May 2021 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
Corringham Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Corringham Parish Council held on Tuesday 4th May at 7.30pm. The meeting was held remotely via Zoom
Attendees:
Parish Councillors: P Hardwick, P Arthy, M Parr, S Blades, A Lowe-Hall, R Brown, J Stanser and J Sims Clerk to the Council: A Hayward
District Councillor P Howitt-Cowan: Apologies submitted County Councillor: C Perraton-Williams: Absent
Members of Public: 0
Cllr. Hardwick welcomed everyone to the meeting and stood down as Chair.
01.05.21 - Election of Chair
In the absence of the Vice-Chair, Cllr. Arthy asked members if there were any nominations for Chair: Nomination Received: Cllr. Hardwick
Proposed: Cllr. Sims Seconded: Cllr. Lowe-Hall
There were no other nominations and Cllr. Hardwick accepted the nomination and was duly elected as Chair.
02.05.21 - Chair’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Cllr. Hardwick duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office form.
03.05.21 – Apologies from Parish Councillors for Absence and Reasons Given
Cllr. Semley – work commitments Resolved: to accept apologies for absence.
04.05.21 – Election of Vice-Chairman
Cllr. Hardwick asked members if there were any nominations for Vice-Chair: Nomination Received: Cllr. Semley
Proposed: Cllr. Hardwick Seconded: Cllr. Sims
There were no other nominations and Cllr. Semley was duly elected as Vice-Chair.
05.05.21 – Chair’s Remarks
Cllr. Hardwick had no further comments to make.
06.05.21 – Declarations of interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any applications for dispensation in relation to disclosable pecuniary interest.
Cllr. Hardwick – allotment matters (pecuniary), Church matters (non-pecuniary) and village hall matters (non-pecuniary) Cllr. Parr – allotment matters (pecuniary)
Cllr. Sims – village hall matters (pecuniary)
07.05.21 – Public Discussion
None
08.05.21 – Notes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on 6 April 221 to be approved as the minutes
The minutes of the meeting held on 6 April, 2021 were discussed and resolved as being a true record.
09.05.21 – Report from Other Outside Agencies and Sub-Committees
Corringham Village Hall
Cllr. Hardwick reported that the table tennis club has started back but it was uncertain how long they would continue. The Yoga class is to start on 17 May and the gym club is using the village hall for another 3 weeks. The work on the gents’ toilets is progressing well.
Corringham Neighbourhood Plan
No report.
Provision of High-Speed Broadband (FTTP)
Cllr. Brown reported that there was nothing further to report at this stage. There appears to be no apparent ideal solution at present. An alternative to BT is Quickline which is often problematic and inconsistent and requires upgrading. Cllr. Brown will continue to investigate and will report back when there is further news.
10.5.21 – Matters for Consideration
1. Maintenance of the Church clock
Cllr. Hardwick reported that the PCC has asked her whether or not the Parish Council would consider taking over the maintenance of the Church Clock. The current maintenance contract is believed to be £589 over 3 years. The current contract will expire in 2022. It was agreed that more information about the contract was required before members could make an informed decision. Agenda item for the next meeting.
2. Litter Pick
Cllr. Hardwick confirmed that the litter grabbers and bags had been purchased and were available to use. It was agreed that rather than setting a date for the first litter pick, it might be better to arrange the litter picks on an ad-hoc basis.
For example, if a member had a free weekend and the weather looked promising, advertise on Facebook with details of date, time and meeting place.
3. Arrangements for first Physical Meeting
The Clerk advised that legislation allowing remote meetings expires on 6th May. The village hall is still governed by COVID-19 safety regulations/guidelines until 21 June at the earliest. It was agreed to cancel the planned meeting in June and aim to meet face to face on 6th July.
4. 2020/21 Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) 2020/1 (part 2)
The Clerk presented the AGAR schedules including the Internal Audit Report for 2020/1. No issues or concerns were identified by the Internal Auditor. The AGAR schedules were considered and it was resolved to approved the following:
1. Certificate of Exemption
2. Annual Governance Statement
3. Accounting Statements
The AGAR 2020/1, along with the bank reconciliation, variance analysis and notice of public rights would be uploaded onto the Parish Council as required.
11.05.21 – Financial Matters The Clerk reported as follows: Payments for approval
Staff (salary and expenses) £224.14 Bonnets (black sacks) £26.28
R Wilkinson (grass cutting) £430.00
Zurich Municipal (annual insurance) £345.80 Amber Tree Care (new fence) £2,880.00 Resolved: to approve payments
Receipts (April)
Precept £10,200.00 Cemetery Income £55.00
Bank Balance as at 04/05/21
Income for the year to date: £10,255.00 Expenditure for the year to date: £4,942.92 Bank Balance: £20,442.68
12.05.21 – Reports from the Police, District and County Councillors Police Report
PCSO McFaul had forwarded the following report:
5 x reports from the village and 2 are not for the public’s interest.
6/4 – 2 males in a small white van selling fish in the village 5/4 – RTC on East Lane (damage to bins)
2/4 – a report that a white van driving slowly around the village stating the driver was looking at dog walkers. No dog was taken or attempted to be taken.
County Councillor Report
No report received.
