2019 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

Corringham Parish Council
Clerk to the Council: Mrs A Hayward
Lindale Villa, Gringley Rd, Walkeringham DN10 4HT
Tel: 01427 891118, email: angela@lindalevilla.com

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 1 October 2019 at 7.30 pm in Corringham Village Hall

Present:   Cllrs. D Semley (Chair), P Arthy, C Wrench, J Stanser, S Blades, M Parr and A Hayward (Clerk) Members of the Public: 0 

01.10.19   Chairman’s Remarks
Cllr. Semley welcomed everyone to the meeting.
      
02.10.19   Apologies for absence and reasons given      
            
Cllr. A Watson (other commitment)
Cllr. P Hardwick (other commitment)
Cllr. Sims (illness)
PCSO McFaul (other commitment)
Dist. Cllr. Howitt-Cowan (another meeting)
      
It was resolved to accept the apologies
      
03.10.19   Declarations of interest
The following declarations of interest were made:

Cllrs. M Parr – allotment matters

04.10.19   Public Discussion
None
            
05.10.19   Notes of the last meeting of the Council
The minutes of the meeting held on 3 September 2019 were discussed and resolved as being a true record. 

06.10.19   Police Report 
PCSO J McFaul had forwarded the following report:

26/09/19 – report of caravans being loaded on to a lorry on the A631 near to Corringham.  Police attended and all was in order.

It was commented by members that there had been other incidences including attempted thefts of shotguns and a robbery in Springthorpe.   
      
07.10.19   District and County Councillors’ reports 
County Councillor
No report received.

District Councillor 
Dist. Cllr. Howitt-Cowan had sent the following report.

Conservative Party at WLDC:
At the May election the Conservatives held power on a majority of two cllrs

In the past week, Cllr S Kinch has resigned due to a conflict of interest and therefore there is to be a bye election late October in the Torksey Ward.  Cllr J Summers, a former Leader has resigned the Whip and gone Independent.  Furthermore, Cllr Patterson [Scampton Ward] is in suspension due to make derogatory remarks about HM Leader of the Opposition on social media. His suspension imposed by Central Office and endorsed locally lasts until early November this year.

The Ruling Group of which I am a member, is in power with the support of three Independent Cllrs[ Cllr Summers is not one of them]

Ground Floor of the Guildhall
Monies have been approved for a new re configuration of the ground floor which is leased out in order to raise funding. In actual fact the Guildhall complex is now self-sustaining and does not cost us the rate payer a penny to run. The work will be carried out over several months to avoid disruption. There will be greater emphasis of providing rooms for more private 1 to 1 contact with people.  It should prove more efficient, practical and private for ‘customers’.

Heritage Open Days in Lincolnshire and nationally
Hundreds of places were freely open from Friday 13 - Sunday to 22 September and it was a great success

Heritage Regeneration of Gainsborough:
£1.8 million has been secured to preserve the 18c built heritage in the Town. This is excellent news. Market Rasen is after similar funding.

Mark Stugess Director of Operations
Mark retired on Friday 27 of September after a life time in public service, he came to WLDC as I did  in May 2010. He was managing Planning before he became Director of Operations

Budget Consultation:
This held earlier than usual this year and the contributions are still being digested however there is support for a recommended 2% increase in next year’s Community Tax 2020/21. 

08.10.19   Clerk’s Report
The following update was given:
•   Chased up the Lincs. Housing Association to request that the hedges on Edmund Close be trimmed.  They have now confirmed that this will be carried out first week of November
•   Contacted LCC re. the overgrown footpath between Church Lane and Aisby.  The Footpaths Officer stated that he had recently inspected the footpath but would look at it again but stated that the work may not be done quickly due to an backlog of work and may be a case of leaving it to die back naturally.  It was agreed to reply by stressing that the nettles were posing a hazard to children.
•   Requested that ACIS tidy the plot of land on Mill Mere.  They have responded state that they will carry out the work.  With regard to future development plans, they stated again that there were no plans at the moment.

09.10.19   Reports 
Village Hall
No report.  The chair of the village hall committee has recently resigned her position.

Neighbourhood Plan (NP)
Cllr. Semley reported that she is currently chasing the technical grant for the call for sites.  There are some discrepancies between call for sites information submitted to LCC and the NP Steering Group which require some clarification.  Cllr. Semley to arrange a meeting with the Consultant to seek advice on the way forward and will report back the Steering Group.  The final version of the Character Assessment will be published at the end of the week.

Speed Indication Devices (SIDS)
Cllr Arthy reported that he had been in touch with both LCC and Unipart Dorman.  The new SID will be despatched upon receipt of payment and they will also arrange to pick up the existing SID for modification.  
            
10.10.19   Matters for consideration

Gate to Pond
It had been reported prior to the meeting that the bottom hinge on the gate had broken off.  Cllr. Stanser agreed to have a look at it.

Community Speed Watch Scheme (CSW)
Cllr. Arthy reported that he had received information from the LCC, CWS Co-ordinator regarding the Community Speed Watch scheme.  Details are summarised below:

•   A parish needs to be a member of the CSW
•   The full cost of equipment is around £500 and is purchased directly from the supplier
•   Training would be given (usually about an hour)
•   A scheme can be run with about 6 or so volunteers.  Three volunteers are needed at each check.  Checks need to be carried out in daylight hours
There are currently about 30 active teams at the moment and over 5,000 letters have been sent out on their behalf.  Only 245 have received a second letter.

It was agreed to defer the decision as to whether or not to take part and purchase equipment until November’s meeting.
   
11.10.19   Financial Matters
Financial Report:

Income to date:         £12,650.21
Outgoings to date:      £16,117.17        
Funds available:       £  9,691.63

The following payments were proposed, seconded, voted and agreed.

12.10.19   Planning Matters
New Planning Applications:
None
WLDC Planning Decisions
None

13.10.19   Correspondence

The following correspondence was received:
CPRE – Conference on Affordable Homes on 12 November 2019
LALC - newsletters
      
All noted
                                    
14.10.19   Councillors’ reports and items for inclusion on the next agenda
The following items were reported:
•   Pavement drain blocked on Middle Street in front of house numbers 18, 20 and 22.
•   The hedge is encroaching onto the pavement adjacent to the old butchers.
•   The field off the High Street is looking unkempt, weeds and other foliage require cutting back

Clerk to report/write to landowners as necessary.

Agenda items for next meeting:  Precept setting, training, grass cutting contract, CWS and allotment rents.         
             
15.10.19   The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 5 November 2019 at 7.30pm at Corringham Village Hall.  

Meeting closed at 8.20 pm