February 2025 Minutes
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Utterby Parish Council Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on Tuesday 4 February 2025 at 7.00pm in Utterby Village Hall, Main Road, Utterby, LN11 0TQ |
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Clerk: |
Tony Shaw |
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Present: |
Councillors Newton (Chair), Buckley (Vice-chair), Bryan, Lashbrooke-Small and Clifford |
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In Attendance: |
County Cllr Alex Hall, District Cllr Edward Mossop and 8 members of the public |
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1. |
Apologies Apologies received from Cllr Traves. It was resolved to accept the reason for absence. |
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2. |
To record declarations of interest in any of the agenda items listed below Cllr Lashbrooke-Small declared an interest in agenda item 9 due to his position as Secretary of the Village Hall. |
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3. |
To adopt the minutes of the ordinary meeting on Tuesday 3 December 2024 It was resolved to adopt the minutes and they were signed by the Chair. |
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4. |
Open forum Several residents spoke about recent flooding issues in the village, which had affected their properties. Gardens and a garage had been flooded and homes were very close to being flooded. These issues discussed covered Jacob’s Close, Chapel Lane, Church Lane and properties on the main A16. The headmaster of Utterby Primary School also raised concerns about the school nearly flooding. County Cllr Hall listened to all concerns and requested that any evidence, such as photographs, be sent to him directly. The issues raised appear to have a variety of root causes, including poorly operating drainage and becks that have not been maintained. |
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5. |
To receive updates from District and/or County Councillors District Cllr Mossop spoke briefly about the likely impact of devolution, whereby district council will be abolished and representation at parish council meetings will be reduced or non-existent. |
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6. |
Clerk’s report |
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6.1 |
Defibrillator Training The Clerk has been in contact with East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), who are able to offer defibrillator training free of charge. An invitation to attend training has been placed in the latest edition of Utterby Voice, to be delivered to all homes imminently. Council agreed that it will need to assess feedback from residents before deciding the most suitable day and time to arrange training. EMAS to be kept informed. |
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6.2 |
Utterby Voice The lastest edition of Utterby Voice has been printed and is due to be delivered to households imminently. Several councillors volunteered to help with its distribution. |
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7. |
Finance |
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7.1 |
To ratify any payments made since the last meeting It was resolved to ratify all payments in Appendix 1. |
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7.2 |
To approve a schedule of payments It was resolved to approve all payments in Appendix 2. |
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7.3 |
To approve a bank reconciliation It was resolved to approve the bank reconciliation which showed the balance of the council’s accounts on 31 January 2024 to be £20,165.84. All monthly bank reconciliations are published on the council’s website. |
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8. |
To approve the adoption of a Village Green hire agreement Council reviewed a draft agreement for hirers of the Village Green. It was noted that hire will be free of charge to all village-based community groups and individuals. Should anyone outside the parish enquire about its hire, then those requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, including any appropriate charge. It was resolved to adopt the draft agreement, subject to minor revisions to aid readability (i.e. the inclusion of some sub-headings). |
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9. |
To receive a new Village Hall hire agreement from the Village Hall Committee The Village Hall Committee have provided an annual agreement, which sets out terms and conditions for hire of the Village Hall. It was noted that the Chair of the Village Hall Committee will meet with the Chair of the Parish Council prior to the March council meeting, to run through fire safety procedures. It was resolved to sign the agreement. |
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10. |
To receive a response from LCC regarding traffic calming near Utterby Primary Academy The headmaster of Utterby Primary Academy was invited to speak about the current issues with speeding and traffic in the vicinity of the school. These concerns were sent to LCC via the parish council and County Cllr Hall. LCC have provided an initial response to say that additional speed signs will be put up in the area and the Police intend to carry out a speed survey. Further options won’t be considered until the completion of a highways policy review. County Cllr Hall has responded to LCC, to seek clarification on which policies are under review and the timescales involved. Cllr Hall is due to meet with the Highways manager to discuss several issues in Utterby including flooding and the concerns raised by Utterby Academy. |
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11. |
To discuss the overgrown hedge and flooding on Church Lane and agree any actions As per item 10, the issues on Church Lane will be discussed by Cllr Hall when he meeting with the Highways manager from LCC. Regarding the overgrown hedge, it was agreed that the Clerk will write to the residents (of the neighbouring property) to make them aware of the council’s intent to arrange its removal. |
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12. |
To discuss recent flooding on Jacobs Close and agree any actions The Chair of the meeting brought this item forward so it was discussed immediately after Item 4. Open Forum Council and residents discussed the extent of flooding that affected Jacob’s Close, Chapel Lane and Benson Court. Evidence of the most recent flooding and previous incidents have been sent on several occasions to LCC but without a positive response and frustration is growing. It was noted that multiple agencies need to investigate the root causes, including Anglian Water and the Drainage Board. County Cllr Hall confirmed that LCC are the lead authority for flooding matters and the issues raised will form part of his discussions with the Highways Manager. |
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Appendix 1: Payments made since the previous meeting |
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Paid |
Supplier |
Description |
Net |
VAT |
Gross |
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11/12/24 |
Redgate Electrical |
Defibrillator Installation |
158.25 |
31.65 |
189.90 |
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30/12/24 |
A Shaw |
Salary (Dec) |
249.28 |
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249.28 |
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30/12/24 |
A Shaw |
WFH Allowance (Dec) |
26.00 |
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26.00 |
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31/12/24 |
Unity Bank |
Service Charge (Dec) |
6.00 |
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6.00 |
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03/01/25 |
ICO |
ICO Registration |
35.00 |
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35.00 |
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31/01/25 |
Unity Bank |
Service Charge (Jan) |
6.00 |
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6.00 |
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03/02/25 |
A Shaw |
Salary (Jan) |
249.28 |
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249.28 |
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03/02/25 |
A Shaw |
WFH Allowance (Jan) |
26.00 |
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26.00 |
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Appendix 2: Payments approved |
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Supplier |
Description |
Net |
VAT |
Gross |
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LALC |
Annual Membership Fee for 2025-26 |
96.70 |
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96.70 |
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Utterby Village Hall |
Village Hall Hire (October to December) |
81.00 |
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81.00 |
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Utterby Village Hall |
Utterby Village Christmas Tree |
30.00 |
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30.00 |
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Maria Vincent |
Utterby Voice (January Edition) |
296.05 |
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296.05 |
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DW Gibbs |
Bus Shelter & Telephone Box Cleaning (February) |
30.00 |
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30.00 |