February 2019 Minutes

MEETING OF DIGBY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes from the Parish Council Meeting held in Digby War Memorial Hall on Wednesday 20th February 2019 at 7pm.

PRESENT Parish Councillors James Bourne (JB) Chairman; Tracy Bourne (TB); Gerald Garton (GG); Colin Harvey (CH) and Amanda Redsell (AR)

District Councillor Steve Clegg (SC)

In attendance: Angie McDonald, Clerk and Proper Officer

PUBLIC FORUM

There were no members of the public present.

DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCIL MATTERS

District Councillor Steve Clegg (SC)

SC read out details about the election information from NKDC and handed over posters reminding the public to bring ID when coming to vote.

He explained there is an opportunity to comment on the Lincoln Transport Scheme on-line on the County Council website.

NKDC are still working on contacting the owner of the open space at Chestnut Close.

The decision process on North Street planning is still ongoing.

GG commented on a countrywide scheme to re-open railway stations that had been closed in the 60s, but none appear to be re-opening in Lincolnshire. Would NKDC support this? SC agreed to look into this.

POLICE

The report was forwarded to the councillors. There had been no incidents reported over the last month.

There had been a report of a suspicious vehicle on the B1188 and a vehicle abandoned on Church Street during this time.

1. CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS (19/017)

a) The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. APOLOGIES and CO- OPTION (19/018)

a) Apologies.

There were no apologies.

b) Co-option of a councillor.

There have been no applications for the position of councillor.

c) Parish Elections 2nd May (Correspondence)

NKDC are providing briefings to support those considering standing as a Parish Councillor, to help understand the election procedures, timetable and deadlines.

The briefings are to take place on

Tuesday 26th Feb – North Hykeham Town Council Offices at 5.30pm
Tuesday 5th March – Civic Suite at NKDC Offices at 6pm
Tuesday 12th March – The Venue Navenby at 6pm

Submission for nominations commences on 14th March until 3rd April.

The Clerk will attend the briefing on 12th March and will collect the nomination packs for the councillors.

3. DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST & APPLICATIONS FOR DISPENSATION (19/019)

a) Declaration of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

4. SIGNING OF THE MINUTES (19/020)

Feb 2019 Chairman’s Signature

a) It was proposed by GG, seconded by CH and RESOLVED to accept the notes of the Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday 16th January 2019 as a true and accurate record of that meeting.

5. PLANNING MATTERS (19/021)

a) Planning Applications Received.

Nil received to date

b) Decision Notice.

18/1577/VARCON Land off North Street. Application to vary Condition 6 and Condition 7 has been approved by NKDC

6. GENERAL PARISH MATTERS (19/022)

a) Dates for Annual Parish Meeting and the Parish Council Annul Meeting.

The date for the Annual Parish Meeting has been booked for the beginning of April, after discussion it was agreed to try and book the hall for the second week in April.

The Parish Council Annual Meeting will take place on the 15th May.

Action: Clerk to change the booking for the hall.

b) Village Assets – the painting of the metal bus shelter and play equipment.

The Chairman and the Clerk met with a contractor on 19th Feb to look at painting the equipment. He will forward a quote by next week.

c) Areas of Responsibilities for the Councillors.

GG recommended deferring this action as the elections take place in May and the whole list will need to be revised then. Parishioners can speak to any of the current councillors if they have issues in their areas. This was agreed by all.

d) Clerk’s Appraisal.

The Clerk’s appraisal has taken place, there were no issues raised.

7. HIGHWAYS (19/023)

a) Potholes or Highways Problems.

GG reported the first 20m of Harrowby Close surface is deteriorating.

Action: Clerk to report to Highways.

b) Updates of Actions from Last Month.

i) Cutting back of the ivy – Church Street. This will be carried out on Fri 22nd Feb.

ii) Replacement 30mph speed watch signs. The signs have been ordered and will be delivered shortly to GG.

8. THE VILLAGE HALL (19/024)

a) Village Hall Committee Meeting.

The notes from the latest meeting have been distributed to the councillors. JB commented on the amount of money that appears to still be owed to the hall from regular hirers. It was felt it would be prudent for the committee to chase these. AR noted the comments.

b) Renewal of Garden Waste Collection for 2019-20.

