September 2021 minutes
Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 15th September 2021 at 7.30pm in Mareham Le Fen Community Centre
Before the meeting started Councillor Avison welcomed everyone present. He went on to make everyone aware that the five Councillors who were previously on the Parish Council had done nothing wrong, it was just unfortunate that they were unable to hold face to face meetings or were unable to hold Zoom meetings due to poor internet signal for them and the previous clerk. It didn’t help either with the offices at ELDC being closed, so it was difficult to get advice from them of how to proceed. The previous clerk had originally handed her resignation to the Councillors in April 2020 but agreed to carry on to help the Council out. Due to personal circumstances she decided earlier this year that she was finally resigning and the job was advertised on the noticeboard and in the LALC newsletter. The clerk approached Councillor Avison to ask if he knew of anyone who may be willing to help out and the current acting clerk agreed to step in. The only other official application was from some-one in Hull which was deemed to be impractical.
A meeting was held in May with the previous Councillors and the retiring clerk and it was agreed that the current acting clerk be employed to keep everything running until such time as the job could be re-advertised.
Following on from the issues an election was requested by Parishioners and this has resulted in five new Councillors being elected. There are two important issues which the new Council must place as priority, appointing a clerk on a permanent basis and getting the signatories on the bank account updated.
Cllr Avison advised the meeting that he and the clerk had received queries about the legality of the meeting being held this evening. He asked the newly elected Councillors if they wished to carry on with the meeting or if they would like to defer it for a week. All were happy to carry on.
Public Forum
Public and Press are welcome to attend with the first fifteen minutes being allocated for members of the public to speak.
A member of the public asked how the four remaining seats on the Council would be filled by co-option. Cllr Avison advised that the vacancies will be advertised and any interested parties will be able to apply, in writing, to the clerk. The five Councillors will then interview the applicants in a private session to see if they are suitable for the job. If more than four apply, and more than four are suitable a by-election may have to take place. This was queried, as NALC guidelines state that the current Councillors can vote for who they wish to take the seats. Cllr Avison will look into this and report back.
Present
County Councillor Cllr W Gray
District Councillors Cllr S Avison & Cllr A Hall
Newly Elected Councillors Cllr P Chilvers, Cllr P Bourn, Cllr S Millen, Cllr M Percival and
Cllr D Hill
Acting Clerk Mrs A Appleyard
Members of the Public Nineteen
1 Signing of Declarations of Office by Newly Elected Councillors
Cllr P Chilvers, Cllr P Bourn, Cllr S Millen, Cllr M Percival and Cllr D Hill all signed the Declaration of Office forms.
2 Election of Chairman
Cllr Avison asked for nominations for the position of Chairman. Cllr Bourn proposed Cllr Chilvers and Cllr Hill proposed Cllr Percival. As there were no other nominations a vote took place with Cllr Percival being elected Chairman. Cllr Avison congratulated Cllr Percival. The new Council took up position to carry out the rest of the business of the meeting.
3 Apologies for Absence and Reasons
Apologies had been received from Robert Cox, previous Councillor.
4 Declarations of Interest
There were no Declarations of Interest brought before the meeting.
5 Minutes of the Meeting held on 18th May 2021
It was proposed by Cllr Chilvers and seconded by Cllr Bourn that the minutes be accepted as a true record of the previous meeting. Cllr Percival signed the minutes.
6 Matters Arising from the Minutes
The Annual Parish Meeting and Annual General Meeting, mentioned in the previous meeting were not held on June 16th. There has been no Annual Parish Meeting for 2 years. It was agreed to postpone these until next May when they would normally be due.
Mr Brown had been asked to provide an itemised bill for his professional services re the purchase of land at the cemetery. This still hasn’t been received. The clerk will chase this up. Cllr Millen asked if planning permission had been gained for change of use from agricultural land. It is believed that the cemetery is on agricultural land now and that there has never been a change of use. The clerk will look through the documents regarding the purchase of the land to give a clearer picture at the next meeting.
