July 2020 Minutes
A virtual meeting of East Keal Parish Council Meeting was held on 15.7.2020 at 7pm.
Welcome. Cllr Grahame Smith welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Present. Cllr Smith, Cllr Dromey, Cllr Kemp, Cllr Boxer, Cllr Aran, Cllr Swanson, Clerk to the Council, Mrs E Martin and one member of the public.
1. Apologies for Absence. Cllr Thornley & Cllr Ward. It was proposed by Cllr Dromey and seconded by Cllr Kemp that the reasons given were accepted.
2. Notes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 20th May 2020 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. A correction was then made to item 6iic. This should read ‘open for safe space for people experiencing domestic abuse’.
3. Declaration of Interest. None given.
4. Reports from Representatives on outside bodies.
a) County Councillor.
i. Cllr Aran reported all main libraries are now open.
ii. 500 laptops have been given to local children in need of them for schoolwork.
iii. In Lincoln the Magna Carta display, The Prison and the Collection are all open to the public.
iv. He also stated that he had just about used up all his Covid-19 grant money.
v. In addition parking enforcement is now back on duty.
vi. Cllr Aran was asked if he could find out when outstanding highway tasks might be done by? They are the chevron sign at the top of Blacksmith’s lane, the pothole on Fen Lane (by Rosedale) also the road sign on the A16 at the junction for West Keal, the sign is in the hedgerow.
b) District Councillor.
i. Boston Borough Council and ELDC are now operating through a joint Chief Executive. It is anticipated the savings will be in the region of £15 million. BBC have an option to opt out after one year if they give three months’ notice.
ii. ELDC are supporting the three proposed projects for the coastal towns including Mablethorpe & Skegness.
iii. A local development order for Fantasy Island has been permitted for development. This is to avoid repeat planning requests.
iv. Details of parking charges are shown on the ELCD website.
c) Neighbourhood Watch. Nothing to report.
d) Village Hall. A forthcoming meeting is being planned with preparations to be made to open the venue for public use.
e) Village Groups
i. PCC. The Church is now being opened daily from 10am to 4pm for private prayer. There is a strict system of cleaning in progress. We have held two 9.30am Sunday services, with social distancing etc in place. We will have services on 19th July and 26th July both at 9.30am. No events are being organised at present.
ii. WI. No report iii. Gardening Club. A committee meeting is being held this week to discuss the way forward.
iv. Workforce. The footpath alongside the A16 towards Spilsby has been cleared by a group of volunteers. The Clerk was asked to write a letter of thanks. It was proposed that at our next meeting a discussion as to how the workforce operates should be on the agenda.
v. Newsletter. No information.
5. a) Planning S/045/00311/20. Avalon, Church Lane – approval given.
b) Planning S/045/00263/20. Rose-Lea, Main Road – approval given.
c) Planning S/045/00862/20 Broomhill, Fen Lane - Cllrs had no objections.
d) Planning S/045/00911/20. Garage – Cllrs had no objections.
6. Finance:
a) Reimbursement of £34.2 to Mr G Smith for purchase of five dog waste signs.
b) Reimbursement of £40.00 to Mr G Smith for purchase of plants for the War Memorial.
c) Reimbursement of £5.90 to E Martin for photocopying paper. Items a, b & c were proposed by Cllr Dromey and seconded by Cllr Kemp - all agreed.
d) Approve standing order of £35 for Data Protection. It was proposed by Cllr Boxer and seconded by Cllr Kemp, all agreed.
e) Financial Report as at 15th July 2020 and bank reconciliation statement. Acceptance of these documents was proposed by Cllr Boxer and seconded by Cllr Kemp. All agreed.
7. Update on EK Council’s four year plan.
a) Additional clean up dog signs. It was reported that in the short time these have been in place there has been an improvement with far less dog mess being left on footpaths and roadsides.
b) Painting of seats/benches. Mr Buckley has very kindly repainted all but two benches in the village. Cllrs were asked to think if they could identify any volunteers in the village to help with such tasks. It was agreed that a request be place on face book.
c) Update of response regarding speed reduction survey. Cllr Boxer had circulated a report prior to the meeting. He stated that he had received a very good response, with more replies still coming in. All but one person was in agreement with the proposal. He shared some comments regarding residents feeling unsafe in their own home, or worried about crossing the A16 to get to the shop. As yet no date has been set by LCC for this item to be discussed.
d) Update on wild flower areas. Cllr were asked to see if they could identify any area in the village which would be suitable to plant wildflowers.
8. Annual check of Council property, benches & sign, done on 6.7.20. Work on the notice boards has been identified.
9. Proposal to move the notice board and post box, on the A16 near Hall Corner to the layby. After a discussion it was proposed by Cllr Kemp and seconded by Cllr Dromey that EKPC look into the viability of moving the notice board on the A16 to nearer the bus stop. All agreed. It was proposed by Cllr Kemp that the Post Office be approached to see if the letter box on the A16 could be moved nearer to the bus stop. All agreed.
10 Request by resident for pruning of trees on Fen Lane, near crossroads. After a discussion it was agreed that the trees are the property of LCC and therefore EKPC are not responsible for them. Concern was expressed about their continued growth and any potential damage to overhead wires. The overall view of the Council was that these trees were an attractive addition to the village.
11. Update Standing Orders Policy. This document is due for updating. The need for the use of inclusive language is especially important. Cllr Boxer offered to do this.
12. LALC Code of Conduct Procedure review. One Cllr had replied with their views.
13. Requirement to produce an Accessibility Statement by 23.9.20. Cllr Kemp offered to write a policy document for presentation at the next meeting.
14. Update on new website. Both the Clerk and Chair have attended a training meeting and are due to take part in an update training. Cllr Smith has drawn up his idea of how we should develop this site but needs Cllr views before we progress. Once the information is transferred across the old site will be closed down. This update needs to be completed by the autumn.
15. Meet the Councillors event. Do discuss at next meeting.
16. Welcome Booklet – any new residents. A pack has been taken to the new occupants at Robins Wood.
17. Correspondence. Email from Mr S Shaw regarding request for support for the Local Electricity Bill. (Letter sent to Victoria Atkin as requested). An email has been received today stating that the Bill will be reintroduced, this was unopposed.
18. Dates for meetings for 2021 to be agreed. Wednesday 17th March, 14th April, 19th May, 21 July, 15th Sept, 17th Nov and 19 Jan 2022. These date are now confirmed.
19. Any other matters for discussion only or next Agenda. None identified.
20. Date of next meeting 16.9.20 at 7pm. It is hoped that this will be in the Village Hall.