13 May - Minutes

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 13 May 2024 at Social Centre, Sea Lane, Saltfleet

Present:                            Chair                                Cllr Guy Williams

                                            Vice-Chair                      Cllr Matthew Benton, Cllr Peter Mace, Cllr Sheila Warsap, Cllr John Campion

 

Also Present:                    Clerk                               Mrs Binal Sawjani

                                               

                                            Members of Public      12 parishioners

                                             District/County             Cllr Daniel McNally

 

Apologises:                                                                Cllr Ian Dickinson (Accepted), Cllr Graham Barker (Accepted)

Item 0524/01 Welcome to the meeting: Chair opened meeting at 19.09 and welcomed the public and explained that the APM that had been held before the council meeting and parishioners were invited to speak and all comments made by the public had been noted and recorded here after the election of the chair.

Item 0524/02 Election of Chairman: The chair asked for nominations and Cllr Guy Williams was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED. Cllr would like to state that he would only be prepared to serve one more year as Chair. Declaration of Acceptance was signed.

Item 0524/03 Handover to new Chairman: Not required

Item 0524/04 Appointment - Vice Chair: Cllr Matthew Benton was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED

Item 0524/05 To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any requests for dispensations: None

Meeting opened to the public:

  • Parishioner expressed that Louth Road next to Pump Lane has sizable potholes which forces cars onto the wrong side of the road or really close to the near side of the road where the road is quite uneven and could damage cars. Chair recommended that parishioners should report to fix my street and we would do this as a council as well.
  • The parishioner continued to explain that the quad bikes are causing issues around the Saltfleet Haven sign. Chair recommended that the Police should be called and possibly the Environment Agency. The Chair is waiting for a date for the next liaison meeting with Lincolnshire CC, E. A. and English Nature and will bring the matter up there.
  • Wild camping – this has been widely advertised online encouraging unauthorised camping that can disturb ground nesting birds.
  • A parishioner asked about the bus scheme and what are the arrangements for Saltfleet. Cllr McNally explained that PC Coaches has made route available that are commercially viable and district council has had made recommendations to run all year round. However they have provided this bus service by not tagging onto the current Saltfleet bus route.
  • The parishioner also asked why payments made by parish council are not in the minutes. Chair explained that all payments have been on the minutes and held up minutes to show this. All minutes are available on website for the parishioners’ pursual. Clerk explained that an expense for the council sheet should be created for each meeting and that from next meeting this would clearly show the expenses. The was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED.
  • A parishioner asked if we could give permission for a gate to be taken down by The Hill as the gate does not remain closed and causes issues for parishioners that are going through with young children and prams. There was much discussion on this matter and council’s will report it to the Footpaths Officer at Lincolnshire county council for their opinion.

Item 0524/06 Apologies for absence received and approve: Apologies received and accepted from Cllr Graham Barker and Cllr Ian Dickinson

Item 0524/07 To approve the draft notes as minutes of the last meeting held on the 4 March 2024: It was RESOLVED to adopt and sign the notes as accurate minutes, and they were dated and signed by the Chairman.

Item 0524/08 Chair’s Report:

  • Council would like to express our condolences on the passing of David Campion. He contributed enormously to village life for many years and will be sorely missed.
  • elcome to Binal Sawjani as our new Parish Clerk.
  • A huge thank you to our temporary clerk Pauline Plumridge for stepping in and holding the fort on behalf of the council. It was agreed that flowers to the sum of £35.00 would be sent to Pauline. Proposed, seconded and RESOLVED

Chair invited Cllr McNally to speak: (19.18)

  • The RSPB is leading a bid to get parts of the East's coastline named a UNESCO World Heritage site. An application for wetlands along the East of England's coast to be added to the UK’s Tentative List of World Heritage sites has been submitted to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. It comes after a new report indicates the east coast is one of the world’s most important places for nature.
  • Stop pylons campaign continues and further consultation with groups and landowners continues. Grimsby to Walpole | National Grid ET discussion about the size of the substation has been rumoured to be size of Alford.
  • Holiday activities programme funded by the government is still available for school holidays. More details Holiday Activities and Food Programme – Lincolnshire County Council
  • Department for Work and Pensions’ £842 million Household Support Fund extension comes into from April 2024. Extra money given to councils to provide further help to most in need with essential food and energy costs. Vulnerable households and families encouraged to check their council website for details of support available Household Support Fund – Lincolnshire County Council
  • The Environmental Crime Partnership has been setup to protect Lincolnshire’s environment by working together to effectively tackle waste related crimes. Their aim is to:
    • Reduce and prevent fly tipping across Lincolnshire, by bringing all relevant agencies together and working in partnership. And to find new and innovative methods for closer working, both operationally and strategically.
    • Campaigning for tougher legal action on fly-tippers (much discussion on places in the parish where this occurs). The partnership have contributed to the campaign lobbying central Government for tougher legal action on fly-tippers. Currently, sentences handed down do not always match the severity of the offence committed or fairly reflect the costs incurred by the public purse. This means that punishment for the offence of fly-tipping does not act as a suitable deterrent. Lincolnshire Environmental Crime Partnership (lincolnshire-pcc.gov.uk). A scheme called ‘catch a tosser’ will accept footage from dashcams if fly tipping has been captured. Report fly-tipping form v2022 - About this form - NORTHLINCS.GOV.UK (achieveservice.com)

