April 2024 Minutes
Digby Parish Council
Notes from the meeting of Digby Parish Council, held on Wednesday 10th April 2024 at 7pm, in Digby War Memorial Hall.
PRESENT – Cllr J Bourne, Chairman (JB); Cllr G Garton (GG); Cllr K Groves (KG) and Cllr M Lewington (ML)
Public Forum
A member of the public stated MPS will be meeting on 18th April to discuss Solar farms.
A resident questioned the County Councillor about what support is being given to Digby regarding improvement to prevent flooding.
A complaint about overgrown hedges around the village and the state of the footpaths, being uneven and not wide enough in some areas was received. There was also a request for more benches around the village.
District & County Councillors' Matters
County Cllr Kendrick stated Highways are seriously looking into the request from last months meeting, to look into the speed limits between the villages.
District Cllr Bailey provided details of a paper about telegraph poles being erected in villages for new cabling for Wi-Fi connections. She also provided details of the next stage of the Springwell Solar farm development. Both these items will be forwarded to the councillors.
The Chairman declared the meeting in session.
1.Chairman’s Opening Remarks. (24/049)
a) Welcome.
The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.
2. Apologies for Absence & Co-option (24/050)
a) Apologies.
There were no apologies given, all councillors were present.
b) Co-option to fill the 3 vacancies on the council.
It was proposed by GG seconded by KG and all agreed the 3 applicants, Dr L Crane, Mrs A Barnham and Ms H Snowden be co-opted onto the council.
The Declaration of Acceptance forms were received from all the applicants. Lesley Crane (LC) and Helen Snowden (HS) joined the meeting.
Action: The Clerk to inform NKDC and forward the completed Register of Interest forms.
3. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest & Applications of Dispensation (24/051)
a) Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011.
There were no declarations of interest.
4. Signing of the Minutes (24/052)
a) It was proposed by GG, seconded by ML and RESOLVED to accept the notes of the Parish
Council Meeting held on Wednesday 13th March 2024 as a true and accurate record of that meeting.
5. Planning Matters (24/053)
a) Planning Applications Received.
Nil to date
b) Decision Notice Received.
Nil to Date.
c) NKDC Planning Committee – Application 23/1429/FUL, 37 dwellings off Station Road.
Although the item on the agenda was to elect a councillor to speak about this application before the NKDC Full Planning Committee, we have since been notified that this application may not come before the committee until June or July. It was agreed to delay nominating a speaker at this time.
6. General Parish Matters (24/054)
a) Employment of a litter picker.
The 3 applicants were considered and it was proposed by GG, seconded by KG to employ Mr Frankish as litter picker. All agreed.
Action: The Clerk to collect the litter picking equipment from Mr Whittle and deliver it to Mr Frankish
b) The Questionnaire from The Police Safer Together Co-ordinator.
A new quarterly questionnaire asks for the policing priorities of the village has been received. It was agreed the priorities chosen from the limited list provided were Cyber-crime and anti-social behaviour.
Action: The Clerk to respond to the questionnaire.
c) Arrangements for the Annual Parish Meeting.
The Clerk confirmed the hall is booked, the invites to the groups have been sent out and the agenda is published on the noticeboard and website. The clerk explained to the new councillors how the Annual Parish Meeting is not a meeting of the parish councillors, but is a public meeting chaired by the Chairman of the Council on behalf of the parishioners.
d) Subscribing to the LALC Website Maintenance Service for 2024-25.
The cost of the service is £90.00 plus VAT, it covers 5hrs of help and service of the website throughout the year. It has proved to be very helpful over the last year. It was proposed by GG, seconded by KG, and all agreed to subscribe to the LALC Website Maintenance Scheme.
Action: The Clerk to register with LALC.
7. Highways (24/055)
a) Pot holes or Highways Issues.
JB notified the meeting that a sign has gone up on Fen Road stating the road will be closed for 2 days for road repairs. KG reported the potholes on Beck Street and North Street have been filled in. It was agreed to report to FixMyStreet, the hole at the junction of Church Street and B1188 again.
b) Request for a New Street Light on B1188.
After completing all the required paperwork, NKDC have now refused to provide this light due to financial commitments. They are concentrating on replacing their current old lighting stock.
