September 2020 Minutes
A virtual meeting of East Keal Parish Council Meeting was held on 16.9.20 at 7pm.
1. Welcome. Cllr Grahame Smith welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Present. Cllr Smith, Cllr Kemp, Cllr Boxer, Cllr Thornley, Mrs E Martin Clerk to the Council and one member of the public.
Apologies for Absence. Cllr Aron, Cllr Swanson & Mr Sweeney.
2. Resignation of Cllr Dromey and Cllr Ward. Thanks were offered to Cllr Dromey and Cllr Ward for all their contributions to the council whilst serving as Councillors.
3. Notes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 15th July 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.
4. Declaration of Interest. None given.
5. Reports from Representatives on outside bodies.
a) County Councillor. As Cllr Aron was unable to login his apologies had been submitted. A written report will be circulated once received.
b) District Councillor. See end of minutes.
c) Neighbourhood Watch. Nothing to report. Cllr Boxer kindly agreed to take over this role.
d) Village Hall. The village hall has been closed during April to August. A recent committee meeting decided to make the hall available and a new set of guidance and rules were issued for users. Hand sanitisers and cleaning items are provided. One meeting took place in August, other meetings, including Yoga are booked in.
A grant of £10,000 has been received from ELDC for loss of income and to encourage social activities to resume.
The next committee meeting will be on 30.9.20.
e) Village Groups.
i. PCC. Progress has been made by a keen group of volunteers to remove the old pews from the back of the Church. The floor has been levelled and bricks laid. Due to the nature of the Faculty nothing permanent can be put in place for a year. After that time the situation can be assessed and if everyone is in agreement we can progress with the next stage of the project. Everyone is welcome to go into Church to view the work being done.
With regard to services we are holding a regular 9.30am Sunday service which is well attended. This will continue throughout September. Although we cannot hold the usual Harvest Service, due to the restrictions on numbers, we shall still be collecting tinned, dry and other items to give to the local food bank. So, if you have any items you wish to donate do put them in Church on Sat 26th September.
ii. WI. No report
iii. Gardening Club. No report.
iv a. Workforce. Concerns were expressed about who would instigate work when Mr Buckley moves. It would be sad if areas in the village were not cared for as they have been. We are lucky to have some volunteers who have taken on responsibility for an area. Cllrs were asked to bring ideas of a way forward to the next Council meeting.
A new volunteer has come forward to help with looking after the War Memorial.
b. Litter Pick. Cllr Thornley agreed to organise one in the future.
c. Notice Boards. These need some work doing on them. The suggestion was made that new ones could be purchased but before this is done it was agreed that Cllr should look at them to assess if in fact they need replacing. In addition, decisions would have to be made on the ideal size for our needs and the material they are made of, then costs obtained. This information to be brought to our next meeting.
Benches. Thanks were expressed to all those volunteers who have given their time to paint all the benches round the village.
6. a) Planning Mr & Mrs Pearson. The Council had responded no objection to this extension.
7. Finance:
a) Reimbursement of £28.98 to Mr G Smith for purchase of paint for benches.
b) Reimbursement of £11.99 to Mrs E Martin for envelopes and printer ink.
Acceptance of items a & b was proposed by Cllr Boxer and seconded by Cllr Kemp.
c) Proposal to purchase a wreath for Remembrance. Cost £25.00.
d) Proposal to purchase wild flower seeds to cosst £22.00. This would be used to reseed to bank by the Church and other wildflower areas.
It was proposed by Cllr Thornley and seconded by Cllr Boxer that items c & d be accepted.
e) Proposal for Clerk’s pay to be increased in line with NJC recommendations to £10.04 per hour. It was proposed by Cllr Boxer and seconded by Cllr Kemp that these recommendations be accepted. All agreed.
f) Financial Report and bank reconciliation documents as at 10.9.20. It was proposed by Cllr Boxer and seconded by Cllr Thornley that these documents be accepted.
8. Update on EK Council's four-year plan.
a) Request by the shop for an additional waste bin by their premises. After a discussion it was felt a request for an additional litter bin from ELDC would be best it if can from the shop.
b) Update on Wild Flower Areas. Suitable areas were identified as:- on the bank by the Churchand at the top of Blacksmith's Lane. See 7d.
