January 2022 Minutes
Kettlethorpe Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday, 4th January 2022 at 7.00 pm in
Kettlethorpe Village Hall
Present
Cllr Richard Elliott, Chairman,
Cllr. Richard Barnard,
Cllr. Tim O’Callaghan
Cllr. Catherine Turner
Cllr Jez Willis,
Mr. R. Gee, Clerk.
Mr R Brownlow, member of public
1. APOLOGIES
Cllr Lizzie Smith, D/Cllr Jane Ellis.
1.1 Cllr Lizzie Smith - Prior to the meeting, the Chairman and the clerk had received an e-mail from Councillor Smith to say that she was having difficulties juggling work, her studies, and Parish Council duties and as a result, had found it necessary to tender her resignation from the Parish Council.
1.2 Mr Brownlow said that he had attended the meeting to ask what plans the Council had made to commemorate HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and suggested the idea of restoring the avenue of lime trees between St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church and the Rectory. In a discussion about the possible project it was thought that 15 to 20 trees might be needed with some form of protection for each from any beasts in the field. Each tree should have a root ball and piped irrigation, but care must be taken to ensure that there is no disease in the ground from any fallen trees. It was suggested that if Trentside Links had any archive photographs of the former avenue, they could show what it was like and maybe help with any appeal.
It is known that West Lindsey are offering grants of up to £700 to commemorate the Jubilee, but this is unlikely to cover the cost and it was suggested that perhaps an appeal for sponsorship could be made from such companies as Lister’s of Newton on Trent. The West Lindsey grant could be used for the street parties, bunting, flags etc [see para.3.10].
2. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the December meeting had been circulated to all members and were proposed, seconded, and approved by the Meeting.
3. MATTERS ARISING
3.1 Local Policing issues
There were no issues in respect of Kettlethorpe, but the Crime Report listed 5 x burglaries, 10 x thefts, 5 vehicle crimes, and 2 x criminal damages in the Gainsborough Rural South district.
3.2 Jubilee Park i. Play area repairs – It was agreed that the Council should apply for a grant from the Landfill Communities fund. Knowing that public backing will be required, residents who attended the recent Christmas lights switch-on ceremony had been invited to demonstrate their support by signing a petition in favour of backing the application. In all 58 signatures were received.
Referring to the Springies, it was said that only the ‘above ground’ assembly will be needed as all the buried fixings are still OK. The Chairman intended checking for the best deal with Abacus, Proludic and Sutcliffe and referring to the tarmac, it was said that a quote could be obtained from a known local builder.
The Parish was advised following a recent RoSPA inspection of Jubilee Park, that each play area should have 2 exits, but one of the gateways has been deliberately secured to prevent children running out onto a very busy and dangerous road. After some discussion it was agreed that as the inspecting officer may not have been in full possession of the facts, it would be safer to keep the gate firmly shut.
ii. Park Trees – It was reported all but 3 of the trees that require trimming had now been done.
3.3 Highways
C/Cllr Butroid confirmed by e-mail that he supported the speed limit reduction for Kettlethorpe Road and other Highways issues discussed at the last meeting. He had passed details to LCC Highways and planned to keep his eye on the issue and chase them up as necessary but suggested that these investigations can take months to happen.
ii.. Solar Farms – The subject of solar farms has now gone to national planning, but there are many objections to their provision. It was said that planners seem to select valuable agricultural land rather than choosing nearby barren fields. Cottam and West Burton power stations were mentioned as potential sites because of the existing power distribution.
3.8 Parish Cemetery bench – The re-constituted plastic seat purchased from Agri-Cycle has now been installed in the same location as the former bench, which has been cleaned up and moved to a spot adjacent to the shed in the corner of the cemetery.
3.10 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee event –It was said that the project to reinstate the avenue of limes from the Church to the Rectory was a very worthwhile project, [see para. 1.2 of these minutes] but would perhaps not be everyone’s choice and street parties may have a more general appeal. There was full agreement with this viewpoint, where adjacent roads and ‘closes’ could unite to save having to seek permission to shut down any public roads. Residents will have to be informed early of the plan and the Chairman felt that the best way would be with fliers and Facebook.
Research will be carried out into obtaining balloons, bunting and goodie bags etc.and a decision taken whether the grant from West Lindsey should be used for this purpose or put to reducing the cost of the avenue of limes.
3.11 Village signs – Still having difficulty in contacting this resident.
3.12 Community Speed watch – there has been no additional information from the organiser but considering the current frequency of visits by the Lincs Road Safety “Speed vehicle” it was felt by the meeting that there is less of a need for this service now.
3.14 Campers on restricted land – [reference report No. WLGE_372700216]. It was hoped by the Council that a clause could be inserted, refusing building permission for the same reasons as for previous applications for this land. An e-mail has been received stating that West Lindsey have been liaising with the landowner about a cabin which is in breach of planning control, sited to the rear of his property. The recent application to change the use of land to domestic garden has been granted, and assurance has been given by the owner that the cabin will be removed shortly.
3.18 Christmas lights – Improving the tree lights is proving to be difficult, and experiments with a higher voltage did not provide the brightness required. In addition, the tree is becoming too tall to safely reach the top and as a result, nets may be worth considering for next year, perhaps on a smaller skeleton tree with just baubles on the Christmas Tree.
Advice has been sought from an electrician, but no satisfactory solution was forthcoming. There would be difficulties in running cable from a nearby property and if as suggested, projector lights were used, mains electricity would still be needed, plus there would be a security risk with the equipment left in the Park. The Chairman offered to speak to the Fenton Chairman to see how they resolved their problem.
3.19 Waste rendering – Cllr Butroid advised that resolution of this problem has been passed to the Environment Agency as it was confirmed that Notts CC do not allow use of this product and wondered why West Lindsey does.
CORRESPONDENCE
A list of items circulated during December was distributed to members at the month end.
5. PLANNING
5.1 None
6. FINANCE
6.1 Reimburse Cllr Barnard for Switch-On expenditure – tree items - £30.14
6.2 Reimburse Cllr Barnard – wreath, and cable ties for large Remembrance poppies – £27.72
6.3 Reimburse Cllr O’Callaghan - Santa chocolates for children - £60.07
6.4 Prize voucher, reimburse clerk - prize for best house Christmas decorations - £25
Payment of the above items was proposed, seconded and agreed, by the meeting
6.5 PAYE and Salary - Payment was agreed in accordance with the proposal made at an earlier meeting last year.
6.6 Parish Accounts – The balance at the bank to month ending 31 December 2021 was £13,193.74 with an expenditure of £8,318.40
7. MATTERS ARISING
7.1 Best house Christmas lights – The winning display as decided by District Cllr Jane Ellis was at Lodge Farm House on the A156, whose owner was awarded a £25 gift voucher [item 6.4].
7.2 Resident’s complaint – about motorbikes/quad bikes being ridden behind the houses on Kettlethorpe Rd. It was decided that this was likely to be a ‘one-off’ and not worth currently pursuing further.
7.3 Annual Parish Dinner – several venues were discussed, and menus are to be obtained. The date and location will be agreed at the next meeting.
7.4 Defibrillator – The Chairman informed the meeting that will be necessary to change the defibrillator battery and other parts at a cost of £110 and that he would deal shortly.
7.5 Remembrance Wreaths – Opinions were asked on for how long wreaths should be left on the Propeller Memorial and suggestions were made that they should be taken down at the end of January.
8. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
8.1 The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 1st February 2022 at 7.00 pm in Kettlethorpe Village Hall.
Meeting closed at 9.00 pm