February 2022 DRAFT Minutes
MINUTES OF A CARLTON SCROOP AND NORMANTON-ON-CLIFFE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING held on Monday 21 February 2022 at The Village Hall, Newark Lane, Carlton Scroop
Present:
Cllr J Calder Cllr J Baines Chair (and interim Clerk)
Cllr S Baker-Browne
Cllr B Hankinson
Cllr A Reed
Cllr J Worrell
In attendance:
Cty Cllr A Maughan
Dist Cllr I Stokes
Item Action
Public Forum: Commenced at 7.20 pm. There were 22 members of the public present. A matter concerning a possible conflict of interest within Council was raised and the Chair informed that this would be addressed at Item 3 on the agenda. There were no road repair issues and members of the public were - particularly interested in progress on matters in relation to Planning Application S22/0091 which was Item 4 on the agenda. Information regarding a possible 8-acre land purchase near Howdale Lane, Carlton Scroop was shared.
Item 1 – Welcome Remarks.
1. The Chair welcomed all to the meeting. He paid particular thanks to Mrs Janet Bullock who continued to do above and beyond in support of the community and who had prepared the hall including setting the seating for this meeting.
2. The Chair advised that in respect of Item 4 he would provide an update on progress then invite Cllrs Maughan and Stokes to further update. Thereafter all members of the public would be invited to comment.
Item 2 -To Receive Apologies for Absence.
3. No apologies had been received.
Item 3 - Declaration of Pecuniary Interest & Dispensations.
4. A member of the public cited that Cllr Baines had been seen assisting the occupants on the site of Planning Application S22/0091. It was stated that this support highlighted a conflict of interest and that Cllr Baines was therefore not in a position to carry out duties in respect of the planning application as a member of Council.
5. Cllr Baines advised that he had been involved in work solely to do with Baines Estates Ltd in planting hedges to secure the boundary. He further covered that he remained able to fully meet his councillor responsibilities and that he had no conflict of interest.
6. No conflict of interest had been declared. The Chair carried on with the meeting. -
Item 4 – Update on Public Meeting of 24 January 2022 in Respect of Planning Application S22/0091 -
7. The application was retrospective in respect of unauthorised development of land adjacent to the A607 on Main Street, Carlton Scroop. The public meeting on 24 January highlighted a great deal of objections with the development and uncertainty on what was the way ahead.
8. On initial review the Parish Council viewed the planning application as weak and not a suitable development for embedding into Carlton Scroop. There had been a Zoom meeting with SKDC planners, county councillors and the Parish Council. SKDC assured that they were fully aware of the situation and had legal mechanisms lined-up should they prove necessary. The closing date for representations was 4 March 2022. The Parish Council had commissioned the services of a planning consultant to interrogate the application and submit a report highlighting its deficiencies. This would accompany representations against the application by the Parish Council.
9. The importance of individual objections being raised to SKDC could not be overstated. The weight of interest from individual also sends a message. After 4 March all the comments will be considered by the case officer and the application will be considered at an SKDC Planning Committee meeting. It was felt that this would be on 21 April 2022. Individuals could speak at this meeting for a maximum of 3 minutes.
10. It was disappointing that the applicant had undertaken works over the weekend despite a stop notice being in place. It was further disappointing that there was no mechanism to contact anyone in SKDC to hinder such unauthorised works. SKDC advised that they were not resourced to provide such a service. Representatives had since visited the site but informed that it was difficult to determine exactly what work had been carried out and it was therefore unlikely that early legal action would be triggered.
11. It was highlighted that failures in the Local Development Plan by not planning for sufficient numbers of sites for gypsies and travellers was contributing to such unauthorised developments as seen in Carlton Scroop.
12. Cllr Stokes advised that he was monitoring the situation very closely and had visited the site.
13. Cllr Maughan expressed disappointment due to the lack of preparedness from SKDC to take action in respect of weekend working on the site. This despite having previously received SKDC assurances that there would be no response gaps and that measures were “loaded and ready to be applied”. Cllr Maughan emphasised the importance of people submitting their individual objections as this helps reflect the community feeling on the planning application.
14. It was highlighted that many residents were fearful of submitting objections because they could then be identified as part of the process and they were concerned over their personal safety. The SKDC Case Officer had provided information outlining that, in cases, personal information could be redacted. Nevertheless, there remained concern that personal information was still identifiable and available to the applicant’s solicitor. Individuals were advised to send objections via the clerk and the Parish Council would ensure that all messages of objection would be included within the Parish Council response.
15. Numerous points were raised regarding the families in the application including their paying of Council Tax, paying for water usage, electricity and bin collections. There were also concerns over danger associated with access to A607. Additionally, it was mentioned that previous planning applications at Charity Street had been turned down due to the village being ”unsustainable” and not suitable for new development.
16. The Chair informed that numerous points of objection were already included in the planning consultant’s report on the application and that this report would be placed on the Parish Council website. -
17. It was raised that there was easy access to land owned by the Charities Committee and there was concern that this land could be illegally occupied. A representative from the Charities Committee was present and volunteered to investigate this matter.
18. It was noted that some volunteers were available to help hand deliver any leaflets.
Item 5 – To Receive Any Reports From District and County Councillors
19. Cllr Maughan advised that in respect of the request to reduce the speed limit in Carlton Scroop the matter would be heard by the Planning and Regulation Committee on 14 March 2022. He also notified that Lincolnshire County Council had approved a 5% rise in its council tax precept. He explained that this was judged unavoidable as it was necessary to put this and reserves into plugging a £12M funding gap in government road funding. He further provided comprehensive information on planning application Pl/0018/22 New Earth Solutions (West) Ltd, near Caythorpe.
