Minutes 6th December 2021
Minutes 6th December 2021
Chair: Cllr Coton (AC) (SW)
Present: Councillors: Maplethorpe (BM); Croft (JC); Mold (JM)
Clerk: M Moss (MM)
1 Member of the public
Public Forum: Reverend Cilla of the Asterby Group of Churches was present and shared plans for bringing All Saints Church, Goulceby, back into use as a resource for the benefit of the community, for meetings and events. It was noted that: the five yearly review of the church identified that approx. £5000 - £10,000 of work is required to ‘renovate’ the space; the church does not receive money from the C of E; and saving the church would require fundraising and support from the village, possibly by the creation of a volunteer fundraising group – Friends of All Saints Church, Goulceby’. Rev. Cilla noted that she would be organising an initial meeting early in 2022 to gauge local support and to ask for volunteers.
37. Chairman’s remarks – AC welcomed everyone to the meeting, particularly Cllr Mold as it was his first meeting.
38. Apologies for absence and reasons given – Apologies from SW for personal reasons were accepted.
39. Declaration of interests and requests for dispensations - To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and to consider granting dispensation(s), as per written requests received by the proper officer, to councillors under section 22 of the Act – None declared
40. To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 2nd September 2021 - PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED that the official minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 2nd September 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman of the meeting.
41. To receive reports from the Clerk and Councillors on matters outstanding – It was noted that all actions had either been completed or were included as items on the agenda. MM noted that ELDC had supplied litter pickers and bag hoops to be used in future litter picking events in the Parish, or by Councillors wishing to collect litter throughout the year.
42. To receive reports from District and County Councillors – Neither were present at the meeting.
43. To receive an overview of the issues reported to highways by Councillors since the last meeting and agree any action – It was noted that SW had reported the re-emerging badger hole on Horncastle Road to LCC Highways.
44. To review the quotes obtained for the purchase and installation of the notice board for Asterby End and decide whether to progress – JC had obtained 8 quotes for various types of notice board, including wooden, re-cycled plastic and aluminuim. It was noted that the wooden notice boards were the most expensive at £1800, and would require on-going maintenance; the recycled plastic notice boards have issues with temperature related expansion and contraction; the aluminuim notice boards are anodised, may be ordered in a variety of colours, are resistant to rust and to temperature related expansion and contraction. It was also noted that it had previously been agree resolved that £500 of funds for the notice board would be taken out of AGPC general reserves, another discussion relating to this may be necessary when final costs including installation are received. PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED:
• to obtain 3 ‘like for like’ quotes for an 8 page, green or brown aluminium notice board with a header worded ‘Asterby and Goulceby Parish Council’
• To seek permission from LCC to site the notice board near the bench at the triangle on Asterby End
• To identify several contractors willing to install the notice board and seek to secure 3 quotes for installation
45. To review the content and presentation of the notice boards and agree any changes going forward – JM noted that the AGPC notice board by the bus shelter is in need of tidying up. It was noted that the other notice board in the village is not owned by the Parish Council. PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED that JM would be responsible for notice board by the bus shelter going forward and that the board should include:
• Notices/Agendas of the meetings
• Notes from the last meeting
• Contact details for Councillors and Clerk
• Details of the website
46. To review residents’ responses regarding their views on local grants and decide whether or not to implement a Grants policy and to set monies aside in the budget – It was noted that the Clerk had only received one response from a resident objecting to the proposal. A lengthy discussion followed which noted: one response is not necessarily representative of local views and perhaps the newsletter article had been mis-interpreted by residents; this issue has been debated several times over the last 12 months by this council; there are currently no community groups in the village who have come forward for support; requests for funding thus far have been from charities offering local support such as LIVES and CAB Louth. PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED to defer any further discussion about this for at least 6 months and possibly until after the Friends of All Saints Church has been initiated.
47. To review progress made against the Parish Plan and agree any action required – It was noted that: COVID had prevented several of the community events from taking place this year including the litter picks and chalk stream project; planning reviews, the newsletter and website promotion were ongoing; the work to improve the footbridge over the ford has now been completed; the issue of dog fouling seems to have improved; no training for councillors has been undertaken, also due to COVID restrictions.
48. To resolve to complete a parish plan for 2022/23 and agree the content – It was PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED that:
• Aim 1 – Community engagement, should remain unchanged from 2021/22 but the wreath cost should be adjusted to £20;
• Aim 2 – Local Environment, should be amended to remove the footbridge repair and dog fouling, retain 2.2 regarding planning and include a new aim in relation to the Asterby End notice board;
• Aim 3 – Council Administration, should remain unchanged from 2021/22.
49. To review the following policies:
a) Internal Financial Control – New policy – recommended by NALC/SLCC - PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED to approve the policy
b) Records Retention Policy – reviewed every 3 years – last reviewed in 2018 - PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED to approve the policy
50. To note planning correspondence –
a – To note: Full planning permission granted – N/060/01916/21: Change of use, conversion of and alterations to existing garage to form a dog grooming parlour. WHINFELL, MAIN ROAD, GOULCEBY, LN11 9UT – AGPC used the delegated powers of the Clerk to respond to this application and register their support for it - Noted
51. To consider correspondence received since the last Council meeting:
Ref From Correspondence Action
a Lincs Police New air freshener campaign to remind road users to stay safe. To note – link on website - noted
b Community Liaison Group – Biscathorpe-2 Oil Exploration Biscathorpe oil drilling application for a side-track drilling operation, associated testing and long-term oil production was rejected by LCC planning and regulation committee at their recent meeting. To note - noted
c Pageantmaster
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons The queen’s platinum jubilee beacons 2nd June 2022 To note and agree any action – Noted NFA
d CAB Application for help and support with a financial grant towards charitable services in 2022/2023. To note and agree any action – Noted NFA
e Resident Complaint regarding the footpath between butt lane and Ford way – ground uneven and wearing away To note and agree any action
It was noted that the resident had been provided with contact details to report the issue to LCC footpaths officer.
f Anglian Water partnerships Information regarding Priority Services register, and support available To note and agree any action
It was agreed to place information on the website and notice board – space permitting.
52. Financial matters:
a) To receive an updated bank reconciliation and actual vs projected spend from RFO - PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED to accept both documents. See appendix 1 and 2
b) To review the budget and set the precept for 2022/23 – It was noted that: the tax base for 2022/23 has not yet been received and ELDC guidance is to use tax base for 2021/22; costs for action relating to the annual plan proposals need to be included in the budget; employee costs based on the industry NJC scales which currently has a pay award of 1.75% - 2% pending; proposed expenditure is £1795 and RFO is expecting a £35 VAT refund for 2021/22. PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED to set the precept for 2022/23 at £1760; £25 increase from 2021/22; representing a 1.43% (or 20p) increase for a band D property.
c) To consider and approve income/ payments due including: Salaries 1.01.22 - £312.00; SW reimbursement for poppy wreath £19.95 - PROPOSED; SECONDED; RESOLVED to accept the salaries payment, but to defer acceptance of the poppy wreath claim until the receipt has been submitted.
53. To agree items to be included in the next newsletter
• Precept
• Summary of the notes
• Update of the notice board
• Website details and contact details for Clerk/Councillors
• Notice of vacancy
54. To confirm the date (Monday 7th March) and agenda items for the next meeting
• The date was confirmed as 7th March
• Agenda to include – update on notice board
Meeting closed 9:25pm
Appendix 1 – Bank Reconciliation
Appendix 2 – Spend vs Actual
Appendix 3 – Budget and Precept Calc for 2022/23
