2023 Minutes

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Minutes of the meeting of Sutton Bridge Parish Council, held 19:00hrs Tuesday, 31 January 2023, in the Curlew Centre Bridge Room, Sutton Bridge.

Present: Cllr Michael Booth, Cllr Simon Booth, Cllr Chris Brewis, Cllr David Bruch, Cllr Kim Davies, Cllr Rachael Goodwin, Cllr Michelle Pitt, Cllr Colin Robinson, Cllr Anne Scarlett (chair), Mr. Robert Smith (clerk), Mrs Karen Croxford (admin assistant), County Councillor Jack Tyrrell, three members of the public.

Absent: Cllr Terry York,

Unless otherwise stated, actions to be undertaken by the clerk.

23.001.Apologies for non-attendance were received from Cllr York.                    .

23.002.Declarations of interest

01.As a tenant of the Parish Council, Cllr S Booth declared an interest on agenda item 30 on Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs)

02.As a close relative of a tenant, Cllr M Booth declared an interest on agenda item 30 on FBTs.

23.003.Representations from members of the public.

01.As a member of Sutton Bridge Wombles, the speaker thanked those who had nominated them for an award. They had won a £50.00 meal voucher. During January, they had collected 306 bags of litter and cleared fly-tipping. Unfortunately some fly- tipping had yet to be collected by the District Council (SHDC). Details would be sent to the clerk to chase up.

02.At the November meeting someone had offered help with obtaining a safety at work roadside sign. Unfortunately they had not heard any more about it. The frame had already been obtained, which just needed a printed sign attaching. A quote for this was to be forwarded to the clerk so that an order could be placed by the Parish Council. As covered by current arrangements the cost would be covered by the local District Councillors’ grant allowance as covered later on the agenda.

03.The Wombles reported receiving abuse about rubbish bags being left outside the Memorial Park. However, it had been seen that SHDC were generally clearing the bags promptly.

04.It was asked if the drains for the lay-bys could be unblocked. Cllr J Tyrrell said that he would report this to the County Council (LCC).

23.004.It was resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13th December 2022. Not having attended, Cllr K Davies abstained.

23.005.Police matters.

01.The gates to the LCC picnic area had again been padlocked shut and fencing to the site damaged. The fence has since been repaired and the lock kindly removed by Proctor Farms. A tent had been photographed on the site. The matter had been reported to the police.

02.Cllr Brewis reported that Lincolnshire Police were reducing the number of its Community Support Officers (PCSOs). He hoped that the local area would not be affected. Cllr M Booth stated that the cuts would mean that the promised extra Police Officers would now have to carry out work previously undertaken by PCSOs. It was resolved to write to the Rt Hon Sir John Hayes MP, to call for more policing in the area and that no cuts were made to the number of PCSOs.

23.006.There was no report from the chair.

23.007.The clerk reported on matters arising, not otherwise covered on the agenda.

01.The clerk noted that there were personal circumstances that he would raise in closed session.

02.Information had been updated on the website.

03.Internal bank transfers had been made to cover payments.

04.Information had been submitted to the internal auditor for this year’s interim audit.

05.A resident interested in becoming a councillor had been provided with an application form. However, as no completed application had been received, no co-option meeting had been called.

06.The purchase of speed indicator devices was pending.

07.The Parish Precept requirement form had been submitted to the District Council.

08.New Parish Council bank accounts were to be opened as resolved.

09.Further information from LCC and LALC about emergency plans was awaited prior to a new policy being drafted.

10.Westmere Primary School were to be contacted about involving children and parents in future consultations on play equipment.

11.Persimmon Homes were to be invited to a future meeting to discuss its proposed housing development at a site within Sutton Bridge

12.A letter of apology had been sent to a garden allotment tenant about a recent complaint about committee inspections as resolved at the last meeting.

13.A response had been sent about a complaint of dog fouling in the parish.

23.008.District Council (SHDC) matters.

1.Cllr M Booth reported.

i.Kingdom LA Support Ltd had been contracted to carry out enviro-crime enforcement across the South and East Lincolnshire Councils’ Partnership. They were tasked with tackling littering, dog fouling, fly tipping and other environmental crime. Black spots would be identified, and cameras placed where appropriate. Suggestions for areas to be covered could be submitted to Cllr M Booth & Cllr Brewis.

ii.The Tri-Council Partnership were awaiting a response to the campaign to remove drainage board levies from inclusion in District Council precept calculations.

iii.As a member of the Joint Performance Monitoring & Performance Panel, it was intended to improve the standard of transport and roads in the area so that investment and jobs were encouraged.

