July 2019
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
Held at 7.30pm on 04/07/2019 in Little Bytham Village Hall
Present: Mr P Inskip (Acting Chair), Mrs E Inskip (Clerk), Mr G Lohmann-Bond, Mrs S Mcfarland, County Councillor Mr B Adams, District Councillor Mr C Benn
Apologies: Mrs S Fraser, Mr J Sharpe, Mr S Smith
Chair’s Introduction: Cllr Inskip welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Public Forum: Two members of the parish were present. Mr G Baldwin and Mr F Hughes. Mr Baldwin and the Clerk have been communicating recently regarding an email sent to the Clerk. Mr Baldwin confirmed that any requests for ashes to be buried in the churchyard is the Parochial Church Councils responsibility. Mr Baldwin then spoke about the need for mirrors in two areas of the village to assist motorists, namely the Witham Hill junction and the T junction at High Street/Station Road. Cllr Adams confirmed that the council would not allow these to be placed on council land due to potential liabilities. Cllr Lohmann-Bond suggested that it should be investigated if private land in these areas could be used instead. Cllr Inskip asked for volunteers to speak to parishioners regarding this and it was agreed that Mr Baldwin will talk to someone at the T junction area and Cllr Mcfarland will talk to someone in the Witham Hill junction area. Cllr Lohmann-Bond stated that a speed restriction of 20mph in the village would help with safety in these areas. It was also mentioned that when people park on the pavement by the T junction safety is compromised. It was suggested that the PCSO should be invited to a meeting in the future to discuss these problems. (SM)
Mr F Hughes introduced himself as a potential new Cllr to fill the vacancy that arose at the last election. Mr Hughes has lived in the village for the last two years and is very invested in it. A vote was taken and all Cllr’s voted unanimously for Mr Hughes to be voted into office. Paperwork was signed and Cllr Inskip welcomed Mr Hughes onto Little Bytham Parish Council.
Cllr Inskip then thanked Mr Baldwin for attending the meeting and the public forum was brought to a close.
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting and the Parish Council Meeting held on the 09/05/2019 were presented and approved.
Actions from Matters arising from previous minutes:
1. Speed Sign Progress: Clerk Inskip has now taken on this project. Clerk Inskip has communicated with both Graeme Butler and Dave Mitchell (both from the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership). All required insurance documentation, details of where the SIDs will potentially be placed and maps have been forwarded to Graeme as requested. Graeme will be coming out to Little Bytham and Clerk Inskip has offered to meet with him at that time to discuss the potential sites. The chappie that previously dealt with our application (Kevin) left a couple of years ago and this seems to be where the confusion has arisen regarding our application. Clerk Inskip stated that as per a neighbouring village the SID for the entrance to Little Bytham from Castle Bytham could be placed on the 30mph sign already in place, thus avoiding any need to purchase a pole and have it erected, furthermore there would be no need to enter discussions with the owners of the land it will be sited into. All Cllr’s agreed with this. Clerk Inskip has also written to Unipart Dorman to try and ascertain prices of both battery powered and solar powered SIDs. Clerk Inskip will email Graeme again to try and ascertain when he will visit Little Bytham to move things forward. (EI)
2. Potholes: Cllr Adams will speak to Rowan Smith, Highways Manager, to get him to come out to the village to look at the state of the roads in Little Bytham. Clerk Inskip will meet with Cllr Adams & Roan when they come to Little Bytham. (BA & EI)
3. Traffic Regulation Orders: Again as above, Cllr Adams will speak to Rowan Smith and discuss TRO’s with him and Clerk Inskip on his visit out to Little Bytham. (BA & EI)
4. Anglian Water: Cllr Sharpe had spoken with Clerk Inskip prior to the meeting regarding a parishioner asking for help from the Parish Council with regards to Anglian Water and the problems with the water treatment works. The parishioner has contacted Anglian Water regarding the odour sometimes encountered, however has had no joy with them. Cllr Adams informed us that Paul Skinner has recently taken over on the body set up to co ordinate Anglian water, the environment agency, councils etc. It was agreed that after Mr Skinner is settled into the role, Cllr Adams will approach him to mention the issues Little Bytham has encountered from the treatment works. Cllr Fraser was due to speak to residents regarding this, and document it. As Cllr Fraser was not present at the meeting the results will be received from this in the coming weeks and forwarded to Cllr Adams to use when he speaks to Mr Skinner. (SF & BA)
Finance (as of 12/06/2019):
Current Account Balance: £9,775.17
Savings Account Balance: £7,649.01
Clerk Inskip re iterated that the Savings account money is all allocated for the SIDs for Little Bytham, and also that money in the current account is partly allocated for the renovation of the Parish room, which Cllr Smith will look into in the coming weeks. (SS)
Planning:
Cllr Benn gave an update on the two outstanding Planning Applications in Little Bytham:
1. Application No: S19/0234
Applicant: Mr A Knight Proposal: Removal of bund and fencing, erection of new fencing and erection of hobby workshop Location: 34 & 36 Station Road, Little Bytham, Grantham, NG33 4RA, App Type: Full Planning Permission
This application is still pending the officers determination.
