July 2020 Minutes
Scopwick and Kirkby Green Parish Council
http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/ScopwickandKirkbyGreen/
Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 29th July 2020, virtual meeting via Zoom.
Attending:
Cllr Philip Baumber (Chairman), Cllr Janet Flett,, Cllr Tim Banks, Cllr David Nelson, Cllr John Money, Cllr Owen Davies and Cllr Alistair Brackenbury
Officer: Jill Moran (Parish Clerk).
20/2020 Welcome and apologies
Chairman of Parish Council Philip Baumber welcomed Councillors to the online meeting. There were no apologies and three members of the public joined to watch the meeting.
21/Declarations of Interest
Cllr Money and Cllr Banks declared an interest in items 7 (c) and (d) on the agenda.
No requests for dispensations had been received.
22/2020 Minutes
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on the 2nd June 2020 were approved and signed by the Chairman.
23/2020 Reports
Written reports were received and noted as follows:
(a) Parish Clerk’s report.
(i) Planning applications received/decided since last meeting:
1. T1 Norway Maple - reduce height by 10/12ft, reduce width by 6/8ft all round - Corner House 6 Farriers Court Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3PLRef. No: 20/0868/TCA | Received date: Fri 10 Jul 2020 | Status: Pending Consideration | Case Type: Planning Application
2. Erection of detached dwelling with integral garages and new access - Land West Of 67 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3NW Ref. No: 20/0777/FUL | Received date: Wed 24 Jun 2020 | Status: Pending Consideration | Case Type: Planning Application
3. Erection of chalet bungalow and detached garage.Land To The West Of Aisling House 69 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3NW Ref. No: 20/0820/FUL | Received date: Fri 26 Jun 2020 | Status: Pending Consideration | Case Type: Planning Application.
4. T1 Damson - removal of 3 trunks overhanging damaged fence; T2 Flowering Cherry - crown reduction of 2m; T3 Flowering cherry - fell - Springfield House 35 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3NR Ref. No: 20/0825/TCA | Received date: Fri 03 Jul 2020 Status: Pending Consideration
5.Erection of single storey rear extension and replacement detached garage - 44 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln Lincolnshire LN4 3NW Ref. No: 20/0802/HOUS | Received date: Mon 22 Jun 2020 | Status: Pending Consideration | Case Type: Planning Application
6.Installation of 1.2m high post and rail fence and 2 no. gates - Land Adjacent To Main Street And Church Lane Kirkby Green Ref. No: 20/0539/FUL | Received date: Wed 29 Apr 2020 | Status: Approved.
(ii) Police report from PCSO Nic Woolerton:
“I have looked over the incidents for the past month (20/6/20) for Scopwick and only one incident reported:
4/7/20 - Green Man lane Scopwick Heath, thought to be lights and lamping in fields. No trace of persons or vehicles on officers arrival. There have been no other crimes reported or incidents of anti-social behaviour in the Parish.”
(iii) Clerk’s notice
The Clerk has given notice in writing to the Chairman. She has agreed to give two month’s notice or until a new clerk is in post, whichever is the sooner. The post will be advertised via Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC), in local newsletters and on social media.
(b) Village Hall Committee
Cllr Flett reported that:
“Since the last Parish Council meeting I have attended three zoom calls led by Community Lincs regarding the opening and future use of Village Halls. There have also been several communications from our insurer and many updates on the government website. Although officially allowed to open from earlier this month, the only ones to have taken this step are those with services such as food banks and those being used by their local school. Ours is not used for such purposes.
We have followed guidance and made the changes which will believe will continue. For example, hand driers and fan heaters have been disconnected and hand towels replaced with disposable paper ones and hand sanitisers. I hope by the time we re-open some conditions, such as taking down curtains and rotating chairs so they are rested 72 hours before reuse, will not be necessary. Our caretaker has continued to visit the hall on a regular basis to check on security and to run taps to help prevent Legionnaires disease.
We have had our annual PAT testing done, fire extinguishers have been inspected and the emergency lighting has been tested. We will be ready to start when we believe it is safe and not before September.
None of our regular groups have expressed a wish to start as yet. I have asked them to consult members and to give their best guess. Brownies have their own national guidelines to follow. We will be doing our own risk assessment and the advice is that we ask each group to do the same and provide us with a copy. Users will be responsible for cleaning after use. Each group will have to keep a list of attendees and notify us if any develop symptoms. Should they have Covid we have to shut the hall for 7 days and deep clean.
We have continued to conduct the socially distanced Village Draw and I have sent out various village news emails.
The Village Show was cancelled some time ago but the committee are trying to generate a bit of community spirit by marking VJ Weekend August 15th and 16th. They have asked the community to decorate gardens with sunflowers, scarecrows with a 1940s theme and bunting. There will also be a village based quiz so there will be plenty of things to look out for. Several emails have gone out about this and there are posters around the village.”
(c) Neighbourhood Planning Group (NPG)
The NPG have published their draft Vision and Objectives (V and O’s) for the Neighbourhood Plan on their website, the Parish Council website and via the village newsletter and church magazine. The aim is to highlight the V and O’s and to invite comments from members of the public.
