November 2021 Minutes
KEXBY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting held on 10th November 2021
Present; Cllr. R. Gore (Chair), Cllr. S. Farrow, Cllr. L. Hoggarth, Cllr. C. Hunt, Cllr. D Forrest
In attendance; Cllr. J. Milne (WLDC)
Apologies; were accepted from Cllr. C. Cuckson
28/21 Minutes of the meeting held on 22nd September had been circulated and were approved
29/21 Matters arising
a) Banking arrangements – Covid still being used as an excuse by Barclays for lack of progress, the Chairman to continue to chase.
Action RG
b) Fibre Broadband – the Clerk had spoken to Hayley Silvester (HS) from Quickline for an update prior to the meeting. The voucher scheme had been approved and, providing there was sufficient demand, they were ready to begin a fibre-to-the-premises (fttp) scheme encompassing Willingham, Kexby and Upton. They would require an initial expression of interest from a minimum of 30% of premises to make this viable.
There was a limited pot of money available for Lincolnshire and villages with the highest level of uptake would be given priority. It was agreed that the first round of publicity would be a feature to go on the village facebook and website pages. HS agreed to draft something out for the Parish Council’s approval and asked that they added their support by pointing out that if this opportunity, supported by the vouchers, was missed it was likely to be some time before fttp would be available free of charge again.
HS suggested that this could be followed up by a drop-in session in the village hall in January, possibly on a Saturday afternoon/early evening, fliers could also be considered to be followed up by door-to-door recruitment. The latter form of engagement had proved to be more effective when carried out by local residents than by Quickline in other villages.
The Clerk expressed concern that progress meetings scheduled via Microsoft Teams were not working, there had been several failed attempts and a more robust arrangement was required. The Chairman agree to speak to HS regarding this.
Action RG
c) Parish Cottage – the Clerk had prepared and circulated a report as requested at the last meeting. Cllr. Hoggarth and the Clerk had attempted to arrange a landlord inspection at a mutually convenient time with the tenant but this had not been possible. It was agreed that this needed to be completed as soon as possible and the Chairman agreed to undertake the inspection, along with renewal of the tenancy agreement as soon as possible.
Action RG
d) Platinum Jubilee – the initial public meeting was very poorly attended but it was decided that preparations should continue. Sue Roberts from Upton had agreed to form a committee and to date had three volunteers from Upton and one from Kexby, anyone interested in being involved should contact Sue. A second meeting had been planned for 8th December but it was decided that this was too soon and the Clerk was asked to cancel the village hall booking. Upton PC had agreed to provide commemorative mugs to all children under the age of 16, a sample had been obtained. Because the company providing the sample could only supply in large quantities it was felt that this would not be cost-effective and Cllr. Hunt offered to investigate alternative options.
Action GP/CH
WLDC had some grant funding available which could be applied for on line.
e) Public footpaths – the footpath from the well to Willingham Road was overgrown in the final section, GP offered to clear this before the end of November.
Action GP
f) Telephone box – the Clerk had offered to speak to Chris Petty regarding the paint peeling off the woodwork, he had not managed to do this to date but would do so shorty.
Action GP
30/21 Clerk’s Report on progress since last meeting – the Clerk updated the Council on progress with on-going Parish Council business. This included traffic speed on Kexby Lane, LCC had made an initial assessment which determined that further investigation was justified on the built-up section at the western end. They would be conducting a traffic survey in due course. It also contained an update on the Glentworth Road drains, these had coped fairly well with recent heavy rain although some of the pipework on the north side still appeared to be blocked. LCC had not yet returned to seal the manhole to prevent tree roots returning and causing further blockage. The Clerk would continue to monitor the situation. LCC had upgraded the status on their work to replace the post for the bus stop sign by the wooden bus shelter to “work scheduled” so this should occur in the near future. The Clerk noted how several residents were helping to keep communal areas tidy which included the mowing of grass areas, maintaining the flower tubs, and keeping the books tidy in the telephone box. The Parish Council expressed their gratitude.
31/21 Financial Report – the financial position remained healthy, expenditure had been minimal during the Covid Pandemic but there may be some catch-up work required as conditions eased. The playing field committee were likely to be seeking some support for the renewal of the children’s play area in the next financial year, the Clerk was asked to request more detailed information.
Action GP
32/21 Precept for 2022/23 – it was agreed than an estimate of £2,000 should be submitted and this would be reviewed at the January meeting.
Action GP
33/21 Correspondence
a) Jack Bowles – had written to the Parish Council seeking their support as he worked towards his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. This would involve litter picking as before and fund raising for the purchase of some new litter bins. It would be a twelve-month commitment but would have to fit in around his GCSE examinations. The Parish Council were happy to support Jack once again and Cllr. Farrow agreed to act as his mentor once again. The Clerk would respond to his letter accordingly.
Action GP
b) Local listing of heritage sites – Heritage Lincolnshire, in partnership with LCC and the Borough Councils, were aiming to create a list of sites of local heritage significance that warranted consideration in the planning system. Local listing would strengthen the case for preservation and conservation of such sites but would not afford the same level of protection as national listed status. The well and telephone box were suggested as initial ideas, although it was agreed that the on-going work to secure greater protection for the well should continue.
Action GP
c) Gate Burton Energy Park – the Chairman had asked the Clerk to contact local Parish Councils to suggest a combined approach to this major development. The first local consultation event, a drop-in session at Willingham village hall from 10:30am – 2:30pm on 18th November, had already been organised, members were encouraged to attend. Cllr. Milne advised the Parish Council that WLDC were creating a register of objections to the schemes and encouraged the Parish Council to support this.
d) Flooding review – Cllr. Milne had been attempting to arrange a remote meeting between local Parish Councils and a representative of LCC to discuss local flooding issues but lack of a response from other Parish Councils meant that this was not viable.
e) Playing field – a request for funding to support the upgrading of the children’s play area had been discussed under “Financial Report” earlier
f) Transport Plan – LCC were preparing a 10 year plan and invited members of the public to complete their survey at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/news/article/841/what-does-the-future-of-transport-look-like by 1st December.
g) Citizens Advice – a request for funding had been received but the Parish Council had already responded to a similar request in May of this year. The clerk was asked to respond to say that we could not support them twice in the same financial year.
Action GP
34/21 Any other Business
a) Undelivered emails – the Clerk explained that, in some instances, emails were being returned “mailbox full” when forwarding information to members. He requested clarification on whether he was required to print off and deliver the information in such cases. It was decided that this should not be necessary and members were requested to check their email status regularly to ensure that they did not miss out on such information.
b) Website analytics – the website support to which the Parish Council subscribed were offering a new service, at no extra cost, to analyse website usage. It was agreed that this could provide some useful information and the Clerk was asked to accept the offer.
Action GP
Time and place of next meeting – it was suggested that the Parish Council tried to stick to a regular slot for their meetings, the second Wednesday of the month was suggested. Cllr. Farrow pointed out that the WI used the hall on the second Wednesday of the month but their meetings had moved to afternoons. It was agreed that the Parish Council would try for the second Wednesday and, if the WI wanted to revert to evenings, they would review this. Cllr. Hoggarth asked if the time could be brought forward, 6:30pm was suggested and agreed.
The next meeting would therefore be held in the village hall at 6:30pm on Wednesday 12th January 2022