September 2022
SCOTTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD AT SCOTTON VILLAGE HALL NORTHORPE ROAD DN21 3RB
THURSDAY 1st SEPTEMBER 2022 AT 6.00PM
Present: Councillors R. Walker (Chairman), S. Walker, Dr. M Johnson, and R. Littlewood
In attendance: Leticia Cooper (Clerk & RFO)
The chairman opened the meeting at 6.00pm.
Item 78/9/22 Chairman’s welcoming remarks
The chairman opened the meeting with the public forum. There were no members of the public present. There were no reports from District or County Councillors.
Item 79/9/22 To receive apologies and reasons for absence
It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to award retrospective permission to Cllr. A. Ramsay for absence at the meeting in July. Apologies were received and accepted for the current meeting.
Item 80/9/22 To receive any declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any requests for dispensation
It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to award dispensation to Cllr. R. Littlewood to remain in the meeting to hear but not vote during the discussion of item 82/9/22.
Item 81/9/22 To receive and approve the notes of the meeting on 7th July 2022
It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to accept the notes of 7th July 2022 as a correct record and signed as Minutes.
Item 82/9/22 Eastgate Development
a) Cllr. R. Walker briefly summarised the responses received from village residents for the proposed name of the private road at the new development at Eastgate. The name put forward by AF Developments and some residents of the new builds was ‘Little Lane.’ The name suggested by other residents in the village was ‘Eastgate’ as this was a logical continuation of current naming in the Eastgate area.
Prior to the meeting, WLDC had advised the Council that the suggested description of ‘Lane’ would not be appropriate and further guidelines suggested that using the name of a person still living was generally discouraged. Therefore, following discussion, it was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to propose the use of ‘Eastgate’ in part of the name for the new road, as this avoided the use of ‘lane’ or referenced a living person and would be a logical continuation of the general naming at Eastgate.
Cllr. R. Littlewood did not vote on this resolution.
b) The Council had received the following recommendations from LALC concerning the issues at the new development at Eastgate:-
i) To seek independent legal advice
ii)To arrange a meeting with the developer and village residents to air difficulties or grievances.
The recommendations were considered in detail and possible actions discussed. It was noted that the Council had not received any requests from residents wishing to escalate the matter further and that seeking legal advice would be an additional cost to the parish. Therefore, it was agreed to let the matter rest for the time being.
Item 83/9/22 Co-option – To note updates and consider any actions
There had not been any applications to date, but the vacancies would continue to be advertised.
Item 84/9/22 Finance
a) It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to approve the expenses for August and September as follows:-
Clerk’s salary for August and September
Clerk’s mileage for the meeting in July - £20.25
HP Instant Ink; printing for July £9.99 and August £2.99
Village Maintenance; Clive Williams for July £200 and August £180.00
Training; LALC £30.00
Jubilee Project Fund; Darren Saxby £355.00 installation of bench and base at village hall
MS Software renewal; reimbursement to the clerk for £59.99
b) The budget against spending report and monthly breakdown figures were noted. All invoices and bank statements were available for scrutiny.
c) The bank reconciliation was approved.
Item 85/9/22 Training
i) It was voted upon and unanimously approved to allow the clerk to attend refresher training on ‘Budgeting for clerks and finance staff’ via Zoom at a cost of £23 + VAT.
ii) It was voted upon and unanimously approved to order the latest ‘Arnold-Baker’ a comprehensive and authoritative guide to local government law revised, 13th edition. It would be ordered through LALC to obtain a 20% discount on the list price. The list price was £165.00 but the discount would lower the cost to approximately £132.16 + postage and packing.
Item 86/9/22 Village amenities
a) Community Orchard
i) The young trees had been watered over the period of extreme heat but the hot weather and damage from deer had taken a toll on a cherry and apple tree. These were not expected to survive. The old English variety had survived and did not appear to be attracting attention from deer.
It was suggested that two more trees should be purchased from the old English variety to replace the failing trees.
