February 2020 Minutes
MAREHAM LE FEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on 19th February 2020
Chairman, Mr J Huggins
Councillors:
Mr P Chilvers.
Mr R Cox.
Mr C Wentzell
County Councillor B Aron also attended.
12 members of the public attended.
2973. Apologies for Absence.
Apologies were received from Cllr Bourn and District Councillor Mr S Avison who had prior engagements. Mr D Loveridge did not attend the meeting.
2974. Declaration of interests.
No one had any interests to declare.
2975. Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council meeting held on 15th January 2020 to be approved.
The minutes had already been circulated to the Councillors. It was proposed by Cllr Huggins seconded by Cllr Cox that these were accepted. All Cllrs voted in favour and they were signed by the Chairman.
2976. Matters Arising.
All matters arising will be discussed as items on the agenda.
2977. Co- option of new Councillor.
Mr Philip Roberts was co-opted on to the Parish Council. All Cllrs voted in favour, he signed the relevant forms and joined the Council.
2978. Correspondence.
The Parish Council for Tumby Woodside had emailed to ask if they could put up their own notice board, next to the Mareham Le Fen noticeboard. This was approved by Cllrs.
2979. Freedom of Information request.
The Chairman had spoken to the Police at Coningsby and they had informed him that the last paragraph of the original email was regarded as malicious intent. Cllrs discussed this and decided to proceed with the case. Proposed by Cllr Wentzell and seconded by Cllr Roberts, all Cllrs voted in favour. The Clerk will print copies of the email and the Chairman will proceed.
2980. Planning.
S/114/02142/19. Land rear of Horncastle Road PE22 7QU. Erection of a detached bungalow to include an ancillary childcare area. Cllrs discussed this and decided that because the family were already in the Village the local services would not be affected. A vote was taken, 3 Cllrs voted in favour and 2 against. The Clerk will notify ELDC.
S/114/00132/20. Land West of the playing field Fieldside, application to vary the approved plans (granted 8th March 2017) Cllr Bourn had contacted the planning department at ELDC and he had been informed that this variation was to alter the entrance on plot 3. All Cllrs approved this.
The time limit for these applications had expired but the Clerk had been granted an extension until after the meeting.
The Planning Officers from E L D C had been contacted again but had still not attended a meeting or contacted the Council to arrange a date to meet with Cllrs. It was therefore decided that the Clerk should contact Victoria Atkins, the local MP, and ask if two Cllrs could attend one of her surgeries and discuss the planning problems with her.
The Trustees of the Village Hall had notified the Parish Council that they would be holding a public vote in March or April to ask the Parishioners whether or not the Memorial Lawn could be included in the sale of the Village Hall. One of the trustees explained that it was not ‘in memory’ of anyone, it was just the name requested by the person who donated the Lawn to the village.
2981. Benches for the Village.
A grant had been received from Cllrs Avison and Hall for the purchase of 2 benches. It was decided that the best place for one would be near the Church at Church Walk and another near Revesby Corner. The Clerk will get quotes for fitting the benches.
2982. Cemetery.
The Clerk had emailed the solicitor for an update on the purchase of the additional plot for the Cemetery, she had not yet received a reply.
2983. Finance.
The following bill was presented for payment:
£200 rent for meetings at the Bowls Club Pavilion February-November 2020.
It was proposed by Cllr Wentzell and seconded by Cllr Chilvers that this was paid, all voted in favour.
2984. Play Group equipment.
Two ladies from the Play Group Committee attended the meeting. They told the Cllrs that there were 6 committee members. The Play group would be held somewhere on the site of the Community Centre and would cater for children from toddlers to 11 years old. Cllr Cox said that part of the field was a Glebe Field so there might be some restrictions on the siting of the equipment. The Play group committee had started to investigate the grants and donations available and were being aided in this by Community Lincs, they proposed to send a questionnaire around the Village to find out the wishes of Parishioners regarding the scheme. They’d also looked into the price of designs and equipment and had 3 quotes, ranging from £54000 to £59000. They had held fundraising events and had already raised £3090. The Parish Council said they would give a contribution in the future, when the plans were further ahead. Cllr Roberts will liaise with the Playgroup Committee and report back to the Parish Council
2985. Grass Cutting and Management.
Mr Lawrence reported that there was some of the trees in the Cemetery were overcrowded. He suggested that 4 small trees should be removed. He also said that the yew trees needed reshaping and the tops taken out. Cllrs approved this and asked Mr Lawrence to proceed with the work.
Cllr Cox suggested that grass cutting bins should be situated nearer to the road. Cllrs agreed but no decision was taken.
2986 Flooding in the Village.
Cllr Cox will deal with the purchase of floodsax, they can be delivered to the Chairman’s House and then stored at the Cemetery. The Chairman had been in touch with Anglian Water and they had approved work orders for clearing out the gulleys. They will visit the Village, assess the problems and check out the situation at the sewage works.
2987. Maintenance and Church wall.
Work has still not been started at the Chapel; the Clerk will contact the builder and ask when he can start the work.
2988. Highway issues.
Cllr Cox had reported fly tipping at Lowgrounds Farm to ELDC, they had dealt with this within 2 days. Cllr Cox asked the Clerk to contact ELDC and thank them for acting so promptly.
There is a hedge growing over the path in the Village, The Clerk will ask if this can be cut back a bit.
A Parishioner reported that a fence had blown over and was nearly blocking the pavement. Cllr said he would deal with it.
It was suggested that Community watch could be set up to help reduce speeding in the Village. The Clerk will contact Billinghay Parish Council who have already tried this.
Cllr Aron had already reported the damaged drain cover to LCC, he will chase this up.
2989. Parish matters and items for the next agenda.
Cllr Chilvers said that there was a problem with cars parking on the pavement and blocking it. He said that the blind lady who lives in the Village had problems negotiating these vehicles as her guide dog had been trained not to lead her onto the road round the cars. The Chairman will put this in the newsletter.
Cllr Roberts said that crossings should be put on the road. This will go on the next agenda
The meeting closed at 8.30 pm.