January 2020 Minutes
A meeting of East Keal Parish Council Meeting was held on 29.1.2020 at Cracroft Village Hall, Boston Road, West Keal at 7pm.
Welcome. Cllr Grahame Smith welcomed everyone to the meeting. Present. Cllr Smith, Cllr Thornley, Cllr Dromey, Cllr Ward, Cllr Crowson, Cllr Kemp, Cllr Aran, Cllr Swanson, Clerk to the Council, Mrs E Martin and two members of the public.
Public Forum. No issues were raised.
1. Apologies for Absence. None Given.
2. Notes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 27 th November 2019 to be approved as the minutes. It was resolved that the notes be accepted as minutes of the meeting, all agreed and the minutes were then signed. It was then corrected to show that Cllr Kemp did arrive later in the meeting.
3. Reports from representatives on outside bodies:
a) County Councillor
i. Debbie Barnes has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of LCC.
ii. The Fix my Street site is being upgraded. Regarding potholes it was suggested that a photo showing the depth of the hole could help.
iii. The LCC website is also being upgraded.
iv. ‘The Collection’ in Lincoln is hosting a Guy Gibson display until 15.3.20.
v. Highways have been informed of the damaged chevron sign at the top of Blacksmith’s Lane. It is on their list of work to be done but Cllr Aran could not say when this might be.
iv. Cllr Aron gave details of a contractor able to erect ‘village gates’.
iiv. The LCC budget is under consultation. The probability is that there will be a 2% for Social Care and 1.5% increase for general expenditure.
b) District Councillor
i. A complaint has been received from a resident regarding bins outside a property. It was stated that if the bins are on the pavement it is the responsibility of LCC to deal with. If they are on the residents land there is nothing anyone can do.
ii. Towns Funding. This £2.5 million government grant is to be split between Skegness and Mablethorpe on a population basis. Two committees are being set up to receive suggestions as how best to spend this money.
iii. ELDC budget is being discussed. They are targeting deprivation and Climate Change.
iv. Fly Tipping. There has been a recent successful prosecution for fly tipping in Orby.
v. Toilets in the ELCD area have received National recognition.
vi. Receipt of Planning documents. ELDC are changing the way local Clerks receive notification of plans submitted in their area. There is no legal requirement that these documents are shared and Parish Councils have to request their receipt. (East Keal have submitted this request)
c) Alert All very quiet.
d) Village Hall Committee. The decorating is now complete. £1000 had to be taken from reserves to pay for this work. A ‘Celebrate Village Hall week’ event was held last Saturday. It was very successful and raised £90.56. Future events include a Murder Mystery on 28th Feb 2020. Tickets £10 including a buffet. A Quiz night is on 14.2.20.
e) Village Groups
i. PCC. The scaffolding has now been removed as the Tower repairs have been completed. Additional work was undertaken on the interior of the Church including some plaster being replaced. The Church Annual Parish Meeting is being held on 4.2.20 at 7pm at Cracroft Village Hall. Everyone is welcome. Open Gardens. A date for your diary is 7.6.20 from 11am to 4pm when 5 gardens in East Keal will be open to the public to view. The cost will be £5 for all 5 gardens and refreshments will be served at Bill & Cynthia’s.
ii. WI Since our last report, members enjoyed Xmas lunch in Cracroft Hall. The New Year has got off to a good start with a Committee meeting, All Members meeting and the Book Club. Our recent Guest Speaker was Bill Price who talked to us about gem stones and how he finds, cuts and polishes them. He brought along many samples together with completed jewellery items he had made. Members were encouraged to have a go at stringing pearls. A full programme is in place for the remainder of the year, along with 2 Open Garden events to support. As usual new members are always very welcome and can come along and observe a couple of meetings before deciding if they want to join our lively and friendly group. The next meeting is on Thursday 13 February. Further information about the Keals WI can be found by visiting our web site at info@the keals.org.uk
iii. Gardening Club The Annual General Meeting has been held when a new committee was formed. The new Chair is Mrs Dawn Keal. New members are always welcome. The next meeting will be on 18.2.20 at 7pm at Cracroft Village Hall. The topic is fudge making (with samples).
