Minutes 2021/22

Minutes of Parish Council Meeting.

Held at 7.30pm on 08/09/2021 in Little Bytham Village Hall.

Present:            Mr P Inskip (Chair), Mrs S Fraser (Vice), Mrs E Inskip (Clerk), Mrs E Hodgson, Mr J Sharpe, District Councillor Mrs P Robins (present for the public section of the meeting).

Apologies:        Mr S Smith, County Councillor Mr B Adams.

15 members of the public were present in the public forum and the clerk had received emails and verbal apologies prior to the meeting from other members of the public wishing to attend but were unable to.

1. Welcome by Chair: 

Cllr Inskip welcomed everyone to the meeting. Cllr Inskip also welcomed District Cllr Penny Robins to the meeting and introduced to parishioner’s each of the Cllr’s and the Clerk.

2. Declaration of member’s interests:

1 prejudicial interest and 1 personal interest were registered.

Cllr Inskip, prejudicial interest for planning application S21/1710

Cllr Sharpe, personal interest for planning application S21/0842

Cllr Inskip, with a prejudicial interest, relocated to the public forum of the meeting when S21/1710 was discussed and stated his declared interest, he then removed himself from the meeting when further discussion on this planning took place in the main body of the meeting (outside the public forum).

3. Public section:

Cllr Inskip clarified with parishioners their reasons for attending in order to ensure that he removed himself for any discussion relating to S21/1710.

General planning worries:

• A parishioner started by stating the problem they had with sewage leaking into their property which had occurred at least a dozen times and stated their concerns of adding more run off water and sewage to an already failing system.  They felt that if the system is not upgraded, any new properties added to this system would continue to cause huge problems in the village.  The parishioner would like some assurance that adding any new properties will not result in them regularly being flooded with sewage.
• Cllr Fraser stated that she had been communicating with Anglian Water since 2019 voicing the concerns of the village.  Cllr Fraser has also had meetings with AW and MP G Davies.  Cllr Fraser also thanked Mrs J Murray (present at the meeting), for her excellent work with the Environment Agency after raw discharge was being pumped into LB’s River at the bottom of Sheepdyke between January and March following the water treatment plant not being able to cope.  Mrs Murray is now the River Warden for LB and regularly tests the river. Earlier this year, AW had to continually send tankers out to get rid of the excess sewage, and these were arriving every 30 minutes, as the system couldn’t cope.  Another parishioner had also helped with ensuring that the tankers used the water treatment site instead of drains in the village, which was causing a huge amount of light, noise and odour issues 24/7 in the village.  Cllr Fraser read a recent correspondence she had with AW, which stated that following a survey being completed, a problem in the village had been identified and that pipes need to be sleeved throughout the village with works also being completed at the pumping station. Cllr Fraser stated that the PC will of course continue to monitor the situation to see if  how these remedial measures help at all.
• Cllr Fraser stated that one of the problems with the system is that it is a combined system, for both rain water and sewage and several villages feed into it, therefore any additional demands in these areas (Castle Bytham, Swayfield, Swinstead, Creeton and Little Bytham) potentially cause an issue in LB, for example the new houses in Castle Bytham being added to the treatment site are causing a lot of worry for parishioners.  110 properties are to join the network, and even more of a worry is that as sewage reports are only required when more than 10 properties are added under this figure, properties can just auto connect, thus any hiving off of smaller plots, ensures automatic connection to the system and causes concern.
• Parishioners questioned if it has yet been identified where water is entering, stating that the actual place may not have been located as there has not been cameras under the entire system, only sections have been looked at which may be an issue.  Cllr Fraser will chase AW for answers to this.
• Another parishioner stated that the infrastructure of the village is under real stress.  They were stunned at the sprawl of the village being extended, and once this happens, they felt that Little Bytham will be gone as it could just be part of Castle Bytham.  They also felt that this won’t be the last time that this happens and that it will affect everyone.  They felt strongly that the village has become under threat by expansions, and any precedent set at this stage could be damaging.  The sewage issue, which they themselves suffer with in their property, the potholes, all of these issues will be compounded.  They felt that the village expanding is not why people moved to the area.  There was general agreeance to this statement.
• A parishioner also stated that there are a lot of spring lines in the village, and stressed the importance of aquifers to the village.  They felt that filling fields with concrete, could cause more problems in the village as fields are natural sponges. By concreting an area their expectation was that there will be a more rapid run off and potential flooding, thus impacting others in the village

Station Road (S21/0842):

