Minutes of November 19th 2018
MINUTES of an ordinary MEETING
held on Monday November 19th, 2018
in Minting Village Hall
Present: Councillors J Heselwood (Chair), V Brown (note taker), E Brown, E Clark, H Padfield and J Stuchfield and 2 members of the public
Public Forum – members of the Public voiced their concerns regarding agenda item 12. S/122/01818/18.
- Chairman’s remarks - Welcome Members of the Public
- Apologies for absence and reasons given. Vote to accept.
Cllr Keys sent his apologies due to work commitments. It was proposed by Cllr Heselwood, seconded by Cllr V Brown and agreed by all to accept this reason for absence.
- Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests under the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 made under the s.30 (3) of the Localism Act 2011
Cllr Heselwood declared an interest in item 7a as she has a claim for expenses.
- Declaration of Personal Interests under the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 made under the s.30 (3) of the Localism Act 2011
Cllrs Heselwood and V Brown declared a personal interest in item 7a, as they are both members of Gautby Village Hall committee which has a payment due to it.
Cllr Clark confirmed that he is a neighbour of the land subject to the planning application.
- To confirm or amend and sign the minutes of the meeting held on October 26th, 2018
It was agreed that Cllr Padfield’s access to documents needs to be reviewed as he is unwilling to access webmail.
It was proposed by Cllr Heselwood and seconded by Cllr V Brown to approve the minutes as an accurate record of the October 26th, 2018 meeting. The Chair duly signed the minutes.
- To receive reports from District and County Councillors and Police (if available)
None available.
- Financial Matters
a. To approve payments to be made by the Parish Council (see separate list)
The Chair went through the list of payments. It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr E Brown and agreed by all to make the payments as per the list (Cllrs Heselwood and V brown did not vote due to declared interests).
b. To agree Bank Reconciliation Data
Cllr Stuchfield went through the bank reconciliation paperwork and signed it off as correct.
c. To Consider Draft Budget for Finalisation in January 2019
The Chair reminded Councillors that the deadline for ELDC to receive Parish Council’s precept requests is 21 January 2019. The budget cannot be finalised yet because the costs associated with employing a new Clerk are not fixed until an applicant has been selected and appointed. An idea of a possible budget was discussed by Councillors. In January 2019, the proposed budget will be discussed and a decision made.
8. Recruitment of New Clerk
a. Update members and consider date to hold a Personnel Working Party meeting in line with Recruitment procedure including devising interview questions and scores
The Chair updated Councillors on the job advert for a new Clerk, which has been checked and amended by PA & S in relation to the fixed term nature of the contract. The position has been advertised on Facebook, village newsletter, noticeboard, by email and on the local Parish Clerks’ forum.
The Chair reminded Councillors of how working parties are convened, specifically the Personnel Working Party. The PWP will need to decide interview questions to be put to all interviewees. It was agreed by all for the PWP to meet on Monday 3rd December to go through the applications and set the interview questions.
b. To consider having an Extra-Ordinary meeting to confirm appointment of a new Clerk if suitable application(s) is/are received.
The Chair advised that the aim is for a new Clerk to be able to start on 2nd January 2019, but there is no meeting scheduled until 18 January 2019. It was agreed by all to hold a short extra-ordinary meeting before Christmas to confirm the new Clerk’s appointment if a suitable candidate is found.
9. To receive reports from the Clerk and Councillors on matters outstanding and not on the agenda.
The Chair advised Councillors that applications to quote for the grass cutting contract have been invited, ahead of budget setting in January. The contract details have been updated and map detailing the areas to be cut in Minting centre was shown to Councillors, which will be used to form the basis of the next contract and is available to view online.
10. To review the Code of Conduct for the benefit of all members
As part of on-going training, Councillors discussed the principles of the Code of Conduct which applies to all members.
11. Report on meeting with Minting Village Hall committee representatives 13/11/2018
Cllr Heselwood reported that she and Cllr V Brown had met with The Chair and Secretary of Minting Village Hall committee. Following advice received from the Council’s insurers, she advised the village hall committee of the insurance implications of using the playing field for vehicles. In this case, committee members would become volunteers of the Parish Council and will need to carry out a risk assessment before each event. The MVH Chairman agreed to research a draft risk assessment document to use.
It was agreed by all Councillors that subject to suitable risk assessment being carried out, using common sense regarding the ground conditions, and clearing the site afterwards, the village hall committee may use the playing field for such events as a car show or dog show.
In respect of the Emergency Plan, the agreement regarding the gas cooker was provided to the MVH committee representatives. The need for battery storage on the back of the envisaged MVH Renewable Energy installation, to support he Parish Council Emergency plan was discussed.
It was agreed that the Parish Council would apply for grant funding for batteries to store energy generated by solar panels. Cllr Padfield raised the issue of costs of maintenance and life of the batteries, as this would have future funding implications for the Council, and Cllr Heselwood agreed to find out this information as part of the grant application process. Cllr Clark was advised that Emergency Refuges had been used in the UK in a number of areas.
12. Update on ongoing Planning Application re S/122/01818/18 | APPLICATION FOR Planning Permission for Erection of an agricultural building to be used for calf rearing and hardstanding areas. | LAND SOUTH OF LODGE LANE, MINTING, HORNCASTLE, LINCOLNSHIRE, LN9 5NR
Councillors confirmed that they feel unable to support this application at this time. The Council would like to add the following points to those which we made previously:
1. Councillors feel that the building is out of proportion for the number of cattle which the applicant has said he is going to rear. Also, the construction and design of the building would put the cattle at risk from pneumonia etc.
2. The Council would like to suggest that an independent, expert assessment is made of what size and design of building is most suitable for the number and type of cattle proposed.
3. If the stockman who currently lives in Minting no longer worked there how would a new stockman be accommodated?
4. The Parish Council believes that the applicant should seek, and submit with his application, the expert advice (e.g. that of the State Veterinary Service) that his proposed calf rearing unit meets ALL regulatory requirements [such as isolation of infected animals, bio-security etc.] with regard to managing a disease outbreak e.g. Foot and Mouth or Bovine Tuberculosis.
5. The PC also would like the applicant to provide satisfactory evidence that all manure, effluent, disinfectant etc can be contained and disposed of within the guidelines of the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone regulations.
13. Correspondence as per separate list below
Correspondence provided to Cllr Clark.
14. Emergency Planning
a. Discuss emergency text alert system email 30th October 2018
The Chair advised that as per an email received from Steve Harris, Lincolnshire are trialling a new text alert system for emergency warnings and want to collect the mobile numbers of designated people to receive texts. It was agreed by all for Cllr Heselwood and Cllr V Brown to give their numbers as emergency contacts.
b. Free First Aid Training – Red Cross – Discuss if we can take advantage of this offer
It was agreed by all to try and take advantage of First Aid/CPR training for residents in March/April and there will be cost implications in terms of hiring Minting Village Hall.
15. To agree date and propose agenda items for the next meeting on Friday January 18th, 2019 in Minting Village Hall
It was agreed to set the next scheduled meeting for Friday 18th January 2019.
- Close Meeting
Meeting closed at 9.40pm