Minutes of the Annual PC meeting of 29th May 2024
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Minting and Gautby Parish Council held on the 29th of May 2024 at Minting Village Hall at 7.00pm.
Present:- Cllr.E.B.Clark [EC] – chairman / acting clerk, H.Padfield [HP], J. Stuchfield [JS], L.Bury [LB], C.Bruntlett [CB] and County Cllr. P.Bradwell. Ten members of the public were present.
7.00pm. Public forum.
Discussion was principally concerned with flood prevention measures to be agreed with relevant authorities. Also mentioned were possible speed limits and passing places in and near Minting.
7.10pm. Formal Annual Meeting of M.& G Parish Council.
1] Chairman’s welcome and apologies for absence.
Cllr. J Padfield sent apologies, due to school holidays. JS proposed acceptance, seconded by LB and resolved. Dist. Cllr. W.Gray also sent apologies.
2] Election of officers.
a] Election of chairman.
JS proposed that Cllr E.B.Clark be re-elected as chairman, seconded by HP. With no other proposals, Cllr. Clark was elected chairman.
b] Election of vice -chairman.
JS proposed that Cllr. H.Padfield be re-elected as vice-chairman, seconded by CB. With no other proposals, Cllr. H.Padfield was elected vice-chairman.
c] Election of Responsible Financial Officer.
CB proposed that Cllr. J Stuchfield be re-elected responsible financial officer, seconded by HP. With no other proposals, Cllr. J.Stuchfield was elected responsible financial officer.
[3] Signing of officer’s acceptance forms.
Elected officer’s Acceptance of Office forms were signed and witnessed
[4] Signing of officer’s security forms.
Elected officer’s GDPR Security Compliance Checklists were completed and signed.
[5] Declarations of interests.
There were none.
[6] To confirm, or amend, and sign the draft notes of the extraordinary meeting of the 8th of May 2024.
With no proposals for amendment, JS proposed adoption of the draft note as the true and correct minutes, seconded by CB and resolved. EC then signed the minutes.
[7] Matters arising from the minutes, and activity since the last meeting.
The Annual Parish Meeting was held immediately after the last meeting. The Lincs Group from Boston gave a presentation on domestic flood prevention products. David Allsop reported on Minting church and the choir, Hugh Sutton did likewise for Gautby church and village hall. Anne Clark reported for Minting and District Garden Club, and Vicki Brown spoke for Minting village hall. A question and answer session concentrated on the recent flooding and planning issues.
[8] Correspondence.
Recent correspondence included a suggestion regarding delegating responsibility for flood prevention negotiations to a non-council member. Cllrs. opinion was that this would be both undesirable and un-workable. A letter from Witham 3rd requesting that the PC be the body with which discussions regarding flood prevention be conducted, and the chairman’s reply agreeing to this. Also, communications with LALC regarding the 2024 audit, and a complaint from a resident who considered that a message received from ELDC Planning Control Dept amounted to bullying.
[9] Reports from District /County Councillors, if any.
An update from Dist. Cllr. Gray had been circulated to councillors prior to the meeting. County Cllr. P.Bradwell spoke of her frustration that the repairs to the road surface in Silver St, Minting were not more extensive. She also advised that flood prevention measures were the joint responsibility of LCC and Witham 3rd IDB, and it was not yet clear which body would accept responsibility for the financial aspects of any work done. However, she hoped to get a member of LCC staff to meet councillors at an early date to advise.
[10] Planning matters.
EC reported that the PC’s response to application S/122/00592/24 had been lodged. LB mentioned that there had been some attempts locally to raise a petition protesting about the planned increase in gas storage capacity at the Hatton terminal. [ later corrected to refer the proposed solar farm]
[11] Finance.
a] To approve a reconciliation of the Lloyds Bank account.
The current statement balance of £10,933.03 was checked, and agreed to be correct. HP proposed approval, seconded by CB and resolved. LB signed and dated the statement.
b] To approve payments.
1] Minting V H Committee -hall hire £20.00
2] L.A.L.C. – annual subscription £150.02
3] N.Power Commercial Gas – kiosk electricity £107.69
CB proposed approval, seconded by LB and resolved.
c] To review insurance cover.
The renewal premium for 2024-25 was £507.00. EC suggested raising the cover for ‘street furniture’ from £16,800 to £20,000 . CB proposed raising the cover for street furniture to that amount, seconded by LB and resolved.
d] To approve and sign the Certificate of Exemption.
HP proposed approval, seconded by CB and resolved. The Certificate of Exemption was signed by the chairman and the RFO.
e] To approve the Annual Governance and Accountability Report and to sign the Notice of Public Rights, if available.
EC reported that the annual audit had not yet been completed, so this item would be included in the next meeting.
[12] Parish maintenance.
a] Flooding.
Correspondence with Witham 3rd IDB previously mentioned. County Cllr. Bradwell brought a letter from LCC advising that a ‘ hydraulic survey’ was being commissioned to assist in deciding what needs to be done to improve water flow through the village. JS had spoken to the people doing the survey recently. A survey of resident’s opinions on the subject was handed to the chairman before the meeting.
b] Other maintenance matters for discussion.
EC mentioned that the two older defibrillators were due for replacement batteries / pads soon. A resident had raised the issue that E.M.A.S. were unaware of the location of the Minting unit. Standing orders were briefly suspended to allow LB to explain that all three defibs. were registered on ‘The Circuit’ , and so EMAS should be aware of the location of all three. Standing orders resumed, CB advised that some residents were in favour of a 20mph speed limit for Church Lane. Cllr. Bradwell replied that 20mph limits were usually only imposed where there is a school. LB spoke in favour of a 30mph limit for Top Minting.
[13] Matters for the next meeting, and any other business.
With no further business, the meeting closed at 7.45pm