• A parishioner who lives opposite to the potential planning site, stated how they were flooded in 1998 and there has been many instances since this where they have been very close once more to complete flooding. They stated that the more houses built the more problems they felt they would encounter.  The concrete of the new houses will only exacerbate the problem.  A parishioner also showed photos of the flooding that they had experienced.  The flooding occurs all the way around the area and into their house.  It had taken many months for the house to dry out.  Improvements are being made however these are just not enough.  Sometimes it gets to the stage that if it rains another day (noting December 2020), the residents in that area live in fear, and they can only hope that it stops before getting into their properties again. 
• Cllr’s were pleased to see that a flood risk report is now required on the land and advised residents to keep checking the planning portal for any new documents, as Cllr’s do.

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

Land West of St Medards (S21/1710):

• At this stage the Vice Chair led the meeting and read out the email from the developers explaining their absence:

Dear All,

Thanks for your recent email & notice of the upcoming Parish Council meeting.

The community consultation process has concluded, and we were extremely pleased to experience a high response rate. The full scale consultation has captured a broad spectrum of feedback, therefore we feel comfortable the responses received are representative of all viewpoints.

Unfortunately, given the ongoing and as yet unresolved complaint/issues raised with LBPC, we have taken advice and will not be in attendance during the meeting on Wednesday. We would please ask that this is noted and explained to attendees during the meeting.

Finally, as per normal procedure, all key reports/information relating to the application have been provided to SKDC who will of course engage with LBPC via the standard consultation process. We would ask that any further LBPC feedback/comments please be provided directly to SKDC.

Kind regards

James

• Cllr Fraser clarified that one aspect of concern to the Developer was the use of the word ‘Favour’ in contrasting SP3 and SP4 applications. Extracts of both were circulated and the word ‘favour’ withdrawn  
• Cllr Fraser explained that it was essential that anyone with a view about any planning applications or any concerns regarding the consultations write to SKDC.  The consultation results collated by the developer showed 83 for the development, 24 against, 43 did not return the form and 5 had no opinion.
• One parishioner questioned how 155 surveys had been distributed, when they did not think there were 155 houses in the village.  It was also asked if it could be determined who the survey actually went to. It was questioned if the footprint of the survey could be seen. 
• One parishioner stated that they were stunned that 80 had responded in favour.
• Another parishioner stated that the village had also been door knocked regarding the survey and parishioners asked to fill the form in there and then. A further parishioner stated that the developer doing their own survey does not feel like proper process and knocking on doors should not have been part of the process either. 
• Some parishioners said that their comments were not on the spread sheet produced by the developers.
• The impartiality of the survey was questioned by several parishioners, and it was questioned if the PC should conduct an impartial/independent survey.
• Cllrs confirmed that they did not know that the survey was to go out, and that phone calls were received from parishioners straight away as soon as the survey was issued, hence the perceived need by LBPC for clarification.  Cllrs confirmed that a new outline application has now been received by SKDC.
• A parishioner wished to talk about the Ecological appraisal on the website, and as an adviser for nature reports in the area (used by Defra), felt qualified to read and respond on it.   They questioned the quality and the huge inaccuracies present in the report and had annotated several areas of it, which was passed to Cllr Fraser to upload to SKDC, as they wanted Planning to look at it.  They were concerned that if planning based their opinion on the report commissioned, they may look favourably whereas the ecological impact of putting eight houses on that site is huge.  The parishioner alone had seen 12 red listed birds in that site area.
• Another parishioner questioned whether the Paddocks would also cause an issue for ecology?  It was answered by the parishioner that there would definitely be an impact on ecology by building in that area, but the impact would be far less than building on the land West of St Medards and it was more of an AW issue in the Paddocks area.
• A further parishioner mentioned that out of the 83 positive responses, it was interesting to note that half of these commented on first time homes and cheaper homes, therefore clarification was needed as on the recent application it states social homes not cheaper homes.
• A parishioner stated that the letter put out by the PC had certain inaccuracies that needed to be addressed. Cllr Fraser referred again to the contrast in requirements for SP3 and SP4 as circulated at the meeting.  Cllr Fraser asked for further clarification on this and was asked by the parishioner about the flood plains mentioned.  Cllr Fraser responded that this was based on the pre application site report, which stated that part of the site was located in flood zone 3 and SKDC had requested a flood risk assessment with any application. The parishioner also questioned why a landfill had been written about by the PC.  Another parishioner responded by stating that an initial DEFRA report showed a previous land fill had existed on within the potential planning site and indeed this had been confirmed by the report recently uploaded, commissioned by the developer. Cllr Fraser also explained that Outline Planning gave no details of the proposal, so at the time that support was required there was no clarity.
• Cllr Fraser stated that the letter sent out by the PC was to provide context and direct parishioners to look at the application at that time and to show where on the SKDC portal more details could be found.
• District Cllr Robins stated that guidance could be given to LBPC as to what information can be provided for any potential future survey to ensure accuracy, and will speak to Phil Jordan in Planning for advice.  District Cllr Robins also stated that an open meeting would still be beneficial and that the Planning application would be considered in a fair and reasonable way.  District Cllr Robins stated that the developer is following the guidelines.
• Cllr Robins explained that SP4 included the ability to develop under a ‘Rural Exception’ Criteria, which would not require Community Support. Cllr Fraser queried that a needs survey was required and read out the conditions. Cllr Robins confirmed that need for affordable housing would always be easy to demonstrate
• Parishioners who lived adjacent to the proposed development, were concerned that they had not received formal notification from SKDC about the new application.  District Cllr Robins will follow up on this.