02.Cllr Brewis reported.

i.Following a journey home from Boston, he noted that roads in the area were worse than ever.

ii.Cllr Brewis was still hopeful that the debt incurred when SHDC was forced to take out a loan to buy back its houses would be written off. Currently an extra £11/week/tenant would be incurred until 2062.

iii.Cllr Brewis was optimistic that with the voice of Tri-Council Partnership, Internal Drainage Board levies could be separated from the District Council’s precept.

23.009.Following an invitation from the chair, Cllr Tyrrell reported on LCC matters.

i.Cllr Tyrrell urged the Parish Council to submit a new expression of interest in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The Assistant director Mr Matthew Hogan would be happy to help councils with the paperwork.

ii.The Government had cut LCC maintenance funding by £12m. This had a huge impact on the County’s roads.  As reported by the district councillors the roads in our area were in dire need of improvement.

23.010. Finance

01.It was resolved to approve the December cash book and bank reconciliation.

02.It was resolved to approve payments to 31 January 2023 as below. Cllr Goodwin & Cllr Scarlett to authorise bank payments.

03.Receipts noted: burial receipts £1200; LCC verge cutting £1,058.80; garden allotment receipts £50.00; bank interest £193.61; VAT reclaim £2,710.46; wayleave £194.23: Little Sutton PM waste collection £15.00, Little Sutton PM burial ground contribution £100.00.

04.It was resolved to approve the 3rd quarter budget review, including any budget transfers, noting all category totals were within budget.

05.The were no grant requests.

23.011.Correspondence.

01.Correspondence with a resident concerning new pavilion committee matters was noted.

02.It was resolved to submit a further expression of interest to SHDC in the £3.39 million prosperity funding.

03.The B&Q Foundation was providing funding to improve homes & community spaces for which registered charities could apply for up to £5,000. Please contact the clerk for further information.

04.A launch event for the South and East Lincolnshire Crowd Fundraising Platform was being held on-line 14:00hrs Tuesday 7 February 2023. This was intended to give local communities a chance to create and support projects which matter most to them. If interested, please contact the clerk.

23.012.Planning applications.

01.Planning appeal to H18-0005-22: Land Adj. Nightingale Way, Granville Terrace, Withington Street & Chestnut Terrace. Residential development of 123 dwellings. Inspectorate ref: APP/A2525/W/22/3313330. It was resolved to submit an S106 application, along with the existing Parish Council objection, in case the planning appeal was to succeed.

23.013. District Council planning decisions.

01.H18-1180-22: 97 New Road, PE12 9QA. Extension and alterations. Approved.

02.H18-1168-22: 85 Princes Street, PE12 9RF. Single storey rear extension. Approved

03.H18-1156-22: 11 Wharf Street, PE12 9UF. Tree Works TPO 19 2004. Approved.

04.H18-1131-22:  Bridge Hardware, 57 Bridge Road, PE12 9SD. Replacement Windows. Approved.

05.H18-1032-22: Land between 37-39 Falklands Road. To be included within the residential curtilage. Approved.

06.H18-1020-22: 24 Bridge Road. Change of use of first floor to self-contained flat. Approved.

23.014.Highways & footways:

01. Following a complaint from a resident, a street cleaning request was submitted to SHDC to sweep the pavement outside 43 Bridge Road. This was the second request submitted by the PC in the last two months.

02.As circulated, a temporary road closure notice had been received affecting the U21079 French's Road from its junction with U21090 The Marsh to its junction with Wisbech Road. The road would be temporarily closed (except for access) from 25 January to 15 March 2023 for the duration of the works.

03.Cllr Pitt reported that a keep left sign near the junction of the East Bank had been damaged. Clerk to report.

23.015.Committee and working party reports.

01.New Pavilion Committee

i.Draft minutes of the meeting of 10 January were noted. The draft minutes from 17 January were pending.

02.CCTV Working Party Report.

i.It was noted that a potential supplier would be visiting the Parish Office Thursday 02 February 2023.

03.Outside body representative reports.

i.Draft minutes of the Assembly of Sutton Bridge Parish Meeting 17 January 2023 were noted.

04.Other reports

i.The next Allotment inspection would take place 10:00hrs Sunday 12 February 2023. Cllr Brewis, Cllr Goodwin, and Cllr Pitt would be in attendance. It was noted that staff were not required for this meeting.

