September 2021 Minutes
Minutes of a meeting held on 22nd September 2021
Present; Cllr. R. Gore. Cllr. S. Farrow, Cllr. C. Cuckson, Cllr. L. Hoggarth
Apologies; had been received from Cllr. C. Hunt, Cllrs. D.Forrest and D. Edwardson failed to receive notification of the meeting due to internet problems.
20/21 Minutes of meeting held on 22nd July these had been circulated, they were approved and signed
21/21 Clerk’s Report on progress since last meeting – due to technical failure of the internet the electronic copies had failed to be delivered, hard copies were circulated to those present. The Clerk would forward electronic copies with the minutes when they were sent out to keep members who were not at the meeting up to date. The report was discussed and accepted.
Action GP
22/21 Matters outstanding
a) Banking arrangements – the Chairman was still in discussion with Barclays Bank, managers were no longer able to set up new accounts and he had been referred to a remote office. The process appeared to be cumbersome and time-consuming but he would continue to seek a practical way forward. It was noted that all banks were reluctant to take on such small accounts these days.
Action RG
b) Fibre Broadband – as stated in the Clerk’s Report no progress had been made since the visit of Quickline in May. The Clerk had asked Quickline for an update but had received no response although recent broadband failure had probably resulted in recent requests not having been received. A remote Broadband Forum, convened by WLDC, was scheduled for 28th September the Clerk would attempt to take part, broadband permitting, and would raise the issue. In the meantime he was asked to contact Hayley Silvester (of Quickline) to ask whether the licence had been applied for as promised at the May meeting.
Action GP
c) Parish Cottage – complaints had been received regarding the state of the garden, the Chairman had written to the tenant asking him to address the issue and he had begun to do so. The situation would be monitored and reviewed at the next meeting.
A Landlord’s inspection and renewal of the tenancy agreement should be conducted annually, The Covid Pandemic had disrupted the process but it was felt that it should now be addressed.
Cllr. Hoggarth agreed to undertake the work and the Chairman agreed to furnish her with the appropriate paperwork.
Action LH/RG
The Parish Council had an obligation to review the rent periodically as managers of a parish asset. The Clerk was asked to prepare a report for the next meeting detailing recent maintenance costs, historical rental rates and rates charged for similar properties in the area.
Action GP
d) Notice Board – the wood on the back of the notice board had deteriorated and was in need of replacing, Cllr. Hoggarth offered to approach Scott Dunderdale to see if he would repair it if the Parish Council paid for the materials.
Action LH
23/21 Standing Orders – the 2018 model for Standing Orders had been revised in 2020, LALC had recommended the adoption of the revised edition to Parish Councils. The revised edition had been circulated to Councillors, Cllr. Farrow proposed their adoption, seconded by Cllr. Cuckson and agreed unanimously
24/21 Financial Report – the electronic copies had failed to be delivered, the Clerk provided hard copies to members present and would forward electronic copies with the minutes for members not present. The budget was predicting and end of year surplus of around £11,400 in the current account which was likely to be considered too high by the external auditors. The surplus had built up due to limited activity during the Covid Pandemic and there had been a period of minimal expenditure on the Parish cottage. It was likely that the playing field committee may request some financial support for improvement work to the children’s play area, the village hall might need some support due to loss of income during the pandemic, and there would be a certain amount of expenditure needed for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The possibility of moving some money into the Business Reserve account was discussed but interest rates were so low that it was decided to defer any such decision.
25/21 Correspondence
a) Internal audit – LALC recommend the use of trained auditors and regard a mid-year audit in addition to year end as good practice. The Council felt that, given the minimal financial activity in a small parish, it was unnecessary to have two audits per year. They were very satisfied with the current auditor and unanimously agreed to ask Jo Snell to continue in the role.
b) Fly tipping – an incident on Glentworth Road had been reported to the Parish Council who put in a request to WLDC to have it removed. This work had been completed satisfactorily.
26/21 Platinum Jubilee – the Clerk had approached Upton Parish Council who had agreed that a joint approach was appropriate and suggested an open meeting for residents of both villages to get ideas on what sort of celebrations they would like. It was agreed that a meeting should be held on a Wednesday evening in October and Kexby Parish Council would cover the cost of hiring the village hall. The Clerk was asked to liaise with Upton Parish Council to agree a date and devise a flier to be circulated to all residents of both villages.
Action GP
27/21 Any Other Business
a) Clerk’s pay and expenses – the electronic copies which had been circulated prior to the meeting had failed to arrive but a hard copy was presented to the meeting Cllr. Farrow proposed acceptance which was seconded by Cllr. Cuckson. They were signed off by the Chairman.
b) Recent technical difficulties – the Chairman acknowledged that the recent technical difficulties with broadband had prevented email reminders and papers for the meeting having been delivered. He asked to put on record his thanks to the Clerk for all his efforts, the Parish Council recognised that the broadband issues were beyond his control. The Chairman suggested that the Clerk keep a record of internet problems and, if the situation didn’t improve, pass this on as evidence to the local MP.
The Clerk had adopted this approach some years earlier without any success.
c) Public footpaths – the footpath between High Street and the playing field had been trimmed following earlier complaints but quickly got grown up again, it is quite a narrow path which will make it an on-going problem.
The path between the village green and Willingham Road was severely restricted at the Willingham Road end. It was thought that some building materials were being stored on the path this, combined with excess vegetation, was causing the restriction.
The Chairman offered to investigate and to speak to neighbouring properties as required.
Action RG
d) Telephone box – some of the wood around the bottom of the telephone box had rotted, the Clerk was asked to consult Chris Petty to discuss repairs.
Action GP
Date and time of next meeting – agreed as Wednesday 10th November at 7:30pm in the village hall