Minutes 2022

November 2022

CLAXBY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of Meeting of Parish Council held on Tuesday 8th November at 7.30 p.m. 

Present: Cllr B Hunter (Chair), Cllrs P Strong, M Reeves, I Cumber, H Wilson, J Lindley-Baker, J Pilbrow. Representing the village hall committee: D & J Lofthouse. Representing the Jubilee Committee: C Saywell. Also present: D Beer (Parish Clerk), Cllr Tom Regis, Cllr S Bunney (arrived 8.00), 2 members of the public.

As Cllr Regis had an appointment at another parish, the open forum was used to ask advice on the proposed car park in the playing field. Cllr Regis commenced by saying how impressed he was with the work that had been done and congratulated the Village Hall Committee for their hard work and vision. He was aware that the village hall would be more viable if there was car parking available and suggested that funding might be available for this to complement the funding already promised by Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service.

1. Apologies for Absence – none (except Stephen Bunney had given notice of his late arrival)

2. Declarations of Interest - none

3. To approve minutes of the meeting held 10th August 2022 – approved and duly signed.

4. Chair and Council’s Comments:

  • The chair reported that a sign had been fitted to the gate to the playing field saying “No camping without permission; no fires or barbecues”.
  • A meeting run by the LCC Emergency Planning Group was held on 23rd August and the council is following this up by devising a local plan.
  • A meeting was held on 2nd September with a contractor to obtain an estimate for creating a car parking area. (No estimate has been forthcoming from this contractor).
  • A further meeting regarding the proposed car parking area was held on 21st September with Paul Munday.
  • A meeting was held on 28th September with Alastair Williams to discuss cutting back overgrown hedges and trees around the playing field and dog walking filed. (See final bullet point of clerks’ report).
  • A Harvest Supper was held in the Viking Centre on 21st October and was attended by 32 people, raising £200 for the Salvation Army food bank.
  • The afternoon tea at the village hall on 29th October, in aid of Breast Cancer Now, had raised £280. The organisers (Cllrs Lindley-Baker and Pilbrow) would like to record their thanks to those who had helped to organise the event and brought raffle prizes and to those who had given their support by attending and donating so generously.

Councillor’s Comments – Cllr Lindley-Baker felt we should offer congratulations to the organisers of the Hallowe’en Event in which many families took part. The photos of the pumpkin displays are on the website.

 

5. Clerk’s Report on outstanding matters:

  • The clerk reported that the interpretation board posters are now installed. A photo had been taken for a press release to publicise the new design and the tourism department is now using our design as a model to update posters for all other villages. Thanks to those who contributed ideas. 

 

  • The clerk asked that the Claxby Parish Council email address be used for all communications. He asked Councillors not to send emails regarding Parish Council business to his personal email account. Furthermore, the PC email is not a group address; emails to this address come to the clerk only. Any emails sent to all Councillors should be replied to by using the “reply all” function. This is particularly important when communal decisions are needed ahead of a meeting. 

 

  • It had been reported that the marquee leaked at the Jubilee celebrations. It may need taking back to Beltec at some point.

 

  • There will be road works on Mulberry Rd on 12th Dec by Anglian Water and the road will be closed.

 

  • Damage to the verge opposite the development on Normanby Rise had been reported. The clerk agreed to contact the developer.

 

  • The clerk circulated a quote from AJ Williams for cutting back the trees around the playing field. The estimate was more than we could afford, and the clerk agreed to get a further quote and to look at approaching volunteers to do the basic clearing work.

6. LCC Councillor updates: Cllr Stephen Bunney’s report can be seen here.

Cllr Bunney had chased up our request for gritting and suggested we contact Highways early in the Spring to see if we can be included in the 2023 gritting schedules. Cllr Strong enquired about the volunteer Speedwatch scheme and Cllr Bunney explained that this required commitment from volunteers and would cost £500 for the equipment.

7. Finance: 

Accounts for Payment: It was resolved to pay the following accounts:

  • AJ Williams August 3 cuts £396.00 and 2 cuts in September £264.00. October £132.00
  • E-quip 16.80 for signs for playing field
  • Reimbursement to Paul Strong for his purchase of 2 commemorative plaques and mahogany backing (one for the Jubilee Garden and one for the oak tree) the money to come from the remainder of the Jubilee fund. £81.90 + £42.64. 
  • Clerk’s fees: £275.44
  • Clerk’s Expenses and purchases: £68.02
  • HMRC: £68.80
  • Refund of broadband subscription to Village Hall account: £26.00
  • By direct debit: Wave £36.14, Bank Fees £18.00, Electricity (E-on): 124.49

 

Issues with Lloyds Bank: Lloyds have failed, after three requests, to add the additional signatories that we require. The clerk has made a formal complaint. At the moment, the account is running smoothly, as all the expenditure from the account has been approved by the PC and (apart from some grant money) transferred from the PC account, but when the hall starts to generate income and needs to approve expenditure beyond the grant income then we will need more signatories from the PC to approve payments.

 

8. Planning applications – Application reference no: 145504: replacement dwelling at Willowbanks Stables.

This was approved by the Council, but it was noted that the plans indicate that it is not a replacement for an existing building but a large detached house on a separate plot. 

9. Correspondence: 

  • a letter from Northern Powergrid, apologising for the recent power cuts and saying the situation is being monitored.
  • A notification from E-on that the village hall will be entitled to receive reductions in the electricity bills via the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. This will happen automatically and will be backdated from 1st October.

10. Expressions of interest for deputy chair – none.

11. Emergency Plan : Along with Cllr Strong, two residents (Colin Saywell and David Lofthouse) have got together to flesh out the plan and allocate jobs and functions. More work has yet to be done before the draft plan can be signed off. They were thanked for their time and enthusiasm for this project.

12. Village Hall:

  • A report on the works done so far was circulated: click here to view
  • A list of possible activities and uses for the hall was circulated: click here to view
  • Defibrillator: It was resolved to devolve responsibility for monthly checks to the village hall committee.
  • Music licence would cost £139.20 + 10% of the hall’s income annually. It was decided to wait until there was a clear idea of what type of bookings would be made.
  • Car parking – 2 estimates had been obtained for an area of 580 msq. Allowing for approx. 20 cars. Grassmats: £9240 inclusive of materials and installation. Grassform: £12180 (materials only. Digging out and gravel required). Funding would be applied for to cover the full cost. It was resolved to form a sub-group made of village hall committee members and councillors to move this forward.
  • Bookings – a form has been devised and is hosted on the LCC website. Members of the parish would have use of the hall free of charge for the first 12 months. Suggested charges for other groups: £10 for the first hour and £5 for subsequent hours. (A question was raised about an additional charge for heating in the cold months).
  • If regular food events were held we would need to register with WLDC as a food business – free to register but involves inspection.
  • Draft terms and conditions can be seen here and Councillors were asked for their input.
  • Funding to complete project. The clerk was asked to apply for the balance of the Match Funding grant, now that most of the work is complete.
  • Future funding/earnings/responsibility for bills (including broadband): to be discussed at a later date.
  • The chairman asked what should be done with the old chairs. Clerk to contact Andrew Lyle to see if he was prepared to store them.

13. Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations: Colin Saywell gave feedback on the event. See his report here. It was proposed to hold a similar event for the Coronation, and Cllr Bunney suggested similar funding would be available.

14. Christmas tree: it was resolved to give £70 of PC funds towards the purchase of a tree.

15. Defibrillator Training: it was agreed that training could be given, in small groups, to any volunteers that were prepared to give their time.

16. Dates of next meeting: Tuesday 7th February 2023

The meeting closed at 9.30 p.m.