MINUTES OF MEETING
466 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – apologies were noted and accepted from Cllr. Wilde , unwell and Cllr. Spendelow technical access issues
467 MEMBERS DECLARATION OF INTERESTS – None declared
468 PUBLIC PARICIPATION
a. David Cowcill gave an update on the wildlife recovery project on the Lincoln road triangle. At a site meeting with officers of the city council a revised verge cutting regime had been agreed and he was hopeful that by the next meeting there may be wild orchids on the site. David also congratulated the maintenance contractor at the cemetery for his contribution to encouraging birds and wildlife
b. Bob Randall as resident of Holmes road raised concerns over infrastructure works being carried out in the village without any engagement of residents or the parish council. He cited the recent works by city fibre and the scoping project for a major water pipeline passing through the village and noted in particular that the pipeline is to come closer to the houses in Holmes road than to other properties in the entire 160 mile route. It was agreed that the clerk write to both city fibre and Anglian Water registering our bitter disappointment at the lack of engagement with the parish council
469 MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
We unanimously RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 16th March, 2021 and these were to be duly signed by the Chairman when we next meet.
Proposed Cllr. Kirt seconded Cllr. Lane
470 MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES– None
471 PLANNING
a. Current status of planning applications –The clerk referred to the status report and a number of applications that had been permitted since the previous meeting.
b. .21/00514/HHFUL – 7 Helpston Road – Ground Floor Side and rear extension with loft conversion and internal alterations – on consideration of a number of members comments we concluded that whilst we have no overall objections to make we do have some concerns over the changing nature of the street scene, reservations about the timber clad dormer windows, removal of the garage and the lack of parking area that remains. We also considered the potential for overlooking neighbours. We asked that the planning officer consider these concerns in determining the application and would also support any legitimate concerns of neighbours.
472 COMMUNITY MATTERS
a. Community Centre Working Group (Cllr. Kirt reported that the small working group were grateful for the assistance of Sue lane in providing information on present usage of the village hall and her thoughts on the layout of rooms and facilities. The group were working on a report that aims to consider the options of doing nothing, works on the current premises and the option of a new build on the playing field. It is the aim to have the report available for the June meeting of parish council.
b. Outdoor Tennis table – we considered the offer of a table from the city council, whilst we do not have an adjacent building to house loan equipment we did not see that as a major issue compared to the benefit of such a facility on the playing field. We agreed to accept the offer and to place this on a suitable location on the playing field
473 REPORTS from Councillors – STANDING ITEM – None
474 GOVERNANCE MATTERS –
a) Parish council vacancy
i. We noted that the statutory had been displayed and that there had not been a call for an election and that we were now free to operate with a vacancy or consider filling the vacancy by co-option.
ii. The clerk advised us that 4 persons had put themselves forward as being interested in being co-opted to the parish council. We asked the clerk to write to all four, setting a time limit for them to provide written confirmation of their interest, their reasons and the skills or experience that they would bring to the parish council if co-opted.
b) Annual Governance and Accountability Return – section 1 Governance statement. The clerk invited us to consider in turn each of the statements in this section and we recalled in each case the processes, policies, and safeguards we have in place to protect and monitor the use of public funds. We RESOLVED to instruct the clerk to confirm the statements with the exception of the final point as this does not apply to Glinton.
Proposed Cllr. Randall and Seconded Cllr. Mrs Bysshe.
c) Internal Audit. We were informed of the retirement of our internal auditor Mr Russell Wright and of the willingness of Mr Steve Davies, a qualified accountant and a parish councillor, to take on those duties. WE RESOLVED to appoint Mr Steve Davies FCA as our internal auditor at the agreed fee of £175 on the same terms of engagement as Mr Wright.
Proposed Cllr. Randall and Seconded Cllr. Kirt
d) Call for evidence – we considered our response to the call for evidence, by the government, for views on the experience of holding virtual meetings on zoom. Cllrs had mixed views, some keen to meet in the village whilst others expressing grave concern over holding meetings in person open to all members of the public and the impracticality of small venues and the need compliance with social distancing requirements. Despite the differences of opinion we were agreed that the clerk should respond on behalf of the parish council that we favoured the inclusion in law of the option to hold virtual meetings. The option to be exercised by the parish council. We agreed that it should be possible to provide sufficient safeguards that the option would not be abused.
e) Lawn Cemetery Maintenance
i. We noted that the term of the contract with Paul Carpenter (Sam) had come to an end on 31st March and that on inspection it had been left in a good condition with many grave spaces levelled and turfed. Hedges appeared neat and the parking sign had been erected. We asked the clerk to write to Sam thanking him for his work at the cemetery and praising him for the condition in which he had left the grounds.
ii. We were advised that Mr Grierson had also started work as the new contractor and had removed ivy from trees on the southern boundary. His intention to seed rather than turf sunken graves after levelling. His request to erect two bird boxes at a cost of approximately £20 and the possibility of varying the degree and extent of grass cutting in the unused bays to encourage wildlife. We RESOLVED to approve the spend on the bird boxes and to approve the variation in the grass cutting regime for the unused bays subject to monitoring and responding to public opinion.
Proposed Cllr. Johnson seconded Cllr. Mrs Bysshe
f) Glinton Community Centre accounts – Out of courtesy to the parish council we were given, for information only, the Community Association financial accounts for the year ended 31st March together with the balances held at the year end. We noted that the year was unrepresentative given the forced closure of the hall through Covid-19 restrictions and receipt of related grants which the community association had in large part applied to replacement equipment. We noted the report with thanks to the Community Association and no further questions or comment.
475 Official Notices and Correspondence –
I. The clerk reported receipt of a letter from Buckingham Palace thanking the parish council for the letter of condolences on the death of the Duke of Edinburgh and informing us that these had been passed on to Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family.
II. The clerk reported receipt of an email from The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme thanking the parish council for the donation of £100 (Initially paid by the chairman from his allowance). We unanimously RESOLVED that this should be retrospectively approved from the Grants budget b and the chairman’s allowance reinstated
Proposed Cllr. Johnson Seconded Cllr. Lane
III. The clerk advised us that since the agenda had been published the parish council laptop had shown signs of wear and tear and he had been advised to seek an early replacement before any failure caused a loss of data. We indicated our approval for urgent action to be taken, in line with the procedures within Standing Orders and reported to the next meeting for approval.
.
476 HIGHWAYS
a. Parish Councillors Observations
• Cllr Mrs Bysshe reported that the cover on the litter bin on Lincoln Road had been removed on three occasions and thrown over the hedge on the opposite side of the road. We asked the clerk to write to the city council suggesting a robust lock be installed on the bin and possibly seeking covert CCTV camera to eradicate the anti-social behaviour at this location
Cllr. Johnson queried the use of the yellow tape around the village Pump and it appears this may be related to the repair work, requested by the parish council, on the bricks of the floor of the pump basin
477 DATE OF NEXT MEETING – We noted that the next scheduled meeting would be on Tuesday 18th May and this would be the occasion of :
1. The Annual Meeting of the Parish – commencing at 6.30, to be followed by
2. The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council at 6.45pm or such later time as required to accommodate the proper conduct of the Annual Parish Meeting.
478 Matters to be held over to future meetings – these remain unchanged as follows
a. Dedication of the new commemorative benches.
b. Dedication of replaced war grave memorial stone & protection against strimmer damage.
c. Meeting with Chief Executive of Kisimul – deferred until able to meet face to face
d. Site meeting with Rebecca Presland re school run congestion – to be arranged post Covid-19 Lockdown.
Meeting closed 7.58pm
Clerk/Proper Officer,
26th April, 2021