Full Council Minutes

Minutes of the Billinghay Parish Council Virtual Meeting held on Monday 2 March 2020

                          Present:

        Cllr. Locke in the Chair, Councillors Cassidy (TC), Chatten (RC), Clark (SC), Jackson (JJ), Walters (AW) and Bell (AB)

        Parish Clerk & RFO Carol Willingham (CW)

        District Councillor Sanderson (AS)

        Minutes Secretary Lou Hird (LH)

        3 Members of the Public

Public Session

A resident of Tattershall Road attended the meeting to see if the Council could offer any advice or information relating to land ownership near her property. The recent floods had affected her property and, although she had lived there for 30 years, it was the first occurrence. She felt that if nearby land had been better maintained the flood water would have been contained and no damage caused to her property. She thought that the area was Common land “owned” by the Lord of the Manor. This tied in with the Council’s view. Eventually it was agreed that the Parish Council would contact Steve Eason-Harris of Lincolnshire Emergency Planning to seek advice as to the best course of action. The Clerk was asked to do this.

Two other residents had attended the meeting in response to the request in the Newsletter for Councillors. They introduced themselves and gave brief details of why they were putting themselves forward and what they felt they could offer.

             1.         Acceptance of apologies for Absence and reasons given (LGA1972 Sch. 12, Para 40)

            Apologies and reasons had been received from Cllr Harvey. It was proposed by RC, seconded by TC and carried unanimously that these be accepted.

            Apologies had also been received from District Councillor Ogden. 

2.         Receive Declarations of interest and consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPI’s.

            None declared.

3.         Accept Notes of the Parish Council Meeting held 3 February 2020 to adopt by resolution as true record and minutes

           It was proposed by SC, seconded by AB and carried unanimously (by those who had attended the meeting) that the notes for 3 February 2020 be accepted as minutes.

4.         To discuss and agree arrangement for the Annual Parish Meeting (APM)  

            The date for the APM had already been agreed as 18 May 2020. It was agreed that the format would follow that of previous years. It will be hosted by the Chair of the Council and Councillors were                requested to attend although it is not compulsory to do so. Refreshments will be provided, and it was agreed that these would comprise of tea or coffee with biscuits and cake. The Clerk is to send                invites to local Groups and Organisations and advise that they can have a stall to promote themselves if required. Specific individuals were identified as being useful attendees and the Clerk will                    contact these.

            So that the Chairman’s report can be displayed prominently as well as other relevant details, it was agreed that display boards were necessary and would need to be purchased if the existing ones                were not suitable.

            The Meeting is to be displayed prominently in the next issue of the Newsletter. 

5.        To request/receive an update on Highways and Police Matters

             Nothing specific had been reported by Highways or the local PCSO. However, Councillors reported that:

• Speeding cars on Fen Road late at night had been reported to the Police
• There are potholes at the junction of Bridge Street and Victoria Street. The footpath between Ballon Walk and Field Road needs attention. These items have been reported via “Fix My Street” website.
• Some time ago Highways had inspected Mill Road and, whilst agreeing that the condition was not good, declined to carry out any work until the planned new Industrial Estate was in operation.  Councillors felt that they should inspect again as the development has not even started and the road is considered to be dangerous. It was proposed by KL, seconded by RC and carried unanimously that Highways be asked to look again. Clerk was asked to arrange.

6.         To request/receive a report from the Planning Committee (AB)

            New Application

            20/0173/VARCON Land adjacent to Bridge Farm. This is a further revision to the plan that was recently refused. Council had further no comments to put forward.

            19/1971/1 Land off West Street – 132 New dwellings. Outline plans had already been approved but the new plans gave details of the different types of property proposed. As Councillors felt this                    was an important development with considerable impact on infrastructure, it was decided to hold an EGM on Monday 9/3/20 (7.30pm). This would allow Councillors an opportunity to examine the                 revised documents and ensure that the public are made aware of the development so they can attend the meeting, if they want. The Clerk was asked to place the usual agenda on the Council                       Notice Boards.

            AS (District Cllr) agreed to supply her comments taking into account the Neighbourhood and Local Plans.

            The Clerk was asked to investigate with the relevant NKDC Officers at how the CIL and s106 money was likely to be distributed.           

7.       To request/receive an update from the Environment Committee including Burial & Allotment Matters - Agree Meeting Date for the Environment Committee

            For reasons of Councillor availability this was deferred.

            JJ reported that reading regarding “grey water” were being made as required but these showed very little variation. These are being recorded on the database by the Clerk and she was asked to                   distribute the information to Councillors. JJ is also arranging for the Notice Board outside the Office to be moved to the cemetery. It was agreed that the bin containing some of the removed wreaths               needs emptying into bags. The Clerk will then arrange for these to be collected. The bin can then be removed to the storage shed to prevent misuse.           

8.         To consider any VE Day Commemoration

            Although it was agreed that some recognition should be given to the Commemoration, it was not known if any Organisations had any plans. It was confirmed that the British Legion did not have anything planned. The Village Hall had originally been discussing the idea but it was not known if anything was being developed. TC agreed to find out. SC will check to see if the Church have anything planned. The Council agreed to support the event and, make a gesture towards Commemoration. 

