August 2019 Minutes
MAREHAM LE FEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on 21st August 2019
Vice Chairman, Mr P Chilvers in the Chair
Councillors:
Mr R Cox.
Miss P Fytche.
Mr A Hawkes.
District Councillor S Avison
3 members of the public also attended.
2891. Apologies for Absence.
The following Councillors sent their apologies. Mr J Huggins and Mr P Bourn had to attend previous engagements. Mr C Wentzell due to family bereavement. Mr D Loveridge was unable to attend.
County Councillor B Aron sent his apologies.
2892. Declaration of interests.
No one had any interests to declare.
2893 Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council meeting held on 24th July to be approved.
The minutes had already been circulated to the Councillors. It was proposed by Cllr Cox and seconded by Cllr Hawkes that these were accepted. All Cllrs voted in favour and they were signed by the Vice Chairman.
2894. Matters Arising.
The Clerk had purchased a mobile phone at a cost of £5.00 with £10.00 pay as you go for calls. The number is 07849918268. The Clerk will contact the Village News and ask that if the contact number can be altered and the details on the website and the notice boards will be changed.
2895. Correspondence.
A Parishioner had written to complain that the grass on School Lane needed cutting. Cllrs said that this had now been done.
A letter had been received regarding a plot at the Cemetery which had a headstone in the centre of two plots, one of which would not be used. Cllrs decided that the plot would be left as it was and not used for another burial. The Clerk will notify the plot holder.
A complaint had been received regarding an overgrown hedge at the end of Watery Lane where it joins Main Street which restricts vision of traffic coming from Coningsby. Cllrs agreed that this was dangerous. Cllr Fytche will ask the owners if they could cut it back.
St Helens Church asked if any Cllrs would be attending the Remembrance Day service at St Helens Church. The Clerk will contact the Church secretary with the numbers of those who are able to attend.
L C C had contacted the Clerk to ask for a copy of the Parish Council’s public liability insurance so that their records could be updated. The Clerk had sent these details and she had been informed that L C C would raise a purchase order for the grass cutting.
A Parishioner had emailed the Clerk to inform her that an error had been made on the Minutes which had been published on the Parish Website. The Clerk had thanked the Parishioner but it appeared that there was some misunderstanding about the email.
The Clerk wished it to be pointed out that she is only an employee of the Parish Council and as such has no input in Parish matters. Cllrs felt that any remarks or problems should be sent to the Clerk and Parishioners should then attend the Parish Council meeting so that they could be discussed in person rather than via email or facebook where there was a chance of misinterpretation.
The Clerk had received an email from a Parishioner who wished to thank the Parish Council for not cutting back the hedgerows too tightly. This meant that wildlife and wild flowers and berries etc had flourished. The Clerk had thanked the Parishioner for her positive comments.
2896. Planning.
Ref S/114/00991/19. East Lindsey District Council notified the Parish Council that planning permission had been approved for extensions and alterations to the existing dwelling at Sideways, Lammins Lane.
S/114/00985/19. Planning permission for the erection of a bungalow at Sideways, Lammins Lane had been refused.
2897. Mareham le Fen Community Centre Trustees, re refusal to accept Parish Council’s nomination.
The Clerk had contacted the Charities Commission regarding this but had not yet received a reply.
2898. Benches for the Village.
Councillors felt that it would be nice to have some benches around the Village and thought they would be a benefit to the Village. Cllr Hawkes suggested the benches could be used for Parishioners to meet up and said it would be a good idea to involve the local school by asking pupils to paint the benches in bright colours. Cllr Avison said he would send details of benches he’d seen in another Parish which didn’t require maintenance or painting and Cllr Fytche said there were some nice wooden benches available. This will be put on next month’s agenda for further discussion.
2899. Finance.
The following bills were presented for payment:
£428.00 Mr D Lawrence grass cutting etc July 2019
£48.50 E L D C election costs
It was proposed by Cllr Fytche and seconded by Cllr Cox that these were paid, all voted in favour.
2900. Grass Cutting and Management.
The Councillors had not yet had a meeting with Mr Lawrence. There were several items to discuss so the Clerk will contact Mr Lawrence and ask when it would be convenient to meet him.
Cllr Avison informed the Parish Council that their contract with LCC covers 2 cuts per year and the Parish Council only needs to cut the grass between the road and the footpath. Any other areas are cut at the discretion of the Parish Council.
2901. Purchase of new Cemetery plot and Cemetery charges.
The heads of terms form had been sent to the Clerk for signature. It was proposed by Cllr Hawkes and seconded by Cllr Chilvers that the Clerk could sign the form on behalf of the Parish Council. All Cllrs were in favour.
The Clerk will arrange for the grass to be cut again in this area and also that the hedge is cut, a meeting can then be arranged to mark out the plot.
Councillors had been given a copy of the new Cemetery charges. It was proposed by Cllr Hawkes and seconded by Cllr Chilvers that these were approved. All Cllrs were in favour so these can now be published.
Cllrs will be meeting with the contractor so will carry out a safety inspection at the Cemetery.
Cllr Chilvers had discussed the possibility of putting owl boxes in the Chapel and had spoken to someone about this. They will be willing to advise the Parish Council.
2902. Wild flower planting.
Cllrs thought it would be a good idea to have a wild flower area at the Cemetery, especially in the new plot which won’t be used for some time. They also discussed planting wild flowers around the Village. It was felt however, that after they have flowered the grass looks rather messy because it cannot be cut until the wildflowers have seeded. It was decided that a nice alternative would be to plant some daffodil bulbs. This was agreed, Cllr Fytche will purchase some bulbs.
2903. Grit bins.
Cllrs thought that a good site for a grit bin would be near the school. Cllrs will investigate and this item will be discussed again at the next meeting.
2904. Newsletter for Parishioners.
Cllr Bourn had contacted the Clerk to suggest that an article could be put in the Parish magazine. The Clerk contacted the editor and he was happy to put an article in every month, free of charge. Cllrs voted in favour of this, proposed Cllr Cox and seconded by Cllr Hawkes. Cllr Hawkes agreed to write the article. The Clerk will also put a copy on the notice boards.
2905. Parish matters and items for the next agenda.
Cllrs agreed that they should not make any comment (as Cllrs) to items on facebook. If a Parishioner has a query, they should come to the Parish Council meeting. Anyone wishing to bring any issues to the attention of the Parish Council should contact the Clerk and it can be included on the agenda.
Cllr Huggins had been unable to attend the meeting but sent the following information to the Clerk.
He had heard nothing from the Wellbeing department at ELDC regarding personal alarms.
He hadn’t received a survey from L C C about a zebra crossing and the road signs had still not been repaired.
The meeting closed at 8.24 pm.
The next meeting will be held at the Bowls Club at 7.30 on September 18th 2019.