9. Flooding on Hall Corner. Concerns have been raised by many residents regarding the continued flooding of Hall Corner and the potential for this to cause a serious accident. Many photos and complaints have been submitted to LCC. Work has been done on clearing the drains and the pipe under the road but to keep the road safe better maintenance is required. The Council agreed to approach Cllr Aron to see if an agreement that this work be done on a regular say six-month basis. The contractors are due at the location on 24.9.20.
At this point Cllr Swanson joined the meeting.
10. Prevention of flooding on School Lane. This was reported to LCC and someone did come and view the area but unfortunately it was after a dry spell so the ‘stream’ of water was not running onto the road. No further action will be taken.
11. Moving the post box, on the A16 near Hall Corner to the layby. The Post Office manageress has been spoken to and she did not think that the Post Office would approve this. It was agreed by the Council that a more formal letter be sent requesting that this be looked into.
12. Update on traffic issues.
a) Speed reduction on the A16. It has been reported that this has been discussed and gone through the committee stage at LCC highways. We are now waiting to receive formal confirmation that this will come into force and the timescale.
b) Concerns have been expressed from residents as to the number of cars speeding through the village. After a discussion it was agreed that this should become a long-term aim to reduce the limit to 20mph.
13. Update Standing Orders Policy. This revised document had been circulated to all Councillors before the meeting. It was proposed by Cllr Thornley and seconded by Cllr Kemp. Thanks were expressed to Cllr Boxer for undertaking this work.
Accessibility Statement. It was proposed by Cllr Thornley and seconded by Cllr Kemp that this statement be agreed and will be added to the new website.
14. Update of Data Protection and Information Security Policy. Cllr Thornley agreed to undertake this work.
15. Update on new website. A lot of time has been spent especially by Cllr Smith on undertaking work on the new website. The transfer of files has not yet been started until the form on the site is as we want it. This work needs to be completed by the end of December.
16. Meet the Councillors event. Due to Covid-19 this cannot take place so will be discussed in the Spring. After a discussion it was agreed that a newsletter should be circulated to all households. It was suggested that perhaps a newsletter with some colour could be printed and Cllr Swanson offered some of his grant money to fund this. Cllr Smith offered to draft this document and make the funding application.
16. Welcome Booklet. Packs will be delivered to Ferndale and Belle View, Blacksmith’s Lane, and 4 Ellerby Court.
17. Correspondence. Thanks for the letter sent to Mr Buckley and his team of volunteers has been acknowledged and was appreciated.
18. Any other matters for discussion only or next Agenda. Cllr Kemp has a new telephone number – 01790 751181.
Cllr Boxer offered to set up the next virtual meeting if necessary and suggested we could pay the additional fee. It was stated that other virtual sites are available for free with unlimited time.
19. Date of next meeting 18.11.20 at 7pm. Venue to be confirmed.
5 b) District Councillor’s Report. A lot of ELDC information is being circulate through Town and Parish Council updates.
i. Horncastle planning development, has now been approved.
ii. Boston Borough and ELDC are now starting to work together and key appointments are being made.
iii. Proposed Unitarian Councils. Opinions on this way forward are being sought. This could mean boundary changes and more responsibility being given to local councils.
iv. Platform Housing Group. ELDC are working with this group to help people with disabilities.
v. Town Fund. The government have agreed to escalate work on two of these projects. Firstly, the replacement/repair work on the Colonnade structure at Sutton on Sea and the pedestrianisation of the Tower Esplanade.
Post Meeting – Cllr Aron’s report.
LCC have a new Parish Council website – If there are any queries please let me know – there is help available – provided Free of Charge
The TRO for the Speed Limit should be finalised in October.
The Drain investigation is set 24th September – Jetting & CCTV plus Repairs – there and then (if possible).
Winter programme ready to go to Executive for October release.
There will be a Partial Road Closure in Horncastle Market Place for a year to permit outside Cafes to operate.
An additional Household Recycling bin is being rolled out throughout Lincolnshire to separate Cardboard & Paper so the cardboard can be sold