8 June 2021
Navenby With Skinnand Parish Council Meeting Minutes
Date/ Time: Tuesday 8 June 2021 at 7.00 pm.
Location: The Club Room @ The Venue, Navenby.
Present (Cllrs): Mr M Burt, Chairman; Mr K Gunning, Vice Chairman;
Mr G Morris; Mr A Watts; Mrs C Hall; Mr K Lamyman; Mr S Woollas;
Dr J Mills & Mr C East.
In Attendance: Ms S Letham (Parish Clerk)
Absent/Apologies: Mrs E McRitchie
1. Chairman’s - Welcoming Remarks
The Chairman welcomed all present and thanked the Clerk for organising a gift and card in respect of the Assistant Clerks recent retirement.
2. Public Session
One resident in attendance.
Green Man Road – HGV traffic issues. The resident expressed concerns that the road was a designated HGV route and why could these vehicles not be rerouted to more suitable roads in the area. The Chairman took an action to write to Highways regarding HGV designated routes. Cllr Woollas advised on the history of HGV routes and the implications elsewhere of routes being changed.
Promoting Bio-diversity within the Village - the resident briefed on the loss of wildlife & plant species from the village. The Clerk confirmed that she had received the residents e mail containing the LINK to a local wildflower initiative group in Leadenham, which she had since passed onto the Council members for consideration. After discussion, it was agreed that the resident would organise some Volunteers and identify areas within the village suitable for wildflower planting. Cllr Gunning advised the meeting that not everyone in the village was a fan of such schemes and that there had recently been complaints about “scruffy verges”. Cllr Lamyman added that from a farmer’s perspective, there were possible safety issues with emerging traffic being obscured.
Actions: 1. The Chairman to write to Highways regarding designated HGV routes. 2. The resident to organise volunteers and identify land within the village suitable for wildflower planting schemes.
3. Apologies for absence and declarations of interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011. Consider any applications for dispensations in relation to disclosable pecuniary and/or prejudicial beneficial interests.
Apologies received from Cllr McRitchie.
4. To consider and sign the minutes from the previous Parish Council Meeting, held on Tuesday 4 May 2021.
Annual General Meeting - It was proposed by Cllr Gunning and seconded by Cllr Watts and therefore Resolved that the minutes from the previous Parish Council meeting, held on Tuesday 4 May 2021, should be accepted as a true record of the meeting.
Monthly Parish Meeting - It was proposed by Cllr Hall and seconded by Cllr East and therefore Resolved that the minutes from the previous Parish Council meeting, held on Tuesday 4 May 2021, should be accepted as a true record of the meeting.
5. To consider the financial report and authorise payments (Appendix A).
It was proposed by Cllr Gunning, seconded by Cllr Hall and therefore Resolved that all expenses listed in Appendix A were authorised.
The Clerk advised that she had not been able to input the Newby Leisure Invoice for £19,585.80 on the Co-Op Bank as the on-line system was advising that the expenditure limit for the day had been reached. Cllr Gunning confirmed that he would approve those payments already loaded and in due course would authorise the remaining Newby payment.
6. To consider updates from District/County Councillors.
Cllr Hagues was not in attendance. The Clerk advised she was in receipt of the Newsletter she had sent to the Parish Office.
Cllr Overton was in attendance and confirmed with the Clerk that she was in receipt of the Newsletter she had sent the Parish Office. Cllr Overton went onto brief the following:
Cllr Overton on Planning, Adult Care & Mental Health Committees.
Applications for NKDC “restart” Business GRANTs needed to be submitted by the end of Jun 21.
NHS Data OPT OUT – requests for opt out are anonymous.
A607 Pottergate road repairs & improvements.
Local Plan requests to Landowners for development land.
Local commercial recycling initiatives within Navenby.
Cllr Morris raised the matter of local business encroaching onto pavements with goods or chairs & tables and the possible H&S risks and obstruction issues. Cllr Overton advised that if there were identified issues then they could be report to the District Council. It was agreed that the Council members would monitor the situation over the next month.
Actions: 1. Cllr Overton & Mills to provide any new Mental Health leaflets for display in the Village. 2. Parish Council members to monitor encroachments on the High Street pavement during Jun 21.
7. To consider updates from local police.
The Clerk advised that apart from receiving the normal monthly Police report nothing further had been received from the Police relating to any crimes specific to Navenby village.
8. To consider Planning Matters
Planning Applications – no observations.
Correspondence – no observations.
Tree Conservation - no observations.
9. To consider correspondence.
Actions arising from the correspondence received:
a. Cliff Carnival Committee request for £100 donation toward flag making workshop.
Action. The Clerk to forward a Grant Application to the committee for completion and review at the next meeting.
o. North Lane Play Area – dog fouling & litter issues. It was agreed that the signage on the front gates to the Play Area would be updated and that NKDC would be informed of the litter situation.
