Minutes - 28 November 2019
Minutes of Sedgebrook Parish Council Meeting
held at 8.00 pm on Thursday 28 November 2019 in Sedgebrook Social Club
Present: Chairman C Wood, Vice Chairman G Mahoney, Cllr J Denton, Cllr C Warby and Mrs J Bratton (Clerk) together with one member of the public, PCSO Stuart Bowden and County Councillor M Whittington.
1 Chairman’s Remarks – the Chairman welcomed everyone to the last meeting of 2019 and informed the meeting of his decision he will be standing down as Chairman and Councillor of the Parish Council from the last meeting in March. He mentioned politeness, respectfulness and due regard in the Code of Practice which requires the Parish Council and Parish Councillors to be respectful with other authorities as well as to our own constituents. The Chairman wished to record his thanks to our County Council, District Council and Police colleagues who have been performing marvels during the recent flooding issues, especially with their resources being stretched beyond belief. The Chairman reminded Parish Councillors that if you are dealing with any personal matter this should be done via your own personal email as opposed to using the Parish Council’s email.
2 Apologies for absence and reasons given – no apologies were received.
3 To receive declarations of interest on any item on the Agenda under The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 of the Localism Act 2011.
No declarations were received.
4 Notes of the last meeting held on 31 October 2019
The notes of the last meeting, held on 31 October 2019, were approved and signed by the Chairman as being a true record.
5 Clerk’s Report on Matters Outstanding not covered by the agenda – the Clerk had attended the Clerk’s Networking Day in conjunction with Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils and raised concerns that the Parish Council website (which is a unique valuable service for Parish Councils and is run by Lincolnshire County Council) may not be compatible with new legislation which comes into effect in September. Clerks were unable to get any response at all from Lincolnshire County Council.
County Councillor Action: The County Councillor will speak with the IT Department at Lincolnshire County Council to find out if the websites will be updated.
Clerk Action: to email a copy of the New Councillor Guide to the Parish Councillors.
The National Association of Local Councils had informed the Clerks at the meeting that Behaviour and Standards of Councillors were currently being looked at. In celebration of the “Nolan Principles” being 25 years old a short film has just been produced for all people who work in the public domain.
Clerk Action: to email the link to the Parish Councillors.
6 Correspondence
6.1 From Lincolnshire County Council concerning Public Footpath 11- the muddy pathway over the bridge on the unadopted Lane by School Lane towards Allington Road has been classified as a Priority 2 and will be investigated and resolved by 29th April 2020.
6.2 SKDC informed the Parish Council that the Grant for provision of Community Cleaners should be paid direct to the bank account.
6.3 SKDC sent documentation and details regarding the parish precept for the financial year 2020/21.
6.4 Notice of Election of a Member of Parliament for Sleaford and North Hykeham Constituency.
6.5 Lincolnshire County Council sent details of temporary traffic restriction on Abbey Lane which will take place from the 11 December to the 12 December 2019 for essential works by Western Power Distribution.
6.6 To Arboretum Tree & Garden Services with thanks for the high-quality pruning work on the sweet chestnut tree on The Green.
6.7 UK Parliamentary Election notices – Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll, Notice of Election Agents’ Names and Offices together with Situation of Polling Stations.
6.8 From Finding Fitness Ltd regarding Sports Holiday Club for children in the parish.
6.9 The Information Commissioner’s Office sent renewal documentation for the annual data protection fee.
6.10 From Lincolnshire County Council promoting the CallConnect Christmas offer.
7 Public Forum - no items.
8 Highways (The Vice Chairman 8.2-8.5)
8.1 Clarification on parking regulations regarding parking on the verge of Abbey Lane by visitors to the Social Club when the car park is full (PCSO Stuart Bowden) – the PCSO informed the meeting that in Lincolnshire the verge is part of the Highway right up to the edge of a ditch which means that you can park on the grass verge unless you are causing an obstruction the highway. 25 years ago parking was different and you now rely on people to do the sensible thing. There is no enforcement the police can do unless there is an obstruction. It is an offence if you are unable to get onto the Queen’s highway but not if you are unable to get off the highway. Abbey Lane is a narrow road and, a row of cones can put on the verge to discourage vehicles parking there if it is for a safety risk. If people are not happy with the situation and want to report it they should call 101. There is nothing that the police can legally do as the matter would be passed on to Highways – no permits are required to put cones down. It is technically illegal but parking in a dangerous manner is also an offence and you have to take the sensible view and have to look at three points: (i) what were the circumstances (ii) what was the reasoning and (iii) what was the outcome.
