Agenda September 2022

Meeting Minutes – 14th September 2022

19:00 in St. Bartholomew’s Church

Present

Cllr John Fisher (Chairman)                Cllr Michael Priestley (Vice-Chairman)          Cllr James Pask

Cllr Ivan Jones                                     Cllr Ian Shippey                                               Cllr Sarah Trotter (SKDC)

In Attendance 

Roel van Aken (Clerk)

Apologies

Cllr Martin Hill (LCC)

The chairman opened the meeting by paying tribute to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the meeting observed a minute silence in respect.

1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies received from Cllr Martin Hill (LCC).

2. Confirmation of eligibility, quorum and Declaration of interest

All councilors present remained eligible, the meeting was quorate and no declaration of interests declared.

3. Public Representations

The public were allowed to be in attendance, but on this occasion no parishioners attended.

4. Minutes of previous meeting

It was resolved that the minutes of the previous meeting dated 20th July 2022 were an accurate record of the parish council meeting and were signed off by The Chairman.

5.   a) Reducing speeding through Welby

• Speed watch: to receive an update from the speed watch team.

No update as no sessions have taken place.

• SID: review results to date.

Results from outside Church Field were reviewed. Both the average speed and the maximum speeds seem to have been reduced but this may partly be due to the road closures as that has resulted in significantly less traffic through the village.

Moving out of the 30mph signs at the east end of the village also has made a big impact in that cars are now slowing down well before they reach the built-up area. Clerk to send a thank-you message to LCC for making this happen.

As a result of moving out the 30mph signs we will try a SID location further out as Church Field is now quite far into the 30mph zone. This may become one of the preferred locations once results are available.

One of our neighbouring villages seems to have a SID device with bright white flashing lights that seems to be very effective at slowing down cars. Details to be obtained to see if this is of interest to Welby.

An Archer traffic survey was recently conducted by the police for 1 week at the same location as the SID device outside Church Field. This was a repeat from a similar survey several years ago. The latest Archer survey shows a reduction in both average and maximum speeds compared to the results last time (which was before we had a SID device) which confirms the SID device is having a positive impact. We also asked for additional police measures to be considered as some of the maximum speeds are still very considerable. As there have been no fatalities over the last few years there unfortunately is no justification for additional measures due to the limited budgets available.

b) Fundraising strategies for Speed Indicator Devices (SID) and white gates.

• To receive an update on the progress to date and any remaining work to be completed

No updates to report with all works essentially complete.

6. County and District Councillor Reports (if Councillors present at meeting)

• Nil update from County Councillor Martin Hill on Lincolnshire County Council matters.

• Update from the District Councillor Sarah Trotter on South Kesteven District Council matters:

           Cllr Trotter congratulated Welby on receiving the 1st price in the Best Kept Village competition.

           Grantham bypass: due to problems with the bridge construction there will be delays in the completion.

           Polling for the next local elections will take place on 4 May 2023. There is no change in the polling station in Welby (Crown & Anchor pub).

           SKDC have provided a book of condolence in the Mayors Parlour in Grantham.

           Fuel poverty: further detail on what SKDC are planning can be found on the SKDC website.

7. Lincolnshire Police Report (if PCSO present at meeting)

No update available from PCSO Stuart Bowden regarding local police matters.

8. Correspondences

To receive a report from The Clerk on relevant correspondences received and action taken since last meeting.

9. Planning Applications: 

Planning applications to consider with the following planning applications received:

10. Highways

Update from The Clerk on highway faults including those reported by WPC to LCC Highways and SKDC.

11. Village Matters

a) Dog-waste bin Red Lane: currently being emptied by councilors on a Rota basis. WPC have purchased a general purpose waste bin so waste can be collected by the council. Waste bin has been installed. SKDC have been requested to add this bin to their regular route.

