September 2024

Meeting Minutes – 4th September 2024

19:00 in St. Bartholomew’s Church

Present

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

Cllr Gill Ikin                                                      Cllr Jonathan Fisher

Cllr Sarah Trotter (SKDC)                               

In Attendance 

Roel van Aken (Clerk)

1. Apologies for Absence

Cllr Alan Gilbert

Cllr Martin Hill (LCC)

2. Confirmation of eligibility, quorum and Declaration of interest

All councilors present are 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 26th June 2024 were an accurate record of the parish council meeting and were signed off by The Chair.

5. Flooding Issues

• Blocked drains: over the last 3 weeks the drains were inspected by camera and cleared right throughout the village. Several problem areas were identified which will be the basis for the next phase of work. A full report with all the findings will be provided by LCC in due course which will also outline details of the next phase of works. Details will be published on the WPC website when available.

• Welby Emergency Plan: a training session involving all WPC members will be organized by LRF sometime in October.

• WPC members will be attending the Community Resilience Plan session for several local parish councils on Monday 9 September organised by SKDC.

• SKDC are also organizing Parish & Town Council conferences which will cover such topics as responsibilities of local government (which level of local government is responsible for which service etc) and will provide an overview of SKDC’s Corporate Plan. WPC members aim to attend.

6. Solar Farm Proposals

WPC is aware of the following 3 proposals:

• S23/0587 – S24/0360: Church Lane: planning permission refused.
• S23/2235: ASH Tree Solar Farm: revised application submitted.
• S24/1040: Pasture Farm, Welby: awaiting decision by SKDC.

7.   Reducing speeding through Welby

• Speed watch: no sessions have taken place.

• SID: review results to date: results from the main street (East end) location were reviewed. A clear difference emerges between traffic speed towards the SID vs. away. Higher speeds still occur in both directions but a higher average is in the "away" direction (i.e. leaving the village). The towards direction appears to have good compliance at this location when the SID is present.

The possibility of installing a new pole closer to the village boundary on the eastern side has been investigated. Graeme Butler from the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership visited Welby and 2 new locations for 2 poles were identified on Main Street and Church Lane. LRSP will fund these. These 2 new poles have now been installed.

 A total of 6 new speed watch “30” signs are being put up around the village.

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

• Update from County Councillor Martin Hill on Lincolnshire County Council matters: no update available.

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

SKDC has organized a Community Resilience Plan session for several local parish councils on Monday 9 September. The aim is to compare and synchronise individual councils’ plans.

Quarterly Police Report: Cllr Sarah Trotter will request to include more information tailored to rural villages.

Dementia: SKD will be promoting the use of free wristbands to help identify nearest relatives.

West Gate repaving in Grantham: works are taking longer then expected.

Community Awards: closing date is 20 September. There are several categories people can be nominated for.

9. Correspondences

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

10. Planning Applications: 

Planning applications to consider with the following planning applications received:

11. Highways

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

12. Village Matters

a. Repairs to bench and village sign:

     * village sign: metal post has been repainted but may need replacing in years to come.

     * park bench near bus stop: will need repainting at some point in the future.

     * park bench on the village green: will soon get a coating to protect it.

     * Village sign on the village green: has deteriorated and needs attention to protect it. Clerk to investigate possibilities for restoration or replacement

b. Community Orchard Funding: not possible to meet the minimum criteria.

c. Picnic on the Green: WPC will make a financial contribution of £200.00

d. Village Green tree canopy: another tree trimming will be necessary. WPC will commission a tree surgeon to see what needs to be done. Some trees may need to be removed in order to create more space and allow other trees to survive. Cllr. James Pask will contact Crimson Kings Tree Service.

e. Village Green: corner compost heap area and the 2 overgrown shrubs. The overgrown shrubs restrict access to the compost heap and need to be removed and replaced with more suitable plants. Greenstripe will take care of this.

f. SKDC Community Fund Application: consider applying for financial contribution towards Christmas tree and new Christmas lights. Clerk to obtain suitable quotes and prepare application.

13. Finance

Current bank balance stands at £3,999.77.

Since last meeting the following income has been received:

Since last meeting payments made from bank account:

Cheques raised during meeting:

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

14. Urgent business

To consider any urgent business.

Please note if it is “urgent” only because it was not notified in time to appear on the agenda, it should be left till the next meeting. If it is genuinely “urgent”, that is it was too late for the agenda and it will be too late for action if left till the next ordinary meeting The Chairman and The Clerk need to decide whether an additional meeting should be called or actioned during this meeting.

15. Decide next meeting of the parish council.

The next ordinary meeting of Welby Parish Council will take place on Wednesday 13th November 2024 at 19:00 in St. Bartholomew’s Church.

Signed: ……………………………………………………………..   Chair

Dated:………………………………………………………………..