2022 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

SWINESHEAD PARISH COUNCIL

PARISH OFFICE 
Swineshead Pre-School Centre
North End
Swineshead
PE20 3LZ   

EMAIL: swinesheadpc@gmail.com
WEBSITE: www.swineshead.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk

CHAIRMAN: Councillor Carl Gibbard               
TEMPORARY CLERK: Natalie Grant

MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF SWINESHEAD PARISH COUNCIL held on MONDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2022

Present:     Cllr Carl Gibbard, Cllr Keith Osbourn, Cllr Mike Brookes, Cllr Roger Welberry, Cllr Philippa Parnell, Cllr Sean Trafford, Cllr Jean Powell, Cllr Ian Maclean

Also Present:     Clerk, Natalie Grant and one member of public

Public Forum, followed by response from Chairman

One member of public was present however did not request to make a statement. Cllr CG thanked the member of public for showing an interest in the meeting.

21/163    Chairman’s remarks

Cllr CG informed the Council that he has been making some enquires with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau regarding their possible use of the Community Hub to provide services in Swineshead. He reported that initial enquiries look positive and he is hopeful that something can be arranged in the not-too-distant future.

Cllr KO expressed his concerns in the matter and asked why this service can’t be offered in the library. Cllr CG replied that he had contacted the Methodist Church to see if the current licence arrangement could be amended to allow additional time and additional activity to take place there (The CAB being a possible example). However, the Church had categorically refused to extend hours or amend the agreement to include non-library activity. 

21/164    To receive apologies for absence and reasons given

Apologies received from Cllr Chelcei Trafford who was unable to attend due to Covid restrictions, Cllr Georges Cornah who was unable to attend due to his attendance at a Borough Council meeting, and Cllr Roy Hilton who had a prior personal engagement.

21/165    To receive any declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011

Cllr Carl Gibbard declared an interest in anything relating to the office at 1-2 North End due to his pecuniary interest in the site.

21/166    To agree whether the minutes of the meeting held on 24/01/22 are to be confirmed and signed an accurate record of the meeting

Cllr CG checked with the Councillors present if they felt that the notes were an accurate record of the extraordinary meeting held on 24/01/2022. Cllr IM proposed that the notes should be accepted as minutes, this was seconded by Cllr ST and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO DISTRIBUTE MINUTES VIA THE WEBSITE, FACEBOOK AND NOTICEBOARDS

21/167    Financial matters:

Update on financial matters

The Clerk informed the Councillors that she had checked the signatures on the bank accounts and confirmed with Lloyds bank that signatures on the accounts are now limited to herself, Cllr MB, Cllr KO, Cllr PP and Cllr ST. The Clerk requested that the four Councillors should now apply for online banking access so that they can have additional security on the accounts by means of a second online authorisation before any payments are made.

Also, the Clerk informed Councillors that having asked for advice from the account manager, a debit card would be the obvious answer for making online payments in future rather than the Clerk making payments and claiming the money back. Cllr PP proposed that an application for a debit card should be made as soon as possible, this was seconded by Cllr ST and the relevant paperwork was signed at the meeting. The Clerk advised Councillors that the Financial Regulations would need to be updated before the debit card was used, and before second online authorisations are set up.

ACTION: CLLRS MB, KO, PP AND ST TO APPLY FOR ONLINE ACCESS TO BANK ACCOUNTS, CLERK TO MAKE APPLICATION FOR A DEBIT CARD FOR THE CURRENT ACCOUNT. CLERK TO LOOK INTO THE CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE TO THE FINANCIAL REGULATIONS.

Accounts for Payment

Cllr PP and Cllr ST checked the accounts for payment against invoices received (see attached). Cllr PP proposed that the payments listed should be made, this was seconded by Cllr ST and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO MAKE PAYMENTS AS PER SCHEDULE

21/168    To receive update on police activity in the village

The Clerk reported that the Police Online website had been updated with December crimes: 5 x Violence and Sexual Offences, 2 x Antisocial Behaviour, 2 x Vehicle Crime, 1 x Public Order. The Clerk reminded Councillors that Violence and Sexual Offenses are most likely to be domestic incidents and not in the wider public.

Cllr ST reported that the police were very interested in using the Community Hub at least once a month, possibly twice and are looking forward to using this as a preventative measure for the village.

