January 22 Minutes
HELPRINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Approved Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 12th January 2022
PRESENT
Councillors Geoff Hotchkin, Robert Spencer, George Frizzell, Julie Frizzell, Malcolm Ternouth, Mark Robinson and William Watts. Parish Clerk Julie Dixon and County Cllr Andrew Key.
PUBLIC SPEAKING TIME
There were no members of the public present
1.0 WELCOME REMARKS BY CHAIRMAN
The Chairman welcomed the Councillors to the meeting and thanked them for their attendance.
2.0 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from District Councillor Stewart Ogden and District Councillor Sally Tarry.
3.0 SIGNING OF THE MINUTES
It was resolved to adopt the minutes of the meeting of 15th December 2021 as a true and correct record.
4.0 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
There was one matter arising from the minutes,
i) Councillor Ternouth ask that it be noted at 12.3 that authorisation had been given to spend up to £300.00 on the Queens Jubilee trees.
5.0 DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST & DISPENSATIONS
Councillor Mark Robinson declared an interest in item 7.2
6.0 REPORT FROM DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
There were no district councillors present to give a report, however County Councillor Andrew Key informed that there is a campaign ongoing called Fix our Funds to Fix our Roads
The LCC budget suffered a 25% cut in roads maintenance funding in 2019/2021 which equates to £12.3m. Ahead of the budget for 2022/2023 LCC agreed to lobby Government for the money to be reinstated. Given the rural nature of the county and the extensive upkeep needs of the 5,500-mile-long roads network the quality of the roads are of utmost importance to residents and businesses in the area.
Please go to www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highwaysfunding and help fight the cause for better roads.
7.0 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
7.1 Application reference: 21/1919/HOUS,
Proposal : Single storey rear extension and removal of existing wall and roof to create opening in wagon store.
Location: Lowfield Lodge, South Fen Road, Helpringham
The application was discussed and no objections were raised therefore it was resolved to support the application.
7.2 Application reference: 21/1860/VARCON
Proposal: To vary the conditions of approved plans.
Location: Land at Vicarage Lane Helpringham
The application was discussed and no objections were raised therefore it was resolved to support the application.
8.0 FINANCE
8.1 The financial report and bank reconciliation presented by the Clerk were accepted..
8.2 The Precept for 2022/2023 was discussed at length with a report of estimated and actual expenses and income for the year 2021 being presented by the clerk. Taking this into account , along with the current rate of inflation and the advice of Lincolnshire Association for Local Councils (LALC) to ensure a figure of up to £3000.00 is available for election material and costs for 2023 it was proposed by Councillor Julie Frizzell and seconded by Councillor Malcolm Ternouth that the Precept should be set at £13,750.00.
8.3 This item has been adjourned until a future meeting.
8.4 Two grass cutting tenders were received for the years 2022 – 2024; both were discussed at length and after careful consideration and due diligence on the part of the Councillor’s, it was resolved to accept the tender of CJP Garden Services at a cost of £7381.00 per year. Although this quote is considerably more expensive than that tendered by Dynamics Environmental at a cost of only £2981.00 per year; it was unanimously resolved that this quote was not sustainable for the amount of work and travel involved along with the rising cost of fuel and machinery.
8.5 The following payments were approved at the meeting.
Tree Scape Nursery Queens Jubilee Trees £185.10
Julie Dixon Clerk Salary £240.00
TDP Limited 2 x Dale Benches £1084.56
9.0 CEMETERY MATTERS AND CONSERVATION AREA
Councillor George Frizzell reported that there are to be three interments during the month of January. A polite request has been made to the Undertakers, asking that should a mechanical digger still need to be on site on the day of a funeral, that it be parked in East Street and not on the grass outside of the cemetery in respect of mourners.
The Conservation area around the pond is looking tidy and thanks to CJP Garden services who has sourced a donation of bulbs to be planted.
10.0 CHURCH CLOCK AND PARISH COUNCIL WEBSITE
The Church clock is running around 6 minutes fast and Cllr G. Frizzell will be conferring with the Church warden to rectify.
Correspondence between the church and the Parish Council is ongoing relating to the church clock and the clock hammer.
The website is running well , however there are reviews required of council policies. It was agreed to review these prior to the annual Parish Meeting later on in the year”
11.0 HIGHWAYS.
11.1 The street naming of land at 14 -14a Shepherds Lane was discussed and it was resolved that the suggested name of Asher Close was relevant.
11.2 The starting date for the Station Road footpath is proposed for the end of February, however, Cllr Andrew Key advised he would look into this further. Cllr Keys has since informed the PC that this project has slipped until 14 March 22.
12.0 MATTERS AFFECTING THE VILLAGE / CORRESPONDENCE
12.1 This matter was discussed once again at great length and it is proposed to continue to look into the possibility of speed awareness signs and the introduction of village gateways. Councillors George and Julie Frizzell and Councillor Malcolm Ternouth are proposing to carry out a speed check in the coming weeks, however VOLUNTEERS are desperately required to help out. If anyone is willing to give up a couple of hours of their time, please in the first instance contact the Clerk.
12.2 Councillor Malcolm Ternouth reported regarding the planting of two trees in recognition of the Queens upcoming Jubilee. Both trees look spectacular and were at a cost of £185.10, a considerable saving on the approved budget of £300.00.
12.3 Village gateways and road safety were discussed once again at length. Chairman, Councillor Geoff Hotchkin is not in favour of village gateways but it was resolved to contact a member of NKDC to see if they would be willing to have a site visit to discuss the matter of gateways and speed cameras.
12.4 The wording for the new WW1/WW2 memorial bench was discussed and it was resolved to keep it short and to the point at “Funded by Helpringham Parish Councill 2022”
13.0 MATTERS OF URGENCY /ANY OTHER BUSINESS
There was no matters of urgency or any other business.
14. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 9th February 2022 in Helpringham Village Memorial Hall at 19:30 Hours.
Meeting Closed at 9:30pm.