March 2021 Minutes
Denton Parish Council
All Parish Councillors were summoned to attend a Parish Council Meeting held by Video Conference.
Monday 15 March 2021 at 19:30 hrs (7:30pm)
This meeting was recorded
COVID - 19
In accordance with the Denton Parish Council COVID 19 (Coronavirus) Business Continuity Temporary Parish Council Policy Document, all scheduled face-to-face public meetings are suspended until further notice or as directed by central government.
Accordingly, Council meetings will be conducted by alternative means. Currently, the Council have chosen to use the virtual Zoom application.
In the usual way, the first 15 minutes of the Parish Council Meeting was open to the Public Forum.
Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting were requested to contact the Parish Clerk 24 hours prior to the meeting giving notice of any matter they wish to raise with the council.
Full details can be found on the parish website or by contacting the Parish Clerk on: dentonparishclerk@gmail.com
Minutes
Serial Item
1 Welcome Address – Council Chair
Council Chair, Cllr Crush welcomed all and thanked them for their attendance, with particular thanks to Ms McMahon of the Office of the Police and Crime Commisioners Safer Together Team.
Cllr Crush, having been informed that LCC Cllr Adams had suffered a recent family loss, extended the condolences of the Parish Council.
Cllr Crush wished to thank the Parish Council for his time as Chair and the support he has been given. He informed the meeting that as he has now retired and moved out of the area, he is not classed as resident, but as allowed under the regulations, will continue as Chair until the May elections when he will step down.
He expressed his pleasure of having been in and the Chair and his privilege to have served as a member of the Parish Council.
2 Attendees. Record of those in attendance.
Parish Council:
Cllr M. Crush (Chair)
Cllr S. Bellamy (Vice-Chair)
Cllr S. Turtle (Member)
Cllr V. Aldred (Member)
Mr J. McCloskey (Clerk/Proper Officer/RFO)
County and District Councils and Police:
Cllr B. Adams (LCC)
Ms M. McMahon (OPCC)
Public:
No members of the public had requested to attend.
3 Apologies: Resolution to Accept.
All Parish Councillors were in attendance.
Apologies were received and accepted from:
Ms J. Newman (Denton Parish Community Cleaner)
Cllr H. Westropp (SKDC).
4 Minutes of Previous Meeting: Resolution to Approve minutes of the Parish Council:
11 January 2021
Resolution Passed: Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting Held 11 January 2021 approved. Soft copy. Not hard signed due to present restrictions.
5 Parish Council Declarations Of Pecuniary Interest: Resolution to Note.
None Declared.
6 Public Forum: Presentation/Discussion (15 Minute as required).
Not Required.
7 County and District Councillors. Matters for the attention of the Parish Council.
Cllr Adams updated the meeting on current County and District matters:
- Council Tax – Set with Police precept uplift of 6% for increase in staffing level.
- County and District. Budgets for 2021/22 balanced from reserves for one year only and will need to continue to contain costs and make efficiencies.
- Unitary Authority debate ongoing.
- Constituency Boundaries review to be undertaken over next 2 -3 years.
- Local Government review to be conducted. Re-organisation expected to rationalise and align with the constituency review.
- Following the village walkabout with Cllr Aldred to view and discuss issues, ideas and suggestions to be forwarded to the relevant council authority.
Questions to Cllr Adams.
Q1. Cllr Crush asked about the County Councils plan for resolving the pothole problems.
A1. Cllr Adams informed the meeting that the County emergency priority was to fill pot holes where possible and that the contractor Balfour Beatty was required to fill reported potholes and investigate others within a 30 metre radius either side.
At present this was not being done due to manpower and financial contraints, however from the 1 April 2021, the council will be holding the contractor to this and with a proposed increase in resources, improvement in rectifying potholes was fully expected.
Q2. Cllr Adams was asked if he was able to give an update on the Grantham By-Pass and its progress so far and target date for completion.
A2. Work on the By-Pass was proceeding as planned and the target for completion was expected to be in 2023 but no specific period mentioned.
Due other commitments, Cllr Adams indicated he would need to leave the meeting at this point and gave his apolgies.
The Chair thanked Cllr Adams for joining the meeting and the information he has been able to provide for the Parish Council.
8 Lincolnshire Police Representative.
Ms Maisie McMahon, from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioners Safer Together Team.
Ms McMahon briefed the meeting on the newly established Safer Together Team.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has set up a regional Safer Together Team to work with the local communities in the county.
There are four posts and for North and South Kesteven, Ms McMahon is our representative and based at Grantham Police Station. These co-ordinators will be working alongside Lincolnshire Police and will have a greater engagement with the local communities and a direct line to the OPCC.
The Parish Council will be working with Maisie to keep the police informed of those matters of concern to the community.
Currently Lincolnshire Police and the Neighbourhood policing teams are spread across 130 Parishes and to enable incidents to be dealt with in the most effective manner within the resources available, the overriding advice remains report all non-emergency incidents to 101 to enable enables a record to be kept and recurring problems identified and investigated.
