Minutes
WILDMORE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Wildmore Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 4th May 2021 at 7.40pm on Zoom
Present: Chairman Cllr A Everard
Cllr P Bargh Cllr M Jones
Cllr A Harrison Cllr J Lawes
Cllr R Kirk
District Councillors: Cllr M Foster
Clerk: Mrs A Appleyard
1275. Election of Chairman
It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Bargh that Cllr Everard be elected as Chairman. All in favour. Cllr Everard was duly elected.
1276. Signature of Declaration of Acceptance of Office Form by Newly elected Chairman
Cllr Everard signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office Form.
1277. Welcome by Chairman
Cllr Everard welcomed everyone to the meeting and said that this would be the last virtual meeting, with the Parish Council meeting back at the hall from July.
1278. To receive and approve apologies for absence
Apologies had been received from Cllr Avison and Cllr Ashton. They both had other Council meetings to attend.
1279. To receive declaration of interest under the Council’s Code of Conduct related to business on the agenda
There were no declarations of interest brought before the meeting.
1280. To receive and approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 8th March 2021 for signature
The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 8th March 2021 had been circulated before the
meeting. It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Jones that the minutes be accepted as a true and accurate record. All in favour. Cllr Everard signed the minutes. He will drop the signed copy of the minutes off at the clerk’s home for filing.
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1281. To note any matters arising from the minutes not included on this agenda for report only
There were no matters arising from the minutes.
1282. Election of Vice-Chairman
It was proposed by Cllr Everard and seconded by Cllr Kirk that Cllr Bargh be elected as Vice-Chairman. All in favour. Cllr Bargh was duly elected. The clerk will organise for Cllr Bargh to complete a Declaration of Acceptance Form.
1283. Election of Personnel Committee
It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Kirk that Cllr Jones, Cllr Bargh and Cllr Lawes be elected as Personnel Committee. All in favour. They were duly elected.
1284. Election of Responsible Finance Officer
It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Bargh that the clerk be elected as Responsible Finance Officer. All in favour. The clerk was duly elected.
1285. To approve the Annual Governance Statement for the year ending 31st March 2021
The Clerk presented the Annual Governance Statement to the Councillors. It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Jones that this be approved. All in favour.
1286. To approve the Financial Statement for the year ending 31st March 2021
The Financial Statement for the year ending 31st March 2021 was presented by the Clerk. It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Jones that this be approved. All in favour.
1287. Financial Update and Authorisation of Payments – To authorise outstanding payments and agree method of obtaining cheque signatures
The Clerk had circulated the following accounts for the period 9th March to 4th May 2021 prior to the meeting.
Allotment Account
Opening Balance £2607.66
Cheques presented for Payment
04.05.2021 Tumby Estate No 1 A/C – Half Year Rent £ 155.00
04.05.2021 Savills Client A/C re CC Agricultural – Half Year Rent £ 630.00
04.05.2021 Haltham Parish Meeting – Half Year Rent £ 170.00
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Closing Balance £1652.66
General Account
Opening Balance £6221.75
Cheques presented for Payment
04.05.2021 New York Hall Managers – Hall Insurance £ 400.00
04.05.2021 New York Hall Managers – Grant £ 500.00
04.05.2021 LALC – Annual Subscription £ 158.83
04.05.2021 HMRC – PAYE April/May £ 64.20
04.05.2021 A Appleyard – Salary April/May £ 257.08
Closing Balance £4841.64
It was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Jones that the above accounts be authorised. All in favour. It was agreed that the Clerk would take the cheques for signing to Cllr Harrison who would then pass them onto Cllr Kirk for second signature. Cllr Kirk will then return them to the Clerk.
1288. Correspondence
Correspondence had been circulated prior to the meeting. This included the LALC E -Newsletters, LALC News and regular updates from LALC and NALC. The Clerk had received notification from the Church Commissioners that they are looking at a rent review for the allotments with effect from 6th April 2022.