21/169    To receive an update on the latest speed monitoring data from Swineshead Speed Watch

The Clerk reported that no data was harvested from the speed device in January, and it doesn’t appear that the Bluetooth capability is switched on and therefore there is no way of connecting to the device. Cllr CG proposed that the device should be brought to the office so that we could see if we could switch Bluetooth on and pair it with the laptop to download the data. This was seconded by Cllr ST and resolved.

Cllr ST reported that the Community Speedwatch team had been out in the village on 31/01/2022 between 14:25 and 15:25 at the junction of Tarry Hill and Station Road. They recorded 135 vehicles passing. All drivers were wearing seatbelts, and no-one was using a mobile handset. 1 vehicle was recorded travelling over 35 MPH during the hour. The relevant information was passed on to Community Speedwatch at LCC for follow up. 

ACTION: CLERK TO ARRANGE FOR THE SPEED DEVICE TO BE BROUGHT TO THE OFFICE AND TO CONTACT UNIPART IF NECESSARY TO SEEK FURTHER ADVICE

21/170    Planning:

No planning matters received.

21/171    To receive the list of correspondence received since the last meeting

The Clerk presented the attached list of correspondence to the Councillors. Councillors requested that the Clerk should follow up on the following items from the list:

03/02/2022 from LCC Countryside RE Footpath #8 to confirm that the replacement foot bridge at Footpath #8 had been completed. Cllr KO asked for the landscaping on the Villa Walk estate to be cross referenced with BBC Planning to check that the correct surfacing of the path to the bridge has been carried out.

03/02/2022 from BBC Planning regarding street name suggestion for new development on South Street. The Planning Department have responded to say that the developer is very keen to stick with the name “Westminster Fields” for the new development as opposed to “Gilding Fields” as suggested by the Parish Council. Councillors expressed surprise that this was the case and asked the Clerk to make further enquiries to the Borough Council, and if necessary to the developer.

ACTIONS: AS ABOVE

21/172    Councillor’s reports

Cllr KO reported that an ex-Councillor had requested that the following comments should be brought to the meeting: 

1.    Regarding agenda item 12 (Clerk’s Office / Community Hub): this is too far out of the village to be useful and too expensive.

2.    Regarding agenda item 16 (Mackey’s Pit) – This is expensive and is it harmful to aquatic life?

3.    Regarding agenda item 17 (Youth Group) – How? (Presumably meaning how can the Parish Council assist the Youth Club)

4.    They also asked why the website wasn’t being updated regularly with minutes from past meetings and finances.

Cllr CG asked Cllr KO to remind the ex-Councillor that she would be very welcome to attend a future meeting to address any concerns in future. On this occasion, regarding the specific items raised, these queries would hopefully be addressed during this meeting in the relevant agenda items.

The Clerk reported that as far as she was aware the minutes had been uploaded to the website, but she would check. Regarding the finances, a new area of the website is being created to hold this information and it should be ready imminently. The finances were only recently completed due to the stating of last year’s accounts.

Cllr KO asked whether the speed limit on Villa Lane needs to be reviewed now that houses were being built and it was becoming a residential area. Cllr MB said that he would mention this to LCC Highways.

Cllr KO also raised numerous concerns and suggestions about environmental issues for the village going forward. The Clerk informed Cllr KO that this was already on the draft agenda to discuss at the March meeting.

Cllr ST reported that there had been a significant amount of spray painting and graffiti in the village recently and that the PCSO is aware. He enquired if there was anything we could do to clean the mess. Cllr MB said that any road signage that was damaged could be reported to LCC Highways via Fix My Street, but damage to personal property would unfortunately be down to individuals to report to the police and clean themselves. Cllr ST asked the Clerk to make this known to the community via social media.

Cllr JP reported that some work has been recommended on some trees in the Closed area of the church yard and it was her understanding that this came under the responsibility of the Parish Council. Cllr MB commented that the responsibility of the closed area of the church yard has never officially been handed over to the Parish Council as far as he is aware, this was confirmed by Cllr KO. Cllr MB advised the Clerk should chase this up with the Church and Boston Borough Council to find out what the official stance was before any work on the trees is undertaken. 

