2021 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

GREAT GONERBY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 2nd March 2021 at 7.30pm via Zoom

Present:   Cllr. Hutchinson Chairman, Cllr. J Thompson Vice Chairman, Cllr. A Critchley, Cllr. J Critchley, Cllr. K Davey, Cllr. H Fletcher, Cllr. A Mavros, Cllr. M Neal, and Cllr. I Stokes, Cllr. A Maughan LCC

There being members of the public in attendance the Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming Samantha Smith from the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme and four villagers.

Samantha Smith had been invited to give a presentation on how the Good Neighbour Scheme works and what benefits would be afforded to the village.  The scheme is in operation across Lincolnshire and is a small constituted, not for profit organisation.  Should the scheme go ahead it would be run by an organising committee and a group of volunteers to provide day-to-day support for the residents of the village. 

It is acknowledged the Scheme is not something for the Parish Council to get involve with but would support during set up if it was decided to take the scheme forward.  It was agreed that a resident survey would be arranged through GNS, however, help with delivery of the survey to residents would be needed.

The Chairman thanked Samantha Smith for her presentation.

The villager spoke of the problems with dog fouling in the village which had been bought to a head on Facebook and advised that a working party had been set up to try and combat the problem by spraying deposits with chalk spray to high light the problem.    The volunteers are marking dog fouling and phoning SKDC to remove and the scheme seems to be working.  In week one there were 35 sprays, Week 2 19 sprays but it was snowing, Week 3 23 sprays and Week 4 21 sprays.  Following spraying the dog deposits are being removed quickly.

A discussion followed with regard to CCTV cameras being used to monitor in attempt to name and shame but this is something that the Parish Council are not able to help with.

1.  Apologies for Absence            Cllr R Plant – Work Commitments

                                                         Apologies to be recorded only

2.  Declarations of Interest/Dispensations

Cllr. Critchley declared an interest in Planning Application No.  PL/0132/20

3.  Co-option of New Councillor

The Chairman invited the three applicants to introduce themselves.

Matthew Davey-Dunderdale advised that he wants to be part of the community having lived in the village for the past 10 years.

Alan Davey confirmed his support for Matthew Davey-Dunderdale as he was young and then advised that he was withdrawing his application.

Nicholas Johnson advised that he had lived in the village almost all his life and was passionate about helping the village.

The Chairman confirmed there were just two applicants for the one vacancy and invited the Councillors to vote.

The first round of voting took place

Matthew Davey-Danderdale      Six Votes

Nicholas Johnson                             Three Votes

The Chairman confirmed Matthew Davey-Dunderdale had duly been elected as Councillor for the Gonerby Ward.

4.  Minutes Signed from Previous Meeting

Minutes were duly signed by the Chairman as a true record proposed by Cllr. Davey and seconded by Cllr. Thompson.

5.  Clerk and Members to report back on matters outstanding:-

Confidential Report from 5th November signed as a true record.

Communications:  It was agreed that further consideration needed to be given to linking the Parish Council website to the village Facebook page. 

Mural and Wall – Cllr. Stokes was thanked for his contribution towards the restoration of the two murals which are now restored.  The intention was to put the murals on the wall near the Parish Council Notice board and offer a contribution to make the wall one course higher when built.  The owner of the wall is not in agreement as all bricks have to match.  It is felt there will still be enough height to display the murals on the wall but we need to wait until the wall is rebuilt.

Update on Footpath No.4 – A zoom meeting was held recently with the Senior Definitive Map Officer following which is was agreed an appeal would be lodged to try and get this matter prioritised.  The matter is still ongoing and Cllr. Maughan is liaising with Cllr. Thompson on the best way forward.

Dog Waste Bins – The Clerk had circulated the likely costs involved for providing dog bin for the village and after a discussion it was felt that even providing dog bins would probably not solve the problem in the village.  It was agreed to wait until the Facebook initiative of spraying the fouling finished at Easter to see if there were any improvements had been noticed.  It was discussed that there a number of SKDC black litter bins in the High Street and the Clerk was requested to ask SKDC if they would be able to move one of the bins to the corner of Belvoir Gardens/Pond Street.