2. Application No: S18/2090
Applicant: Ms Clare Rasell. Proposal: Outline permission for the erection of a detached dwelling and garage to be occupied in connection with existing horticultural use with approval being sought for access. Location: Rassell Nurseries , Station Road, Little Bytham, NG33 4RA. App Type: Outline Planning
This application is also still pending, awaiting clarification due to a change in policies with the introduction of a new local plan.
Other Matters:
1. Wheelie bin stickers: Clerk Inskip has printed off a small explanation letter and clipped these together with 4 wheelie bin stickers to be distributed to houses throughout the village. Cllr Lohmann-Bond will distribute on Creeton Road and Clerk Inskip will request help from other Cllr’s to distribute onto Station Road and High Street. (All Cllr’s)
2. Speed Limits in the village: Clerk Inskip wrote to Cllr Adams for advice on how to proceed in trying to get the 60mph speed limit (for just 0.3miles) by the Spinney changed. This is particularly dangerous as it is by a children’s playground and indeed the Parish Council have previously received a letter from a parishioner who lives in that area regarding the danger of pulling out of her drive onto the 60mph section of the road. As mentioned above this will be discussed with Roan Smith when he visits the village. (EI & BA)
3. Pathway to the Spinney: Cllr Benn arranged for the vegetation to be cut back, which was done. Cllr Inskip went to the area and started to cut back the mud and grass on the pathway to see how much could be reclaimed (approximately 12 inches) thus making it larger and therefore walking to the Spinney and school much safer. Cllr Benn stated that this would be actioned in November and he will ensure that the team know what to do and check afterwards that it has been actioned properly. (CB)
4. Contributions: Little Bytham has not paid a contribution to the Spinney since November 2017 and thus wrote to the Spinney to ask if they could request one if needed. The Spinney therefore requested a contribution to help towards the insurance payment and general running costs. It was agreed that as other local parish councils are contributing £250 to the Spinney and this was a great asset in Little Bytham, the contribution should be increased. Clerk Inskip showed the Councillors the contributions that are made by the Little Bytham Parish each year and stated that it may be a good idea to set the contributions to each project and review them annually in January prior to the precept being set, thus ensuring that the parish council does not overspend and allowing for example the village hall etc to know what they will receive each year. The following was agreed for this year:
Village Hall: £1200
Spinney: £350
Church: £500
Glenside: £100
Wreath: £20
Children’s Christmas Party: £150
A total of £2320 (£2295 has been budgeted for this year) : (No further action)
5. Letter from parishioner regarding mirrors: This was dealt with in the public part of the meeting as the parishioner was present.
Cheques agreed but yet to be signed (2 signatories required):
1. £350 cheque for the Spinney contribution.
2. £100 cheque for the Glenside contribution.
3. £58.64 cheque to Clerk for cable ties, ink, staples, stapler and paperclips
Councillor Inskip thanked everyone present and welcomed Little Bytham’s new councillor Mr F Hughes onboard.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday September 5th at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.