Minutes May 2020

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday 18th May 2020

at 7:00pm remotely via Zoom, due to Covid 19 Pandemic

 

Item

Discussion

1.Attendance and Apologies

Attendance:                                                   

Cllr Bourne –Chairman                                       

Cllr Orton -Vice Chairman                                  

Cllr Sardeson                                                              

Cllr Foster                                                                                              

Cllr Watson

Cllr Burns

Mrs A Riggall – Clerk

Apologies:

Cllr Hollidge

Cllr Oxby

Also in attendance:     Cllr Lundgren – NKDC

                                        Cllr Cucksey – NKDC

                                        1 member of the public       

2. Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson

Councillor Bourne stood down as Chairman of Potterhanworth Parish Council. No nominations from other Councillors received, therefore Vice Chair Councillor Orton stands as Acting Chair until a new Chairperson is agreed at a later date following this meeting.

3. To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies

Police Crime Report

The police report for February 2020.  2 crimes reported on or near Queensway, both relating to violent offences.

The police report for March 2020.  1 burglary reported in Potterhanworth Booths.

 

NKDC Matters:

Cllr Lundgren: Began by thanking Cllr Harold Bourne for all the work done as Chair over the last 6 years and all the support given. NKDC are now effectively providing support in relation to Covid 19. The District Council are now able to hold online meetings. The next phase for NKDC will be considering the recovery from Covid 19 both within communities and economically. A great deal of income has been lost and NKDC are working with Local Government Association to ensure they are not unduly treated. There has been a very positive response from volunteers in both Potterhanworth and Branston. The food bank in Branston has been very successful and has been able to support people in need in surrounding villages including Potterhanworth. They have been receiving donations from individuals and organisations such as the Cooperative, Morrisons and FoodShare. Further information can be found on the Facebook site: Branston Parish Council Covid-19 support group.

 

Cllr Cucksey: Please see attached Appendix 1.

 

4. Public Open Forum

Cllr Foster raised an issue on behalf of a Parishioner regarding stiles on footpaths. Cllr Foster asked whether it would be possible to add gates for older and larger dogs. Cllr Sardeson will contact the Rights of Way department at LCC to ascertain whether a gate could be added, but this would need to be in agreement with the landowner. 

 

5. To receive Declaration of Pecuniary Interest

None

6. Matters Arising from previous minutes

  • Foodbank requirements. Cllr Bourne contacted Branston Foodbank and confirmed that they are able to offer their facilities to residents of Potterhanworth if needed, therefore a Foodbank in Potterhanworth is not currently required.
  • Bus shelter grant. Contact from LCC has been in touch, due to long term absence this has not progressed, but will now be reconsidered.
  • School safety zone. School have not received update but will inform Clerk when information is received.
  • Play park repairs. Waldemar Belcynski will begin agreed work around Play area shortly. Clerk will ask Mr Belcynski for a fixed price quote for sanding down and painting play equipment.
  • Defibrillator update. Cllr Bourne has spoken to resident at no. 23 The Park and they have agreed that a defibrillator unit could be mounted on side of garage and power feed through from property. Cllr Bourne proposed purchase of a ZOLL AED 3 Fully Automatic with AED Armor Stainless Steel Locked Cabinet at the cost of £1735.00 + VAT. This was agreed by all Councillors present. Cllr Bourne suggested adding a meter and refunding the resident a nominal amount which is slightly over the base cost, as a goodwill gesture. Cllr Watson highlighted that the cost was likely to be around £12-15 per year at current electrical prices, this was found when conducting research while looking at a defibrillator grant. Cllr Orton will contact 3 qualified electricians and seek quotes for fitting defibrillator unit and purchase and installation of meter.
  • Football pitch drainage. Cllr Bourne has been unable to contact golf course regarding levelling of pitch. Cllr Foster will take over and contact golf club and rugby club.
  • Gardening and village maintenance work. Cllr Bourne and Cllr Foster met with Waldemar Belcynski and discussed scope of grass area around The Park and area around the War Memorial, a fixed price was then agreed. Cllr Watson will consult with councillors to agree the frequency of cutting and when it is deemed necessary. Clerk requested clarification on area in front of Church, which Continental have been unable to cut. Church group have been cutting this area, but Cllr Bourne highlighted the requirement that they hold public liability insurance. Cllr Watson will contact Church.
  • Christmas lights. Cllr Foster is looking at engineering a solution but cannot currently access work premises to try to fix. 
  • Policies. As some policies have been updated by LALC and all policies are listed on their website Cllr Sardeson queried whether individual policies for each Parish Council are necessary. Cllr Watson suggested that Potterhanworth should stick to templates set out by LALC. Cllr Foster suggested adding footers to highlight latest review dates. As this has not all been completed and agreed it was agreed by all present that this be deferred to next month’s meeting. Cllr Bourne recommended LALC training in order to keep up to date with changes to legislation.

 

7. To resolve, notes of the meeting held on 27 April 2020 are approved as the Minutes

It was resolved that the notes of Summary of Decisions sent on 27th April 2020 are approved as a correct record and will be signed by the Chairman.

 

 

8.

Correspondence Received

 

  • LCC have been in contact regarding website update. This has been delayed due to Covid 19 but will still be going ahead.
  • Contact with Stuart Watt regarding hedging. This may be possible from July. Cllr Orton has agreed to contact Mr Watt at the end of June to give details of areas which need trimming, this will include area around Playpark and hedge down the side of the track to the Pavilion.
  • Footways around village. LCC have resurfaced footways around village but some areas have been missed. Cllr Sardeson will follow this up with LCC for further clarification as Barff Road, Queensway and some other areas have been missed.

