2019 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

HECKINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
    
Minutes of the Meeting of Heckington Parish Council held in the Council Chambers, St Andrews Street, Heckington on Monday 25th February 2019 commencing at 1900hrs 

Attendance: 

Chairman -  Cllr Mrs J Palmer 

Councillors – Mr T Atkinson, Mr D Couzens, Mr R Doughty, Mr A Garlick, Mr R Higgs, Mr M Jones, Mr R Kemmett, Mr T Pyrah, Mr R Woods

County Councillor – Mr B Young

District Councillors – Mr S Ogden, Mrs S Tarry

Minute Taker – Clerk, Ms J Hudson

Police Representative – None present

Press Representative – Mr A Hubbert 

Members of the Public – 5  

1.  Chairman’s Welcome and Opening Remarks

i.  The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

ii.  She reported that the inaugural meeting of the Royal British Legion was well attended and that a steering group had been formed.

2.  To receive apologies for absence

Apologies were received and accepted from P/Cllr Mr M West and PCSO P Welby-Everard

3.  To receive any declarations of  interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011

i.  Cllr Mrs J Palmer declared an interest in agenda item 12-3-a

4.  To consider any written requests for dispensations received at or before the start of the meeting.

None received.

5.  Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 28th January 2019 to be approved as Minutes and signed.

proposed by Cllr Mr R Woods, seconded by Cllr Mr R Higgs

Votes results – 8 x for, 2 x abstentions (Cllrs Mr M Jones and Mr T Pyrah who were not present) 

6.  Public Speaking Time – 15 minutes allocated in total.  Members of the public are each allowed 3 minutes to make representations

i.  A resident expressed concerns about the planning application at agenda item 12-1-a stating that the proposed location of the dwelling appeared to extend the curtilage again, beyond the new dwellings which were already approved and under construction. 

ii.  A resident reported that notification had been received about a proposed planning application for land behind High Street/Willow Close.  He expressed his concerns regarding access, parking, intrusion and more traffic congestion.  The Chairman thanked him for his comments and explained that at present the formal application had not been submitted and therefore the Parish Council has yet to be consulted.

iii.  A resident reported concerns regarding a tree at the end of Burton Road, which was thought to be restricting highway movement.  The Clerk confirmed that all Council owned trees were part of an ongoing maintenance and inspection programme.

iv.  Cllr Mr T Atkinson reported a large sink hole on the A17.  The Clerk confirmed this has been reported and she will forward the details to C/Cllr Mr B Young.

v.  Issues with parking on the Boston Road, opposite the cemetery, were raised.  The Chairman confirmed that this has been reported a number of times, and that the PCSO has approached the site management team.   

To consider financial Matters

a.  To approve payments as listed separately

Proposed by Cllr Mr R Doughty, seconded by Cllr Mr A Garlick

Vote results – unanimous

Resolved – to approve payments as listed above  

b.  To receive update on PWLB application and approve amended annual repayment of £8,406.00 (reserves budget originally based on an estimated repayment of £8,000.00 – it was reported to Councillors that the PWLB application was still in progress and that the confirmed annual repayment has been notified as £8,406.00

8.  To receive a report from the Police

In the PCSO’s absence, the Clerk reported that general reports of activity were low, including Anti-social behaviour incidents.‘

9.  To receive a report from the County and District Councillors 

C/Cllr Mr B Young reported the following – 

i.  that there is now a new procedure for requesting new and additional road markings from Highways.  All requests are to be submitted via the County Councillor.  The correspondence at agenda item 15a was raised, which relates to road markings on Sleaford Road.  Various other locations around the village were discussed by Councillors.  The County Councillor was asked if he could progress a request on HPC behalf for yellow parking restrictions on the corners of Kyme Road/Vicarage Road, Eastgate/Cameron Street junction and Church Street/Cameron Street corner.  Other locations may be submitted in the future.

ii.  He confirmed that a previous issue with a tree/green space on Windmill Drive has highlighted that this area appears to be ‘no man’s land’.

iii.  He confirmed that the street light protocol (whereby Parish Councils can finance certain streetlights to remain on) has yet to be formally adopted.

iv.  A new schedule of surface dressing has been announced by Highways which includes High Street, Allison Road, Christopher Close, Church View and Godson Avenue.

v.  The County Council percentage of precept was increased by the rates predicted.

The District Councillors reported the following –

i.  It was reported that the Voter ID trial being tested in North Kesteven for the upcoming elections had no hidden agenda and should not cause concern.  Many everyday actions require some form of ID – eg collecting a parcel.

ii.  It was advised that NKDC precept increase will be approved on Thursday and is likely to be 3.1%.

The C/Cllr left the meeting at 7.45pm

10.  To receive a report from the Clerk 

i.  She thanked Cllrs Mr R Woods and Mr M West for their help with a previous incident and issue at the allotments.

ii.  She reported a new tree works application which had been received too late for the agenda – 19/0232/TCA – no specific comments were made

iii.  She reminded the meeting that nominations for Parish Council elections should be submitted by 3rd April 2019.

iv.  She reported that the works to the trees on the Village Green were scheduled to start week commencing 4th March 2019 (subsequently delayed due to poor weather) 

11.  Receive reports from Councillor’s relating to their affiliation to local organisations.

Cllr Mr R Higgs reported that the renovations to Heckington Community Swimming Pool had started this morning, with the pool being drained.

12.  Planning Matters

(1)  Applications to be ratified 

a.  19/0071/FUL - Erection of a 1.5 storey dwelling with double garage and vehicular access – Land of (sic) Howell Road, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9QA – it was questioned whether this parcel of land would be big enough to house a dwelling, but it was agreed that there were no legitimate planning issues to object or comment on specifically.  General agreement that if granted, this may cause a precedent to ‘increasing the curtilage’ quietly.

b.   19/0130/TCA – T1, T2, T3, T4, T6, T7. T8 Lime – pollard back to previous pollarding points – Heckington Village Green, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire

c.  18/1724/FUL – receipt of amended details – Extension to Co-op, repositioning of plant and timber fence compound – 1 High Street, Heckington, Sleaford

d.  19/0160/TCA – T1 Ash – fell; T1 Mature Ash – fell dead stem to ground level, remove large dead stub (former co-dominant stem) to source.  Radial reduction of eastern Crown to fence line; T3 Oak – re-pollard above previous cuts approximately 6m; T4 Norway Maple – re-pollard above previous cuts approximately 5m – Crown Lodge, 46 High Street, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire

e.  19/0129/HOUS – Erection of extension above existing garage – 2 Colby Way, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9UR

f.  19/0118/HOUS – Erection of single storey front extension, change flat roof to pitched and addition of window to upstairs bedroom – 6 Christopher Close, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9SA

g.  19/0204/TPO – Willow 4541 (TPO1) Reduce the height by 2.5m and laterally reduce to achieve a pleasing crown outline; Willow 4542 (TPO2) Reduce the height by 2.5m and laterally reduce to achieve a pleasing crown outline.  Remove dead wood (exempt item described for information only) – 77 Sleaford Road, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9QP

(2)  Applications approved 

a.  18/1568/HOUS – Installation of 14 solar photovoltaic panels on roof of garage at rear of properties – 12-14 Cameron Street, Heckington, Sleaford

b.  18/1614/OUT – Erection of dwelling – Land to the rear of 56 Sleaford Road, Heckington, Sleaford

(3)   Applications rejected

a.  18/1649/FUL – Extend usage from B1, B2 & B8 to A1, B1, B2 & B8 – Unit 1A, Heckington Business Park, Station Road

(4)  Applications withdrawn

a.  None received

D/Cllrs left the meeting at 7.53pm

13.   To discuss Parish protocol regarding advertising/sponsorship of dog bins and other Parish Council assets.  Clerk to present email enquiry from local business.

The Clerk reported that a local dog grooming business had approached the office to enquire about dog bin sponsorship specifically, although it turned out that the business was unable at this stage to potentially ‘purchase a bin’.  However, other forms of advertising and sponsorship was discussed and it was generally agreed that any similar requests would be dealt with as and when received on an individual basis, depending on the type of request.

14.  To discuss and receive an update on Village Hall external and internal renovation works.

The Chairman reported that the roof repairs were continuing and that guttering had been replaced and downpipes adjusted/renewed.  The chimneys had required some remedial work.  She thanked the volunteers who helped strip out the old kitchen, and reported that the RCD units were to be replaced and disabled access/serving hatches installed in line with legal requirements.

15.  To receive general correspondence

a.  Letter from resident regarding parking on Sleaford Road – related to discussions at item 9i – new procedures for road markings

b.  Letter from resident regarding Play Park location – as per resident’s request, the letter expressing concerns was read out verbatim by the Clerk.

c.  Invitation from Campaign to Protect Rural England to enter Best Kept Village Award 2019 £24.00 Proposed by Cllr Mr R Woods, seconded by Cllr T Pyrah. 

Vote results unanimous.

Resolved – to enter the Best Kept Village Competition 2019.

d.  Rail Lincs newsletter February 2019 – information only

e.  Letter from Woodland Trust – confirmation of tree delivery 1-15th March 2019 – information only

f.  Information leaflet from Heckington Relief in Need Charity regarding grants for those residents in need of financial assistance – information only

16.  To remind of date of the next full Parish Council meeting as Monday 25th March 2019. 

Date confirmed

17.  To resolve to go into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960

Item not required

Meeting concluded at 8.10pm