March
Date/ Time: Tuesday 1 March 2022 at 7.00 pm.
Location: The Club Room @ The Venue, Navenby.
Present (Cllrs): Mr M Burt Chairman, Mr K Gunning Vice Chairman, Mr S Woollas, Mrs E Carless, Mr Watts, Mr G Morris, Mr C East & Mrs E McRitche.
In Attendance: Mrs C Hall (Assistant Parish Clerk)
Absent/Apologies: Mr K Lamyman & Dr J Mills
1. Chairman’s - Welcoming Remarks
The Chairman welcomed all present.
Cllr Gunning proposed a motion that the Parish Council of Navenby with Skinnand condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the unjustified incursion of Russian forces into the Republic of Ukraine. The motion was unanimously adopted.
2. Public Session
There was 1 resident in attendance at the Public Session.
U3A 40th Anniversary - as part of the celebrations, the resident asked if the Council could consider and approve the planting of 4 memorial trees on the John Cutforth field. Three in the southern end & eastern corners and one along the southern boundary where there were already some fairly mature trees. It was agreed that the Council members would give the matter some consideration and advise the resident of the outcome.
Pitfield Walk – the resident enquired about the newly planted trees on the open space? The Assistant Clerk took an action to find out which organisation had planted the trees.
Green Man Road – the resident advised that there continued to be a lack of drainage on the road. The recent inclement weather had caused yet more flooding on the road and had encroached onto residential properties. The Chairman asked that the resident submit some photos to the parish Office for further consideration.
Actions: NPC to consider the proposal to plant 4 memorial trees in respect of the U3As 40th Anniversary on the John Cutforth field. The Assistant Clerk to investigate the planting of new trees on the open space at Pitfield Walk. The resident to submit photos of the flooding issue to the Parish Office.
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 Mr K Lamyman & Dr J Mills.
4. To consider and sign the minutes from the previous Parish Council Meeting, held on Tuesday 1 February 2022.
It was proposed by Cllr Gunning and seconded by Cllr McRitchie and therefore RESOLVED that the minutes from the previous Parish Council meeting, held on Tuesday 1 February 22, 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 Carless and seconded by Cllr East and therefore RESOLVED that all expenses listed in Appendix A were authorised.
Cllr Gunning proposed that the salaries for Parish Office staff be paid by the end of the month and not await ratification at the next council meeting. The was seconded by Cllr Carless and therefore RESOLVED.
6. To consider updates from District/County Councillors.
Cllr L Hagues – the Assistant Clerk confirmed with Cllr Hagues that she had received her latest Newsletter and would be e mailing it out the following day.
Cllr M Overton briefed on the following matters:
Provision of a poster advising of Helpline Tel Nos for people suffering with mental health issues.
Ukraine & Afghanistan refugees – LCC have a backlog of requests for housing due to a shortage of available homes.
Local Panning Committee discussed the proposed installation of Wind Turbines with a height range of 40-200 metres.
Council Tax to rise by 5%.
Traffic Orders (TOs) – new point of contact is Jeanne Gibson. Cllr Woollas asked Cllr Overton to chase up outstanding TOs and advise on their status at the next meeting.
7. To consider updates from local police.
The Assistant Clerk advised that no monthly report had been received from the Neighbourhood Policing Team.
8. To consider Planning Matters
Planning Applications – No comments.
Correspondence – No comments.
Tree Conservation – No comments.
9. To consider correspondence.
Actions arising from the correspondence received:
a. 28 Jan Resident – request for an additional post box on Green Man Road. After discussion it was agreed that additional post boxes at Top Farm & Doncaster Gardens would be beneficial to the residents. The Chairman asked that the Clerk contact the Royal Mail regarding the possibility of providing additional post boxes.