23.016.It was noted that the District Councillors were supporting the Sutton Bridge Wombles through a grant of £500 to the Parish Council, from which purchases for the Wombles could be made.

23.017.Matters concerning Sutton Bridge Port.

20.04hrs standing orders were suspended to allow Cllr Tyrrell to speak on the subject.

01.Cllr Tyrrell reported that scrap seen at the Port was to be cut up and shipped out.  It was not there for processing. The port was not being used as a scrap yard. He had received an email from LCC stating that planning permission would be required if the Port undertook on-site scrap processing.

20:06 hrs Standing orders were reinstated.

02.The clerk reported that LCC had visited the site and marked out the legal alignment of the public byway and had given the port owners 14 days to reopen the route. It was resolved to delegate authority to the clerk to chase this matter up if necessary.

23.018.No progress had been made getting SHDC to review the status of its Sutton Bridge parks.

23.019.Community Wood

01.Following information received from Cllr S Booth on the England Woodland Creation Offer, it was resolved to put the matter on the agenda for the next meeting.

23.020.It was resolved to delegate the review the Football Club’s (SBUFC) pavilion & pitch fees 2023/24 (as resolved 22.127.01) to the Open Spaces Working Party

23.021.It was resolved to delegate the review Memorial Park Fair charges (2022 - £290 per week plus electricity & water usage plus pro rata for standing charges) to the Open Spaces Working Party.

23.022.His Majesty King Charles III coronation event, 06 May 2023.

01.It was resolved to approve the use of the Memorial Park details as per completed application form. Cllr Brewis and Cllr M Booth offered £500 each from their district budgets for the event.

23.023.A motion requiring requests for support of community events to be brought to the Parish Council before such support was published elsewhere was not supported.

23.024.It was resolved to contact SHDC and obtain the planning decision notice on matters relating to an unauthorised gateway into the Memorial Park.

23.025.There were no requests from members for items to be included on the agenda of a future meeting.

20:57hrs Cllr Pitt, Cllr Robinson, Cllr Tyrrell and 3 members of the public left the meeting.

23.026.It was resolved to move into closed session on the grounds of confidentiality in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 s.1(2).     

23.027.Parish grass cutting.

20:59 hrs Cllr Pitt and Cllr Robinson returned to the meeting.

01.It was resolved to confirm the highway grass cutting agreement with Lincolnshire County Council, excluding areas south of the A17.Cllr Pitt and Cllr Robinson abstained.

21:00hrs the clerk declared an interest in the following agenda item as the contractor undertook work at this home.

02.Following the receipt of two tenders, it was resolved to accept the quote from the existing contractor Heronwood Landscapes. This being overall the most price competitive and the existing service provision was good. 

23.028.New pavilion matters

01.It was resolved to authorise the clerk to sign a letter of intent to Oglesby & Limb Ltd.

02.Following the consideration of quotes, it was resolved to approve a topographical survey of the Memorial Park @ £685.00 (excl. VAT) from MD Surveys.

03.It was resolved to approve the undertaking of a flood risk assessment up to a maximum cost of £600.00 (excl. VAT) subject to tender and final recommendation from the architects Oglesby & Limb Ltd.

04.It was resolved to approve the undertaking of a tree assessment report up to a maximum cost of £645.00 (excl. VAT) subject to tender and final recommendation from the architects Oglesby & Limb Ltd.

23.029.Other quotes

01.It was resolved to proceed with the service of the Church Clock @ £95.00 and to repair clock spring @ £170.00. Funds to be transferred from street furniture budget to cover this.

23.030.Staffing & administration matters

01.The clerk reported on personal circumstances.

02.Regarding staff appraisals, it was reported that only a few appraisal forms had been received. The chairman of the Personnel Committee would arrange a meeting for the clerk’s appraisal.

23.031.Business Farm Tenancies

01.Regarding a previously reported Business Farm Tenancy boundary dispute, it was noted that Savills, who acted as land agents for the landowners, would be undertaking an on-site meeting with the Parish Council’s tenant to resolve the matter

21:14hrs Having previously declared an interest in the following matter, Cllr M Booth and Cllr S Booth left the meeting.

02.The clerk updated the Council on advice from R. Longstaff & Co about issuing a Farm Business Tenancy notice of rent review, prior to 10 October 2023. It was resolved that this should be considered at the July 2023 Parish Council meeting.

The chair closed the meeting at 21.19 hrs.