2021 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 2 March 2021 at 7.30 pm held remotely via Zoom

Present:   Cllrs. P Hardwick (Chair), P Arthy, S Blades, J Stanser, D Semley, M Parr, R Brown, A Lowe-Hall, Cty. Cllr. Perraton-William, Dist. Cllr. Howitt-Cowan and A Hayward (Clerk) Members of the Public: 0

01.03.21   Chairman’s Remarks

Cllr. Hardwick welcomed everyone to the meeting. Cllr. Hardwick reminded members that the rules and regulations governing Parish Council meetings and members’ conduct applied to meetings held remotely. The Parish Council is not allowed to hold meetings in licenced premises where drinks are being served and it is with this in mind that the consumption of alcohol during remote meetings is not considered appropriate.

02.03.21   Apologies for absence and reasons given
Cllr. Sims (Illness)

03.03.21   Declarations of interest
The following declarations of interest were made:

Cllrs. M Parr & P Hardwick – allotment matters Cllrs. J Sims & P Hardwick – village hall matters
Cllr. Hardwick – Item 7.21 – Consideration of fencing quotations (non-pecuniary)

04.03.21   Public Discussion
None

05.03.21   Notes of the last meeting of the Council
The minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2021 were discussed and resolved as being a true record.

06.03.21   Reports from Outside Agencies and Sub-Committees

Corringham Village Hall
Cllr. Hardwick reported that things were still very quiet at the moment due to COVID-19 restrictions. The refurbishment of the ladies’ toilets is almost complete. Once finished, work will begin on the gents’ toilets.

Neighbourhood Plan
The Neighbourhood Plan submission documents had been distributed to members prior to the meeting for consideration. Cllr. Semley gave an overview of the documents and highlighted changes made since they were last reviewed. Cllr. Semley also informed members that LCC had changed their approach in terms of the methodology used in the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan. They have now moved away from a percentage approach for villages, instead the Plan takes a qualitative approach that takes into account the suitability, or otherwise, of a village for site allocation.  Cllr. Semley reported that additional wording had been added to the Corringham Neighbourhood Plan to underpin and safeguard/ringfence the sites put forward.

The Parish Council agreed the following statement and the following resolution was passed:

The Parish Council has received copies of the proposed Submission Documents for the Corringham Neighbourhood Plan at a meeting held on Tuesday 2nd March 2021 and approved them for submission to West Lindsey District Council at the earliest opportunity

The documents would now go forward to WLDC for examination and would be published on the Parish Council website.

As a separate issue, there was a question about the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and the criteria determining whether or not CIL was payable on a building development. Cllrs. Howitt-Cowan and Hardwick agreed to have a look into this.

Cllr. Lowe-Hall joined the meeting.

07.03.21   Matters for Consideration
Replacement Fence
 
Quotations from four companies had now been obtained. After reviewing each one, it was resolved to offer the contract to Amber Tree Care at a lump sum price of £2,400 plus VAT. The company had the insurances in place. The work was planned for the end of March 2021.

Cllr. Perraton-Williams left the meeting (technical difficulties)

Litter Picking
It was agreed to set up a volunteer group and organise regular litter picking days. Cllrs. Blades/Hardwick to look into the cost of equipment and PPE. To be discussed further at the next meeting. WLDC might also be able to provide some equipment including grabbers and black bags.

LALC Annual Training Scheme 2021/22
Resolved: to join the 2021/22 training scheme at a cost of £85 for the year.

Grass Cutting 2021
It was resolved to offer the current grass cutting contractor an extension to the current contract for another season based on the current rates and scope.  It was agreed to accept extra cuts when necessary to keep the grass well maintained.

Aisby/Corringham Connectivity
Cllr. Brown reported that a proposal/quote from BT Openreach should be completed sometime in April. Corringham parish is in Area 3 which will be part of the new grant scheme starting in April.

08.03.21   Financial Matters
Financial Report:

Income to date:   £20,343.19
Outgoings to date:   £12,074.83
Funds available:   £15,130.62

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

9.3.21   District and County Councillors’ reports

County Councillor
Cllr. Perraton-Williams had lost connection and therefore no report given.

Members expressed their thanks to LCC and WLDC for the provision of the new traffic lights on Corringham Road.

