February 2023 Minutes
PUBLIC FORUM
• A resident thanked the Council for reporting the crumbling road outside their house. Following the Clerk reporting this on Fix My Street, the roadway was quickly repaired.
• A resident congratulated the Council on the January Utterby Voice, especially in the depiction of old photographs of the village.
• A resident raised concerns again regarding the development on Grange Lane/Chapel Lane and the response received from ELDC regarding complaints to Enforcement.
Record of Members Present:
Present - Cllr Alan Woodward (AW) (Chair), Cllr Terry Buckley (TB), Cllr Nicola Gallant (NG), Cllr John Mackin (NM), Cllr Nicola Mackin (JM) and Cllr Jackie Woodward (JW).
Not Present – Cllr Matthew Wright (MW).
In Attendance – Clerk: Maria Vincent, four members of the public and Cllr Hall (LCC).
72. Apologies Received
Cllr. MW.
73. To receive any Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011
None.
74. Minutes
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of Parish Council Meeting 7th December 2022 as correct and the Chairman signed them.
75. Council Matters, Actions and Communications
a) Chairman’s Remarks. The Chairman had nothing to report.
b) Clerk’s Report. The Clerk reported she no longer worked for Louth Town Council. Further she reported that she had now obtained the Filca qualification. She confirmed that both the Parish Agreement and the Precept application had been returned to LCC and ELDC.
c) It was RESOLVED to send out a flyer to all households 1st week of March to promote the annual village meeting in April 2023.
d) Ideas from the community for projects –The Chairman reported that a resident of the village was willing to supply free of charge a metal three-window notice board to replace the one which was now in a bad state of repair outside the village hall. It was RESOLVED to accept the kind offer it was noted that the notice board would have the branding of Blackrow Group. Instead of the title Utterby Parish Council, the board would just have the title of UTTERBY. Two windows (with lock and single key) would be for the Parish Council’s documentation. The third window, no lock, would be for the village / village hall events. The Parish Council would have to pay to remove the old board (cutting off the metal legs at ground level/ digging out) and then pay to site the new board including concreting it into the ground (to be in the same place as current notice board). A member of the Village Hall committee did state that there were some new drains near to the notice board that we should be aware of.
Discussions took place regarding the cost and implications of having a small play area on the Village Green. The equipment for a small project (2 swings and a small climbing frame) would cost in the region of £12,000 + the safety surface and installation + VAT. There were concerns regarding the long-term health and safety inspection aspect of this, and also the implication that members of the council would need to regularly inspect the play area equipment. Further, it was questioned if the current demographics of the village showed a reasonable population of young children? It was also felt there may be some residents who live on the border of the Village Green may object to the project. The Clerk to find out the cost of engaging a company to undertake inspections, and then to discuss again at the next meeting.
e) Consultations –Fulstow Community Primary (sent by email – expired) was noted. It was RESOLVED to approve the consultation reply regarding the LCC precept 'Following an email to Utterby Parish councillors they supported Option A: 2% adult social care precept + 0.99% general precept = 2.99% precept'.
f) Communications were noted from: London Hearts, PSPS notification of address, Louth Rural Police News, LALC membership, Lives funding request and letter to all Councillors from NALC.
g) Appraisal – It was RESOLVED that Cllr JW, having had previous experience of undertaking staff appraisals, would undertake the Clerk’s appraisal.
h) Meeting Dates - It was RESOLVED that Utterby Parish Council meeting dates for 2023/24 would be the usual 1st Wednesday of the month (not January or August) EXCEPT due to parish council elections, the May annual meeting would be held on the 17th May 2023).
i) Emergency Contacts - It was RESOLVED that the Clerk would update the emergency contact detail list for inclusion on the website and notice board.
j) Purdah – It was noted that Council elections would be held on Thursday May 4th 2023, and that Councillors should be aware of the ‘purdah’ good code of practice leading up to the elections.
