Minutes - Sedgebrook Parish Council Meeting held 1 September 2022
Minutes of Sedgebrook Parish Council’s Meeting
held in Sedgebrook Social Club at 7.00 pm on Thursday 1 September 2022
Present: The Chair C Wood, The Vice Chair G Mahoney, Cllr J Denton, Cllr C Warby, Mrs J Bratton (Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer), District Councillor Pamela Bosworth and one member of the public.
1 Chairman’s Remarks – the Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting on the first day of meteorological Autumn.
2 Apologies for absence and reasons given – there were no apologies.
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 – yes, a Declaration of Interest was received from Cllr Warby regarding Item 11.2 Planning Application No S22/115 relating to 1 The Grange, School Lane.
4 Notes of the last meeting held on 7 July 2022
The notes of the last meeting, held on 7 July 2022, were approved as being a true record, and signed by the Chairman.
5 Correspondence
5.1 An Order Acknowledgement had been received from Majestic Trees for the supply of the hornbeam tree plus warranty details.
5.2 A Stamp Swap Out Form had been sent to Royal Mail to exchange 15 stamps to the new barcoded stamps.
5.3 Letter of thanks to a parishioner for the help received.
5.4 SKDC sent monthly update reports for the Electoral Register during August and September 2022.
5.5 A parishioner had emailed information on potential help from The Probation Services – if the Parish Council are interested in taking up the offer, further contact details will be supplied. A reply had been sent.
5.6 Allington News – August/September 2022 issue had been received.
5.7 Amended plans for the construction of a Solar Farm together with all associated work, equipment and necessary infrastructure – fields at Muston Lane, Easthorpe – Ref 22/00537/FUL – Melton Mowbray BC.
5.8 SKDC Planning application no: S22/115 – change of use from office storage area to wholesale/factory shop. Take away coffee and coffee educational evenings – 1 The Grange, School Lane.
5.9 Anglian Water sent details of a webinar about the proposals for two new reservoirs, one which will be located in Lincolnshire.
5.10 Lincolnshire County Council sent details of bridge maintenance to be carried out on Allington Road with the road being closed from 22:00 – 06:00 – the period of restriction from 10 September to the 14 September 2022.
5.11 An email had been sent with an option to opt out of the SAAA central external auditor appointment arrangements.
5.12 LALC enquired if the Parish Council would like the internal audit completing for YE 31 March 2023.
5.13 A letter had been circulated via the Sedgebrook Village email regarding a request to villagers to keep dogs out of the play area. A parishioner had forwarded comments on the matter.
The Parish Councillors noted all the correspondence which had been circulated by email since the 7 July 2022
6 Public Forum
6.1 A request from a parishioner regarding the present situation regarding the Village Green. It was noted that the Parish Council have a year to spend the grant but this could be extended on request.
Vice Chair Action: to get in touch with the web designer for the lectern and to pass on his telephone number to the parishioner as he will know how to set the information out.
Parishioner Action: to decide the historical details for the board by the end of the year.
There is a Heritage Weekend being organised by the Sedgebrook Heritage Group and the parishioner will send the Clerk details to upload to the PC website/put on the notice board.
6.2 The District Councillor informed the meeting that SKDC were moving their offices to the top floor of The Savoy Cinema. SKDC are keeping the main Council Chambers but the offices are up for sale. The council staff are mainly working from home and only going into the office one day a week. Villages in the area have been working hard during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
7 Highways
7.1 General update – the Chair reported that contractors had completely resurfaced Woolsthorpe Road by the contractor’s entrance. National Highways have been requested to look at the A52 between Muston and Sedgebrook as it is the worst stretch of the road for accidents – there have been three recently.
7.2 FixMyStreet Reports
7.2.1 The Vice Chair had reported that the School Lane sign had been hit on the corner – this has now been repaired.
7.2.2 The Sedgebrook sign is facing towards the hedge.
Chair Action: to email Rowan Smith about the sign.
7.2.3 The height restriction sign, outside The Barn, has been covered over by the hedgerow - the hedge has been cut earlier in the week so the sign is now visible.
7.3 Allington Road Sign required at the junction of Village Street and Allington Road
Clerk Action: to contact the District Council to organise the sign.
8 Recreation Field
8.1 Playground Inspection – repairs – the bushel and shackle have now been replaced.
8.1.1 Wearing on EcoSmart Matting – 5-year warranty – KOMPAN? – a stanchion had not been taken out and a ring has appeared and it had worn through. The Vice Chair is waiting for KOMPAN’s reply.
