2019 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

Scotton Parish Council

Minutes Of The Meeting Of The Parish Council Held On Thursday 5th December 2019 At 7pm, Village Hall, Northorpe Road, Scotton DN21 2RB

Present: Councillors: R. Walker (Chairman), R. Littlewood (Vice-chairman), P. Kulleseid, Mrs J. Robinson, A. Ramsay and R. Ramsay (Tree advisor)

In attendance: Mrs. L. Cooper (Parish Clerk), and 2 members of the public

The meeting began at 7.05pm with the 15 minutes

Public Forum.

A resident spoke about the Neighbourhood Development Plan (Submission version) that had been sent to West Lindsey District Council and expressed concerns that the survey in the report appeared outdated, and did not give a proper representation of the footpaths near the area of Lowfield Farm. The resident had been in contact with WLDC but wished for clarification from the Parish Council. There was a brief discussion and the Chairman advised the Parish Council would contact WLDC to seek advice and further suggested to the resident to continue discussing the matter with WLDC, if concerns were not adequately addressed.

049/19 To receive and accept apologies for absence Apologies were received from Cllr. A. Robinson. Proposed and Resolved that the reason given be accepted.

050/19 To receive declaration of interests in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any requests for dispensations There were none.

051/19 To receive and approve the notes of the Full Parish meeting on 7th November 2019 as Minutes. Proposed and Resolved that the above notes be approved as a correct record and signed as Minutes.

052/19 To hear Police, District and County Councillor reports (if any) The Police report had been circulated to the committee before the meeting. It was read out and discussed briefly. There were no District or County reports 053/19 To approve amendment of Minute

006/19 – 05.09.19 from ‘following the resignation of’ to ‘all but one did not stand for election’ It was proposed and Resolved to accept the stated amendment.

054/19 Village allotment update The signed Allotment Rules had been received from the allotment holder and the tenant was waiting for better weather to clear the site. The Allotment warden advised that the allotment site was very wet, and work to locate the three existing drains was in progress.

055/19 Tree update

i) Millennium Tree The tree advisor outlined the possible options. The species and location for the tree was discussed. It was proposed and Resolved to purchase a Yew tree and place it within the grounds of the play area.

ii) Jubilee Tree The Tree Advisor reported that Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) would not permit work to the horse chestnut until it had been surveyed by a qualified arborist. Action: Cllr. R. Ramsay to arrange for a survey and update the committee.

056/19 Himalayan Balsam in village update This item was deferred until Spring.

057/19 NDP update There was a brief discussion about the progress of the Plan.

058/19 Location of No Vehicles sign on Beck Lane The sign would be moved in better weather.

059/19 Parishioner’s concerns:

i) Dook Close, pavement and lighting LCC had responded to the Parish Council’s enquiry and advised that Dook Close was not an adopted road. After discussion it was agreed to write again to LCC to enquire how the housing could have been built, without the Highways authority having formally adopted the road. Additionally, it was reported that any lighting would have to be financed by residents.

ii) Pavements & Highways around the village Cllr. Walker had written to LCC to inform them about the poor state of the pavements and was awaiting response. In the meantime, it was agreed to raise this with Cllr. Perraton-Williams. ACTION: Cllr. Walker to write to LCC and Cllr. Perraton-Williams iii) Bus shelter There was a brief discussion and it was agreed to defer this to a later date.

060/19 Road Safety Partnership Scheme update Information about the Speed Indicator Devices that could be purchased was circulated before the meeting. Cllr. Robinson gave an update on the two options being considered and discussed costs. Further research would need to be done on where the signs could be placed, the costs for installing posts, and any permission that might be needed to install them. Action: Clerk to send enquiry to LCC Highways Dept.

061/19 Update on defib unit Costs for relocating the defib unit would be £220. It was proposed and Resolved to approve costs for work to move the unit.

062/19 Electricity / Christmas tree Following discussion it was agreed to install an outside electricity socket which could be used to power lights on a tree at Christmas but would also be available for use by Village hall users. The cost for installation would be £90. It was proposed and Resolved to approve costs for the installation works.

063/19 WLDC Information Request An update to the Central Lincolnshire Plan had been requested by West Lindsey District Council (WLDC). The information to be reviewed was circulated to the committee before the meeting. The existing information was discussed, and amendments were made. ACTION: Clerk to send updated information to WLDC.

064/19 GDPR Requirement – Dedicated Parish Council email addresses The clerk advised the committee that it was a GDPR requirement that committee members have separate email addresses for Council business. In the event of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, emails in private addresses, relating to Council business, would not be exempt. The clerk recommended setting up accounts with Gmail and further advised that training on Gmail could be arranged. Action: Clerk to arrange training for Councillors on the Gmail system.

065/19 Finance

i) Precept estimate (information circulated) The estimate had been sent to WLDC. The Chairman compared and contrasted costs and budgets for 2019-20 and 2020-21. The current reserves had been acquired from sale of land in the village and donations from residents, therefore, it should only be used for the benefit of parishioners. It was suggested that 3 months working capital should be ring-fenced and that reserves built up gradually to finance large projects like additional cemetery provision in the village.

ii) Accounts for payment (schedule circulated) A schedule of payments for approval was circulated to the committee before the meeting. It was proposed and Resolved to approve the following payments:

December 2019

iii) Bank reconciliation (circulated) The bank reconciliation for the quarter was circulated to the committee before the meeting and signed off by the Chairman at the meeting. iv) Quarterly schedule of payments (circulated) The schedule of payments from April to November 2019 was circulated prior to the meeting.

066/19 Future agenda items - surface condition of Northorpe Road to be photographed and sent to LCC Highways - To investigate changing mandate to accept bank transfers for payments and to add additional signatories. - NDP Funding 067/19 Date of next meeting The date of the next meeting was 10th January 2020, however, this did not fall on the usual first Thursday of the month. TBC.

068/19 To resolve whether to move into closed session and exclude the public and press, in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, due to the sensitive nature of the business to be discussed.

i) Freedom of Information Request It was proposed and Resolved to move into closed session to protect the personal details of the party requesting information under the FOI Act. The request for information was not exempt from the act and the clerk had responded within the stipulated time. A copy of the response letter was circulated to the committee prior to the meeting.

There being no other business the meeting ended at 8.20pm.