PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
held on Wednesday
16th November, 2021
in the Village Hall, High St.
Present: Councillors; J Holdich, OBE (Chairman), D Batty, Mrs C Bysshe, D Lane, G Kirt, R Randall,
P Skinner, and Mr JV Haste (Clerk). Two members of the public were also present.
MINUTES OF MEETING
564. Apologies for Absence – Cllr. Johnson tendered his apologies as he is required to isolate prior to a hospital appointment for an operation. Cllr. Spendelow apologised for his absence recovering from a broken hip and granted leave of absence by the parish council.
565. Members Declarations of Interest – None declared.
566. Public Participation – Judy Staines spoke in support of the agenda item on climate change protocol and urged the parish council to pursue the “License to Cultivate” in respect of the designated spaces for wild flower planting and the nature recovery project. In particular noting that the invertebrate population had declined by 70% in the last twenty five years and urging the parish council to protect what we have by way of wildlife habitats before that too gets degraded. It was also noted that signage would be helpful in the area of the two designated projects.
567. Minutes of the Meetings–
We RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19th October, 2021
Proposed Cllr. Lane Seconded Cllr. Batty
568. Matters Arising from Minutes of Previous Meeting –
a. Cllr Skinner enquired about Kisimul and the planned meeting with senior Management and it was noted that dates in Mid December or early June were being requested by Kisimul.
b. Cllr. Randall reported that the remedial work to the war memorial role of honour had been completed by himself and Cllr. Kirt
569. Planning
a. Status of current planning applications – An update report on applications previously considered by the parish council had been circulated with the agenda and the content was noted.
b. 21/01656/CTR – 4 Welmore Road – We have no objection to the felling of the apple tree but asked that the applicant be urged to plant a replacement tree of a native species
c. 21/00864/HHFUL – 17 Welmore Road – Re-consultation on revised plans for Two Storey extension to side of Dwelling and single storey rear extension. We acknowledged that the applicant had made changes to the plans to accommodate, in part, the objections of the parish council and neighbours. We observed that the extension still exceed the extent of the existing outbuilding to be demolished. As such the extension will affect the street scene and, importantly, will reduce the vehicular access and parking space availability. We therefore remain OPPOSED to this planning application in its present form.
570. Community Matters
a. Community Centre Working Group – Cllr. Kirt referred to a revised draft consultation document and expressed reservations about the inclusion of the original site in the questionnaire as agreed at the previous meeting. We noted that the final version would have graphically designed words and images.
b. Good Neighbours scheme (GNS) – We considered the parish council representation on the board of the GNS and expressed our gratitude to Cllr. Mrs Bysshe who confirmed that she was will to also become a trustee to the scheme in place of the late Cllr. Wilde.
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c. Climate Change – We considered what the parish council might do locally to address some of the actions required by this global issue. Cllr. Batty had drafted the wording of a protocol, which we considered for adoption. We expressed the view that any action or policy would have greater impact and be more effective if our protocol and efforts were adopted by other parish councils or if we could join in their schemes. We therefore RESOLVED to adopt the drafted protocol with the addition of the words “to learn from, and work with, other groups in local villages”.
Proposed Cllr. D Lane and Seconded By Cllr Mrs Bysshe.
Furthermore we agreed that all parish councillors would be members of the working group to be established and to invite residents Judy Staines and David Cowcill to join and advise the working group.
We also agreed to invite both the primary school and AMVC to join in with the working group and to seek a meeting with AMVC early in the new year. The chairman agreed to investigate where, if at all, the aims of the group fitted in with the school’s curriculum.
d. License to Cultivate – Cllr Randall reported on discussions with residents on the designated areas for wildflower seeding and nature recovery; in particular regarding a document by city council officer Darren Sharpe in relation to Highways verges and safety issues. Of the three options available, the only one viable in our parish would be a License to Cultivate. That option required “mitigating measures” to be taken to address safety in areas where the speed limit exceeded 30. We asked the clerk to write seeking further guidance on the highway verge width applicable to the speed limits in the document under consideration, We also asked if the barriers at the Lincoln Road triangle site might be considered as sufficient mitigation measures.
e. Tree planting proposal for Scotts Road Open Space. We noted the intentention of the City Council to plant up to 15 small trees on the East side of the open space and expressed our support for the scheme but did ask that the trees be of native species and of a relevant size to resist vandalism whist becoming established.
571. Governance Matters –
Broadband contract for the Village Hall – The clerk reported on extended negotiations with BT to renew the broadband contract for the Village hall and we unanimously agreed to the revised terms of a further two year contract at a saving of approximately £17 pre month on the previous two year agreement.
572. Official Notices and Correspondence – Cllr Kirt referred to, and read out the content of, a letter from a resident in Rectory lane regarding incidents at the Kisimul Home and thanking the parish council for the support in seeing those issues addressed by the management of the home
573. Highways Matters –
The following outstanding matters were raised by parish councillors with the expressed view that ward councillors should be made aware
• Fence posts at Nine bridges – appear to be rotten and in need of replacement
• Playing field fence at the Willows footpath entrance broken and needed removal
• White lining in Lincoln Road and Helpston Road.
• Additional Bin on West side of Lincoln Road
• consideration of an additional planter
• Steps to Bridge over Maxey Cut, opposite end of North Fen Road
574. Date of Next Meeting – The next scheduled meeting of the parish council is Tuesday 21st December 2021
Meeting closed at 8.47pm
Clerk/Proper Officer,
23rd November, 2021