Action: The Clerk to request LCC to relook at this light request on safety reasons.
c) Public Footpath No.5 - upgrading stiles.
The land owner, over which Public Footpath No.5 runs, has responded asking for more details on the proposed new stiles.
Action: The Clerk to forward the details of the new style stiles to the land owner and contact the Countryside Officer for the legal requirements of access to a public footpath.
8. The Village Hall (24/056)
a) Minutes from the latest Meeting of the Committee.
The minutes of the last meeting have been received and forwarded to the councillors. ML had not received notification of the meeting, this has now been rectified. At the next meeting, ML will ask if any financial support is required for the D-Day dance on the 8th June.
9. Drainage (24/057)
a) Meeting with LCC Flood Officer and Outside Agencies.
Dates in May have been offered for the meeting to consider further improvements to reduce flooding within the village. It was agreed the evening of 30th May is the most convenient.
Action: The Clerk will confirm the date and location of the meeting with the Flood Officer.
b) Update on the Meeting of the Emergency Plan.
A meeting is still to be arranged of the volunteers by Mr Davies.
10. Playing Field, Play Areas and Village General (24/058)
a) Report of Monthly inspection of Play Equipment.
GG will carry out the inspection for April.
No further information has been received from LALC on training courses for inspecting play equipment. The Clerk will book KG and ML on the course when details are available.
b) Update on the Improvements to the Playing Field Road and the Dug Out.
The track is still too wet for the work on the road to commence.
The dug out has been completed. The woodwork and metal posts now need treating. KB has noted the goal post and gate into field also need re-painting. It was suggested to ask the football club if they would carry out the work if we provided the paint.
Action: The Clerk to contact the football club and ask if they are willing to help.
c) Update on improving the drainage on the Eastern boundary of the field.
No information has been received from the IDB since the meeting with the councillors last month. Action: JB will make enquires with the IDB.
11. Allotments (24/059)
a) Updates from the Allotment Committee.
KG reported the AGM is to take place next Saturday. The new hedging plants have been planted.
12. Finance (24/060)
a) Bank Balances, Approval of Bank Reconciliation and Review the Accounts for 2023-24.
The bank balances were reported as:-
PC General Account 34,477.75
Allotment Account 7,451.48
Mary Gresswell Trust Account 5.53
The bank reconciliation was approved.
The Clerk forwarded copies of the end of year accounts, the Income and Expenditure Report and details of the Reserves to the councillors prior to the meeting.
It was proposed by GG , seconded by ML and all agreed, the Chairman should sign off the accounts.
b) Income received during the last month.
Precept 23,373.00
This amount is included in the balance above.
c) Approval of the Payments.
It was proposed by GG, seconded by KG and RESOLVED the following accounts be paid.
Invoice Amount VAT Total Amount
Salaries/expenses 698.67 7.79 706.46
Autela Payroll Services 61.44 12.29 73.73
MalcFirth 474.50 94.90 569.40
CJP Garden Services 72.00 72.00
LALC Annual Training Scheme125.00 25.00 150.00
J Collishaw - Dugout 1,490.00 1490.00
NKDC Garden Bins x3 61.00 61.00
d) Annual Governance and Accountability Returns (AGAR)
Notification has been received all returns need to be submitted by 1st July
e) Internal Auditor
As a thank you, to the internal auditor for carrying out the internal audit for 2023-24 it was proposed by GG, seconded by JB and all agreed an honorarium of £30.00 be awarded.
Action: The clerk to arrange payment.
13. Correspondence (24/061)
a) LALC Newsletter - Distributed to all councillors
b) NKDC Newsletter - Distributed to all councillors
14. Dates of Future Meetings (24/062)
Parish Council meetings
For 2024 – Second Wednesday of the month - 8th May Annual Parish Council Meeting, 12th Jun, 10th Jul, 14th Aug, 11th Sep, 9th Oct, 13th Nov and 11th Dec.
Annual Parish Meeting – Monday 22nd April
15. Any Business to Note for the Next Agenda (24/063)
FloodMary
Bank Mandate
Bales
16. Closed Session (24/064)
For confidential items in accordance with the Public Bodies Act 1960.
This item was not required.
21.20hrs – The being no further business the chairman declared the meeting closed.