Minutes
WILDMORE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Wildmore Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 12th July 2021 at 7.30pm in New York Lecture Hall
Present: Chairman Cllr A Everard
Cllr J Lawes Cllr M Jones
Cllr A Harrison
Churchwarden: Mrs M Casey
Clerk: Mrs A Appleyard
1295. Welcome by Chairman
Cllr Everard welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending this first meeting, in person, since lockdown.
1296. To receive and approve apologies for absence
Apologies had been received from Cllr Avison and Cllr Foster. They both had other Council meetings to attend. Cllr Kirk had also sent his apologies. He was unable to attend the meeting due to being on holiday. Cllr Bargh sent his apologies after the meeting. He had been unable to leave the school on time as he was sorting out an urgent issue.
1297. To receive declaration of interest under the Council’s Code of Conduct related to business on the agenda
Cllr Harrison declared an interest in item 12 of the agenda, Allotments.
1298. To receive and approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 4th May 2021 for signature
The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 4th May 2021 had been circulated before the
meeting. It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Lawes that the minutes be accepted as a true and accurate record. All in favour. Cllr Everard signed the minutes.
1299. To note any matters arising from the minutes not included on this agenda for report only
The clerk advised that she hadn’t heard anything from Steve Brookes regarding the Rural Broadband. Cllr Harrison advised that there are now a few more people able to access the broadband in the Haven Bank area of the Parish. The clerk will contact Mr Brookes again.
No further information has been received regarding the Animal Sanctuary. The Clerk will chase this up again.
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1300. Financial Update and Authorisation of Payments – To authorise outstanding payments
The Clerk had circulated the following accounts for the period 5th May to 12th July 2021 prior to the meeting.
Allotment Account
Opening Balance £1652.66
Paid in since last meeting
Allotment Rents £ 855.00
Cheques presented for Payment
Tumby Estate No 1 A/C Drainage Rates £ 178.16
Witham Fourth Drainage Board Drainage Rates £ 152.21
Closing Balance £2177.29
General Account
Opening Balance £4841.64
Paid in since last meeting
ELDC Precept £6500.00
Cheques presented for Payment
Andy Jackson Grass Cutting £ 240.00
Zurich Parish Insurance £ 188.29
HMRC PAYE £ 64.20
A Appleyard Salary £ 256.84
Closing Balance £10592.31
It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Jones that the above accounts be authorised. All in favour.
1301. Correspondence
Correspondence had been circulated prior to the meeting. This included the LALC E -Newsletters, LALC News and regular updates from LALC and NALC.
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1302. Planning – To comment and receive updates on outstanding planning applications
S/207/01207/21 – Brookfield House, New York Road, Dogdyke, Lincoln, LN4 4UR – Extension and alterations to existing house to provide a garden room with an enlarged first floor bedroom over on the site of an existing conservatory which is to be removed – Support
S/183/01356/21 – 2 Belgium Cottage, Leagate Road, Gipsey Bridge, Boston, PE22 7DA (Neighbouring Parish) – Extension to existing house to provide a ground floor sunroom, utility, w.c. and games room and 2no. first floor additional bedrooms and en suite on the site of an existing garage which is to be demolished – Support
S/207/01418/21 – Lindum House, New York Road, Dogdyke, Lincoln, LN4 4UR – Erection of a detached 4 bay garage and extension of existing driveway – Support
EC/207/00325/18 – Land off Langrick Road, New York – Change of use of land for the siting of 2 no. static caravans and storage of tyres. No further updates were available.
S/207/00116/21 – Determination of whether prior approval is required - Cllr Harrison advised that this property down Haven Bank had not had approval.
1303. Low Tointon Trust/Village Hall – To update and discuss any Village Hall issues
There had been no meeting of the Low Tointon Trust since the last Parish Council meeting and therefore nothing to report.
Two bike nights have been held at the village hall. Both have been a success with approx. amounts of £400 raised at each one. A meeting of the committee is to be held to discuss future events. There are several items on the hall’s wish list including new tables for the committee room, new fold out tables, flagpole, new cooker, new sign, new facias, guttering, front door, and porch. The hall had received a donation from the Co-op community fund of £800.
Cllr Everard suggested that as the Parish Council is a lessee of the Trust that any large items for the hall are purchased by the Parish Council so that the VAT can be reclaimed. It was proposed by Cllr Everard and seconded by Cllr Harrison that this be the case. All in favour.