Cllr RW reported that the trees that had been provided by the Treescape initiative at LCC has been delivered and planted. They are very small at the moment but will hopefully grow successfully over the coming years.

ACTIONS: AS ABOVE

21/173    Clerk’s report

The Clerk reported that the defibrillator pads and charge pack at the Village Hall unit had been replaced with a new set and updated accordingly with The Circuit (linked to East Midlands Ambulance Service). We are still awaiting the second set, which is on delay, for the Church Hall. The Clerk will check the unit at Swineshead Bridge as well before the next meeting as the Village Hall unit still had a number of previous old pads in there as well as the new ones which could be confusing in the event of an emergency. The Clerk advised that as soon as all three units had been serviced, a new monthly checking system will be put in place.

Cllr CG left the meeting while agenda item 12 was discussed due to a pecuniary interest

21/174    To discuss and agree whether to go ahead with moving the Clerk’s Office (incorporating a Community Hub) to 1-2 North End at a cost of £500pcm

Cllr ST proposed that in the absence of the vice-chair, Cllr PP should chair this agenda item. This was seconded by Cllr MB and resolved. Cllr PP referred the matter to the Clerk.

The Clerk asked the Councillors if anyone else had brought an alternative solution to the meeting. No-one had any alternative solutions. The Clerk advised Councillors that with the current office needing to be vacated before the end of the month, then a decision needed to be made during the course of this meeting.

Cllr ST proposed that the Council should go ahead with the lease of Unit 13 at 1-2 North End at a cost of £500 per month for a minimum term of 1 year. Cllr MB counter-proposed that the lease should only be temporary for three months while an alternative is found. Cllr PP commented that this does not allow for the community hub to become established, and in reality, this doesn’t allow time to secure any long-term alternatives being that we have been exploring alternatives for the last year or so and haven’t come up with anything. Cllr IM seconded Cllr ST’s original proposal and it was resolved.

Cllrs MB and KO asked for it to be noted that although they had voted yes, it was with reluctance and that work should start immediately on finding a more permanent residence.

ACTION: CLERK TO ARRANGE THE LEASE WITH GILLRANGE

Cllr CG returned to the meeting and resumed as Chair

21/175    To agree to sign the Community Hub Agreement to pay for services provided by GLL in relation to the photocopier, telephone charges and the Summer Reading Challenge resources

Cllr PP proposed that the agreement should be signed, allowing GLL to bill the Parish Council for photocopier, telephone and Summer Reading Challenge resources. This was seconded by Cllr MB and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO SIGN RELEVANT DOCUMENTS AND FORWARD TO GLL ASAP

21/176    To discuss and agree whether to continue with the subscription to Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils at a cost of £623.44

The Clerk reported that this is an increase from £552 in 2021/22 due to the increase in electors in the village. This is an example of how costs will rise as the village population grows Swineshead has just nudged into the next size category 2500-5000. Cllr KO proposed that the subscription should continue at the increased cost, and the relevant paperwork should be completed by the Clerk. This was seconded by Cllr PP and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO COMPLETE PAPERWORK AND RETURN IT TO LALC ASAP

21/177    To discuss and agree whether to continue with the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils annual training scheme at a cost of £180.00 (inc VAT)

The Clerk reported that this is an increase from £125 last year, as above due to the increase in population in the village. Cllr KO proposed that the subscription should continue at the increased cost and the relevant paperwork should be completed by the Clerk. This was seconded by Cllr MB and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO COMPLETE PAPERWORK AND RETURN IT TO LALC ASAP

21/178    To discuss and agree whether to purchase water dye for Mackey’s Pit to supress the blue/green algae at a cost of £780.00 (inc VAT)

Cllr ST reported that this dye has been recommended to supress the growth of the blue/green algae at Mackey’s Pit which saw the Pit closed to fishing for a substantial amount of time last summer. A full environmental report had been sought by the Swineshead Enhancement Society which strongly recommended this dye as a preventative measure. Cllr PP added that although it wasn’t guaranteed that it would work it was the best option available. Cllr ST reminded Councillors that last year the Council had been responsible for the costs of the aerator that had been hired as an emergency measure to save the aquatic life and without the dye this will almost definitely happen again, incurring more costs and potential harm to the aquatic life in the Pit.

