2021 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

HECKINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Heckington Parish Meeting (followed by the Annual Meeting of Heckington Parish Council) held in Heckington Village Hall, High Street, Heckington on Monday 24th May 2021 commencing at 1930hrs

Attendance: 

Chairman - P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer 

Parish Councillors – Mr T Atkinson, Mr D Couzens, Mr R Doughty, Mr R Higgs, Mr R Kemmett, Mrs S Tucker, Mr M West, Mr R Woods

County Councillor – County Councillor Mr Andrew Key

District Councillors – None

Minute Taker – Clerk, Ms J Hudson

Police Representative – None present

Press Representative – None present

Members of the Public – 3

1.    Chairman’s Welcome and Opening Remarks

1.1    The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained emergency and fire regulations, Covid safety and confirmed that the meeting was being recorded. 

1.2    She explained that due to current restrictions and difficulties with physical meetings, that the Annual Parish Council meeting would follow the required Heckington Parish meeting with a short 5 minute break in between each.

2.    Presentation of the Annual report for Heckington Parish Council

2.1      P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer read the following report –

I have had the privilege of being Chairman of this Council, but I have to emphasise, I work with a great team of people, including our staff, to run what I hope is a progressive Council, being proactive rather than reactive. We had the pleasure of welcoming Sue Tucker to our ranks, just prior to lockdown, who has had a baptism of fire due to the restrictions, and therefore not benefitting from being involved with the normal running of the Council. However, as she finds her feet, I am convinced she will be a very active member of this Council.

County Councillor Barry Young retired at the recent election. He has worked tirelessly for this parish, and has managed to get a lot of things done at Lincoln that we couldn’t achieve. The officers tend to listen to a County Councillor, when they won’t take notice of a Parish Council. Grateful thanks to him. Andrew Key was elected in his place and we welcome him, but have already told him he has ‘big boots to fill’. However, we look forward to working with him.
To say that the last eighteen months have been difficult for all is an understatement. Covid illness and restrictions have affected everybody’s life in some way or other. 

The good thing to come out of this, was the compassion and kindness shown to others during this time. Julie, our able Clerk, organised a group of some 45 volunteers to help those who were shielding and I know that this is carrying on now and some lifelong friendships have been formed. Julie had the support of some fellow Councillors and members of the public to create a phone service for contact for help. Unfortunately I personally was unable to help, being one who succumbed to Covid in March.  Needless to say, it worked very well. Sue Tucker then led a food bank, which was very generously supported, and helped several families, but sadly taken advantage of by some. She then organised an appeal for an NHS Bench, and having been successful in raising the funds, the Council paid for the concrete etc to site it on Church Street. So all in all, a community effort. I would like to think that some of the kindness that originated during this pandemic carried on within the village to avoid the hurt and pain caused by callous comments.

During this period, I am sad to report that our Clerk, suffered some unnecessary abuse over the telephone. We have now installed a monitoring system on the phone so all calls are recorded, and should it happen again, steps will be taken. Our staff are here to do a job of work and it is unacceptable that they suffer because someone sees them as a sitting duck. 

Despite this Council life has continued, although we have had to hold remote meetings. It is well documented that I am not a fan and it is lovely to be back in a room with people where one can try and judge the mood of my fellow Councillors.!

A new act was introduced by Parliament, which meant that we could make decisions by email and then ratify at the next remote meeting, which has been extremely successful. The law for this has now been rescinded. We intend to hold our meetings here for the remainder of the year as obviously there is more opportunity to social distance within these walls than our Chambers.

As is well known, we are Custodian Trustees of this hall, and I hope you can all appreciate the huge benefit the new ceiling above has given to this building. The old ceiling was beginning to crumble, the lights needed attention and due to new legislation, a fire alarm had to be fitted. The decision was taken to get the work done during the enforced closure of the hall. The Council paid for the ceiling, the CIL money paid for the fire alarm and the hall for the lights.  
However, the caveat was that I had to get all three different contracting companies ‘to play nicely together’, not an easy task to start with, but once they understood, it worked very well. The result is as you see. No more nicotine.

Also, as part of the Emergency Plan that we as a Council are expected to have, we have just installed a new generator outside to give electricity in this building should there be a major emergency. This replaced the former portable one, which has been sold. The money for this came again from the CIL fund. For those that are unaware, this is the money that is given by developers to NKDC as part of their planning approval. Unfortunately, since the rules changed we don’t get all they have to provide, in fact one recent payment was much lower than expected and when we enquired, we were told the bulk of it had gone to the Lincoln relief road. 

Another building we are owners of is The Pavilion. We welcomed a new tenant just before lockdown, and despite their best efforts they had to close before they had time to get established. I am pleased to say that they are back up and running again now. During this time improvement works were carried out to the electrics and also a fire alarm was installed, which again being a public building required one. I would like to thank Richard Higgs for organising this together with the one here.

At our annual meeting two years ago, I referred to all the consternation caused by the deteriorating state of the Manor. I was not at liberty to say anything at that point, but I am sure you are all pleased that this iconic building is being renovated once more with a view to it becoming a family home.

The arboretum trees are beginning to get established and ‘Trees for Heckington’ have organised a team to keep them watered in dry spells. The Memorial Stone donated by Goldstone, looks lovely and the local branch of the Royal British Legion are going to put a kerb surround filled with white gravel to complete the look. 

Although there is no Best Kept Village Competition this year, the team from Heckington’s best kept Blooming Village led by Dawn Philips, are hard at work renovating seats and providing planters to give colour in various places within the village. They are also responsible for several litter picks.  I would also like to thank Andrew Franks for keeping the planters on the village green full of plants.

Litter is a constant problem in the village together with irresponsible dog owners. Prior to Christmas, we got involved with the school to design posters to try to educate those owners who seem to think it is beneath them to clear up from their dogs. The children did an amazing job and it was very difficult to select the winners. However, the winning posters have been printed and erected at various points. They certainly caused a talking point to begin with, but unfortunately it does seem that some people are incapable of taking advantage of the 49 bins we now have.

We managed to hold a much smaller but dignified, social distanced Service of Remembrance at the War Memorial. Now we have a new branch of the RBL in our midst, they will be taking a much more active role in this year’s event and I hope that the children’s organisations will once more be able to join in.

The Cemetery, another of our main concerns, continues to be cared for to a very high standard by our Caretaker. We recently had major work carried out to the Scotch Pines, to maintain their health, which in turn exposed the eight foot galvanised fence which was not particularly appropriate, so we have planted 23 yew trees and 5 laurels to soften the outline.

We also did minor remedial work to the layby of the Cemetery, some of which was carried out by Smiths Construction as a contribution to the community. The rest was done by the Caretaker, me and another willing volunteer. This has made a cleaner area for visitors attending the Cemetery to avoid them getting stuck in four inches of mud.

The allotments continue to offer a great appeal to those green fingers amongst us. They are currently at full capacity with a waiting list of six.

The library has now re-opened following the lock down, and people are taking advantage of having this facility within the village.

Our website is experiencing some issues. The site is run through LCC, as all Council sites have to be.  They decided to change the format, and alter what had been a very efficient platform to something which is purely technical and aimed at computer whizz kids. Julie is trying to work her way through it, so please bear with us until the people at Lincoln can issue some comprehensive instructions.

As part of our ‘green policy’, we are currently investigating the possibility of installing a charging point within the village, however as with all ‘new’ things, this is not as simple as we first thought. However, more news on this as and when we have it.

Keeping within our ‘green policy’, the Polaris, which is one of our main vehicles, has just recently had an upgrade in its battery power. The eight batteries had reached the end of their useful life. And we have embraced the latest technology to turn the eight into one and this has resulted in about half a ton of weight being removed from the machine. The upside of this is that it has improved the overall performance, the downside, is that it goes a lot faster.!!   The Caretaker has been warned.

Talking of speed, we are very aware of the speed and poor driving standards within the village. Our speed awareness volunteers have had considerable success when they have been allowed to be out at their designated positions. We are grateful to them for giving up their time, and we are always looking for extra volunteers to carry on this useful service. We have also contacted the Police to ask for more speed awareness help.

As is well known, our PCSO of sixteen years, Patrick Welby Everard, was removed from our patch and relocated elsewhere. We wrote to the Chief Superintendent who was dealing with this and pointed out that sixteen years of local knowledge was being disregarded amongst other things. Needless to say,  the decision had been taken. However, we now have PCSO Nik Woolerton, who has covered the parish previously in Patrick’s absence and she is very efficient. We do however, have to share her over a patch of about 200 square miles, so she cannot be here all the time.

We are also very aware of the poor quality of road surfaces and the horrendous pot holes in the village. Our Highways Manager at Lincoln is also very well aware due to my numerous emails. In fact, at his suggestion, we now have a meeting arranged with our new County Councillor, Andrew Key for early next month, who I know has also been made aware of the issues. Thrown it at the deep end, one could say, as he has already had numerous complaints about the roads. Two within 24 hours of being elected.

I cannot end without thanking people. Firstly, of course my fellow Councillors – I like to think that we make a fairly good team. And especially Roger Woods, my Vice Chairman.  Then of course, our two members of staff : Andy Ward our caretaker, who does a brilliant job of keeping the village tidy despite some unpleasant  things he has to deal with. However as already referred to The Cemetery is the jewel in his crown. We receive so many compliments about it, and it is all down to him. Last but not least, Julie Hudson, our Clerk. Who apart from putting up with me on a fairly regular basis, keeps us on the straight and narrow. Clerks positions these days are a constant challenge to new legislation and procedures and Julie performs an excellent job in making sure we comply.  This year has been a particularly demanding for her, with all the Covid rules, but she has coped admirably, often with the aid of several cups of coffee.!!! One of my main roles is to ensure that our staff are cared for and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. I hope that I have managed to achieve this, because they are an important part of the machine that is H P C.  So thank you. It has been a privilege to work with you all and I hope that we can continue to work together to help keep Heckington the tremendous place it is to live.
  
3.    Presentation of the Annual reports from District and County Council

3.1    Newly elected C/Cllr Mr A Key read the following –

May I first of all pay tribute to our previous County Councillor, Barry Young, who served this division so diligently for so many years. He will be missed, but his retirement is definitely very well earned.

I was delighted with the outcome of the election on May 6th, in which I achieved 81.5% of the vote. My sincere thanks to everyone who voted for me and also to all the staff involved in the arrangements for the elections in these most difficult of times. I am currently being inducted into the Council with remote training sessions.

The Heckington Division, that I represent, includes the parishes of Anwick, Asgarby and Howell, Billinghay, Burton Pedwardine, Dogdyke, Ewerby and Evedon, Great Hale, Heckington, Helpringham, Kirkby la Thorpe, Little Hale, North Kyme, South Kyme and Swaton. I shall endeavour to attend meetings of the parish councils for each parish as often as I can and to represent residents of the division to the best of my ability.

Last Friday was the annual meeting of the County Council. Due to Covid regulations and social distancing requirements, it was held at the Lincolnshire Showground, where all 70 Councillors and officers could be safely accommodated.

The Conservative Group, of which I am a member, comprises 54 Councillors and the remaining 16 are spilt between other parties and independent members.

I was surprised but delighted to be appointed Vice Chairman of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee – a committee that scrutinises such areas as Adult Care, Safeguarding and wellbeing services. I have also been appointed to the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee covering areas like preventing and reducing crime, fire and rescue, road safety, anti-social behaviour and registration services. These appointments will enable me to add some valuable input into improving Council services for everyone.

Highways matters of course were something that came up on the doorsteps during the election campaign and I urge everyone to use Fix My Street to report highway faults. The Council are working flat out to address problems but there is much more to do. The other major topic that residents brought up was road safety and particularly speeding of vehicles through the villages. As a funeral celebrant who has conducted many services for road traffic victims through the years, this is something I have a very keen interest in and look forward to working with other people and organisations to help address this very serious matter.

Environmental matters are also really important to people, including myself and I will strive to work  with others to further safeguard our natural world for future generations.

I can only promise to listen and to do my best for my fellow residents during my term of office and I look forward to a constructive and positive four years ahead with Heckington Parish Council as we all work together to further improve the quality of life for us all in this wonderful part of Lincolnshire.

3.2    The Clerk read the following as presented by D/Cllrs Mrs S Tarry and Mr S Ogden –

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a report regarding the work of NKDC over the last year.

However, to begin with we would like to thank and acknowledge the work that has been carried out, and is still being carried out, by volunteers either individually or as part of an organisation or group to support our communities since the onset of the pandemic. Their role has been vital and the help and support they have given cannot be underestimated.

At the start of the pandemic NKDC transformed itself into a largely virtual organisation as it worked hard to continue providing essential services across the District. The Council decision making process, as with Parish Council meetings, continued by way of remote meetings until the 6th May 2021 when the legislation changed, with over 80 meetings being held remotely by Microsoft Teams.

Specifically in response to the pandemic NKDC actively engaged in, and supported, the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum and Public Health partnerships to ensure essential support was available for the most vulnerable residents in the District. At NKDC more than 15,000 phone calls were made to the most vulnerable residents throughout the year to support their wellbeing. 

NKDC has also  administered more than £28m in Covid-support grants in almost 5000 payments to more than 2000 eligible businesses across 12 grant schemes. If we may we would like to acknowledge the work carried out by the officers and staff at NKDC over the last year - they have adapted to home working arrangements and worked tirelessly to keep services going. We must though thank residents for their understanding when the refuse collection service was temporarily suspended a few months ago due to Covid-19 (for information 3.7m bins were emptied over four waste streams over the past year). 

NKDC also co-funded with the Lincolnshire Community Foundation a £40,000 fund to support Covid-19 response and recovery initiatives. A first round of grant funding has been completed but we understand there will be a further opportunity to apply for funding from this scheme at some point in time.

Despite the pandemic NKDC has continued to progress with a number of projects and continues to look to the future. This includes setting out a masterplan vision for a £56m eco-conscious business expansion programme at Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park and approving and progressing an ambitious plan to achieve carbon neutrality for the Council by 2030.

Projects have included the construction of an additional 15 business workshop units at Discovery Court, North Hykeham. This is a £2.2m extension of the Council’s estate of business units, stretching to 126 across 11 locations District-wide being let now. There has also been access improvements and facilities enhancement at the Whisby Natural World Centre.

A successful trial of separate paper and card collection was completed across 1700 NK properties, and as a result this has informed the county-wide rollout of purple-lidded bins coming across North Kesteven this September.

Also despite the difficult circumstances the annual Community Champion Awards were held virtually and celebrated and honoured the best in community endeavour with the number of categories increasing to twelve to reflect the amazing responses to the pandemic. Well done to all the nominees from Heckington Rural Ward. Nominations are now open for the 2021 awards and so please if you know someone who has been volunteering tirelessly over the last year do put their name forward.

We have only very briefly touched on the last year and so please do let us know if you have any questions. 

4.    Public Open Forum

4.1    Members of the Public were invited to speak or raise any issues, however, no issues were raised. 

5.    There being no other business, the Chairman closed the Annual Parish Meeting 1955hrs.

There followed a 5 minute comfort break, where the room was re-arranged in order to facilitate the Annual Parish Council Meeting.

Minutes of the Annual Heckington Parish Council Meeting (preceded by the Heckington Parish meeting) held in Heckington Village Hall, High Street, Heckington on Monday 24th May 2021 commencing at 2000hrs

Attendance: 

Chairman -  P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer 

Parish Councillors – Mr T Atkinson, Mr D Couzens, Mr R Doughty, Mr R Higgs, Mr R Kemmett, Mrs S Tucker, Mr M West, Mr R Woods

County Councillor – County Councillor Mr Andrew Key

District Councillors – None

Minute Taker – Clerk, Ms J Hudson

Police Representative – None present

Press Representative – None present

Members of the Public – 3

1.    Chairman’s welcome and opening remarks

1.1    The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and as per procedure stood down as Chairman.

1.2    The Vice Chairman, P/Cllr Mr R Woods took charge of the meeting.

2.1    Election of Chairman for the ensuing year

2.1.1    P/Cllr Mr R Higgs proposed that P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer stand as Chairman for a further year if willing.

2.1.2    P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer confirmed her willingness, and she was seconded by Cllr Mr T Atkinson.

2.1.3    There being no further nominations a vote was taken

2.1.4    Vote results – unanimous

2.1.5    Resolved – that P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer is returned as Chairman for the ensuing year.

2.2    To receive the Chairman’s declaration of Acceptance of Office

2.2.1    The declaration was read aloud and signed in view of all present.

2.3    Election of the Vice Chairman for the ensuing year

2.3.1    P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer proposed P/Cllr Mr R Woods to be Vice, seconded by P/Cllr Mr M West

2.3.2    P/Cllr Mr R Kemmett proposed P/Cllr Mr R Higgs to be Vice, seconded by P/Cllr Mr T Atkinson

2.3.3    P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker then confirmed that she would like to stand as Vice and the Clerk explained that to go forward on a nomination a seconder was required.  

2.3.4    P/Cllr Mr T Atkinson then seconded P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker.

2.3.5    The Clerk explained that a majority paper vote would be carried out with the nomination with the least number of votes dropping out should a majority not be reached.

2.3.6    Vote results – P/Cllr Mr R Higgs x 6 votes, P/Cllr Mr R Woods x 2 votes and P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker x 1 vote.

2.3.7    Resolved – that P/Cllr Mr R Higgs is returned as Vice Chairman for the ensuing year.

2.4    To receive the Vice Chairman’s declaration of Acceptance of Office

2.4.1    The declaration was read aloud and signed in view of all present.

3.    To receive apologies for absence 

3.1    Apologies had been received from D/Cllrs Mrs S Tarry and Mr S Ogden and P/Cllrs Mr A Garlick and Mr M Jones.  No objections raised.

4.    To receive a declaration of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011

4.1    None received

5.    To consider any requests for dispensation received at or before the start of the meeting 

5.1    None received

6.    Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 29th March 2021 to be approved as Minutes and signed. 

6.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by P/Cllr Mr M West

6.2    Vote results – 7 x for, 2 abstentions (DC and RW were absent) – majority

6.3    Resolved – To approve minutes as above

6.4    Matters arising – none raised

7.    Financial Matters (all relevant documents previously emailed to Councillors for their information)

7.1    To approve payments as listed –

7.1.2    Proposed by Cllr Mr R Doughty, seconded by Cllr Mr M West

7.1.3     Vote results unanimous

7.1.4    Resolved – to approve payments as listed above

7.2     To formally review and agree payment methods ie discuss whether to continue with BACS payments, delegated powers etc and to consequently update Financial Regulations if appropriate

7.2.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by P/Cllr Mr D Couzens

7.2.3    Vote results – unanimous

7.2.4    Resolved – to permanently update and adopt Financial Regulations as with the amendments temporarily made in January 2021 and to approve the list of regular suppliers, attached as an appendix to the Regulations (to be approved annually with the Regulations).
  
7.3    To formally review and approve the final accounting figures for the financial year 2020/2021 as submitted in AGAR

7.3.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker, seconded by P/Cllr Mr M West

7.3.2    Vote results – unanimous

7.3.3    Resolved as above

7.4    To give ‘in principle’ approval of the presented AGAR Section 1 – Annual governance Statement for 2020/2021 (‘in principle’ in this case meaning so long as the Internal Auditor has signed off the full internal audit as presented with no amendments)

7.4.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Woods, seconded P/Cllr Mr R Kemmett

7.4.2    Vote results – unanimous

7.4.3    Resolved as above

7.5    To give ‘in principle’ approval of the presented AGAR Section 2 – Accounting Statements for 2020/2021 (‘in principle’ in this case meaning so long as the Internal Auditor has signed off the full internal audit as presented with no amendments)

7.5.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Woods, seconded by P/Cllr Mr R Kemmett

7.5.2    Vote results – unanimous

7.5.6    Resolved as above    

7.6    To agree quote from Terra Firma of £950 for general maintenance work to hedgerow and vegetation on Pavilion/Swimming Pool boundary

7.6.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr T Atkinson, seconded by P/Cllr Mr M West

7.6.2    Vote results – unanimous

7.6.3    Resolved – to formally approve the quote as above

7.7    To formally ratify decision to purchase 6 x ‘lamppost’ poppies from the Royal British Legion at a cost of £3.00 each (email results – 7 x for, 1 x against – majority wins).  The Clerk has ordered, but not yet received.

7.7.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker, seconded by P/Cllr Mr M West

7.7.2    Vote results – unanimous

7.7.3    Resolved – to formally ratify the decision above

8.    To approve continued adoption of all policies currently in use as per list emailed to Councillors, subject to a regular review by the Clerk

8.2    P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker queried why Policy 6 – complaints procedure (Councillors) – was listed as n/a.  The Clerk explained that any complaints regarding a Parish Council would be forwarded and dealt with by NKDC under their complaint procedure.

8.3    P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker offered to help the Clerk with reviewing of Policies and asked if any other Councillor would also be able to help.  No other offer received.

