July 2023 Minutes
GREAT GONERBY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 17thJuly 2023
At the Memorial Hall, Belton Lane, Great Gonerby
Present: Cllr. M Selby Chairman, Cllr. K Davey Vice Chairman, Cllr. V Beckett, Cllr. T Bridle, Cllr A Critchley, Cllr. C Cundall, Cllr A Mavros, Cllr. M Neal,
There being a number of parishioners at the meeting the Chairman opened by welcoming the public and enquired if anyone wanted to speak.
Residents of Covill Close presented a petition in favour of the removal of the picnic bench and detailing reasons with regard to noise problems lasting late into the night, litter being thrown over garden fences and other nuisances which had been occurring since the installation of the picnic bench. Prior to the bench’s installation there had been no problems encountered by residents.
A villager mentioned lack of facilities/clubs for children in the village.
There was a long discussion regarding the pros and cons of the picnic bench and the Chairman also put forward the Parish Council’s perspective on the matter, i.e., the bench was sited on land leased to the Memorial Hall and as such it was up to the Trustees of the Memorial Hall to decide on the way forward. The Chairman confirmed that the picnic bench was back in the hands of the Parish Council but due to vandalization damage, needs repairing. However, there is no allocated money in this year’s budget to instigate this at the present time. He further advised that the Parish council needs to decide whether a picnic bench is the best way forward or whether it would be more beneficial for more standard benches in the recreational area, but any decision in this environment would have to be agreed with Memorial Hall Trustees.
After various forms of feedback to the Parish Council, the Chairman stated that Facebook is not representative of all the villagers as there are many none Facebook users who are not represented by this medium. Bearing this in mind the Chairman advised that the Parish Council is looking at setting up a new community website for the village in an effort to improve communications.
A request for Dog Poo bins was made, and this is something the Parish Council will look into.
Jeff Thompson advised one householder had not been looking after their hanging basket and had left a note asking the householder to remember to water the plants. He further advised that the Church clock was going well.
1. Apologies for Absence: Cllr. H Fletcher – Family commitment
Cllr. K White (unwell)
Cllr. A Maughan (LCC)
Cllr. Stephens (SKDC)
2. Declarations of Interest/Dispensations
None.
3. Minutes signed from previous meeting
The Minutes of the meeting held on the 5th June were duly agreed and accepted as a true record. Proposed by Cllr. Mavros and seconded by Cllr. Beckett
4. Chairman
a) Business Case for new website
The Chairman ran through suggested reasons for establishing a new website were mainly to improve communication within the village. He advised the present website is mostly policy based. He envisages the new website will be community inclusive and can also include aspects with the Memorial Hall activities. He suggested there could be a “Local Traders page” where revenue could be raised by making a small annual charge. Any revenue earned would be returned to the community as a “Not for Profit” exercise. There would be a contact us page to improve access to the Parish Council.
The Chairman ran through the costings, the current website costs are the region of £510 per year for webmaster services but no hosting costs as these are met by LCC. The Hosting costs of the new website would be in the region of £72. A proposal was made for the new website to be given the go ahead proposed by Cllr Critchley seconded by Cllr. Mavros.
Cllr Bridle requested the Chairman write a statement to the Parish Council confirming ownership. The Chairman was happy to do this.
b) Parish Council Revenue Streams:
The Solar Farm – The Parish Council had recently been informed Lightsource BP had sold the development to a company called Sonnedix. As part of this sale our Community Payment has been transferred to Sonnedix and will be honoured once electricity starts to be generated, but there is no date for this at the present time.
SKDC Grants – it was agreed to form a small sub group to actively look at different Grants available to the Parish Council. The Chairman advised funds from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the sum of £3.89 million has been allocated to SKDC which is available until March 2025. A few ideas were suggested to enable a request to be made for such Grants; new bus shelter, Solar Panels to Memorial Hall, Village signs to install, hanging basket costs and dog fouling bins.
The Grant Fund Team – Cllr. Austen, Cllr. Cundall and the Chairman.
Cllr. Beckett advised of the Local Economic Forum which is taking place this week, where Grants will also be discussed.
Section 106 – Community Development Grants which can be applied for. The Parish Council has not been successful in the past. It was advised that applications need to be made pre-planning approval.
5. Clerk & Members to report back on matters outstanding.
a) Clerk Report
The Clerk advised LALC have now been requested to allocate an Internal Auditor for the Parish Council and details will be forwarded to me in August. This new arrangement will entail two internal audits per annum.
Regrettably it has been necessary to give notice to withdraw £7,500 from our 95-day deposit account to make sure there were sufficient available funds to meet the loan repayment at the beginning of October.
Despite the Clerk’s very best efforts the new signing arrangements for the Parish Council Bank accounts are still not in place with Virgin Money and I have now been asked to arrange for a Resolution to be agreed with regard to these arrangements.
6. Official Correspondence and Circulation
Letter received from Parishioner advising they would like to donate a memorial bench to be placed at Hill Top Cemetery. It is acknowledged there are already seats but if the memorial bench is allowed the parishioner would meet the cost of moving the existing bench.
