March 2019 Minutes
MEETING OF DIGBY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes from the Parish Council Meeting held in Digby War Memorial Hall on Wednesday 20th March 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)
County Councillor Rob Kendrick (RK)
In attendance: Angie McDonald, Clerk and Proper Officer.
PUBLIC FORUM
Two members of the public were present but did not wish to speak.
DISTRICT & COUNTY COUNCILLORS’ MATTERS
District Councillor Steve Clegg (SC).
SC reported NKDC share of the Council Tax has increased by 3.1%. The Community Champion Competition is now open for submissions.
GG confirmed he has spoken with SC about the Harrowby Cut hedge line that has not been cut back, that there has been no action taken place to clear the plot at 3 North Street and there has been no progress with the open space at Chestnut Close. SC confirmed he has passed on this information to the relevant bodies within NKDC.
County Councillor Rob Kendrick (RK)
RK had forwarded a report prior to the meeting and confirmed the budget for LCC has been set.
The future of the Heritage Centres in Lincolnshire are being publicly consulted on line.
The Chairman thanked both councillors for their attendance.
POLICE
No report had been received. If a report arrives later in the month the Clerk will distribute the information to the councillors.
1. CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS.(19/032)
a) The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. APOLOGIES and CO- OPTION (19/033)
a) Apologies.
There were no apologies, all members of the council were present.
b) Co-option of a Councillor.
This cannot take place now, as the District Election time frame for Parish Councillors has now commenced and all candidates wishing to stand as a Parish Councillor must complete nomination papers and submit them to NKDC by the 3rd April.
3. DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST & APPLICATIONS FOR DISPENSATION (19/034)
a) Declarations of Interest.
GG declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 6d.
4. SIGNING OF THE MINUTES (19/035)
a) It was proposed by GG, seconded by AR and RESOLVED to accept the notes of the Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday 20th February 2019 as a true and accurate record of that meeting.
5. PLANNING MATTERS (19/036)
a) Planning Applications Received
18/1739/RESM – Reserved matters application for the erection of 9 dwellings, with details of access appearance, layout and scale. Land off North Street - Amended plans and information.
It was agreed to ask for clarification of the position of parking for plots 8 and 9. There is still concerns about the height of the property on Plot 7 as it appears to still dominate and will impact on the visual aesthetics of the street scene.
Action: Clerk to write to planning
b) Decision Notice.
Nil received to date.
6. GENERAL PARISH MATTERS (19/037)
a) Date for Annual Parish Meeting.
The Clerk confirmed the meeting has been booked for Wednesday 10th April at 7pm in Digby War Memorial Hall. It was agreed to have the same format as last year and invite the local groups to give reports.
Action: Clerk to send out invites to local groups.
b) Planned Works to the Village Assets.
The contractor has provided a quote of £830.00 for the painting of the metal bus shelter and the play equipment. This information was distributed to all councillors and was agreed the work should go ahead. The work will commence from 20th May.
c) Questionnaire from LALC on working within a Cluster.
The questions were answered by the council .
Action: The Clerk to collate and send back response to LALC.
d) Churchyard Maintenance Grant.
A request from the PCC for a grant to assist with the Churchyard maintenance has been received. GG declared an interest and took no part in the decision. It was proposed by JB, seconded by CH and RESOLVED to grant £200.00 towards the maintenance of the churchyard.
Action: The Clerk to raise a cheque.
e) Adopting the NKDC Code of Conduct
All parish councils must have a Code of Conduct. NKDC have produced a revision to theirs, which this council has previously used, to take effect from 7th May. A copy of the revised document had been forwarded to the councillors prior to the meeting for consideration. GG proposed the parish council accept the revised Code of Conduct, seconded by TB and RESOLVED.
f) Open Space at Chestnut Close.
It has been confirmed that NKDC are determined to acquire the open space. The residents are still maintaining the land. It was proposed to ask NKDC to commence maintenance of the open space while they are trying to obtain ownership of the land.
It was also agreed to contact the County Council about the adoption of the footpaths.
Action: The Clerk to write to NKDC and LCC
7. HIGHWAYS (19/038)
a) Potholes or Highways Issues.
i) Ivy Encroachment.
The encroachment of Ivy along the footpath running along the side of the church has now been cut back and sprayed with weed killer.
8. THE VILLAGE HALL (19/039)
a) Village Hall Committee Meeting.
Notes from the recent meeting had been forwarded to the councillors.
AR reported a pool table has been donated free of charge for the Youth Club.
b) Garden Maintenance Requirements for 2019-20.
GG stated Ken Hand has confirmed he is willing to continue with maintaining the grounds at the village hall.
It was agreed to contact Greensleeves regarding the lawn treatment and negotiate a new rate.
