Minutes of meeting of 26th November 2019
Minutes of the meeting of Minting and Gautby Parish Council held
on Tuesday 26th November 2019 at Minting Village Hall
Present: Councillor E.B.Clark, Chairman, Councillors J.Stuchfield, W.Hughes, C.Bruntlett, H,Padfield and J.H.Padfield. Also present: District Councillor W.Gray and six members of the public. Mrs. A. Clark taking minutes.
[1] Public forum.
Members of the public voiced their grave concerns regarding the condition and use of a bungalow on Church Lane, Minting. The property is in a very dilapidated condition and extremely unsightly. A letter from another nearby resident complained of a serious rat infestation spreading from the property. A large lorry is often parked on the bend of the road, causing a danger to other road users.
Concern was also raised regarding the welfare of the occupier, living in obviously unacceptable conditions.
[2] Chairman’s welcome.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 7.45pm, and welcomed Councillors. There were no apologies for absence.
[3] Declarations of interest.
Cllr. Stuchfield declared a pecuniary interest in Item 7a, and would abstain from voting .
Cllr. Clark declared a pecuniary interest in Item7b, and would abstain from voting.
[4] To confirm or amend the minutes of the extraordinary meeting of 29th October 2019.
Cllr.Stuchfield proposed that the minutes be signed as a true and correct record of the previous meeting. Cllr.Hughes seconded the proposal, which was unanimously agreed.
[5] Matters arising from the minutes.
The Chairman thanked Cllr. Bruntlett for pruning trees on the Green in Minting. Planning application S/122/01701/19 [ to erect a garden wall at New Farm Bungalow] had been granted planning permission. Hedge removal applications HR/151/57 and HR/152/122 had been refused due to them not meeting the criteria listed in the Hedgerow Regulations.
[6] Correspondence
1. Flood action week has been cancelled due to the General Election.
2. An application for funding from Citizen’s Advice was declined, as being not in accordance with council policy. There were no proposals in favour of the request.
3. A request to use the wording of the council’s Vexatious Complaints Policy had been
received from Cowden PC in Kent. Councillors agreed that other councils were free to use
it as a model for their own if they wished.
[7] Finance. [a] To approve payments made by the council.
The Chairman reported that the Mandate of Variation for the Lloyds Bank account was now finally confirmed for the new signatories, Cllrs. Clark and Stuchfield. Several payments from earlier in the financial year had not yet been formally approved :-
Voucher No. Payee Amount Payment for Date paid
V15a & b Came & Co £351.74 Insurance 15/5/2019
V16 Cathedral £31.18 Ink 22/5/2019
V17 J Stuchfield £225.60 AED parts 31/5/2019
V18 A Bestwick £575.70 Salary 31/5/2019
V19 HMRC £143.80 PAYE 31/5/2019
V20 A.Bestwick £157.50 Expenses 31/5/2019
Cllr. Bruntlett proposed the approval of the payments, seconded by Cllr.H.Padfield,
and unanimously agreed. Cllr. Stuchfield abstained due to a pecuniary interest.
[b] To approve payments to be made by the council.
Payments to be issued were as follows:-
- To Cllr.Clark for reimbursement of third party payments :
IT Rescue£80.00
Minting Village Hall Committee£88.00
Information Commissioner’s Office£40.00
Land Registry
£211.00
- To ELDC for uncontested election expenses £97.00
- To Minting Village Hall Committee £32.00
Cllr.Hughes proposed that the payments be approved, seconded by Cllr. J.H.Padfield
and unanimously approved. Cllr. Clark abstained due to a pecuniary interest. The bank reconciliation was checked, and proposed by Cllr. Stuchfield. Cllr. Bruntlett seconded and it was unanimously agreed.
[c] To approve a quotation for the repair of the beck fence in Minting.
Quotations had been received from EKM Ltd, and M.D.Property Services. Cllr.Stuchfield proposed that the council accept the quotation from EKM Ltd, as being the most competitive. Cllr. Bruntlett seconded, and it was unanimously agreed.
[d] To consider the contribution from Minting Village Hall Committee re. grass mowing.
