January 2021 Minutes
MINUTES of the Meeting of DEEPING ST NICHOLAS PARISH COUNCIL held on Monday 18th January 2021 at 7:00pm, held via Zoom video conferencing
(Recorded by the Clerk)
Present: William Rodwell (Chairman), David Branton (Vice Chairman), Nicholas Watts, Andy Croyle, Deborah Croyle, Louise McGuinness, Paul Barrett, Ric Chapman, Charles Sly and Barry Hopkins
County & District Councilor Nigel Pepper
County & District Councilor Elizabeth Sneath
District Councilor Bryan Alcock
Two members of the Public
Clerk: Angela Harrison
In the Chair: William Rodwell
Apologies
Apologies received from:
District Cllr Jim Astill
Declarations of Interest (in accordance with the LGA 2000)
N Watts, A and D Croyle - Village Hall Committee (non-pecuniary)
Public Speakers (Max 3 mins each)
Richard Ivatt would like to speak on Playing Fields when we get to the Agenda Item
Minutes of the Parish Meeting held on Monday 23rd November 2020
To formerly approve the Minutes of the November meeting
Proposed: C Sly
Seconded: B Hopkins
All agreed
Matters Arising from the Minutes
Cllr E Sneath stated that she would’ve been happy to come along and attend the Tongue End playing field meeting, and asked that she be included in any future meetings.
No matters arising
1. To Receive Reports from District & County Councilors
Cllr E Sneath
⦁ There is no Village News at the moment, but she will be creating an article for the summer issue, as she and Cllr Pepper take it in turn
⦁ Highways report from Lincoln ‘Fix my Street’ online portal, update to state that it now includes bus stops and shelters.
⦁ Residents can now report any issues regarding these via the portal.
⦁ PB added that he had suspended the Spring issue due to the Covid-19 lockdown, definitely looking at doing the one in May for delivery in June.
Cllr Alcock
Update on the Home Farm application:
⦁ Viability is being argued between the developer and the officers’ assessment.
⦁ Was hopeful it would go to the February or March committee meeting, but it’s not looking likely now.
WR enquired about the Caulton’s field development.
⦁ Cllr Alcock responded that he had no update, other than that it seems to be moving very slowly.
⦁ NW added that they had ‘carted in’ 100,000 tons of stones and soil, from 53 miles away, and have piled too. He said that he had offered them 500 tons of surplus soil, but they were not interested as it had not been tested.
Cllr Pepper
⦁ He has recently been inundated with reports of fly tipping and hare coursing locally.
⦁ It has become quite prevalent in this area, so please be vigilant and keep reporting it to the Police.
⦁ PB reported that he and his family witnessed a member of public walking their dog down Green Lane over the other side of the railway line. This person was being threatened by hare coursers. There were 3 vehicles in total and were really concerned for the person walking their dog, so rang the Police.
Summary Results from Parish Plan Questionnaire
AC reported the following figures:
Number returned – 70 of c950 households – c7.2%
5% return is apparently acceptable and typical for such Qs.
⦁ Compares with 110 – 120 before
⦁ Same time as before - 2015
⦁ Reason? Covid, Brexit etc.
Tongue End input – thanks to RC – 8 received – fair comments re less relevant to them
Main priorities
⦁ Village Hall
⦁ Roads & Paths maintenance
⦁ Speeding 82% support more enforcement
⦁ Re-open station ¾ in favour
⦁ Pub nearly ¾
Significant scores
⦁ Village Hall ¾ wanted a hall & parking, high awareness of committee etc.,
⦁ 100% got village news, for half the only one they read
⦁ Good Neighbour – half knew what it was - 97% thought we should have one
⦁ 98% thought bus service was important
More volunteers
⦁ In Bloom / Gardening club +7 – contacted already by DC
⦁ Good Neighbour - +12 “ “ “
⦁ Neighbourhood watch - +10 but 2 existing
⦁ Summer fete - +14
⦁ Support hall committee - +22
⦁ Would help… Pub 4 etc
LM stated that 75% had said heritage was important
⦁ 64 out of 70 answered the question.
⦁ 52 stated they would accept an increase in their council tax.
The draw was made during the meeting, and the winner was announced as Mrs Sarah Michael.
