June 2023 DRAFT Minutes
Londonthorpe & Harrowby Without Parish Council
Clerk; Peter A. Armstrong 27 Belton Ave Grantham Lincs NG31 9JE
Tel 07929321426 E-mail londonthorpeharrowby@ntlworld.com
The Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 21st June 2023 at Belmont school. Meeting started at 7.00pm
Public Open Session: SKDC Cllr P Gadd.
Councillors present: Paul Bakker, Geoff Parnham, Alan Bowling, Avril Gregory, , Paul Bavin, Carol Markwell, Elvis Stooke and 7 members were present.
Apologies: Paul Nesbitt (H), R Keeler (H) & Yolanda Martin (W). apologies received from LCC Councillors L Wootten & A Stokes. Pete Armstrong the Clerk took the notes.
23/20 Declarations of Interest; None declared.
23/21 Casual Vacancies: there have been no applications, but there has been one enquiry which will be followed up. A big thing to be made of this in the autumn Newsletter which would still give us time to co-opt at the September meeting. Areas most in need are Sunningdale and Bridge End.
23/22 Co-opted to sign declaration: N/A
23/23 Clerks Notes: those of the 17th of May 2023 meeting were accepted as a true record and therefore became the minutes. Proposed by A Bowling seconded P Bakker, all members were fully in agreement.
23/24 Clerks Update on Matters Arising: As usual most matters fall within the very full agenda.
23/25 Financial Statement No 2 of 23-24. Councillors as usual had received the reports taken off the Scribe system prior to the meeting. The Clerk went through the report in the detail explaining all the payments.
Payments to 19th June. Salaries £901.70; LALC £204 Inc £34 VAT, VAT; Malc Firth {Grass} £515.40, VAT £85.90. Plants etc for Belmont/Millennium Garden/Planters £82.65 VAT £14.37; Office £1.50; BHIB Insurance £963.92; Buckminster £200; Wacs/Repairs £119.00; Bank Charges: £5.25. Total expenditure for the report period was £3978.49. Reclaimable VAT was £292.49.
All payments made on the card by the Clerk were agreed by and signed off accordingly.
Income was, NatWest Interest of £5.70; Community Cleaner £694.98; Donation (H&H) £100; Melton Interest £61.28 A total of £861.96.
Items known due for payment before the next meeting are, Grass Cutting, Repairs, BHMS, remainder of the Jubilee Projects, Memberships: and Salaries, Defibrillator Battery etc, plus anything relating to any of the other ongoing projects within the L&O section including ROSPA report. A total possible outlay of up to £13000 before the next meeting. Agreement to accept the Financial Statement No 2 for 2023/24 plus the normal expected payments for up to the June meeting was proposed by G Parnham seconded by P Bakker. A Gregory and E Stooke signed off the statements for this period. Agreed Unan. P Bakker reported he was just getting the monies in from the advertisers in the Spring Newsletter, one has paid cash which he will forward to the Clerk. Two others have paid by bank transfer. A total of £150.
23/25a Change of Savings Accounts: the clerk presented the details of the interest rate on the Melton Account as requested at the last meeting. This is at a rate of .20% if moved to the NatWest Account we already hold it would be 1.90% on a 35-day notice account. It was proposed by A Bowling Sec by P Bavin that the monies be moved as soon as practicable. The Clerk/RFO to arrange.
23/26 Leisure & Outdoor Committee: (A parishioner arrived at 7.27pm during this item.)
a. Parish Tour: items due for work to be done will be passed to the Community Cleaner and Contractor to be remedied. Londonthorpe Amenity Field Hedge, discussions still taking place with the owner.
b. ROSPA Report, followed up on, no major concerns reported, work being done as and when needed.
c. Play Safety: no further items noticed.
d. Withambrook: the tree works as required by the SKDC Report have been completed. it was agreed to replace the Litterbin in the original site with a deeper/larger foundation.
e. Blessed Hugh More Site: An application to the SKDC Community Fund for Fitness Equipment by Cllr A Bowling, is being completed, this on the same lines as the Bridge End Grove one. Verbal permission for it has been given by SKDC for this to be done. Suggestion is that we work with SKDC Councillors from the neighbouring Harrowby Ward along with our Belmont ones.
Remaining Path works to be started on the 26th June. Working party to be arranged in the late summer.
Jubilee Mount: Work is to continue with the next Working Party, Cllr P Bavin will supply the Chippings. FOC. All the work done previously has worked well. The lecterns are ready for collection and will be taken to Print Bureau for the artwork to be completed. A small team of councillors and the Clerk will work on the content.
f. Orphan Land: The draft licence has been viewed by councillors and with a couple of minor changes. It will be passed to the solicitors when received to be registered with the Land Registry. An agreement has been made with Chatterton’s to do this. It is A 25-year term at £1 per ann. which is not to be collected!
g. Hills & Hollows: Two more donations have been received totalling £100. One is for an adopted tree. It was agreed to allowing the adoption of a tree for minimum donation of £50. No plaques allowed outside of the Memorial Area. A record of all trees adopted under this project to be recorded.
h. Grass Cutting: This seems fine without the parish except for the sections in front of the “Village” gates. Contactors have been notified of this.
