East Kirkby Annual Parish Council Meeting
16th May 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, Members of the Public (MoP) incl. Rev P Coates, Mr P Donnellan (RBL), Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Election of Chairman: Clerk called for nominations for the position of Chairman. Cllr Brandwood nominated Cllr Nowicki as Chairman, seconded by Cllr Lingard.
Election of Vice-chairperson: Chairman nominated Cllr Brandwood, seconded by Cllr Briggs.
Both accepted their nomination.
Chairman’s address: Chairman thanked the councillors for the nomination and their support. Chairman also thanked the parishioners for their support and was pleased to see more parishioners present at the meetings.
Chairman also thanked Mr Mike Chatterton for keeping the churchyard clean and tidy.
Chairman also mentioned that the precept has been increased from £3,000 to £3,250 to cover increases in costs and services. Chairman also mentioned that most of the costs are taken up by Clerk’s wages and also called for councillors to support him in thanking the Clerk.
Chairman called for more parishioners to join the council to be more representative of the village.
Signing of declarations of acceptance of office: All councillors signed the declarations, which were then counter-signed by the Clerk.
Chairman then opened the regular parish council meeting at 19.10.
East Kirkby Annual Parish Council Meeting
16th May 2024 – to start after Annual Meeting
Present: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), V Lingard, C Brandwood, C Briggs, C Warman, County Cllr W Gray, Members of the Public (MoP) incl. Rev P Coates, Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies tended and accepted: District Cllr T Taylor
Declarations of interest: None – based on the published agenda.
Public meeting: Chairman opened the public meeting at 19.13.
MoP raised the point of the mirror on the corner of the A155 and Fen Rd. Cllr Gray mentioned that the mirrors are no longer allowed. Cllr Brandwood mentioned if it would be possible for a traffic speed indicator to be installed instead – This would at the very least alert people to the corner and possibly avert future fatalities.
Action: Chairman and Clerk to investigate grant.
Cllr Gray suggested to contact the Advisement and Retrofit team – Contact Helen Carter. There are grants coming and suggested that the village hall committee ought to contact the energy team to get advice on potential solar panels for the village hall.
MoP mentioned a manhole that keeps lifting on Fen Road when it has rains heavily and which floods the adjacent property. Highways have already investigated and confirmed that there is no blockage, but further investigations are on-going.
MoP enquired about the bus shelter. Clerk and Chairman have done some initial investigation and Chairman mentioned that to get a decent shelter, the cost will be approx. £3,500 + installation. MoP mentioned that parents will help with fund-raising and will organise contacting local businesses and the parents.
Crowd-funding pot of money is available through East Lindsey District Council. Cllr Gray advised to speak to Cllr Taylor. The first set of funding allocations has just finished and under this scheme the council will match upto 50% of monies raised.
Cllr Brandwood mentioned the cost of future maintenance, which falls on the parish council as well as insurance. All items requiring additional cost will lead to the precept being increased – potentially a larger increase than initially agreed and recorded in the Medium Term Financial Plan (MFTP) which is available on the web-site.
Chairman also mentioned that it is imperative that the properties by the proposed site of the bus shelter are happy with its construction and, although planning permission is not required for the bus shelter, Highways Authority approval is needed together with a street works licence to open the highway for the foundations. It will be necessary to canvas the properties adjacent the proposed bus shelter to seek their opinions.
Action: Clerk to carry forward.
Cllr Brandwood mentioned the playground and asked if the MoPs were going to carry on or have abandoned the idea. MoP confirmed that the playground suggestion had been abandoned.
Update from County Councillor W Gray:
Cllr Gray had sent a report earlier which Clerk had distributed to all councillors.
CallConnect is still capped at £2 per journey. There is quite a small uptake; Mental health and Dementia week which has lots of activities that people can participate in (for free);
Central government funding has come to the LCC and they will then distribute the funds down to vulnerable residents; There are lots of surveys that the council has asked for people to support and Cllr Gray mentioned that the information is used heavily;
A Roman Dodecahedron which has been found recently is on show at the Collection in Lincoln as part of the city’s Festival of History. It is one of the very finest Dodecahedron found anywhere in the world. It will be in place till end of September. Council e-news letter is available and full of information. Wolds Policing Plan 2024 is available on Lincolnshire Police website report. Click on the link or via the website. Wolds Policing Plan 2024
Highways update: Flooding at the junction – Investigations will take place 10th and 12th July and probably also the work itself. The works are being called Find and Fix.