⦁ The winner will be notified by the Clerk, who will arrange payment of the prize money.
Action: Clerk
NW felt it disappointing that more people didn’t complete and return the questionnaires.
⦁ LM wanted to formerly thank DC and AC for their assistance with the questionnaires.
⦁ DC stated that they hope to do some more events in the future, to gain more community interaction, as soon as it is safe to do so.
8. Notice Boards
AC spoke about the condition of the Notice Boards and suggested that he could replace some of the baize which would only cost around £20.
RC added that the Tongue End Notice Board is also in a state of disrepair.
A Croyle will look at repairing this one too.
It was agreed to approve the funding for this
Action: A Croyle
9. Playing Fields & Bus Shelters Update
The Chairman stated that the trees on the triangle are getting pretty tall, so he will arrange to get them cut down to 8 feet high and tidied up.
⦁ 2 of the trees may have to come down altogether as they are far too high.
⦁ DC suggested, that once the trees have been pollarded, we could tidy up the area between the trees and the fence.
⦁ WR added that as this is specialized work, due to the working height, he will get a quote from Sneath’s.
Action: W Rodwell
It was confirmed that the fences and posts belong to the adjacent properties.
The Chairman spoke about a written complaint to the Parish Council, received from a resident who has gained 8 signatures, regarding people walking around the Back of Harrow Farm. The issue is that people are walking through the Churchyard and around the back of Harrow Farm.
⦁ WR stated that although it isn’t a Parish Council issue, we ought to respond as they have written to us.
⦁ PB added that the PCC will be holding a meeting via Zoom in February where this issue will be discussed.
⦁ A sign has been put up by the Church, that states that access is only to the churchyard and graves
⦁ Whilst he was there the other day, he witnessed walkers walking through the churchyard and along there
⦁ The only way to stop it would be to spend a ‘silly’ amount of money on fencing
⦁ NW stated that they were only gaining access through the churchyard to avoid having to climb the gate, as it’s locked.
⦁ DB responded that the reason the gate is there and is locked, is to deter hare coursers. He also felt that if one person can walk down there, then the rest of the residents should be able to do likewise.
DB said he will speak to the lady that wrote in.
Action: D Branton
BH reported that the bin in the new bus shelter hasn’t been emptied for at least 3 weeks and is overflowing with rubbish and dog poo bags.
⦁ It was requested that the Clerk contact SHDC to get it emptied
Action: Clerk
It was also reported that the bus shelter desperately needed cleaning as it was full of leaves
⦁ CS offered to clean it out.
Action: C Sly
CS reported that the bus shelter at Hop Pole still requires a hole drilling in the back as it had become inaccessible due to flooding.
Action: C Sly
LM reported that the 3 outstanding Bissel poles will be done by the end of March.
BH raised the ongoing issue of the dog bin on Haybarn Road that needs replacing with a larger, dual-purpose bin and the smaller one re-sited by the play area on Campain’s Lane.
⦁ The Clerk stated that she had made the request on numerous occasions, online via the SHDC website, and that although she always received a confirmation email, it hasn’t been actioned.
⦁ Cllr Pepper agreed that this had been going on for a number of years and had also emailed SHDC in September 2019, but had not succeeded in getting the replacement.
The Clerk was asked to phone the Officer that Cllr Pepper had contacted, to see what could be done to resolve the issue, even if it meant the PC purchasing the bin itself.
Action: Clerk
LM made a request for a dog bin in the vicinity of Banks Drove, as she had been approached by dog walkers.
⦁ A discussion was had and it was resolved to encourage people to take their dog waste home with them, as it would not only be difficult to get a dog bin emptied down there, but that dog bins were being removed rather than added around the District.
Tongue End Playing Field
The Chairman invited Mr Ivatt to speak.
⦁ Mr Ivatt reported that he had been approached by a number of parishioners, who have told him that they raised the money to extend the playing field and that it wasn’t to be used for anything other than a playing field, which means that the PC could not plant trees on it.
⦁ If it isn’t used as a playing field, it has to be offered back to the people who raised the money, for first refusal to buy it back.
⦁ He stated that the land was bought in 3 parts and this was the last part to be purchased.
⦁ WR said that he was not aware of 3 parts, only 2.
