December 2022 Minutes
Kettlethorpe Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 13th December 2022 at 7pm in Kettlethorpe Village Hall
PRESENT:
Cllr R Elliott, Chairman
Cllr R Barnard
Cllr T O’Callaghan
Cllr J Willis
Mr Geoff Cleworth, Clerk
APOLOGIES
Cllrs C Turner, P Bussoopun, D/Cllr J Ellis
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The Minutes of the meetings held on 3rd October and 8th November 2022 had been circulated to all councillors and were proposed, seconded and approved by all Councillors.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Jubilee Park
There had been no progress on the new Springies and Soft Pour tarmac, probably due to the recent severe weather.. Cllr Elliott had emailed Richard Bingham and the Council awaited developments. The meeting thanked Cllr Barnard for his efforts with the festive lighting. It was decided that improved fencing would be procured for next year’s display.
Highways
There had been no progress. D/Cllr Ellis had advised the Clerk that she awaited a response from D/Cllr Butroyd regarding a road sign in respect of road access to Park Farm.
Christmas lights
With regard to power for future years, Cllr Barnard had been in contact with Northern Powergrid in respect of the provision of unmetered supply and had made progress. He had obtained an application form, but some queries remained. The Clerk will enquire with Northern Powergrid regarding possible costs and the required MPAN number.
It was decided that in future years, the Christmas lights switch on would be restricted to just our villages and more thought given to publicising it around the villages.
Parish notice boards
There had been no progress. The Clerk reported that there was a problem with the Village Hall notice board, in that the key was now not operative. Cllr Barnard will look at this over the Christmas break.
Ron Gee/Parish Dinner
Mr Gee had not yet been able to determine a venue. The Clerk will make tentative non-committal enquiries with the Lord Nelson at Winthorpe regarding whether they can accommodate a gathering of 16 people, and if so, try to obtain a menu.
D/Cllr Jane Ellis Councillor Initiative Fund
It was decided to enquire if the grant could be retrospectively applied to the cost of the Christmas lights. The Clerk will enquire with D/Cllr Ellis and if this isn’t possible, ask if a grant could be used for fencing around the lights mentioned above.
Mr F Harris burial plot enquiry
This was now resolved. Mr Harris had paid the deposit plus 50% non-parishioner surcharge and the Clerk had sent the paperwork to him.
There was some discussion about how the positioning of burial plots was determined on the ground when they need to be dug. Enquiries will be made.
Update of website
This was now resolved. The meeting discussed the handover of the management of the website to the Clerk from Cllr Turner. This will be discussed further in the New Year.
LOCAL POLICING ISSUES
The Police crime report for November had been received. None of the incidents affected the Parish.
TREE WALK
The planting and installation of surrounds had gone well. It was decided to instal posts around the trees with barbed wire to deter cattle.
There was a discussion about a number of expenditure items related to the project but not budgeted for in the grant application. These included the cost of the commemorative plaque at £477 against £250 budgeted for; the posts and barbed wire mentioned above; the cost of catering and hire of the village hall for the opening. The Chairman will speak to Mr Fowler and advise the Clerk regarding payment for the plaque. It was felt that the other items were – whilst not specifically bedgeted – directly linked to the cost of the project and therefore legitimate payments. Mr Fowler will be asked to refer to the National Lottery to get this confirmed.
It was decided to invite Sir Edward Leigh MP to do the official opening. The details of the opening timetable will be pulled together and advised to the Clerk so that he can arrange to invite Sir Edward. Given the upcoming Parliamentary Recess, the Clerk asked for this to be done as a matter of urgency. He will also invite D/Cllr Ellis to attend the opening.
A quiz was being produced as part of the opening event. Cllr Barnard will produce sufficient copies. The WI will undertake the catering.
CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence for November/December to date had been distributed to all Councillors.
PLANNING
Application reference 144120
Nothing further had been heard with regard to this issue. The Clerk was asked to chase Severn Trent Water for an update.
FINANCE
The payment of the following invoices for November/December to date were agreed by the Council:
F5 COMPUTING – invoices 11302 & 114960 Monthly charges - £40.86 each; COWLING QUANTITY SURVEYING & COMMERCIAL MANAGEMENT LTD – invoice 001214 rubber belting for tree walk project - £182.16; H C GRIMES & SON LTD -invoice 331 Christmas lights - £420; HSBC bank charges for November - £8.00; BAPP INDUSTRIES SUPPLIERS (DONCASTER) LTD – invoice 122403 bolts for tree surrounds - £106.32
CLERK – PAYE AND SALARY
The meeting agreed payment of expenses to the Clerk of £214.61 for expenses to the end of November and £53.98 for re-stocking of printer ink.
PARISH ACCOUNTS
end of November – balance £4500.79; expenditure £3885.68
These were agreed and accepted by the meeting
The Clerk was asked to produce for the next meeting a forecast of likely expenditure up to the year end.
The Clerk was authorised to exercise discretion on the amount of printed matter produced for the meeting, particularly items which were circulated to councillors electronically. This was in an effort to mitigate the cost of printer ink and paper.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
The Clerk had applied for an received an up to date electoral register for the Parish from WLDC. This will be held on file pending the election in May 2023.
Reports/newsletters regarding Newark & Sherwood DC Statement of Representation Procedure Notice; Clerks & Councils Direct; Civility & Respect; SAAA external auditor appointment advice; WLDC Parish Newsletter
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
This will take place in Kettlethorpe Village Hall at 7pm on Tuesday 10th January 2023.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.40pm.