November 2021 Minutes
HECKINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting of Heckington Parish Council held in Heckington Village Hall, High Street, Heckington on Monday 29th November 2021 commencing at 1930hrs
Attendance:
Chairman - P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer
Parish Councillors – Mr T Atkinson, Mrs M Cooke, Mr R Doughty, Mr A Garlick, Mr M Jones, Mr R Kemmett, Mr R Woods
County Councillor – Mr A Key
District Councillors – Apologies given
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 went through Health & Safety, fire procedures etc
2. To receive apologies for absence
2.1 Apologies had been received from D/Councillor Mrs S Tarry, and P/Councillors Mr R Higgs, Mrs S Tucker and Mr M West
3. To receive a declaration of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011
3.1 P/Cllrs Mrs M Cooke and Mrs J Palmer both declared an interest in item 12.1.i (MC – relation to applicant. JP – own premises adjacent to application site)
4. To consider any requests for dispensation received at or before the start of the meeting
4.1 None received
5. Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 25th October 2021 to be recorded as accurate.
5.i Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Kemmett and seconded by P/Cllr Mr M Jones
5.i.1 Vote results – 7 x for, 1 x abstention (P/Cllr Mr R Woods was not present at the October meeting)
5.i.2 Resolved – To approve minutes as above
5.ii Matters arising –
5.ii.1 P/Cllr Mr A Garlick reported that the very experienced and former tree officer of the Village Trust had offered to assist with the survey and recording of all Parish Council responsibility trees, which was met with agreement.
5.ii.2 He also reported that the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership had now approved the site chosen for the new pole mounted Evolis speed device, and that once installed the order could be placed for the device, hopefully before Christmas.
5.ii.3 The Clerk reported on behalf of D/Cllr Mrs S Tarry, that she had approached NKDC housing department about the installation of security lights on bungalows at Willow Close, and that the matter was still ongoing.
5.ii.4 The Clerk reported on behalf of P/Cllr Mr M West, that he had attempted to join an Ecotricity on line briefing session, but had been unable to connect, therefore no update available.
6. Public Participation – 15 minutes will be set aside for Members of the Public to make comments or suggestions. The Chairman reserves the right to limit each individual to a maximum of 3 minutes. No decisions will be taken on any issues raised, and items may be carried forward to the next meeting’s agenda.
6.1 No comments raised
7. Financial Matters (all relevant documents previously emailed to Councillors for their information)
7.i.1 To approve payments as listed –
7.i.2 The Chairman pointed out that due to the dates of monthly meetings, some October payments had been carried over, and some further November payments were for payment this week. The Clerk confirmed that the item describing mileage refund was based on a 74 mile journey at the standard reclaim rate of 0.45p per mile. No other queries raised. Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Woods, seconded by P/Cllr Mr M Jones
7.i.3 Vote results – unanimous
7.i.4 Resolved – to approve payments and account balances as detailed.
7.ii To report receipt of donation from resident of £500.00 and discuss expenditure.
7.ii.1 The Chairman confirmed that the resident had donated the amount for appropriate use within the village. She suggested a proposal that the donated funds go towards HM The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations being planned within the village. Seconded by P/Cllr Mr R Kemmett and unanimously agreed.
7.ii.2 Resolved – to use the donated funds towards the cost of celebrations in 2022
7.iii To consider renewal of LCC Urban Highway Grass Cutting Scheme for 2022/23 - £726.11 for 10,043 sqm
7.iii.1 Proposed by P/Cllr Mr R Doughty, seconded by P/Cllr Mr R Woods
7.iii.2 Vote results – unanimous
7.iii.3 Resolved – to re-join the Scheme as detailed above for the year 2022/23
7.iv. To review and approve updated preferred supplier list
7.iv.1 The Chairman reported that Euromec had been added to the list as they are specialist and authorised suppliers for parts for the Nilfisk machine. The Clerk confirmed that a recent order had to be made for a replacement jockey wheel on the machine.
7.iv.2 Proposed by P/Cllr R Kemmett, seconded by P/Cllr Mr T Atkinson
7.iv.3 Vote results – unanimous
7.iv.4 Resolved – to approved updated preferred supplier list and add as appendix to the HPC Financial Regulations.
7.v. To approve hire of skip and associated clearance of allotment, and to agree recharge to evicted tenant
7.v.1 The Clerk reported that the deadline for exit had been Friday 26th November 2021, but that the tenant had requested a little more time due to a family bereavement.
