November 2019 Minutes
Scopwick and Kirkby Green Parish Council
http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/ScopwickandKirkbyGreen/
Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 26th November 2019, Scopwick Village Hall
62/2019 Welcome and Public Forum
Chair of Parish Council Philip Baumber welcomed Councillors and members of the public to the meeting.
The public forum included the following:
A resident expressed concern regarding the number of recent break-ins and thefts of heating oil in the local area. The Clerk will obtain a report from the Police for the Parish Council website.
The Parish Council were asked whether they were aware of complaints of anti-social behaviour on the Springfield Estate. The Clerk had been notified of one case which was currently being investigated by the Anti-Social behaviour unit based at NKDC.
A member of the Community Speed Watch (CSW) Team asked for a more regular programme of monitoring to be established. The Clerk will contact CSW volunteers and arrange a timetable for the next three months. If any member of the Community would like to join the CSW initiative please contact the Clerk, more volunteers are needed as three people need to be present for each session.
63/2019 Attendance, declarations of interest and requests for dispensations
Attending:
Cllr Philip Baumber (Chair), Cllr Janet Flett, Cllr Alistair Brackenbury, Cllr Tim Banks, Cllr David Nelson, Cllr John Money, Cllr Owen Davies.
County Cllr Rob Kendrick; District Cllr Steve Clegg and District Cllr Jim Clarke
Officer: Jill Moran (Parish Clerk).
Cllr Banks and Cllr Davies declared an interest in item 8(a) on the agenda relating to the grant applications received and item 8(c) relating to the maintenance of Kirkby Green Churchyard as members of Scopwick Parochial Church Council.
Cllr Flett declared an interest in item 8(a) on the agenda relating to the grant applications received as a member of Scopwick and Kirkby Green Village Hall Committee.
64/2019 County and District Council Reports
County Cllr Kendrick referred to his report to the Parish Council for October which appears in full on the Parish Council Website. In addition he reported that he had attended a meeting with the Highways Department in which they announced improvements to the online reporting system for faults, ‘fix my street’. This is now available to download as an app. He agreed to look into the issue of a blocked road drain causing flooding on Farriers Court which had been reported via the ‘fix my street’ system.
Cllr Clegg had along with Cllr Clarke visited the Parish to witness the problems with the sewerage system and talk to residents and the contractors working for Anglian Water.
Cllr Clegg had discussed the issue of bikes and motorbikes using the pavement on the Springfield estate with LCC Highways. They advised that installing a physical barrier where the pavement exits onto Vicarage Lane is not in line with current policy as it may restrict disabled access. Cllr Clegg agreed to contact NKDC to raise the issue of the need for a sign at this junction and for replacement of the old signs on the pathway next to the church leading onto Main Street
Cllr Clarke reported that he had attended a cyber security meeting as part of fraud awareness week.
65/2019 Q and A with Matt Moore Customer Liaison Manager Anglian Water
Mr Moore answered questions sent to him by the Parish Council and took further questions from the public.
Q - Will the present sewerage system be able to accept flows from further development?
A - Mr Moore said that Anglian Water(AW) are only statutory consultees where the planning application is for 10 or more properties. For any smaller development they will only comment if requested to do so. In looking at new development AW run a foul water flow model -ie- they don’t consider any other issues such as groundwater infiltration into a system. On the basis of a foul water assessment the Parish does have capacity for further development. Also since 2012 all new development has had to take infiltration into consideration when applying for planning permission.
Q – What areas of the system have to date been relined and by what method?
A – In the last two years £300,000 has been spent by AW in the Parish. An area from the pumping station on Main Street Scopwick towards the B1188 was relined using a polymer lining system. Recent investigation using cameras has found that this liner is effective in stopping the ground water infiltration into the sewerage system.
Q - Where is the ground water infiltration into the sewer happening at the moment?
A - Due to the recent wet weather the water table is higher than in 2018. As a result ground water infiltration is now affecting the system west of the relined section.
Q - When are all the remedial works required going to be carried out?
A – AW have put cameras into the currently unlined sewers. They are identifying areas of ground water ingress. A decision will then be made regarding what action will be taken and the Parish Council will be informed. Mr Moore said that a decision should be reached before Christmas. If it was decided to do further relining this work would have to wait until the water table dropped and ground water pressure reduced. When asked why AW are not going to replace the sewers Mr Moore stated that AW do not routinely replace whole sewerage systems. If the sewer is damaged they will replace that section, however that is not the case in the Parish. The main sewer is approximately 50 years old. A sewer has joints to allow flexibility to cope with ground movement over time. Relining with a polymer lining retains the flexibility whilst stopping ground water ingress at the joints. This technology allows the work to be done with minimum disruption from manholes and is stronger than the original pipe.
Q - Are the reduced number of tankers we have at the moment adequate - bearing in mind recent domestic flooding since the have been reduced?
