2025 Minutes

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Corringham Parish Council, held on Tuesday 14th January 2025 at 7.30 pm at Corringham Village Hall

Present:     
Parish Councillors: D Semley (Chairman), S Blades (Vice Chairman), M Johnson, M Parr, S Bibb, R Craven

7.15pm – Public Forum: No members of the public attended

Item
1.    CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME - Cllr. Semley welcomed all to the meeting and wished them a Happy New Year, and informed all that Standing Orders were in place. Cllr. Semley said it was good to see a nearly full Council, and she felt we were now in a position to start moving forward with projects.

2.     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE  - None

3.    DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND DISPENSATION REQUESTS – None in relation to items on the agenda

4.    MINUTES & MATTERS ARISING 
i.    It was RESOLVED to accept the minutes from the December meeting as a true and accurate record.
ii.    New councillors were advised to create email addresses specifically for Corringham Parish Council business.
iii.    Still awaiting reply from Village Hall regarding a key for Parish Council use. 

5.    BUSINESS MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION:
i.    Pond works – Cllr. Semley circulated the pond project initially proposed 18 months ago. It was RESOLVED to go ahead with the project as previously proposed. 
It was also RESOLVED that August would be a target date for the main works.
Cllrs. Parr & Craven to work on the pond and hedge works and quotes for such.
Cllr. Johnson to work on costings for the fencing and gate
Cllr. Bibb to speak to contacts at LCC re land access and works.
Cllr. Semley to work on identifying funding options and look at costings for new flora for the project
ii.    Risk assessment – Risk assessment had been circulated prior to the meeting with some additions, in particular in relation to Burial, Land & Historical Records. It was RESOLVED to accept the changes to the risk assessment. 
It was also RESOLVED that the digitisation of burial records and records of land holdings be investigated.
Cllrs. Bibb & Johnson to attend Burial Clerk training when available
Cllr. Johnson to attend Website management training as and when available 
iii.    Asset register – Cllr. Blades agreed to review the assets around the Parish and report back
iv.    Updates
.gov email addresses - Funding now exhausted for the change to .gov.uk email, so no funding now available – It was RESOLVED to leave emails as they are currently but ensure all Councillors have dedicated emails for Parish Council communications.
Defibrillator - Still awaiting information from WLDC re defibrillator for Aisby. Cllr. Semley to chase up.
Site required for defibrillator & Noticeboard for Aisby. Cllr. Tipping to investigate further.
Aisby Noticeboard - Cllr. Semley to investigate if the current Aisby noticeboard can be post mounted.
Green street signs - Still awaiting information on placement of ‘Green Signs’ on the smaller roads around the villages. Cllr. Semley to chase up with LCC Highways.
v.    Meeting Dates - This item was left on the agenda in error – no action.

6.    FINANCIAL  
i.    RFO report for December 2024 was presented. It was RESOLVED to approve as a true and accurate record.
RFO Report December 2024

ii.    Payment was APPROVED for £206 to Thonock & Somerby Estates for allotment rent for 2024 as per listed on the Payment Approval form.
iii.    Bank Mandates – Cllr. Semley circulated forms to be filled in in order to update the bank mandate.

7.    PLANNING MATTERS – To consider applications and responses to planning matters – No applications received
Cllr. Craven agreed to be planning officer for the Council and regularly review any applications and report to the Council.

8.    CORRESPONDENCE 
It had been reported to the Parish Council that no Councillors had attended the Remembrance Day service at the Parish Church, and that the Parish Council had not supplied a wreath for the service; making it necessary for last year’s wreath to be used again.
In response the Parish Council would like to make the following statement:
The Parish Council has always, and will always, supply a wreath each year for the Remembrance Service. Some years the Parish Council have asked ex service personnel to lay the wreath, and on other occasions the Chairman has laid the wreath. On this occasion, as the Chairman was able to attend the service, Cllr. Semley chose to lay the wreath on behalf of the Parish.  
Both Cllr. Johnson and Cllr. Semley attended the service and had a wreath with them. 
There had been no communication from the Church prior to the service or at the service itself, and the Councillors were not invited to lay the wreath.
The Councillors present did lay a wreath on behalf of the Parish after the service, and gave due respect to those who gave their lives for others.

9.    ONGOING MINOR ITEMS AND AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING  
School parking – The Council had received a complaint re parking around the school. Cllr. Semley to speak to the school to see if there is a way forward to try and mitigate some of the issues.
Potholes on Mill Mere are becoming an issue. Parishioners to be encouraged to add any pothole, lighting  or other issues onto the ‘Fix my Street’ portal.

10.    DATE OF NEXT MEETING – It was RESOLVED that the date for the next ordinary of the Parish Council be on Tuesday 4th February 2025.

Meeting closed 20.35pm