East Kirkby Parish Council Meeting
18th April 2024 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Present: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), V Lingard, C Brandwood, C Briggs, C Warman, County Cllr W Gray, District Cllr T Taylor), no Members of the Public (MoP) Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Chairman advised the council, and expressed his regret, that Cllr Anderson has resigned.
Chairman formally welcomed Mr Chris Warman to the Parish Council after his acceptance form was countersigned by the Parish Clerk.
Apologies tended and accepted: None
Declarations of interest: None – based on the published agenda.
Public meeting: Chairman opened the public meeting at 19.02 and as there were no MoPs present, Chairman closed the public meeting 19.05.
Approval of minutes from the March 2024 meeting: Chairman ascertained that the councillors had read the minutes and that they were an accurate representation of the meeting. Minutes were unanimously agreed. Chairman signed a copy of the minutes and will post a copy on the notice board.
Update from District Cllr T Taylor: Police commissioner election 2nd May; SELCP group has broadcast that grants are available for people not on mains gas, which could run up to £38,000. This is separate to the HEARTS initiative; Polling stations are calling out for people ‘sit in’; Covid vaccinations are now being offered for people over 75 and those with weakened immune system; There is a push to help people caught in a loan shark situation Stoploanshark.co.uk which is well worth a look and listen; There was a question regarding the cost of the Police Commissioner election, which Cllr Taylor confirmed comes out of the Police Commission budget.
Update from County Councillor W Gray:
Cllr Gray had sent a report earlier which Clerk had distributed to all councillors.
Budget has been set; CallConnect journeys are still capped at £2 for a single journey; Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) have commissioned an independent study as they vehemently disagree with the proposed National Grid installation of 50M tall pylons from Grimsby to Walpole in Norfolk; There are lots of surveys circulating at the moment (buses, maths skills etc.) – All on the LCC website; Nomination for LCC Good Citizen Award nominations are open; E-News letter service from the County council https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/.
Cllr Gray reported back on the Highways issues raised to Ms Hardy at the March meeting:
Footpath to Revesby: a proper survey has been done and just the East Kirkby section is estimated to be around £750K – The plan is for this to be “cut into smaller sections” and funding for each section is going to be applied for and the first section is estimated to cost £150,000.
The Highways team has also been out and ascertained that the sub-structure is better than first anticipated in certain areas so there is a distinct possibility of having road planings put down and the go-ahead has been given for these planings. The estimated timings for the first section is still within 2 years.
Drainage issues: Further stoppages were found, the works have been requested and we are waiting for a date.
Notification on roadworks: no update as yet.
Archer survey: was done in early February for a 7-day period. Cllr Gray read out the first bit of the report and Clerk has requested the “raw data”. Cllr Gray will send his version to Clerk as well.
Pothole work: was planned for this week, but Cllr Warman mentioned that this has not been done.
The lit “Give Way” sign: Cllr Warman mentioned that the reported problem has disappeared from FixMyStreet. Ms Hardy is chasing up.
Cllr Brandwood suggested that once the Archer survey data has been received and extrapolated that we publish the graphs on the website and the notice board, which was agreed.
Chairman thanked Cllrs Gray and Taylor for their input and they left the meeting at 19.45.
Update from last month:
Anglian Water: Nothing to report.
D-Day tribute: Chairman has spoken to Mr Paddy Donnellan from RBL, who sadly couldn’t be here on 18th April 2024. Rev Peter Coates is on-board and will be present. Chairman asked Cllr Brandwood to take on the preparations and will pass on Rev Coates’ contact information.
Cllr Brandwood would like to take forward the idea of the “Lighting the Light” at 6pm (In the March meeting it was suggested that the children of the village could put a battery tea-light in a jam jar and light them at 6pm, allowing time for them to light the candle and then get home in time for bedtime etc.) Cllr Warman mentioned that he has some portable, battery powered LED floodlights that could be used to light up the War Memorial.
There was some discussion as to when the siting of the Tommy Silhouette should happen. It was mooted that next year might be better.
Action: Cllr Brandwood to report back. Clerk to carry forward to the May meeting.
Cllr Warman has been asked to mention the bus shelter.
Action: Clerk to carry forward to the May meeting.
Procedural review:
Chairman distributed the latest updated procedures:
Becoming a Parish Councillor; Standing Orders; Code of Conduct; Complaints Procedure; Local Government Act 1972 Chapter 70 Part V (LGA) and Councillor declaration of compliance.
Chairman asked everyone to read them and understand them. This is in preparation for the Annual Parish Council meeting in May 2024.
All procedures are available on the website and more being added as they are finalised.
Planning applications: None were received prior to the meeting.
Financial matters:
Clerk’s wages: Clerk presented wages spanning mid-February to mid-April.
Although Councillors unanimously agreed to pay the wages as presented, it was stressed that the hourly rate must be put up to £12 per hour from 22nd April 2024.
Minute ref: 20240418-1
Chairman mentioned that the new batteries for the defibrillator had cost £252.00. Cllr Brandwood suggested that Council pays the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Briggs - Which all present agreed must, in future, be paid for by the council and not the Chairman.
Minute ref: 20240418-2
Cllr Warman mentioned that the information on the front of the defibrillator had become unreadable due to UV damage and that LIVES wanted £162.00 for a new one. Cllr Warman advised that he was having new signs for the caravan site and that he would be prepared to have a new label printed for the defibrillator. Chairman had a photo of the front of the defibrillator when it was first installed that could be used to produce the replacement.
Action: Chairman and Cllr Warman to liaise.
Cllr Warman mentioned that he has been approached by several parishioners if it would be possible to bring back the Tannoy or something similar. Cllr Warman is trying to get this off the ground albeit in a smaller format than before.
Chairman thanked all those present for their attention and contribution and the meeting was closed at 20.35.
Any items to be brought before the Council can be submitted to the Clerk via eastkirkbypc@gmail.com
by the Thursday (1 week) before the meeting.
Please visit our web-site via:
https://east-kirkby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/
Dates for 2024 meetings: 16th May; 20th June; 18th July
Dates are subject to change.
All meetings start at 19.00 and take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.