The Chairman noted that the council had invoiced Minting Village Hall Committee £140.00 for grass mowing in the previous financial year. Councillors were asked to consider whether this was necessary, given the council’s objective of assisting parish facilities wherever it could. It was resolved to defer a decision until the next meeting.
[e] To discuss spending priorities for the current and following years.
Suggestions for minor parish repairs were made, fencing, footpath signs etc. The chairman raised the matter of the flood risk created by the restricted capacity of the beck culvert in Minting, near the sewage works gate. The village had been fortunate to avoid flooding in the recent rains.
He referred to the experience of June 2007, when several nearby bungalows were nearly flooded when the beck overflowed, due to the bottleneck caused by the inadequate capacity of the culvert. Parish Council files record the concern expressed at the time that improvements should be made.
District Cllr. Gray suggested that it would be best to consult the Witham 3rd District Drainage Board, of which he is a member, to discuss what could be done.
[8] Reports from District and County Councillors.
District Councillor W.Gray reported that plans were proceeding to move the ELDC offices from Manby to the old college site on Mareham Road, Horncastle. Several other public bodies and services were also planning to re-locate there, to what will become the ‘Horncastle Hub`
Cllr. Gray had attended a Broadband Summit recently, which looked at ways of improving coverage to ‘not spots` in the district. Cllr. H.Padfield reported ongoing poor coverage at Gautby.
[9] Planning matters.
Application S/122/01732/19 [ static caravans at Eastfield Farm] had been refused.
The meeting discussed the Appeal lodged in respect of the refusal of planning permission of application S/122/01067/19 [ two bungalows on Church Lane, Minting]. It was proposed by Cllr.Stuchfield and seconded by Cllr.Hughes that the Council’s response of the 6th August to the initial application should still stand, and this was agreed by a unanimous vote. All representations to ELDC concerning the initial application will be forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate, so it was agreed that no action was necessary.
[10] To discuss action to be taken on points of concern in the parishes.
[a] The condition of Silver St. road surface. Cllr. Hughes referred to the deteriorating state of the road surface in Silver Street. Numerous potholes and small tarmac repairs had resulted in surface that is particularly hazardous for horse riders. No tarring and gritting has been done for some years. Action – Chairman to e-mail County Councillor Bradwell to request improvements.
[b] Overgrown hedges. Cllr.Bruntlett reported that the hedges had been cut the day before the meeting, except a small length that still needed doing.
[c] The condition and use of a dilapidated property in Minting. Following representations to the Council in the Public Forum, councillors agreed that the most urgent matter was to report the rat infestation that was affecting neighbouring properties, and also the most likely to produce effective action from the authorities. Other lines of enquiry would see what could be done about the dangerous and unsightly condition of the property, and also the inconsiderate parking of a large commercial vehicle. Action – Chairman to contact ELDC.
[11] To discuss what type of clerical support is needed by the Council in future.
The Chairman said that he had done the job of acting Clerk for nearly six months without too much trouble, but some freelance admin. support would be needed later in the financial year. The last Clerk was employed for one day per week for ten months of the year. This was too much of a burden on Council finances and unnecessary. Asterby & Goulceby PC had advertised for a Clerk to do two hours per week. District Cllr.Gray said that it was usually considered advisable to employ a Clerk, but not a legal necessity.
The Chairman advised that he would certainly recommend employing a Clerk if an experienced person willing to do restricted hours could be found locally.
No decision was made, and the Council agreed to keep the matter under review on a regular basis. Some discussion then followed, concerning difficulties with the Council’s Roundcube e-mail system. Cllr. Grey commented that an encrypted system was unnecessary, just dedicated council e-mail addresses would be adequate.
[12] To resolve to bring forward the next meeting to 14th of January.
The deadline for submission of the Council’s budget for the 2020-2021 precept is the 20th of January. Cllr. Stuchfield proposed that the next meeting should be the 14th January, in order that the budget can be formally agreed in time. Cllr. J.H.Padfield seconded the motion, which was unanimously agreed.
The Chairman noted that he would be calling a meeting of the GP Working Group to recommend a budget for 2020-2021, prior to the Jan.14th meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.05pm.