2019 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

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Minutes of a meeting of Crowland Parish Council held on Monday 1st July 2019 at 7.30pm in the Parish Rooms, Hall Street,Crowland

Present -  Coun B Alcock, Mr D Ancill, Mr M Atkinson, Mr R Boot, Miss C Elphee,

                 Mr P Green, Mr D Ringham & Mrs A Williams.

Also Present -  Coun N Pepper and Mr G Searle

In the Chair -  Mr D Kempton

Clerk -  Mrs D Halliwell

48) Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Mr J Boor, Winston Brown of Lincs Free Press and

Coun J Astill of SHDC

49) Declaration of Interests as per the LGA 2000

Mr R Boot, Miss C Elphee       -   Royal British Legion

Mr Ringham                             -   Crowland Cares

Mr Green                                 -   Crowland Hub

Mr Atkinson                             -   Crowland Abbey & Crowland Cares

Mrs A Williams                        -   Correspondence, item 2

50) Police Matters

All members had been issued with a copy of the letter between the Parish Council and Police Inspector Boxall.

Inspector Boxall had also sent a letter to Winston Brown at Lincs Free Press.

Mr Brown had requested the Parish Councils comments in response to several items in the letter that Mr Kempton outlined for members.

Members were very pleased to hear that police had identified individuals involved in several crimes in Crowland and that action was being taken

The latest Police Surgery had been more successful than previous ones, with more residents attending.

These Police Surgeries need to have much better advertising.

Members are very keen to invite the Chief Constable to visit Crowland, one possible opportunity could be the official opening of the Skate Park.           

Action -    all members when date for opening agreed

51) To Agree as a correct Record the Minutes of the Previous Meetings

Item 33   -   Amend stopping up from A16 to  James Road

                                                                                                                        Action - Clerks

Once this amendment has been actioned the minutes were proposed as a true and accurate record of both the full Council and the Extraordinary meetings by Mr Ringham.     Seconded by Mr Boot.            All agreed.

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Clerks to check that all hanging Basket invoices have been paid.                 Action -  Clerks

Mr Ringham has the Safety Certificate for the Skate Park in hand.              Action -  Mr Ringham

Mr Ringham had met with Mike Oneygarth to discuss the re-enactment. Mr Oneygarth will get back to us with further information.  Mr Ringham will ensure this happens.           Action -  Mr Ringham

52) Clerks Report to include follow-up of actions from the last meeting

The Clerk read out the report to members.

Members asked that this be included in the monthly envelopes in future. Action - Clerks

·       Letter sent to Chief Constable – reply awaited

·       Annual Audit Return sent to the External Auditors

·       Sports Hall lease signed and sent to our solicitor

·       Young Achievers awards this Thursday at South View School Hall at 6.30pm.

·       Overgrown allotments all dealt with

·       Daily checks at the skate park taking place and being recorded

·       New posts on order for Snowden Field

·       Fire extinguishers now fitted in the allotment building

·       Had complaints about the weeds overgrowing allotment site entrance - whose responsibility to look after?     ACTION _ Clerks to discuss with Bloom

·       Small Play Park – handles broken off seesaw and the rockers

·       All Clerks Planning meeting actions complete

·       All Clerks Amenities actions complete

·       All Clerks Full Council actions complete.

53) Assets working party

AWP had had a further meeting with the Developers.

The planning application is still to be determined. This could take a further 6 months.

AWP Members are disappointed at the length of time this is taking.

Seagate Builders fully support the extra works as required by the planning permission conditions.

54) Health and Well-Being Centre Working Party

To receive the Chairman’s Report

Members have agreed that this should be a regular item on the Agenda each month.

                                                                                                                        Action -  Clerks

There had been a meeting of the Working Party and this must be sustained.

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The Lease has now been signed and we are still waiting for our copy.

The Working Party have agreed to produce a plan going forward in order to maximise the Gym and the Sports Hall.