District Councillor
Cllr. Howitt-Cowan had forwarded the following report:

Full Council
Meets Monday evening to approve of the Budget for 2021/22

Covid Data:
Key headlines for the week are as follows:

•   121 new cases across the District, which is an increase compared to the previous week.
•   There has been a 42% increase in infection rates amongst West Lindsey’s over 60s population which now stands at 88.7 per 100,000. This increase appears to be specific to the District’s over 80s population where infection rates have increase from 52 per 100,000 on 15th February to 138 per 100,000 by the end of that same week. The data doesn’t show an obvious reason for this increase, which seems particularly unusual given the vaccine rollout amongst that age cohort.
•   Sadly, there have been 4 COVID related deaths in West Lindsey, taking the total to 164.
•   There are 37 live outbreaks / clusters, 7 fewer than last week and mainly located in private residential dwellings.

Health have looked into the infection rate in the older age group and have provided the commentary

“I believe the key driver for the case rate in the over 60s increasing so much is related to a care home outbreak on the outskirts of Gainsborough where 12 residents have tested positive in the last 7 days. As suggested, when comparing age specific case rates, small increases in positive cases can have a considerable impact on the case rates so should be interpreted with caution.”

Hopefully this provides some comfort and shows that there isn’t a widespread concern around   rate in that age group within the area.

There is growing concern that a minority are refusing to take up the invitation of the vaccine and media platforms are responsible for mis- information which is encouraging this.

Lateral Flow Testing
WLDC is continuing to work with Public Health and other partners to put in place a rapid testing site in and hope to be able to provide some firm plans for this over the next fortnight. It is our intention to make this type of testing available to all staff that are not working from home or cannot work from home as a way to keep both themselves and our customers and residents as safe as possible.

Supermarket Compliance:
Environmental Health Officers have been active over the last couple of weeks and have visited 16 of our larger supermarket type stores to look at what measures they have in place to keep customers and staff safe. The positive news is that only one of the visits resulted in further follow up being needed and other than some minor issues the level of compliance was good. This reinforces our view that the vast majority of our businesses are working really hard to keep staff and customers safe

Health and Safety Executive Spot Checks:
is also working the HSE who are carrying out spot checks of businesses across the District to ensure they have the right Covid secure arrangements in place. This work will carry on for the next few months and any businesses that are deemed to not be meeting the standards will be visited by our Environmental Health Officers.

Business Grants:
The team have now processed and paid grant funding totalling £8,045,168.74.

interim Team Manager
In preparation for Alan Robinson’s imminent departure WLDC has agreed to bring together the Elections Team and Democratic Services. I am delighted to let you know that Katie Storr has agreed to take up team management responsibility for the Elections team for the next six months. She will continue to manage the Democratic Services team as normal. I hope  you  will  join  me  in thanking Katie for picking this work up and support her to ensure that there is  good business continuity. The next few months will be a very busy time for Elections* and indeed the Democratic Services team but I am confident that Katie and her teams to deliver safe and efficient elections on May 6 2021.

*Elections include County, Police Commissioner and a bye election in the Kelsey Ward

Police Report
PCSO McFaul reported that there had been no reported incidences this year.

10.03.21   Planning Matters
New Planning Applications: None

WLDC Planning Decisions
None

11.3.21   Councillors’ reports and items for inclusion on the next agenda
 
•   A number of trees are dying and branches falling off along the verge of Aisby Lane. Clerk to inform Highways/Cllr. Perraton-Williams.
•   Work on the pond is on-going. Some dogwood has been mowed so some replanting could be required.
•   Fly-tipping is an on-going issue. Cllr. Howitt-Cowan advised that residents should take   vehicle registration numbers where possible and report to WLDC. WLDC is able to clear from public-owned land but not private land. The problem appears to have worsened due to COVID-19 restrictions and the current difficulties involved in visiting the recycling centres.

12.03.21   Clerk’s Pay Review

The Clerk’s pay was reviewed and the hourly rate uplifted in line with the pay schedules provided by NALC. The new hourly rate would commence from 1st April 2021. It was agreed that the clerk’s pay should be reviewed every December as part of the budgeting process.

13.03.21   The date of the next meeting is planned for Tuesday 6 April 2021 at 7.30pm to take place remotely via Zoom.

Meeting closed at 9.00 pm