Cllr JP enquired whether the Enhancement Society would be prepared to make a donation to the Parish Council towards the cost of the dye and asked the Clerk to write to the Enhancement Society to request this.

Cllr ST proposed that the dye should be purchased as soon as possible so that the treatment could be added before the algae could start growing, and if a donation could be sought this would be a bonus. This was seconded by Cllr IM and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO ORDER THE AQUATIC DYE TREATMENT ASAP

21/179    To discuss how the Community Hub and Library can support the reintroduction of a youth group in the village

Cllr JP reported that the outcome of a meeting with YMCA had brought about many questions as to how the Swineshead Youth Group could make a come back with regular sessions. There were many concerns over financing the Youth Group, and also concerns regarding staffing the sessions. Some of the volunteers were reporting that there had been a breakdown of trust between them and the YMCA which would make it difficult to re-establish regular sessions. 

It became clear that further meetings were required with YMCA to look at the different possibilities in more detail before the Parish Council could consider whether they could play a role in the future of the Youth Group.

ACTION: CLLR JP TO ARRANGE A FURTHER MEETING WITH YMCA WITH SUPPORT FROM OTHER COUNCILLORS

21/180    To discuss ideas for the parish to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II

Cllr PP proposed that the Swineshead Christmas Celebrations Committee should be contacted to see if they would be interested in organising an event for the village to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This was seconded by Cllr RW and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO WRITE AN EMAIL TO THE SWINESHEAD CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS COMMITTEE TO ASK IF THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ARRANGEING AN EVENT

21/181    Update on Community Hub and Library activity

Cllr JP reported that extended opening hours were currently in operation and there had been an encouraging number of new members in recent months. The Library had also taken ownership of a new bookcase (at no cost) to extend the junior and teen book collections on to.

JP reported that the new parcel box which had been purchased has still not been fitted, and she was awaiting some assistance and advice on the matter. The Clerk suggested that she could perhaps get a quotation from someone to install it.

The licence agreement was currently being reconsidered by the representatives of the Methodist Church after the Head Office of the Methodist Church had declared the old agreement as not fit for purpose.

Cllr JP felt that a meeting would not be worthwhile at the moment until the new agreement had been drafted, and suggested that the next meeting should be the AGM in May.

ACTION: MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY HUB AND LIBRARY MEETING TO BE ARRANGED IN MAY, CLERK TO GET A QUOTE FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE NEW PARCEL BOX

21/182    Update on the project to regenerate Coney Hill into a “Covid Reflection Area”

Cllr MB reported that work was to begin imminently to start thinning the existing trees, raising the canopy to a minimum of 2 meters clearance, and generally tidy the area. There will be no charge for this service.

Cllr ST reported that the application for the Community Grant from Boston Borough Council was ready to be submitted imminently which would give the necessary funding to resurface, replant and install some street furniture to the area. Cllr ST suggested that as the project was happening in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, it would be fitting to incorporate a memorial to the Queen’s landmark reign, perhaps a fire beacon or something similar. Other Councillors agreed that this would be a fitting commemoration.

21/183    Update on Play Area quotations and Grant Application to the Tritton Knoll Community Fund

The Clerk reported that the grant application had been submitted for £5000 from the Tritton Knoll Community Fund. Two quotes for ALL of the work required at the park have come in very similar at around £5300. We are now awaiting the outcome of the grant application which we hope to hear from during March. Councillors agreed that no further action should be taken until the outcome of the grant application was decided.

21/184    Update on the tender process for grass cutting and grounds person

The Clerk reported that we now have one quote for the grass cutting. One other party has shown an interest however we are still to receive a quotation from them. No-one has yet quoted for the Groundskeeper role, however we have had an interest from two parties. Closing date is 28th February, meaning a decision could be made on the tenders at the March meeting.

21/185    Update on the employment process of a new Clerk

The Clerk reported that the closing date is now passed and we currently have no applications to consider. Cllr KO proposed that the deadline should be extended until 28th February and another push via social media and the website should be made. This was seconded by Cllr MB and resolved.

ACTION: CLERK TO PUBLICISE THE EXTENTION 

THE CHAIRMAN DECLARED THE MEETING CLOSED AT 21:30

Correspondence

February 2022

Various BBC Communications                Forwarded as appropriate

Various LALC News                                 Forwarded as appropriate