2022 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

FULBECK PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of Parish Council Meeting - 5th January 2022

Present: Councillors Sampson (Chair), Hodcroft and Hughes.  Temporary Parish Clerk, Carol Tointon.   There were 9 members of the public present including DC Milnes and CC Maughan.

Cllr Hughes relayed a message from Cllr Fane that unfortunately he would be late arriving at the meeting as he had been unfortunately delayed.  Cllr Fane arrived at 8.45 p.m.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Greenhalgh and Morison

1.   Chairperson's Remarks.  The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked that when anyone wished to speak they took off their mask so that they could be heard.

2.   Adjournment of business for public questions and comments

A member of the pubic stated she had not received a comprehensive reply to the email she sent on the 1st December 2021.  The temporary Clerk asked if she would resend it as she had not had sight of it.

A question about the proposed by-election was raised and the temporary Clerk said that this would be covered in her report.

3.   Declarations of interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any applications for dispensations in relation to disclosable pecuniary and/or prejudical beneficial interest.

All disclosable pecuniary and other interests are up to date.

4.   Approval of the notes of the last meeting held on 1st November 2021 and the Extraordinary meeting held on 6th December 2021.

It was proposed by Cllr Hughes and seconded by Cllr Hodcroft and unanimously agreed to approve the notes of the meeting held on the 1st November 2021.

Cllr Hughes asked if the notes of the Extraordinary meeting held on the 6th December 2021 could be discussed as Cllr Fane wishes to make some comments.  This was agreed.

5.   Clerk's Report

a)   By-Election at Fulbeck

The temporary Clerk gave details of the procedure that would be followed and it was noted that if there was more than one candidate an election will take place on the 17th February 2022.  This would be followed by the Count in the evening.  The cost of the by-election is likely to be in the region of £2000.

b)   Parish Council Website

Mr Peter Langford has been engaged to keep the website up to date and is very helpful and efficient.

c)   LALC News

In the current edition of the LALC News there is a Course available on Breakthrough Communication which covers topics such as 'Improving Internal Council Communication' which could be beneficial in view of Item 14 on the agenda.

d)   Fly tipping at War Memorial

Cllr Hodcroft forwarded pictures of fly tipping at the War Memorial site.  The temporary Clerk forwarded them to the appropriate department at SKDC who were going to get the litter cleared away.

6.   Financial Report

The Clerk reported that as at 30th November 2021 there was £7970.33 in the Virgin Money Bank and £10494.03 in the Melton Mowbray Building Society, making a total of £18464.36.

Unfortunately the Clerk has not had time to find the £8.15 discrepancy mentioned in Minute 6e of the 15th September 2021.

The Grantham branch of Virgin Money is closing on the 10th January 2022 and the nearest branch will then be in Nottingham.  However, the Chair has obtained envelopes from the Bank so that cheques can be deposited at the Post Office.

a)   Precept

At the Extraordinary Meeting held on the 6th December 2021 it was resolved that the precept for 2022/23 would be set at £8774.  However, in view of the impending by-election the Chair considered that the precept should be set at £9774.  In addition, she explained that, at the present time the precept is the lowest of the Cliff villages and if any untoward /urgent work or maintenance was required it would leave the Council short of funds.  In addition it is predicted that the rate of inflation is likely to rise between 5 – 6%.

Cllr Hughes proposed that the precept be raised to £9774 and this was seconded by Cllr Hodcroft.  This was resolved and the Clerk undertook to notify SKDC accordingly.

b)   Accounts for Payment

It was proposed by Cllr Hodcroft and seconded by Cllr Hughes and resolved that the above payments be made.

c)   Payments Made

Resolved to ratify the above payments

d)   Payments Received

7.   Planning Matters

No planning applications had been received since the last meeting and no planning applications determined.

8.   Highway Matters

a)   20 mph Speed Limit around the Village

CC Maughan had met with a resident of Fulbeck to discuss the possibility of a 20 mph speed limit around the village and a report had been circulated prior to the meeting.

CC Maughan reiterated that, at the present time, Fulbeck would not qualify for a 20 mph speed limit as fortunately the accident data does not support it.

It was considered that sleeping policmen (road humps) would not be appropiate and would signs stating 'slow pedestrians' or road markings stating 'SLOW'  be beneficial.  It was noted that three residents had offered to make a contribution towards any necessary work/signage.

CC Maughan stated he would meet with the resident who originally raised the issue and discuss the matter further.

b)   HGV signs and moving 30 mph sign on Pottergate Road

CC Maughan was mindful that this had been ongoing for some time but it was noted that there is an issue with the bridge on Caythorpe Heath Lane.  The Authority responsible for the bridge is National Highways and they have deemed it unsafe so no gritting will take place down that road.