1289. Planning – To comment and receive updates on outstanding planning applications
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. More tyres have been brought to the site. Apparently, the owner of the sanctuary is involved with a tyre company in Lincoln. It is also thought that some-one else is taking legal responsibility for the site, hence the animals and tyres still being in the field. Cllr Foster will speak with ELDC Enforcement regarding the situation.
1290. 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. A meeting will be organised to discuss the way forward for the Trust.
A Committee meeting will be held at the village hall on Saturday 22nd May at 10am to discuss future events for the hall and further wok which needs to be carried out.
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1291. Churchyard – To update on work being undertaken and other issues
Concerns were raised about the replacement trees planted by the tree surgeon. Whilst it was a good idea to replace those cut down, some of them were planted in the wrong place and the varieties planted will grow too tall for the Churchyard. It was agreed that no more should be planted in the middle of the Churchyard, instead they could be put around the boundary, although it would not be a good idea to plant them along the dyke side. It was felt that it would be better to plant small varieties of tree that will attract the birds and other wildlife, such as Cherry/Apple Blossom. The clerk will speak with the tree surgeon before they come back to finish the work to make sure that the churchwarden is consulted before planting anymore trees.
The question was raised as to whether there was anywhere else in the Parish where the bigger trees could be moved to, but there was no place suitable. Cllr Bargh did say that 1 of the trees could be planted in the school field to provide shade on the field for the children.
The Churchwarden is awaiting a report from the Diocese’s Architect as to whether the stable will undergo a complete structural rebuild or demolishment. The Church currently does not have any spare funds to sort out the problem.
1292. To discuss Rural Fibre Broadband and update Councillors on the Zoom meeting with Steve Brookes
A Zoom meeting was held recently with Steve Brookes to discuss the current problems with fibre broadband in rural areas and in our own Parish. Although the cables have been put in at the end of roads such as Hundle House Lane, Haven Bank, properties have not been connected. Some properties can get the fibre broadband but there is no consistency with who can and can’t receive it. Steve Brookes asked for a list of postcodes of problem areas so that he can investigate where the problem areas are. He did check the speeds of various postcodes of Councillors present to see what speeds they are achieving. This varied significantly from area to area and was all dependent on how close to the exchange and the nearest cabinet. Mr Brookes was also going to ask BT if properties had been missed off their records and if so if this was why there were problems. Councillors were asked to send the Clerk a list of any problem postcodes so that she can compile a list and send it to Mr Brookes to check out. The Government are offering vouchers to help pay for fibre in rural areas but there must be backing from the local community.
1293. 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
Police – Cllr Bargh advised that a parent had reported their child finding a white packet near to the school but that they had thrown it into the dyke. Cars are meeting on the outside car park at various times when the school is not in. The CCTV is not clear enough to pick up number plates, but signage will be put up to say that the area is monitored.
Development – There was nothing to report.
Education – There was nothing extra to report.
Health – Covid cases are low in our area. The worrying concern is visitors from other counties coming into ours and bringing the virus with them.
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Highways – Councillors were reminded about reporting any Highway issues through Fix My Street. Some of the potholes in the area have been marked ready for repair. Hurnbridge Road is down for some improvement work.
There was an accident at the school corner recently where the telegraph pole was damaged. This has been replaced. The clerk will check if the pole should have a streetlight on it and if this has been replaced.
ELDC/LCC – There is not much happening at either District or County Council level at present. This will pick up again once the local elections have taken place.
LALC – Various training sessions have been organised and these can be booked via the Clerk. The training will be held via Zoom.
Vacant Seats – Councillors were as asked to think if there was anyone who they might think would be interested in joining the Parish Council as there are currently three vacant seats. The Clerk will check with ELDC to see what we need to do to advertise the vacancies.
1294. Future Meetings and Items for Consideration
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 12th July at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. The Clerk will book the main hall if possible, to allow for social distancing.
The next Annual Parish Meeting and Annual Council Meeting will be held on Monday 9th May 2022 at 7pm.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.35pm.
Signed: Date:
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