September 2024 Minutes
PUBLIC FORUM
• A resident reported that following some cable laying, the verge in front of their house was churned up, but would clear it up themselves.
• A resident reported that the hedge at Benson Court was very overgrown. Clerk to contact Platform Housing.
• A resident asked if the 50mph speed area could now be reduced to 40mph following the reduction of the main area down to 30mph. It was confirmed that as the notice for the new speed limit came in on 6th September, that a trial period should be allowed to pass before petitioning for a speed reduction in the other areas.
Record of Members Present:
Present - Cllr Robert Newton (RN) (Chair), Cllr Tina Bryan (TTB), Cllr Terry Buckley (TB), Cllr Jaquie Clifford (JC) ) (joined following co-option minute 39b), Cllr Andrew Lashbrooke-Small (ALS), Cllr Marc Traves (MT), Cllr Matthew Wright (MW).
Not Present
None.
In Attendance – Clerk: Maria Vincent, Cllr Edward Mossop (ELDC) and 3 members of the public.
36 Apologies Received
None.
37 To receive any Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011
Cllr TTB regarding items relating to St Andrews DCC.
38 Minutes
a) It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of Parish Council Meetings 3rd July 2024 and the Extra Ordinary Meeting on 6th August 2024 as correct and the Chairman signed them.
39 Council Matters, Actions and Communications
a) Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman - Prior to the election of a new Chair, the current Chair Cllr Matthew Wright made a presentation of flowers and a card to the current Clerk Maria Vincent, who will be leaving as Clerk to the Council, with thanks for her work over the years.
It was RESOLVED that Cllr RN be elected as Chair and Cllr MW as Vice Chair. Both signed the Acceptance of Office.
b) Co-option of Councillors – Following a short presentation, it was RESOLVED that Jaquie Clifford be co-opted as a Councillor onto Utterby Parish Council. Following this, Cllr JC signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
c) Chairman’s Remarks Cllr RN welcomed Cllr JC to the council and remarked that over a short time there had been a lot of changes on the council.
d) Clerk’s Report – The Clerk reported that this would be her last meeting. The Clerk remarked that this had been a lovely council to work for and that the flowers and card was very much appreciated and unexpected.
e) Personnel Panel – It was RESOLVED that the brief overview for the panel be adopted.
f) New Clerk’s Appointment – The Clerk reported that it was planned, once the new Clerk had come into post (16th Sept) to hand everything over but be in post still for any paperwork and account changes. It was RESOLVED that the Chair sign the contract of employment which had been checked by all councillors.
g) It was RESOLVED to ensure smooth changeover that the Clerk would arrange to:
i. Update land registry c/o address for the Village Green.
ii. Change bank mandate so that the new clerk is the administrator on the account and replaces current clerk.
iii. Update LALC of new Clerk's details.
iv. Notify LCC of change of details for user and pw for Utterby website log in.
v. Change details of Clerk on website and Facebook page.
vi. Update the contact details on the domain name register.
h) Calendar of meeting dates – Councillors to advise any residents they know usually come to meetings, that they would now take place on the first Tuesday of the month. Clerk to make a poster to bring this to the attention of those who use the hall at the next coffee morning. Clerk to include a post on Facebook.
i) Consultations: The Council RESOLVED that they would not complete the LCC Minerals and Waste Policy Consultation as a Council, but councillors to complete individually if they wished.
j) It was RESOLVED to ratify the response regarding the N020036 - Grimsby to Walpole Project – EIA Scoping and Consultation & Regulation 11 Notification sent in August:
Utterby Parish Council ask that the following questions are answered on the ES:
What will be the impact on endangered/protected wildlife? What will be the impact on areas of historical/archaeological significance? What will be the impact on local agriculture? Will there be any potential environmental-related population health issues resulting from the proposed pylons being in place? It is reported that cabling via the seabed is substantially more expensive and yet other links are via seabed, so in the long term is it not more sustainable and better for the environment for seabed cabling to go ahead?
k) Communications: Thanks from Utterby Village Hall Chair for both their grant and change of meeting day had been received and also a further letter from Grimsby to Walpole Project regarding land survey dates.