Dog thefts remain a concern to many and care should be taken, however, many of the reported incidents have been found to be false or exaggerated due to misinformation through social media sites. Where any attempt occurs, it should be reported to 101 if not an emergency situation, when 999 should be used.
The Parish Council thanked Ms McMahon for her input and discussed the main concerns of the village and residents. These were:
- Dog theft.
- Speeding.
- Increase in HGV’s traveling through the village.
- Fly Tipping.
- Inconsiderate Parking.
- Anti Social behaviour (Denton Reservoir)
Ms McMahon emphasised the need to reporting through 101 to enable incidents to be logged and an incident number allocated. This enables both follow up action and analysis of recurring incidents for fuller investigation.
She also requested that a member of the Parish Council be a main point of contact as liaison between them and the OPCC.
Resolution: Parish Council to follow up and provide a P.O.C.
9 Parish Clerk: Update on outstanding and ongoing business.
a. Internal Auditor for AGAR 2020/21.
The Clerk updated the council on the process for the annual internal audit and the appointment of a qualified internal auditors, Mr and Mrs Raistrick.
As approved by the Parish Council,the fee of £50 was acceptable and at the request of Mrs Raistrick, would be in the form of a donation to the Grantham Food Bank.
Resolution: Approved.
b. Fly tipping reports.
Concerns had been raised regarding the recent incidences of fly tipping around the area.
The clerk has reported these to SKDC using their website link for their action.
Resolution: Information regarding the reporting of Fly Tipping to be included in the next edition of the newsletter,placed on the village noticeboards and the Parish Council website.
c. Footway obstructions.
Reports have been made to the Parish Council regarding the state of some of the hedges in the village that are obstructing the footways, in particular along Main St where there is only a single footway obstructed by the hedge of Denton Lodge.
The clerk has wriiten to the owners of the property requesting they take action to reduce the over hanging hedge.
As the property has been placed up for sale, the estate agents have also been contacted to advise their clients of the problem.
Resolution: Situation to be monitored and LCC Highways requested to investigate overall state of the footway in that area.
Advice on keeping hedges in good repair will also be included in the next edition of the Parish Council newsletter and an item placed on the website.
10 Parish Council: Update and Discussion on Parish Council matters
a. Defibrillator.
This was a joint effort by your Parish Councillors to ensure that the village retained a defibrillator in a readily accessible location. Parish Councillors restored the kiosk and prepared it for the Community Heartbeat Trust to install the new defibrillator.
Photographs have been provided to the Community Heartbeat Trust and through them the restoration and installation has been recognised at county level with a BBC Radio Lincolnshire item highlighting the use of redundant phone kiosks around the county for use as defibrillator sites.
Final preparations are being made to have the floor restored with tiling designed by the children of Denton School which is hoped to be completed before July.
Resolution: Unanimous thank you to those councillors involved for their hard work and persistence.
b. Road Safety Campaign.
Concerns have been growing within the community regarding vehicles speeding, increased volume of HGV traffic and car parking.
The Parish Council are reviewing the data from the Speed Indicator Device, (which will be made readily available.) to determine the level of the problem and identify problem areas for additional SID sites as approved by LCC Highways.
There has been a village walkabout with the Parish and County Councillors to look at the areas of concern. This included parking and footway obstructions due to overgrown hedging and sate of footway surfaces.
Options being considered:
- Warning Countdown Signs on entry to the village on Casthorpe and Belvoir Roads.
- White Gated type village entry signage.
- Improved School signage with additional warnings.
- Establish a volunteer Speed Watch group.
Resolutions:
1. Review LCC approved SID locations and re-site SID on a regular basis to identify problem areas and roads.
2. Review and interpret SID data to support moves to key problem areas
3. Provide SID data to community though newsletter/website.
4. Continue to engage with LCC Highways regarding obstructed footways and surface condition.
c. Village environment.
General issues of the dog waste throughout the village still remain a concern and the Parish Council continue to monitor the issue and take appropriate actions where necessary. Additional warning signs have been erected and SKDC requested to update and replace deteriorated warning notices.
Littering remains a problem at Denton Reservoir and while the Parish Council employs a Community Cleaner, they are restricted to the village community and immediate verges on approach roads to the village.
The Parish Council continue to engage with the Canal and Rivers Trust but have no authority regarding the reservoir area as this is the responsibility of private landowners and the Canal and Rivers Trust.
The C&RT have advised they are against installation of waste bins, as bins do not encourage visitors to take their litter away with them. They also have limited resources to manage waste bins as they are primarily engaged in water management.
The councillors are very appreciative of what the volunteer group are doing to keep the area clear, but are limited to what action they are able to take other than lobbying those responsible.
Denton Parish Council cannot take responsibility from the C&RT as this would be acting without authority.