Action: The Clerk to confirm with Mr Hand about hourly rates and contact Greensleeves.
c) Defib Training.
The Chairman confirmed he has arranged the training and it will take place on the 6th April at the Village Hall coffee morning. The Chairman has also arranged for publicity of the event.
9. DRAINAGE (19/040)
a) Updates from LCC, IDB or the Environment Agency.
The Clerk confirmed she had passed onto the LCC Flood Officer the information received about the current electrical works over the route that the proposed new flood alleviation scheme is to take.
GG has since discovered this work will not affect the proposed new drainage work. He has also spoken to one of the landowners affected by the drainage scheme and a suitable conclusion is still being worked on.
The two members of the public left the meeting.
10. PLAYING FIELD, PLAY AREAS AND VILLAGE GENERAL (19/041)
a) Monthly Inspection of Play Equipment.
A copy of the latest inspection was handed to the Clerk. The ball from the maze game is missing, this will be discussed at the next meeting, it does not affect the safety of the equipment.
The new bin has arrived for near the dug-out. It was agreed to get it installed by a local handy man.
Action: The Clerk to arrange the installation.
b) Playing Field Boundary.
A resident reported a branch had fallen during the recent high winds from a tree near the boundary. Also it was requested the self-seeding brush be cut back from the boundary fencing. It was agreed to obtain a quote for this work to be done to be considered at the next meeting.
Action: The Clerk to obtain a quote to clear the boundary.
c) Parish Grass Cutting for 2019-20
The Clerk presented two quotes for the work to the councillors. It was proposed Quote 1 be accepted by GG, seconded by AR, and agreed by CH. It was asked that the contractor confirm he has the equipment to cut field and will cut down the sides at the Beck.
Action: Clerk to notify contractor and ask the relevant questions.
11. ALLOTMENTS (19/042)
a) Allotment Association Meeting.
JB reported he had attended the latest meeting. The community garden will be completed and a commemorative seat will be placed there in memory of the recent sad loss of a committee member.
b) Allotment Field
GG reported the new tenant has commenced work on the field.
12. FINANCE (19/043)
a) Bank Balances and Approval of Bank Reconciliation.
The bank balances were reported as :-
PC Account 13,435.72
Allotment Acc 4,159.96
Mary Gresswell Trust 5.45
The Clerk distributed full copies of the accounts to date, for the councillors to review and the bank reconciliation was approved.
b) Income Received.
There was no income received during the last month.
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 597.38 597.38
Glasdon – Litter bin 153.23 30.65 183.88
K Hand – Village Hall Garden 256.00 256.oo
JJH Vegetation Management Ltd -Ivy 430.00 430.00
Digby Village Hall hire –Jan/Feb 24.00 24.00
LALC Subscription 164.89 164.89
LALC Training scheme (send 1st April) 75.00 15.00 90.00
B Whitmore-Wilson – grass cutting 96.00 96.00
ICO 40.00 40.00
NKDC Brown Bin Collection 54.00 54.00
d) Financial Information
i) Notification of payroll fees from 1st April. – increase of 0.25p
ii) Pre-insurance Review Notice from Came & Company – Distributed to councillors 19.3.19
Action: The Clerk to add telephone kiosk and Village Hall footpath lights to the policy.
13. CORRESPONDENCE (19/044)
a) Lincs NHS – Healthy Conversion 2019 – Notification of a public engagement exercise via the website https://www.lincolnshire.nhs.uk/healthy-conversation. Noted and distributed to councillors 5.3.19
b) LCC Traffic Regulation Orders – Explanation of how these orders can be requested. Noted and distributed to councillors 22.2.19
c) LCC Reporting Highway Issues – Update from Cllr R Davies, Executive Councillor for Highways, on how parish councils can report Highway issues in their area. Noted and distributed to councillors 22.2.19
d) NKDC Update on Elections and Nominations procedures and the briefings that are taking place.
Noted and distributed to councillors 22.2.19. Clerk attended the briefing on 12th March.
e) NK Community Champions Award launched – nominations can now be sent in. Noted and distributed to councillors 13.3.19.
14. DATE OF FUTURE MEETINGS (19/045)
Parish Council meetings for 2019
17th April, 15th May, 19th Jun, 17th Jul, 21st Aug, 18th Sep, 16th Oct, 20th Nov and 18th Dec
Annual Parish Meeting - 10th April
Parish Council Annual Meeting – 15th May
15. ANY BUSINESS TO NOTE FOR THE NEXT AGENDA (19/046)
Review of insurance
Renewal of Pest Control Contract
Ground rents
Removal of maze equipment from playing field
Points raised from Annual Parish Meeting.
16. CLOSED SESSION (for confidential items in accordance with the Public Bodies Act 1960) If required. (19/047)
This item was not required.
21.10hrs - There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed.