May 2019 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
HECKINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of Heckington Parish Council held in the Council Chambers, St Andrews Street, Heckington on Monday 20th May 2019 commencing at 1900hrs
Attendance:
Chairman - Cllr Mrs J Palmer
Councillors – Mr T Atkinson, Mr A Garlick, Mr R Higgs, Mr R Kemmett, Mr R Woods
County Councillor – Not present
District Councillors – Mr S Ogden
Minute Taker – Clerk, Ms J Hudson
Police Representative – None present
Press Representative – Mr A Hubbert (from 7.10pm)
Members of the Public – 2 (+2 @7.30)
1. Chairman’s Welcome and Opening Remarks
i. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
ii. She thanked a resident who has been voluntarily gardening to keep the footpath from Houlden Way attractive.
iii. She reported that the Windmill had won 2 further awards and congratulated the volunteers there.
Cllr Mrs J Palmer then stood down as Chairman.
2. i. Election of Chairman for the ensuing year.
Cllr Mr R Higgs proposed Cllr Mrs J Palmer to be Chairman, seconded by Cllr Mr R Kemmett. There being no other proposals, Cllr Mrs J Palmer was duly elected as Chairman with a unanimous vote.
ii. Cllr Mrs J Palmer declared and signed her Acceptance of Office as Chairman of Heckington Parish Council.
3. i. Election of Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.
Cllr Mr R Higgs proposed Cllr Mr R Woods to be Vice-Chairman, seconded by Cllr Mr R Kemmett. There being no other proposals, Cllr Mr R Woods was duly elected as Vice-Chairman with a unanimous vote.
ii. Cllr Mr R Woods declared and signed his Acceptance of Office as Vice-Chairman of Heckington Parish Council.
4. To receive apologies for absence
The Clerk had received and accepted apologies from C/Cllr Mr B Young, P/Cllrs Mr D Couzens, Mr R Doughty, Mr M Jones, Mr T Pyrah and Mr M West. She confirmed that the meeting was still quorate (4 or more Councillors present) and was therefore able to proceed.
5. To receive any declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011
No declarations received
6. To consider any written requests for dispensations received at or before the start of the meeting.
No dispensations received
7. Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 29th April 2019 to be approved as Minutes and signed.
proposed by Cllr Mr R Woods, seconded by Cllr Mr R Higgs
Votes results – 4 x for, 2 x abstentions (Cllrs Mr A Garlick and Mr R Kemmett who were not present at the meeting.)
Resolved – to sign the minutes as approved
a. Matters arising –
Item 6i. The Clerk confirmed that the agenda for both this meeting and the Parish Meeting to be held on Thursday 23rd May 2019 had been advertised on Facebook, Heckington page following comments from residents at the last meeting.
Item 9. The Clerk confirmed that the works to the tree had been completed.
8. Public Speaking Time – 15 minutes allocated in total. Members of the public are each allowed 3 minutes to make representations
i. A resident congratulated the Councillors on their re-election.
ii. A resident suggested that although the meetings were mentioned on Facebook which directed readers to the website, he wasn’t able to find the agendas on there. The Clerk confirmed that they had been uploaded. (An independent check was made of the website after the meeting in case of technical glitch, but the agendas were found to be on the website as indicated)
9. To receive a report from the Police representative
The PCSO was not present and the Clerk received retrospective apologies after the meeting.
10. To receive a report from the County and District Councillors
• C/Councillor Mr B Young had sent apologies.
• The Clerk reported details of a Highways Temporary traffic restriction taking place from 1st July to 12th July to enable resurfacing of Sleaford Road to Oak Way, and Boston Road to Station Road. It was queried why the High Street was not being resurfaced. The Chairman will email Cllr Mr B Young with comments.
• The Chairman congratulated D/Cllrs Mr S Ogden and Mrs S Tarry on their re-election
• They had nothing specific to report, although stressed that if any resident would like assistance with District Council matters, then they can be contacted directly via telephone or email or via the Parish Council Offices.
D/Cllrs Mr S Ogden and S Tarry left the meeting at 7.12pm
11. To receive a report from the Clerk
The Clerk reported the following –
i. A planning approval notification had just been received but was too late to add to this agenda – 19/0431/HOUS – Erection of single story side extension – 22 Boston Road, Heckington, Sleaford
ii. A planning application had just been received but was too late to add to this agenda – 19/0574/FUL – Erection of 1.5 story dwelling with double garage and new vehicular access – resubmission of 19/0071/FUL (Amended design) – Land off Howell Road, Heckington, Sleaford, NG34 9RY – Councillors had been previously emailed the details and made no comments.
iii. The annual subscription of £5.00 for membership of the Lincolnshire Fieldpaths Association had been notified. It was agreed unanimously to continue with membership.
iv. Additional correspondence had been received from a resident on High Street – Cllr Mr B Young and the District Councillors are dealing with his concerns.
v. Additional correspondence had been received from a resident praising the Community Speed watch initiative.
12. To receive reports from Councillors relating to their affiliation to local organisations
Cllr Mr R Higgs reported that the Heckington Community Swimming Pool season open day attracted some 40+ visitors and Cllr Mrs J Palmer reported that the Village Hall ongoing works were going well.
13. To consider financial Matters
i. To approve payments as listed separately
Date Reference Description Amount
08-May-19 PCash1904 Office Supplies - postage Best Kept Village application 1.50
10-May-19 DDebit Pension Contributions 188.87
10-May-19 DDebit Bank Charges 5.00
10-May-19 PCash1903 Office Supplies - Viking letter sorter 4.78
13-May-19 4229 Maintenance - Nilfisk Machine - fuel filter - AGM 10.69
13-May-19 4230 Office Supplies - ESPO 85.25
20-May-19 4231 Arborist work - Windmill Drive (to be reclaimed from LCC) 530.00
24-May-19 DDebit Phone - LAP Line 95.16
25-May-19 DDebit Phone 118.96
May Salaries and chairmans allowance 2,582.75
Total Expenditure to date in May 3,622.96
03-May-19 Confirmation that HCSP repaid £11,937.00
Proposed by Cllr Mr A Garlick, seconded by Cllr Mr R Higgs
Vote results – unanimous
Resolved – to approve payments as listed above
ii. To authorise the following regular invoices to be made by Direct Debit -
• Annually – Information Commissioners Office (2018 = £40.00)
• Half Yearly – WCF Chandler (Fuel)
• Quarterly – Anglian Water, BT (LAP Line), Total Gas & Power (Cemetery)
• Monthly – BT (Office Phone), Total Gas & Power (Office)
iii. To authorise the following regular payments to be made by monthly Standing Order –
• Staff Salaries and associated costs (NIC etc) (variable – RFO to calculate on monthly basis using HMRC PAYE tools, and adjust Bank Standing Order accordingly.)
• Chairman’s allowance
• Pension contributions
Proposed as above (points b and c) by Cllr Mr A Garlick, seconded by Cllr Mr R Woods
Vote results – unanimous
Resolved – to make payments as detailed above in b and c.
iv. To authorise RFO to make payments for goods or services by BACS if required by supplier, subject to Chairman and Vice Chairman signatories being present.
Proposed by Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by Cllr Mr R Kemmett
Vote results unanimous
Resolved – to authorise payments to be made as detailed above
v. To authorise Chairman and RFO to hold Current Account Debit Cards for use when necessary, subject to existing spending limits
Proposed by Cllr Mr R Kemmett, seconded by Cllr Mr R Higgs
Vote results unanimous
Resolved – to authorise payment up to £400.00 on debit card held by Chairman (Cllr Mrs J Palmer), and adjust spend limit to £100.00 on debit card held by RFO (Ms J Hudson).
vi. To agree that above amendments to the financial Regulations for Heckington Parish Council are made and formally adopt the regulations
Proposed by Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded Cllr Mr R Woods
Vote results unanimous
Resolved – to adopt the Financial Regulations with amendments as detailed above.
vii. To approve application from Taylors Fun Fair to use Village Green for Heckington Show Weekend and decide upon fees applicable for current year (2017 rate was £165.00, 2018 rate was £170.00)
Proposed by Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by Cllr Mr T Atkinson
Vote results unanimous
Resolved – to increase the rate for 2019 by £5.00 to total £175.00
14. To approve the Standing Orders and Code of Conduct (based on NKDC Code) for Heckington Parish Council
Proposed by Cllr Mr R Kemmett, seconded by Cllr Mr R Higgs
Vote results – unanimous
Resolved – To approve the Standing Orders and Code of Conduct (based on NKDC) for Heckington Parish Council
15. To approve existing policies adopted by Heckington Parish Council, and approve system of ongoing reviews.
The Clerk confirmed that as and when amendments were required they would be presented to Councillors for formal adoption. The Social Media policy is being reviewed currently due to recent Facebook use.
