Minutes July 2021
Present:
Cllrs: D Spittlehouse Chair. P Rushton Vice. P Fotheringham. S Barrow. M McDaniel.
Clerk. L Holman.
Also Present:
Cllr J Milne
2 Members of the public
Absent:
Cllr A Fotheringham
All person's present were given a copy of the risk assessment, and contact details were taken for track and trace.
Matters Raised in the Public Forum
Thanks were given to the person who had put signage up on Cade Lane regarding dust from vehicles.
Several potholes have been filled in but not all on Cade Lane.
Trees on High St. On top of the bank need cutting
Report from Cllr J Milne
WL have put in for a 30-million-pound bid to do up the market place.
The old Co-op is going to be pulled down to make way for a cinema.
The toilets on the riverside to be a café and more garden work along that stretch.
Guildhall now open and all meetings are being held there, trying to re-open all offices after covid restrictions with people working from home.
English Heritage now own the Old Hall.
Work is planned to improve the bus station.
The council meeting commenced at 7.15 pm
34/21 TO RECEIVE AND RESOLVE TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES OF ABSENCE:
No apologies were received.
35/21 TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST UNDER THE LOCALISM ACT 2011:
There were no declarations of interest.
36/21 MINUTES OF MEETING – 18th May 2021:
It was proposed by Cllr Rushton and seconded by Cllr Barrow that the official minutes of meeting held on the 18th May 2021 are approved as correct records and signed by the Chairman. Resolved.
37/21 TRAVELLER SITE UPDATE:
On the 9th July an email had been received from Nigel Periam with the latest update as regards the enforcement notice being served.
The clerk read out the email received.
Following service of the Notice we have no record of the PCN being returned and I have submitted a prosecution file to our legal services for non-compliance. Unfortunately, we don't have the required information to be able to serve an enforcement notice at this time on all persons with an interest in the land – which we are required to do under planning law. Unfortunately, this is a weakness/loophole in planning legislation. Hopefully once the matter has been dealt with by the court the information will be forthcoming, otherwise we will carry out further prosecution(s). If the information is still not provided after several prosecutions, we will make the decision whether or not to issue an enforcement notice as the owners case at any appeal (on the ground that we didn't serve the notice on every person with an interest in the land) will be significantly weakened by any such conviction(s), though I'm not aware of any case law that supports the Council if we were to take such a step. Unfortunately, this sequence of proposed actions is likely to prolong the presence of the waste on the site.
Cllr Milne asked the clerk to forward her all correspondence received from Sir Edward Leigh regarding this matter and that she would be in touch with the fire department to enquire whether any action was taken by them about the fires. Action required.
38/21 FOOTPATH 50 UPDATE:
The latest correspondence from Chris Marsh at LCC.
The footpath doesn't have an all-weather surface but I'm reluctant to concede that means it's 'out of repair' in consideration of its customary form. It was an unmade path muddy on occasion and that led us to improve it in the past when funds were more readily available. That improved path has been scuppered by, I believe, unauthorised alteration of ground level and filling in of a ditch meaning the surface water now drains onto the path.
The enforcement remedy to those developments should have followed by the planning authority and the internal drainage board. Neither would take action regarding the matter however.
There was no documented outfall for the ditch hence the IDB's assertion that it was not a ditch but simply a long thin pond and outside of their remit to enforce the re-excavation of that. The same lack of outfall means there's no immediate scope to drain the path. The seasonal flooding would only be eliminated by raising the level of the path to match the adjoining raised ground, which would see the surface water discharged into the road or flow across the path onto the adjoining properties. There is no formal drainage from recollection in the road into which footpath if raised would direct surface water.
Adding a layer of stone is unlikely to offer a lasting solution until and unless successive applications raised the level of the path as described above. I would not propose a boardwalk in a village setting because of the initial provision and subsequent maintenance costs.
It is unlikely that I will propose works to this path I'm afraid.
39/21 PARISH ALLOTMENT:
Allotment has been taken by a resident and a contract was signed between the Parish Council and the tenant. Resolved.
40/21 N DANN RETIREMENT:
All Councillors praised Norman for all his good work over the years and a thank you card was signed by the Councillors. It was suggested to ask Stuart if he would undertake the extra work as and when required. All agreed.
41/21 CARRAIGEWAY FROM LONG LANE TO KNAITH:
“Jet patching” work has been carried out by LCC Highways. Resolved.
42/21 BROADBAND FIBRE UPDATE:
The Clerk and the Chairman attended a meeting with Quickline and representatives from West Lindsey and LCC at the village hall on the 19th May 2021.
Following discussion Quickline agreed to the following five-point plan:
1. Quickline will email all existing customers to acknowledge the challenges and what we have / are doing to improve speeds across Upton and Kexby
2. Quickline will submit a proposal through to BDUK to secure funding for the Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme
3. Quickline to look at increasing capacity at the repeater site to stabilise speeds in the interim.
4. Quickline to produce a flyer to encourage residents to register interest for fibre to the premise (FTTP) electronically in the first instance for Facebook.
5. Following successful approval from BDUK we will door knock / complete further community engagement events in order to fulfil the minimum number of vouchers to make sure it is commercially viable.
The clerk informed the meeting that no other correspondence has been received since.
43/21 CENTRAL LINCOLNSHIRE PLAN:
The Central Lincolnshire Local Plan draft is now open for consultation; the closing date is 24th August 2021.
44/21 FINANCIAL ISSUES:
The Clerks salary was proposed for approval by Cllr. P Fotheringham and seconded by Cllr Rushton. Resolved.
All payments and receipts were approved. Proposed by Cllr Barrow and seconded by Cllr McDaniel. Resolved.
45/21 PLANNING APPLICATIONS FOR CONSIDERATION:
143057 36 High St. Extension. No objections.
143151 7 High St. Garage & workshop. No objections.
Cllr P Fotheringham asked to speak about the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.
The Clerk informed the Council that it was going to be included on the agenda at the next meeting.
In the meantime, to liaise with Kexby to see if a committee can be formed and to think about ideas.
The meeting closed at 8.10 pm.
The next meeting will be held on the 14th September 2021.