East Kirkby Parish Council Meeting
16th February 2023 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Present: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), C Brandwood, V Lingard, D Brown, C Briggs, Members of the Public (MoP), Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies: County Cllr W Gray, District Cllr T Taylor
Declarations of interest: None declared – based on the published agenda.
Public meeting: Chairman opened the meeting at 19.00 and wished everyone welcome to the meeting and asked Mr Warman (Landlord of the Red Lion pub) if he wished to speak. Mr Warman mentioned that he and his wife are feeling “left out to dry” and being made to feel unwelcome by the village. Mr Warman emphasised that the works being carried out on the pub, caravan site and the shop are being carried out within the parameters of the relevant planning rules and the terms of the application, as granted.
Mr Warman also mentioned that Chairman had come to speak to him about a concern raised by parishioners in relation to the caravan park. Concerns raised included that there are too many pitches against what was granted through the planning application; some of the caravans are occupied for longer than the allowed 28 days; and caravans are parked too close together (Must be minimum of 6 meters apart) – to name the main points.
Chairman read out a statement that was a record of the chat they had had in the village shop. Chairman asked Mr Warman if he agreed with the statement and advised that the statement would be included in the minutes (Statement can be found at the end of the minutes on page 3). Mr Warman agreed that the statement was an accurate representation of the chat between them. Chairman reassured Mr Warman again that the Parish Council is in full support of Mr and Mrs Warman’s endeavours.
In the ensuing discussion all the councillors and other MoPs expressed their support for Mr Warman and concern about the bad feeling caused by a “bad apple”. Mr Warman also asked that anyone who has a concern about the village shop, the pub or the caravan park come and speak to him and he will do his best to assuage any concerns. Mr Warman mentioned that he would be contacting ELDC Planning to clarify the position with regards to the rally field.
The Councillors agreed to keep an eye on things and re—visit in three months.
Action: Clerk to add to May agenda.
MoP mentioned one of the footpaths in the village which is hugely overgrown. Chairman re-iterated the use of putting items of concern on FixMyStreet. This particular item has been reported several times. Things are being made worse by mud being flung up by the tractors. The item is “on the list of works” from Highways.
Chairman thanked everyone for their input and closed the public meeting at 19.35.
Approval of minutes from the January 2023 meeting: Chairman ascertained that the councillors had all read the minutes and that they were an accurate representation of the meeting. Chairman signed a copy of the minutes and will post a copy on the notice board.
Updates from County and District Councillors: Both had both tendered their reports which have been distributed to all councillors and had sent their apologies.
Update from last month:
Anglian Water: Cllr Briggs has nothing to report. We will carry item forward to March meeting. All to keep a lookout on this item.
Action: Clerk to carry forward to next meeting.
Village information board: Chairman has re-issued the request.
Action: Clerk to carry forward to next meeting.
Straw: Mr Shooter has responded to Chairman’s e-mail and says that tractors should no longer be going through the village. Staples have replied to Clerk’s letter stating that drivers have been advised to use a route not through the village.
Red Lion caravan site: Covered in the public meeting.
Election Photo ID: Chairman reminded everybody that Photo ID is required for anyone wishing to vote. Posters will be put up in village.
Action: Clerk to carry forward to April 2023.
Annual Parish Meeting: Council agreed that the Annual Parish Meeting will take place on 20th April, starting at 18.30 followed by the standard Parish Council meeting at 19.00. Chairman invited Cllr Lingard (As Chairperson of the Village Hall) to give an update of the village hall, any issues etc. Notice of the annual parish meeting will be publicised on the website and notice boards.
Coronation Celebration: Chairman read out a statement from NALC regarding possible celebrations relating to the coronation. Cllr Brandwood suggested a statement saying that the parish council will support any group or organisation wishing to hold a street party or other celebration, as the Council did for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which was unanimously agreed.
Financial matters:
Barclays: Chairman advised that Barclays’ contact has closed the Periodic Review and has finally managed to update the signatories.
Invoices received: Clerk’s wages and expenses totalling £339.40. Cheque No. 100631.
Cllr Brandwood proposed acceptance of the invoice, seconded by Cllr Briggs. Unanimously agreed at the subsequent vote.
Minute ref: 1xx/01
Planning applications received: S/046/00168/23 Bridge Farm – all councillors agreed to support the application. This is a slight change to the original application of 2021, which we approved in July 2021.
Cobbler’s Corner: there has been no progress or approval to this application.
Other matters for discussion:
Chairman asked Cllr Lingard if she still wanted the bottle bank removed from the village hall as all parishioners now have their own bins. Chairman will ask ELDC about the future of the bottle bank.
Clerk mentioned that Chairman and Clerk had attended the 80th Anniversary service for the crew of No 9 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ED503 on behalf of the Parish Council.
Chairman mentioned the e-mail from Balfour Beatty regarding an offer of assistance with a village litter pick. Cllr Brandwood suggested asking Balfour Beatty if they can do a litter pick before the coronation weekend.
Action: Chairman to contact Balfour Beatty.
Chairman thanked all for their attention and contribution and closed the meeting at 20.50.
Next meeting date: Thursday 16th March 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: 20th April; 18th May; 15th June; 20th July
(Dates are subject to change)
All meetings start at 19.00. All meetings take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.
Start of statement from Chairman following his meeting with Mr Warman in the village shop.
“Meeting between Brian Nowicki and Chris Warman 09/02/2023 @ approx. 13.40 – 13.50.
A number of villagers in East Kirkby approached the Chairman of the Parish Council over a number of concerns they had with regards to the caravan site at the rear of the Red Lion Pub at East Kirkby.
The issues were:
- There appeared to be caravans occupied beyond the 28-day limit of the Caravan Licence.
- Some caravans are closer together than the required 6m separation.
- 34 pitches advertised.
Brian Nowicki, the Chairman of East Kirkby Parish Council, dropped in on Mr. Warman in the Village Store and spoke to him about the villager’s concerns.
Mr Warman assured the Chairman that no one was staying in the caravans for more than 28 days. He stated that a number of caravans are sited ‘long term’ and the owners visit regularly but do not stay in the caravans longer than 28 days. Mr. Warman also confirmed that his site booking system would verify this.
With regards to the caravans being sited closer than 6m apart Mr. Warman confirmed that those that are close together are in storage and not occupied. Mr. Warman confirmed that whilst there could be up to 34 sites available on the entire field, including, ‘the rally field’ it is only the 12 touring pitches that have the required electric hook-ups as per the licence conditions. Mr. Warman also advised that the toilet/shower facilities comply with the caravan licence requirements have more than adequate capacity to serve the entire site.
The Chairman thanked Mr. Warman for his time and told him that he would include the issues raised by the villagers in the agenda for the next Parish Council meeting and include this record as part of the minutes.”
End of statement.