Children’s party money request

A parishioner was present to ask if LBPC would be willing to contribute to the village Children’s Christmas party again this year.  As this is on the agenda to be discussed it was agreed that this would happen and the parishioner informed of the decision. 

Cllr Inskip thanked all that attended encouraging people to attend again and the public forum was brought to a close.

4.  Approval of Minutes from previous Parish Council meeting held on 07/07/2021: 

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 had checked Fix my Street, and Structures felt that no further action was required. The bridge and the rail appeared fairly solid, although the rotting section still remained.  Cllrs agreed to keep checking this during the coming months and therefore this can be moved to ongoing issues section at this point. (No further action at this stage)

• Roads and speed issues in Little Bytham: Clerk Inskip had contacted Highways department about the section of road by the Spinney and also getting the Slow markings put onto the High Street.  A very disappointing response had been received stating that nothing could be done which Clerk Inskip shared with the Cllrs.  All Cllr’s agreed that this needed to be taken further and Clerk Inskip will contact Highways again.  (EI)
• COVID-19 response update:  Cllr Inskip confirmed with everyone that to date no Cllr has been contacted. (All Cllr’s)
• State of roads and drains in Little Bytham: Clerk Inskip had spoken with one of the residents on Station Road near to the drain that keeps flooding.  Even when the drain is cleared it still floods, suggesting that this is an Anglian Water problem.  Cllr Fraser will continue to communicate with AW.  Cllr Fraser has also reported another drain that appears to be blocked on Fix my Street.  The dire state of the roads in Little Bytham continues to remain an issue, particularly on Station Road and Clerk Inskip will continue to bring this up with Highways. (EI & SF)

• Anglian Water (AW) & Environment Agency:  Cllr Fraser had spoken extensively about this in the public section of the meeting (please refer above). (SF)

• Vacant Cllr position: Clerk Inskip had been emailed by a parishioner interested in being co-opted onto the Council.  All Cllr’s agreed that the process can be started to co-opt the parishioner.  Clerk Inskip will prepare the paperwork and email the new Cllr information to the parishioner in readiness for them to be co-opted onto the Council in the public section of the next meeting in November. Cllr Inskip had been in contact with Cllr Lohmann-Bond, with a decision to be confirmed in the November meeting. (EI, PI).
• Parish Council Flood Prevention offer: Clerk Inskip wrote to the Flood Prevention officer, and is awaiting a definitive response on LB getting new sand sacks.  It would seem that the decision is due to be made later in the year on this.  Clerk Inskip will await a response and chase if necessary. (EI)
• Planning enforcement issue:  Cllr Fraser had reported the issue and is awaiting a response from the enforcement department. (SF)
• Hedge between New Estate/St Medards:  Clerk Inskip reported this on Fix my Street and was informed by the Council that it was not owned by them.  Clerk Inskip wrote to County Cllr Adams and is awaiting a response.  Cllr Fraser reported that St Medard residents had been told that SKDC own the hedge and that it will be cut once a year.  Cllr Inskip reported that the hedge had indeed been cut.  (No further action)