8.4    Proposed by P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker, seconded by P/Cllr Mr R Doughty

8.5    Vote results – unanimous

8.6    Resolved – to adopt all policies as current with regular reviews by Clerk and assistance from P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker

9.1    To review and decide what, (if any), sub committees are required and agree membership of said sub committees and delegated powers

9.1.2    See also 9.2

9.2    To discuss and approve areas for individual Councillor roles if required (note – this does NOT give any delegated authority to any single Councillor for formal decision making on behalf of the Council)

9.3    It was mooted that there is not really a requirement in Heckington Parish Council for sub committees because any regular monthly agenda items are discussed during Full Council.  For any interim ‘major’ issues, an Extraordinary meeting would be called, also of Full Council.

9.3.1    P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer proposed that the Finance Sub Committee should remain the same for continuity of financial aspects.

9.3.2    However, it was felt necessary to allocate individual Councillors to specific areas of Council work, to act as a point of contact for residents and the Clerk.

9.3.3    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Doughty, seconded by P/Cllr Mr R Woods

9.3.4    Vote results - unanimous

9.3.5     Resolved - the continuing or new areas of interest –

Pavilion and Playing Fields    P/Cllrs Mr R Higgs and Mrs S Tucker
Cemetery                               P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker
Allotments                              P/Cllrs Mr T Atkinson and Mr M West
Trees and Environment         P/Cllr Mr A Garlick
Finance                                 Chairman, Vice Chairman, P/Cllr Mr R Higgs, P/Cllr Mr R Doughty and P/Cllr Mr M Jones

10.    Receive a report from the Police

10.1    No specific police report had been provided.

11.    Receive a report from the County and District Councillors

11.1    No additional, specific reports had been received – see Parish Meeting agenda item 3 above.    .

12.    Receive a report from the Clerk 

12.1    Update on off road parking Church Street – The Clerk confirmed that NKDC Asset Management had been sent a suggestion for using the grassed area as additional off street parking, but no response had yet been received.

12.2    Update on review of village entry signage for HGV’s – concerns from resident about HGV traffic through the village centre.  The Clerk had submitted a request to LCC for a review of current signage, the outcome of which is that the signage is considered sufficient, and that weight limits cannot be applied on Sleaford Road or High Street due to required access.

12.3    Update A17/Sleaford Road junction review – The Clerk confirmed LCC are still waiting for approval to the proposals.

12.4    The Clerk confirmed that the proposal for street numbering for the new development on Banks Lane had been received.

12.5    The Clerk confirmed an additional planning application numbered 21/0632/LBC had been received and circulated to Councillors.

12.6    The Clerk confirmed that following numerous letters to BT regarding the closure last year of the account, that the situation still had not been sorted and a letter to the Ombudsman is required – agreed by all Councillors present.

13.     Receive reports from Councillors relating to their affiliation to local organisations

13.1    None received.

14.    Planning Matters

14.1    Previous applications to be ratified

14.1.1    21/0539/TCA    H1 Leylandii – reduce height to approx. 8ft – Heckington & District Bowls Club, Rear of Heckington Methodist Church, Church Street, Heckington, Sleaford

14.1.2    21/0434/HOUS – Replace guttering and downpipes at the front of the house with black cast iron effect equivalents and paint the gable end wall of the house light magnolia to match the rear of the property – 99 High Street, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9QU

14.1.3    21/0710/TCA – T1 Lime – Fell – The Laurels, 15A High Street, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire

14.1.4    21/0628/FUL – Erection of extension to main stable building and installation of lighting to existing arena – Stables, Happy Valley, Heckington Road, Heckington, Sleaford

14.1.5    PL/0069/21 – planning permission is sought to regularise the removal of the shades to protect the building, for a temporary period and the re-installation of the shades within a period of 3 years – The Mill, 6 Hale Road, Heckington, Sleaford

14.2    Applications approved

14.2.1    21/0171/FUL – formation of new Car Parking area and new access to highway – Millview Medical Centre, 1 Sleaford Road, Heckington

14.2.2    21/0163/FUL – Installation of new lighting to rear car park – 1 & 3 High Street, Heckington, Sleaford

14.2.3    21/0311/FUL – Proposed extension and internal alterations to existing commercial shop unit – Abbey Parks Farm Shop, Boston Road, East Heckington

14.2.4    21/0527/HOUS – Erection of two storey side extension – 33 Hale Road, Heckington, Sleaford

14.3     Applications rejected

14.3.1    None received

14.4    Applications withdrawn

14.4.1    None received

14.5    Prior notifications received (Information only – no action required by HPC)

14.5.1    None received

14.6     Planning Appeals

14.6.1    None received

15.    To formally minute non-financial decisions taken during lockdown

15.1    Update and review of play parks opening

15.1.1    There have been no issues or concerns raised, although it was noted we are still waiting for the manufacture and fitting of the self closing gates.