It was proposed by GG, seconded by CH and RESOLVED to pay the £54.00 to renew the Garden Waste Collection for the 3 bins at the Village Hall Gardens.

c) Defib Training Update.

The Clerk is still waiting to hear if L.I.V.E.S have any volunteers willing to come and provide a demonstration at a coffee morning. The Chairman agreed to contact L.I.V.E.S in the meantime for any additional information.

Action: Clerk to forward contact details of L.I.V.E.S to the Chairman.

d) Use of the Playing Field for the Digby Feast

AR reported the Village Hall Committee are revitalising the Digby Feast and plan to rename it the Digby Village Fayre. It is to take place on 6th July, and they have secured a Classic Car show, dog agility, birds of prey and many other activities, depending on permission to use the playing field being granted.

It was proposed by JB that as long as insurance for the event is obtained, the Health and Safety risk assessments have been completed and the field is left in a clean and tidy condition, the Digby Village Fayre could take place using the playing field. GG seconded and all agreed.

9. DRAINAGE (19/025)

a) Updates from LCC, IDB or the Environment Agency.

Correspondence from LCC Flood Risk Manager, confirms the proposed flood alleviation scheme is still going ahead. It is planned to deliver the scheme this summer. The funding for the scheme is still secure.

b) Flailing of Greendykes & Removal of old Dog-Waste Bin Post.

JB has arranged for P Baumber to flail Greendykes and the dyke at the Allotments.

The post, which held the old dog-waste bin, along Greendykes has been removed by Mr Rudkin.

Action: Clerk to write a letter of thanks to Mr Rudkin

10. PLAYING FIELD, PLAY AREAS AND VILLAGE GENERAL (19/026)

a) Monthly Inspection of Play Equipment from GG & AR

A copy of the Feb inspection has been handed to the clerk. AR reported the outstanding actions from January are still in hand.

11. ALLOTMENTS (19/027)

a) Allotment Association Meeting.

No meeting has taken place.

b) New Tenant for the Allotment Field.

Mr Moore is now the new tenant of the field. He has signed the tenancy agreement.

12. FINANCE (19/028)

a) Bank Balances and Approval of Bank Reconciliation.

The bank balances were reported as:-

Parish Council Account 14,075.30
Allotment Account 4,159.96
Mary Gresswell Trust 5.45

The bank reconciliation was approved.

b) Income Received.

LCC Grant (Footpath lights) £1,000

This amount is included in the above bank balance.

Action: Clerk to write a letter of thanks to Amanda Bond for all her help in this matter.

c) Approval for the following Payments:

It was proposed by GG, seconded by CH and RESOLVED the following payments be made.

Invoice VAT Total
Salaries/Expenses 609.58 609.58
LCC (30mph replacement signs) 30.00 30.00
Advance Notice
ICO Data Protection Fee due 22/03/19 - £40.00

d) Precept

The Clerk confirmed the request for the Precept was sent on 28th Jan to NKDC.

13. CORRESPONDENCE (19/029)

a) NKDC Proposed Revision to CLLP – Policy LP2/4 baseline dwelling numbers. Distributed 28.1.19

b) CPRE Best Kept Village Competition – distributed to councillors 2.2.19 It was agreed not to take part.

c) NKDC Mobile phone coverage survey – distributed to councillors 7.2.19

d) Keep Britain Tidy – Spring Clean 22nd March to 23rd April. Information distributed 7.2.19

e) Information Commissioners Office, Newsletter – Distributed to councillors 11.2.19

14. DATE OF FUTURE MEETINGS (19/030)

Parish Council meetings for 2019

20th Mar, 17th April, 15th May, 19th Jun, 17th Jul, 21st Aug, 18th Sep, 16th Oct, 20th Nov and 18th Dec
Annual Parish Meeting 10th April

15. ANY BUSINESS TO NOTE FOR THE NEXT AGENDA (19/031)

No items were put forward at this time, items can be forwarded to the Clerk over the next month.

It was RESOLVED the council go into Closed Session for the next item.

16. CLOSED SESSION (for confidential items in accordance with the Public Bodies Act 1960) If required. (19/032)

a) Action required to claim un-paid rent owed to the Parish Council.

It was agreed to continue to contact the debtor, before taking any other action.

There being no further business the chairman declared the meeting closed at 20.25