29th June 2022 Council Meeting
Minutes of Parish Council meeting 29th June 2022 at 7.15pm
held at Mareham le Fen Community Centre
Present: Cllrs M. Percival (Chair), P. Chilvers, S. Millen, P. Bourn
Not Present: Cllrs K. Deane, D. Hill
Clerk: A. Everard
Members of Public present: 2
Public Forum
No issues raised.
133/22. Apologies for absence with reason given
Cllr Hill and Cllr Deane had both communicated valid reasons for absence to the Clerk.
134/22. Declaration of Members’ interests in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and requests for dispensations
None declared.
135/22. To receive the draft minutes to be approved as the minutes of the meeting held on 23rd June 2022.
The draft minutes had been circulated prior to the meeting, published on the parish council website and the Clerk read out the issues covered and resolutions passed. Cllr Chilvers proposed, Cllr Millen seconded and it was unanimously approved RESOLVED that the minutes of 23rd June 2022 were approved and the Chair signed them.
136/22. To consider any matters arising from the minutes of 23rd June 2022 not already on this agenda.
The Clerk advised the parish council that under minute 127/22a that East Lindsey District Council did not have any records about the cemetery other than a 1925 transfer of rights from Horncastle Rural District Council to Mareham le Fen Parish council. The image of the document has been passed to the council’s solicitor and advised that they would need to seek a statutory declaration to establish title.
Under Minute 127/22d regarding grass-cutting LCC Highways had agreed that Masons Lane would be added to the Highways Agreement and the Clerk would advise the parish council’s grass-cutting contractor. However, LCC Highways regarding Ormsby House Drive to School Lane footpath they advised that they were only responsible for the footpath surface and not the verges so they could not add that to the Highways Agreement. This issue to be raised with Cllr Gray during his planned walkabout.
Further to Minute 127/22e the Clerk had received a quotation for £335 for labour and materials from a decorating contractor, D.Couture, and in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair had been accepted. Other quotations over the past 4 months had been too expensive or not forthcoming from other potential contractors even from the open tender.
Minute 129/22 regarding the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and South East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership the Chair and Clerk had attended the webinar for parish councils on Monday 27th June and the deadline for submissions was 30th June. The Clerk suggested that councillors, residents, businesses and organisations can submit their own comments and ideas for funding. Councillors suggested that ideas for funding the football field project, the Play Group and could be submitted and funds needed for the Play Group equipment on the Community Centre site. Detail was not needed – it was the idea that was important. The link was on the ‘News’ section of the website.
137/22. To consider and approve financial matters
a) To approve expenditure on the payments schedule
There were none.
138/22. To note items of correspondence for information and decide on items for future action – Charity Scheme and ELDC correspondence from the Community Centre Trustees and any other correspondence.
Minute 131/22 the Community Centre Trustees had provided the Charity Trust scheme and the evidence that the Village Hall had been identified by East Lindsey District Council as ‘Exempt’ from the Asset of Community Value moratorium under S.95(1)(h). The Clerk had reviewed parish council records and circulated a report prior to the meeting to councillors confirming the objects of the Mareham le Fen Village Hall and Memorial Lawn charity, their power to sell land and assets, the requirement to hold a public meeting details with 14 days notice to decide if the land and property could be sold and details of exempt properties under S.95 Localism Act 2011 and confirmed that the Charity had owned the former Village Hall which had been sold and still owned the former Memorial Lawn.
139/22. To consider options for the Playing Pitch field in Mareham le Fen and submission to the land owner/ land agent if any response received.
No response had been received prior to the meeting.
140/22. To consider and approve the community asset re-registrations in the village.
Cllr Chilvers and Cllr Bourn advised that Minute 10 of the 24th March 2022 parish council meeting stated that the parish council had resolved to renew all the community assets currently on the register and under standing orders could not re-open the issue for six months. Cllr Percival and Cllr Millen said that they had understood that discussion and resolution had been about ‘making arrangements’ to decide the issue for all the currently registered community assets at a later meeting because newer councillors at that March meeting had not had any information about the community assets and needed to know more before a decision could be made.
The Clerk advised that under Standing Order 7 that it was indeed the case that decisions made by the parish council could not be re-opened for 6 months unless two Members of council wrote to the Clerk. The Clerk advised that this issue had not been highlighted the previous week in Minute 131/22 but if it was now the case that the decision to renew the community assets was resolved in March he would submit the nomination form forthwith for all assets, however, the parish council had not given him any grounds to support the nominations for the Village Hall and Memorial Lawn and since the matter could not be re-opened under Standing Order 7 he would submit the nomination forms without any grounds in support of the nomination. East Lindsey District Council would decide if they were Community Assets.
141/22. To receive updates, consider and approve any action on highways matters including Community Speedwatch application.
The Chair read from an email report that Cllr Hill and Deane had hosted an informal meeting with 15 members of the public on Saturday 25th June 2022. There was great interest in taking Community Speedwatch forward. Many suggestions for tackling speed and implementing the scheme. The group needed better maps to identify the areas to be covered. A further public consultation meeting will be organised later in the year.
142/22. Date of the next meeting 20th July 2022 and items to be added to the agenda.
The date of the next meeting was noted.
The meeting closed at 8.15pm.