40 Finance and Budgets
a) Antivirus software – It was RESOLVED to ratify the decision agreed by councillors to pay for a licence (£7.91) for Norton 360 antivirus having been advised by LALC that Kaspersky was no longer safe due to Russian ownership of company.
b) Payments: It was RESOLVED to accept payments and to note that two Councillors authorising the payment must check all invoices prior to authorisation, and that the Chair of the meeting must sign the payment schedule. Dave Skells Traffic Management Ltd Cuts to village green and verges early Aug £186.00 ref 724a; Dave Skells Traffic Management Ltd Cuts to village green and verges late Aug £186.00 ref 724b; Dave Skells Traffic Management Ltd Oiling benches as per quote £338.4 ref 725; DW Gibbs September cleaning of Bus Shelters and Tel box £30.00 ref 726; HM Revenue and Customs Only120PX00376161 August Tax £9.00 ref 727; Clerk Salary, home expenses August £237.87 ref 728; DHB Gardening Services D Buckley Footpath, trees and hedges £235.00 ref 729: Total £1,222.27
c) Grants – The Council noted that the sum for section 137(4)(a) of the Local Government Act 1972 (the 1972 Act) for parish and town councils in England for 2023/24 is £9.93. The maximum amount which a council may spend under section 137 in any one year is a prescribed sum per head of the "relevant population". The relevant population is the number of persons on the electoral roll for the town, parish or community on 1 April 2024, this being 226 for Utterby. This equates to £2,244.18 but Council to note that £500 has already been used as a grant from this fund to date. Current balance of s137 funds £1,744.18. Council also to note that any purchase of a defibrillator will use the power to Life-saving appliances, power to provide life-saving appliances (e.g. life belts, defibrillators) - Public Health Act 1936, s234.
i. It was RESOLVED that following a request from the Village Hall, a 50% donation towards a Christmas Tree would be awarded to the hall committee.in 2024 (limit of £40).
ii. It was RESOLVED following a request from St Andrew’s Church for a grant toward the upkeep and maintenance of the Churchyard, to award them a £500 grant. The Council noted that having checked with LALC, as from December 2023, Churches could now receive grant funding, with the usual restrictions as per any other community amenity. The Clerk advised the Council that the budgets would need updating to allow for the S137 payments.
d) Defibrillator purchase and installation - Council noted the reply from the Utterby Village Hall Committee following the request to them to allow UPC to install a defibrillator and RESOLVED that the Council would agree to their terms and would await a price and agreement on location having been advised by the electrician then move forward from there.
26 Planning
a) Planning Updates – Council noted that permission had been given to N920009524 South Grange.
27 Parish Council Amenities (bus shelters, village green, etc)
a) Verges and Village Green – Council noted that the contractors had managed two cuts in August.
b) Village Green – The Clerk read out an email from the ‘Team Utterby’ requesting that the village green be used for events and questioning why the green had no children’s play area. A long discussion followed, and it was also noted that some children had posted a petition in the bus shelter asking for a play area. It was RESOLVED that a request to hire the village green for events would be considered on a case by case basis requiring their own insurance and risk assessments etc. Further it was RESOLVED that an article would be included in the January Utterby Voice asking for people’s views on a children’s play area, and also that the council would speak to the children who petitioned to see what ideas they had. Lastly that the Annual Village Meeting could be used as an arena to consult directly with the residents as to their views on a play park.
c) Bus shelters and Telephone Box – Nothing to report.
d) Kissing Gates – Although a quote had been received there was concern regarding the limit of the public liability insurance. The Chair agreed to ring around a couple of new woodwork /fencing companies given at the meeting.
e) Village Projects – Nothing to report.
f) Utterby Voice – Nothing to report.
28 ELDC/LCC Services (Streetlights, Bins, Highways, Verges, Footpaths, etc)
a) Footpaths - A reply received from LCC regarding a complaint we made about the footpath entrance on the A16 near to the fishing ponds. LCC say that it has now been cut.
b) New speed limit – The Council noted that the official public order to change the speed limit to 30mph comes into force on 6th September 2024.
c) Benson Court – Cllr Mossop read out an email regarding the future of the land and the way forward at Benson Court.
d) Any urgent issues or updates – Cllr MT had finally been able to speak to LCC regarding the issue with the ‘rat run’ along Peartree Lane on the way to the Academy. He reported that they would not consider this complaint/request unless it came directly from the relevant County Councillor. It was RESOLVED that this item be included on the October agenda.
29 Notifications
None.
30 Date and time of Next Meeting
It was noted that that the next Parish Council Meeting was at 7pm on TUESDAY 1ST October in the Village Hall, Utterby.
Meeting finished at 8:54pm.
Signed ___________________ Date________________________