February 2021 Minutes
Pointon and Sempringham Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of the Pointon and Sempringham Parish Council
February 16th 2021 7:30pm
Public Open Forum
Members of the public were invited to speak; each member of the public was allowed up to 3 minutes to address the council.
The public open forum was delayed 5 minutes while the clerk confirmed control of the online session
The Chairman welcomed the public and outlined the rules in the standing orders.
Mr King represented some members of his Facebook “free speech” forum and requested a deferment of the decision on the sports club.
Jayne Keeley, requested consideration of the lease of the pavilion. Many questions were asked about diligence and the content of the lease. Ms Keeley quoted comments from a closed meeting, the council will consider how she was able to obtain references to this meeting.
Austin Scarfe, spoke about the bins on the playing field. The parish council was asked about covid compliance of the bins. To be dealt with under AOB
Rebecca Driver and her husband had concerns about the transparency of the decisions made. Once again, members of the public were quoting minutes of a confidential meeting.
Stephen Hennessy – to speak about the drains and flooding on west road, Pointon. Andrew Ramm was able to provide an update on the issue in relation to the issue.
Main Meeting
The Chairman welcomed the members and the public.
3. Apologies for absence
No apologies for absence were received
4. Declarations of Interest
No additional declarations of interest were put forward
5. Approval of the minutes.
The minutes were found to be inaccurate and an amended set had been previously circulated and the members agreed the amended minutes. The chairman signed these into record.
6. Representations from Outside Bodies
a. No representation from the police
b. Martin Hill gave a general brief of the county issues, and highlighted a 1.9% increase in council tax. The budget is in good shape, and LCC has been in receipt of £44m of government funding as a consequence of the covid outbreak. LCC have made £13m savings and will build up the budget of the highway’s issues on minor roads. Cllr Hill outlined a package of support for flooding.
c. Cllr Dr Peter Moseley gave SKDC Update, highlighted some delays to waste collections due to the ice and snow, but that was now caught up. The riparian ownership of west road is under the district council’s responsibility and they will arrange with the black sluice to clear the dyke.
7. Pavilion Lease
The voting position was clarified in respect of previous minutes, the decision and some of the terms of the lease were agreed by elected members in October 2020 and November 2020. Therefore, it was clarified that it was not appropriate to overturn the decision.
The councillors discussed the previous decisions and talked about the pavilion. Councillors indicated that the cost to the village of getting the building to spec could be up to £30k. The options for PWLB were discussed, licensing was discussed and Cllr Greenwood clarified the situation on the license.
Councillors stressed the need for the lease to be securely legal. It was moved that a solicitor should draw up the lease, as the time was right to press forward before covid restrictions are lifted, so the facility is ready for outdoor sporting events.
Cllr Ramm read out quotations from solicitors, quotes varied from £500 to £1000 + VAT. Cllr Ramm Proposed we put £1000 towards the preparation of a lease for the pavilion letting. Cllr Greenwood Seconded, funds were clarified as available. The clerk asked for sight of the current draft, councillors agreed this, and the proposal was passed unanimously.
Cllr Ramm indicated that all keys were in the ownership of the council.
8. Millthorpe Road Naming
Millthorpe road naming. Cllr Moseley outlined the process for road naming and an approach by a resident of Millthorpe to extend the name “Millthorpe Drove” from its start point at the end of the village back to the crossroads.
It was proposed that the council hold an open parish meeting, Cllr Ramm seconded and Cllr Greenwoood indicated support, the motion was passed.
9. Phone Box Project
Cllr Ramm outlined progress, and the shortfall in funding of £260 from reserves to complete the project. Cllr Ramm extended her thanks to the district and county councillors for their grant funding. The clerk confirmed that funds were available.
The funding was proposed by Cllr Moseley, Cllr Greenwood seconded, Cllr Ramm covered the process involved, and what the council would get for their money.
10. Finance Report
The clerk indicated the report had been circulated, and the overpayment of the fraud money transferred to the savings account.
Cllr Greenwood queried an entry for telephone on the statement.
11. Any Other Business
Councillors discussed the bins on the playing field as raised in the public open forum. Some solutions were discussed. It was decided that councillors would consider what could be done about the lids for the period of COVID. No ideal solutions would be good, but the best options would be to use a poo bag over your hand to lift the lid.
The clerk highlighted the ownership of a portion of the dyke, and the decision of SKDC to add the maintenance to their black sluice maintenance contract. SKDC will also work to inform riparian owners of their responsibilities. The nomination for a flood warden was suggested b y SKDC, the council resolved to make this a task for a newly elected council in May. Cllr Moseley highlighted that the sandbag and sand offer would be renewed by SKDC. Cllr Greenwood indicated that Pointon had made benefit of this offer in the past.
Cllr Ramm Thanked LCC for the trimming of the trees in the village.
Cllr Ramm queried the signatories, and only one being available. Cllr Ramm proposed that the signatories be changed, this was seconded by Cllr Moseley, and all councillors voted in favour of this. Clerk queried her role in this process, and confirmed that she had requested paperwork sent to Grantham, none had been received.
12. Date of Next Meeting
16th March 2021 – Councillors agreed that this would be the last meeting before elections.
13. Close of Meeting
The meeting was closed at 20:54