7.v.2 Proposed by P/Cllr Mr M Jones, seconded by P/Cllr Mr R Kemmett
7.v.3 Vote results – unanimous
7.v.4 Resolved – to grant an extension in these circumstances for one month (must be clear by 1st January 2021, after which time approval was also unanimously given to hire skip and clear site as appropriate, and to recharge tenant.
8. Receive a report from the Police
8.1 No specific report received, however the Clerk advised that local crime reporting statistics can be found at www.police.uk
8.1.1 The Clerk read out the local Sleaford Rural South Statistics for crimes reported in Oct 2021 as follows – 14 x Violence/sexual offences, 6 x burglaries, 5 x public order
8.1.2 The Clerk read out the local Heckington (including East Heckington and the Hales) statistics for crimes reported in Oct 2021 (included in above figures) as follows – 4 x burglaries, 3 x Anti Social Behaviour, 4 x Violence, 1 x public order, 5 x other
9. Receive a report from the County and District Councillors
9.1 C/Cllr Mr A Key reported that he had attended a meeting of the Public Protection Committee at which there had been a presentation from the Fire Service. The Fire Service wish to promote the use of the app ‘What3Words’ in an emergency, in order to assist them and other emergency services in locating the exact location of incidents, and therefore to reduce delays in their arrival at the scene.
9.2 He reported that he had attended an online introduction to the proposed solar park by Ecotricity, and that it was still in its initial and very early stages.
9.3 He re-affirmed his support for the Speedwatch team and was pleased to have been involved with the recent visit of a rep from the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (looking at sites to install the new Speed device.)
9.4 He also promoted the continued use of ‘Fix My Street’ by residents to report pot-holes and other highways matters.
9.5 He confirmed that he had represented our area at two services of remembrance on 14th November – Lincoln Cathedral in the morning and South Kyme in the afternoon.
10. Receive a report from the Clerk
10.1 The Clerk detailed a number of planning applications which had been received after the agenda had been compiled and published. No comments were submitted.
11. Receive reports from Councillor’s relating to their affiliation to local organisations 11.1 None received
12. Planning Matters
12.1 Previous applications to be ratified
12.1.i 21/1229/FUL – Replacement of factory unit and erection of new offices and 2 new buildings – the Nut Roasting Company, Station Road, Heckington, Sleaford
12.1.ii 21/1421/FUL – Proposed construction of cabin and partial change of use from domestic to that of a beauty salon – 30 Dickenson Road, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 9WT
12.1.iii 21/1655/FUL – change of use of agricultural land to off lead dog walking field (retrospective) – Brickyard Farm and fisheries, Star Fen, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincs
12.1.iv 21/1756/HOUS – Erection of 2 storey side extension – 6 Foster Street, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9RU
12.2 Applications approved
12.2.i 21/1300/FUL – change of use from agricultural (grass field) to car park (retrospective) – Abbey Parks Farm Shop, Boston road, East Heckington
12.3 Applications rejected
12.3.i None received
12.4 Applications withdrawn
12.4.i None received
12.5 Prior notifications received (Information only – no action required by HPC)
12.5.i None received
12.6 Planning Appeals
12.6.i None received
13. To receive update on County Council ‘workforce pledge’ project as per previous meeting on 26th July 2021, item 18.5 and to consider quote for additional finishing.
13.1 P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer confirmed that the pre-arranged site visit by the LCC project manager went very well and that arrangements to remove and dispose of the old play park surface (at the Pavilion) was on going.
13.2 She explained that a quote had been sought for the resurfacing of the area with an eco-friendly ‘grasscrete’ type of surface, but that at £55,000 appeared very expensive. It was agreed by other Councillors and they also agreed that further quotes for the more usual tarmac type surface should be sought, before a proposal and decision is made.
14. To discuss request from resident to plant horse chestnut sapling, following tree works on burton Road open space.
14.1 It was reported that the arborist had advised that any replacement tree in the same area should be of a smaller variety and not a horse chestnut.
14.2 P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer suggested that there might be room on the northern, hedgerow boundary of the Playing Fields for a horse chestnut sapling which was generally agreed.
14.3 Proposed by P/Cllr Mrs J Palmer, seconded by P/Cllr Mr A Garlick
14.4 Vote results – unanimous
14.5 Resolved – P/Cllr Mr A Garlick, (Tree representative), to liaise with resident regarding planting of sapling on northern border of Playing Fields.
15. To confirm the next full Parish Council monthly meeting as Monday 31st January 2022 (please note the Precept Meeting date will be confirmed once financial details received from NKDC.
15.1 Meeting confirmed as above
16. To resolve to go into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960 if required.
16.1 Item not required
The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. She closed the meeting at hrs 2004hrs.