September 2019 Minutes
Scotton Parish Council
Minutes Of The Meeting Of The Parish Council Held On Thursday 5th September 2019 At 6pm At The Village Hall, Scotton
Present: Councillors: R.Walker (Chairman), R.Littlewood (Vice Chairman), R.Ramsay (Tree Advisor), P.Kulleseid, Mrs J. Robinson, A.Robinson, A.Ramsay
In attendance: Mrs. L. Cooper (Parish Clerk), Councillor C. Perraton-Williams (LCC), Councillor L. Clews (WLDC) and 2 members of the public.
Commencing at 18.04
The Clerk advised the Chairman that before opening the meeting, members of the public in attendance had an opportunity to address the Parish Council, on any matter, during the 15 minutes public session.
002/19 Apologies There were no apologies.
There were no disclosures of pecuniary interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 or requests for dispensation.
003/19 Minutes of August 2019 Meeting It was proposed, seconded and Resolved: Minutes of the meeting held on 6th August 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. Unanimous
003/19 Allotments The Chairman began by discussing historical details of the allotment site. The land had been given to the Parish Council and used to provide allotment plots. The estimated rental income of the allotments was £800.00. The site was supervised by 3 wardens. The Chairman presented the Allotment Rules and asked if anyone had alterations or amendments to suggest. There were none. It was proposed, seconded and Resolved: To approve Allotment Rules without alteration or amendment. Unanimous. The Chairman moved on to discuss problems the wardens were experiencing with one of the tenants. After discussion, it was agreed to write to the tenant enclosing a copy of the Allotment Rules. Should the tenant continue to disregard allotments rules, Councillors were agreed that the tenant would be given notice to quit. It was proposed, seconded and Resolved: The Chairman would write to the tenant, enclosing the allotment rules and requesting these were abided by and the site tidied or the Parish Council would seek to end the tenancy. One other tenant had relinquished their plot making it available to rent. However, the Chairman raised the idea of turning it into a nature area, given its size and general environmental characteristics. Councillors were agreed it would be worthwhile investigating. It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: Councillor R. Walker to contact Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust seeking advice about creating a nature area for the community. Access and signage to the allotment site was discussed. The main points were that signage could be better and that some vehicular access was needed by tenants to bring equipment on-site, however, it appeared vehicles were driven within areas where they should not be. This would continue to be monitored by the allotment wardens.
005/19 Matters for discussion
005.1/19 Defibrillator Pads Replacement Defibrillator Pads had been replaced. There was concern that eventually the electrical supply would be cut off. Historically, the telephone kiosk had been given to another village and an electrical supply approved for a 7 Year period. The agreement to supply electricity to the kiosk had now come to an end, although the electrical supply had not yet stopped. The Chairman had been in touch with electricity suppliers and researched the possibility of installing a meter, however, he had not had a response from suppliers. It was suggested that should it be difficult to find a supplier for the kiosk; it could be re-sited elsewhere in the village.
005.2/19 Jubilee Tree Replacement Cllr. R. Ramsay (Tree advisor) mentioned that he was looking for a replacement tree should the Jubilee Tree fail and suggested that pollarding may rejuvenate the tree. He advised waiting to see if it recovered, once work had been done. It was agreed to try this before finding a replacement. Cllr. Ramsay will look for an approved tree surgeon to undertake the work and report back to the Parish Council.
005.3/19 NDP There was general discussion about the Neighbourhood plan and some concern it did not appear to have progressed as quickly as hoped. The remaining budget for the plan was discussed. Cllr. Walker would contact those drafting the Plan and request an update, as a matter of urgency.
005.4/19 Planning Applications Eastgate Mr.P. Fox 139520 Outline planning application to erect 9no. dwellings with access to be considered and not reserved for subsequent applications. There was a thorough discussion about the application. Concerns were raised about the proposed access to the houses and the width of the roads proposed. It appeared some of the land needed to build the access road did not belong to the applicant. Additionally, there was a tree with a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on the site that the Parish Council had applied to WLDC to make permanent. It was proposed, seconded and Resolved: To object to the application and recommend to WLDC that the applicant stay within the regulations of outline planning.
