Minutes 2021/22

Minutes of Parish Council Meeting.

Held at 7.30pm on 07/07/2021 in Little Bytham Village Hall (following Government guidelines)

Present:            Mr P Inskip (Chair), Mrs S Fraser (Vice), Mrs E Inskip (Clerk), Mrs E Hodgson, Mr J Sharpe, Mr S Smith, County Councillor Mr B Adams (present for part of the meeting).

Apologies:        None

5 members of the public were present in the public forum.

1. Welcome by Chair:  Cllr Inskip welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Declaration of member’s interests. 2 prejudicial interests and 1 personal interest were registered.

Cllr Inskip, prejudicial interest for planning application S21/1162

Cllr Hodgson, prejudicial interest for planning application S21/1037

Cllr Sharpe, personal interest for planning application S21/0842

Cllr’s with a prejudicial interest stayed in the public forum of the meeting whilst planning matters were discussed and stated their declared interests.  Cllr’s with prejudicial interests removed themselves from the meeting when further discussion on those planning matters took place in the main body of the meeting (outside  the public forum).

3. Public section:

NB: Cllr Inskip joined the public in this part of the meeting.

• Mr & Mrs Jones were present to represent both themselves and their neighbours (who could not attend the meeting), to talk to the Parish Council about their concerns and objections to the planning application S21/0842.  They have deep concerns regarding the flooding and sewage issues in this area and feel that new builds will only exacerbate this problem.  Cllr Fraser explained that the PC had also sent representations regarding water and sewage flooding in relation to this planning application to SKDC asking that these be investigated.  Mr & Mrs Jones and neighbours will also send their objection letters to the clerk to share with Cllrs for their awareness.
• Mr & Mrs Beresford and Mrs Marshall were present to discuss with the Parish Council their concerns and objections to the planning application S21/1162 (land to the West of St Medards). Likewise, they have many deep concerns regarding several issues, including the lack of adequate infrastructure and Anglian Water (AW) issues, such as the smell from the treatment plant.  Mrs Marshall also raised about the raw sewage in her garden and in the neighbour’s garden, and other houses in the village.  AW are quick to act when problems are reported but the root cause is not fixed. The road safety concerns were raised relating to the proposed development entrance/exit.  The letters of support for the development were also questioned, as most were from friends and family of the applicants and from people who lived outside of the area. Multiple other objections, including the lack of consultations were raised and again details are available upon request. Cllr Fraser read a further two objection letters from other residents in the area that could not attend the meeting re S21/1162, who wished to make their points heard.

Cllr Inskip thanked all that attended and the Public forum was brought to a close.

4. Approval of Minutes from previous Parish Council meeting held on 05/05/2021:  All councillors had received a draft copy of the minutes prior to the meeting, these were agreed by all and approved and signed.

5.  Matters Arising from previous council meeting:  

• Slip hazard of footbridges:  Clerk Inskip stated that the ‘Fix My Street’ status had now changed to ‘no further action’ regarding the rotten post. Clerk Inskip had emailed County Cllr Adams to see if he could find out why this was the case as the post was still rotten and loose.  A new Fix my street request will also be sent. (EI)

• Roads and speed issues in Little Bytham: County Cllr Adams is still awaiting confirmation from the Highways department about this. (BA)
• COVID-19 response update:  To date no Cllr has been contacted. (SF, PI, SS)
• State of roads and drains in Little Bytham: Carried forward, County Cllr Adams will speak to the drains section again regarding the second section of drains being cleaned in Little Bytham.  (BA)

• Anglian Water (AW) & Environment Agency:  Cllr Fraser continues to communicate with AW, parishioners and politicians regarding the problems in Little Bytham with AW.  Investigations continue by AW to understand the flows throughout the area and identify measures needed to lessen these flows, in particular the rainwater and groundwater that is entering the foul sewers.  Some remedial work has taken place on manholes and pumping stations.  Investigations will continue throughout the summer.  Cllr Fraser will be contacting Gareth Davies MP regarding the auto connection of housing developments, as we believe this should not be happening. Cllr Inskip mentioned a report he had read from 2011, which even then stated that Little Bytham’s water treatment plant was at full capacity and work was needed before any developments could be added. (SF)

• De-fib POC change: Cllr Fraser is now the POC. (No further action)
• Vacant Cllr position: Clerk Inskip stated that two verbal responses had been received to date.  Cllr Hodgson & Clerk Inskip stated that they will ask the two interested parties to write to the clerk to confirm their interest. Cllr Inskip also stated that he had been in touch with Cllr Lohmann-Bond about if/when he will be in a position to return.  This will be confirmed next month. (EI, BH, PI).
• Parish Council Flood Prevention offer: Clerk Inskip wrote to the Flood Prevention officer requesting the bags, but to date these have not been received.  Clerk Inskip will look into this. (EI)

• Church bells: Clerk Inskip wrote to the PCC regarding the potential issue with the structure of the tower when utilising all bells and therefore will await a response. (No further action.)