A discussion took place with regard to the standard benches currently in situ at Hill Top which were agreed by resolution at a meeting of Parish Councillors on the 25th July 2013.
A long discussion took place after which it was agreed that the request for the Memorial bench would be allowed but the Parish Council would need to approve the design. A decision will also have to be made as to the re-location of the bench currently in situ.
Whilst on the topic of the cemetery The Clerk advised that she had received a request for ashes to be interred at Hill Top of a village family member who had long associations with the village but had moved away. Again, a long discussion took place after which it was agreed to amend the rules to state that “Exclusive Rights of Burial can only be purchased by a resident of the Civil Parish of Great Gonerby or if due to medical necessity moved into a nursing home, hospice or hospital their last permanent home was in the Parish or by a person having been born in the Parish of Great Gonerby. The fees, payments and sums set out below apply where the person to be interred or in respect of whom the right of burial is granted is a resident of the Civil Parish of Great Gonerby as per the electoral roll, or, in the case of a still born child, where the parents, or one of them, are such residents.
If the person to be interred is not a resident at the time of death and an Exclusive Right of Burial has already been purchased then the interment fees will be doubled unless due to a medical necessity as above. All interments are at the discretion of the Parish Council.”
This proposal was proposed by Cllr. Cundall and seconded by Cllr. Mavros.
Email correspondence received from two parishioners requesting the reinstatement of the picnic bench.
LCC have made known there are litter picking kits available to Parish Council. It was decided to apply for 6 sets. The Clerk will make the request.
Email correspondence from the Memorial Hall advising of an increase in the cost of the wi-fi by £4.50 a month. This was agreed.
Email correspondence advising of defibrillator funding available.
Email correspondence regarding dog fouling services
Two SKDC Electoral Register Updates received
Email from Cllr. Maughan advising he had reported missing linings and cats’ eyes on the slip road to the A1 and National Highways are sending an officer to inspect. An update is awaited.
Cox’s Walk footbridge – works are still scheduled and will hopefully take place in this financial year, LCC Report for July which is attached to these Minutes.
Mail correspondence from SKDC advising Pond Street sign is being repaired.
Email correspondence from SKDC regarding the Local Economic Forum – Cllr. Beckett attending the July meeting.
Request received from Parishioner for a Rainbow flag. This is to receive consideration at our September meeting.
Email from Heartbeat confirming the replacement of the cabinet box to the defibrillator outside the Post Office.
Email correspondence from SKDC regarding location of CCTV in the village
Email correspondence from SKDC regarding the Local Development Scheme 2023-26
Email correspondence from National Lottery Community Funds advising of Grants available to project benefiting young people.
Email correspondence from Virgin money advising no longer able to use Bank Giro slips to deposit cash at Post Offices from September.
7. Review of Health and Safety Policy
The above was reviewed and unanimously agreed.
8. Review of Fixed Asset Register
This was deferred to next meeting
9. Review of Flag Flying Days
Briefly discussed but it was requested to defer to next meeting.
10. Events Group Update
Cllr. Davey updated the meeting on the forthcoming Car Boot Event and confirmed this is still going ahead despite the weather. She advised that Cllr. Critchley had kindly agreed that his field can be used as a car park.
11. Financial Matters
a) Budget Report – Chairman
The Chairman presented his financial analysis spreadsheet which detailed:
Incoming
Our spend Budget for 23/24 is allocated at £34,560
Our current balance across all Bank Accounts sits at £38,854.61
Outgoing
Our fixed costs currently show us operating below budget by £1,610.31
Our variable costs currently show us operating above budget by £550.08 predominantly caused by higher than expected Repair Costs.
Summary
The overall position relates to an underspend YTD of £1,044.23 and a good end to Quarter 1.
As a Parish Council we endeavour to review additional areas of revenue income and these will be discussed in our meeting on 17th July 2023
b) Accounts for Payment
The Clerk presented the following accounts for Payment:-
ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT
07.06.23 BDG Mowing 2 x Grass Cutting and 1 x Verge Cutting 584.00
07.06.23 E J Walker Mileage 21.60
08.06.23 Powershift Pond Area Power Wash and Weed Treatment 235.98
09.06.23 Heartbeat Annual Support for High Street Defibrillator 126.00
13.06.23 Post Office Ltd 2 x 2nd Class Stamps 12.00
19.06.23 Amazon Storage Boxes 23.99
27.06.23 Staff Salaries June salaries and Computer 647.38
30.06.23 HMRC Tax Payment 472.60
30.06.23 Verity Ferguson Lockdown Photobooks 103.94
03.07.23 Crimson Kings Hedge Cutting down Grantham Hill 270.00
03.07.23 B & Q Wood Filler for Charlie 13.66
04.07.23 Amazon Paper Plates for Car Boot Day 16.99
04.07.23 Amazon Disposable spoons for Car Boot Day 11.98
04.07.23 Amazon Disposable forks for Car Boot Day 12.98
06.07.23 BDG Mowing Grass Cutting x 2 Mowing Grass Verges and weed spraying x 2 628.00
07.07.23 Holroyds Traditional Sweet Shop Sweets for Car Boot Event 30.98
10.07.23 npower Electric for Hill Top Cemetery 75.64
RECEPTS
02.06.23 Virgin Money Cash Back on Expenses Account 0.53
19.06.23 Events Committee Cash Deposit 55.50
30.06.23 Virgin Money Interest on 95 Day Deposit Account 57.11
30.06.23 Virgin Money Interest on 30 Day Deposit Account 2.02
30.6.23 Virgin Money Interest on Deposit Account 9.55
All payments were agreed unanimously
c) End of Q1 Accounts
The end of Quarter 1 accounts were duly agreed and reconciled with Bank Account balances, signed off by the Chairman.