Proposed by Cllr Mrs J Palmer, seconded by Cllr Mr A Garlick
Vote results – unanimous
Resolved – to adopt all current policies and accept regular review as detailed above.
16. To propose and agree committees and their members.
Following discussions, the Members below (assuming those not present are willing to continue in their committee roles) were proposed by Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by Cllr Mr R Woods
Vote results – unanimous
Resolved – to dissolve previous Committee structures and members and adopt the following –
1. Sub Committees –
i. Allotments Committee – Members: Chairman (ex officio), Vice Chairman (ex officio) and Councillors Atkinson and West
ii. Cemetery Committee - Members: Chairman (ex officio), Vice Chairman (ex officio) and Councillors Atkinson and Kemmett
iii. Footpaths and Village Green Committee - Members: Chairman (ex officio), Vice Chairman (ex officio) and Councillor Atkinson
iv. Planning Committee - Members: Chairman (ex officio), Vice Chairman (ex officio) and Councillors Atkinson, Kemmett and West
v. Finance Committee - Members: Chairman (ex officio), Vice Chairman (ex officio) and Councillors Jones, Doughty and Higgs
vi. Sport and Youth Facilities Committee - Members: Chairman (ex officio), Vice Chairman (ex officio) and Councillor Doughty
vii. Health & Safety and Risk Assessment Committee – Members: Chairman (ex officio), Vice Chairman (ex officio) and Councillors Garlick and West
2. Outside Bodies
i. Playing Field Representatives: Councillors Woods and Doughty
ii. Village Hall Representative: Councillor Atkinson
iii. Heckington Area voluntary Car Service Representative: Councillor Jones
iv. Heckington Community Swimming Pool Representative: Councillor Doughty
Note – Village Trust Committee was removed during the above ratification as no longer functioning.
17. Planning Matters
(1) Applications to be ratified
a. 19/0465/FUL – change of use from Class A1 (retail) to Class C3 (residential) – 21-23 High Street, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire
(2) Applications approved
a. 19/0216/FUL – Change of use from grass field to car park (retrospective) – Abbey Parks Farm Shop, Boston Road, East Heckington (as verbally reported at item 10, Clerks Report, 29th April 2019 – no specific comments raised)
b. 19/0257/HOUS – Erection of replacement garage – 22 Kyme Road, Heckington, Sleaford (as verbally reported at item 10, Clerks Report, 29th April 2019 – no specific comments raised)
a. 19/0350/HOUS – change of driveway material from gravel to block paving and extend adjacent to garage. Extend patio area and replace porch door.
(3) Applications rejected
a. None received
(4) Applications withdrawn
a. None received
18. To receive update on appeal process in respect of trees on Millers Way and decide course of action. Approve payments for works if appropriate.
Following confirmation that the appeal submitted by Heckington Parish Council had been dismissed, it was suggested that the work allowed by NKDC in this case was disproportionate to the cost that would be incurred. It was also suggested that a further formal letter be written to NKDC stating that Heckington Parish Council intends to admit no liability in the case of any insurance claim, on the basis that HPC stands by the original arborist report.
Proposed by Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by Cllr Mr R Kemmett
Vote results – unanimous
Resolved – to not instruct any minor remedial works to the tree, and to write formal letter to NKDC confirming Heckington Parish Councils agreed position
19. To receive general correspondence
a. Letter from Planning Inspectorate – notification of decision of appeal as per item 18.
20. To confirm the date of the next full Parish Council meeting as Monday 24th June 2019 and the Annual Parish Meeting as Thursday 23rd May 2019 to be held at the Pavilion, Howell Road.
Date confirmed
21. To resolve to go into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960
Item not required
Meeting concluded at 7.40pm
It was noted that the start time as advertised on the agenda was incorrectly typed as 7.30pm. The Clerk apologised for this error.