 

9. To resolve purchase of defibrillator and cabinet

As discussed during matters arising from previous meeting.

10. Reimbursement of expenses for Cllr Hollidge

Cllr Hollidge requested £3 per month reimbursement for upgrading data usage on mobile phone in order to access Zoom meetings. Councillors discussed whether this would be exclusively for Parish Council business and it was highlighted that there are other ways of getting access. Councillors present all agreed that they are not in favour of accepting this application.

11. Review of Policies and Procedures

As discussed during matters arising from previous meeting.                                               

12. Planning Applications received

 

 

Planning Applications Potterhanworth

 

20/0496/HOUS. 7 Church Lane -retrospective planning permission for demolition of conservatory and erection of single storey extension. Councillors discussed this being a retrospective application and Cllr Watson will formulate a response for NKDC.

13. Pavilion committee update

The cleaner had been furloughed due to Covid 19, but Cllr Bourne followed government guidelines recommendation that those that can go back to work should, therefore Miss Page will return to work from 1st June.

Cllr Sardeson has looked into whether a business grant would be possible for the Pavilion, but as this is a charity, business rates are not paid therefore a grant would not be possible.                                                                                                   

14. Annual Governance and Accountability return

The internal auditor is finalising details this week and everything should be prepared for the next meeting in June. If an external audit is required the date for this has been extended due to Covid 19.

15. Finance

 

 

 

 

 

 

May

All Payments total = £1208.21

Balance total = £27,177.95

NS & I balance = £13,067.05

 

16. Dates

  • Date of next meeting:  29th June 2020. This will be carried out as before via Zoom, including a dial in from telephone for those without internet connection.
  • Future meetings: 2020:  27th July
  • Annual Meeting of the Parish: Due to Covid-19 this has been delayed until further notice.

 

Cllr Orton ended by thanking Cllr Bourne for his work as Chairman over the last 6 years. Everyone thanked Cllr Bourne for his work and dedication to the role.

 

PARISH COUNCILLORS TABLE OF ACTIONS

B/F and from meeting held on 18th May 2020

 

Action

Resp. Person

Start date

Finish date

Complete

Stiles on Footpaths -investigate gates for dogs with LCC

Cllr Sardeson

18/05/20

 

 

Bus Shelter Grant – Cllr Oxby will make further enquires

Clerk

24/06/19

Ongoing

 

School Safety Zone – Clerk awaiting details from school

Clerk

 

Ongoing

 

Play park repairs– awaiting fixed price quote for painting of equipment

Clerk

28/10/19

 

 

Defibrillator – purchase unit and contact 3 electricians for quotes

Clerk & Cllr Orton

28/10/19

 

 

Football pitch drainage and levelling – Cllr Foster to contact grounds person at Golf course and Rugby club

Cllr Foster

27/01/20

 

 

Frequency of grass cutting at The Park and around War Memorial to be decided

Cllr Watson

18/05/20

 

 

Grass area in front of Church -to discuss whether Church have correct insurance to take over cutting of this area

Cllr Watson

18/05/20

 

 

Christmas lights -to be repaired when access allows

Cllr Foster

24/02/20

 

 

Policies -Clerk to consult with Cllr Lundgren and LALC website

Clerk

27/04/20

 

 

Hedgerows around Playpark -Cllr Orton to contact Stuart Watt end of June

Cllr Orton

18/05/20

 

 

Footways around village -investigate reason why some paths have not been resurfaced

Cllr Sardeson

18/05/20

 

 

Formulate response to NKDC regarding planning applications -until new Chair has been agreed

Cllr Watson

18/05/20

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs Andrea Riggall      31 May 2020

Appendix 1. Cllr Cucksey. District Report May 2020

During these rather unusual times virtual meetings are being held regularly with Heads of Service to establish the impact of Covid19 on the Council. Additional costs will continue to fall as we step up to deliver much needed support during the emergency.

 

Members of staff are being mobilised to work from home - with all IT facilities, -i.e. computers and telephones. In terms of workload and priorities, the impacts have been significant - in terms of collection and recovery of monies due to the Council, levels of benefit and Council Tax Support claims, requests for data extracts from the Revenue and Benefits ITC system, as well as being central to the assessment and delivery of grants and reliefs to qualifying businesses.

 

The early financial implications of the Coronavirus for the Council impact on the Council’s cashflow. The Council produces a detailed cashflow forecast based on normal operation as its primary control function to ensure that at all times sufficient cash resources are available to meet all expenditure demands.

 

The potential financial effects for the Council’s General Fund, Housing Revenue Account, Reserves, Capital Programmes and Collection Fund and the resulting impact on the Council’s projected cashflow.

 

“We started the year in a good financial position, having protected our reserves for instances and we’re using the extra government Covid19 funding carefully. In the first tranche the council received £54.883 and in the second £1,169,321 totalling £1,224,159.

 

The financial impact of COVID-19 on the council's budget has been significant. It includes:

  • Lost income from suspension of car parking charges, closure of leisure centres and other commercial services
  • Lower income from business rates and council tax than forecast in the council's budget

 

The full financial implications for the Council of the Coronavirus pandemic are yet to materialise but are highly likely to be profound for the Council.

 

We’ve also redeployed resources and staff into essential services to make sure that vital support is available where it’s most needed. However, it’s clear that this national crisis will reshape people’s lives and livelihoods, which means we’ll be even more in demand going forward. This inevitably comes with a cost.