They are getting an “indicative figure” of costs to enable them to produce a business plan.

They intend to give the venue a charitable status to help reduce rates due.

There has been a ceiling collapse in the corridor which has caused booking cancellations.

They have had a contractor look at the roof and he will be preparing a quote to fix it in the short term.

The main hall is still in desperate need of a full deep clean.

Condensation is causing the floor to be slippery and this is exacerbated by the lack of ventilation.

In order to get the bookings back again we do need to employ a professional cleaner, and this must be moved forward as a matter of urgency.

Mr Ringham is sourcing quotes for this.                                                        Action - Mr Ringham

55) Finance Committee –

To receive the report from the Finance Committee Chairman.

Members have all received a copy of the Chairman’s report.

The full amount of payment due to Gravity Skateparks has been agreed and 50% of the amount has been paid.

Coun Alcock would like a retainer held with both Gravity Skateparks and Caloo Adventure Playground Equipment.

In order for this to happen, both Companies would have to agree to this.

Coun Alcock advised all members that the Parish Council needs to be very prudent this year.

The finance committee is putting together a cash flow forecast.            Action -  Finance Committee

56) Farms & Gardens Committee –

To receive the minutes from the Annual Land Inspection Meeting

The Chairman was not present at the meeting.

All members had received minutes from the Land Inspection.

The Land Inspection had proved to be very good and not turned up any major issues.

Mr Atkinson will contact the Chief Engineer at North Level IDB regarding the land drainage quotes.

The damage caused to the Snowden Field where deep ruts had been left by a large vehicle during Crowland Show requires immediate attention.

Our ground workers need to check what topsoil we have on the allotment site and if there is insufficient there, we need to arrange for a delivery as a matter of urgency and fill these ruts, roll the area, and then seed the area.                  Action F & G ‘s and General Workers

A supply of grass seed has been purchased.

57) Planning Committee

To receive the minutes of the meeting

Members have all received the minutes of the meeting.

Miss Elphee, Mr Ringham and Mr Flowers had met regarding the dog bins.

Three new dog bins are required.

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New waste bins are required by the Adventure Play Area and the Skate Park.

The committee also suggest that a seat at this area is relocated

Miss Elphee will discuss this with The Ground Workers.                

Action - Miss Elphee and General Workers

Members would like to see signs introduced that request that people take their litter home. We need to review the provision of outlying bins.

                                                                                                            Action - Planning Committee                     

58) Amenities Committee –

To receive the minutes of the meeting

All members had received the minutes of a meeting.

The Skate Park is now fully operational.

The basket swing remains out of action due to the uneven surface beneath it, and discussions are ongoing with Caloo.

 Mr Ringham will talk with another company to establish what the cost would be to put it right.

                                                                                                            Action - Mr Ringham

59) Health & Safety Committee –

To receive a report from the Health & Safety Chairman

There has not been a meeting of this committee.

Meeting planned for 22nd July 2019.

60) Parish Council Vacancy – Election/Co-option of New Members

The Parish Council were 4 members short, as 4 existing members did not stand in May.

Since then 1 more member has resigned.

This leaves the Parish Council 2 options.

1. Call an election to fill the 1 position created by the resignation.
2. The other 4 positions would need to be filled by co-option.

As we are a quality Council it is a requirement that at least 2/3rds of the members are elected.

Members have taken advice and notices have been put up that there is a position on the Parish Council.

The best option is to call an election for the 1 vacancy, but a request for this is required for 10 people living in the ward with the vacancy.

Then, if we want to, we can co-opt the other 4.

Members will sort out calling an election as we are extremely limited for time, we only have until 4th July 2019.                                                                 Action -  Mr Kempton/Mr Ringham

61) Young Achievers Awards 2019

Everything is sorted for this event.

There is a new Team Award this year.

A new trophy has been purchased for the winner in this group.

Members agreed that the winning team should also receive a cheque for £50.00.

