Minutes of 2018

Ordinary meeting

of Minting and Gautby Parish Council held on Friday June 1, 2018

at Gautby Village Hall at 7.30pm

Present – Councillors J Heselwood, (Chair), GBell, E Brown, I Hibbert,G Keys, H Padfield. J Stuchfield and V Brown (minute taker)No members of the public.

1. Chair’s remarks and welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and recorded the Council’s congratulations to the new owners of the Sebastopol Inn, Mr & Mrs Hughes for the successful re-opening of the pub last week and wished them every success for the future.

2. Apologies for absence and vote to accept reasons given

No parish councillors were absent.Cllr W Gray and P Bradwell both sent apologies due to other work commitments.

3. 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 V Brown declared a  Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in agenda item 7a (financial payments) as one of the payments is for annual electricity usage for the defibrillator on her property.

4. Declaration of Personal Interests under the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 made under the s.30 (3) of the Localism Act 2011

               None.

5. To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on May 8th, 2018 and thereby ratifying decisions made.

It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Bell and agreed by all to accept the draft minutes as a true and accurate record of the meeting of May 8th, 2018,  and the Chair who then duly signed them.

Cllr Hibbert (who had not been in attendance at the May meeting) queried why Councillors were given specific roles as per agenda item 10a; of the May 2018 meeting since this might suggest that they had greater legal responsibilities than they in fact do.  Although this is long standing practice, it was agreed to add this to the agenda for the next meeting for discussion.

6. To receive reports from District and County Councillors and Police (if available)

               None available

7. Financial Matters:
   1. To approve payments to be made by the Parish Council and note monies received including overdue Vat Repayment (see separate list)

                              The Chair confirmed to Councillors that the outstanding                overdue VAT payment of                              £852.46 has now been received from HMRC.  This completes all the VAT                                        repayments owed to the Parish Council and brings our VAT Claims up-to-date.

                              The Chair went through the list of payments to be made as below.  It was proposed                           by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Keys and agreed by all to make the payments:

2. Agree bank reconciliation.

                              This item was deferred since an up-to-date bank statement had not been received                             from the bank at the time of the meeting.  Councillors were provided with the list of                  payments and the current bank balance.  It was agreed by all to carry out a bank                         reconciliation at the next meeting.

3. Re-look at Budgets with view to agreeing additional items of expenditure:

Councillors were provided with a revised budget in respect the potential expenditure outlined below.

And to agree to seek quotes for the following works:

1. Repair/replacement of Noticeboard in Gautby

                              The Chair advised Councillors that rain water leaks from the guttering into the                              noticeboard and ruins any notices put in there. Quotes will be sought for                    standalone and wall-mounted noticeboards.

2. Repair of Fence along playing field adjacent to Trim Trail

                                             The Chair advised that there is some damage to the post and rail fence in                                             the playing field.

3. Quotes for Sanding and Painting of Phone Kiosk in Gautby

                                             The Chair reminded Councillors that is around 10 years since the telephone                                         kiosk was painted and this is now peeling.  It requires sanding and repainting.

                                             It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Keys and agreed by all to                                             obtain quotes for 3 items above                                             

4. Agree to purchase a second portable lockable filing cabinet

The Chair advised Councillors a new, larger and stronger lockable filing cabinet needs to be purchased for council documents.

It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Keys and agreed by all to purchase a new larger and stronger lockable filing cabinet for council document storage up to value of £150.

5. Agree to re-engage services of PA& Solutions when new personnel procedures are ready to be reviewed

                                             It was agreed by all to defer discussions on this matter until the end of the                                  meeting when personnel and staffing matters are to be raised.

8. Planning Application Old School House, Gautby

Planning application number S/057/00545/18 was considered by Councillors.  It was agreed by all Councillors to fully support the application, but to advise ELDC planning department that as it is a large building, Councillors hope that it will blend in with the countryside and the hedge be kept as high as possible.  These comments to be passed to ELDC as soon as possible.

9. Agree a Response to LCC Waste Consultation
   1. https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/recycle-for-lincolnshire/waste-strategy-for-lincolnshire/ 

The Chair read out the consultation proposals.  It was proposed by Cllr Bell, seconded by Cllr Stuchfield and agreed by all to write to the MP and respond as a parish council, supporting increased recycling rates, city, district and countrywide.  Councillors were encouraged to respond individually to LCC with their responses on the matter.

10. Removal by Lincolnshire County Council of School Bus facility in Gautby due to deteriorating roads – update on our letter of complaint.