d) Bank Signatories Resolution
A Bank Resolution was signed by the Chairman, Vice Chair and Clerk allowing for any two signatories to authorise payments and make bank transfers going forward.
12. Advisory Groups
a) Planning
APPLICATIONS
S23/1006
Mrs S McKeown
20 Covill Close, Great Gonerby
Single storey porch to front elevation
APPROVED
S23/0650
LCC Ref: PL/0016/23
Moor Bio-Energy Ltd
To vary condition 2 (approved plans and documents) condition 4 (feedstock tonnage) condition 10 (landscaping) and condition 16 (gas exports) of planning permission S18/2119 at Land east of A1 Gonerby Moor.
S23/0775
Mr J Heinzman & Ms S Boardman
27 Belvoir Gardens, Great Gonerby
Single storey rear extension and alterations to porch
S23/0472
Other
Submission of details in relation to Condition 3 (written scheme of archaeological investigation) of S23/0278 (Section 73 application to remove condition 15 of planning permission S21/0873 – Erection of a freestanding single storey restaurant with drive-thru facility, car parking, landscaping and associated works, including Customer Order Displays (COD), Goal Post Height Restrictor and Play Frame)
S23/0614
Mrs S Eddison
South Cottage, Gadds Lane, Belton
Single storey rear and side extensions
S23/0346
Southerington
Land to the west of Northgate Vehicle Hire, Occupation Lane
Outline application for change of use of land to B2 and B8 use classes
b) Environment
A request from Cllr Fletcher received to purchase cleaning materials so the benches at Hill Top can be cleaned. Cllr. Critchley agreed to help in this respect.
c) Amenity Areas
Nothing reported.
d) Highways
An update on the Speed Watch Scheme was discussed. The scheme is not working well at present due to lack of volunteers and time constraints. Further thought needs to be given to the way forward. A suggestion was made to include “Speed Awareness Signs” indicating actual speed into the village and these to be sponsored using the SKDC Grant scheme. This Item is to be re-discussed.
13. Update on meeting with Chairman of Memorial Hall
The chairman advised that it was felt that the meeting had been of benefit to both parties. The Chairman has promised to work with the Memorial Hall Committee and help where we can. Ian Skellern had advised of increased costs in running the hall which he is reluctant to pass on to users.
A discussion regarding Memorial Hall VAT recovery took place and avenues are being explored to overcome this problem.
Ian Skellern advised that he was happy for Cllr. Davey to continue to be involved in both the Parish Council and Memorial Hall and to act as a liaison for both parties.
The Working Group was discussed and has not been disbanded but will be activated once actions and projects that will benefit both parties are identified.
The Chairman was of the opinion that it was a productive meeting and thanked Ian for his support at the Parish Council meeting tonight. The Chairman advised he was eager to support Ian Skellern going forward.
14. Notice of motions for future meetings
a) Electric Charge Points in the village – this was deferred to the next meeting.
15. Any Matters for urgent discussion
Cllr. Bridle presented a letter from Diane Gee with regard to the outcome of a survey she instigated on Facebook. This was partially read out. The Chairman advised that he had had a meeting with Diane Gee to discuss her survey and other matters and requested future correspondence is forwarded to him to deal with via the correct channels. He advised Diane Gee that whilst the Parish Council is happy to accept opinions delivered using Facebook as a medium, not everyone in the village is familiar or wishing to use Facebook and therefore all avenues of feedback must be considered. The village Facebook site therefore, though a recognised and essential village media channel, garners only users’ opinions but cannot solely represent the whole village and therefore wholly influence Parish Council decisions.
The Chairman therefore requested that as before, all future correspondence is fed through the Parish Clerk or himself going forward so this can be registered and distributed in line with policy.
Cllr. Davey asked for clarification on repairs to the picnic bench – the Chairman confirmed that before our next meeting, thought would be given to the repair costs and also new location and this would be discussed as part of our September Agenda.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 21.45.
Flag Flying Days: 14th August V J Day (Victory in Japan)
3rd September Merchant Navy Day
11th September 9/11 Twin Towers (to be flown at half-mast)
15th September Battle of Britain Day