December 2021 Minutes
STICKFORD PARISH COUNCIL
PARISH COUNCIL STATUTORY MEETING
at STICKFORD Community Centre
Tuesday 14 December 2021 @ 7.30pm
THE MINUTES
No. of Residents present 2
Official attendees read Y for attending, N for non-attendance
Chairman Councillor Mrs Lesley Reeson Y
Vice Chairman Councillor Mr Graham Bradley Y
Councillor Mrs Pam Bryant Y
Councillor vacancy
Councillor Mr Clive Kingswood Y
Councillor vacancy
Councillor Mr John Howlett Y
Parish Clerk Mrs Nicki George Y
Lincs C C Councillor Mrs W Bowkett N
ELDC Councillor Mr Jim Swanson N
1. The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed all present.
2. Apologies for absence received from LCC Councillor Wendy Bowkett and were accepted.
3. There were no declaration of interest
4. Residents’ issues:
1) Cheryl Steele reported that her husband Garry has recently done a litter pick along the A16. Since the last one he did 3 weeks ago, 4 bags of rubbish were gathered. It was confirmed that Pam can supply Garry with some more Green Bin Liners.
2) Cheryl suggested that a date be confirmed for the Jubilee fundraiser of a table top sale to be held in the Community Centre with tombola & raffle so that the information can be put in the next Newsletter which is soon to be produced. The date of January 22nd 2022 has been decided upon.
5. ELDC report: The Chairman reported on the sad news of the death of Jim Swanson. His funeral is due to take place in Spilsby on 22nd December 2021 and Lesley confirmed that she will be attending. The councillors acknowledged Jim’s contribution and efforts for all the communities he represented during his time as ELDC councillor.
6. LCC report : No Report, but an update received by email : re the caravans on the airfield - LCC are visiting regularly to make sure site is made tidy, if this isn’t done they will look at further action.
The A16 speed reduction the road safety have it on their list to look at in due course.
7. Lincolnshire Police Report – see Appendix 1. The Clerk has made contact with the local PCSO to invite them to our meetings, but due to their busy schedule the monthly Newsletter, as attached, is produced as their way of communication with local councils and communities. These are to be displayed on our Noticeboard and Website and will be emailed to councillors when received by the Clerk.
8. The Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 7th September 2021 were approved.
Proposed by Pam Bryant, Seconded by John Howlett
9. Matters Arising from the Minutes.
a) The new bench has been fixed in place. Thanks to Darren Harris of Harris Engineering Solutions Ltd for his time and expertise which he kindly gave foc.
b) Litter & dog bins: ELDC have responded to our request for more :
“Litter bin request for Peachwood motors southbound on A16 has been rejected. The Supervisor doesn’t feel there is a litter problem in this area and we already have a opposite which is very rarely used or emptied and we have even considered removing.
2 x litter bins in bus stop laybys both Southbound and Northbound on A16 by junction of Church road has also been rejected. Again there is no current litter problem.
Request for Dog Bin on Church road (adjacent to the red lion pub car park) – Approved, however it has recommended that we install a litter bin so it can be used for both litter and dog waste and also placed next to the bench just outside the church gate”.
Our response : there is no litter problem as Garry clears it up ie. 4 bags every 3 weeks. The options were discussed . Perhaps it is deemed that no more bins are required on the A16, as the traffic does not stop to put rubbish in a bin , they just throw the litter out of the vehicles as they pass by. The option of one being placed by the bench outside the church is not to our liking, but one is needed in the Back Lane area.
The clerk will respond asking for a dual litter bin to be situated by the public footpath sign on Back Lane that crosses the cow field. The post is already there for it to be attached to.
c) Following on from previous letter received from Dawn Hart re potholes on Fen Road on section by Pantons & Cravens, she is requesting that the council investigate the possibility of having the 30mph limit extended past her property and the chicken factories to slow the traffic down. Plus directional signage for the lorries to avoid them coming through the village. The clerk will contact LCC Highways to see what can be done , possibly a ‘Not suitable for HGV’s’ sign.
d) War Memorial Clock : After receiving an invoice for £152.00 from Edmund Czajkowski & Son Ltd for work done to the clock prior to Smiths of Derby being called out. (plus £93 for parts if we require them), John has checked back through emails & previous invoices and worked out that we do not owe any more money. Lesley has made contact with the company and they accept this outcome, explaining that they muddled our account with another.
