East Kirkby Parish Council Meeting
18th January 2024 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Present: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), V Lingard, C Brandwood, T Anderson, District Cllr T Taylor, Members of the Public (MoP), Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies tended and accepted: Cllr C Briggs, County Cllr W Gray,
Declarations of interest: None – based on the published agenda.
Public meeting: Chairman opened the public meeting at 19.00.
D-Day/Battle for Normandy remembrance – June 2024: Ms H Leek (MoP) has been researching and it appears that no one is ‘celebrating’ this year, but more are having a commemoration event. However, VE-Day in 2025 is a scheduled to be a bigger event with different forms of celebration.
This year, the D-Day Landings, are being commemorated with beacons – as a Celebration of Light. There are beacons being lit in France, Belgium, UK and across the Commonwealth. There are various ‘beacon’ options with lanterns, torches, hay fires etc.
Cllr Brandwood has also been looking at what activities are available – of which there are very few. Cllr Brandwood also contacted Mr P Donnellan (RBL President, Coningsby, Tattershall & District Branch) regarding what events are taking place at Coningsby. There will be a proclamation of the names of the deceased. During the ensuing discussion it was mooted whether there should be more than just a commemoration at the War Memorial, or to also include a memorial service, but Chairman is still awaiting a reply from Rev. Fran Jeffries. It was also suggested that Ms Leek visits the Airfield and the Pantons to find out what they are doing and how we can help. Ms Leek and Cllr Brandwood to liaise further.
Action: Clerk to carry forward.
MoP also raised a problem with the slurry wagons and slurry tractor/trailers as, whilst they are being courteous and pulling over to let people through, which shows very good manners, they are causing additional damage to the verges. There are several slurry collections every day by 4 – 5 wagons/tractor/trailers. It is also causing a problem with the MoP’s water meter, which is being impact damaged. The nearby fire hydrant is similarly at risk. The water meter is owned by Anglian Water and the hydrants are owned jointly by Anglian Water and the local fire service. The hydrant has almost disappeared by being constantly driven over.
Another MoP mentioned a similar problem at the Amsterdam named property, on Chapel Lane, with clods of soil being churned up and dumped on the drains, blocking them. MoP also mentioned that there are water meters there. MoPs were advised to use FixMyStreet for both fire hydrants and water meters.
Chairman closed the Public Meeting at 19.25 and thanked everyone for their input.
Approval of minutes from the November 2023 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 Councillor Terry Taylor:
Home energy advise (insulation in home grants) and there are sessions that you can attend at the various hubs; Green waste bins (Pay early and get ALL collections); Draft budget for 2024/2025 and there is a 3.06% increase in council tax for a Band D property;
Cllr Taylor was asked to have some points clarified with regards to definitions set out in the planning approval document for the Red Lion, in particular: 1) what is the definitive answer to “a camping site”. (It is generally believed that camping means tents and nothing bigger or motorised); 2) when will the landscaping start? Answer is believed to be when the Licensee starts the work on getting the camping site ready; 3) People living permanently on the site (This also applies to the caravans at the Foundations and Buildings site).
Action: Cllr Taylor will try to chase these issues, but especially the caravans at Foundations and Buildings with Enforcement.
Neighbourhood Plan/Priority: Cllr Taylor was asked about the new measures that came enshrined into law and one of them was to allow parish councils to prepare easier local neighbourhood plans. There is also a consultation on Gov.UK regarding Street votes, which is an alternative to traditional planning applications with a “street vote” on any proposed building on a specific bit of land – It would have to be unanimous “On The Street”, if there is one household that does not agree, then full planning application would be required.
There was a discussion on devolution and the impact. The 7 districts within the scope of the Lincolnshire devolution have no say in how, what, when etc will happen within the devolution. The consultation for devolution is on-going. One of the questions were: If devolution had taken place and Scampton had their neighbourhood plan, would the refugees still be put up at RAF Scampton and thus disregarding the neighbourhood plan? There was a question regarding the additional buildings on the site of the Horncastle Hub. Cllr Taylor confirmed that these buildings will be renovated and taken in use by the council.
Update from last month:
Anglian Water: Nothing to report.
Village information board: Chairman advised that the new board has been finished and we are now awaiting the arrival and installation of the village board.
Parish Council Engagement Session 5th December 2023: Chairman had sent the whole presentation to all the councillors. Chairman quickly went through the presentation and highlighted a few of the salient points. There is a hope that with devolution the elected Mayor will ensure that there will be additional funding to the police force.
One of the main things that came across from the presentation on 5th December 2023 is that the police force is doing the very best they can with the limited resources and the massive size of the area. Chairman urged all the councillors to read/view the presentation document because of the wealth of information it contains.
Planning applications: None received prior to the meeting.
Financial matters:
Precept: Agreement was for the 2024/2025 to be raised to £3,500. This was unanimously agreed (again) at the subsequent vote.
Minute Ref: 205/01
Invoices received and paid: Clerk advised that an invoice from DM Payroll Services Ltd was received and paid in December 2023.
Minute Ref: 206/01
A point was raised about reporting back to a parishioner who has asked Clerk to raise an item with the council (This statement appears on all the agendas, urging parishioners to contact the Clerk). This sparked a discussion regarding the use of Facebook and how useful it would be and how much information should be available. All councillors present voiced the opinion that our website should be the focal point and questioned whether a Facebook page would be useful or just a slim-lime duplicate of the web-site, and Chairman asked for a vote from the councillors with regards to discussing this again. Council unanimously agreed to NOT discuss this further or set-up a Facebook page.
Chairman thanked all for their attention and contribution and closed the meeting was closed at 21.10.
Next meeting date: Thursday 15th February 2024 - 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 2024 meetings: 14th March; 18th April; 16th May; 20th May
Dates are subject to change.
All meetings start at 19.00 and take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.