i. Working Parties: Those councillors with their names down to these following areas are to set dates for groups at (BHMS/Jubilee Mount, H&H and Withambrook).
j. Bridge End Grove Grants: the clerk has been dealing with two other companies to try and obtain a further quote. It has become obvious that we will not get both the Trim Trail and the Fitness Equipment within our total budget agreed at £12000 on a Prop by A Bowling Sec G Parnham. This amount includes our successful bid to SKDC for a grant of £6000 for the planned work. Members looked at the possible items that could be fitted on the information supplied by the Clerk. a further quote is expected in next week which will be just for the Trim Trail.
k. Best Kept Gardens Competition: judging to start in earnest on the 1st July, all councillors present had received a form for them to nominate possible contenders.
l. Defibrillators: Both up and running. A Gregory is checking Alma Park and A Bowling has offered to do the Sunningdale one. Sunningdale will need new pads and battery the Clerk is trying to source these which will cost in excess of £200, at present they are out of stock.
m. Millennium Garden: The Belmont School have taken on this project with their Gardening Club members doing this, geraniums that they have grown on were used. Cllrs Parnham & Bakker and the Clerk have assisted. We will be providing all plants and sundries.
23/27 Planning: Applications dealt with as arising, these are sent to all councillors with at least five of the councillors expected to comment/reply including those on the Planning Group. Several smaller applications mainly with no comments received. We are still waiting for the Belton Park/House application for the carpark revamp and the redevelopment of South Drive and fencing at the lion Gates to be decided.
S23/0896 An application for an extension at 4 Hall Lane raised mixed feelings with members. It was mostly felt to be too big and overbearing. The application more than doubles the size of the original footprint. It also looks too be affecting the neighbour’s property by removing their shed and the hedge.
Application on St Pierre to considerably reduce the size of Oak (TPO) seems slightly overkill. Much of the work would not have been required had SKDC Planning allowed the house extension under the tree. All that being said, it was agreed that some work was required. full consideration for the safety of the road users must be considered and necessary permits for the road closure to be in place before starting.
Other expected plans include the revised “Somerby Hill Plans” from Bloor
23/28 Highway Matters: Slip Road from Somerby Roundabout now open to Whalebone Lane. The roundabout entrance to the Spitalgate Garden Village will be from that point. At long last the road sign at the High Dyke/Harrowby Lane junction is in place.
Speed-watch Team; we are short of volunteers at present, A new round of invites was sent out and we hope to run a couple of events in July.
23/29 Newsletter: This is due for delivery 1st week of September.
Cllrs nominating themselves to assist in the preparing the articles are C Markwell, G Parnham, Y Martin & P Nesbitt. Items to include, Speedwatch, BHMS, Jubilee, Open Evening, Casual Vacancies, Bridge End Grove play, Maps, plus any other of the usual autumn reports. The Open Evening will be on the 20th September @ The Belmont School.
23/30 Tom Childs Award: No nominations received so far. Cllrs Martin & Markwell are to look into advertising this more using our standard request template from the Newsletter. Possible letter to the Grantham Journal.
23/31 Policies: Standing Orders. No Changes this meeting.
23/32 Councillor Area of Responsibilities: All Councillors were reminded of the need to undertake the tasks as on the sheet provided. This is especially important where things are to be inspected.
23/33 Correspondence: As usual all relevant correspondence has been passed on as it arrived or in this case brought up in the actual agenda heading.
Reported here was a report from the meeting Organised by our SKDC Cllr E Stooke with PC Jenny Sennette-Crofts. The Clerk attended with Cllr A Bowling at Sunningdale shops. SKDC Cllr P Gadd had sent his apologies for not making the meeting. Among items discussed were ASB problems within the parish, the illegal use of unlicensed motorcycles. Especially noted was the criminal damage at the H&H. We were informed of an incident in Belton Park with Quadbikes etc. a parishioner came along and informed us of how they harassed her whilst walking her dog. Vandalism at Five Gates was also discussed. The PC was asked if regular visits could be arranged in some evenings at The Belfry and Withambrook Play Areas. The next meeting will hopefully be in around three weeks’ time and at the Alma Park Shops. G Parnham to be the Cllr representative.
At this time the Chair allowed the parishioner present, Matthew Ash to speak as he had missed what would have been the Open Session. He suggested that the Kenilworth Road Bus Shelter (Now known to be owned by LCC) could have a non-glass alternative fitted if this is possible and then this used for artwork from local schools to be used to decorate. He also indicated he may be interested in becoming a Parish Councillor, the clerk will send out the relevant forms ready for the September meeting.
23/34 Matters for the June 21st Agenda. etc. Cllr E Stooke is to find out about litter picking equipment with a view to an event being held. Cllr P Gadd to investigate the ownership of the bus shelters. He also reported on the SKDC’s grass-cutting regime, which is a four-and-a-half-week rota, hence the reason BHMS had grown so long. He also mentioned the situation just outside the parish on the playing field stating Harrowby United now have a lease for this. A problem with motorcycles on BHMS site reported.
Meeting closed 8.50pm
Next meeting: @ Belmont School Wednesday September 13th, 2023, at 7.00pm.y of the meeting held 21st June 2023