Action: The Clerk to contact the Royal Mail about providing new post boxes.
g. 4 Feb Cllr Lamyman – proposal for new streetlamp on Green Man Road. Cllr Gunning advised that he had looked at the costs of purchasing a new lamp and having it installed. Unfortunately, the connection of the new lamp to the electricity supply would involve extensive trenching work and that would make the total cost prohibitive.
10. To resolve the issues raised by the NJFC as articulated by the Chairman in his e mail to Councillors on 27 February 2022 and to discuss SLA due to be renewed 1 April 2022.
A discussion took place regarding a proposal by Navenby Junior Football Club (NJFC) to locate an ISO container on the JC sports field in order to store low value equipment. Also, the proposal included a requirement to store higher value items ie a small tractor, rotavator & possibly 2 small trailers in the Venue’s store. Specifically in attendance for this matter, was Mr Jon Smith of NJFC.
Concern was raised about the possible impact to NPCs Insurance Policy, so it was agreed that the Clerk would contact the Insurance Company regarding the storage of the tractor within the Venue building. Cllr East proposed that the tractor be used on the sports field and this was seconded by Cllr Carless. Cllrs Morris & McRitchie were totally against the proposal. When asked about the placement of a container on the field, Cllr McRitchie opposed, and this was seconded by Cllr Morris. Cllr Woollas proposed an alternative site, which was seconded by Cllr Watts. Five other Cllrs agreed, Cllr Gunning abstained and Cllrs McRitchie & Morris were opposed.
A separate discussion took place regarding the proposal that NJFC take over the grass cutting on the sports field. It was agreed that the Clerk would approach the current Contractor and obtain a quote for the coming year. The Quote was to detail the costs for the cutting of the whole field & the perimeter edges separately.
Cllr McRitchie expressed concerns about cars being parked by the pavilion and that it was not safe for young children running around. Cllr Watts pointed out that children were the responsibility off their parents, not the NJFC.
Cllr McRitchie asked if consideration could be given to placing safety bollards on the field.
The Chairman thanked Mr Smith for attending the meeting.
Actions: The Clerk to contact the Insurance Company regarding the storage of a small tractor in the Venue storeroom and the current Grounds Maintenance Contractor in respect of a quote for grass cutting & strimming for 2022.
11. Updates from Portfolios Holders:
a. Cemetery
Cllr Gunning advised that Mr Peter Hayward had kindly cut back the cemetery hedge on East Road. It was agreed that the Clerk should send a letter of thanks to Mr Hayward for his continued support & generosity. In respect of the raised grave plot within the cemetery, Cllr Gunning asked that the Clerk speak with Pat Cook Funerals again to hasten some remedial action to address the height of the grave.
Action: The Clerk to send a letter of thanks to Mr P Hayward & to speak with Pat Cook Funerals regarding the raised grave.
b. Highways
No comments.
c. Navenby Car Scheme
Whilst Cllr McRitchie had volunteered to act as the Scheme Co-ordinator, there had been no volunteers for the role of driver. Throughout the month of Feb 22, there had only been one request for transport.
d. Play Areas
Cllr East advised that TESCO would no longer being accepting requests for GRANTS.
e. Schools House Trust.
No comments.
f. Library
No comments.
g. WEBSITE/IT
Cllr Carless advised that she was continuing to experience problems with the new Website & the Facebook page. The Assistant Clerk advised that the Clerk had found a new Website Management provider and that they would be taking over from the 1 Apr 22.
h. VENUE Trustee Chairman
The Chairman advised that he had received an application for the vacant Handyman position and that he would be interviewing the interested party in due course.
i. Community Wellbeing
No comments.
j. Speed Indicator Device (SID).
Cllr Watts advised that he had been unable to download all the data, so was unable to provide the monthly reports.
k. Defibrillators.
No comments.
l. Street Lamps.
No comments.
The Chairman thanked all present for their participation and declared the meeting closed at 21.15 hrs.
12. Date & Time of next meeting is the 5th April 2022 at 7pm. It should be noted that this will be held in the Club Room of The Venue to adhere with current Covid regulations.