2024 Minutes

Utterby Parish Council
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting on Tuesday 8 October 2024 at 7.00pm
Utterby Village Hall, Main Road, Utterby, LN11 0TQ

Present:
Clerk    Tony Shaw
Councillors    Robert Newton (Chair), Matthew Wright (Vice-chair), Tina Bryan, Terry Buckley, Andrew Lashbrooke-Small, Marc Traves and Jacquie Clifford
District Councillor    Edward Mossop
County Councillor     Not present
Public    Five members of the public

1.    Apologies
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
None.

3.    Adoption of previous minutes from Tuesday 4 September 2024
RESOLVED: The minutes were adopted and signed by the Chair.

4.    Open Forum (15 minutes)
Several points were raised by members of the public:
a)    A request that paper copies of agendas be made available at meetings.
b)    A request that the parish council magazine “Utterby Voice” be produced bi-monthly, rather than quarterly. 
c)    Notification that some trees on the village green have died. Other trees require a crown lift.
d)    Thanks was given to the parish council for its assistance in achieving a 30mph speed limit through the village. A comment was made that average speed cameras would be a further improvement. Also suggested that a 40mph buffer zone would be desirable, between the existing 50 and 30 zones.
e)    A suggestion was raised about the provision of play equipment in the village.

5.    District/County Councillor Reports
Councillor Mossop reported no update on Benson Court and the owners plans for the site.
Councillor Wright queried whether regular monitoring of the site is being undertaken, since the building is falling into disrepair.

6.    Clerk’s Report - To receive an update on handover matters
The new Clerk has been in post for 2 weeks. During this time several matters have been resolved, including:
•    Access to the council’s laptop
•    Submitting a bank mandate to Unity Trust Bank, to grant the Clerk access
•    Informing the district and county councils of change of contact details
•    Gaining access to the council’s website and Facebook page
•    Clearing any immediate backlog of emails

7.    Finance
a)    To approve a Schedule of Payments
The following schedule of payments was presented for approval:
Supplier    Item    Net    VAT    Gross
Dave Skells    Cut verges and village green (September)    155.00    0.00    155.00
Tony Shaw    Salary (September)    191.40    0.00    191.40
Tony Shaw    Expenses (September)    26.00    0.00    26.00
Maria Vincent    Salary (September)    210.88    0.00    210.88
Maria Vincent    Expenses (September)    37.09    0.00    37.09
David Gibbs    Bus Shelter Cleaning (September)    30.00    0.00    30.00
RESOLVED: All payments approved.
b)    To note access to the bank is outstanding and no further financial update is available.
A bank mandate has been submitted to Unity Trust Bank. Until this is actioned, the Clerk is unable to access the council’s accounts and provide a financial update.

8.    Correspondence
a)    To consider an offer from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) of a free one-tonne bag of salt. Grit bins that require top-up also need identifying.
RESOLVED: Salt is not required. Clerk to check grit-bin levels and inform LCC.
b)    To consider a resident letter regarding a highways issue on Church Lane (West).
Two highways issues were discussed, both on the bend near Utterby House. An overgrown hedge on the verge is impairing visibility for motorists and appears to have covered over a drainage grate. A further issue exists with flooding, possibly due to the drainage grate not being maintained.
RESOLVED: Clerk to make enquiries with Lincolnshire County Council regarding the possibility or removing the hedge entirely. Depending on the outcome of these enquiries, the Clerk was delegated authority to instruct a contractor to undertake its removal, subject to a maximum cost of £500. 

9.    To consider quotations for repair of the Kissing Gate
Attempts have been made to obtain 3 quotes, but one company failed to respond. One company quoted to repair the Kissing Gate, but they had inadequate Public Liability cover, as required by the Parish Agreement. The second quote was for a full replacement of the Kissing Gate, as per its original design.
RESOLVED: Quote from Platers Fencing was approved at a total cost of £1,262.50 (excl. VAT)
This does not include painting, so the Clerk will seek quotes for this. 

10.    To note the date of the next meeting is Tuesday 5 November 2024
Noted.