September 2019
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
Held at 7.30pm on 05/09/2019 in Little Bytham Village Hall
Present: Mrs S Fraser (Chair), Mrs E Inskip (Clerk), Mr F Hughes, Mr P Inskip, Mr G Lohmann-Bond, Mr J Sharpe, Mr S Smith, County Councillor Mr B Adams,
District Councillor Mr C Benn
Apologies: Mrs S Mcfarland
Chair’s Introduction: Cllr Fraser welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Public Forum: Four members of the parish were present. Two planning applicants attended to discuss their present application, also a neighbour of the planning applicants attended. Mr G Baldwin was also present to bring the Parish Council up to date on the church and talk about the traffic issues in the village. Presently the church is closed as the ceiling is dangerous. The cost to replace this on a like for like basis is around £55,000. It is hoped that the ceiling can be over boarded, and the church can re-open in Springtime. Clerk Inskip had sent details of potential grants that could be applied for and will continue to do this. Mr Baldwin also confirmed that he had very kindly spoken to a resident regarding placing a traffic mirror onto their land and the resident had agreed to this. Finally, Mr Baldwin spoke about the issue of dangerous traffic in the village, particularly lorries coming into the village far too fast and lorries parking up at 4.30am. District Cllr Benn sent details to Clerk Inskip regarding the permission for lorries at the quarry, and this will be forwarded to all Cllr’s and Mr Baldwin.
Cllr Fraser then thanked everyone 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 04/07/2019 were presented and approved.
Actions from Matters arising from previous minutes:
1. Speed Sign Progress update: Clerk Inskip met with Graeme Butler from the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership. After driving through the village 9 sites were identified to place brackets onto in order for 3 SID’s to be rotated around these sites. The sites identified have now been given the go ahead, and Graeme is to organise any extension poles/removal of existing signs etc required. Clerk Inskip discussed the different options of the SID’s and was given the go ahead to order 3 battery powered SID’s with Bluetooth logging, 6 extra fixing brackets and installation of all. A cheque can be written for this prior to the next meeting if needed. (EI)
2. Potholes: Clerk Inskip met with Highways manager and County Cllr Adams and reported the following to the Councillors:
• Any potholes should continue to be reported via the fix my street app. LCC pay per pothole, so it’s not as simple as there is another one next to the one reported that looks like it will need repairing soon, as it will be noted and put into the system for future times to be sorted and therefore come out of a future budget.
• LB has been put onto the Highways works programme for resurfacing to be considered for a future programme. Highways works programmes can be found on the LC Highways website.
https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/highways-maintenance/highways-works-programmes/130284.article
• Grass cutting issues should still be recorded on the web site.
County Councillor Adams stated that sometimes remedial work is done to prevent greater damage in the future which would then cost a lot more, therefore this was a cost-effective exercise. Cllr Lohmann-Bond stated that the Creeton/Swinstead Road was in an awful condition and lorries are destroying the edge of the road. County Cllr Adams will raise this. (BA)
3. Traffic Regulation Orders: Again, when Clerk Inskip met with the Highways manager the following points were spoken about:
• Firstly, regarding the speed by the Spinney being changed to a continual 30mph. There is a process that needs to be adhered to in order to get this done, including it being advertised in a London paper, however it was felt that this does not seem to be a request that would cause any problems. The Highways manager stated that any other requests should also be mentioned at the same time. It was therefore agreed by all councillors to also request the following: the 60mph from Castle Bytham pushed back (as it was put into place prior to any houses being built) and the 40mph near to the pub made into a 30mph, thus making the entire village a 30mph zone. Clerk Inskip stated that we need to be aware that not all requests will be granted, however the Spinney one seems likely and it is worth asking for others at the same time. This is not going to be a quick process though. Clerk Inskip will write to County Councillor Bob Adams to request these and thus start the process. (EI)
• Secondly 20mph speed requests: Clerk Inskip was also told that 20mph requests will not be allowed. This is due to Government policy.