Action. The Clerk to arrange for updated posters and to e mail NKDC regarding an additional litter bin collection.
10. To consider and approve the co-option of 2 new Parish Councillors.
NB This matter was discussed prior to Item 2 - Public Session, in order that Jonathan Mills could participate fully in the meeting.
It was proposed by Cllr East and seconded by Cllr Hall and therefore Resolved that Elizabeth Mary Lewis Carless be co-opted to the Parish Council in place of Brendan O’Sullivan.
It was proposed by Cllr Gunning and seconded by Cllr Woollas and therefore Resolved that Jonathan Mills be co-opted to the Parish Council in place of Lisa Taylor.
11. To consider & approve the renewal of the Navenby Junior Football Club Service Level Agreement (SLA) due to expire on the 31 Mar 22.
After discussion it was agreed that the Clerk would advise the Venue Manager to begin drafting a renewal SLA.
12. To discuss the Parish Office opening hours now that is no longer a NKDC Local Access Point office and review the requirement for an Assistant Parish Clerk.
After discussion, it was agreed that the opening hours would remain at 10-12.00 hrs Tues thru Fri for the next 12 months. It was felt that a genuine year of non-COVID footfall was required to inform a discussion on switching to appointment based only access to the Parish Office.
In respect of the vacancy for an Assistant Parish Clerk, it was agreed that the Clerk would monitor the workload over the next month and report back at the next meeting.
13. Updates from Portfolios Holders:
a. Cemetery
No comments.
b. Highways
Cllr Woollas advised that the Pedestrian Crossing markings on the High Street had now been re-painted and that the missing passive 30mph signs had been replaced. In respect of the Traffic Restriction Orders (TRO) with LCC Highways for action – Cllr Woollas asked that the Clerk enquire with Richard Fenwick as to which office specifically was currently dealing with the matter.
Action: The Clerk to contact Richard Fenwick regarding which department within Highways was currently working on our TRO requests.
c. Youth Club
Cllr Hall advised that the Youth Club was seeing attendance figures of 10-12 children at the weekly session.
d. Navenby Car Scheme
Cllr Woollas reported that the Car Scheme remains suspended until at least September. The Co-ordinator was currently in the process of looking at the advertisement of the relaunch both on social media and in the “Yellow Peril”. A new Co-ordinator & drivers would also have to be recruited in the next 12 months.
e. Play Areas
Cllr East advised that he had received encouraging indications from two possible sources of Grant funding, i.e. Tesco and Lottery Heritage Funding. He was still awaiting a response from Cllr McRitchie and Lisa Taylor in respect of their individual applications for GRANT funding. A further update would be provided at the next meeting.
Cllr Watts advised that the stonewall in the North Lane Play Area required repair to replace some of the missing stones. Cllr Lamyman advised that he would take a look at the wall and see if he could get a Contractor to quote for repairs.
Actions: 1. Cllr East to hasten remaining applications and report back at the next meeting. 2. Cllr Lamyman to inspect the stonewall in North Lane and contact a Contractor.
f. Schools House Trust.
No comments.
g. Cliff Cluster
With no Cliff Custer meetings having taken place for over the last 12 months, it was agreed that the Clerk should contact Cllr Overton and ask whether she had plans to recommence the group.
Action: Clerk to contact Cllr Overton regarding the future of Cliff Cluster meetings.
h. Library
Cllr Watts advised that the library is open for browsing and that numbers are increasing each week.
i. Finance & Administration
Cllr Hall confirmed that she had already agreed a date with the Clerk, in respect of visiting the Parish Office to gain an oversight in how the office is managed.
j. Website/IT
The Clerk advised that Cllr Carless had shown an interest in looking after the portfolio and now that she had been co-opted, would formally approach her in respect of taking it over from Cllr Morris.
Action: The Clerk to contact Cllr Carless regarding taking over the Website portfolio.
k. VENUE Trustee Chairman
The Chairman advised that he was still awaiting a response from the Charity Commission.
l. Community Wellbeing
Cllr Hall advised that she’d undertake a review of the posters currently displayed on the Village Noticeboards, and replace as necessary.
Action: Cllr Hall to review wellbeing posters & update.
m. Speed Indicator Device (SID).
Cllr Watts advised on the latest statistics. Whilst there was now a greater volume of traffic passing through the village, the majority of which obey the speed limits – there was a few who still flout the rules!
n. Defibrillators.
Cllr Gunning advised that “The Circuit” co-ordinates the Defibrillator and that he checks them when notified that they are due.
o. Street Lamps.
No comments.
The Chairman thanked all present for their participation and declared the meeting closed at 20.35 hrs.
14. Date & Time of next meeting is the 6 July 2021 at 7pm. It should be noted that this will be held in the Club Room of The Venue to adhere with current Covid regulations.