February 2020 Minutes
MEETING OF DIGBY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes from the Digby Parish Council meeting held in the Digby War Memorial Hall on Wednesday 19th February 2020 at 7pm.
PRESENT Parish Cllrs. James Bourne (JB) Chairman; Gerald Garton (GG); Karen Groves (KG); Colin Harvey (CH) and Amanda Redsell (AR); District Cllrs. Steve Clegg (SC) and Jim Clarke (JC); County Cllr. Rob Kendrick (RK)
In attendance: Angie McDonald, Clerk and Proper Officer.
PUBLIC FORUM
Residents of North Street wished to speak in support for Item 6c and a representative from the Allotment Association wished to speak in support of Item 11b. The Chairman agreed the meeting could consider to move the items to the top of the agenda after Item 4 has been completed.
DISTRICT & COUNTY COUNCILLORS’ MATTERS
District Councillor Clegg. (SC) & Councillor Clarke. (JC)
Cllr Clegg reported FundNK is a grant to fund community projects and applications need to be submitted by 28th Feb.
GG thanked both district councillors for helping in getting the litterbin re-fitted in the bus shelter.
County Councillor Kendrick. (RK)
His monthly bulletin was distributed today and includes LCC will set the budget next week which will include more money for the roads. Chairman asked if there is any news on Grantham Hospital.
POLICE
A written report was received and there were no reported incidents in Digby over the last month.
1. CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS.(20/17)
a) The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. APOLOGIES and CO- OPTION. (20/18)
a) Apologies.
Apologies were received from TB
b) Applicants for co-option.
Nil
3. DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST & APPLICATIONS FOR DISPENSATION. (20/19)
a) Declarations of Interest.
KG declared an interest in item 11b
4. SIGNING OF THE MINUTES. (20/20)
a) It was proposed by GG, seconded by CH and RESOLVED to accept the notes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 15th January 2019 as a true and accurate record of that meeting.
It was then proposed by GG, seconded by JB that Item 6c of the agenda be discussed next. This was RESOLVED and the members of the public permitted to take part in the discussion.
6 GENERAL MATTERS (20/21)
c) North Street - fencing an area of open space.
A request to provide a barrier to the north side of the open space area, before the track off North Street, has been received from residents, with the aim to protect the land from the development traffic working on the adjacent land. After discussion it was agreed that as the land is common land the parish council should not fence the area or be able to give permission for a barrier on land they do not own. The Chairman has spoken to the developers and they have said they will respect the area.
Feb 2020 Chairman’s signature
The Parish Council did agree to draw to the attention of Highways of the encroachment of the security fencing of the adjoining development. SC confirmed he would also will speak to planning about the fencing
Action: Clerk to report the encroachment to Highways.
The North Street Representatives left the meeting.
It was then proposed by GG, seconded by AR that Item 11b of the agenda be discussed next. It was RESOLVED and the Allotment Representative was permitted to take part in the discussion.
11. ALLOTMENTS (20/22)
b) Update on drainage improvements and letter from the Allotment Association.
It was confirmed that 25% of the plots were submerged after the latest storms. The water on the site was not draining into the dykes. The Chairman confirmed that levels of the site have since been taken and unfortunately those allotments are in the lowest part of the f ield, and are lower than the edges of the field where the dykes are, that is why it didn’t drain away. The Chairman agreed to contact the neighbouring land owner to request they clear their dyke to aid the flow of water. Then it can be looked at to whether a land drain could be put in, but this may not be possible if the drain ends up entering the dyke too low.
The Allotment Association asked the council to consider a reduction in the rent due to loss of crops.
This request will be discussed later.
Repairs are needed to the road and the Allotment Association have asked the council for financial support in getting the repairs done. It was agreed the Allotment Association will provide the parish council with the costings of the materials needed and the work that needs to be carried out. This will then be discussed at the next meeting.
Action: Item to be added to the next Agenda
The Allotment Representative thanked the council and left the meeting.
5. PLANNING MATTERS. (20/23)
a) Planning Applications Received.
19/1607/FUL Land off Station Road, Erection of 17 dwellings and formation of flood alleviation channel – Amended Plan.
The council noted the retention of the dyke along the edge of Station Road, so had no additional comments to make.
20/0164/HRN Land East of The Cart Shed, North Street – Remove 100m of hedging and replace
The suggestion is to infill the existing hedge rather than remove it fully.
Action: Clerk to forward comments.
b) Decision Notice.
17/1385/FUL Bloxholm Farm, Demolition of 5 poultry rearing units and erection of 6 replacement poultry rearing units
6. GENERAL PARISH MATTERS. (20/24)
a) Grant to Friends of Digby Primary School.
The completed application form has not been received, so it was not possible to discuss this Item.
b) Dates for the Annual Parish Meeting and the Parish Council Annual Meeting.
It was proposed by JB seconded by CH and RESOLVED the Annual Parish meeting will take place on 8th April and the Annual Parish Council Meeting on 20th May.
Action: The Clerk to book the Village Hall.
c) Website Training by LCC.
Last month it was notified that the parish websites provided by LCC are to be updated. The Clerk is booked onto the training to manage the new site on Mon 2nd March.
d) Annual Return for the Mary Gresswell Trust.
The Annual Return 2019 has been submitted to the Charity Commission. A Copy of the Return is available from the Clerk.
e) Light above the Defibrillator.
