April 2022 Minutes
Minutes of a meeting of Crowland Parish Council
Held on Monday 4th April 2022 at 7:00pm
in the Crowland Community Hub
Present: Bryan Alcock, Philip Green, Graham Searle, Reg Boot, Cathi Elphee and Annette Williams
Clerk: Angela Harrison
In the Chair: Graham Searle
1) 199. Apologies for Absence
Michael Atkinson, Lee Quince, David Ringham, David Kempton, Jon Boor, Darren Warner and Wayne Glenton
District Cllr Jim Astill
District & County Cllr Nigel Pepper
2) 200. Declaration of Interests as per the LGA 2000
Graham Searle: Crowland Cares & SH Voluntary Car Scheme, plus one item in Payments
Jon Boor: Land (if discussed) Not at Mtg
3) 201. To Agree as a correct Record the Minutes of the Previous Meetings
Proposed: B Alcock
Seconded: C Elphee
It was agreed that the Chairman sign the Minutes as a true record of the previous meeting.
4) 202. Matters Arising from the previous minutes
Members were advised that Longstaff’s were appointed to carry out a red book valuation of the new properties.
Values to be disclosed ‘in Committee’.
Re: 1940s weekend; an email needs to be sent to the organizer requesting return of the Hire Agreement, Insurance and Risk Assessment for the event.
Action: Clerk
Item 14: Leisure & Wellbeing Centre - the Parish Council would like an update at each meeting.
Action: Clerk
Parish Room heating to be discussed ‘in Committee’.
Notice Board for Parish Rooms to be discussed ‘in Committee’
5) 203. Chairman’s Report - to receive the Chairman’s report
A Copy of the report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
There has not been a Young Achievers Award since before Covid but would like to reinstate it for this year.
- Date and location to publicize the event.
- Nominations to be in by the end of May
- PC to meet in June to discuss nominations
- Presentation evening either the 1st or 2nd week in July
- Email to be sent out to schools and local organizations to encourage participation
- Notices to be put up on Notice Boards
Action: T Croxford
Next meeting will be the Annual Meeting where roles and Committee membership will be confirmed.
This year we will reinstate the PC’s Open Meeting to be held on Thursday the 26th of May at 7pm in the Pavilion.
Action: Clerk
6) 204. Amenities Committee - to receive the Minutes of the recent meeting.
A copy of the Minutes had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Junior Play Area
It was suggested that the Cable Way be removed and stored away for Autumn/Winter
- Members agreed that they would prefer not to do this as many children use it throughout the year.
- Repairs need to be done to the runway, so it will be closed whilst the grass surface recovers.
- The tension has not been addressed as awaiting manufacturer’s requirements.
Youth Shelter
Roof panels have been removed but both workmen are now down with Covid
Position of the additional door in the implement shed has been agreed.
7) 205. Finance and Admin Committee - to receive the Chairman’s report.
A copy of the report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Bank statements are now accessible online after numerous phone calls to get it setup.
End of year Annual Governance and Accountability Return is on schedule to be completed within the time frame dictated by the external auditors.
Land and allotment rent monies are being received
Investment in Properties
We are receiving rate demands for a variety of periods of time, relating to the properties.
- A schedule showing the date of commencement of each tenancy has been requested to allow the demands to be checked.
- One demand looks to be a full 12 months for plot 28 which we have not taken ownership of yet.
- Clerk confirmed that an email with schedules had been received from the property Agent.
8) 206. Farms & Gardens Committee - to receive the Chairman’s report.
A copy of the report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Tree pollarding works has been approved by SHDC.
- Will now need to wait until after nesting season.
A discussion was had regarding the Glebe and Kissing Ground leases.
- The Clerk confirmed that she had an invoice from the Diocese of Lincoln which was awaiting approval for payment.
It was agreed that JB would speak to our land agent regarding an invoice for the outstanding rent on the Kissing Ground.
Action: J Boor
Fishing Rights with the drainage board.
It was inferred that there was an agreement between the PC and the Fishing Club
- Could we establish whether this agreement is currently in place, if not, could one be put into place?
- Historically, the Fishing Club gave an annual donation of £25
- Need to look for agreement
Action: T Croxford
F & G Committee to come up with a suggestion regarding the trees along the bank.
9) 207. Planning Committee - to receive the Minutes of the recent meeting.
A copy of the Minutes had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations – 5th June
Attractions have been booked, including a Fun Fair, Alpacas, street Band, Handheld Bio Beacons, Portaloos and a Town Crier.
- Looking for additional parking, with suggested places identified.
- At the next meeting, to be held on Tuesday 12th April, we will walk around North Street to decide where things should go on the day
- Meet under the bridge at 7pm, then back in the Hub for 7:30pm to discuss.
Paving around the phone box
Work is due to start week commencing 24th April and should take 2-3 days to complete.
- Footpath will need to be partially closed for the duration.
- Ensure that photos are taken of the brickwork on the adjacent property, before any work is undertaken
- A letter to be sent to the property owner, 14 West Street to advise of works.
- There will be 4 inches of gravel between the paving and the wall of the property.
Action: Clerk
Notice Board recommendation to be taken ‘in Committee’.
10) 208. Safety & Security - to receive the Chairman’s report.
A copy of the report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
In addition to the report there had been reports of motorcycles being ridden on the Snowden and damage to the goalposts.
There were three properties that had their windows broken, (4 windows in total), during the last week in March.
11) 209. Assets Working Party - to receive the team’s report.
A copy of the report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
A Section 73 application has been submitted to the Planning Authority by Ashwood Homes.
- Includes sites for two replacement trees on our site and two additional trees on their site.
- This will also address the anomalies on the incorrect position of some of the properties.
- Vehicular access to two of our properties needs to be addressed as the application highlights ‘Private Shared Drive’ which we have no prior knowledge of.
The issue with pipework under the sinks of some of the properties has been resolved with thanks to the kitchen suppliers.
The banking is heavily littered with stone, so needs to be addressed.
Mortar tanks have been removed but there are still some issues remaining.
A meeting will be arranged in due course, with the representative of the interested party regarding the Thorney Road site.
Three additional items to be taken ‘in Committee’.
12) 210. Accounts for Payment – see separate sheet.
A list of payments had been circulated prior to the meeting.
G Searle declared an interest in voucher 552.
Proposed: R Boot
Seconded: P Green
All agreed
It was resolved to approve the payments.
13) 211. Correspondence
There was none.
14) 212. Councillor Vacancies
One of the applicants was present at the meeting and he was advised that he would be notified as soon as a decision has been made.
15) 213. Matters to be considered for inclusion on a future Council Agenda
It was requested that there be a report of the Leisure and Wellbeing Centre available at the next meeting, as there had been no report for two consecutive meetings.
- As custodians of public money, the Parish Council needs to know how the enterprise is doing.
Action: Clerk
- Members of the CIO present at the meeting gave positive feedback.
Peter Davis, resident present at the meeting, spoke regarding the Fishing Club
- Would like to setup ‘Disabled Fish’ with disabled access to the river.
- Holding their AGM in a fortnight, so would like to raise it there.
- It was suggested that there used to be a pier by the old Lido.
- Standards and Union Flag – storage required
- Old Abbey Clock – to secure its future
Action: Clerk
Meeting ended at 8.32pm