April 2022 Minutes
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of Tattershall with Thorpe Parish Council held on Tuesday 5th April 2022 at Tattershall Village Hall and remotely.
Councillors present were Mr Coulber, Mrs Harvey, Mr Leggate, Mr Langley, Mr Wadsworth, Mr Knowles, Mrs Dawson, Mr Keeling, Mrs Taylor and D Cllr Mr Avison & C Cllr T Ashton plus clerk Mrs K Elliott and no members of the public.
7.15 pm
Public Forum: The public forum discussed a damaged litter bin, post and footpath sign which has now been removed; this has been reported to the LCC footpaths officer. D Cllr Mr S Avison brought to the attention of the council that 3 of the Tattershall Thorpe councillors have between them served on the parish council for over 90 years. There is a damaged bridge into Carr Woods and members discussed the ownership of the bridge, it does not belong to the parish council. Also discussed was the removal of the hedge around the former bowling green, which has been carried out by The National Trust along with other planned works to turn this are into a picnic area with a small food kiosk. Members discussed whether this requires a change of use in planning terms and how the residents of the Bede Houses would be affected. SA will make enquiries. The meeting was also advised that the noticeboard at Castlefields has been damaged again and the bus shelter roof is also loose and dangerous. The noticeboard is to be removed and the bus shelter roof has been reported to the management company for the estate. The clerk also brought to the attention of councillors that a planning application has been received and details will be emailed to councillors for comments. Next came the report from C Cllr T Aston; County Councillor; A small culvert is to be repaired between Tattershall and Billinghay and temporary traffic lights will be in place between 11th April and 24th June. LCC are keen to go ahead with the southern bypass to link in with other areas of the bypass around Lincoln. The Lincolnshire coastal car parks such as at Anderby creek and Huttoft; there are changes to the charges and there will be no overnight parking from 15ht April. S106 monies have been secured for the Clinton Park Link and the new land owners are now in the process of putting a planning application forward, TA noted that there is a realistic prospect of this coming to fruition. Discussion also followed that LCC and ELDC are exploring options for the possible purchase of the old airfield at Woodhall Spa. [TA left the meeting at 7.47pm] CD also advised that there had been a social media post about the increase in precept and that she had responded to the residents queries.
The meeting started at 7.48 pm.
Meeting
2022/170 Welcome & Chairman’s Report – Mrs Dawson, Chair welcomed everyone to this evenings meeting and advised that she has nothing to report.
2022/171 Apologies – The parish clerk reported that apologies for absence with valid reasons given have been received from parish councillor Mrs Knowles, Mr Edwards, Mr Brown and D Cllr Mr Foster and it was proposed, seconded, voted and RESOLVED that apologies be noted with valid reasons for absence being accepted.
2022/172 To Receive Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011 – there were none.
2022/173 To approve as a correct record the Notes of the meetings of the Council – It was proposed, seconded, voted and RESOLVED unanimously that the official minutes of the last meetings held on 1st March 2022 having been previously circulated were approved as a true record of the minutes, CD signed and dated. It is noted that the date of the meeting was incorrect on the agenda for this evening’s meeting.
2022/174 Reports from District and County Councillors, Police and any other outside agencies – D Cllr Avison advised that the waste service is struggling with drivers for vehicles who are off due to Covid. Please report any missed bins by telephone or email to ELDC Customer Services. The County Councillors report was received during the public forum and no report has been sent by the Police.
2022/175 To Co-opt – the clerk confirmed that there had been no expressions of interest. The vacancies continue to be advertised.
a) Resignation of D Eldridge, this is noted and the clerk was requested to send a letter thanking him for his offer of continued assistance.
2022/176 Clerks report on correspondence and matters outstanding.
a) New Sign Sleaford Road – this is to be paid for with the Welcome Back Funding.
b) Extra Grass Cutting, Thorpe – the clerk advised that 2 quotes have been received with prices ranging from £40.50 per cut to £147.50 per cut. Following discussion it was RESOLVED to accept the lower quote from our current grass contractor.
c) Increase in grass cutting charges – the clerk advised of an increase in charges from our contractor owing to the increase in fuel charges. The costs were discussed and the clerk advised of the budget figure for the forthcoming year and both this increase and the extra costs for Thorpe work can be covered within the existing budget.
d) Wombles thank you event – CD organised this event on last month at Allan Barker Field in Coningsby which was appreciated by those who attended.
e) Buttercross lighting - the restrictions surrounding this monument mean that lighting of this memorial is not possible at this time.
f) Committees 2022-2023 – two councillors are to join the public amenities committee as agreed earlier at this evenings Public Amenities meeting and N Langley confirmed that he would also join this team.
g) Clerks Appraisal – the personnel committee will arrange a date in May for this task.
h) Repair to Bin – a small repair has been carried out to a bin on the canal side footpath.
i) Missing Bin, Clinton Park – this has been highlighted to us via a social media post and council RESOLVED to replace the bin. It is also noted that a plaque should be installed to explain why the trees have been planted.
j) Northern Green Gathering – the organisers are to be invited to attend our next meeting.