It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to purchase two additional trees for planting over the winter at an approximate cost of £17 per tree including guards and stakes. The sum of £50 was allocated from the precept for the purchase of replacement trees.
ii) The Council had been approached by Pinchbeck Ltd an agricultural maintenance company enquiring about work within the parish. As the parish did have need of maintenance at the Community Orchard, Cllr. R. Walker met with the manager, James Pinchbeck on site, and talked through the work. A tender document was sent to Pinchbeck Ltd, and quotes were requested by mid-September.
iii) Following discussion it was noted that a few brambles should be removed from the Orchard to allow for easier access. It was agreed to wait for the quote from Pinchbeck Ltd, and if none was received to ask the current contractor to do the work.
b) Recreation Wood
The Council discussed the installation of an information sign into the wood and considered the wording. It was agreed that a sign would be helpful to visitors and inform of the wild nature of the wood. These could be placed at the entrances to the wood. Cllr. R. Walker agreed to investigate the costs for creation of the two signs. To be returned to the agenda for further consideration and action.
c) The clerk had contacted the Forestry Commission, FC, to enquire about the boundary between Recreation Wood and the area owned by the FC known as ‘Roses Pond,’ furthermore, to enquire if there was an existing agreement to maintain the boundary. The FC replied that it could not find an agreement and provided the Council with a map of the current boundaries. The FC also offered to advise the Council on how to create a yearly management plan for the wood. Following discussion, it was agreed to leave the wood as it was for the time being and not to pursue a management plan.
d) There were no updates for the field allotments.
Item 87/9/22 Queen’s Jubilee Benches Project
a) The second bench had been delivered and installed outside the village hall and appeared to be well used. Darren Saxby was thanked for creating the base and installing the bench in place.
b) The budget report was noted.
c) Two new benches had been installed to mark the Queen’s Jubilee and were within budget. The funds remaining for the project were £155.42. Purchasing a third bench would take spending over the allocated budget. Following discussion, it was agreed not to purchase a third bench but to close the project and return unspent funds to the general precept.
Item 88/9/22 Zero Carbon Project
The project was discussed, and the Council asked the Clerk to obtain further details of how to apply for a grant and which project might qualify. To be returned to the agenda.
Item 89/9/22 Jubilee Tree - Replacement of the plaque
a) Confirmation had been received from LCC that an information board could be placed near the Jubilee Tree on Crapple Lane but asked the Council to be mindful of underground infrastructure when placing in situ.
b) Following discussion it was agreed to ask residents to become involved in the creation of the information board. A competition asking residents to supply pictures, photos, or information. There would be two categories: adults and children with an overall winner chosen from one of the categories. The closing date would be 31st October 2022. Prizes would be awarded in both categories in the form of vouchers from Amazon. Cllr. S. Walker to publicise the competition on the Scotton Village Facebook page. The clerk would post information to the Council’s page.
c) Quotes for the information board would be approximately £1,000 including design work and there would be a 6-week order period. Installation costs would also need to be considered. Further details to be investigated prior to agreeing a budget. It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to set aside £75 from the precept to purchase prizes for the competition.
Item 90/9/22 To hear any updates about the refurbishment of the book kiosk and agree any actions
The Clerk had been in contact with a resident of Kexby village, south east of Gainsborough, who had stripped down and completely renovated the village’s book kiosk. The resident offered to visit Scotton’s kiosk to assess its internal and external condition and could advise on any further work that may be needed.
It was noted that the kiosk was in a poor state externally, with paint work beginning to peel away. Cllr. S. Walker had obtained a quote for repainting the kiosk. It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to accept the quote from Chris Holland to paint the kiosk externally for £200.00 and to contact the resident at Kexby following the work, to obtain an assessment of its overall condition.
Item 91/9//22 To hear any reports from the Village Hall Management Committee
- Bookings continued to be down
- There were concerns over the increasing costs of electricity from £80 rising to an estimated £233 per month.
- A quote had been obtained to repaint and stain the side entrance nearest the park. There was some split wood and damage and there had been discussion about possibly replacing this with PVC.
- A quote had been obtained to re-roof the hall for £7,500.
- It was noticed that there was water entering the hall near the air vent.
Item 92/9/22 Planning applications
a) It was voted upon and unanimously RESOLVED to accept the notes of the extraordinary Planning meeting held on 21st July 2022 as a correct record and signed as Minutes.
b) Decisions pending
- 144232 Land south of Eastgate DN21 3QR
Properly scaled drawings still did not appear to have been received and the application continued to remain open. - 145041 – Land off Scotter Road, Scotton DN21 3QU
c) Applications determined
- 145130 – The Orchard, Gainsborough Road, Scotter Common DN21 3JF
Permission granted without conditions 01/08/22
The Council was disappointed that safety concerns appeared not to have been given weight in the decision made by WLDC.
Item 93/9/22 Parish Councillors’ Report – Information only
- A resident living near Scotter Road had contacted the Council to enquire if the SID sign could be turned to face traffic leaving the village to remind drivers of the need to slow down on the approach to Scotter. Following discussion, it was agreed to place this on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting.
Item 94/9/22 Date of next meeting
6th October 2022 at 6pm
There being no further business the meeting ended at 6.50pm.