District Councillor Report
Cllr. Howitt-Cowan had forwarded the following report: Neighbourhood Development Plans:
May I compliment the team for staying the course and arriving at the stage of its publication. It has taken this small group many hours of work and shows their strong commitment to see it through. In the Hemswell Ward there are several Neighbourhood Plans either approved ** or in the pipeline; Corringham, **Willoughton, Hemswell, **Glentworth and Hemswell Cliff.
Guildhall: A start on the work on phase 1 to reshape the working space and reduce the number of desks available with the need for two metre distancing will continue beyond the 21st June and that reduces our desk capacity to a little over 50 desks throughout the building.
We only have around 13 staff that have to be in the building regularly so we are proposing that during phase 1 those with a priority need will need to pre-book a desk should they wish to work from the Guildhall on a particular day of the week.
We are not proposing to ‘zone’ areas for teams as the capacity does not work out to operate in that way. That means that there are no protected areas for specific teams, although if staff are looking for bigger group work, then there are still meeting rooms to book (with significant reduced capacities) if working remotely is not appropriate.
Covid Data:
• 23 new cases across the District, with cases continuing to decline rapidly week on week. Our current infection rate stands at 16.7 per 100,000 which is a reduction of 53% and significantly lower than the England average of 23.8 per 100,000 Across Lincolnshire, the number of infections continues to fall, with a current infection rate of 30.3 per 100,000.
• The over 60’s infection rate has fallen sharply, and there have been no new outbreaks in West Lindsey care homes for the third consecutive week.
• Sadly, there have been two COVID related deaths this week, taking the total to 183.
• As of 22nd April, a total of 56,667 people has received at least one dose of the vaccine in West Lindsey. This is an increase
of 0.6% on the previous week and equates to 59.2% of the district’s total population.
4. Lateral Flow Testing: The planned groundworks at the Gainsborough Leisure Centre LFT testing site have now been completed and the test site successfully opened this week for both Home Testing kit collection and supervised tests.
The setting up of the LFT site at the Festival Hall Committee Room in Market Rasen is due to be completed today. This will also provide supervised Lateral Flow Testing and collection of Home Testing kits. The Red Cross roving unit is available today at the site from 10am-3pm to provide supervised testing. This will give wider testing coverage, along with the home testing provision to a greater geographical area.
The detailed opening hours of the two sites, for any member of the public or key worker to attend for a supervised test or to collect home testing kits, are:
Gainsborough Leisure Centre:
Opening hours Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5pm
Festival Hall, Market Rasen:
Opening Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm from Monday 26th April
Home testing are now widely available for all. Staff who wish to, can test at home twice a week. This is not mandatory, however the more of us that test twice weekly, regardless of the role we are in, the more chance we have of managing any future outbreaks and reducing the impact not only on West Lindsey, but on our own family, friends and communities
Business Grants: We made our first Restart Grant payments this week and distributed £4m to local businesses. We have 30 queries that have arisen from the due diligence checks introduced by Government. The new Business Revival Grant Fund will launch on Monday 26th April. The grant is aimed at supporting businesses to reopen, recover and prosper and is in addition to the Restart Grants and other previous support. Businesses can apply for up to £5,000 to help them to adapt, diversify and to support long term sustainability. More information on this fund can be found at https://www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/my-council/council- news/business-revival-grant-fund/
The latest announcement from the Government is that the most recent data suggests that the proposed roadmap should continue on track. The recent opening of non-essential shops and open-air hospitality has gone particularly well in Gainsborough with no issues so far. The next date is the 17th May when hospitality will re-open in-doors and the number of people we can meet in one session starts to increase. That said, the Hands Face Space and Fresh Air concept is expected to continue.
Annual Council is to held on Tuesday 4 of May to avoid the Government’s ending of virtual meetings. The Chamber will not
accommodate a large attendance of Councillors, Officers and the Public with the 2-metre distancing required. Fires – I am aware of two fires that have caused concern at Hemswell Cliff
Sunday Market – I have received several telephone calls throughout the period of lockdown concerning this market. Last week I understand there were highways issues and a lack of social distancing. Once more I have asked WLDC to re assure me that every effort is being made in the interests of public safety, those assurances have not been given so far.
Ecclesiastical Parish
Hemswell Cliff is located in two church parishes; the south side in Harpswell whereas the north side is within Hemswell, very important for the occasional services of baptisms, marriages and funerals. The Church is too close Harpswell Church and Harpswell is to be united with Hemswell which will shortly be the parish church serving both the south and north side of Hemswell Cliff. As, the District Cllr and Lay Chair for Corringham Deanery Synod, I am consulted on this matter, which receives my full blessing. Many more churches will close as they are not sustainable with very small worshippers.
Scotter Rural - County Council Election – to be held Thursday 6th of May, the results later on Friday 7th of May.
13.05.21 – Planning Matters
Planning Decision: PA 142511, Netherdene Cottage, Aisby
Proposal: to remove existing ground floor utility and erect new single storey extension, alterations to the roof to create a single pitched roof.
Decision: GRANT
14.05.21 – Councillors Reports and Items for Inclusion on the Next Agenda
Cllr. Hardwick reported that the new fence had now been erected. A four-foot-wide gate has been installed to allow access to wheelchair users.
Cllr. Brown advised that he had enrolled on a series of planning seminars organised by WLDC over the coming months.
15.05.21 – Date of Next Meeting
It was resolved to hold the next meeting on Tuesday 6th July 2021 at 7.30pm in Corringham Village Hall when it is anticipated all COVID-19 restrictions will have been lifted.