The Chair reminded Councillors of the situation of the school bus service being withdrawn from Gautby due to the condition of the roads, confirming that a letter had been written to the County Council as per the last meeting.  She then read Councillors the reply to letter, which stated that the County Council are not obliged to consult the Parish Council on the matter and 3 weeks’ notice was given to the parents of the decision.  It was agreed by all to reply to the County Council (copying the residents concerned) stating that if highways find the state of the roads satisfactory which they said they do, there is no reason to withdraw the service.  In addition, all those copied into the parish council’s original letter should be sent a copy of the county council reply; together with the Horncastle News of May 30th in the letters to the Editor on the condition of the roads.

11. Ongoing Matters
    1. Broadband update

As some residents are now able to receive superfast broadband, while others are still being advised that it is not enabled or available to their property; it was agreed by all that the council write to Paul Bimson of BT for an update on the current situation and confirmation of future plans for properties not yet able to receive the service.

2. Highways

The Chair advised that the large potholes outside The Poplars in Gautby and Minting House, Minting have been re-reported as they have not yet been dealt with.  Cllr Hibbert advised that there is also a pothole on Grundy’s Lane outside The Priory.  It was agreed to report this to LCC.

3. Update re Bardney Clays, Bardney Airfield

The Chair updated Councillors in respect of the long-running planning applications.  She confirmed that the applicants have appealed against West Lindsey District Council’s decision to refuse their application, and the decision of West Lindsey has been upheld.  Via their Facebook page, the owners have stated that they are continuing to pursue this matter and Councillors were advised that there is now an associated gun shop in Bardney.

12. To receive reports from the Clerk and Councillors on matters outstanding and not on the agenda

The Chair advised that there is a Resilient Communities meeting on 12 July 2018 and advised Councillors that they can attend if they wish.  It was agreed that the Chair would attend if possible.

An article in the Horncastle News reporting on the successful re-opening of the Sebastopol Inn was noted.

In addition to the items as listed below to be circulated to Councillors, the internal auditor’s email clarifying her work on the duplicated VAT claim and will be added to the next circulation folder for Councillors to read.

13. To consider correspondence received since the last Council meeting

Correspondence as listed below was circulated to Councillors:

14. To approve Unreasonable or Persistent Vexatious Complaint Policy

The Chair advised Councillors that the letter agreed at the last meeting was sent by email to former residents, following receipt of a further email from them.  She confirmed that the text of the letter had been agreed by LALC prior to sending it.

Councillors were given a copy of the draft policy and it was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Keys and agreed by all to adopt the policy.

15. To resolve to move into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960 due to the confidential nature of the business to be discussed in relation to Complaints and Freedom of Information, Insurance, Personnel and Personal Matters.

It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Keys and agreed by all to move into closed session.

16. Discuss and agree Future Direction/Ways of Working of Parish Council
    1. Discuss Proposed Work Schedule and proposals of how to move forward regarding staffing, policies, equipment.

Councillors were provided with copies of the General Privacy Notice and Staff Privacy Notice.

The Chair provided Councillors with the current list of tasks requiring work and explained the level of work currently being undertaken in relation to GDPR compliance.

It was agreed by all to employ the current temporary administration assistant for 10 more days to work with the Chair to finish the GDPR work and tackle more of the tasks on the work list.

The Chair provided a new contract for the temporary administrator and it was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Keys and agreed by all to issue this contract and to pay her monthly by cheque outside of the meetings.

The Chair advised that once the outstanding workload other outstanding issues are completed, the council can begin the process of employing a new, permanent parish clerk.

2. Discuss ways to streamline future workload e.g. purchase and use of a projector at meetings instead of photocopying and thereby reducing data protection issues as well as workload

The Chair advised Councillors that it is clear that the Parish Clerk’s workload is greater than the 4 hours per week previously offered and that efforts need to be made to streamline the work.

It was agreed by all for the Chair to cost the purchase of a projector, which can be used at meetings for items such as planning applications and other papers such as minutes, agendas, draft policies etc. which are normally photocopied for meetings which takes up a great deal of time per meeting, such thereby cutting down on the time and cost of photocopying, together with avoiding potential data protection breaches from a large amount of paperwork circulating.

Councillors enquired as to how meetings could be shortened, whether all agenda items are necessary.  Since the bureaucracy has increased tremendously, the workload on small parish councils has grown exponentially.  It was agreed that at present GDPR work is a priority; but that due to legal requirements regarding the nature and order of parish council agendas; there is a limit on what can be eliminated.

3. Consider and agree use of temporary administrative contractor to help with above.

No discussion took place on this item.

7 c)  v.  this item was deferred to end of meeting but not discussed.  However, this item was discussed and agreed at the meeting of April 17th, agenda item 7g.

It was agreed by all for the next scheduled meeting to be held on Monday October 8th, 2018 instead of Friday September 21st, 2018

Close 9.40pm