8.2 Damaged Road Sign on the A52 – “z-bend” sign which had come off its post – the matter had been reported to Highways England but is still awaiting repair.
8.3 Lights on A52 – it was noted that the lights on the A52 were going on and off and Western Power were seen working at the site. The District Councillor recommending reporting any faults via the Fix My Street website: take a photograph, take a note of the lighting reference number situated on the column – it could be either a District Council light, County Council light or in some cases a Parish Council light.
8.4 Signage on Road Closures – signs had been positioned at the time of the flooding on Allington Road but have still not been taken up. The Parish Council are not the Highways Authority and do not get involved with putting signs up. The parishioner suggested instead of “road closed” an advisory sign for “flooding” to be displayed. Because of the flooding situation affecting the rest of the county, the PCSO stated that the “road closed” sign would have been the only sign available. Again, call 101 to remind the Police to pick up their signs.
9 Planning (Chairman)
9.1 Planning Application No: S19/1713 – change of use to dog agility training facility – Full Planning Permission – School Lane, Sedgebrook – representations have been sent to SKDC. Awaiting the date of the next Planning Committee Meeting – the papers should come out at the beginning of next week.
9.2 Planning Application No: S19/1905 – discharge of condition 3 (materials) of planning application no S19/0063 – representations have been sent to SKDC that this relates to SKDC and not the Parish Council.
10 Recreation Field (Vice Chairman)
10.1 Recreation Field Play Area– to discuss quotations obtained for separating the play area with a fence – as it is more than 12 months since the playground project was completed, the Parish Council would be able to reapply for a grant as a fence would be eligible. The District Councillors do have £1000 each to give to causes within the district.
County Councillor Action: to send details of Carole Drury from the SK Community Grant Scheme and Alison at InvestSK to The Clerk.
to pass the details to the Vice Chairman who will contact the officers direct.
10.2 Split/torn matting adjacent to the Spica – the Vice Chairman stated that there was one small patch of the matting where the grass had not grown through and it had got churned up. A quotation for the repair was £465 and the equipment was just out of warranty.
Vice Chairman Action: to contact the fitters of the matting to obtain a further quotation.
11 Footpaths (Cllr C Warby 11.1 Vice Chairman 11.2)
11.1 Footpath No 11 – use of public footpath by horses – see Correspondence item 6.1.
11.2 Issues with dog waste bags being discarded on the outside of people’s property – no further bags had been deposited. The PCSO recommended any such matters to be reported on the 101 number and also to reporting any suspicious activity at all eg door knockers selling items straight away or in fact anyone you are concerned about.
11.3 It was noted that the overhanging hedges on pathways had already been reported and the Senior Countryside Officer of LCC will be requesting Highways to update us of the latest position.
12 Flooding – Rowan Smith (together with Paul Brooks, the County’s Flood Manager) had done a marvellous job in getting the various agencies out to the village during the recent flooding issues. The County Councillor stated that the rain patterns have changed from when the drains were originally constructed to cope with steady rainfall. When the heavy rain initially hits the drains now, they cannot take the heavy volume of rain as they are not designed to do so but, gradually over time the drains will do their job and the water clears. The parishioner highlighted the “lagoon” on Bowman’s Way which used to fill up but, this year, it has not filled up at all. The parishioner also suggested another duct be installed under the bridge at Allington Road and pointed out that some of the ditches along Allington Road are full of stagnant water while others are silted up and dry. The parishioner was informed that a lot of the flooding on Allington Road is believed to be due to a runoff from the field on the A52 which was not draining away – the ground was saturated, and it was not hot enough for the water to evaporate.