6.  Correspondence and Circulation

The Chairman advised that having initially fitted the Church Clock Smiths of Derby had been responsible for maintenance and the annual service.  However, having submitted a huge quote for repair works it was decided to seek further quotations for the repairs.

Time Assured were contacted and visited the site, produced a detailed quotation for the proposed repair works, carried out the first stage of the proposed works and managed to get the clock going again first time.  The cost was half that quoted by Smith of Derby.

It has also been decided to take up a maintenance contract with Time Assured for the annual service at a cost of £140.

Problems with High Street parking on the corner of Green Street have been reported to the Police and they are monitoring the situation.

LALC have advised details of the Annual Training Scheme, it was decide not to join the scheme but to pay for any training as and when needed.

Notification received from SKDC of £300 awarded under the SKDC Member Grant Scheme had been approved.  Money to be allocated towards the cost of a new pump for watering hanging baskets in the High Street, restoration of the two murals and fixing to wall.

SKDC sent updated Register of Electors.

Email received from parishioner regarding concerns re the CCTV cameras and lighting at Hill Top Cemetery.  A discussion followed and it was agreed that the Parish Council have already put a lot of money and effort into making the cemetery safe but it was agreed to leave the security as it is for the time being.

The question of gates to the driveway was also discussed again and it was agreed that gates were not thought to be viable.

Correspondence received from Cllr. Maughan regarding the proposed Solar farm off Cliff Lane, Marston and money available for the possibility of a new road but no further information is known at present.

Virgin Money have written to the Parish Council advising our Yorkshire Bank accounts are changing to Virgin Money shortly.

LALC have written regarding Digital Storage and the implications following Brexit  but does not affect GGPC has nothing stored digitally.

Email received from Cllr. Thompson advising that he will be stepping down as a Councillor at the Annual Parish meeting to be held in July.  Cllr. Thompson has said he will continue to do all he can to help in the village going forward.  The Chairman thanked Cllr. Thompson for the many many years he has given to the village and thanked him for all his support.  Cllr. Thompson received offers of help with the Church clock going forward.

The Chairman also took the opportunity to re-iterate that he is more than happy to step aside as Chairman should any other Councillor want to take on the role.  The offer will stand as it has done for the last four years.

7.  Financial Matters

The following report was presented by the Clerk to all Councillors:-

As we near the end of the financial year I am pleased to report that the budget forecast for 2020/21 has worked well.  There are a couple of exceptions:-

1.  Office Costs this is now over budget as we have bought a new filing cabinet for the Clerk.

2.  “Other” Payments (general maintenance, loan repayments, repairs to church clock, war memorial maintenance) are above budget by £2353 as we purchased a new defibrillator (2140 plus annual service agreement £135) which was not allowed for in the budget and we have also carried out repairs to the church clock in the sum of £840.

3.  Parks and Open expenditure is also over budget – spent £3371 against a budget of£2953. This is due to unexpected repairs to the white posts on the Pinfold, and we have purchased hi-vis vests and a hand held speed gun for the Speed Awareness initiative we will be undertaking.

4.  Burial Ground Maintenance is below budget having spent £6498 against a budget of £7760.  This was expected.

5.  There is an excess spend on staff salaries following the agreement to increase the Clerk’s paid hours.

The Bank balances are healthy as at 24.02.21:-

Current Account:   £1034.26

Deposit Account:   £10,396.09

Term Deposit:        £30,246.92

Expenses:             £50.02

Other Matters:-

The Clerk reported that the burial plot plan at Hill Top Cemetery has not worked out quite as expected.  We need to allow for access to the hawthorn hedge and therefore we are now two plots short on each row. 

