject to a police report. The Councillors agreed to ask a member of the Village Hall Committee, preferably the Chairman, to attend the Parish Council’s November meeting.
19. Correspondence
- Party Girls - e mail thanking for PC’s donation towards senior citizens’ Christmas lunch
- Resident’s e mail regarding increased number of HGVs travelling in Water Lane
- Resident’s e mail regarding cemetery fencing
- Minerals and Waste - LCC statement of community involvement 2019; notification of adoption
- Road safety workshop on A1 road safety
- Environment Agency - update on Glen Road guardrail replacement
- LALC news
- Keep Britain Tidy e mail
- Colsterworth rural highways report
- Public Sector Executive Online
- Rural Services Network
- Invest SK
- Crowdfund SK
- Free holiday clubs
- East Midlands Airport - future airspace programme
20. Accounts
The following cheques were approved:
M Wright – cemetery, graveyard, upper green, riverbank £182.00 [101221]
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust – donation towards purchase 2 fields £250.00 [101222]
Midsummer Festival Committee – donation towards bonfire night insurance and equipment £500.00 [101223]
21. Councillors’ verbal reports
Cllr Thomas had been told that some Call Connect buses had been running late and others cancelled.
Cllr Webber mentioned the e-mail from a resident regarding the high number of HGVs travelling in Water Lane – clerk to answer.
Cllr Farley had been asked whether the SID could be located in Clipsham Road again; Cllr Hinton replied that the next location on the rotation would be Holywell Road.