November 2021 Minutes

Minutes of Stow Parish Council Meeting Monday 22 November 2021 7pm held in Stow Minster Chancel

Present: Cllr Duncan, Cllr Justham, Cllr Martinson, Cllr Turner, Cllr Hewitt, Cllr Taylor

In attendance: Mrs L Gibbs, Clerk

Public Question Time

There were no members of the public present.

185.  Apologies for Absence

Cllr Read sent apologies

186. Declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and any dispensations that may arise

There were no declarations of interest on the items on the agenda.

187. Minutes of previous meeting of Monday 6 September 2021

It was proposed by Cllr Martinson and seconded by Cllr Justham to accept the minutes of Parish Council Meeting as a true copy of the meeting, subject to an amendment to Item 181, which should say The Councillors will rod the drains at the Cemetery gate.

In addition to the above it has since been noted that agenda item 15 from the September meeting had been missed of the minutes: -.

“The replacement of the tree on the village green was discussed in detail, the Council had different thoughts on where a new tree should be planted and it was resolved to put the question to the residents in the next edition of the Bugle, to establish their views.”

Where the dyke has been cleared ready for rodding by the Cemetery, there has been some fly tipping. Cllr Duncan to put a reminder in the Bugle about fly tipping.

188. To agree Accounts from last meeting

6th September 2021 – 22 November 2021

Receipts

SRF £543.60 for Agri Cycle Bench

SRF £132.00 for village sign design

Bank Balance as of 22/11/2021 £7505.20

In addition to the above, an invoice for £27.00 was paid to LALC for Chairman’s workshop.

The accounts were accepted and proposed by Cllr Turner and seconded by Cllr Justham. It was Resolved all in favour to accept the accounts.

188. To agree the budget for 2022/2023

The budget prepared by the Clerk was received by the Council.

It was proposed by Cllr Taylor and seconded by Cllr Martinson to accept the budget for 2022/2023 all in favour and Resolved

189. To agree the precept for 2022/2023

The Council received the recommendation not to increase the precept for 2022/2023.

It was proposed by Cllr Hewett and seconded by Cllr Turner all in favour and Resolved

190. To discuss the importance of having a dedicated email address for Council work.

Cllr Duncan reminded the Council of the importance of having a separate e mail address for their Parish work. ICO guidance is that information held in private e mail addresses may be subject to the 2000 Freedom of Information Act if it relates to official council business.

192. To discuss the Cottam and West Burton Solar power project.

The Council received Cllr Duncan’s report on the issues for consideration on the Cottam solar fields that will directly affect Stow residents. Further issues were added and Cllr Duncan agreed to draft the response to the consultation for the Parish Council, a draft will be issued for Council agreement.  In the special edition of the Bugle residents will be advised to complete the form and return it before the deadline.  

193. Update on the removal of the power transformer on Ingham Road

Cllr Coulson sent the following based on the response from WLDC.

“WLDC feel that NPG have followed due process, however, they are looking into how a decision can be reviewed as apparently the guidance isn’t very clear.

 They do point out that, the DEC guidance is clear that the public service benefit of maintaining the network seems to be the overriding critical factor in decision making.  What WLDC officers are hoping to do is encourage Norther Power Grid to engage with the Council to see if there is a way of finding a solution, as well as getting clarification on decision reviews.

 They will keep us informed of progress.”

194. Update on removal of Northern Power Grid high voltage supports in the play area.

The Council has given Northern Power Grid official notice to terminate the agreement with the required one year’s notice.

Northern Power Grid have acknowledged the termination notice and the Clerk is now awaiting an official response.

195. Update on Sturton and Stow Neighbourhood Plan.

The regulation 16 consultation has been completed and the results are on the West Lindsey District Council website.

The next stage is to appoint and examiner for the evaluation; the tenders will be sent out and the appointment panel will be in January.

196. Update on play park

Cllr Duncan thanked Cllr Martinson for his hard work removing the old climbing unit and clearing the pile of shrub and building up the soil in the boggy area.

The new climbing unit is in position and blends well into the playpark.

The Council agreed to engage a handy man to carry out small jobs in the play park as and when necessary.

SRF have agreed the wording for the new inclusive piece of equipment in the play park and the Clerk will get some prices for a new piece of equipment for the next meeting.

197. Update on meetings with Highways and Acis.

Cllr Read was not at the meeting but had sent his report to the Clerk in advance.

• Four fairly large areas of St Mary's Crescent have been patched which is particularly welcome in the context of the general renovation in St Mary's Crescent and South Drive. 
• The landlady from the Cross Keys and Cllr Reid met with Steve Hudson of Highways on 29th Sept to discuss the placement of signs to warn drivers on Stow Park Road of the presence of the play park and possibility of children playing in the street there. Suitable locations were chosen, and Cllr Reid obtained the verbal agreement of the owners of the land for the signs to be placed there. Highways have issued job orders to have the work executed,
• Sixty potholes were repaired in Church Road in late October. Thirty of these have been repaired properly, by saw-cutting the edges of the hole before filling with asphalt, and then sealing the edges. The other 30 have been repaired by dropping a blob of asphalt into the hole and then tamping it down - a type of repair which tends to have a short lifetime. On 1st November Cllr Reid emailed Steve Hudson (the engineer in Highways) asking why the difference in the method of repair, but has yet to receive a reply.

We still await the execution of a job order Highways have issued to check whether the surface water and foul sewers in Church Road are connected. This is important as excess rainwater mixed in with the sewage could contribute to overloading of the pumps in Church Road and/or the sewage plant in Sturton.
Clerk was requested to report that the dyke, on the north side of the narrows from Stow to Ingham and where the crane fell into the dyke, has not been repaired correctly and is dangerous.

198. Update on the next issue of Stow Bugle
 

Cllr Duncan will produce a short issue regarding the Cottam Solar project and will send the draft out to Council for approval asap.

199. Update on Cemetery

Clerk asked the Council to consider asking the grass cutting contractor to quote for a three-year contract for the January meeting. It was resolved all in favour.

200. To discuss the replacement of the tree for the one removed from the village green.

Members present were of the view that the open aspect was preferred and the replacement tree(s) should be in the cemetery area rather than the Parish Field as that would mean more people could enjoy them. A view was also expressed that it would be good to have a bench on the green, perhaps, with a shrub. This will be considered at a later date.

It was agreed that the Council should plant two trees in the cemetery area. Some discussion took place on the choice of tree with preference for silver birch. Cllr Taylor undertook to source saplings. 

Proposed by Cllr Justham and seconded by Cllr Martinson the purchase and plant in the Cemetery two trees to replace the one removed from the village green and Resolved all in favour.

The Council agreed to express an interest to Cllr Coulson in having one of the trees and plaques agreed through the Prosperous Communities Committee at West Lindsey for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Given the September public consultation resulted in a preference for a replacement tree to be planted on the village green opposite the church gate, the Council has decided to plant a tree there in 2022 to mark the Queen’s Jubilee.

201. Update on Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership speed watch warden volunteers

Clerk has obtained a quotation for the equipment from LRSP, Clerk explained to the Council that after every session a report has to be submitted to LRSP this will need a co-ordinator to carry out the task and rotas for the session which will need to be carried out in Stow.

The Council agreed to defer this to the March meeting.

202.Update on Planning Applications

143876 – Notification of wood pole overhead line rebuild, Foxby Lane, Stow Park Road Gainsborough.

203. Meeting ended 9.00 Next Meeting Monday 10 January 2022        

Please be advised that these are notes of the meeting taken by the Clerk and cannot in any way be regarded as the official minutes of Council proceedings until they are approved and signed at the next meeting.