Full Council Minutes

Minutes of the Billinghay Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 1 March 2021 (7.00pm) on Microsoft Teams

Present:

Cllr Cassidy (TC) in Chair, Cllr Locke (KL), Cllr Catlett (AC) & Cllr Dymoke (AD).

Parish Clerk & RFO Carol Willingham (CW)

Minutes Secretary Lou Hird (LH)

0   Members of the Public

Public Session

None

1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Clerk prior to the meeting.

Apologies had been received from Cllr Bell. Cllrs Harvey and Waters were unable to establish a connection. It was proposed by KL and seconded by TC and agreed unanimously that this be accepted. District Councillor Ogden had also sent an apology.

2. To receive Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011 - being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on members’ Register of Interests.

None declared.

3. To approve as correct record and minutes notes of the PC meeting held on 1 Feb 2021 and Finance and Policy Meeting 25 Jan 2021

It was proposed by KL, seconded by AD and agreed unanimously that the minutes for the 1 February be accepted.  The minutes of the Finance & Policy Meeting will be agreed at the next meeting of that Committee.

4. To receive an update on the vacancies for Parish Councillors: co-option of Councillor

There have been no developments although the vacancies have been displayed on the Notice Boards and there is an article in the soon to be issued Newsletter.

5. Allotments Update

A letter had been sent to all allotment holders asking if they wished to continue with their allotments. Three had indicated they wished to give them up. The Clerk was asked to check on how long the remaining holders had been in place as this would have a bearing on their rights. The matter will be discussed at the next meeting when the full information was known. The Clerk was also asked to investigate the position regarding the Pinfold and include an item on the next agenda.

6. To adopt reviewed Standing Orders and Financial Regs, and Code of Conduct.

Prior to the meeting, copies of the above had been issued by AC to all Councillors. It was proposed by AC, seconded by TC and agreed unanimously that the new versions be adopted. These are to be added to the website.

7. Grass cutting: To consider quotation from Glendale for cutting playing field grass (circulated prior to meeting).

The Clerk was asked to check that we have the necessary powers to authorise the cutting of the Playing Fields as we did not own the land. As we have arranged the cut and paid in previous years (originally as a grant), it was proposed by TC, seconded by KL and agreed unanimously to renew the contract this year. The Clerk was asked to include an item on the agenda at the appropriate time to consider renewal in advance for the following year. 

8.  Finances

• To approve payments made since the last meeting (list circulated to Cllrs prior to meeting) - it was proposed by KL, seconded by AD and agreed unanimously.

• Request from residents: to consider installing white village entrance gateways. This had been discussed at the previous meeting. Further enquiries had now been made and other councils consulted. Following receipt of this information, it was proposed by KL, seconded by AD and agreed unanimously not to pursue the item further.

• To approve expenditure for LALC Nimble training for Councillors and Clerk for Equality and Diversity and Appraisal procedures. It was proposed by TC, seconded by KL and agreed unanimously that the Council would fund the fees for Councillors who wished to take part in these sessions. Names put forward for the courses were Appraisal (TC, CW, AC, KL & TB) & Equality & Diversity (TC, KL) The Clerk was asked to reserve places on the sessions for all those indicating they wished to take part.

9. Highways:

Any information received had been circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting.

10. Clerk’s Report (Circulated prior to meeting).

• Repairs to the wall at the Old Cemetery. The estimates had been considered by the Diocesan Council and returned to the Parochial Church Council (PCC). There is the likelihood that a faculty of £300 will be required for the work to commence. We will have to await advices from the PCC. An item for this will need to be added to the Agenda, if required.
• A further bin has been requested to be situate on the Whyche, outside the Community Rooms. A dog bin was requested but as we have a litter bin available at the Parish Office, it was agreed to use this and put a notice on it saying that it could be used for dog fouling also.
• The defibrillator cabinet at the Children’s Centre had now been replaced.
• School Shed fire – no request had been received from the School for a donation from the Council. The Clerk advised that the shed was insured and that other donations had exceeded the loss. The School have expressed their thanks to everyone who had offered help in the Newsletter.
• The Scout Group in the village has now folded as there was a shortage of leaders and, despite repeated requests for help, no-one had come forward. The building is to be dismantled and all the equipment has been given to the Scout District Office. The recent grant of £450 given by the Council is being returned.
• The Bowls Club Grant withheld for further information can and will now be paid.
• The metal Heritage Litter Bin on the Market Place is damaged beyond repair. The Clerk was asked to research a suitable replacement and put an item on the next agenda to approve payment.

11. Website update.

Details of the current position regarding information on the website indicate that it is being brought up to date. The new policies and procedures items may cause problems when downloaded. It was agreed to liaise with AC (who is handling current updates to these documents) if there were any problems. The lack of suitable photographs was mentioned and CW was asked to contact a local photographer to see if we could use some of his material.

12. Planning Matters

• Applications Received:

None had been received in time for the Agenda but one had just been received. This related to a side extension to a property on Mill Lane. Comments need to be submitted by the end of March. There did not seem to be any problems with the application but Councillors were asked to pass comments to CW for submission if they wanted.

• Applications Approved:

20/1662/FUL Coach and Horses Barn to rear. Approved

20/1245/FUL Tegan Harrison Place Tattershall Bridge Road Tattershall Bridge: Demolition of workshop and erection of dwelling. Approved

20/1556/HOUS Stedover House Tattershall Bridge Road Erection of a side extension incorporating entrance, garage with bedroom over and proposed rear detached gymnasium with attached garden room.

13. To receive Councillors’ Reports - For information only.

Any items for decision will appear on the agenda for the next meeting.

• KL reminded the Council of the Census on 21 March and the County Council elections in May.
• KL also reported that the amount of litter and dog fouling seems to be on the increase and it was especially bad on the Mill Lane and Bramble Close area. She asked the Clerk to check with NKDC to see if the bins at Bramble Close could be screened off. It was agreed that the whole litter problem may need further remedial action and the Clerk was asked to include an item on the next agenda to consider either increasing the current litter picker’s hours or provide other help.
• AC was reviewing all current policies and procedures and will pass them for approval and subsequent incorporation on the website in due course. He felt that there were several separate procedures that could be amalgamated reducing the size of the documents. He will produce recommendations at the next meeting – Clerk to include item on the agenda. He will also refer the review of specific policies to the relevant Councillors dependent on the appropriate Committee.
• TC felt we needed to review our current email system where we are currently reliant on a non-Council member for administration. KL gave details of the set-up at Ruskington. The Clerk was asked to research a possible alternative or how to make the existing system work.

14. To resolve whether to exclude the public and press in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960 to discuss the following legal and staffing matters.

It was proposed by TC, seconded by KL, and agreed unanimously that the meeting go into closed session. Accordingly, the current meeting closed at 19.52. The closed meeting commenced at 19.53.

To discuss and agree arrangements to deal with HR Matters.

TC had contacted LALC about the difficulties of arranging meetings at very short notice. He had obtained information giving details of how this could be done although it was felt that the current three days’ notice should be adhered to whenever possible.

He agreed to circulate the response from LALC to all Councillors. It was proposed by TC, seconded by AC, and agreed unanimously that these details relating to HR matters be incorporated into the new procedures.

The meeting closed at 20.00.