Minutes & Agendas

HELPRINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 8th September 2021

PRESENT

Councillors Geoff Hotchkin, Malcolm Ternouth, Robert Spencer, George Frizzell and Mark Robinson.  Parish Clerk Julie Dixon and  District Councillor Sally Tarry.

PUBLIC SPEAKING TIME

Mr Chris and Mrs Julie Fixter joined the meeting for the public forum. Mr & Mrs Fixter have held a Lexus car show at their home in Little Hale and are kindly donating the profits to the local villages towards the upkeep of the defibrillators kept within each village. The Chairman thanked Mr & Mrs Fixter for their kind donation of £20.00 and advised that it is the Memorial Hall that is responsible for the upkeep of the machine in Helpringham and therefore we will pass this money to the Hall treasurer on their behalf.

1.0 WELCOME REMARKS BY CHAIRMAN

The Chairman welcomed the Councillors and District councillor Tarry and  thanked them for their attendance.

2.0         APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Councillor’s Julie Frizzell, William Watts and District Councillor Stewart Ogden and County Councillor Andrew Key. It was resolved to accept the reasons for absence

3.0 SIGNING OF THE MINUTES

It was resolved to adopt the minutes of the meeting of 11 August 2021 as a true and correct record.

4.0 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

There was one matter arising from the minutes which was a spelling mistake, minutes stated the name as  Mr Donald Stoke Dean but should have read Donald Stock Dean.

5.0 DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST & DISPENSATIONS 

There were no declarations to record.

6.0 REPORT FROM DISTRICT COUNCILLORS

Councillor Sally Tarry advised that there have not been many meetings over the past month and therefore nothing significant to report.

A few points were raised by Councillors which Cllr Tarry has kindly responded to as follows:

• If a dead animal is found in the road e.g badger/deer does the Council offer a service to come and collect and dispose of the animal?           

Yes, if you either send an e-mail to waste@n-kesteven.gov.uk or phone 01529 414155 to report  either Jason or Sam within the team will arrange for it to be collected / disposed of.

• When window envelopes are put in the purple lidded bin does the plastic window have to be removed (there is no indication on the leaflet that it needs to be removed)?

Yes you can put envelopes with a plastic window straight into your purple lidded bin 

• Concern was raised regarding overflowing rubbish bins in lay-bys particularly on the A17. Please can I check that it is NK that empty these when they fall within the District and how often are they emptied?

Unfortunately this is one of the services which has suffered due to limited staff, however normally we empty all the layby bins south twice a week on a Monday and a Thursday.

Thanks to Cllr Tarry for responding so quickly.

The Parish Council would also like to express thanks for the prompt response at the collection of fly tipping reported on the main road to Little Hale.

7.0         PLANNING APPLICATIONS 

Application reference: 21/293/TCA, was discussed for the reduction in the height of trees at 25 High street, Helpringham. There were no objections or comments made.

8.0         FINANCE

8.1 The financial report presented by the Clerk and RFO Julie Dixon was accepted.

8.2 The bank reconciliation was accepted

8.3 Service Level Agreement – Parish Funding – Litter Picking Grant. 

This item was discussed but as in previous years, the Councillor’s resolved that it was not necessary to apply for, as the Parish Council already owns its own litter picking equipment and has volunteer litter pickers.

8.4 The following payments were approved at the meeting.

A further cheque of £33.00 was authorised for the clerk to attend the AGM of LALC (Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils).        

9.0         CEMETERY MATTERS

9.1    Cemetery officer Cllr George Frizzell reported that there has been 1 interment, the late Mr Edward Taylor.

Invoices have been issued for the erection of memorials to the following:

The late Doreen & John Bowden

The late Alfred Roy Buckle  - Paid

The Late Alma & Joe Spencer - Paid

The late Terence Charles Martin – Paid

The late Margery Alice Skelton

9.2 Cllr Frizzell requested authority for CJP Garden Services to be requested for grave levelling. This was authorised unanimously.

9.3    Thanks go to Chris Pell of CJP Garden Services for the impeccable job he has done on the hedges and grass within the cemetery.        

Sincere thanks must also be extended to Mr Tom Ireland for cutting the cemetery hedge from his arable field down to a more manageable height. This is greatly appreciated.

9.4    In the coming weeks Cllr Frizzell will be planning to carry out a general tidy up in the cemetery along with edging the paths.  Cllr Ternouth offered to help and any other volunteers would be most welcome.  If anyone would like to offer their services, please contact the clerk in the first instance.

10.0       CHURCH CLOCK AND PARISH COUNCIL WEBSITE

The Church Clock appears to be running around two minutes fast at the moment, Councillor George Frizzell will correct in due course.

The website is all up to date and running well.

11.0       HIGHWAYS.

11.1 There does not appear to have been any progress with the Station Road footpath. At the last meeting (11/08/2021) County Councillor Andrew Key advised that he would be meeting with the Highways department regarding this, however, nothing has been reported, therefore the clerk will chase this up.

11.2 The Parish Council were pleased to see that work had been carried out to fill in the potholes on the Burton Road after repeated consultation with Highways and the County Councillor.

12.0       MATTERS AFFECTING THE VILLAGE / CORRESPONDENCE

12.1 The Purple bins have now been distributed to all households and collections will begin as per schedule.

12.2 A quote of £305.00 has been received for the laying of the concrete pads and the erection of the three dual purpose bins as well as the erection of the new seat outside of 15 High Street, Helpringham. It was resolved to accept the quote; formal clarification of the siting of the bins will be sought from NKDC. It is however hoped that the contractor will be able to erect the seat as soon as possible.

12.3 Speed checks within the village were discussed, however will be placed on hold for the time being due to the qualified councillors lack of time. This will be revisited in the near future.

12.4 The Queens Green Canopy – the setting of a tree in honour of the Queens 70th Jubilee is being encouraged. It was resolved that a replacement tree will be planted on the Village Green where one has died. This will be carried out by the Chairman of the Parish Council at a date to be decided. It is encouraged that anyone who is able to, should plant a tree on their own property in honour of the occasion. Please seek permission before doing so if you do not own your property.

12.5 A recent inspection of the trees owned by the Parish Council which is carried out on a three yearly basis by the NKDC tree officer was discussed. Cllr M Ternouth reported at length on the proposals and recommendations for which he will take the lead.

If anyone wishes to read the reports, please contact the clerk who will be happy to pass them on by email.

12.5a A proposal was made and seconded that Cllr Malcolm Ternouth should be elected as the Parish Council Tree Officer.  This position was accepted by Cllr Ternouth.

13.0       MATTERS OF URGENCY

There were no matters of urgency.

14.         DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 13th October 2021 in Helpringham Village Memorial Hall at 19:30 Hours.

Meeting Closed at 8:25pm