2022 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

Welbourn Parish Council Meeting 

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF WELBOURN PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON WEDNESDAY 11 May 2022 IN THE WELBOURN VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30 p.m.

PRESENT 

Councillors 

Mr. Robert Cross - Chairman 
Mr. John Storer 
Mr. Stephen Short 
Mr. Jake Beaty 
Mr. Kevin Dowling 
Mr. Chris Dixon 

County Councillor & District Councillor Mrs Marianne Overton MBE 

Others 

1 Parishioners 

Mr Jim Fieldhouse 

Apologies Received 

Cllr Mrs Maureen Lunn – Acting Parish Clerk 

Mrs Katie Stark 

Mr Daniel Bancroft – Welbourn Parish Responsible Finance Officer 

1. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

2. Acceptance of reasons for absence 

2.1 Apologies were accepted from Maureen long and Katie Stark 

3. Declaration of interest in any matter on the agenda 

3.1 No interests were declared. 

4. Election of chair for the forthcoming year 2022/2023 

4.1 John Storer proposed Robert Cross as new chair for 2022 / 22023. This was seconded by Stephen Short. The vote in favour was unanimous. 

5. Election of vice chair for the forthcoming year 20-22 / 2023 

5.1 Stephen Short was proposed by Robert Cross and seconded by Harriet Huntsman. 

5.2 The voting favour was unanimous. All current portfolio holders agreed to continue with their present duties for the forthcoming financial year.

5.3 The Chair announced that Cllr Maureen Lunn would finish her Parish Clerk duties on 31 May 2022, and that she had signalled her intention to resign from the Welbourn Parish Council with effect from 30 June 2022 on health grounds. 

5.4 Cllr Storer introduced Mr Jim Fieldhouse who has accepted the position of Welbourn Parish Clerk. He will commence duties on 1 June 2022. Mr Fieldhouse volunteered to be note taker for the meeting. 

6. Notes of the last parish council meeting held on 13th April 2022 

6.1 The notes were accepted with a slight technical amendment. The chairman agreed to liaise with Maureen Lunn to get the notes officially signed as amended. 

7. Public forum

7.1 There was one member of the public present. No matters were discussed. 

8. Review Finance Committee for 2022-2023 

8.1 See item 6 from Annual Parish Meeting dated 11 May 2022. Committee members agreed to continue with their roles. This was agreed unanimously.  

9. Review Personnel Committee for 2022-2023 

9.1 Committee members agreed to continue with their roles. This was agreed unanimously.  

10. Review portfolio holders for 2022-2023 

10.1 All portfolio holders agreed to continue with their present portfolios. 

11. County and District Councillors update 

11.1 Cllr Overton’s monthly written report had been circulated. In addition, County Councillor Marianne Overton reported from the Cliff Cluster meetings which included Welbourn Parish Council chairman and Member Jake Beatty. She highlighted findings from the group that the average number of patients per GP in Lincolnshire has risen, especially the Navenby GP Practice, which is struggling to recruit new GPs, perhaps deterred by the potential workload.

11.2 Cllr Overton pointed out that the Cliff Cluster found the Community Infrastructure Levy to be insufficient locally. She added that infrastructure requirements should be considered when planning permission is granted.

11.3 Cllr Overton said that the new Local Plan changes the presumption to one in favour of the development of wind turbines.

11.4 Planning permission has been granted for the chicken farm between Leadenham and Brant Broughton despite the large number of objections regarding the size of the proposal and potential smells emanating from it.

11.5 A small number of Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the District. Cllr Overton has been assisting in finding school places for those refugees who require this.  Collection boxes are available for those wishing to help with fundraising, e.g., coffee mornings. Please contact Cllr Overton for more details.

11.6 Regarding the newly established travellers site at Beckingham, North Kesteven District Council tried to enforce a notice to shut down the new site by serving an injunction. The legal counsel for the travellers appealed the decision at the High Court in London and the injunction was overturned. The District Council has now refused planning permission which could be taken to appeal.

12. Planning 

12.1. Application reference: 22/0667/TPO 

Description of works: T1 Sycamore - remove bough affecting 5.2m highways clearance Location: Welbourn Place, 1 Moat Lane, Welbourn, Lincoln, Lincolnshire Parish: Welbourn. 