Resolution: The Parish Council will again contact the agencies concerned and request they provide assistance with specific attention to:
- Health and Safety of the volunteer group.
- Provision of life preservers for members of the group.
- Volunteer risk assessment and liability cover.
They will also contact Harlaxton Parish Council and the Grantham Angling Society to get additional support, requesting a further site meeting.
d. Village Play area.
Cllr Sarah Turtle has been following up on improvements to the village play area and has obtained quotes for re[placement of the equipment by specialist providers.
Plans have been developed and once finalised will be put forward for consultation by the community.
The plans include equipment for a range of ages and abilities taking into consideration of the adjacent properties and limiting height to prevent overlooking.
There will be the need to consider the space available and SKDC will ned to be consulted regarding what may be done.
A target figure of £50k has been identified and options and organisations for funding support are being considered. There are a number of grants available and the Parish Council will look at all available sources and the limits of what the Parish Council can contribute within the precept.
No decisions will be made without full consultation and the council intention is to present two to three options for consideration.
Resolution: To continue to engage with suppliers over designs and funding groups for grant provision.
11 RFO Financial Report
Denton Parish Council - Accounts Reconciliation 1 January 2021 to 28 February 2021
1. Period 1January 2021 to 31 January 2021
a. CYB Bank Account Reconciliation
Date 01-Jan-21
Opening Balance 10,629.27
Income 0.00
Expenditure 301.61
Closing Balance 10,327.66
Date 31-Jan-21
b. Income
Nil this period 0.00
Sub total b 0.00
c. Invoices Paid In Period (Signed cheques or email authorised BACS)
Nil this period 0.00
Sub total c 0.00
d. Personnel Payments in Period (Staff Salaries, HMRC PAYE & Authorised Clerk & Council Expenses
Parish Clerk (Salary) 82.00
Community Cleaner (Salary) 70.76
HMRC PAYE Qtr 3 73.20
Clerk Business Expenses 75.85 (Business Stationery & Consumables)
Sub total d 301.61
Total Income & Expenditure 301.61
2. Period 1 February 2021 to 28 February 2021
a. CYB Bank Account Reconciliation
Date 01-Feb-21
Opening Balance 10,327.66
Income 0.00
Expenditure 304.27
Closing Balance 10,023.39
Date 28-Feb-21
b. Income
Nil this period 0.00
Sub total b 0.00
c. Invoices Paid In Period (Signed cheques or email authorised BACS)
LALC Annual subscription. 83.02
CPRE Annual subscription 36.00
Sub total c 119.02
d. Personnel Payments in Period (Staff Salaries, HMRC PAYE & Authorised Clerk & Council Expenses
Parish Clerk (Salary) 81.80
Community Cleaner (Salary) 70.76
Clerk Business Expenses 32.69 (SAFCO Suggestions Box)
Sub total d 185.25
Total Income & Expenditure 304.27
Resolution: Accounts reconciliations for January and February approved with all transactions properly authorised and recorded and balances agree with bank statements for periods stated.
12 Planning Applications.
a. Review Applications Received for Parish Council Representation.
LCC Reference: Pl/0023/21
Town And Country Planning General Regulations 1992
Application For Planning Permission For Development By The County Council
Development: To Retain An Existing Single Mobile Classroom For A Further Five Years
Location: Denton Church Of England Primary School, Church Street, Denton
Grid Reference: 486653 332534.
b. Review Applications – SKDC Decision Notifications.
Application No: S20/2075
Proposal: Single storey extension of kitchen to existing utility room & removal of glass conservatory roof and replacement with raised seam zinc roof with patination.
Location: 110 Church Street DentonNG32 1LG
Decision/Date 27th January 2021
The South Kesteven District Council has considered this application under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (as amended) and consent has been granted for the development described above.
Application No: S20/2078
Proposal: Silver Birch. Reduce the height of this tree by 35 to 40%.
Location: Sycamore Cottage 66 Main Street Denton Lincolnshire NG32 1JZ
Decision/Date: Work Allowed 13th January 2021
Resolution: All Planning Applications and Decision Notices acceptable.
13 New Business for Next Meeting: Review outstanding business
None at this time
15 Meeting Close and Next Meeting
Cllr Crush thanked all present for a valuable and constructive meeting and closed the meeting at 21:45.
The next meeting will be the Annual Meeting of the Council to take place at 12:30 on Monday 26 April 202.
This meeting will be held in accordance with the current COVID-19 guidance.
This meeting is to review confidential Parish Council administration only.
Members of the public are excluded.
The next full Public Parish Council meeting will be:
Monday 10 May 2021 commencing at 19:30 (7:30 pm)
Meeting format TBC in accordance with COVID-19 guidance and safeguards in place for council members and public attendance.
Members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting subject to compliance with extant COVID 19 restrictions
J.McCloskey
Parish Clerk, Proper Officer & RFO
For:
Denton Parish Council
E-mail: dentonparishclerk@gmail.com