8.2 Sheltered Area for the Recreation Field – following discussion it was noted that if a gazebo/structure is purchased it will be an additional asset to budget for maintenance and depreciation over a 15 to 20 year period. The number of children in the village is increasing. Teenagers would congregate which would lead to anti-social behaviour as is happening in other local parks in the area. If shade is required, there are several trees around the park.
Chair Action: to draft out a letter to reply to the request from the parishioner.
8.3 Additional bench for the play area – to be discussed under item no 13 regarding the budget for 2023.
8.4 Google Maps – Sedgebrook Park open “24/7” – the Clerk had altered the timings to 8 am to 8 pm on the web page.
9 The Green
9.1 Village Green – project on the phone kiosk, tree replacement and flagpole – update – partly discussed under Public Forum, item 6.1. It was noted that the pink horse chestnut tree’s wood will be cleared away by Simpsons, the contractors.
Clerk Action: to ask Simpsons to keep a 6-foot piece of the trunk for a carving.
Three quotations had now been received for the paving and it was unanimously agreed to accept the quotation from McBride Groundworks Ltd.
Vice Chair Action: to write accepting McBride Groundworks Ltd’s quotation requesting that the price remains the same for the next 6 months.
The paving to be completed at the end of October/beginning of November but this will be dependent on the new hornbeam tree.
10 Defibrillator – update on delivery of parts from SafeLincs – the battery and pads have now been delivered and replaced in the defibrillator. The machine is currently functioning, and it was decided to see whether to replace it or not when it becomes defunct - fund-raising could be a possibility. The defibrillator’s batteries are being monitored free by a parishioner but the Parish Council will have to look at the future cost of maintenance.
11 Planning
11.1 Amended Plans Melton BC re 22/00537/FUL Muston Lane, Easthorpe – Solar Farm – site access for construction and future maintenance – after further discussion, it was unanimously agreed no additional comments were required to be submitted.
11.2 Planning Application No: S22/1155 – change of use from office storage area to wholesale/factory shop. Take away coffee and coffee educational evenings – 1 The Grange, School Lane – it was unanimously agreed there were no reasons to oppose the planning application.
Clerk Action: to inform SKDC Planning accordingly.
12 To pass a resolution to sign up to the Civility and Respect Pledge – it was noted by the Parish Councillors the items in the proposed resolution are things which the Parish Council do anyway, and it was felt this was a waste of resources.
Chair Action: to write to LALC expressing the reason why the PC were not going to sign up to the pledge.
13 Future budget and service provision within the Parish in light of the emerging economic forecasts - an early discussion to consider contingencies, possible implications and alternatives.
The Clerk had circulated the current budget. The long-term Parish Council Insurance expires on the 1 June 2024. A new contract will have to be organised for the grass-cutting for the 2023 season – the Parish Council may need to look at removing parts of the areas currenting being cut. The refreshments budget can be removed and it was unanimously agreed to remove the annual donation of £100. It was proposed to cut the meeting time down from 2 hours to 1 hour to save on the hire of the hall which is currently booked for 2 hours per meeting - the cost will increase next year due to increased heating costs. A pre-meeting could be organised via Zoom as the first 45 minutes is free. The Community Cleaner’s grant from SKDC is now frozen so any future increases in pay will have to come from the Parish Council budget. Salaries will have to be kept in line with the national pay scales. The Clerk could print in black and white and it was noted that compatible ink cartridges would continue to be purchased in the future. The £3000 per annum transferred to the deposit account will ensure the future replacement of the play equipment as there may not be any funding available in the future – it was suggested the cost of cutting the grass in the play area could be taken out of the deposit account as it relates to the recreation field.
Clerk Action: to produce the budget figures for YE 31 March 2024 when the precept application is received from SKDC.
14 Finance (The Clerk)
14.1 Details of income and outgoings since the last meeting held 7 July 2022 as per the bank statements to the 5 August 2022
14.2 Verification of Bank Statements/Bank Reconciliations
The verification of the Bank Statements and Bank Reconciliations were completed by the Vice Chair at the meeting up to the 5 August 2022. The documentation had also been circulated to the Parish Councillors.
14.3 Payments List for Authorisation – all the payments were agreed and the cheques signed:-
15 Items for the next meeting?
Half-yearly accounts/further budget discussion.
Dates of future meetings.
16 Date of the next meeting: Thursday 13 October 2022
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9 pm.