The solar light has disappeared from above the defibrillator. It was suggested a permanent motion sensitive light be erected. It was agreed to write to the Village Hall Committee and ask for permission to erect a light over the Defibrillator and an additional light on the building above the noticeboard to light the footpath. The Chairman agreed to obtain a price for 2x motion sensitive lights.
Action: The Clerk to write to the Village Hall Committee to request permission. JB to obtain a price for the work.
7. HIGHWAYS. (20/25)
a) Potholes or Highways Issues.
Digby Fen Road still has several potholes. The Chairman will report to Fix My Street . The potholes at the junction of the B1188 and Ashby have been filled in but the broken surface area not touched.
8. THE VILLAGE HALL. (20/26)
a) Village Hall Committee Meeting Notes.
The notes from the latest meeting have been distributed to the councillors and uploaded onto the website. A message of thanks for the contribution to the insurance has been received.
The Chairman congratulated the committee on the Big Breakfast.
9. DRAINAGE. (20/27)
a) Updates from IDB or the Environment Agency.
Environment Agency - IDB have pulled all the weeds from the Beck and left them on side of road
b) Report on the Public LCC Drainage Meeting held on 12th Dec.
The meeting was very well attended, it highlighted that there was no provision to prevent flooding down North Street. Residents have since forwarded their concerns to NKDC. The Parish Council have kept County Councillor Kendrick and Paul Brookes, the LCC Flood Officer informed of the correspondence.
Also, since the meeting concerns have been raised about getting children from Station Road (passed the planned groundworks) into the village to catch the school buses. This has been forwarded to LCC and they will discuss the problem with the residents.
The planned vegetation clearance will commence at North Street on Mon 24th, the road towards Rowston, beyond Chestnut close will be closed to traffic from 9am to 3pm.
10. PLAYING FIELD, PLAY AREAS AND VILLAGE GENERAL. (20/28)
a) Monthly inspection of play equipment.
A copy of the monthly inspection has been received. There was nothing to report.
b) Works to be carried out on the Playing Field Trees.
The planned works on the trees will commence from 14th April.
The tree that the branch that fell from during the recent storms is not part of the current tree works.
It was agreed to ask the contractor to remove the tree as it has diseased sections.
Action: Clerk to notify the contractor.
c) Review of Ground Rents.
It was proposed by GG, seconded by JB and RESOLVED that there will be no increases to the ground rents for 2020/21 due to weather and ground conditions. The rents will remain as follows.
i) Bowls Club £60
ii) Pigeon Club £35
iii) Football Club £100
iv) Allotments £15 per plot with a £5 surcharge to non-residents
v) Allotment Field£600
Action: The Clerk to send out the rent invoices.
d) Review Ground Maintenance Contracts.
A review of the current grass cutting contract has confirmed the cost of cutting the grass will remain the same as last year per cut. It was agreed to have the Beck cut monthly to maintain the visual amenity in the village.
Action: The Clerk to confirm the additional cutting requirements with the contractor
11. ALLOTMENTS. (20/29)
a) Allotment Association Meeting.
There is nothing to report as there was no meeting held this month.
12. FINANCE. (20/30)
a) Bank Balances and Approval of Bank Reconciliation.
The bank balances were reported as:
Parish Council (General Acc) 16,294.65
Allotment Account 4,850.61
Mary Gresswell Trust Acc 5.45
The bank reconciliation was distributed and approved.
b) Income Received.
£300 Allotment ground rent
Not included in the current bank total, but has been deposited in the bank
c) Approval for the Following Payments:
It was proposed by CH, seconded by AR and RESOLVED, the following payments are made.
Invoice VAT Total
Salaries/Expenses 584.10 584.10
Village Hall hire – Dec 12.00 12.00
LALC Subs 2020/21 170.15 170.15
13. CORRESPONDENCE. (20/31)
a) LALC – Weekly newsletter. Distributed to all councillors
b) Community Lincs, January & Feb News update. Distributed to councillors 20.1.20 & 18.2.20
c) NKDC – Survey on Parish Environment Wardens. Distributed to councillors 7.2.20
d) Lincs Lowland Search and Rescue – Information on group and request for donation. Distributed to councillors 10.2.20
e) Public Meeting with Police and Crime Commissioner 13th March at Metheringham Village Hall at 7pm. Distributed to councillors 18.2.20. Poster in the noticeboards.
f) NKDC – the Latest Register of Electors is available to councillors. Councillors must complete the application form.
g) Village Boundary Signs – A local company is making village signs – Agenda item
h) Information Commissioner’s Office – Notification of Data Protection Fee of £35.00 will be due 23rd March
14. DATE OF FUTURE MEETINGS. (20/32)
Parish Council meetings for 2020
18th Mar, 15th Apr, 20th May, 17th Jun, 15th Jul, 19th Aug, 16th Sep, 21st Oct, 18th Nov and 16th Dec
Annual Parish Meeting 8th April 2020
15. ANY BUSINESS TO NOTE FOR THE NEXT AGENDA. (20/33)
- Happy to chat bench
- New Bench for open area near the Hurn
- West Fence line of open space area
- Teenage shelter
16. CLOSED SESSION (for confidential items in accordance with the Public Bodies Act 1960) If required. (20/34)
This item was not required.
21.05 hrs – There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed