May 2022 Minutes
resent
Cllr Hinton (Chairman), Cllr Brooman (Vice-Chairman), Cllrs Goode, Harvey, Hayward, McLaughlin, Webber
In attendance
County Cllr C Vernon; 1 member of the public
Apologies
District Cllr P Robins
1.Declarations of interest
None
2.Approve minutes 20 April 2022
The notes of the meeting held on 20 April 2022 were approved as minutes and signed by the Chairman. Proposed by Cllr Goode, seconded by Cllr Harvey, all in favour.
3.Matters arising - village pump
Nigel Allsopp will provide a new quote using new materials rather than oak.
4.County Council matters
County Cllr Vernon thanked the Parish Council for allowing her the opportunity to provide with a report and gave apologies for having to leave the meeting early. Cllr Vernon was always available to answer any queries/give help by e-mail or phone. County Council Wide Matters.National Foster Care Fortnight – This started last week and was the perfect time to find out how you could support fostering in your local area and help us to celebrate the Lincolnshire community opening their homes and families to children in care. In Lincolnshire, we need people to come forward for all types of fostering, especially to look after teenagers, siblings, children with additional needs and children who need long-term homes. Each application to foster is considered on an individual basis and you can be a foster carer regardless of your marital status, sexuality, employment status, ethnicity or religion. The only thing that is essential is that you have a spare bedroom for a child or young person to use. So, if you think you could make a life-changing difference for these children, or would like to know more, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/fostering. You can also get in touch with the Lincolnshire fostering service by calling 01522 554114.Lincolnshire County Show – It’s back after a 2 year enforced break due to Covid and will take place on June 22nd and June 23rd. Full programme of entertainment planned, food stalls, trade stalls and livestock classes and competitions. Come along for a really fun day! LCC will also have a stand too. Ukrainian refugee Update – The first families have now arrived in Lincolnshire, and Cllr Vernon thought it would be useful to just pass on the details for The Wellbeing Lincs service which can be accessed by Ukrainian arrivals or their host families to provide the advice and support they need, as well as statutory services such as healthcare, education, benefits and council services. Further information available at www.HomesforUkraine.campaign.gov.uk look out for direct updates. Cllr Vernon added that more will be known at County level in the next few weeks regarding the breakdown of relations between some Ukrainian refugees and their hosts across the county; the refugees had been offered temporary accommodation by councils. Cllr Webber said that two new Ukrainian families had arrived in the village – Cllr Vernon will visit the new families and circulate website information on help for education, clothing, health provision to all hosts and Ukrainian families; Cllr Vernon suggested the Parish Council make contact and offer support to all families.
Bin Information - Not really County Council but something that Cllr Vernon really think is important to mention. There was recently a fire in the back of a bin lorry which had been caused by an electrical item placed in a bin that ignited. A quick reminder… please do not put batteries or electrical items in bins. Fixmystreet – Please do continue to report concerns regarding potholes, or damage to the roads via this website. (George… if I am not here for this item, I know you asked me to check about whether best to use this or the link on the website and the advice has been to use the Fixmystreet still! Cllr Vernon thought that the newly installed village gates look brilliant but wondered why the gateway on Morkery Lane had not been located north of Water Lane; Cllr Hinton said that the gateways had been placed where they would best slow down traffic entering the village
5.District Council matters
District Cllr P Robins had sent her report prior to the meeting: SKDC’s 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 was 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’s statue was installed in St Peters Hill Grantham on Sunday - reactions have been mixed. The overall view was in favour. The Grantham Journal was running a poll to see what opinions are and if it was the right home for it. At the moment it was 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. With regards to the Great British Railway - Invest SK was assisted in the bid. The position was that a large number of places have submitted bids and that these will be reviewed by Government to create a short list of potential sites for the public to consider. As there was no way to influence the shortlisting process SKDC in common with most bidders have not done the marketing and were instead waiting for the short list before starting any promotional work - Cllr Robins will update with any news. Mallard Pass – Cllr Robins 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 which was imminent.
Cllr Robins asked an officer to take a look at the bank opposite the Doctors Surgery. He said he could see that this was clearly an issue and that ‘unofficial’ parking is taking place. The initial thoughts were that simply making the bank a little thinner may be a little more complicated than first imagined. His expectation was that in order to make a real difference we would have to cut a fair way into the bank, which could well lead to some form of retaining structure being needed. It also looked like SKDC would need to relocate what looks to be a either BT or electric cable, plus any services that might be hidden under the ground. Also, they would need to realign the path, which will add to the cost and potentially need some level of design input. He thought that aside from the difficulty of actually creating a space, it will be very difficult to find any budget for such works. He will look into this further and come back to Cllr Robins. Cllr Robins welcomed any questions from the Parish Council.
6.Planning issues - verbal report from the Planning Working Group
Cllr McLaughlin said that the tall fence and gate at The Old Smithy had been replaced.
7.Planning - Planning Application Appeal Notification - Building Positioned Adjacent to Morkery Lane, Castle Bytham
Cllr McLaughlin said that the Parish Council’s comments on the application would be forwarded to the appeal.
8.Insurance renewal
It was proposed by Cllr Brooman, seconded by Cllr McLaughlin to renew the parish council insurance with Zurich Municipal for a period of five years, bringing down the premium to £760.06 per annum; all in favour.
9.Amenities Working Group report
Cllr Harvey carried out an inspection of the playing field on 18 May 2022. and found the area generally in reasonable condition. Picnic Benches - no issues. Swings and see-saw -
all secure and no issues. Trees - the three separate piles of brash were still awaiting attention, but the work to chip all this wood is planned for the 19th May. Castle Mound and slide -barrier posts and fencing were all secure. Concrete slabs, on both north and south sides of slope, having previously been covered, were now partially re-exposed and still need to be re-covered. Swing gate to footpath beyond “castle” mound remained in good repair. The latch on the main pedestrian gate from Glen Road was replaced and remained secure. Goal posts remained secure and offered no risk. Covid 19 mitigation warning signs remained in place at both entrances. Basketball structure: one bolt cap still required; Cllr Hinton said that he had plenty of bolt covers but that none stayed on that particular bolt head. The “No Climbing” sign on the basketball hoop structure (as recommended by ROSPA) has been fitted. Cllr Hinton noted that the dry stone wall close and parallel with the southern garden fence of 39 Glen Road had been repaired, new mortar between the stones and the capstone fixed in place with mortar; the Councillors did not know who had carried out the repair.
10.Fencing by the pond
After lengthy discussions the Councillors agreed by a majority that the pond fencing was a Highways matter; Highways will be asked of their intentions to replace the fencing. Cllr Hinton had been in favour of replacing the railings with taller ones of a design that would match the Environment Agency’s new railing along the steam.
11.Village sign - lower green
Cllr Hinton will arrange for transport of the village sign to Richard Kent’s workshop. Richard has offered to carry out repair of the sign.
12.Report of scam from fitness equipment supplier leading to loss of payment from PC
Cllr Hinton had sent updates and all documentation to Zurich Insurance. ‘Playground Projects’ had admitted that their e-mail account had been hacked. The Councillors were in favour of pausing the project and asking the Lottery Fund for an extension as the Parish Council had been a victim of crime. Cllr Brooman will prepare a document for best practice on electronic bank payments.
13.Queen’s Jubilee
Cllr Hinton said that the number of Jubilee Street parties had increased to 11 across the Glenside community. Cllr Hinton had asked the PCC to fly the Union Flag for the Jubilee.
14.Burial Committee matters
None
15.Correspondence
Rural Services Bulletin
DE Accounting and payroll services - arrangements for AGAR
DM Planning Support - weekly lists
Resident - enquiry on possible first aid course
LALC -bank fraud incident
Mallard Pass Solar Farm stage 2 consultation - webinar on 24 May
Parish Online
LALC e-news
NALC legal update
NHH Lincolnshire
Zurich Municipal - insurance renewal
YMCA Lincolnshire news
Playground Projects
16.Accounts
The following electronic payments were approved:
M Wright - mowing £175.00
Gala Tent - Jubilee marquee £1690.53
Glenside News - donation for colour edition £240.00
Village Hall Committee - rent £120.00
Glasdon - gateways £6203.81
Bythams Community Shop - Jubilee donation £400.00
Little Bytham Village Hall - Jubilee donation £300.00
Easy Equipment - Jubilee tables for Little Bytham Village Hall £413.96
P Hinton - reimbursement cash given to Ukrainian family £500.00
Playground Projects- deposit fitness equipment playing field £3420.00
M Cooke - reimbursement Amazon purchase Jubilee cutlery £65.03
M Cooke - reimbursement Amazon purchase additional Jubilee tableware £145.90
Bythams Community Shop - purchase shares £2500.00
Modern Landscaping - installation gateways £720.00
P Hinton - donation Cumberland Gardens Jubilee party £200.00
Village Hall Committee - donation village hall and Glen Road Jubilee parties £375.00
Glenside News - additional Jubilee donation for June and July colour editions £80.00
A Caulton - donation Jubilee street party £200.00
Westfield House - Jubilee mugs and bookmarks for Bythams School pupils £520.63
C Vernon - donation Bytham Heights Jubilee party £200.00
M Brooman - donation Glenside Jubilee party £50.00
Mr and Mrs Goode - donation Jubilee rounders match and picnic £75.00
The AGAR will be on the agenda at the June meeting.
17.Councillors’ verbal reports
Cllr Brooman said that the lamppost in Glenside had yet to be repaired.
Cllr hayward said that the hedge at the corner of Pinfold Road and the High Street needed cutting back.
Cllr Harvey said that the Bowmans of Rutland would be at the Midsummer Festival.
The date of the July meeting will be changed from 20 to 27 July; clerk to check that the village hall would be available on the 27th.