November 2020 Minutes
MINUTES OF THE ZOOM MEETING OF WELBOURN PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON WEDNESDAY 11TH NOVEMBER 2020 IN WELBOURN VIA ZOOM AT 7.30pm
PRESENT Councillors
Mr. Robert Cross (RC) Chairman
Mr. John Storer (RS)
Mrs. Katie Stark (KS)
Mr. Stephen Short (SS)
Mrs. Maureen Lunn (ML)
Miss. Harriet Huntsman (HS)
Mr. Chris Dixon (CD)
District Councillor - Mrs. Lucille Hagues
Parish Clerk - Miss. Sarah Brown
01.11.00 Chairman’s Welcome
01.11.01 The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Zoom meeting.
02.11.00 Public Forum
02.11.01 No parishioners had contacted with items for the public forum.
03.11.00 Acceptance of Reasons for Absence
03.11.01 Cllr J Beaty had sent his apologises for absence and they were accepted by the council.
04.11.00 Declarations of interest.
04.11.01 No interests to declare.
05.11.00 Notes of the Zoom Parish Council meeting held on the 21st October 2020 to be approved as minutes.
05.11.01 The notes of the previous meeting held on the 21st October 2020, copies of which had been circulated previously to members, were accepted as Minutes. Proposed by Cllr. S Short and Seconded by Cllr. R Storer.
05.11.02 The chairman will sign the minutes.
Action RC
06.11.00 Matters arising.
06.11.01 No matters arising.
07.11.00 District and County matters.
07.11.01 Cllr Lucile Hagues had already sent a written report which had been circulated to the Parish Councilliors. Cllr. L Hagues updated that since the report had been circulated, she had been voted in as Vice Chairman of North Kesteven District Council.
08.11.00 Parish Councillor Vacancy update.
08.11.01 NKDC have sent a “Notice of Vacancy in office of Parish Councillor” it is being displayed on the village notice board and on the Parish Council website. If there are no requests for a local election by the 16th November 2020, we can go ahead and co-opt a new Parish Councillor.
09.11.00 Repair of Footpath/bridle way from The Green to the A607 – which quote do we want to accept?
09.11.01 Previously we requested written quotes from different contractors and got no response.
09.11.02 Mr R Wills has now been approached and submitted two quotes. The first quote was for £800 which was made out of a granite chip and compressed with a whacker plate. The second quote was for £950 which was the same as the previous but had a compressed layer of road planings on top.
09.11.03 After discussion the Parish Council decided to accept the first quote and to consider adding a planings layer at a future date should the need arise.
Cllr. Chris Dixon proposed we proceed with the first quote for £800 and was seconded by Cllr. Stephen Short. The motion was carried forward.
Action RC
10.11.00 Castle Hill maintenance – to agree future maintenance schedule for the site.
10.11.01 It was agreed that although some pollarding had been carried out on site and some dangerous trees removed, that more trees need pollarding to ensure safety.
10.11.02 The outside bank next to the fence is overgrown and looks messy. Poisonous berries/plants are growing in children’s reach of the footpath. The outer bank requires strimming clear at that section leaving a wild area for wildlife in the top left-hand corner of the site (when entering from Beck Street).
10.11.03 A section of the metal tubular fencing is damaged leaving a gap close to the outer moat where a tree had fallen on top of it. The pole either needs straightening or a repair making by cutting out the bent section and replacing/welding into position.
10.11.04 The clerk was asked to check progress on the pollarding and get a quote for the further work that has been suggested.
Action Clerk.
11.11.00 Planning-
Tree works Application:- 20/1459/TPO
Description of works: T1 – Sycamore- Crown reduction by 2.5-3m to suitable growth points.
For T2/T3 see conservation area notification 20/1463/TCA
Location:- Sycamore House, 1 Old Mulberry Court, Welbourn.
11.11.01 Tree works
Application:- 20/1463/TCA
Description of works: T2 Alder – T3 Silver Birch – Fell
For T1 see TPO application 20/1459/TPO.
No objections have been raised for either tree works applications. Action Clerk.
11.11.02 The Chairman asked Cllr. S Short to draft a letter to our local MP Caroline Johnson raising concerns about the “Developer’s Charter”. The Parish Council would like to understand the facts and raise concerns if we feel our local input in to planning will be affected.
Action SS.
12.11.00 Clerks report.
12.11.01 The Clerk reported that Highways are making good progress. The team are expected to complete the section on Moat Lane on Tuesday 17th November and move onto the A607 outside the shared driveway for Field house bungalow and Orchard House on Wednesday.
12.11.02 Highways is reviewing, our request for speed limit reductions on Cow Lane (to 30mph) and A607 lowered to 50mph is possible and will advise on how to proceed.
12.11.03 Highways have advised that if over 60m – 100m of footpath needs repairing, we can request repairs to be scheduled.
12.11.04 The Clerk was asked to request a dropped kerb on Moat Lane near the A607 junction for cyclists to use when coming off the cycle path along the A607 into the village.
12.11.05 The Clerk has already requested a resurfacing program in the village and will email Highways Area Manager and try to establish if a program is scheduled in the diary and if so when?
12.11.06 The S.P.I.D (Speed Indicator Device) is currently positioned in Coleby village. The Clerk is to contact Coleby PC and get a date for when it is being moved to Welbourn and organise collection.
12.11.07 The Internal audit is completed. Cllr. H Huntsman will check over the Agar forms after the Clerks completed them. When the forms are ready for submission the Chairman will review and sign them.
Action Clerk, HH, RC.
13.11.00 Finances
a) Balances of the accounts as of 6th November 2020
Client 611 = £5,802.32 BMM 772 = £12,674.12 Deposit 638 = £10,383.75 Community 677 = £2,583.67 Building Society = £8882.80
b) Payments paid and to be paid.
All amounts were reviewed and agreed by all the Parish Councillors.
A further bill had arrived since the Agenda was printed, from King & Son’s for £390 for 3 cuts to the Churchyard, this was authorised to be paid.
c) To approve the amount to be donated for the Poppy appeal Wreath 2021.
The Parish Council agreed that as the amount donated has remained the same for many years (£50) that next year the donation should be increased to £75.00.
Cllr. R Cross proposed the donation to the Royal British Legion is increased to £75.00 from next year and was seconded by Cllr. R Storer, the motion was carried forward.
It was also agreed that the Parish Council would consider making a further contribution at the end of the financial year, if funds permitted, as Covid 19 had made door to door collections impossible this year.
14.11.00 Next meeting.
14.11.01 It was agreed that a meeting was required in December to look at the budget for the next financial year and to agree the precept request before it is submitted in January 2021.
The next meeting will be via Zoom on Wednesday 9th December 2020 at 7.30.
15.11.00 Thank you Welbourn Volunteers.
15.11.01 The Parish Council would like to thank the Welbourn Volunteers for re-leafletting the village and continuing with the shopping/medication delivery, support during lockdown 2.
There being no further matters to discuss the chairman duly closed the meeting at 20.08