1304. Wildmore Church – To receive an update on its future from the Churchwarden
Mrs Casey told Councillors of the proposed plans for Wildmore Church and the remainder of the churches in their group. The proposed plans are to have three Festival Churches and two Community Churches. It is proposed that Wildmore Church becomes a Festival Church, because it is not in the centre of the community it is not viable to make it a Community Church. A Community Church has to offer things such as toddler groups, men sheds, groups for older people. It is also must raise an awful lot of money to pay the quota to the Diocese. The aims of the Festival Church have not yet been sufficiently set out. It is thought that five to six services will be held each year, and these will include Easter, Christmas, Harvest etc. The church will still be available for Christenings,
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Weddings and Funerals. The Church and Churchyard will still need to be maintained. The vicar for the area would still do the Christenings, Weddings and Funerals but any other services would most probably be led by lay readers. More guidance is needed from the Diocese before any final decisions can take place, but they are expecting churches to declare by September their intentions. The Diocese are in financial difficulty with a £3 million deficit every year. The numbers of clergy have been cut down from 117 to 80. It may be that the group of churches will come under the guidance of Boston and that there will be three vicars working out of Holy Trinity in Boston serving the whole of the South Holland Deanery. It is proposed that Festival Churches will have to raise £1k per year for the diocese plus maintenance costs on top. This is a more realistic figure than the amount needed to run a Community Church and is therefore the most sensible proposal for St Peters Church. The Church Commissioners have said that they don’t want to see any of the Fen churches close. Other counties Diocese are in a much worse position than Lincoln. It is still unclear if the old stable building us a listed building. It is hoped if not that it can be removed, and that area possibly used for car parking as there is currently very little off road parking for people using the Church. It is a well visited churchyard, but most visitors do not contribute in anyway to the upkeep of the Church and Churchyard.
1305. Platinum Jubilee – Thursday 2nd June to Sunday 5th June - Proposals
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is to be held on the weekend of Thursday 2nd June to Sunday 5th June 2022. Various ideas were discussed but it was proposed that Wildmore hold something on Thursday 2nd June in conjunction with the already planned bike night. It was suggested that a motor cave of vehicles through the decades could travel around the Parish on a planned route. Another suggestion was to light a beacon in conjunction with the rest of the Commonwealth. Cllr Everard had seen details of a gas one for approximately £490. The clerk was asked to contact the gentleman in Coningsby who had made the one for Coningsby Town Council at the last Jubilee. Other suggestions were to have a fancy-dress competition with a royalty theme, competition to guess the value of certain vehicles, tombola, etc. It was suggested that food vans were asked to come along to save committee members from having to be in the kitchen all the time as this is hard work. Another suggestion was an evening disco or live entertainment. It was agreed to discuss all the suggestions at the next hall committee meeting and for a working party to be set up. At the last Jubilee all the children in the Parish were given mugs and trees were planted at the Millennium. If anyone has any other ideas, they will be most welcome. It was proposed that a flag and flagpole are purchased for the village hall, this is something the hall committee are already looking at. Cllr Everard suggested that the Parish Council may be able to precept for some of the costs as this event will be for the whole of the Community. The Parish Council will also look to see if their insurance covers this type of event. The Parish Council would also purchase a beacon and then this could be kept for other future events. The Clerk had been contacted by the Clerk from Carrington and New Bolingbroke to see if the Parish Council were doing anything for the Jubilee so that they could possibly join forces or avoid cross overs with any plans.
1306. Allotments – To discuss the Allotments
A letter has been received from the Church Commissioners issuing a Section 12 notice in respect of their intention to increase the rent on the Allotments owned by them.
It was suggested that the current rent charged to Tenants is already high and that a further increase was unreasonable. The Tenants will need to be given a year’s notice of any intended rent increase.
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Many tenants faced with rent reviews are seeking rent reductions not increases. Farmers are currently seeing a loss of farm support at approx. £90 per acre and Government support is looking to
be phased out by 2027. It looks like this will be replaced but who will receive the support is unclear now.
Allotments were originally established for the poor to supplement their income and most tenants would be farm labourers who borrowed horses/machinery from their employer to work the land in evenings or weekends.
The clerk will check to see if she can find anything in old minutes or if there are any old agreements between the owners of the land and Wildmore Parish Council. Cllr Everard will also seek advice.
1307. To discuss any other parish matters that require any urgent or immediate consideration, such as, Police/Crime, Development, Education, Health, Highways, District and County Council, Training
Highways – Comments were made about the poor road signage when road works are taking place giving unclear details of where the work is taking place or where the diversions are. This is down to the contractors, but the clerk will mention it to Highways.
1308. Vacant seats on the Parish Council/Co-option of Councillors
There are currently three seats vacant on the Parish Council. A notice will go on the board notifying parishioners of the vacancies and asking if anyone is interested in joining the Council.
1309. Future Meetings and Items for Consideration
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 13th September at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.
Signed: Date:
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