2024 Minutes

Utterby Parish Council
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting on Tuesday 3 December 2024 at 7.00pm
Utterby Village Hall, Main Road, Utterby, LN11 0TQ

Present:

In Attendance:

1.    Apologies
a)    To receive apologies from any members unable to attend the meeting
b)    To resolve whether reasons for absence are accepted.
None.

2.    Declarations of Interest
a)    To record declarations of interest in any of the agenda items listed below
b)    To note dispensations given to any member in respect of the agenda items listed below
Cllr Bryan declared an interest in agenda item 9, owing to a connection with the Church.

3.    To adopt the draft minutes from Tuesday 5 November 2024 as a true and accurate record
It was resolved that council adopt the minutes.

4.    To elect a new Vice-chair of the Council
It was resolved that Cllr Buckley be elected as Vice-Chair of the council.

5.    Open Forum
a)    To receive a report from the District Council
District Cllr Edward Mossop was not in attendance. Apologies were received before the meeting.

b)    To receive a report from the County Council
Cllr Hall explained that Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) are applying for 120M funding from Central Government for 2025-26. LCC are facing expenditure of 350M for Adult Social Care and a further 100M for Children’s Social Care.

c)    To permit members of the public to speak on any parish council matter (15 minutes in total)
No members of the public in attendance.

6.    Clerk’s Report – to receive an update on any matters since the last meeting.
The Clerk updated council on several matters that have been progressed.
•    A formal notice for the Councillor vacancy, created by the resignation of Matthew Wright, has been displayed on the noticeboard. The council can co-opt after December 6th.
•    The cabinet for the defibrillator is being installed on December 3rd. The defibrillator needs to be fully active by December 10th.
•    A call was logged on FixMyStreet for “Slow” road markings to be painted on Church Lane, near the blind bend. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) have completed this.
•    The overgrown hedge on Church Lane (near the blind bend) was logged on FixMyStreet. LCC are currently investigating.
•    The website is receiving a makeover and community groups have been contacted to see if they want their pages updating. 

7.    Finance
a)    To approve a schedule of payments
It was resolved that the following payments be made:

1  London Hearts expenditure was approved at the meeting on 5th November.
2  Unity Trust is a monthly service charge, automatically taken from the council’s account

b)    To receive a financial summary
The Clerk presented a summary which showed:

c)    To approve a bank reconciliation
It was resolved to approve the bank reconciliation which showed the balance on the council’s accounts matched the bank statement at the end of November 2024. Both figures were £20,660.78

d)    To receive any proposals for projects in 2025-26
Council discussed potential projects, which included defibrillator training for volunteers. Any financial considerations were factored in to the budget and precept (see item below).

e)    To agree the precept for 2025-26
The Clerk presented a draft budget and council considered the allocation against each income and expenditure budget line.
It was resolved to accept the budget and set a precept of £8,845. This is the same as 2024-25 with a minor rounding up from £8,843.84.

f)    To agree a third signatory for Unity Trust Bank
It was resolved to register Cllr Lashbrooke-Small as a signatory.

8.    To complete a Town and Parish Council survey from ELDC
Council considered a short survey from ELDC, who are seeking feedback on whether parish councils feel adequately supported.
It was resolved that the Clerk will complete the survey on behalf of the council.

9.    To consider a request from Utterby Church to hold a fete on the Village Green (on 19 July 2025)
Council discussed the need to have a standard agreement that can be provided to any potential hirer of the village green.
It was resolved that the Clerk shall draft an Agreement based on an example obtained from Medstead Parish Council’s website.
It was resolved to accept the Church’s proposal to hold a village fete, subject to acceptance of the Agreement drawn up by the Clerk. 

10.    School Traffic Calming (Cllr Traves) 
To consider sending letters to County Cllr Hall and the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership
Cllr Traves presented a draft letter which he proposed be sent to County Cllr Hall. This letter details concerns about speeding and the state of the highway past Utterby Primary Academy.
It was resolved that the Clerk send the letter to Cllr Hall, on behalf of the parish council.

11.    To agree the format for the next Utterby Voice
Ideas for the content of the January 2025 were discussed. In addition to the regular contributors (St. Andrew’s Church, Utterby Primary Academy, Utterby Village Hall, Team Utterby and the Parish Council Chairman), there were several article suggestions:
•    Community Speedwatch (to be drafted by the Clerk)
•    Play Park (to be drafted by Cllr Newton)
•    Neighbourhood Watch (to be drafted by Cllr Traves)
•    Defibrillator (to be drafted by the Clerk)
•    A16 Speed Reduction (to be drafted by Cllr Lashbrooke-Small)
•    Kissing Gate (to be drafted by the Clerk)

12.    Next Meeting:
a)    To receive any items for the agenda
Aside from the standard agenda items, no other suggestions were raised.
b)    To confirm the date of the next meeting is Tuesday 4 February 2025
Noted.

The meeting closed at 8.30pm.