Minutes of meeting 21st July 2021
A meeting of East Keal Parish Council Meeting was held on 21.7.2021 at 7pm. At The Keal’s Village Hall, West Keal.
Welcome. Cllr Grahame Smith welcomed everyone to the meeting especially Cllr Gray who was attending for the first time.
Present. Cllr Smith, Cllr Kemp, Cllr Boxer, Cllr Mckinlay, Cllr Wrisdale, Cllr Gray, Cllr Swanson, Clerk to the Council, Mrs E Martin and one member of the public.
Public Forum. There were no items for discussion.
1. Apologies for Absence. These were received from Mrs D Keal.
2. Notes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 19th May 2021 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.
3. Declaration of Interest. None given.
4. Reports from Representatives on outside bodies.
a) County Councillor.
Cllr Gray started by introducing himself and explaining about some of his responsibilities within the County Council and telling us a bit about himself.
i. A report had been circulated from Cllr Gray to all Councillors before the meeting. The main points being;-
a, a list of contacts at LCC.
b, details of how to borrow litter pick equipment.
c, walk in details for getting the covid-19 vaccination.
ii. Highways’ update.
a. Chevron Sign. He informed everyone that the chevron sign at the top of Blacksmith’s Lane is scheduled to be replaced around 28.8.21. Traffic lights will be necessary.
b. Speed limit signs. This work has been issued to Balfour Beatty and will possible be done in about four weeks’ time.
iii. Development off A16. As this had already been brought to his attention Cllr Gray reported that he had visited the site with Highways officers. It was felt that the principles of the idea caused no issues (on paper), but when they visited the site many concerns were highlighted. These include the access proposed is not in the best position, public amenities would be lost and provision would have to be made for these, issues regarding the trees and the importance of the area being an archaeological site.
He also reported that he had received emails and telephone calls from concerned residents.
b) District Councillor.
i. Police and Crime Plan consultation. A survey is available. Cllr Boxer stated that he had received this and would forward it to the clerk for circulation.
ii. NHS. Information regarding continued safety regarding Covid. This information was in line with current government guidelines.
iii. The strategic alliance with Boston is working well. A recent meeting agreed that the South Holland area be asked to join them. Each area will keep their own sovereignty but huge financial savings can be made by working together.
The new offices at Horncastle are in the process of being build and will employ approx. 1,000 people.
c) Neighbourhood Watch. Nothing to report.
d) Village Hall.
i. The recent quiz night was a success. Another is being planned for 10.9.21.
ii. On 7.8.21, 10am to 12 noon, these is to be a Community Café. Entrance is free but donations are welcome for refreshments. It is hoped this will bring the three communities closer together. The idea is that will become a regular event if well supported.
5. Village Volunteers. Posters have been produced to encourage resident to join. They are covered by our insurance if they comply with certain criteria. The risk assessments are complete and a copy is to be kept with the insurance documents.
Litter Pick – This is being organised for 14.8.21 at 10.30am.
Cllr Gray suggested we contacted Viking Link as they will provide volunteers to do this if we ask. Details on their website. They also give grant money.
Planters round the village. These have now all been replanted. Some of the plants were given by Bell’s Nurseries to the Open Gardens and not sold the remainder were given by a resident. Volunteers have been identified who will water them on a regular basis.
6. Village Groups
a. PCC. A grant of £7,000 has been promised towards the toilet and servery. It is hoped this work will start before too long.
b. WI. Two National Garden Open Day have been well supported. It is proposed that the next meeting will be a face to face one in the Village Hall.
c. Gardening Club. So far two garden visits have taken place. The next outing is a visit to Grimsthorpe Castle on Monday. Next there is a garden party on 15th August.
7. Report from Public Meeting. A Public Meeting on a Planning Application was held to discuss the view of residents before a response was submitted. The Council’s response is available for all to view at ELDC, it was also circulated to residents on the email group and put on the website. In all 35 residents attended and 10 sent apologies.
8. a) Planning S/045/00873/21. Full Planning Permission given.
b) Planning S/045/01392/21. EKPC submitted objections to this.
The way forward. After a lot of discussion, it was agreed that we request our District Councillor, Jim Swanson, to ‘call in to committee’ this application’. This would give a representative from the village the ability to attend a meeting to express views of the residents. It was explained that if Highways give consent to this development then ELDC cannot object and they have to accept their recommendations.
Great concerns were expressed by Councillors that if this development goes ahead then there will be another application to develop the whole site. It all this went ahead the whole dynamics of the village would change from a quiet village to somewhere with an estate as part of the village. If this goes ahead it would be against the Parish Plan and ELDC Core Plan and consultation of a few years ago when we requested no development, only infill and brown site building.
9. Finance:
a. Reimbursement of £5.85 to Mr E Martin for expenses for the Public Meeting.
b. Invoice for hire of village hall of £20, for 12 & 21st July meetings.
c. Data Protection direct debit of £35.00 due 11.8.21. Items a to c were proposed by Cllr Kemp and seconded by Cllr Wrisdale - all agreed.
d. Financial Report as at 19th July 2021 and bank reconciliation statement. Acceptance of these documents was proposed by Cllr McKinlay and seconded by Cllr Kemp. All agreed.
10. Review Welcome Booklet. A copy of this was circulated prior to the meeting. All agreed we should go ahead and it was agreed that a copy would be circulated to all households in the village. In addition, a short newsletter would also be circulated.
11. Any new residents. Two families have recently moved into the village.
12. Update of policy documents.
It was agreed that Cllr Kemp would look at the Complaints Procedure and Recording and Filming of Council Meetings and Cllr Wrisdale will review the Donations Policy document.
13. Arrangements for Annual Residents Meeting. It was agreed that this should take place in May 2022.
In addition a Meet the Councillors events will take place on 26th September 2021 for residents of the village.
14. Report of new website usage. This information has been circulated by LCC. It was felt this could be useful to see what folk are viewing.
15. Proposal to promote new community groups.
An open day is being organised, at the Village Hall, to try to encourage residents to get involved. Three suggestions have been made, an Art Group, a Wildlife and Birds group and a Local History group. This will take place on 18.9.21. Extra information will be available re Art Group from 11am to 12noon, the Bird and Wildlife from 12 to 1pm and the Local History from 1 to 2pm.
It was also suggested a computer course would be helpful but it would be of more if session leaders could help folk with their own IT. Cllr Mckinlay offered to try to find out who might lead such sessions.
The hall is available for new groups free of charge for 6 months.
16..Correspondence
a. A thank you letter has been received from the Church for our donation.
b. Hall Corner. Cllr Mackinlay has produced a letter that has been forwarded to Highways in respect of Hall Corner. In it she expressed the Council’s concern that nothing is being done regarding the number of accidents that occur on this bend and attached numerous photos. This bend has a history of incidents some of the worst occur when the road is flooded and vehicles have to travel on the opposite side of the road to get round. Other incidents occur when large articulated vehicles pull into the middle of the road to get round only to be met by another large vehicle - head on. On occasions this has caused the road to be closed while the situation is sorted out. Cllr Swanson explained that he believes that the camber of the road surface is wrong.
c. Planning S/045/01525/21. This item was received after the Agenda had been circulate. All Councillors were contacted and there were no objections. Planning have received our comments.
17. Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. It was agreed that the village should celebrate this event. In order to do this a committee will be formed to discuss ideas and funding. A poster has been produced to encourage folk to get involved.
20. Date of next meeting 15.9.21 at 7pm. In the Village Hall.