⦁ It was clarified that the area in question is from the back edge of the old village hall site, to the dyke.
⦁ DB stated that he and W Rodwell had looked through all the deeds and couldn’t find anything to say that it could only be used as a playing field.
It was agreed that D Branton and W Rodwell would go back into the village archives and make copies of all the deeds to show to the residents.
Action: W Rodwell & D Branton
⦁ AC quoted some statistics from the recent Parish Questionnaire, and said that although most of the responses were from people living in DSN, of the 8 completed forms from Tongue End, the outcomes were much the same. This is what residents would like to see, when asked about the Tongue End playing field:
20% allotments
35% community gardens
45% children’s play area
⦁ RC added that the project was not to plant it fully, but to incorporate everyone’s ideas, e.g., play areas, wooded area as well as planting.
⦁ He also added that he too had heard a similar story from residents, and had raised it with the Chairman prior to looking further into the option of planting the trees, which is why he and the Vice Chairman had looked through the deeds in the first place, but found nothing to confirm it.
⦁ LM stated that if there is a covenant on that piece of land it will be registered at the land registry.
The Chairman agreed to call Mr Ivatt to find out more details and see if he can resolve the issue.
Action: W Rodwell
10. Finance Report
A report had been circulated prior to the meeting, with a list of payments to be made.
Proposed: D Croyle
Seconded: C Sly
All agreed
11. Parish Precept
A report was circulated to the members prior to the meeting.
The RFO spoke regarding the budget figures that she and the Chairman had prepared prior to the meeting. Figures from this year and the previous year, for all expenditure, were compared and then rounded up to the nearest £500.
The outcome was that the Chairman suggested that the Parish Council should request an increase of 2% which would give the PC an additional £313. This would equate to an increase of 40p per year (less than a penny a week), per Category D household.
Proposed: P Barrett
Seconded: N Watts
4 votes
⦁ AC felt that we should be bolder, as residents had expressed that they would be happy to pay more Council Tax, on the Parish Questionnaires.
⦁ DC suggested that we increase the precept by 5% which would give an additional £767. This would equate to £1 per year (just under 2 pence per week), per Category D household.
Proposed: A Croyle
Seconded: B Hopkins
5 votes
Following a vote on both proposals, it was agreed to raise the Parish Precept by 5%
The Precept for 2021/22 will be £16,107.00 giving the Parish Council and additional £767.00 on last year’s precept amount.
12. Planning
Replacement conservatory - same size and same style and mostly hidden by the wall.
The PC have no objections.
Action: Clerk
13. Any other information
CS confirmed that he had been to look at Manea station, which had 2 platforms and a machine to buy your own ticket.
⦁ It’s not a new station or platform as it’s always been there.
⦁ Only new thing was that they are looking to put a 60-car parking area across the road from it.
LM stated that it was the nearest station that would replicate our area, and thanked C Sly for making the visit and reporting back to the PC.
PB reported that from the first bungalow to the Church, there is 2-3” of straw on the footpath between the Church and the old vicarage.
⦁ It was suggested that an overgrown conifer hedge had brought the straw off from passing lorries, but this has made the footpath quite treacherous.
⦁ The conifer hedge has since been trimmed.
It was requested that the Clerk report this to the appropriate authority.
Action: Clerk
DB alerted everyone that there is a 5-day flood warning, reported today, for the whole of the East Midlands and that the ground is already saturated.
Cllr Pepper said that he had trawled through his emails, and regarding the issue about the litter bins, he had sent an email to one of the Officers at SHDC, at the end of October 2019.
It was agreed that Cllr Pepper will send contact details to the Clerk so that she can chase this up.
Action: Cllr Pepper & Clerk
LM reported the following:
⦁ Salt Bin at Banks Drove has been damaged and needs replacing, with contents.
Action: Clerk
⦁ Hare coursing activity and a seizure on the 29th December and more sightings on 30th December down Banks Drove.
⦁ 9th January suspicious death down Banks Drove with Police carrying out door-to-door enquiries.
⦁ Plea to the local farmers, for a donation of something for the children to grow on Fulney Road allotments.
⦁ CS offered some seed potatoes.
Action: C Sly
14. Items to be added to the Agenda for the next meeting
There were none.
Meeting ended at 8:28pm