The draft minutes from their working party meeting on the 6th July 2020 are on both of the above websites. The next step is to discuss the final AECOM reports and to meet with the Local Planning Authority. It is anticipated that the programme for the future work of the NPG will be presented to the Parish Council before their next meeting in September.
(d) Playing Field Committee
The application for funding for new play equipment to WREN (recycling) has been successful. The Playing Field Committee met on Monday 27th July to consider updated quotes and specifications. The next step will be the signing of a funding agreement by the Parish Council and then the awarding of contracts. Both the playing field and the play park areas of the playing field are now open to users although subject to social distancing etc. As the area is not cleaned nor monitored, other than a weekly inspection, a notice will put up reminding users of this fact and asking them to act responsibly.
The annual RoSPA inspection of the play areas will take place in August.
(e) Community Speed Watch
There have been no community speed watch sessions since the start of the year, to date volunteers are not prepared to restart as social distancing would be difficult.
Cllr Brackenbury presented the statistics from the Speed Indication Device from Kirkby Green during the period 25/5/20 to 25/7/20. These are available on the parish council website. The average speed recorded was 33 mph in a 30 mph zone.
(f) District and County Councillor reports
These had been circulated to Councillors and placed on the parish council website.
24/2020 Correspondence
A list of general correspondence received by the Clerk was noted.
25/2020 Finance
(a) Accounts summary as at 25/7/20
- Co-operative Bank current account: £12,116.12
- Co-operative Bank deposit account: £27,983.92
- Total funds: £40,100.04
Copy budget circulated.
(b) Payments approved:
(i) from 1st June 2020 to 25th July 2020:
- 03-Jun-20 SO CB Maintenance grass cutting invoice 728 £450.00
- 03-Jun-20 SO J Moran Clerks expenses Apr/May 2020 £26.74
- 01-Jul-20 SO CB Maintenance Grass cutting invoice 752 £450.00
- 01-Jul-20 SO J Moran Salary June 2020 £428.76
(ii) To be paid before next meeting:
- J Moran clerks expenses June/July 2020: HP instant ink £15.98; Admin costs £10.00 £25.98
- J Moran salary July 2020 £428.76
- J Moran salary August 2020 £428.76
26/2020 Matters considered
(a) Village maintenance:
A report of a broken plank on the wooden footbridge at the eastern end of the village green was reported to Lincolnshire County Council who own and maintain the structure. The Clerk agreed to check with the Council that the bridge had been made safe.
Best kept garden competition. This will take place this year and Councillors Flett and Nelson agreed to organise and judge the competition to take place around VJ Day.
An email had been received by the Clerk from a resident at Kirkby Green regarding the poor state of the triangle of land mown by the Parish Council. Details were sent round the Councillors showing the area currently mowed which includes an area formerly owned by Blankney Estates but sold by them to the owner of the adjacent bungalow. Cllr Baumber agreed to look into the matter and found that the grass cutter had been unable to access the area on his last visit to the parish but will ensure that it is cut as soon as possible.
(b) Planning application 20/0802/HOUS
Proposal: Erection of single storey rear extension and replacement detached garage Location: 44 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln LN4 3NW. Councillors agreed to recommend this application for approval as a straightforward and reasonable proposal.
Councillors Money and Banks left the meeting before the consideration of the next two applications in which they had declared an interest.
(c) Planning application 20/0820/FUL
Proposal: Erection of chalet bungalow and detached garage. Location: Land To The West Of Aisling House 69 Main Street Scopwick LN4 3NW.
Councillors discussed the objections of the neighbouring landowners who had expressed concern that the building of further properties on the site would have a negative impact by exacerbating an existing problem with surface water flooding at times when the water table is high. Councillors agreed that flooding of neighbouring properties had been an issue before the construction of the existing two buildings on the site and that the problem was not resolved, nor had it been properly addressed by the applicant, either in the initial application or the response to the objections lodged by the neighbours. For this reason the Councillors resolved to object to the application, recommending refusal.
(d) Planning application 20/0777/FUL
Proposal: Erection of detached dwelling with integral garages and new access Location: Land West Of 67 Main Street Scopwick Lincoln LN4 3NW.
The applicant was online and available to answer questions from the Councillors. They discussed the location of the proposed dwelling to avoid the overhead power cables; the flooding issue, which applied to this application as it did the previous one with the same objections, and the future of the pond at the front of the site. Councillors agreed, as with the previous application, that this application failed to address the ongoing surface water drainage issues and the potential for increased risk of flooding of the site itself, the highway and neighbouring property.
In addition it was noted that planning permission for the existing properties on the site, which had been developed by the applicant, had initially been refused due to the presence and proximity of the pond. The pond is the only such feature visible in the village and the proposed new dwelling was considered to be very close to the edge. The Councillors considered it important to retain the pond as a feature and that any application for planning should include a biodiversity survey as the pond had at the time of the previous application been found to include important species of flora.
Councillors commented that the pond filled with water when the water table rose and had been full to the brim as recently as last winter.
For these reasons the Councillors resolved to object to the application, recommending refusal.
27/2020 Date of next meeting
29th September 2020 in Scopwick Villlage Hall
Minutes submitted by:
Jill Moran, Parish Clerk. Dorset House, Vicarage Lane, Scopwick. Tel: 07512 234965.
Email: clerkscopwick@gmail.com