A – The recent domestic flooding in Scopwick was investigated by AW and found to be due to a blockage in the sewer which has been removed. Managers at AW are concerned to reduce the ‘carbon footprint’ and therefore to limit the use of tankers. They also appreciate the disruption caused by the tankers to neighbouring properties. For this reason AW installed an additional pump on the Scopwick pumping station site so that the tankers did not have to use their noisy on board pumps. He acknowledged however that the tankers presented a disturbance at night. He said that AW had applied to the Environment Agency for permission to ‘over pump’ water into Scopwick beck. He said that the water in the system was 98% ground water and that if given permission the water flowing into the beck from the sewers would be carefully monitored as a condition of that permission.
Mr Moore was also asked about damage to the bridge head over the drainage culvert outside the pumping station which had been caused by the tankers. Some of the bricks had fallen into the water.
He said that immediate action would be taken to remove any blockage and that when the tankering had stopped the bridge and surrounding area would be repaired.
He stated that AW were working with partner agencies; Lincolnshire County Council, NKDC, the Drainage Board and the Environment Agency. There were similar problems in all ‘spring’ villages.
66/2019 Minutes
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on the 1st October 2019 were approved and signed by the Chair as the Minutes.
67/2019 Reports
(a) Clerk’s Report
i. Defibrillator – Funding has been applied for to purchase a defibrillator for Kirkby Green.
ii. Springfield Estate - Since the summer there has been no repeat of the regular use of the pavement on the Springfield Estate by motorbikes. However the path between Vicarage Lane and Springfield continues to be used regularly by cyclists.
iii. Broadband – Stephen Flett had reported that the Openreach Field Manager after assessing the parish quoted the following cost for a co-funded project to build the infrastructure in Scopwick for fibre broadband:
- Core community – 114 Premises
- Initial Estimate – £448,160.00
- Cost Per Premise – £3,931.23
The high cost reflected the amount of civil engineering work involved. Stephen advised Openreach that it was unlikely that all properties in Scopwick would want to participate and so the cost per household would be considerably higher. The Manager agreed to discuss with the ‘technical team’ whether a cheaper solution is possible and Stephen will report back to the Parish Council once he has all the information. In the meantime he suggested inviting the Broadband Programme Manager at LCC to a public meeting in Scopwick, if possible with the Openreach Field Manager, to discuss ways forward.
iv. Weir blockage – the weir in the beck east of Scopwick is a ‘low gauging weir’ belonging to the Environment Agency. It was last cleared of silt and weeds by them in 2013. The current blockage has been reported to them and their local assets team is assessing and will take action to clear if required.
v. Verge works –Sally Glover of LCC Highways advised that the extended scheme to improve the roadway outside the village hall, agreed with the Parish Council, will form part of the programme of works for next year and take place in March 2020.
Planning applications received/decided since last meeting:
1. Installation of drop kerb - 79 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3NW Ref. No: 19/1438/HOUS | Received date: Tue 08 Oct 2019 | Status: Pending Consideration | Case Type: Planning Application
2. Replacement windows to front elevation of property - 5 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3NR Ref. No: 19/1343/LBC | Received date: Tue 17 Sep 2019 | Status: Approved T1 Robinia - fell; T2 Silver birch - reduce to 2m height, 1m spread; T3 Judas - reduce to leave 1m gap away from house, reduce whole tree by 2m; T4 Pine - raise crown to 6m; T5 Walnut - crown reduce by 3m; T6 Sycamore - fell; - 5 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3NR Ref. No: 19/1371/TCA | Received date: Tue 01 Oct 2019 | Status: Decided - TPO not required
3. Erection of brick chimney (Retrospective) - Watermill Farm Cottages The Mill Main Street Kirkby Green Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3PE Ref. No: 19/1232/FUL | Received date: Tue 03 Sep 2019 | Status: Approved
4. Application to discharge conditions 4(Tree Protection Plan) and 6(Planting) attached to application 17/1735/FUL - Erection of 1no. bungalow. - Springfield Estate Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire Ref. No: 19/1176/DISCON | Received date: Fri 16 Aug 2019 | Status: Approved
(b) Playing Field Committee Report
The draft minutes from the meeting in October had been circulated and are on the Parish Council Website. The next event is the Race night on Saturday 30th November.
(c) Village Hall Committee Report
Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee had been circulated.
Cllr Flett as Chair of the Committee gave a report as follows:
The next event organised by the Committee is the carol evening on the 17th December 2019.
The village hall had been surveyed by a structural engineer for insurance purposes. The survey found that there are no structural problems with the hall and the underpinning works completed in 2015 were successful.
(d) Neighbourhood Planning Group (NPG) Report
Cllr Money’s summarised the current activities of the Group for the Parish Council.
He gave an overview of the Neighbourhood Development Planning process and pointed out the importance of community consultation. Minutes from the NPG working group meetings had been circulated and Cllr Davies gave out a leaflet produced to update the community on the process. The information is on the Parish Council website and notice boards.
(e) Community Speed Watch Report
The letter from the Parish Council to Cllr Kendrick asking for speed reduction measures for the B1188 was passed by him to LCC Highways for consideration. The letter requested that the following measures be actioned/considered:
1. A reduction of the current speed limit of 40mph on the B1188 to 30mph.
2. The introduction of double white lines on the approach to the village along the B1188 from both directions to discourage overtaking.