9.        Billinghay Village Hall Update

            TC & SC had attended the last Village Hall meeting and were going to the next one on 11 March 2020. They had seen the revised plans and passed a copy around to explain what was planned.                  They reported that bookings were increasing and it was hoped that the planned alterations would increase the appeal. It was proposed by TC, seconded by SC and carried unanimously that the                     Council should submit the planning application and pay the fee also. TC will also attempt to get a Village Hall representative to attend the EGM outlined above. 

10.      To request/receive a report from the Emergency Planning Committee

            The meeting to agree the finalised document had been deferred. A new date will be arranged. When this procedure has been completed, a date for a “dry run” will be agreed

11.      To agree Meeting Date & Policies for HR Committee

            A meeting of the HR Committee was arranged for the 4 March 2020 (11.00am). The Clerk was asked to add comments to the job description in her Contract.  

12.      Finance

            a.         To agree approved payments for items detailed in Appendix A

                        It was proposed by KL, seconded by TC and carried unanimously that                    the payments be approved.           

            b.         To agree expenditure for the APM on 18 May

                        The likely expenses were discussed and to allow for Room Hire, Refreshments and possible purchase of Display Boards, it was proposed by KL, seconded by RC and carried unanimously                             that an amount up to a maximum of £300 be allowed                          .

            c.         To agree any costs should VE Day Event agreed

                        It was agreed that any expenditure would need to be approved when                      the nature of the event was decided upon.

            d.         To consider/agree any contribution for Village Hall Planning                  application.

                        This matter was discussed and agreed under Item 9 above.

13.      Correspondence

            The correspondence had been circulated prior to the meeting.

            The quote for grass cutting in the village was raised. A quote had been received for cutting the Playing Field and the Clerk was requested to obtain an alternative quote. Whatever the outcome it                    was agreed that a letter be sent to the selected Contractor stipulating our requirements for the frequency of cuts and period required.

            The extra cutting taken on by the Parish for areas previously cut by LCC and NKDC was also mentioned. The Clerk was asked to circulate maps of the areas of responsibility. The LCC portion was already being done by our current Contractor at an agreed rate (we receive an allowance form LCC) and was being cut more often than previously.

            Mention was made of the Old Cemetery where cutting requirements may change if it is changed into a “Garden of Rest”.

14.      Clerks report

      The Clerk reported that training was being given on a new website to be    introduced shortly. This will entail in the site needing set-up from scratch to    incorporate the current information.

The discontinuation of the LAP means that the Office will not have access to the NKDC servers from that date. NKDC are willing to extend the current usage for a fee. It seems that the fee would be more expensive than setting up our own IT system. In addition, we would also be able to perform certain functions not permitted on the NKDC site. The Clerk is currently considering extending the 1&1 system or switching to Office 365.

Whatever happens we will need to replace the desktop computers as these will be taken back by NKDC.

KL suggested that we contact SCIS for advice on setting up the new system. The matter will be discussed again at the EGM on 9 March 2020.

15.      Members reports

            The following items were raised:

• LALC do a dog waste station and details were relayed to Councillors.
• A new part is required for the defibrillator and it was proposed by KL, seconded by TB and agreed unanimously that the Clerk check the most economic way of obtaining the item and then obtain same plus a spare.
• The broken manhole cover on Walcott Road is still not fixed and is under investigation by Highways.
• A Councillor was challenged whilst on Council business regarding his identity and the Clerk will investigate new name badges with photographic identity on them.
• Councillors were reminded that the full training program had been produced by LALC and they should check for any they would find relevant. Councillors should advise the Clerk of their requirements so places can be booked

16.       At this stage (8.35pm), the Council went into Closed Session (Proposed by KL, seconded by AW and carried unanimously):

            District Cllr AS remained for this session and she reported a safeguarding issue in the village that she is investigating. Councillors were asked to provide further information if they came across the problem.           

            The following items were then discussed :

            a)         consider/agree employment matters

                        The closing date for applications for the Deputy Clerk’s position had passed and there had been a few enquiries. One applicant was granted an extension of one week as she was waiting for the Clerk to contact her. The Clerk was on holiday at the salient time. It was agreed that the applications would be examined by the HR Committee and a short list produced for the whole Council to consider.

                        To this end a HR Committee meeting needed to be arranged to discuss:

1. The applications above
2. Appraisal procedures

        An agenda will be produced and minutes recorded.

            b)        Land on Ballon Walk

                        The problem has not been finalised and the Clerk was, therefore, instructed to write to the residents setting out the decision based on the terms agreed by the Council.

            c)         Environmental Officer

                        The Council reviewed their decision of the previous meeting and examined the dog fouling instances reported comparing with previous years. The appointment of the Officer did not appear to show a visible improvement in the situation. The Clerk was asked to show the Officer the statistics as they did not support his continued use.

                        As a corollary of this it was suggested that the money may be better spent employing an additional litter picker so the streets were cleaned more regularly.

The Closed Session ended at 9.15pm

The Meeting closed at 9.15pm