12.2 Approved unanimously by Cllrs. 

12.3. Application reference: 22/0665/TCA 

Description of works: G1 Yew and Holly - crown lift to 1.8m path and 5.2m over road; T2 Laurel - fell; T3 Sycamore - fell; T4 / T5 Hazel - fell; T6 Oak - remove bough affecting highways clearance 

Location: Welbourn Place, 1 Moat Lane, Welbourn, Lincoln, Lincolnshire Parish: Welbourn 

12.4 Approved unanimously by Cllrs. 

13 Finance 

13.1 In the absence of the RFO, Cllr Storer reported the following.

13.2 Daniel Bancroft has been recruited as the Responsible Finance Officer. He is unable to attend the monthly Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday evenings. He is available to speak to at the Parish Council offices most Thursday mornings from 9.30 am. He has worked hard to resolve the financial issues facing the Parish Council. 

13.3 The budget for the clerks’ pay is £5000 plus £1000 for expenses, The budget will be split 50/50 to pay the RFO and the newly appointed Clerk. The ascribed hours for each post are 20 hours per month. The post holders have explained that there will be months when more than 20 hours per month are worked and times when less than 20 hours per month are worked. However, the hours worked will average out over the year. Accordingly, they have each agreed to receive a monthly salary based on 20 hours per month. 

13.4 Cllr Storer presented all payments made in the previous month. 

Accounts value: 611: 

£3638.21 
772: £39488.13 
638: £10385.32 
677: £1627.71 
BSA: £8972.81 
Total: £64112.18 
(Take note of this in comparison to our annual spend/ precept) 

Bank reconciled: 
£0 discrepancy 
Payments made since last meeting: 

13.5 This was approved by all Members. 

13.6 Expected payments before next meeting: 

13.7 Very few internal auditors are taking on new clients and all our previous auditors are also giving it up. The removal of the options from LALC in favour of their internal service has also heavily restricted our potential options. 

13.8 Request to change the following accounts to direct debit: 

• Total gas and power 
• EON 
• Npower 

13.9 This request was approved unanimously with the proviso that the utility accounts involved should be prevented from building up any surplus credit wherever possible. 

14 Portfolio holders’ update 

14.1 Highways and Byways - update from Cllr Cross 

The potholes on The Green and Dycote Lane have been repaired by Lincolnshire County Council. Members were happy with the quality of the repairs. However, dangerous potholes remain outside the bus stop opposite the village shop despite having been reported for some time. Cllr Cross said he would have another go at expediting the repair. 

14.2 A notice from the Highways Authority proposing a 40-mph speed limit on the A607 through the village has appeared. 

14.3 The forge is running itself without help from the Parish Council. 

14.4 There is some debris outside the Archdeacon’s House. Cllr Cross will arrange for this to be removed. 

14.5 Planning - update from Cllr Cross 

Cllrs Cross and Beaty met with County Councillor Overton to discuss the Draft Local Plan prior to the consultation closing. They agreed with Cllr Overton’ concerning the very high number of patients per GP at the Wellingore GP Practice. They agreed that these concerns should be reported back to the Planning Authority. 

14.6 There is a proposal to build 48 bungalows at Wellingore adjacent to the GP practice. This proposal replaces a previous proposal to build a care home on this site. It was felt that Wellingore and Navenby have had more than their fair share of development. 

14.7 Concern was expressed that the Community Infrastructure Levy / Section 106 funds have not been forthcoming. 

14.8 Drainage - update from Cllr Storer 

The drain from Holme Close which runs to the poultry farm is faulty. There is a blockage in the drain where it runs under the road. Cllr Storer has asked County Highways to help resolve the issue. 

14.9 Planning - update from Cllr Short 

Nothing to report. 

14.10 Allotments - update from Cllr Beaty 

The outstanding arrears have not yet been paid. 

14.11 Village Hall - update from Cllr Dixon 

Cllr Dixon reports he is failing to receive emails from the Welbourn Parish Clerk. Cllr Cross double-checked Cllr’s Dixon’s email which was correctly recorded on the Parish Council’s systems. Further checks are required to ensure the Cllr Dixon receives all circulars. 

15. Meeting closed at 8.52 pm. 

16. Next meeting Wednesday 8 June 2022

Copies to: All Parish Councillors; County & District Councillors; Parish Council Web Site. 

Future Parish Council Meetings: 

Portfolio Holders 2021 

Cllr Robert Cross portfolio is Byways/Highways, the Forge and Cliff Cluster group representative. 

Cllr Rod Storer has Drainage and is a member of the finance committee. 

Cllr Stephen Short has Planning, is Village Hall representative and on the HR committee. 

Cllr Maureen Lunn has policies, HR committee and website administrator. 

Cllr Katie Stark has communications, HR committee and relief Cliff Cluster representative. 

Cllr Jake Beaty has Allotments and Cliff Cluster representative. 

Cllr Kevin Dowling has Castle Hill. 

Cllr Harriet Huntsman is a member of the finance committee. 

Cllr Chris Dixon is a Village Hall representative.