Item 6 – To Approve Draft Minutes Of The Parish Council Meeting Of 22 November 2021
20. The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2021 were approved.
Item 7 – Matters Arising From The Meeting of 22 November 2021
21.
a) Parish Plan – The Parish was being progressed and this item would be carried forward to the next meeting.
Action: Clerk
b) Request to Reduce Speed Limit to 30 MPH. The matter would be discussed at the Planning and Regulation committee meeting on 14 March 2022. Cllr Maughan advised that he would be present. The Chair volunteered to send a separate letter to the Chair of the Planning and Regulation Committee outlining parish Council’s concerns.
Action: Chair
c) Mailshot Brochure to Residents. Cllr Hankinson advised that the welcome and information brochure on Carlton Scroop had been on hold and needed Parish Council member details to include in it. It was noted that a local resident was on standby to have the document printed. It was felt that with a mailshot going out this was a timely opportunity to also mention matters of the moment to residents. Cllr Hankinson suggested a separate flyer within the pamphlet. This was thought to be an excellent idea.
Action: Cllr Hankinson
d) Carlton Scroop Charity Committee Constitution and Confirm Charity Committee Appointee. The constitution of the Carlton Scroop Charity Committee had been received. This clarified the Parish Council’s role and the Parish Council appointed Daniel Sheard in place of Alan Thomas with immediate effect.
e) Defibrillator Checklist. defibrillator checklist had been obtained but more information was required in respect of access to A the box near the golf club. There was also a need to look over the defibrillator at Normanton question to ensure it remains fit for purpose. It was believed that there was a maintenance contract but this required further investigation. However, there was no defibrillator policy or monthly checklist in place.
f) It was agreed that Cllr Calder would make enquiries over a maintenance contract, check access arrangements and liaise with Cllr Worrell to arrange a site visit.
Action: Cllr Calder Cllr Worrell
g) Bus Shelter Location Normanton. Cllr Maughan was investigating. This would be carried forward to the next meeting.
Action: Cllr Maughan
h) Asset Register. The asset register had been updated and was contained in the SYNC.Com folder for reference and for checking the accuracy of the locations of items.
Action: All
i) Councillors Email Addresses. All councillors now had unique email addresses for use in all matters of Council business
Item 8 - Planning Matters
22. As an adjacent parish council, the planning application Pl/0018/22 New Earth Solutions (West) Ltd, affecting Caythorpe was discussed. After detailed consideration it was agreed that no representations would be presented.
Item 9 – Finance
23. Finance Report. The finance report was presented. It was supported by excel spreadsheets showing detailed breakdowns of all transactions and performance against budget. Bank reconciliations were provided for Nov 21, Dec 21 and Jan 22. All income and expenditure over the period reflected items previously approved within the budget. The budget was in a healthy position aided by savings from clerk salary costs of £2600.
24. The financial report was agreed.
25. Planning Consultant Report. The planning consultant’s report and its cost of £480.00 was agreed
Action: Clerk
26. Budget 2022/23. The draft budget prepared by Cllrs Worrel, Reed and Calder was agreed.
27. SYNC.COM Upgrade. The Council was using the free version of the software. This was helpful but to safeguard more council records and build-up a library of useful information including items such as contracts, insurance policy, policies an upgrade was necessary. Cost £72.
28. Decision. It was decided to upgrade SYNC.COM
Action: Clerk
Item 10. Parish Plan Objective.
29. Tree Pruning / Hedging Work in Recreation Park Boundary and Cemetery Area. A parish plan objective had previously been approved to improve the recreation park and cemetery area.
30. It was outlined that there were two methods to maintain the beech hedges. One was hedge lapping and one written quote had been presented in advance of the meeting and a further 2 written quotes at the meeting. The other was hedge cutting. There was long discussion to determine the best method to be applied; however, insufficient information had been provided in advance of the meeting to enable a fully informed decision to be made. It was noted that time constraints may make it necessary to delay the work until September/October. However, if possible, work could be planned to start immediately after the way ahead being agreed at the meeting on the 28 March
31. Decision it was decided that Cllrs Baines, Baker-Browne, Calder and Hankinson would take forward and inform at the next meeting.
Item 11. Highways.
Cllr Baines Cllr Baker- Browne Cllr Calder
32. There were no issues on Fix My Street and no other matters reported. -
Item 12. Recruitment Of New Council Members.
33. There had been enquiries from several residents but to date no formal applications had been received.
Item 13. Clerk Recruitment
34. An advert for the position would be placed on the LALC website.
Action: Chair
Item 14. Standing Orders
35. Cllr Calder had submitted a short paper highlighting that standing orders did not reflect the updated government guidance within “Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities” in respect of using Parish Council website as the prime means of communication. In particular the standing orders should be updated to reflect that the website is used to timely notify of meetings. Hard copies can still be displayed at suitable village locations.
36. Decision. Standing orders would be updated to reflect use of website as a prime means of communication for Council business.
Action: Clerk
Item 15. General Correspondence.
37. There were numerous pieces of general correspondence relating to Planning Application S22/0091. All matters have been covered with public participation at this meeting.
Item 16. Dates of Future Meeting
38. Meetings will be held on the following Mondays:
28 March 2022
23 May 2022 (Annual Meeting of Council also Annual Parish Meeting)
25 July 2022 -
26 September 2022
28 November 2022
30 January 2023
27 March 2023
End of Meeting. The meeting closed at 22.16 hrs
J Calder
For Clerk
9 March 2022