Minutes 2022-23

SWINSTEAD PARISH COUNCIL

Draft Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held

 18.00 on Thursday 10th November 2022

Cllr A Whitworth (Chair) Cllr B Lynch (Vice Chair), Cllr C Lunn, Cllr L Underhill, Cllr D Plowright & C Hatch (Clerk)

1. Public Forum (15 minutes maximum) No members of the public were present.

2.0 Apologies for Absence. None. Cllr Plowright was not in attendance.

3.0 To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the 2011 Local Government Act. – personal or prejudicial interest in any items for discussion. None.

4.0 Draft Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 14th July 2022 to be approved as the Minutes. These were accepted and approved.

1. Matters Arising. The Clerk advised; he had communicated with the Estate Agent handling the sale of Whitegates regarding the Councillors concerns of the state of the gable end of the property. To date the Clerk has had no response but will attempt to contact the owner directly. The Clerk also advised, despite the Councillors having agreed to adopt the BT Phone Kiosk, Oftel have recently changed their policy regarding adopting a Kiosk, which must now remain a pay phone kiosk.

5. Councillors Report.

5.1 County & District Councillors. LCC Cllr Vernon was not able to attend the meeting but emailed her report to the Clerk, extracts of which can be seen below.

County Council Wide Matters

Cost Of Living - There is help available for residents struggling with the cost of living from the council and other organisations. LCC have a large section on their website with some useful links including how to apply for Free school Meals, Financial support for carers, help with childcare costs, the household support fund and the HAF (Holidays Activities and Food Programme). There is also information about the emotional support available through local organisations and SKDC have more information too. The Government has also announced that a new Household Support Fund (HSF) grant will be made available to county councils and unitary authorities in England to support those most in need.

Lincolnshire has been allocated £5.46m for this third round of the HSF, which covers the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. This time, the government has not ringfenced any of this funding for groups of people. However, local authorities are asked to give particular consideration to groups who may not have benefitted from any of the recent cost of living support.

On this basis, Lincolnshire County Council is currently working with district councils to identify and agree the most appropriate methods for distributing this grant funding, as there is also a requirement to provide access to the funding via an application process.

Applications for support are not being invited until a process can be put in place as other organisations may be best placed to provide this on behalf of the councils. Further details on how the funding will be targeted and how people can apply will be shared once available. Residents facing financial difficulties can also visit https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/ for details of the other support available

Avian Flu – Unfortunately, there are now positive cases in Lincolnshire (Ancaster) . Anyone who keeps birds commercially or at home is advised to take measures to reduce the risk of the disease spreading. LCC are asking the public to be particularly vigilant about wild birds which may be infected by the disease. If you see dead wild birds, do not touch them, and report them to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Avian flu primarily affects birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low, but reports from the public can help track the spread of the disease and prevent it infecting poultry and other captive birds. You can report dead birds to APHA on 03459 33 55 77.

Launch of The Home Learning Environment campaign - The Home Learning Environment campaign encourages parents and carers to chat, play and read more with their child to develop their communication, language and literacy skills before starting school. The new campaign has been launched by the Department for Education, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Care’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, and aims to improve children’s early language skills, helping to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers. It looks to empower parents and help them overcome the key barriers they face, such as lack of time, confidence and not knowing the types of activities they should be doing.  Visit the Start for Life online hub at www.nhs.uk/start4life/chatplayread, where you can find ideas of activities to do with your child and where to find further support in your local area.

Biker Down – A national training course designed to reduce motorcycle fatalities on the roads, is available in Lincolnshire for the first time.

‘Biker Down’ will run for groups of around 20 people at a time. It focuses on both preventing motorbike accidents and educating bikers about the initial steps to take and how to administer effective first aid, when road traffic collisions take place. Although there is currently a waiting list to attend the course, people are being urged to register their interest for future courses. The course is free and takes about 3 hours. To express an interest in participating in a course, please email biker.down@lincoln.fire-uk.org

Part-Night Streetlight Adjustments-  Quick reminder that with the clocks going back on Sunday, this will temporarily affect the timings of the county's part-night streetlights. Over the next few weeks, you might notice that the part-night streetlights start to go off and come on at different times. This isn’t due to a technical fault. The streetlights have sensors that monitor the number of daylight hours, which is how they set their internal clock. During the autumn, the lights enter a period of adjustment, when their timings may vary as they adapt to the switch to Greenwich Mean Time.

5.2 Councillors Reports. Cllr Lynch advised, the Memorial to the youngest of Swinstead's fallen from the First World War, 19 years old William Porter that has lain broken for the last few years has been superbly restored free of charge by Grantham stone mason Mark Sheperd, many thanks to Melvyn Dobbs for organising this.

6. Parish Clerk report.

6.1 Position at Bank. The Council’s account to date was presented. Cllr Underhill queried the entry for Simply Tables & Chairs £1308.42. The Clerk advised this was for the purchase of extra tables and chairs for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the full cost of the purchase was fully recovered via an SKDC Community Funding Grant, the tables and chairs were then gifted to the Village Hall for future use. The accounts were approved unanimously.

6.2 Cheques to be signed. Clerks’ salary + Expenses £308.32, Grass cutting £65. Approved and signed.

6.3 Precept 2023-24. The Clerk advised he had received the documentation to set the 2023-24 Precept, which must be returned by the of 20th of January 2023. After discussion, the Precept was set at £3363. The Clerk being the Proper Officer will complete and return the documents to SKDC. 

7. Platinum Jubilee Committee Accounts. The Clerk presented the Platinum Jubilee Committee account to the Councillors who accepted them unanimously. The Councillors wanted to thank the group of volunteers who formed the Jubilee Committee for all their efforts, organising the events leading to the main Jubilee celebration at Swinstead Hall which was a resounding success.

8. Planning.

8.1 S22/1848 Remove 2 Ash trees (T1 & T2) to just above ground level. Tyton House ,11 Park Road, Swinstead, Lincolnshire, NG33 4PH (17th Oct). (No action from the Parish Council)

9. . Correspondence.
   1. Letter of response from Lissy Hawkins. (Circulated to the Councillors).
10. Highways. Speed sign location Creeton Road. The Clerk advised, two residents in Creeton Road had requested the speed sign be relocated to a more prominent position thus notifying driver to reduce speed well before the corner by St Mary’s Church. The cost of the Highways Licence allowing this is £225. After discussion this was agreed, proposed by Cllr Lynch and seconded by Cllr Underhill.

11. AOB.  Cllr Lynch requested no posters be placed in the bus shelter as the staples were making a mess. Cllr Underhill offered to remove the old staples. The Clerk confirmed the Village Christmas Tree had been ordered and will be delivered the last week in November. He also confirmed, as Cllr Plowright had not attended the last three meeting without offering apologies, his position as a Parish Councillor becomes vacant by default. The Clerk will advise Cllr Plowright accordingly.

 Cllr Whitworth mentioned the need for road closures in Bourn Road by the Village Hall, to enable a Street Party to take place in celebration of King Charles Coronation.

 The Clerk to contact Highways.

Date of next meeting

12th January 2023, 6.00pm at Swinstead Village Hall

https://swinstead.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/