Cllr McNally left 19.23

Item 0524/09 Training:  Training available to all Staff and elected Members and clerk recommends councillors to take as much training as possible as we have paid into the LALC training scheme. Cllrs to see LALC website.

Item 0524/09 Parish Councillors’ Reports: No reports

Item 0524/10 Parish Matters To receive updates from in respect of:

  1. Consideration of portable toilet for summer season. Council to provide one toilet at the far end of the play equipment so that the campervan owners cannot use it to empty their waste.
  2. Wood fencing around play area, gaps being utilised by young children to pass through with possibility of nails being left in wood rail. This has been fixed however another area needs attention and this will be done by next meeting.
  3. One loose wood panel on roof of play structure. This has been fixed.
  4. Update on radar speed indicator signs (DF11)- The cost of the two machines with four mounting plates is £8,458.73 and advise from Unipart was that the they  do not work unless there is a clear 300m before but could be  limited to use at 150m but did not give drivers enough time to reduce speed before passing them. Chair proposed that as this decision has been resolved that we purchase one this year and look to purchase second one next year. As we have a grant from the district council we need to be clear on our decision otherwise the grant will need to be returned. Volunteers will be needed to move the signs and the Chair thanked Neville Drury and Sharon Liddington for offering to help with this.
  5. Update rules issued to owners or relatives of deceased for burial plots on what can be placed on plots in respect of plants or objects in addition to approved grave markers. Rules to be resent to funeral directors
  6. Household grant schemes has been extended as noted under district councillor points.
  7. Update on burial ground – There is a further expense on this matter as the county historians want us to carry out an archaeological dig on the site before burials take place. The cost from Allen Archaeology in Lincoln will be £5000 if we supply the digger and driver. If they find anything then the costs will rise again. Also the Environment Agency have put in a formal objection because they want a ground water and water course survey and report to demonstrate that the ground water will not be contaminated by our decomposing. If a permit is necessary the initial cost will be £2708 with £256 pa thereafter. There are still outstanding costs of legal fees and new hedge.  As a council we could look to move some costs to next year and allow when planning for percept 2025.

The chair also explained that a burial plot is £150 for a resident in the village, £300 for people outside of the village. His research showed that Church of England prices are £192 and North Somercotes charges circa. £300 whether you are in or outside of the village. Should we amend the prices to be in line with the area and, if so, should there be a notice period? After much discussion and final decision was deferred to next meeting. Proposed, seconded and RESOLVED

  1. Beach cleaning day – Date proposed 25 June in conjunction with Wildflowers and Coast Guard. Start at the Haven. Volunteers required
  2. Kings Portrait – Has been received and will be given to village hall
  3. Grass cutting – Saltfleetby FC are looking after the grass cutting on the field. They are doing an excellent job with no cost to the parish. Glendale  will continue to cut the burial ground and approach at £55 each time.
  4. Angus Energy – liaison meeting 4 July and minutes will be posted on website. The consultation documents have been sent.
  5. Meeting venue The village hall committee have increased their charge to the parish council by 25% for the coming year. The Methodist Church are happy for us to use the church hall for a donation of £100 for the year.

Item 0524/10 Bank Account and online banking: Clerk has proposed that we look at our banking arrangements and see if are receiving the best interest rates and investigate the provisions for online banking.

Item 0524/11 Expenses: None.

Item 0524/12 Correspondence: Election of Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire area is Mr Marc Jones. LALC summer conference is on 24 July and clerk would like to represent the council at the event.

Item 0524/13 Future meeting dates: To note the date of the next meeting Monday 1 July, Monday 2 September, Monday 4 November

Item 0524/14 Financial matters:

  1. Bank balances 04 April 2024 £25,848.42
  2. To note income for April – None
  3. To authorise the signing of orders for payment for May 2024 two invoices for Pauline Plumridge £14.40 mileage and £115.02 for clerk services.

 

Meeting ended 20.39