It appears that this bin is now regarded as an extra bin and is outside the allotted quota for Welby so can not be included in SKDC’s regular rounds. The same may apply to the golden bin WPC has won as part of the first prize in the BKV competition. Cllr Sarah Trotter (SKDC) will follow both issues within SKDC.

b) Repairs to bench and village sign on village green:

• park bench on village green:
  • loose coping stones on one side
  • woodwork could do with painting
• village sign: metal post needs sanding down and repainting

Cllr Michael Priestley has kindly offered to carry out repairs.

In addition it appears that the bench at the bus stop will also need repainting in the near future.

c) Trees on village green:

No further update yet. Cllr John Fisher will follow this up.

d) Pigeons at Chestnut Farm:

Thinning is underway but seems to have little impact so far as there are still large numbers of pigeons around. Also the installing of netting to prevent nesting in some of the buildings seems problematic due to the state of repairs of the buildings concerned.

As this is on private land, WPC has limited options available to address this.

Cllr Sarah Trotter (SKDC) will investigate if anything can be used from SKDC Environmental Health resources.

e) Restarting council surgeries:

For those villagers who would like to discuss matters with the council, it was resolved that restarting council surgeries would be worthwhile. WPC will plan quarterly sessions on Saturday mornings at 10am in the church with the first surgery to be planned for 22 October. Details about this will be placed on our website.

Clerk to investigate costs of a A-frame notice board that can be put outside the venue on the morning of the surgery.

f) Current status of NHW.

Neighbourhood Watch is outside the remit of the Welby Parish Council, but we do fully support and promote the scheme in our village as we recognise the benefits a NHW scheme offers villagers regarding information, safety and security. This has ceased to operate at this time, so if anybody wishes to volunteer to become the Welby NHW coordinator, please contact NHW UK to make any necessary arrangements and to get guidance on how to set this up and operate this. The former coordinator is willing to support a new person in the role and has an amount of village specific information that can be shared.

g) BKV.

Cllr Sarah Trotter (SKDC) congratulated Welby on winning 1st prize and stated the village should be proud to have achieved this. It was unfortunate that some events, even done with the best of intentions, may have detracted from this, but as a result, WPC will be putting in place a Code of Conduct procedure which should assist in avoiding any possible future misunderstandings. In addition, WPC will decide nearer the time if and to what extent it will be involved in next year’s BKV event.

The Council also discussed ways in which they could actively encourage parishioners to engage directly with council to discuss any matters and aim for a swift and appropriate solution. As well as the 10 minute slot at the start of all Parish Council meeting where villagers are welcome to come and raise any points, the council will also be recommencing the WPC Councillor Surgeries, where 2 councillors will be present on a quarterly basis to discuss any matters with villagers. All villagers are welcome to these surgeries and the dates of the surgeries will be communicated on the WPC website.

h) Best Kept Village award presentations (10am on Monday 24 October at the Wyndham Park Visitor Centre in Grantham).

Several villagers that have made a big effort in maintaining the various planters and general pleasant appearance of the village will be approached to see if they would like to attend, together with a WPC councillor, the prize giving ceremony.

i) Siting of BKV bin.

A suitable location is yet to be determined.

j) Draft Code of Conduct procedure.

This will be reviewed in the next meeting.

12. Finance

Current bank balance stands at £4,116.49.

Since last meeting the following income has been received:

Since last meeting payments made from bank account:

Cheques raised during meeting:

The petty cash has a balance of £7.06 as of today’s date.

Since last meeting payments made from Petty Cash:

This amount will be banked as there is no point in maintaining it as ready cash.

The Chairman signed off Cashbooks as a true record after agreement from Councilors that both bank statement and cash books were accurate.

13. Urgent business

No urgent business was raised.

14. Decide next meeting of the parish council.

The next ordinary meeting of Welby Parish Council will take place on Wednesday 16 November 2022 at 19:00 in St. Bartholomew’s Church.

Signed: ……………………………………………………………..   Chairman

Dated:………………………………………………………………..