Footpath, from East Kirkby to Revesby, is just awaiting the final go-ahead and date confirmation on the temporary planings fix. The full works are long-term and funding is being sought.
Illuminated sign – Update from Ms Hardy: “There is already a work order in the system for this with our Streetlighting team. I haven't received a date for the works yet, however I am awaiting that and will update you as soon as I have heard back from them.”
Main road (No. 23) has had works done to repair the road surface and into the residents’ gateway and it has now broken into chunks.
Action: Cllr Gray will take up with Highways.
The trees/hedge is overhanging by the corner by Bridge Farm, Fen Road. Cllr Gray advised that the Parish Council should, in the first instance, write to the owner and ask them to sort out the problem.
Action: Chairman and Clerk will write to the owners and ask them to cut the vegetation back.
Cllr Brandwood asked about the notification of road works. It appears that this was something a previous Highways Manager sent out and not an official document. So, the recommendation is to look on the Highways website. The major schemes are announced annually, but not the minor bits of work.
Cllr Gray mentioned that he is on the Council stand at the Lincoln Show on 19th June and hosting a dinner on 20th June, so will not be attending EKPC on June 20th.
Chairman thanked Cllr Gray who left the meeting at 20.00.
Approval of minutes from the Annual Parish meeting and the normal Parish Council meeting from April 2024: Chairman ascertained that the councillors had read the two sets of minutes and that they were an accurate representation of the meetings. The two sets of minutes were unanimously agreed. Chairman signed a copy of the minutes and will post a copy on the notice board. Draft minutes are available on the website.
Update from last month:
Anglian Water: Nothing to report.
D-Day tribute: Cllr Brandwood has been inContact with Royal British Legion (RBL). The theme is one of Light. Cllr Brandwood has put a proposed schedule forward:
Start at 5pm (to be confirmed) with an address by Chairman Cllr B Nowicki
Followed by the D-Day 80 proclamation (Cllr Brandwood)
Placing of jars with night lights on the steps of the War Memorial (Chairman & Vice-Chairman)
Reference to the 1475 statues erected on Gold Beach with link to Tommy - Chairman Cllr B Nowicki
Unveiling of the Tommy silhouette (by Mrs P Brandwood)
Dedication of the Tommy silhouette (Rev Peter Coates) and short prayer
The Tribute by Mr Paddy Donellan, chairman of the local RBL branch
Lighting of the lantern: Chairman B Nowicki
National anthem
Actions: Cllr Brandwood will write a notice and deliver to all households. Cllr Warman will place on the village facebook page and post in the village shop etc.
Lighting of the beacon is due at 21.30 and Cllr Warman mentioned again that he has some battery powered flood lights which can light up the War Memorial.
Cllr Brandwood mentioned future dedications (Specifically in 2025) and asked if Rev Coates would be available to attend. Cllr Lingard asked if the village hall should be open for tea and coffee, which all agreed would be great.
Bus shelter: covered in public meeting.
Planning applications:
S/046/00158/24 – Office block at the Anaerobic digester plant. Councillors discussed and it was agreed to SUPPORT the application.
Action: Clerk to update planning portal.
Acolaid case 165/00025/24 – Enforcement notice. Cllr Warman asked if he could mention this item, which Chairman agreed to. Cllr Warman confirmed that all evidence has been given to the council and resolved. With regards to planting this will now wait to be done in the spring of 2025. Cllr Brandwood mentioned that there have been several comments to the Parish Council from parishioners about people living permanently in the static caravans. Cllr Warman confirmed that there is no one living in the static caravans permanently. The caravans are holiday lets only with the Red Lion Inn receiving ground rent from the four static caravans. The caravans are not owned by Cllr Warman.
Financial matters:
Council insurance: Clerk advised that BHiB has been taken over by Clear Councils who are not offering any Long-Term Understanding (LTU) and the new quote is for £293.87 (versus £223.44 for 2023).
Clerk has obtained a quote from Zurich insurance which for an additional £63 will also cover the War Memorial, monuments and statues. The Zurich quote including the additional cover for war memorial and statues is £277.00. It was unanimously agreed to go with the Zurich quote.
Clerk asked for clarification if she was allowed to pay if Zurich will not accept a cheque.
Minute ref: 20240516-1
Chairman thanked all those present for their attention and contribution and the meeting was closed at 20.55.
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.
Findings will be recorded in the minutes.
Please visit our web-site via:
https://east-kirkby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/
Dates for 2024 meetings: 20th June; 18th July; 9th September; 17th October; and 5th December
Dates are subject to change.
All meetings start at 19.00 and take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.