2022/177 Manning Trophy: The public Amenities committee have held a meeting earlier this evening to discuss the five nominees and choose this year’s winner, who is Sivill Service. The trophy will be presented at the Annual Parish Meeting in May.
2022/178 Queen’s Jubilee 2022
a) Commemorative coins – an order has been placed and the payment made last week in order to secure delivery before the primary schools break up for the Jubilee half term.
b) Street Decorations – as per the circulated document, there are platinum Jubilee merchandise available and it is proposed and RESOLVED to purchase 12 roundels to decorate the Market Place and also some bunting. A total budget of £120 was agreed.
2022/179 Interpretation Board/Lectern for Market Place – A document outlining size, basic design and costs has been circulated however grant funding will be required to secure this project and the clerk is to investigate this. A location for the lectern will be agreed and the design, plus it will be placed in a prominent position allowing access for the grass cutting.
2022/180 Christmas Lights Display – only three battery packs and three strings of lights are required and the clerk will price these up for the May meeting.
2022/181 Market Place Street Lamps – the clerk has chased LCC on this matter but has not heard back from them.
2022/182 Edging / Siding up –
a) Areas to be done – Pauls Lane to Tattershall. This was done in 2021 by John Ward. We have £500 in this year’s budget and £3,000 in reserves. Those present discussed at length this topic and it was concluded to ask LCC to take action on this matter.
2022/183 Carrwood Crescent – the roadway is in poor condition, it is difficult to see to the bridge when exiting. SA is aware. This is not a parish council matter.
2022/184 Tree Wardens Report – LT advised that she has had a meeting with the National Trust representative, images have been shared on social media with parish council members. A discussion followed about the proposal to plant a hedge forming a boundary, whose hedge would it be and who would have responsibility for maintaining it. Further discussions followed about regular spraying of the area recently cleared. A detailed quote is required before a decision is made. It was also proposed to turn a bench that is currently facing the bowling green so that it faces the Church building, the clerk will get a quote for this. Planting of daffodil bulbs was also proposed and this will be discussed at the July meeting. It is noted that the footpath can get very dirty, muddy and slippery between the Bede Houses and the bowling green.
2022/185 Clinton Park – A proposal to install bollards around the land at Clinton Park was discussed to stop cars being parked and the grass being churned up. Gated access would be required for grass cutting. Will it generate bad feeling from the residents at Clinton Park?
2022/186 Community Speed Watch -
a) CSW report – there has been no activity since the last meeting.
b) TRO request – we now have to wait for a response from LCC.
2022/187 Planning Matters –
a) Enforcement – The Old Forge, Tattershall Thorpe and
b) Enforcement – 56 Curzon Estate, Tattershall. No further information has been received,
2022/188 Financial Matters: to authorise the approval of BACS payments and to note income and expenditure for this month.
a) Website maintenance – contract for 2022/2023 was agreed at £300
b) HP Instant Ink cost reduction proposal as per the attached breakdown of costs was agreed
c) Grant to Lincoln & Lindsey Blind Society was declined
d) Grant to LIVES was declined.
e) RFO’s report is not available
f) Internal Auditor has been appointed and documents will be submitted in due course.
g) Payment of Accounts – there was one amendment to the circulated document and bank reconciliation, the clerk confirmed that expenditure for the month totalled £3,642.69 including vat and there was £6,167.93 income for this month.
2022/189 Reports from Outside meetings – No meetings have been attended. N Langley noted that he has checked the trees that were planted earlier this year and they are all doing well.
2022/190 Items for next agenda were requested –
a) Full Council Meeting – it was proposed, seconded, voted and RESOLVED that this will be the Annual Parish Meeting held on Tuesday 3rd May 2022, at 6pm and full council meeting will follow at 7.15pm.
b) Tattershall Thorpe Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Wednesday 4th May from 7pm at Thorpe Camp.
The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and there being no further business the meeting closed at 9.34 pm.