2023 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

MINUTES POINTON & SEMPRINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Tuesday 20th June 2023 at 7.30pm in St Gilbert Primary School

Councillors Present: Cllrs Christie, Clarke, Green, Keeley, Wesley (Chair).

In attendance: D. Cllr Dixon Warren, Parish Clerk Boden, a representative (Chair) of the football club and 12 members of the public.

To be noted that the meeting may be recorded for the purpose of transparency.

23037. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION

To receive reports from outside bodies.

Report from C.Cllr Hill. No report received.

Report from D. Cllr Dixon-Warren. June report attached below.

Questions or Points raised by residents and members of the public.

A resident explained that they had been contacted by LCC Highways stating that they will be investigating and hopefully repairing the broken drain. However, it has been closed on Fix my Street. The clerk added that at the moment she had not been sent any notification regarding road closures, but she will add them to the noticeboard and website as soon as she has the dates.

It was raised that the agenda was mainly about the playing field and Pavilion and there was nothing on there regarding other resident’s concerns. Cllr Wesley explained this was because at present the Council had not received any updates, but it was still being worked on in the background.

A member of public thanked D Cllr Dixon Warren and the clerk for helping with the grass cutting around the bungalows.

The flower beds on the village entrances are looking sorry for themselves and it may be easier to remove them.

A resident felt the roundabout was rotten and should be removed. The clerk explained to the Cllrs that the playground inspection is due in August, and it would be on the agenda for next month.

COUNCIL SESSION

23038. To receive and accept apologies for absence. It was resolved to accept the apologies from Cllr Greenwood due to personal reasons.

23039. Declarations of interest. There were no declarations of interest.

23040. To approve the minutes of the meeting held on the 23rd May 2023 and for the chair to sign. It was resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on the 23rd May 2023 and for the chair to sign.

23041. Finances:

a)To receive the clerk’s report on payments between meetings.

It was resolved to accept the payments made between the meetings. The clerk as Responsible Financial Officer had under delegated power and in accordance with Standing Orders approached Zurich as the Insurance provider for 2023/24. BHIB had quoted £1057.10 for the same cover.

b)To approve payments as list below.

It was resolved to approve the payments above.

c)To approve payments received as below.

It was resolved to accept the payments received above.

d)To consider and approve the bank reconciliation. It was resolved to approve the bank reconciliation.

23042. Asset Register.

a)To consider and add the goal posts to the asset register. Cllr Green had found previous minutes that stated that the goal posts had been purchased by the PC. Members of the FC stated that they had paperwork to say they had been purchased by themselves. It was resolved for the item to be deferred and for the FC to send a copy across to the clerk.

b)To consider and approve the Asset Register and the formation of an asset inspection register. It was resolved to approve the updated asset register and for an asset inspection register to be created.

23043. Pavilion

a)To consider the report from the inspection carried out on the 3rd June. An inspection was carried out on the 3rd June by a number of Cllrs. Cllr Green gave the report. There needs to be a lot of work carried out both on the outside and inside. The extension has a lot of breeze blocks and bricks loose and there is a decking area on the side that has plenty of loose planks. The removal of a wasp’s nest is required and a general tidy up around the perimeter of the field also needs to be carried out.

Inside needs stripping out in general. In the changing area there is a leaking toilet, and the shower area is mouldy, with a slight bow to the roof. The Chair of the FC wanted it to be noted that the FC upgraded the shower area a number of years ago and there was nothing wrong with them.

The PC resolved for the Pavilion to be closed at the end of the tenancy and for a building inspection to be arranged. The clerk will arrange this through SKDC. The FC said that they would retreat to The Old Ship public house but would like access to the changing rooms.

23044. Football Club 

a)To consider and discuss the fees for the forthcoming season, 2023-2024. It was resolved that due to the closure of the Pavilion in the short term, the pitch fees would be charged separately from the Pavilion and the Pavilion fees agreed once the Pavilion was opened.

The FC were asked how many home games were scheduled over the 23-24 season. There are usually 35-40 home games played between the teams. They usually train once a week though there is no training in winter to save the pitches.

It was resolved to charge £25 per match without facilities.

The PC asked for it to be minuted that they are not asking for the FC to leave Pointon.

b)To consider the creation of an agreement between the Parish Council and the Football Club. There is already an agreement, and it is up for renewal next year. The PC does not have a copy of the agreement and it was asked if the FC would send a copy to the clerk. The renewal of the agreement was deferred until the Pavilion is open again.

23045. Playing Field.

a)To consider the control of dogs on the playing field. Whilst most of the public are in control of their dogs there has been a number of occasions where two large dogs have been alone on the playing field without their owner. They enter the field from a residence with a gate onto the field. The placing of the gate is an agreement between the PC and the homeowner, and it is believed that there is no such agreement. It was resolved that the clerk write to the homeowner.

b)To consider the need for access to the playing field from the Public House. It was resolved that there is no need to have access to the playing field from the Public House, as access can be obtained from the public footpath. The clerk is to write to the Public House.

23046. Date and time of next Parish Council Meeting Tuesday 18th July at 7.30pm.

The meeting closed at 8.27pm

District Councillor Richard Dixon-Warren's Report

Email: Richard.Dixon-Warren@southkesteven.gov.uk

Mobile Telephone: 07785 353951

June 2023

Local Elections

Following the local elections on 4 May in which no single political party achieved an overall majority in SKDC, an Independent-led alliance took control, narrowly beating the Conservative/Independent SK Coalition by one vote. The alliance comprises various brands of Independents, Green Party, Labour and Liberal Democrats.  

I am now a member of the Opposition. I will work with and hold to account the new administration for all Aveland residents.

The new Leader of SKDC, Councillor Richard Cleaver (Independent), set out his ambitions for Stamford, Bourne and the Deepings the Stamford Mercury on 10 June, an extract of which is:

“…The new council’s first task is to understand fully the state of SKDC’s finances in the present and then to understand what the future prospects are, given the commitments we have and the challenges we must face. This work is already in progress, and once completed we can then move forward with confidence.

Before last month’s election, we said that under new leadership the council would become nimbler, more creative, more caring, and more committed – and I’m pleased to say that the new cabinet – made up of Independent, Green, and Liberal Democrat councillors is already proving to be all of these things.

The new cabinet also intends to be more open, accountable, and accessible – and to that end we will be holding public drop-in sessions in Stamford, Bourne, and the Deepings over the coming months...”.

I await his ambitions for the rural areas of South Kesteven...

Local Government Chronicle Awards 

South Kesteven District Council was among the finalists for the award of ‘Most Improved Council of the Year’ in 2022-23 at the Local Government Chronicle Awards in early June.  The New Leader and Deputy Leader were pleased to attend the awards ceremony in London with the Chairman, Chief Executive and Assistant Director of Leisure & Culture.  

This recognised the significant progress made by South Kesteven District Council in the past year and the work, mostly before elections on 4 May, that made this progress happen.