East Kirkby Parish Council Meeting
1st December 2022 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Present: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), C Briggs, V Lingard, D Brown, Members of the public (MoP), JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies tendered and accepted: Cllr C Brandwood, County Cllr W Gray, District Cllr T Taylor
Declarations of interest based on the published agenda: None declared.
Public meeting: Chairman welcomed everyone and opened the meeting at 19.10.
MoP mentioned the large tractors wrecking the verges, forcing pedestrians to walk in the middle of the road.
Action: Chairman and Clerk to write to Hawkes and Staples.
Dog mess bin: (Brought forward into the Public meeting.) ELDS have proposed putting the, relocated, dog mess bin on the public footpath post adjacent to No. 16 Fen Road, unfortunately, with the proposed location from ELDC suggestion there is no actual public footpath on that side of the road, which means that it will be necessary to cross the road to use the dog mess bin. The general consensus is that the best option is to use one of the 30 mph signs by the entrance/exit to the village by Manor Care Home. It is away from most houses and would be a more preferable location as echoed by the dog walkers present at the meeting – Especially as nearly all dog walkers will walk past either sign on their way out or in. If the 30mph sign is unsuitable then ELDC is requested to place a new post in the vicinity of the signs to facilitate the dog mess bin.
Chairman closed the public meeting at 19.25 and thanked everybody present for their input.
Approval of minutes from October 2022 meeting: Chairman ascertained that all present had read the minutes and that they had seen the amendment and that the minutes were an accurate representation of the meeting. Cllr Lingard suggested approval of the minutes, seconded by Cllr Briggs. Chairman signed the minutes and will post a copy on the notice board.
Update from Cllr Gray: Clerk had distributed Cllr Gray’s report to all councillors earlier in the week.
Update from Cllr Taylor: Cllr Taylor sends regular updates which are distributed by the Clerk.
Update from last month:
Anglian Water (AW): Cllr Briggs advised that he had been contacted by ELDC regarding the sewage smells and problems with the plant at East Keal. On the day Cllr Briggs and ELDC spoke, there was a very strong wind obscuring any smells. There have been a few updates by AW to the East Keal plant, which it is hoped will sort the problem. It was agreed to carry this item forward to the January meeting and for all present to keep monitoring the smells.
Action: All to keep monitoring and Clerk to carry forward.
Village information board/Coronation Oak: Chairman has received a new quote from Burgess Print, Retford. The quote is approx. £1200 for a lockable cabinet, allowing for future updates. This is for a lectern-style board. It would be cheaper to have it made as an upright stand, but that would obscure the War Memorial so this is not an option.
Action: Clerk to carry forward to January.
AE Lentons: Chairman wrote to AE Lentons and the rubbish has been removed.
Cost of living crisis – warm spaces: Chairman advised that there had been an article in The Rural Services Networks Bulletin where it mentioned that 100s of village halls are closing around the country as they cannot afford to pay for the heating costs etc. The Parish Council was assured by Cllr Lingard that this is not the case with the East Kirkby Village Hall. Chairman had asked Mr Panton about using part of the Aviation centre as a warm space, but this is not an option as their heaters have been disallowed as they do not meet the relevant standards.
Avian Flu: Chairman and Clerk had distributed a notice regarding Avian Flu. This showed the 3 areas close to East Kirkby and Boston. Chairman reminded everyone that there is a country-wide mandatory order to keep poultry under cover. This has been in place for the last 6-8 weeks. Chairman asked Clerk to add the aviation flu link from DEFRA to the website.
Action: Clerk
Barclays Bank: Chairman advised that Barclays Bank have been in touch and wanted to carry out a periodic review. Chairman took the councillors through the list of questions and answers.
Planning applications/Consultations: None received. However, the application for
A new application for Cobbler’s Corner had been launched 01/12/2022.
Action: Clerk to carry forward to January 2023.
Financial matters: Mr Chatterton had sent his invoice for £35.00 relating to church grass cutting and has been paid.
Minute ref: 174/01
DM Payroll invoice for £60.00 has been paid.
Minute ref: 174/02
Clerk’s wages covering September to December 2022 for £292.72, which includes a charge of £43.12 form LALC for guides which Clerk had paid by bank transfer.
Minute ref: 174/03
All invoices were unanimously approved.
Other matters for discussion:
NHS Lincolnshire integrated care board: This is called The Contributor and is an online opportunity for people to provide opinions.
Action: Clerk to add link to website.
Chairman confirmed that all present had seen the map and list of trees with TPOs on.
Chairman thanked everyone present for their contribution and diligence for 2022 and wished everyone a merry Christmas. Meeting was closed at 20.55.
East Kirkby Parish Council
Extra-ordinary Meeting
8th December 2022 - 19.00 start
This extra-ordinary meeting was called to discuss the planning application for Cobbler’s Corner and the proposed precept for 2023/24 only.
Present: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), C Brandwood, D Brown, V Lingard, C. Briggs, JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies received/accepted: None
Declarations of interest: None declared – based on the agenda.
Planning application S/046/02100/22 relating to Cobbler’s Corner.
Chairman and councillors discussed the application at some length. The proposed plan is to rebuild the car workshop and refurbish the white house.
The councillors unanimously agreed that the change would provide a benefit and become an asset to the village. However, there are a number of queries on the application:
Applicant has ticked that there is no Industrial waste on site, which is not correct as industrial waste WILL be a part of the car workshop;
Councillors also queried the number of parking spaces (47) if there is no diner planned;
The diner is only mentioned at the end of the ”Justification statement”;
Clarification needed on the planting of vegetation – Planting schedule is needed;
It was unanimously agreed to support the application with the questions clarified.
Precept
Councillors discussed the proposed options for changes to the precept for 2023/24 and onwards as well as the proposed increase in Clerk’s wages and hours, as previously distributed by Chairman.
Clerk left meeting at 19.20 to ensure that all councillors were able to speak freely – Chairman agreed to take notes. Following the discussion, it was agreed that:
- Hourly rate would increase from £9.50 to £11.00 from 01/01/2023.
- It was also agreed that Clerk’s hours should increase from 2 hours per week to 3 hours per week at the same time.
Clerk was called back to the meeting at 19.25.
During the discussion regarding the precept, it was proposed that the precept should increase to £3250 for 2023/24 and to £3500 for 2024/25 and £3750 from 2026 onwards. It was also agreed that there should be a review of the precept in 2027.
Chairman will produce an updated Medium-Term Financial Plan to reflect the changes.
Action: Chairman to produce and distribute
Other matters for discussion:
It was mentioned that there is a PCSO meeting on 16th December. It was also mentioned that there have been at least 2 break-ins in the village and councillors urge villagers to be vigilant. There has also been a disturbance at the airfield.
Coronation Oak – It was actually planted for the coronation of George VI in 1936 and not for the Late Queen Elizabeth II as previously thought. Cllr Lingard has spoken to the lady who actually planted the tree, as she was the youngest child in the village school. The lady has a few photographs which Chairman will ask to borrow so that we can add to the website and village information board.
Chairman thanked everyone present for their contributions and diligence for 2022 and wished everyone a merry Christmas. Meeting was closed at 19.55.
Next meeting date: Thursday 19th January 2023 - starting at 19.00
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 2023 meetings: 19th January; 16th February; 16th March
(Dates are subject to change)
All meetings start at 19.00. All meetings take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.