005.5/19 Traffic Concerns within the village In this part of the meeting there was discussion about traffic in the village. The main concerns were that vehicles entering the village did not reduce speed and that some roads were substandard and did not appear to be properly repaired. In response to concerns received from residents, the Parish Council had investigated the advantages of taking part in the Road Safety Partnership scheme. The Chairman explained there would be an initial £40.00 fee. The Chairman asked if any Councillors present would be willing to become co-ordinators for the scheme. Cllrs. J. Robinson and A. Robinson volunteered. It was proposed, seconded and Resolved: To take part in the scheme and pay the £40 fee. To accept Cllrs. J. Robinson and A. Robinson as co-ordinators.
005.6/19 Dog Waste Bins The problem of dog waste along paths in the village was discussed. It appeared that a minority of dog owners were responsible, with the majority picking up after their dogs. Discussion moved on to what WLDC could legally do to dissuade this behaviour. WLDC had the power to prosecute if there were enough evidence, additionally they could also provide free dog waste bags. It was agreed to continue to monitor the situation for the time being. 0
05.7/19 Email, I.T. and Facebook site - I.T. Equipment The Parish Council had provided the Clerk with a laptop and printer for Parish Council administration. The cost had been £437.00. - Email system The Clerk had gained access to the Gmail account. - Facebook site There was discussion around setting up a Facebook page for the Parish Council and the general aims and objectives along with the type of information that would be posted online. There would need to be a least one or two additional moderators, as well as the Clerk. Cllrs. R. Walker and J. Robinson volunteered to become moderators. All were agreed it would be a positive way of reaching more residents. It was proposed, seconded and Resolved: To set up a Facebook page. To accept Cllrs. R. Walker and J. Robinson as additional moderators to the clerk. The clerk to draw up a policy for approval by the Parish Council.
005.8/19 Parish Council Assets There was some discussion about the benches in the village. Consideration may need to be given to how much it would cost to repair a bench or if it would be more cost effective to replace, when the time came. There was some discussion about the types of materials or bench styles provided by other villages. Cllr. Walker had repainted two benches on Eastgate and these were in good condition.
005.9/19 2020/21 Parish Council Budget There was a discussion about the precept demand and consideration was given to what the budget demands might be for next year. The £40 late submission fee had not been paid or requested and the proper notice sent to P K Littlejohn.
006/19 Finance - WLDC should be reimbursed for £462.85 for costs incurred while the Parish Council was reforming, following the resignation of all but one of the previous Council. - The village hall was struggling with the cost of grass cutting at the playground and would be seeking to re-tender the contract at the end of the year. It was proposed that the Parish Council assist the village hall with grass cutting costs. The Chairman proposed giving the village hall £2,500.00 - The cost of I.T. equipment came to £437.00. - The cost of upkeep to the village by the Council’s contractor had come to £700.00 for the period May to August. It was proposed, seconded and Resolved: To approve the payments and costs discussed. Cheques were signed by two authorised signatories, in the presence of the Parish Council.
006b/19 Committee and other reports Discussion mainly focused on agenda item 5.3. There were no other reports for consideration.
007/19 Any other business The Clerk sought approval to use a Pay as You Go mobile phone which could be exclusively used for Parish Council business. The Chairman indicated that callers would be assured of privacy, as only the clerk would have access to the phone. The only costs would be for outgoing calls made for Parish Council business and topping the phone up with credit. The clerk advised the Chairman that a decision to agree costs for the use of the phone could not be taken in this section of the meeting and would need to be deferred to the next meeting.
Cllr. Robinson brought up the increased presence of Himalayan Balsam in the village, which at present did not pose a problem. However, the plant is an invasive species, that once established spreads quickly, especially along watercourses. Cllr. Robinson to assess quantity of the Balsam and report back to the next meeting with recommendations.
The Chairman reported that WLDC would be using smaller units to deliver mobile library services to rural villages.
The Chairman had been investigating the costs of having new village signs made up for the village. Specimens of how the signs would look were circulated during the meeting. Each sign would cost £400.00 and an additional £100.00 installation fee. The Chairman asked the committee to consider the proposal. The matter was left for discussion at a future meeting.
008/19 Date of next meeting The next meeting of Scotton Parish Council will be 3rd October 2019.
The meeting closed at 7.25pm.