March 2020 Minutes (5th)
Scotton Parish Council
Minutes Of The Meeting Of The Parish Council Held On Thursday 5th March At 6pm At The Village Hall, Northorpe Road, SCOTTON DN21 2RB
Present: Councillors R. Walker (Chairman), P. Kulleseid, J. Robinson, A. Robinson, A. Ramsay, R. Ramsay (Tree advisor) and R. Littlewood (Vice-chairman) Leticia Cooper (Parish Clerk) There were no members of the public at the meeting.
026/20 To receive and accept apologies for absence There were none.
027/20 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.
028/20 To receive and approve the notes of the Full Parish meeting held on 21st February 2020 as minutes Unanimously Resolved that the notes be approved as a correct record and signed as Minutes.
029/20 To hear any Police, District and County Councillor reports (if any) There were none.
030/20 General allotment update All allotment plots are currently taken but the Council would enquire if any residents were interested in joining the waiting list for any future vacancies. Work to clear the dyke near the allotment site was carried out by local farmers. The Parish Council was asked to contribute to the costs of the work. The work to clear the dyke, near the Council’s allotment site was necessary and beneficial to the allotment holders and residents of the village. It was unanimously Resolved to pay half of the costs of clearing the dyke. The allotment holder who was asked to remove waste from their plot but who had not done so, may have been hampered by poor weather and wet conditions. The allotment warden indicated that the site was currently very damp. It was Resolved to allow the allotment holder until September to complete the task.
031/20 Jubilee Tree update The arborist had surveyed the tree and advised that it could not be saved and suggested replacing it with a hardwood like oak, walnut or sweet chestnut. Cllr. R. Ramsay would report findings to Carol Slingsby at WLDC and obtain permission to start work to remove the tree. The sign, which was on the Jubilee tree, would be kept and reattached once works were completed.
032/20 Phone kiosk project update The shelving would be built into the kiosk by the end of the week.
033/20 Litter picking ‘Great British Spring Clean’ The village litter pick was rearranged for 29th March at 2pm. WLDC would supply bags and equipment. The meeting point would be at the kiosk. The event would be advertised on Nextdoor, the Council’s website, Facebook page and noticeboards.
034/20 Scotton Good Neighbour scheme There had been little interest in the scheme possibly due to concerns about the Corona virus. It was agreed to defer this until the summer months.
034/20 Road Safety Partnership scheme update Cllr. J. Robinson had met with an officer from the scheme and permission was obtained to use existing infrastructure at two locations to install Speed Indicator Devices (SIDS). These were lighting column 1a on Westview and column 4 on Kirton Road. Further pricings would be obtained for purchase and installation of appropriately sized SIDS.
035/20 To discuss CCTV proposals WLDC do not encourage the use of CCTV due to the complexities and costs but advised that a dog warden could be sent out to the village, who would have the authority to issue fines. However, it was noted that recently, there had been fewer complaints of dog fouling in the village, although fouling on private land continued to be a serious issue. It was agreed to continue sending the message that dog fouling was socially unacceptable. CCTV proposals were deferred for the time being and the issue would be monitored over the coming months.
036/20 To discuss preparations for the Annual General Meeting in May After a general discussion it was agreed Cllr. J. Robinson would report on the project with the Road Safety Partnership working towards a reduction of speeding in the village, Cllr. R. Ramsay would report on the trees in the village and the Chairman would present a report on the general activities and financial workings since the Council reformed in July 2019. Reports would be heard from a representative of the village hall, and PCSO Bill Thomas. The Council were also aware of the Luddington Trust, which had been set up in previous years, to aid residents in the village. It was agreed to obtain further details from a local resident about the Trust. Action: Clerk to issue draft agenda for discussion at the next Council meeting. Clerk to contact local resident about the Luddington Trust.
037/20 Finance
i) To approve using Christine Sylvester to complete the annual internal audit It was Resolved to appoint Christine Sylvester to complete the annual internal audit.
ii) To approve regular monthly payments It was Resolved to approve the regular monthly payments: - Clerk’s wage and expenses.
iii) To approve incoming invoices for payment It was Resolved to approve the following incoming payments:
Clerk additional hours - £33.80
Councillor training LALC - £75.00
David Small; shelving for kiosk - £50.00
Clive Williams; maintenance in the village - £160.00
iv) To note list of payments Jan to March and general balances The list of payments and general balances were noted.
038/20 Future agenda items
- General report on the trees in the village
- Himalayan Balsam in the village
- Fencing for the Yew tree
039/ Correspondence received since the previous meeting (circulated to members). To hear any comments. There were no comments. Correspondence listed.
12.02.20 Community Lincs e-news
17.02.20 Lalc e-news 18.02.20 Rural Bulletin
21.02.20 NALC Chief Executive’s Bulletin
25.02.20 Rural Bulletin
26.02.20 Neighbourhood Alert Survey
040/20 Chairman’s items The government would be bringing in new regulations around the use of wood burners, stoves and open fires to reduce the level of fine particulates in the air. The sale of bagged coal to be phased out by February 2021 and sale of loose coal to be phased out by the end of 2023. Sales of wet wood in small units to be phased out by February 2021. All sales of wet wood to be banned. The government is not banning wood or coal burning stoves. Action: Clerk to note this in the monthly article for the village magazine. The chairman discussed the difficulties the Village Hall had experienced in finding an affordable alternative to the current heating system and with installing insulation to the roof and walls. The hall was painted by an employee of Mr. Holland’s and the village hall would be looking for volunteers to repair the village roof.
There was to be an extension to planning application 140545 Plot 9, Land South of Eastgate, Scotton DN21 3QR
041/20 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) Staffing matters – end of Clerk’s probationary period. It was unanimously Resolved to move into closed session to discuss the end of the Clerk’s probationary period. The clerk left the meeting at this point. The clerk’s probationary period was completed satisfactorily, and it was unanimously Resolved to confirm the Clerk’s appointment to the post.
042/20 Date of next meeting 6pm on the 2nd April 2020 in the Village Hall. There being no further business the meeting ended at 7.10pm