CC Maughan is in discussion with the National Highways in an endeavour to achieve a successful outcome.

c)   Deer on the A17 East of Fulbeck

As Cllr Morison was unable to attend the meeting he had submitted a report which the Chair read out.  He felt that the only feasible course of action would be for LCC Highways to erect warning signs for vehicles approaching this area from both directions.  This matter had been raised initially under item 9 Correspondence of the 11th January 2021 meeting.

CC Maughan undertook to liaise with Highways regarding the erection of signs.

9.   Correspondence

The correspondence circulated is shown on the attached sheet.

10.   Gigabit Voucher Scheme

Cllr Maughan explained the costings of installing a wireless connection and the challenge in getting  about 80 residents to sign up to a new internet provider for at least one year, which is a prerequisite for a new installation.

However, if required, he would arrange for someone to visit from LCC who could advise further about the scheme.

11.  War Memorial Site

Cllr Hodcroft gave an update on the repairing of the war memorial site and proposed landscaping.  One of the residents, who was involved with the organising, had been advised to get some Yew  for planting at an approximate cost of £132.  In addition there would be the cost of gilding on the Memorial.

DC Milnes stated that she still had some money available from the CommunityGrant scheme which could be used towards the purchase of trees and plants and would send a form to the Clerk accordingly.  The closing date is the 11th March 2022.

It was mooted as to whether it would be feasible to install CCTV cameras but no decision was taken.

12.  Citizens Advice Consultation

Prior to the meeting Cllr Hodcroft had circulated a paper which gave a brief resume of the consultation which had taken place on the 13th October 2021.  She highlighted that Pre Covid there had been 140 volunteers in the SKDC area but this was now down to 70 and in addition there was funding uncertainty.

Cllr Hodcroft stated that they discussed how they could support communities and she considered that as there had been a very effective support team in Fulbeck during the lockdown this could be replicated.

After discussion it was considered that some issues could be complex and require a trained person to advise.  In addition some residents might not be comfortable discussing personal problems with someone they know.

It was pointed out that there is a small charitable trust operating in the village and details can be obtained from Mrs C Hughes.

It was agreed to leave in abeyance for the time being.

13.  Wooden Box for aluminium cans in the Village Car Park

One container had already been placed on the car park and another in the Hare & Hounds grounds and appeared to be serving a useful purpose.  It was agreed to support the iniative.

14.  Approval of the Notes of the Extraordinary meeting held on the 6th December 2021

It was proposed by Cllr Hodcroft and seconded by Cllr Hughes to approve the notes of the meeting held on the 6th December 2021 and after discussion on the sequence of events and clarification by Cllr Hughes it was unanimously agreed to approve the notes as minutes.

15.  Policy for dealing with matters that arise between meetings

Cllr Fane was concerned that it appeared that matters were being discussed between meetings and decisions taken without reference to the full Council.  Discussion ensued as to the best way to alleviate the perceived problem.  Prior to the meeting Cllr Morison had circulated a copy of  Email Policy for Full Council, Committees and Working Parties (which had been adopted by another Parish Council) and it was agreed that this would be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

It was noted that the Village Facebook is not linked in any way to the Parish Council.  The Parish Council has its own website.

16.  District Councillor Report – Matters raised included:-

• Gypsy Site on Bulby Lane.  The Appeal Hearing has been scheduled for 8th March 2022 at the Guildhall, Grantham
• Third Quail Shed, South Heath Lane – further additional information which has been requested from the applicant is still awaited.
• Housing Development, South Heath Lane – Amendments and further details have been requested and will be reconsulted on when received.  The 21 day consultation period will apply for comments to be made.
• Planning Application S21/2255 – Decision still awaited.  (Since the meeting planning permission was granted on the 14th January 2022).

 At this juncture Cllr Fane stated that he was seeking retrospective planning permission for the windows that had been installed at The Manor Farmhouse, The Green.

17.  County Councillor Report – Matters raised included:-

• The County Council's budget proposals went to the Executive meeting on 5th January 2022 and  it was proposed that the County Council increase their budget by 3% for adult social care and CC Maughan explained the number of vulnerable adults and children that required support.  He also highlighted the Highway Maintenance budget and the money that was taken out of reserves.  It had been decided to ask local people about a proposed council tax
•  increase of 3% for 2022/23 which is entirely for Adult Social Care.  There were no
•  proposals for any increase in respect of general council tax.  This increase would allow the County Council to balance the budget for next year.  CC Maughan urged everyone to support the campaign.

18.  Village Organisations Report – Village Hall and Playing Field Committees

Councillor Hughes reported that there had been two major events recently.  One had been the Fireworks on the 5th November which had been a great success.  Bob's bucket had collected £684.31 and £405 had been made on the food.  The profit was £243.97.  A copy of the accounts is shown on the notice board.

The Christmas Dance was a success but had limited financial reward.

The Village Hall bookings are slow but the expenses drop down when the Hall is not being used.

The date of the next meeting is 7th March 2022 at 7.30 p.m.

The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.15 p.m.