6. Ongoing issues to be aware of:

• Parish Room maintenance:  It was agreed that this would be put on hold presently until next year.  A neighbour had reported the greenery needing to be cut back outside and all Cllrs agreed that Mr J Kirkham should be contacted to do this as soon as possible.  Cllr Sharpe agreed to contact Mr Kirkham to get this actioned and all Cllr’s agreed. Cllr Inskip will also chase the new gate and when this can be fitted. (JS & PI)
• Vehicle issues on the High Street. (See road and speed issues section above as more action is required)
• Village Entrances. Clerk Inskip shared the requirements for the signs to be placed, and asked Cllrs for their thoughts.  Cllr’s asked if Clerk Inskip could look into the different styles of signs and maybe revert back to planters as well as signs, the option of maintaining these planters could also be explored and Cllr Sharpe agreed to talk to Mr J Kirkham about this.  Clerk Inskip will look at the options for Cllrs perusal at the next meeting. (EI & JS)
• Neighbourhood Plan.  It was agreed that this would be looked into in the New Year. (SF)

• Pathway to Spinney (on a list to be actioned, again need to stay aware of this)
• Archived files: again, this will be discussed when Cllr’s have availability. 

7. Finance (as of 12/07/2021):

• Current Account Balance:  £20,656.26
• 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.

8. 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 and followed up 20/07/2021.  Reports are still outstanding.
• Application S21/0947: 5 Creeton Road, curb to be dropped and brick paved driveway added.  Details sent to Cllrs on 31/08/2021.  All Cllrs stated that moving cars off the road and onto driveways is preferable, however a Highways assessment would be required to ensure the safety of this driveway in relation to the visibility in both directions.  Clerk Inskip will send this representation. (EI)
• Application S21/1760:  EI Lincs Ltd, Land to the West of St Medards.  Outline planning permission for 8 dwellings.  Details sent to Cllrs on 02/09/2021.  Due to a prejudicial interest, Cllr Inskip left the building for this discussion and Cllr Fraser took over. Cllr Fraser stated that they would await a response from District Cllr Robins regarding next steps and running an independent survey for this application, due to residents’ concerns.  All Cllr’s (except Cllr Inskip), will continue to talk and discuss this application. 

All Cllr’s had asked for the following statement to be recorded in the minutes, which had been agreed by all Cllr’s (not Cllr Inskip) prior to the meeting:

Please record in the minutes my confirmation that I have been a party to all PC Deliberations in respect of the proposals for development on the Land West of St Medard’s. I have contributed to and am in agreement with the content of documents sent out by the clerk on the instructions of the Parish Council. This includes, the letter and notice to residents, and responses to Developers comments and complaints. In addition, I was a party to the responses sent to SKDC Planning and was kept informed of developments.

My dealings as a Councillor have focused on ensuring due process is followed. I am confident of the integrity of our work and have not been influenced by contact with the landowner/ developer/agent. In addition, I confirm Mr Phil Inskip has offered no comment on the proposals other than sharing representations to Planning in his capacity as a resident. This followed other disclosures by residents at the Public Forum section of the last PC meeting 7/7/21.

9. Any Other Business: 

• Dog mess in the village: Several parishioners had reported to Cllr Fraser and Cllr Hodgson about the issue with dog mess in the village.  It was agreed that the process of getting two dog bins in the village be re-visited.  Clerk Inskip will look into this. (EI).

• Children’s Christmas Party donation request: £150 has been budgeted for this and all Cllr’s agreed that this is acceptable still.  Cllr Fraser will contact to inform  the organisers. (SF)
• Confirmation of Spinney contribution:  It was agreed to go ahead with the budgeted £350 contribution. Clerk Inskip will arrange. (EI)

• Date of next meeting:  It was agreed by all to revert back to the first Thursday in the month for the bi-monthly meetings, which would mean the next meeting would be 04/11/2011.  Clerk Inskip will email District Cllr Robins to ensure that this is possible, before confirming this. (EI)
• Parish Room:  It had been reported that the wall at the front of the parish room had been hit today.  Unfortunately, the driver of the agricultural vehicle had not stopped and there was uncertainty as to who the driver was. Clerk Inskip had met a builder at the location in order to get a quote to fix the wall and to ensure that it was safe at this time.  The builder confirmed that it was safe and would send the quotes to the Clerk in the coming days.  Clerk Inskip had also informed the Parish Council’s insurers, and forwarded photos to them.  Clerk Inskip will forward the quotes to Cllr’s. (EI)
• Fix my street: Cllr Fraser shared that she had reported an issue with the verges by Glen Close after being contacted by a parishioner.  These have now been sorted. (No further action)

10. Cheques signed:

• £500 cheque to Clerk for work done between 01.03.2021-01.09.2021.
• £150 cheque to Intellitech Services Ltd, for website maintenance between 01.09.2021-01.03.2022.

Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 4th November 2021 @ 7.30pm Lt Bytham Village Hall.