This was proposed by Mr Ringham and seconded by Mr Ancill.   All agreed.

Clerks to write out a cheque for this payable to the team name.                   Action -  Clerks

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62) Stopping up of The Chase

This has been in process for the past 12 years.

The Parish Council supports this proposal.

This road is shared between the Parish Council and the Farm Owners.

Ownership is split straight down the middle of the road.

Mr Atkinson will discuss this with our Land Agent in order to move the project forward.

                                                                                                            Action -  Mr Atkinson

LCC, the Parish Council and the Farm Owners are all involved with this matter.

63) Correspondence

1. South View School - Letter from the Head Teacher advising that the PTA has arranged a circus to visit the school on Friday 5th July in the evening. This is a community event for everyone in Crowland. Tickets can be bought at http://friendsofsouthview.co.uk/book-circus-tickets/      Noted
2. Mrs F Sanderson, Jubilee Way – Letter requesting that Wyevale is used as a community & Sports Centre as there is very little to occupy 12-18-year old’s as they may be another 2,000 houses in Crowland.   Advise Mrs Sanderson that we are only aware of a further 500 houses being built. Thank her for her interest.
3. Dee Bedford, SHDC – Email advising that she is coordinating a list of areas where community payback can assist around the District. She would like the Parish Council to send areas that we would like assistance with including as much detail as possible. .If this is a free service then the Parish Council would very much like to meet with them about this.
4. Roger Wilkin, Whizz Dogs – Email confirming that they will be back for the show 20th-22nd September, setting up on the 18th & 19th and leaving on Monday 23rd September. Advise Football and Park Run that this is happening. Confirm booking on same rates as before.
5. Countryside Services, LCC – Details of Rights of way mowing to be undertaken on our public footpath ref PF12.    Ask LCC to let us have a map of where this is.
6. Jane Harriss – Email saying how lovely to see the skate park open and being so well used. She would like to see rubbish bins in the vicinity as well as a few benches for parents to sit at and watch.  She has seen that a local company has donated wood to the Deeping St Nicholas School to create a sitting area – perhaps they could do the same here?  She would also like to know when the new dog poo bins are likely to be fitted.        Mr Ringham will draft a response  -      Action  -  Mr Ringham/Clerks
7. James Farrar, Wicked Wheel Roller Disco – Email stating he has had to cancel the roller-skating sessions at the Sports Hall because of the slippery floor. It was fine in the cooler weather but has worsened through the better weather and is a Health & Safety hazard. The entrance to the hall is in an appalling state with the mats being saturated which then trapes wet into the hall. If the hall conditions improve, he may be able to use in the future.    Already dealt with.
8. Mrs Kilby -  Request for a dog bin to be placed at the Peterborough Road end of Harvester Way that the residents of the 2 new estates could use.  Advise that there are already dog bins in Harvester Way.

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9. Lincs Free Press -  Request for our comments in response to a letter received by Lincs Free Press from Police Inspector. Five comments were highlighted for our response.  Dealt with.

64) Accounts for Payment

For accounts, see appendix. 

DO NOT PAY the second 50% of the Gravity skateparks invoice until Mr Ringham has spoken to them about a retainer.                                                                 Action  -  Clerks/Mr Ringham

DO NOT PAY the Caloo invoice until Mr Ringham has spoken to them about repairs and a retainer.

                                                                                                Action  -  Clerks/Mr Ringham

Clerks to amend Caloo invoice details to read Adventure Playground Goods.

                                                                                                            Action  -  Clerks

With the exception of the 2 above instructions the accounts were approved for payment by

Mr Atkinson and seconded by Mr Ringham.      All agreed.

S137 payments

 S137 Payments totalled £350.00 representing 7 x Young Achievers Cheques issued.

65) Matters to be considered for inclusion on a future Council Agenda

 Clerks to chase quotes for Health Centre car park from Coupland’s.

                                                                                                            Action   -  Clerk