Minutes of meeting February 2024
Kettlethorpe Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 11th February 2025
in Kettlethorpe Village Hall
PRESENT:
Cllr C Turner Chair
Cllr R Elliott,
Cllr R Barnard
Cllr C McGowan
Cllr P Bussoopun
Cllr T O’Callaghan
Mr G Cleworth, Clerk
D/Cllr R Pilgrim
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The Minutes of the meeting held on 14th January 2025 had been circulated to all councillors and were proposed, seconded and approved by the meeting.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Emergency plan
The Clerk had obtained two quotations for photocopying the questionnaire. The meeting agreed to a quotation of £65.87 + VAT for the copying 300 copies plus £10.00 +VAT for folding to A4 size. He will proceed to order the copies.
It was decided to publicise the questionnaire on Facebook.
Jubilee Park
There had been no progress on the installation of the swing seats.
Cemetery
Rewilding:
There had been no progress on the rewilding.
Treatment of Fenton residents:
The Chair will attend the meeting of Fenton PC on 18th February and offer the meeting
two options:
(a) an agreement with Fenton PC on an annual contribution to our grass cutting costs for the cemetery, with Fenton residents receiving the full rights currently enjoyed by residents of our villages and paying the applicable tariff for our residents; or
(b) Fenton residents to enjoy all the rights currently enjoyed by our residents, but paying the tariff
applicable to non-residents, or
The Clerk had enquired as to what percentage of the charges for grass cutting relating to the cutting of the cemetery grass, but had not received a reply. He will chase All Round Gardens for this.
The Clerk mentioned that he wished to clarify some points within the current regulations. It was decided to conduct a revision of the rules and tariff at the next meeting
Village Hall event 23/3/2025
The Clerk had received confirmation that the Hall is booked for 23rd March.
He had sent out invitations to current users of the Hall and received four acceptances so far. There was some confusion concerning two organisations called Laughterton Bowling Club, only one of which uses the Hall. Cllr Elliott will seek clarification. Cllr Bussoopun with approach Mrs D Humphreys (functions organiser) to offer a table.
Kettlethorpe village sign
The Clerk had met Mr John Bean regarding the righting and repainting of the sign stand and received a quotation of £385 for the job. This was agreed.
Mrs Mosedale’s burglary
The Clerk had established that there is no entry on the current Neighbourhood Watch scheme website. It was felt that finding a suitable coordinator would be a major stumbling block in resurrecting the scheme. The Clerk will approach the Police & Crime Commissioner regarding this occurrence, the drop-off in attendance by speeding detection teams, the falling number of PCSOs and an invitation to attend the Village Hall event.
Community activities
Cllr Barnard had produced an updated proforma newsletter for forthcoming events in the villages. These will be delivered with the emergency plan questionnaires.
Following discussion with Church, it was decided not to proceed with an Easter egg hunt. We will stage a window/garden decorations competition. The landlord of the Friendship will be approached by Cllr O’Callaghan regarding sponsoring the event.
Discussion on the proposed conker themed day was deferred until later in the year.
Flooding at three way junction of roads into our villages and Fenton
The Clerk had reported this to Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board. He had not received a reply and will chase. If this does not elicit a response, the issue will be escalated – Cllr Barnard has a contact name for this.
Councillor Bussoopun issue with emails
This had now been resolved
CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence for January/February to date had been circulated to all councillors
PLANNING
nothing to report
FINANCE
The payment of the following invoices for November were agreed by the Council:
already paid: HSBC ,monthly charge £8.00; F5 Computing invoices £43.50;
outstanding: SS Peter & Paul Kettlethorpe contribution to grass cutting costs for 2024 £663.00;
Clerk – PAYE AND SALARY for January
PARISH ACCOUNTS
end of January: income £13044.68; expenditure £11065.51; balance £12687.48
These were agreed and accepted by the meeting
The meeting reviewed the Clerk’s salary for 2025/26. A decision was deferred until the pay scales for 2025/26 are published by NALC. Any adjustments will be made retrospectively.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
(a) The Clerk reported issues with unlocking both locks for the Village Hall notice board. Further inspection revealed these were faulty and Cllr Barnard will obtain replacements.
(b) There were reports of poor condition of roads in the villages, from road detritus in gutters and the black top being damaged by vehicles due to water ingress. It was suggested that a review of the villages’ roads be undertaken, photos obtained and the issues reported to CSC Highways. Cllr Barnard will provide up to date photos.
(c) The Clerk asked D/Cllr Pilgrim if he could provide any information on the proposed unitary authority for the whole of Lincolnshire and the impact on us. D/Cllr Pilgrim advised that the changes would be coming in, but not advise when. This means that at some future time, parish councils will be abolished. In view of this, the Clerk advised the Council to be circumspect about undertaking new long-term projects in the light of uncertainty whether a new monolithic authority would commit to complete projects started by us.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will take place in Kettlethorpe Village Hall on 11th March 2025 at 7pm.
The Chair closed the meeting at 8.45 pm.