2022 Minutes

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Minutes of an Extraordinary Assembly of Sutton Bridge Parish Meeting held 18:00hrs Tuesday, 01 November 2022 at the Curlew Centre.

Present:
Parish Council Chair: Cllr Anne Scarlett
Parish Clerk: Mr Robert Smith
Admin Assistant: Mrs Karen Croxford
Guest speaker: Mr Roger Sandell, Ridge and Partners LLP
Parish Council Members: Cllr Chris Brewis, Cllr Kim Davies, Cllr Rachael Goodwin, Cllr Colin Robinson, Cllr Terry York.
Other local electors: four 
Other non-residents: five

1. Welcome

1.1. The chair, Cllr Anne Scarlett gave welcome.

2. Apologies for absence

2.1. Apologies were received from Cllr David Bruch, Cllr Michael Booth, and Cllr Simon Booth.

3. Previous minutes 

3.1. It was agreed to approve the minutes of the Parish Meeting held 05 July 2022 as an accurate record.

4. Plans for a new pavilion in the Memorial Park

4.1. The chair handed over to Mr Sandell to provide an update on the new pavilion project.

4.2. Mr Sandell introduced himself as the project manager, brought in by the Parish Council to manage the building project.

4.3. Mr Sandell explained that since the last meeting the Parish Council had compiled a wish list of requirements for the new building, this had been formulated into a tender document for the appointment of an architect and principal designer.

4.4. There had been a good response to the tender and three successful applicants had been invited to an interview, unfortunately one applicant withdrew due to workload. 

4.5. Following the completion of the interviews, Oglesby & Limb Ltd, a local company based in Spalding, had been appointed as architect and principal designer.

4.6. On completion of a standstill period and subject to no challenges from the other applicants, Oglesby & Limb Ltd would be invited to meet the committee and start working on the project.

4.7. The chair invited comments about the Project from the meeting.

4.8. It was asked if the residents of Sutton Bridge had been asked if they wanted a new pavilion and if they were aware of the costs associated with it. It resident reported that discussions had taken place on Facebook that were opposed to the plans. The clerk reported that at the last Assembly of the Parish Meeting  in May 2022 [correction: the previous Assembly of the Parish Meeting took place 05 July 2022. No Assembly took place in May 2022. R. Smith 07/02/2023], which had been arranged to discuss the matter, those present had indicated that they were in favour of the new building including the indicative costs discussed. Further Parish Meetings would be held to consult with residents on the project. The project and its projected costs were regularly discussed at Parish Council meetings to which all residents were welcome and where any concerns or objections could be raised during the time indicated set aside for public involvement. All Parish Council decisions and associated costs were recorded in its meetings’ minutes which were published on the Parish Council’s website https://sutton-bridge.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/

5. Plans for new play equipment in the Village parks.

5.1. The clerk reported that from 2020 onwards, the Parish Council had attempted to engage with South Holland District Council (SHDC) in improving play equipment in those village parks controlled by the District. In July 2022, the Parish Council submitted a discussion document to SHDC with the view of moving the matter forward. Despite regularly chasing up on the matter, a response from the District was still awaited.

5.2. The Parish Council had invited the relevant Assistant Director from SHDC to the next Council meeting 13 December 2022, to discuss the matter further.

6. Plans for this year’s Christmas Lights 

6.1. There had been recent reports in the press about the excessive costs of obtaining a licence from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC). This was needed to allow the Parish’s Christmas lights to be attached to LCC streetlight columns.

6.2. More recently, the Parish Council had accepted a revised offer from the LCC for the license agreement. If these terms had been declined, it would have been unlikely that the village would be able to have any street Christmas lights this year. The agreement was based around a reduced licence fee of £350.00 along with a requirement to test the 21 LCC streetlight columns that had the festive attachments.

6.3. A seasonal unmetered electricity supply agreement from 01 December to 05 January 2023 was being concluded for the Christmas lights.

6.4. The Parish Council had issued a statement to the press, which was also published on its website, noting the acceptance of the new LCC terms.

7. Other matters

7.1. Mad Hatters Grant Application

i. A question was asked about a recent grant application made by the Mad Hatter’s group, which had been considered by the Parish Council at its last meeting. The clerk reported that as required by its grant policy, applications should be submitted with copies of the applicant organisation’s previous years financial statements. Additionally, and in line with the Council’s policy, the Parish Council had asked that the Mad Hatters provide a copy of its bank statements, and risk assessments related to the group’s activities. To date, none of the documents requested had been received.

ii. The resident responsible for submitting the grant application to the Parish Council said that he was happy to demonstrate the good governance of the Mad Hatters group but that the group was legally prevented from submitting financial accounts to the Parish Council. In any event, he stated that the proposed activities were now being financed privately and he withdrew his application.

7.2. Mutual Gain Play Equipment Grant

i. A question was asked about what had happened to the £10,000 grant given by Mutual Gain to Project Play to update play equipment in the Princes Street play area. 

ii. The clerk reported that South Holland District Council owned this area and pending any progress with the Parish Council taking over responsibility for the area, the group that received the grant, Project Play, should contact the District Council about installing its play equipment in the park.

7.3. Christmas Tree for the village green

i. It was asked if an update could be provided about placing Christmas tree lights on the village and holding an event for the community. The clerk reported that this was currently being worked on and a decision would be made at the next Finance Meeting 29 November 2022.

8. Next Meeting.

8.1. The next Assembly of the Parish Meeting was scheduled to take place 17 January 2023.

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 18:35hrs