The Clerk advised last meeting that Ladywell Accountancy Services were ceasing trading at the end of March, I can now inform the Councillor that CST Accountancy Services will be looking after our payroll from the 1st April.  The new cost will be £70 per annum, Ladywell were charging £69.

a)  Accounts for Payment

No issues raised and payments were agreed proposed by Cllr. A Critchley, seconded by Cllr. Fletcher.

New payee Time Assured  an Eon agreed.

b)  Regular Payments -   The new Schedule was duly signed by the Chairman

c)  Bank Transfer Payments – The new schedule was duly signed by the Chairman

8.  Advisory Groups:-

a) Planning Applications

APPLICATIONS

LCC PL/0132/20

Hook Cliff Farm, Newark Hill, Great Gonerby

Development for Green Waste Storage and processing for cattle bedding for use on farm holding, separation of logs from Green Waste Stream for storage and splitting for onward sale to domestic customers.

Letter from SKDC to LCC Planning – No objections raised.

S18/1457

Mr M Mann

Land to the north of Longcliffe Road, Grantham

Submission for approval of reserved matters (aorm) relating to appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for 480 residential units pursuant to outline permission S15/3189

S20/1485

Mr Paul Comer

Moto Service Area, Old Great North Road, Great Gonerby

Expansion of the existing HGV parking to form an additional 40 spaces in two areas of underdeveloped site.

APPROVED

S20/2066

Mr Marsh

16 Green Lane, Great Gonerby

T1 – Reduce horse chestnut by up to 2m, around 1/3rd of total size to give more clearance away from building up to 2.5m.

S20/2089

Mrs L Gamble-Creswell

31B Long Street, Great Gonerby

Proposed Single storey extension to rear of existing dwellings including garage conversion.

S20/211

Mrs M Embling

9B Grantham Road, Great Gonerby

Section 73 application for the variation of condition 3 (boundary hedging) of planning approval S05/1628

S20/1485

Mr Paul Comer

Moto Service Area, Old Great North Road, Great Gonerby

Expansion of the existing HGV parking to form an additional 40 spaces in two areas of the underdeveloped site.

b)  The Environment

Cllr. Thompson advised that the Playground equipment at the Memorial Hall was in need of replacement/up-dating and presented a request from the Trustees that the Parish Council give thought to helping toward the likely costs.

A discussion took place and it was agreed that the Parish Council would look at the Lease to establish their obligations in this respect.  It was agreed that the playground did need attention and the Chairman asked if the Trustees of the Memorial Hall could make enquiries as to any grants available for the purpose.

The Chairman confirmed the Parish Council’s position in as much as that financial help would be given if needed and that he would be happy to discuss the matter with the Trustees.

Cllr. Stokes advised of Community funds being available from SKDC and agreed to make enquiries.

Cllr. Davey advised that she was still waiting to hear back from the Trustees of the Memorial Hall as to whether or not they would approve the siting of a picnic bench near the Millennium wood.

Cllr. Hutchinson advised that he is making progress with the bench for the Pond and had been in touch with a Company called Roll and Scroll.

c)  Highway Matters

Cllr. Maughan advised that he has a meeting next week with the Highways Manager to discuss the state of the village roads.   He confirmed the matter of the zebra crossing and promised survey would be carried out following the return to normality.

The chairman advised that a meeting had taken place with JAC, the company who supply white gates and that three sites had been identified.  It is proposed that 1200m wide gates would be installed with Welcome to Great Gonerby and speed signs. 

9.  Notice of motions for future meetings

It was agreed to delay the Annual Parish Meeting until July when it was hoped Covid restrictions will have been eased.

11.    Any matters for Urgent Discussion

The Chairman requested consideration be given to something for the village going forward.  A discussion took place re a village Fayre or similar, or a Village Day.  Councillors are to report back with ideas.

Restoration of the School Bell tower was discussed and the feasibility of this is going to be looked into.  To be added to Agenda for May.

There being no further Business the meeting closed at 22.00

Flag Flying Days:               April 21st               Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II

                                           April 23rd              St. George’s Day

                                           May 8th                 V.E. Day (Victory in Europe)