76 Finance and Budgets
a) Audit – It was RESOLVED that the Council would ask Mr S Fletcher, Mablethorpe Town Clerk, if he would be willing to undertake the audit for Utterby Parish Council for 2022/23.
b) Draft Budget – The allocations 2023-24 were noted – an update may be required following the Closed Session item and the Clerk would bring the final draft budget to the March meeting.
c) Financial Regulations – It was RESOLVED to update the public procurement information in the Financial Regulations as per supporting documentation.
d) Grants/Funding - Information received with regards to grants/funding for defib units and play parks was noted.
e) Quarterly Monitoring – It was RESOLVED that Cllr JW would act as the second councillor (along with Cllr NG) to check the quarterly monitoring.
f) Closed Session Item – It was RESOLVED 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 the following matters:
1.It was RESOLVED that:
i. Verge and village green grass cutting – That Glendale be awarded the contract following clarification by LCC of area of verges required to quote for.
ii. Village green hedge cutting – That David Buckley be awarded the contract at the cost of £270.
iii. Kissing Gate weed trimming - That David Buckley be awarded the contract at the cost of £105.
iv. Domain name registration and emails – it was RESOLVED to defer this to the next meeting due to lack of quotes received back.
2. Clerk’s holiday entitlement - It was RESOLVED that the allocation of holiday hours paid to the Clerk per month be increased as there is an extra bank holiday in 2023. It was noted that she had now been employed by Utterby Parish Council for over 5 years and this increased her holiday entitlement by 2 days (pro rata). This equated overall to the monthly holiday entitlement of 129 minutes per calendar month.
k) It was RESOLVED to approve the February payments schedule: DW Gibbs Jan and Feb 23 Bus shelter and phone box £60.00; HM Revenue and Customs Only120PX00376161 December 22 Tax £5.60 and January 2023 Tax £5.80; Clerk Salary and expenses in December 2022 £225.27 and January 2023 £233.06 and Clerk reimbursement for payment of Utterby Voice January 23 print £133.00; David Buckley Autumn cut village green hedge and removal of Christmas lights £90.00; Dave Skells Traffic Management Ltd Bus shelter painting on main road £462.00. TOTAL £1,214.73
77 Planning
a) Urgent Planning Applications – none.
b) Submission by Clerk on N/192/02230/22 Planning Permission – It was RESOLVED to approve the submission regarding planning permission consultation Erection of a hay store. THE ORCHARDS, MAIN ROAD, UTTERBY sent via email to Councillors. ‘Councillors had no comments to make via email’.
c) Updates from any planning issues - LAND OFF CHAPEL LANE AND, GRANGE LANE, UTTERBY 1. Breach of condition 8 on Planning Permission reference: N/192/00289/17 concerning the use of wheel washing facility and the road used for entry to the site. Following confirmation that no action would be taken regarding the complaint the parish council made to Enforcement, it was RESOLVED that the Clerk would write to enforcement saying that that the parish council was in total disagreement with ELDC over this matter. That the chalky sludge residue from the development is still being dragged onto the lanes either side of the development as a wheel wash is not being used (as was conditional on the planning permission given). Furthermore, that the Parish Council are concerned that the chalky sludge coating on these lanes might well be a contributing factor should a road traffic accident occur. Finally that as this issue is not likely to be short term, and could continue for two or three years, the Parish Council request that ELDC reconsider this issue.
58 Parish Council Amenities (bus shelters, village green, etc)
a) Welcome Pack. Two new residents in the village (in attendance).
b) Verges and Village Green – Still a problem with moles, Clerk to contact mole man again.
c) Bus Shelters – Nothing to report.
d) Utterby Voice – January edition had now been delivered to residents.
79 ELDC/LCC Services (Streetlights, Bins, Highways, Verges, Footpaths, etc)
a) Any urgent issues – It was RESOLVED that Cllr AW would survey the location of all bins so that we could apply to ELDC for more in relevant areas of the village.
80 Notifications
a) Nothing to report.
81 Date and time of Next Meeting
Parish Council Meeting on Wednesday 1st March 2023 at 7pm at the Village Hall.
Signed ___________________ Date________________________