10. Clerks Report:
11. Financial Report
a) Authority for Payment :
1) clerks wage £600 (3 months)
2) £52.50 & £10.00 donation RBL Poppy Appeal
3) £45 Grant WI approved in last year’s Precept
4) £45 Grant The Keals Club approved in last year’s Precept
5) £74.99 Norton Annual Security for clerk’s laptop – This is not to be paid until Clerk has done a bit of research to see if a better deal can be found with another company or cheaper if longer subscription taken up.
6) Payroll admin fee . no invoice received yet so will put on next meeting’s agenda
7) No outstanding balance to pay for work previously done on War Memorial Clock as detailed above in Section 9 d.
All were approved by all councillors and cheques issued.
b) Bank balances : as at 30.11.21 when last statement received : Current a/c £13186.80, Savings a/c £8094.48 no o/s cheques previously issued and not yet cashed.
VAT return has been completed covering 2020 and 2021 to date. £456 will hopefully be refunded.
HMRC Penalty Notice has been received for £100. This results from the change over of Clerks and Payroll Admin have been given permission to act on our behalf to challenge the penalty.
All Allotments monies have been received for October 2021 totalling £1,312.50 and all banked.
12. Precept : The Councillors carried out the final preview of the proposed Precept and all agreed to discuss the figures again at the next meeting on 11th January 2022 before final submission.
13. CAB request for funds – discussed and all agreed to not send any money this year.
14. Grit Bins / salt : Agreed not to order one tonne as offered by ELDC but Clerk will request top up as and when needed , as in previous years. Clerk will check that all 3 bins currently have salt in them.
15. War Memorial Clock : Viking Link has declined our request for monetary assistance in the repair of the clock, as it does not fulfil their criteria. Cheryl did challenge this decision to no avail. Cheryl has also submitted a request to the new Heritage Lottery Fund during November – small grants ie £10k or less. A decision is expected to take up to 8 weeks, ie. January 2022. It is understood that £7k worth of donations towards the costs of the repair are also available when needed.
Graham also mentioned that he may have another contact at Balfour Beatty, and will find out if they can help guide us in the right direction.
16. Councillor Vacancies: Since the last meeting in September, an application for co-opted councillor position has been received in writing by the Chairman from Chris Reeson. He was invited for interview at the Precept meeting held on 28th November 2021 by Lesley, the Chairman and Pam. Graham questioned Lesley of the correct process of interviewing a new councillor ie. How many councillors need to be on the interview board as he believes it should be more than 2. Graham also questioned and asked for clarification over the disqualification of Rob Morley. Lesley explained that it is automatic disqualification if a councillor has not attended a meeting for 6 months without submitting apologies to the clerk. Graham was not happy at the explanation , also verballising his concern again over the risk element of volunteers using the equipment that was purchased last year for grass cutting purposes ie. the churchyard and the responsibility that the council have over its use. He was also not happy with some of the recent decisions / actions by the Chairman. He felt so strongly that he verbally tendered his resignation and left the meeting. Chris Reeson then asked that his application be withdrawn until further notice and left the meeting. The remaining councillors agreed to discuss all of these events at the next meeting on 11th January 2022, so that the correct process can be followed.
17. Jubilee Celebrations 2nd – 5th June 2022. Next Jubilee meeting is 4th January 2022. Funding has been included in the Precept.
18. Planning:
Mr A Allenby
Planning Application Reference S/168/01550/21
Full Planning Permission
Extension and alterations to the existing dwelling to provide additional living accommodation.
Location: The Hawthorns, Hagnaby Road, Stickford PE22 8ET
Ms S Constantine
Planning Application Reference S/168/02131/21
Full Planning Permission for
Single Storey rear extension to existing dwelling to provide addition living accommodation.
Location: Scirocco, Church Road, Stickford PE22 8EN
John and Cheryl left the meeting at 9.15pm
19. Correspondence received for this meeting but not covered on the Agenda:
None
20. Other Business – matters for next agenda: Precept , War Memorial Clock funding update , next quarters payroll payment, Jubilee celebrations, new noticeboard.
21. The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.30pm. Date of next meeting: 11th January 2022 at 7.30pm