8. Ongoing issues to be aware of:

• Parish Room:  Cllr Inskip had contacted the Castle Bytham Midsummer Festival Committee, who confirmed that they will still be actioning the new gate being fitted and will ensure that this is done.  Cllr Fraser had been into the Parish Room to try and sort the items out in there and tidy it up.  Cllr Fraser had contacted the ex -Guide leader about their storage items, and they confirmed that they will clear all items out by the end of August.  Once this has been actioned, Cllr Fraser will get the decorator in to see what maintenance is required inside.  Cllr Fraser also shared an idea for the Parish Room usage that had been suggested by a parishioner.  The idea was that it could be used as an Eco Hub, and somewhere that the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust would be able to utilise as an information point, as they have no office South of Horncastle.  Cllr Inskip & Cllr Smith agreed that it would be great to give purpose to a room and for it to be brought back to life in the village. For a change of use the rates, electricity, insurance and broadband would all need to be researched as well as understanding tenancy/contract agreements. Parking was also mentioned as a potential concern.  The general consensus with all Cllrs was that it was a good idea, but it would need further investigations and all Cllrs were asked to consider other ideas for its usage.    It was agreed by all that once it is cleared and decorated, then all options could be considered for its usage.  Clerk Inskip suggested that it may also be appropriate to consult the village for ideas, maybe via a post in the Glenside.  (All Cllr’s)
• Vehicle issues on the High Street (on a Highways list, so there’s a need to stay aware of this).
• Village Entrances. Clerk Inskip had contacted the Road Safety Department about the procedure involved to install Village Entrance gates/signage, Clerk Inskip shared what was required and this will be further looked into. More details will be provided for Cllrs perusal at the next meeting. (EI)
• Neighbourhood Plan.  (Ongoing SF)

• Sidewalk at the end of the village to Creeton:  Cllrs will stay aware if these needs reporting on Fix my Street.  (No further action)
• Pathway to Spinney (on a list to be actioned, again need to stay aware of this)

9. Finance (as of 11/06/2021):

Current Account Balance:  £21,156.26

Savings Account Balance:  £254.92

Please note that the current account balance includes a £10k Grant received by LBPC.  It also includes both general reserves which due to Covid are higher than normal and ear-marked reserves for projects discussed when budget setting.

10. Planning:

• Application S21/0842:  Baxter, Station Road.  Planning permission for 2 detached dwellings. Details sent to Cllrs on 07/06/2021, representations made on 22/06/2021.  Cllrs confirmed that this was ‘infill’ and that there was a clear need for a flooding and sewage investigation to take place, which had been requested in the representations sent by the PC.
• Application S21/1037: Hodgson, Church Lane.  Erection of a single storey rear and side extension.  Details sent to Cllrs on 14/06/2021, no representations made.
• Application S21/1162:  EI Lincs Ltd, Land to the West of St Medards.  Outline planning permission for 8 dwellings.  Details sent to Cllrs on 21/06/2021, representations made on 28/06/2021).  Due to a prejudicial interest, Cllr Inskip left the building for this discussion and Cllr Fraser took over. Cllr Fraser asked for confirmation that everyone had received the details and responded regarding this application, which was confirmed.  Furthermore, Cllr Fraser asked for confirmation that all objected to this application, as it had been suggested by the applicant that this was not the case, again this was confirmed.  Cllr Fraser has already communicated with the case officer regarding this application and will communicate again regarding the highway department’s response.  Everyone confirmed that they were in agreement that this should be done.
• Application S21/1085:  The Kilns, Creeton Road.  No specific notification received by Clerk as a non-material amendment (sill height change of dormer windows).  No representations sent to Clerk.  Approved 01/06/2021.  Details sent to Cllrs on 30/06/2021.

11. Other matters: 

• Mr F Hughes requested clarification on an item from the March 2021 minutes: It is understood that the data is not a true reflection at this time due to COVID 19, however it can be seen that the main speeding issues at present in the village are by the Spinney and by St Medards. Mr Hughes wished it to go on record that he did not state that the speed indicating device data ‘was not a true reflection at this time’ and that this was the thoughts of the Cllr’s at that meeting.  (No further action).

• A question from a parishioner regarding parking in front of the bungalows on Creeton Road was raised.  It is not clear who owns this area and it was agreed that if any further issues arose with this, it would be investigated as to who owned this. It was discussed that as a PC it would be good to have an understanding of who owns what in the village.  This would be a useful tool for the Neighbourhood Plan too. (No further action)

• Date of next meeting:  Two Councillors could not be present at the next meeting on 1st September and therefore it was agreed that the meeting would take place on 8th September instead.
• A planning issue had been reported to Cllrs, concerning work happening in the village off Creeton Road, that the parishioner was concerned that planning had not been granted for.  County Cllr Adams shared the details of the Enforcement Planning team and Cllr Fraser agreed to contact them to investigate. (SF).
• Cllr Sharpe reported that a parishioner had asked him if the hedge on 1 St Medards (council owned) could be cut back as the parishioner can not get his car down the road.  Clerk Inskip will report this on Fix my Street (EI).
• County Cllr Adams, reported that he would now like to know if potholes are not being repaired properly.  Potholes need to be cut out, cleaned and sealed properly.
• Cllr Smith stated that he still stores archived information from the PC that LCC did not wish to store.  It was agreed that at some point the PC should get together and go through this information to see what is relevant and what can be disposed of. Cllr Inskip suggested that some important pieces could be scanned and put onto the website and Cllr Fraser suggested that some of historical importance could be framed and hung in the Village Hall.

Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday September 8th 2021 at 7.30pm in Little Bytham Village Hall.

Signed (Chair)…………………………….

Signed (Clerk)…………………………….