Minutes 2019-20

SWINSTEAD PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual meeting of the Parish Council held at:

 18.00 on Thursday 9th May 2019

Present: Chairman Bryan Lynch, Cllr C Lunn, Cllr P Cunningham, Cllr M Dermody, Cllr D Darling

 C Hatch (Clerk)

1. Public Forum: One member of the public attended the forum and were most welcome. Mrs Cowan advised the Parish Councillors of a meeting she had while still a Parish Councillor, with the haulage company SJR Contractors Ltd, Mrs Cowan felt the meeting was very productive and hoped the Parish Council would continue to liaise with other haulage companies in the future. She also asked if Cllr Martin Hill could be invited to the next meeting, Mr Hill is looking into road weight limits and could update the council of progress. Mrs Cowan went on to ask if a donation could be made to Mr Hawkins for his years of service to Swinstead in keeping the grass and verges cut and tidy for so many years. Having spoken with Mr Hawkins about this, Mr Hawkins advised, any donation would be much appreciated, however, he would rather it go to Cancer Research. (All these issues to be discussed as an agenda item at the next Parish Council meeting) 

2. Election of Chairman & Vice Chairman:

Declaration of Acceptance of Office forms were completed and signed by all Councillors.

Two Councillors put themselves forward for the post of Chairman, Paul Cunningham and Bryan Lynch. A ballot was held and found in favour of Cllr Paul Cunningham.

Michael Dermody offered his services as Vice Chairman, Proposed Paul Cunningham, Seconded Bryan Lynch.

3. Receive declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011:  

All Councillors completed and signed the:

Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 forms.

4. Apologies for absence:
5.  

5. Minutes of the Previous Meeting: The Minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 7th March 2019 were agreed as an accurate record and signed.

6. Election of Village Hall representative:

Cllr Paul Cunningham advised he is already on the Village Hall committee and would be happy to continue and represent the Parish Council.

7. Review SPC Policies:

Copies of the Standing Orders, Code of Conduct and Risk Assessment were passed to all Councillors for their file. They were asked to read these and raise any queries with the Parish Clerk at the next meeting.

8. Chairman’s Report:

As this was the first meeting for the new Chairman, he deferred to Cllr Lynch who provided the following:

“The Parish Council has gone through three years of turmoil caused by the position of Parish Clerk becoming vacant so many times in such a short space of time, since then we have employed Chris Hatch as our new Parish Clerk and we are on a much more stable footing now, I would like to thank Chris for proving to be such an enthusiastic and reliable Clerk.

Three Parish Councillors have resigned their posts – George Brown, Angeline Percival and Jenny Cowan and I would like to thank them for their service to the village however long or short their tenure

It is pleasing that as a council we are trying to tackle the problem of speeding in the village, we have installed the placards and electronic speed indicator and hopefully we can keep building on that work to keep improving the situation.

We are seeing far less pavement parking since highlighting this at the last Parish Council meeting, it became evident just how much of a problem this was when it was reported by a councillor that he had to knock on three doors to get people to move their cars before he could get by on his mobility scooter and I thank everyone for their understanding over this matter.

Working parties have been set up with great success and their work has seen drains and slipways cleared alleviating the problem of standing water on the village roads and we need to remain vigilant to maintain this standard.

The community orchard is starting to flourish after suffering in last year’s dry summer and we have removed many of the tree guards and the grass has had its first cut of the year.

Our Parish Cleaner is doing a great job in keeping the village and outlying areas free from litter and the position has been a great success which we hope to continue with.

I look forward with renewed enthusiasm that the Parish Council can continue its good work in the coming years.”

9. Parish Clerks Report:

Financial Report

SPC 2018/19 Audit:

The 2018/19 Audit has been completed and can be viewed by following this link; http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Swinstead/section.asp?docId=128219 then click on Minutes & Agendas.

The Clerk was asked how to report Fly Tipping and faulty Street Lighting. “Both of these issues can be reported to South Kesteven Council by any member of the public, simply by following the following links”:

Fly Tipping http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=11225

Faulty Street Lighting https://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/?service=STREETLG

Speed Sign:

Having noticed comments regarding the new electronic speed sign on the community Facebook page, I contacted the manufacturer for some advice. Regarding the unit itself, the radar technology is ten times more accurate than a car speedometer. The unit is designed to activate if a vehicle is travelling faster than the designated speed limit plus 10%. In the case of a 30MPH limit the unit will activate if a vehicle is travelling above a speed of 33MPH. The radar can be activated by a large vehicle, (bus lorries, and the like) up to a distance of 100Meters, smaller vehicles, (Cars, Vans, motor bikes etcetera) up to 40/50 meters.

Positioning

The manufacturers suggest two locations for the unit. First, the entrance to a Town or Village. The rationale here is to advise approaching vehicles they are about to enter a 30MPH speed limit. The onus is on the driver to reduce their speed so that, by the time they reach the 30MPH limit, they are entering our Village at the correct speed. In these locations you can expect the unit to activate many times.

The second location should be within 100 meters (inside) of the entrance of the Village. Here the rationale is to notify drivers they are exceeding the designated speed limit, this should encourage them to break accordingly. If a speed camera were in the High Street and a vehicle were traveling at 30mph + 10% + 2mph = 35mph, the camera would activate, and the driver would receive a nasty brown envelope through their letter box.

This is a portable unit; therefore it can be located in a number of positions in and around the Village, it is early days yet, you will see the speed sign placed in various locations, the three main entrances to the Village, the High Street and  Bourne Road. This is a work in progress.

Correspondence Received:

The Clerk advised the councillors of an email received from The Salvation Army, requesting the possibility of siting a Clothing recycling bank in the village. This was discussed, the consensus of the council was, there was not an appropriate location for the clothing bank. Parish Clerk to respond to the Salvation Army.

The Clerk read out an email from SJR Contractors Ltd, (Following the meeting with Cllr Cowan). The Councillors felt the response was concise, however, it did not address the issues of speeding vehicles, as such the Parish Council will continue the liaise with the haulage companies. 

A planning application notification re amendments to plot7 & 8 Macham Close was received. The amendments were not obvious on the notification, as such, Chairman Paul Cunningham will contact the Planning office to discuss the amendments with the planning case officer, then advise the Parish Councillors prior to representations or approval.

A letter was received from the St Marys Parochial Church Council asking if the Parish Council are able to give a donation to help with the upkeep of the Churchyard. 

After discussion a proposal for a donation of £350 was made by Cllr Lynch, this was seconded by Cllr Darling.

10. Children’s Play Area:

The issue of a children’s play area was raised by Cllr Dermody to consider the installation, cost and feasibility for a play area on the Green at Croake Hill.

After discussion, the Parish Clerk is to speak with District Cllr Nick Robins regarding any covenants, also to contact the Muire Housing Association re a play area.

11. AOB:

Cllr Dermody asked if the Parish Council will look at the cost of planting Spring bulbs at the three main entrances to the Village, also to look into the feasibility of an illuminated Christmas tree for the festive season. (Both issues to be added to the agenda for the next PC meeting.

12. Date of the next meeting 11th July, 2019, 18.30 Swinstead Village Hall. (Members of the public most welcome).