• Finally, the problem with HGV’s speeding. Details of these need to be collected by everyone if seen and then the companies can be written to. It was stated at the meeting the importance of getting the name of the company and a registration plate of possible. All lorries have a tracker, but in order to report them details are needed. Clerk Inskip will get in touch with The Glenside to see if we can put an announcement regarding this into the magazine for parishioners to report any problems. (EI)
4. Anglian Water: Any problems need to be collated and Cllr Fraser will do this & then email to Cllr Skinner who is on the flood risk and water management liaison committee (cllrp.skinner@lincolnshire.gov.uk). (SF)
5. Wheelie Bin Stickers: Around 60 more stickers are to be ordered if possible, as Cllr Lohmann-Bond needs at least another 48. Clerk Inskip will organise this and all Cllrs agreed that a cheque could be issued for this prior to the next meeting if needed. (EI)
6. Pathway to Spinney: All Cllr’s agreed and confirmed to District Cllr Benn that this was to be a priority in Little Bytham as it has been requested for so long. (CB)
7. Two Safety Mirror Locations: In both locations previously discussed the residents have confirmed that they are happy to have mirrors located on their property. Cllr Sharpe agreed to help put the mirrors up if they were ordered. Clerk Inskip discussed the options found on the web for these. All Cllr’s agreed that 2 mirrors can be ordered and then given to Cllr Sharpe to arrange with the residents. Again a cheque can be written prior to the next meeting if required. (EI & JS)
Finance (as of 12/06/2019):
Current Account Balance: £9,675.17
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:
All planning applications had been sent to Cllr’s prior to the meeting for their full perusal.
1. Application No: S19/1307 (It is a structure already under construction started in March 2019)
Applicant: Mr D Langfield
Proposal: Erection of detached double garage
Location: Lombardy House , Grange Lane, Little Bytham, NG33 4BA,
App Type: Householder
Case Officer: Telephone Ext: Email: Daniel Allen 6464 D.Allen@southkesteven.gov.uk
Cllrs confirmed that there were no concerns regarding this application.
2. 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
Case Officer: Telephone Ext: Email: Daniel Allen 6464 D.Allen@southkesteven.gov.uk
This is an application that we have looked into previously and clarification was requested on the following points:
1. Acoustics – The bund being removed is actually an acoustic bund to screen the residential properties from railway noise. This was part of a previous planning consent.
2. New acoustic fence – there is no clear design for this or indeed acoustic performance
3. Visual impact – again the fence design is not clear so there is concern about how this will look.
There were no further comments from the Parish Council. District Cllr Benn confirmed that a re-consultation was now in progress and this will be completed shortly.
3. Application No: S19/1508
Applicant: Mr David Iacono
Proposal: Erection of office/storage unit
Location: Land Between Units 1 And 3 Industrial Estate, Station Road, Little Bytham, Lincolnshire, NG33 4RA App Type: Full Planning Permission
Case Officer: Telephone Ext: Email: Phil Jordan 6074 p.jordan@southkesteven.gov.uk
Cllrs confirmed that there were no concerns regarding this application.
Other Matters:
1. Letters of thanks for contributions: Received with thanks.
2. Plantlife.love-wildflowers.org Road Verge Campaign: Cllr Lohmann-Bond discussed that this is a charity that formulates a plan to benefit pollinators and wildlife in general. Cllr Lohmann-Bond will get in touch and look for a management plan which will then be discussed at the next meeting. (GL)
3. New Date for January’s meeting: It was agreed by all Cllrs that this will be the 2nd Thursday in the month rather than the normal 1st Thursday to accommodate the holiday period. Thus, the date will be January 9th. Clerk Inskip will inform the Glenside and Cllr Inskip will put this onto the website & noticeboard in order to inform parishioners. (PI & EI)
4. Vice Chair Role: All Cllr’s agreed that the Chair Role although voted in annually, should be rotated on a 2/3-year basis, with the hope that the vice chair will take over the role each time. Cllr Inskip volunteered to become the present Vice Chair and all Cllrs voted in favour of this.
5. Issue of Japanese Knotweed: This will be investigated to confirm as the Parish Council are unaware of this issue. If it is there Cllr Inskip will report to the appropriate people as necessary. Cllr Sharpe will firstly talk to the landowner. (JS & PI)
Cheques signed:
1. £76.50 cheque to SKDC for an uncontested Election for Little Bytham.
2. £450 cheque to Clerk for work done in previous 6 months.
3. £69 cheque to E Inskip for a new printer.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday November 7th at 7.30pm