7 Correspondence, for information only
Various correspondence had been sent through to the Councillors prior to the meeting. This included LALC Newsletter, LALC E-Newsletters, LCC – notification of roadworks. Cllr Hill asked what was happening with the noticeboard at Tumby Woodside which Tumby Parish Council had asked to erect. The clerk advised that this was in her shed waiting for one of the Tumby Councillors to organise erection.
8 Planning
S/114/01891/21 – Sujaneve, Church Lane, Mareham Le Fen, Boston, PE22 7QS – Extension to existing dwelling to provide additional living accommodation.
S/114/01852/21 – The Beeches, Beggars Lane, Mareham Le Fen, Boston, PE22 7SF – Extension and alterations to the existing dwelling to provide additional living accommodation.
Councillors felt unable to comment on the above until they had more explanation from ELDC, particularly regarding the proximity of the alterations to the neighbouring properties. The clerk will contact ELDC regarding this.
9 Finance
Current Position – As at 26th July the Treasurers Account had £21,835.04 in it and as at 9th August the Bus Bank Instant Account had £18,742.34. The clerk advised that nothing had been paid since the previous clerk had left.
Change of Bank Signatories - The bank signatories needs updating as there is currently only one or two Councillors able to sign and three are need for all cheques. The clerk will organise the addition of all of the new Councillors onto the bank account.
10 Other Parish Matters/Items for Next Agenda
Various items were discussed for inclusion in the next agenda. These included election of Vice-Chairman, Advertisement for position of Clerk, further information regarding the purchase of the land at the cemetery including planning permission and access to the extension. The grass cutting contract comes to an end this year so this will require putting out to tender. Clarification is needed on which areas LCC pay the Parish Council towards the grass cutting. Other items for inclusion are to include updating the website particularly to include the Council’s policies and procedures. There are currently only the Standing Orders showing on the website, no policies. The policies need reviewing before displaying on the website. Another item for discussion is the Queen’s Jubilee next year and to see if the village want to mark the occasion and if so in what way. The bus shelter is in need of repair. Quotes were sought 2 ½ to 3 years ago but no work was carried out. The guttering has now disappeared and the wooden fascia’s need replacing. A grant from the District Councillors had been received for help to purchase two new benches for the village. These haven’t been organised yet. Councillors were asked to have a look round the village to see where the best place to site benches would be. Another item is the cutting of the grass verges by Hobson’s which are done twice a year. Clarification of the areas they cut is needed. The cemetery could probably due with a safety inspection being carried out on the gravestones. Training courses for the New Councillors would be beneficial, the clerk will look into this. The wall at the church has been repaired the Clerk will find out who has done the work and write to thank them for making such a good job of it. A Community newsletter was discussed, the previous one was stopped due to Covid but it was felt that there was a need for one to be reorganised.
Cllr Gray, County Councillor, had sent through his report prior to the meeting. This included details of the Recycling Centres no longer requiring slots being booked. He also gave details of ‘Natasha’s Law’ – this is the new allergen labelling changes which come into effect on 1st October 2021 for prepacked for direct sale foods. Lincolnshire Archives – These will be re-opening to the public on Saturdays, initially once a month from 4th September between 10am and 4pm. Weekday openings are currently Tuesday to Thursday and visitors will need to book at least one week in advance. Help improve support for autistic people and their carer’s in Lincolnshire – a new project is working to ensure that autistic people in the County get the support they need to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives. Other topics in his report were looking after your eyes – ensuring that people working on computers have sufficient breaks to give their eyes a rest, Thinking about going drink free – cutting back on booze to improve your health, boost your energy, lose weight and save money, Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group AGM – to be held on Thursday 22nd September from 5pm to 7pm, Grab-a-jab coronavirus vaccinations are available for people aged 16 and over. Cllr Gray also advised of highway issues including flooding at Fieldside which is an ongoing problem and School Lane being closed from25th to 29th October for work to be carried out.
11 Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held at Mareham Le Fen Community Centre on Wednesday 20th October starting at 7.15pm.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.20pm.