iv. Workforce. David Dines expressed his wish to continue in the role of coordinating this group. He still has some daffodil bulbs to plant and the planters at either end of the village are to be replaced. They will be painted blue. The team of ladies are still willing to look after the War Memorial garden. In an effort to raise money for the purchase of plants in the future a plant sale will be help later in the year. There is just £85 left in the workforce kitty.
i. Complaint. A resident expressed concern regarding vehicles driving onto the grass near the shop and spoiling the grass. In an effort to stop this cones have been placed on the grassed area.
ii. Litter bin on Church Lane. This has been moved to next to the grit bin. Mr Dines offered to inform ELDC that this has been moved to ensure that it is emptied.
v. Parish Magazine. This is being printed at the moment and will be delivered through the village next week. He apologised for the lateness of this publication. Due to its popularity it will now be delivered in Keal Cotes, West Keal and Stickford.
4. Declaration of Interest (if any)
5. Planning a. S/204/02323/9. The Council have responded – no objection.
6. Finance:
a) Payment of £17.50 to Cracroft Village Hall for 1 meeting 29th January 2020
b) Travel Expenses of £25.60 for travel to Clerk’s training day.
c) LALC invoice of £18.00 for lunch for above.
d) Reimbursement of £5.63 to E Martin for stationary. It was proposed by Cllr Dromey and seconded by Cllr Ward that items a to d be accepted. All agreed.
e) Financial Report as at 25.1.20 and Bank Reconciliation statement. It was proposed by Cllr Dromey and seconded by Cllr Thornley that these documents be accepted.
7. Welcome booklet – Cllr Smith took a pack for new residents at Avalon, Church Lane.
8. Annual Parish Meeting. Cllr Smith explained this event to the new Councillors. The guest speaker will be our PCSO. The event will commence at 7pm and refreshments will be served. All residents will be invited and Cllrs are expected to attend.
9. New LCC Website Training dates and venues have now been circulated. The Clerk has booked 3 places and is waiting for confirmation. Cllr Ward stated that she was also interested in attending.
10. Council 4-year plan
a) To consider maximising financial return on land owned by Council. It was agreed that the Chair and vice chair visit the person concerned to discuss a rent increase.
b) Setting up a local history group. The village hall has agreed to fund the first meeting of this group. It is hoped that this will be in March and Cllr Smith offered to liaise with residents that have shown an interested in such a group. It was suggested that they could perhaps update the East Keal book.
c) Possibility of a computer and technology course. An organisation called ‘Connecting Communities’ has been identified as willing and able to deliver 8 sessions at Cracroft Village Hall. The sessions will be devised to address participants requests and could cover any topic needed. The dates are 14, 28 Feb, and 13, 27th March, from 10 to 12 noon. A minimum of 8 and a maximum of 12 folk are needed. One session could cover how to research your ancestry. The course will be free to participants. The Parish Council agreed to cover the cost of refreshments.
d) Report on items from the plan already completed.
i. The PCSO is booked for the Annual Residents meeting.
ii. Call Connect leaflets have been delivered around the village.
iii. LCC have cleared a footpath as asked.
iv. A list of ideas has been presented to the Village hall committee. Concerns regarding Highways were also discussed and it was felt that a list should be drawn up and that a meeting with a representative from LCC be held to discuss these issues. It was felt this should be set up for in the summer.
11. Broadband update. Openreach have stated that all work in the community areas is complete, but they are experiencing some technical difficulties with the fibre spine feeding into the area. There is a need for new duct lengths to be installed. However, work is progressing and it is hoped that everything will be completed by the end of February.
12 Report from Cllr Kemp’s attendance at LALC meeting. Cllr Kemp reported that the main item for discussion was the increase in fees for Clerk’s undertaking the SILC course, and the increase in the training fees for 2020.
13. Correspondence
a) Precept – The request has been submitted and acknowledged.
14 Community Engagement Strategy. Cllr Dromey and Cllr Kemp offered to look at the document to see if it needed updating.
5. Clerk’s annual appraisal report. Cllr Dromey reported that this had taken place. It was felt that all was working well. Ideally there should be a second person on the Personal Committee who is not the Chair and Cllr Crowson offered to undertake this role.
16. Any other matters for discussion only or next Agenda. Cllrs were reminded that there is still one vacancy for the Council.
17. Date of next meeting 18th March 2020.