PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
held on Wednesday
19th October, 2021
in the Village Hall, High St.
Present: Councillors; R W Johnson (vice Chairman), D Batty, Mrs C Bysshe, D Lane, R Randall, P Skinner, and Mr JV Haste (Clerk). No members of the public were present.
MINUTES OF MEETING
551. In the absence of the Chairman, Cllr. R W Johnson (Vice Chairman) presided over the meeting.
552. Apologies for Absence – Cllr. Holdich tendered his apologies through a prior commitment, Cllr Kirt absent on holiday and Cllr. Spendelow apologised for his absence recovering from a broken hip. We were informed the Cllr. Spendelow had returned home from the hospital and that a get-well message and gift from the parish council had been provided from the chairman’s allowance. We agreed that the chairman’s allowance should be increased to meet the small cost of that gesture. The meeting then RESOLVED to grant Cllr. Spendelow a leave of absence for 6 months and wished him a full recovery from his injury.
553. Members Declarations of Interest – Cllr. Johnson declared an interest in the tree application for 24 North Fen Road, as the applicant was a near neighbour.
554. Public Participation – None, as no members of the public were present
555. Minutes of the Meetings–
a. We RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 28th September, 2021
Proposed Cllr. Lane Seconded Cllr. Batty
556. Matters Arising from Minutes of Previous Meeting – Cllr Skinner enquired about Kisimul and the planned meeting with senior Management and it was noted that possible dates were being considered.
557. 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. 21/01554/CTR – 12 High Street – We are OPPOSED to the felling of these tree and consider them to be an important part of the street scene in the heart of the conservation area. We further considered the history of tree applications for this property and noted that similar requests had historically been amended to approve size reductions and that the parish council had been opposed to the felling of The Holm Oak in 2011 & 2017. Given the history we asked the tree officer to consider a tree preservation order
c. 21/01584/CTR 24 North Fen Road – Crown Lift and Crown reduction to two Lime Trees – we have no objections to these tree works
558. Community Matters
a. Road Safety around Glinton schools. The clerk informed us that he still awaited a response to the request for a meeting with the relevant officers.
b. Community Centre Working Group – A draft consultation document had been circulated to councillors by Cllr. Kirt prior to the meeting. The clerk responded to questions on the estimated financial implications on the precept and Cllr. Randall responded to questions about the views of the working group and the potential locations, if the residents supported the new build option. Parish council supported the consultative questionnaire and asked the working party to consider the inclusion in the questionnaire the location within the playing field previously considered, and on which Mr Alan Lamb had previously given advice to the working group.
c. Poppyfields gate – Cllr. Mrs Bysshe had requested this item on the agenda as she noted with sadness that the gate was locked with a combination lock, the number apparently known only to residents and the postman. She had been unable to deliver the Tribune. We noted that at the time of the planning application for Poppyfields, the parish council had opposed gated communities and that we remained of the same view. That view is enshrined in the adopted Neighbourhood Plan for Glinton and we concur with Cllr. Mrs Bysshe in the sadness that residents of a small development in our village feel the need to isolate themselves from our community in this way.
d. Christmas Tree and “Switch On” arrangements – Cllr. Holdich had, prior to the meeting, notified the clerk that Mr Leigh Titman had again agreed to organise the tree. The planned “Switch On” will take place at 6.45pm on 2nd December. Refreshments would be provided by the parish council but Cllr. Holdich had agreed to fund these out of the chairman’s allowance as has been the arrangement in previous years.
e. Armistice day commemoration –
i. Cleaning and repainting the names on the memorial – Cllr Randall reported that the chairman had previously reported the fading names on the memorial and the actions taken by himself and Cllr Kirt to clean and restore the memorial having taken proper advice from stone masons. We approved the small costs involved in these reparations and noted that they could be contained within the budget for village improvements.
ii. Remembrance Day commemoration – We RESOLVED to approve the purchase of a wreath for the Remembrance Day service and noted that we had made provision for this in our budget.
Proposed Cllr. Johnson Seconded Cllr. Mrs Bysshe
559. Reports (standing Item) – As indicated in our previous minutes Cllr. Batty had attended the CAPALC conference. Cllr Batty referred to the notes he had provided and in particular mentioned that two issues raised at the conference.
a. Climate Change – some other parishes had considered resolutions declaring a climate change emergency. We considered that to do likewise would be premature without having a policy on the matter containing the practical steps we might endorse as a parish council. Cllr Batty agreed to research the policies of relevant parish councils to see if any of those policies might be applicable to Glinton for further consideration at a future meeting.
b. Queens Green Canopy – In preparation for the upcoming celebration of the queens 70th anniversary of her succession to the throne the project aims to see the planting of thousands of trees. Parish councils along with other authorities and bodies are being encouraged to take part in the project. We agreed to consider this on a future agenda.
560. Governance Matters –
a. Good Neighbours scheme – Cllr. Mrs Bysshe reminded us that the late Chris Wilde had been a trustee of the GNS and our representative of the scheme in the village. We asked Cllr Bysshe to consider taking on that role after examining the responsibilities of a trustee to the scheme and reporting back to the parish council and the management of the scheme on her decision.
561. Official Notices and Correspondence – The clerk reported that there were no official notices to bring to the attention of the parish council but there had been an extensive exchange of emails with a resident of Sadlers Close on the matter of vandalism and antisocial behaviour mainly about litter bins in the playing field. The clerk had taken the matter up with officers at the city council and the resident had taken up the matter with the police and had relevant crime numbers. We are minded to draw these matters to the attention of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
562. Highways Matters –
a. Cllr. Johnson reported that the chairman had indicated that Highways would be returning to complete the repainting of yellow lines in North Fen Road and the pedestrian Crossing in Lincoln Road. He asked that they be requested to include the repainting of the white footpath markings in North Fen Road at the same time.
b. Cllr. Batty requested 20mph roundels be painted on Beech Road on the Jelson estate
563. Date of Next Meeting – The next scheduled meeting of the parish council is Tuesday 16th November, 2021.
Meeting closed at 8.32pm