16.    To discuss out of hours access to the Cemetery for visitors not able to use the pedestrian gate

16.1    A resident has raised the issue that some mobility scooters (hers included) are not able to use the ‘kissing’ style pedestrian gate and therefore times of access are limited.

16.2    It was agreed that this situation needs to be reviewed and actioned again. It was suggested that possibly mobility scooters have increased in size during the last 10 years since the gates were widened. 

16.3    It was generally agreed that due to security, it would not be possible to leave the main gates open during ‘out of hours’.     

16.4     Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by P/Cllr Mr T Atkinson

16.5    Vote results – unanimous

16.6    Resolved – that P/Cllrs Mrs S Tucker and Mr R Higgs to carry out a site visit (possibly with a mobility scooter) to take measurements and produce report for suggested remedial works.

17.    To receive general correspondence

17.1    Emails regarding re-siting of Memorial Bench at Pavilion 

17.1.1    It was confirmed that this issue was now closed.

17.2    Receipt of letter from PCC regarding maintenance of St Andrews Churchyard – documentation had been previously circulated to Councillors

17.2.1    The Clerk confirmed that the maintenance responsibility for a ‘closed churchyard’ can be passed to the Parish Council in the first instance, with an expected transfer period of Spring 2022.  

17.2.2    She confirmed that further information had been requested from the Parochial Church Council, but had not yet been received.

17.2.3    The Councillors discussed that there would be substantial, specialist and therefore expensive work to be carried out to the grounds and boundaries of the churchyard, which will impact on the precept requirements and therefore increase the Community Charge.

17.2.4    It was highlighted that an application to the National Heritage Lottery by a group of Heckington volunteers, had been successfully on course for approval but had been turned down by the current Vicar at the last minute.

17.2.5    It was expected that the amount of the lottery grant would have covered the immediate cost of maintenance.

17.2.6    The Councillors suggested that the tax paying residents of Heckington need to be made aware of the likely increase to local taxes to cover the cost implications, and they agreed for a basic information letter to go out to all households, followed by a public meeting to explain the situation and reasons in more details.  It was agreed unanimously with further agreement that P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer and P/Cllr Mrs S Tucker would continue to work on this matter and a letter be issued with the facts to date.

17.3    Letter from resident re parked cars on High Street – information only, Clerk has responded already.

17.4    Letter of thanks from LIVES for donation

17.5    Letter of thanks from Heckington Living Community Radio for donation

17.5.1    All the above were information items only.  P/Cllr Mr R Higgs also reminded that Clerk that a letter of thanks had been received from the Heckington Area Voluntary Car Service for the donation.
    
18.     To discuss/confirm the process/venue/timing of the next full Parish Council meeting

18.1    The Chairman confirmed that, restrictions allowing, the next meeting would be held on 28th June 2021 at Heckington Village Hall starting at 7:30pm

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

19.0.1    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Doughty, seconded by P/Cllr Mr M West

19.0.2    Vote results – unanimous

19.0.3    Resolved – to go into closed session as above for the purpose of reviewing and agreeing outcome of complaint from resident regarding flooding to domestic garden (in closed session for reasons of security of personal information and identification of said resident.

Members of the Public left the meeting at 2058hrs

19.2    Following the site visit by P/Cllrs Mr R Higgs and Mr A Garlick, a report by P/Cllr Mr R Higgs had already been circulated to Councillors.

19.2.1    He re-iterated that the adjacent neighbouring residents had been contacted and were not experiencing flooding

19.2.2    He described the complainant’s garden as extensively hard landscaped, with large areas of membrane in his garden (this is likely to slow drainage down).

19.2.2    He stated that there had been no new evidence provided which would suggest that the Parish Council is liable for the flooding in any way.

19.2.3    Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Higgs, seconded by P/Cllr R Woods

19.2.4    Vote results – unanimous

19.2.5    Resolved – that a letter be sent to the complainant explaining that following its investigation, the Parish Council still does not accept any liability for the flooding experienced in the garden. 

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 2107pm