Since the Flood Management and Water Act 2010, there have been a raft of legislation so any new building schemes now have to submit a Flood Risk Assessment together with a Drainage Strategy in order to prove a flood issue is not being created and the drainage is no worse than the greenfield runoff rate. The meeting felt the flooding issues should be looked at as a whole. The County Councillor stated that at the moment all the authorities involved were being reactive. When everything settles down the County Council, as the leading agency, will need to get together to look at the lessons learned as this problem is not going to go away. There is a need to understand which actions have caused a problem somewhere else. The Environmental Agency have proven that, if you don’t cut the vegetation back, it actually slows down the water and acts as a brake which avoids flooding. Any flooding which is on the Highways is the County Council’s responsibility. If there is flooding on private land and imminent danger of life and internal flooding then it is the Environmental Agency’s responsibility. Any flooding which is on the A52 would be Highways England. If flooding is a threat or risk to life then the Police can be called and they will speak with Highways about the situation. The PCSO suggested that photographs/videos could be taken of the flooding on all of the days whist it is happening and somebody with expertise will look at the evidence and will then be able to build up a picture. The pictures/videos to be uploaded to the Fix My Street section of the Lincolnshire County Council website and will be a good record of what is actually happening.
County Councillor Action: to speak with Paul Brooks to arrange for the matter to be taken to Lincolnshire’s Flood and Drainage Management Committee.
Local people are aware that the bridge on Allington Road is liable to flooding – it is people who do not know the area who could get into trouble. Allington Parish Council were trying to get a gauge erected on the bridge to measure the water level when it floods – Highways will not be putting the gauge up as it is not a ford. This autumn has been the wettest autumn in 60 years – even the Forty Foot Drain in the Fens was close to over-flowing which was unprecedented - Lincolnshire needs a new strategy for flooding.
12.2 Sandbags – availability of sand and sandbags – Cllr Warby had contacted Abbey Farm who were happy for sand and sandbags to be stored there for the use of any villagers. If there is a problem with flooding, you do need to call Highways and sandbags are only 50% water-tight.
County Councillor Action: The County Councillor to chase LCC up regarding a possible supply for the village and to inform the Clerk accordingly.
12.3 Emergency Plan – Cllr Denton and the Vice Chairman attended a Resilient Communities Seminar and suggested the formation of an Emergency Planning Committee – help will be available from the Resilient Communities staff.
Clerk Action: to bring the item up at the May Parish Meeting.
13 Neighbourhood Plan
13.1 To discuss results of interest from villagers regarding proposed Neighbourhood Plan – the item to be placed on the agenda of the next meeting again.
Chairman/Clerk Action: to organise a message to go out to the community and to see what response is received.
14 Defibrillator – update and proposed Annual Training Scheme – this has been arranged for 7 pm on Thursday 16 January 2020 at the Social Club Hall and is fully booked.
15 Phone Kiosk – responses from parishioners on the future use of the phone kiosk – this to be put on the next meeting’s agenda. Cllr Warby informed the meeting that the bulb in the kiosk required replacing.
16 Parish Councillor – two vacancies – the Parish Councillors agreed to advertise the current vacancies on the village email.
Clerk Action: to organise a notice to include informing the community of the 101 number to report anything unusual happening in the village to the police and to upload any information relating to problems relating highways, flooding including photos, videos to: https://fixmystreet.lincolnshire.gov.uk/
17 Finance (The Clerk)
17.1 Verification of bank statement/bank reconciliation – Cllr Denton verified the bank statement and bank reconciliation figures.
17.2 Discuss and agree Budget and Precept for the year ending 31 March 2021
The Clerk had circulated draft figures. Following further discussion, it was resolved to increase the Precept by the rate of inflation ie 2%.
Clerk Action: to send the completed paperwork to SKDC.
17.3 Payments – Community Cleaner – it was resolved to pay the Community cleaner up to the 31 December 2019 – it was agreed by the Parish Council to increase his hourly rate as per the Real Living Wage hourly rate with effect from the 6 November 2019.
Clerk Action: to write to the Community Cleaner informing him of the increase.
17.4 Payment – Parish Clerk - it was resolved to pay the Clerk up to 31 October 2019.
17.5 Payment – P E Hempstead and Sons – it was resolved to pay for the grass cutting completed during October 2019.
17.6 Payment – it was resolved to pay Arboretum Tree & Garden Services for the pruning of the Chestnut Tree on The Green.
17.7 Payment – it was resolved to refund Cllr Mahoney for the purchase of hazard tape of £11.41.
18 Items to be discussed at the next meeting:
No additional items.
19 Date of next meeting: Thursday 9 January 2020
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.45 pm.