3. Changing the junction of the B1188 and Main Street Scopwick to improve visibility for vehicles pulling out onto the B1188.
In addition Cllr Kendrick had met a resident concerned with the dangers of crossing the B1188 posed to school children crossing to catch the school bus.
68/Correspondence
A correspondence log was circulated by the Clerk and general correspondence noted.
69/2019 Matters considered
(a) Funding priorities for 2020/21 budget and consideration of grant applications.
The following grant applications had been received by the Clerk: from Village Hall Committee £1000 to cover the annual insurance premium on the village hall; Parochial Church Council (PCC) £1,100 to cover the costs of mowing the Vicarage Lane cemetery and cutting the hedge; and Lives.org a general request for a contribution.
It was agreed that as last year a grant for £1000 should be made to the Village Hall Committee to be paid in April 2020. Councillors considered the quote supplied by the PCC and asked for more information deferring a decision until the budget meeting in January 2020. It was agreed that a grant of £50 should be made to LIVES with immediate payment as a sum had been set aside for such donations in the 2019/20 budget.
(b) Neighbourhood Plan next steps
The Neighbourhood Planning Group (NPG) had produced a letter to be sent to local land owners in a ‘call for sites’.
The Group are receiving technical support from AECOM who are carrying out a housing needs assessment (HNA) for the parish. This is a ‘desk based’ survey drawing on assessments from the from the Local Planning Authority. When this report is completed it will form part of the evidence base to put together the first draft of the neighbourhood plan. It will also determine whether or not the group will go down the route of applying for funding to complete a site allocation as part of the plan.
It was agreed that the Clerk will send out the call for sites letter and that the NPG will meet with the Parish Council to consider the replies and the results of the HNA early in the New Year.
(c) Village maintenance:
i. Highways and footpaths
Bus Shelter – In 2010 LCC Highways raised the kerb outside the bus shelter. This has resulted in a large puddle forming on the floor of the shelter in wet weather. It was agreed that the Clerk should report the problem to LCC Highways to resolve in the first instance.
Surface Water Drainage. Most of the drains including the culvert running along the southern edge of B1188 are the responsibility of LCC highways. Where the water runs through a culvert away from the road it is the responsibility of the landowners. During the recent wet weather surface water has flooded properties on Main Street and the roadway on Farriers Court. A 2017 report (Circulated by Cllr Clegg) recommended remedial works to Scopwick surface water drainage network. A limited amount of work was done and the culvert remains obstructed. It was agreed that the Clerk will contact LCC Highways asking them to further investigate and repair the watercourse where it is their responsibility. A letter should also be written to the owners of the riparian watercourse to remind them of their legal responsibilities for maintenance of the watercourse.
Wooden footbridges over the beck. When contacted by the Clerk, both LCC Highways and Countryside Division (footpaths) had denied ownership or responsibility of the two bridges spanning the beck between the B1188 and Brookside. Councillors advised the Clerk to contact LCC Highways again as it was Lincolnshire County Council who installed the bridges over 20 years ago and maintained them since.
ii. Other
The Diocese of Lincoln have organised and paid for the repair of the churchyard wall at Kirkby Green and have agreed to pay for the grass in the churchyard at Kirkby Green to be cut as soon as the weather allows.
70. Finance
(a) Accounts summary as at 23/11/19:
- Co-operative Bank current account: £9,463.71
- Co-operative Bank deposit account: £22,927.09
- Total available funds: £32,390.80
(b) Payments approved:
Payments made since last meeting:
- J Moran salary September 2019 £428.76
- SKGVHC hall hire PFC £15.00
- P Ingamells (CB Maintenance) grass cutting inv 612 £345.00
- J Moran – Clerks expenses Aug/Sept 2019 £101.45 (Postage: 0; Other –Instant Ink £15.98; Microsoft annual subscription £59.99; stationery £15.48; Administrative £10; travel 0 )
- RoSPA playpark inspection invoice £120.00
- LALC training event lunch 18/9/19 £10.80
- PKF Littlejohn annual external audit fee £240.00
- Sprint signs sign for village hall carpark £96.00
- C Kerrigan (NPG) volunteer travel expenses £35.10
- Doddington Farms Christmas Tree £100.00
- NKDC Election costs 2019 £967.60
- J Moran salary October 2019 £428.76
- P Ingamells (CB Maintenance) grass cutting inv 631 £245.00
- SKGVHC Invoice 57 and invoice 58 (NPG) £60.00
- O Davies two poppy wreaths from British Legion £51.00
To be paid before next meeting:
- J Moran – Clerks expenses Oct /Nov 2019 £ 25.98 (Postage: 0; Other –Instant Ink £15.98; Administrative £10; travel 0 )
- J Moran salary November 2019 £428.76
- J Moran salary December 2019 £428.76
71/2019 Date of next meetings
Wednesday 15th January 2020 – Parish Council budget meeting at 7.30pm in Scopwick Village Hall.
Tuesday 28th January 2020 – Parish Council meeting 7pm in Scopwick Village Hall.
Minutes submitted by:
Jill Moran, Parish Clerk. Dorset House, Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. Tel: 07512 234965.
Email: clerkscopwick@gmail.com