2022 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

OSGODBY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 14th February 2022 in the Village Hall, at 7.30pm.        200

Present: Cllr M Bodman (Chair), Cllr M Heavens (Vice-Chair), Cllr J Smith, Cllr A Wilkinson. Cllr S Masterman.

In attendance: Cllr S Bunney, Wendy Sycamore (Openreach).

15 minute public forum.

15 members of the public in attendance.

One member of the public reported potholes by the footpath near Whitehouse farm.  Action: Parish Clerk to have a look and report to WLDC.

Also, the footpath along Low Road, it was requested that a footpath be laid from the A46 to the lay-by. People, including school and college students are getting off the bus at the bus stop on A46 and walking in the dark to the layby.  Cllr Bodman informed the meeting that this was a good suggestion and may be possible under the County Councillor funding grant, as the proposal submitted for a path from the end of Sand Lane to the woods was not accepted.

1. Apologies for Absence

None received. (Cllr Masterman arrived at 19.40hrs)

2. Chairman’s and Councillor’s remarks

Wendy Sycamore (Openreach) is stuck in traffic and is expected approx. 8pm.

It is with great disappointment that we have received the resignation of Cllr V Mason, due to ill health.Councillors and those present acknowledged the hard work that Mr Mason had put into the Parish Council over the years and his presence as part of the committee will be missed.His resignation therefore creates a vacancy for a Councillor.

The order has been placed for the new cycle pods.Works have been awarded for the war memorial railings which should be started in the next week.

The order for the speed cameras can be placed, it was agreed that the quote was acceptable. Action: Parish Clerk to place the order.

3. To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the 2011 Localism Act

None received.

4. Reports from District & County Councillors, Police and the Village Hall, if present

Cllr Bunney updated the meeting regarding the parking issues – A report has been compiled from parishioner responses and it is suggested that a meeting is held with all concerned parties to discuss issues raised by parishioners. The report has been submitted to the school and Pegasus. Both parties are keen to attend a meeting to discuss possible solutions. The Head of the school suggested this could be after Easter, when the building work had been completed.Cllr Bunney suggested that this also included other stakeholders including the Village Hall committee.It was also suggested that this is chaired independently, by someone external to the village.Cllr Bunney also discussed that the County Council should have put back the markings outside the school

and there is a national drive, which has not been approved as yet, that there is mandatory speed of 20mph outside schools. Action: Parish Clerk to consider a date for the meeting.  One parishioner asked Cllr Bunney about parking for Pegasus staff, and whether a given area was identified as part of planning, however this was not the case.

Cllr Bunney reported a 4.9% increase on the County Council levy, 1.9% of this will go towards road repairs. 2.9% to adult social care. The Council are also looking at flooding issues in the county. District Council; there is a discussion ongoing at North Owersby regarding smells impacting on the village from Kingerby.

Speed cameras and signage were commended by the Council and the Parish Council were thanked for their work on this.

Village hall report: Bingo night on 4 April and a planned litter pick in April 2022.

5. Minutes of the meeting on 10th January 2022 and matters arising

The minutes of the meeting were agreed.

Matters arising – the replacement cycle pods have been ordered and the additional cost of £288.00 has been paid.

Speed signs – Quotation has been received and circulated, for a total of £4865.52 a 3% discount has been applied. Delivery is approx. 1-5 weeks depending on stock levels.Delivery will be arranged to Cllr Heavens. All agreed to go ahead with this. Action: Parish Clerk to order the devices.

Tree maintenance has been carried out around the village.

Provision of a footpath from Sand Lane to Osgodby woods.Due to the high cost, this was rejected by the County Council, however an alternative project was suggested using the minor works initiative.Action: Carried forward to the next meeting.

6. Correspondence

WLDC – Green Bin subscription has been paid for the coming year.

Notification from Mr Hildred that he will no longer be cutting the grass on the village green, memorial and cemetery.Notices have been posted on the website and Facebook for a replacement contractor and a quote has been received, which has been circulated.

Action: Parish Clerk to award the contract, having established that the grass will be collected and not mulched.

Email from a parishioner regarding the advertising boards at Beckside Machinery, which WLDC planning is dealing with.

Communication from Marshalls funeral directors reserving grave space for Mr James Rodney Smith. Payment received.

Application has been completed for funding of £700 towards the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.Parish Clerk requested updated information regarding cost before this can be sent. Action: Members of the Jubilee Committee to advise of revised costs.

7. Planning

APPLICATION REFERENCE NO:144317

APPLICATION TYPE:Full Planning Application

APPLICATION CATEGORY:Change of Use

Comments back to the Parish Clerk by 22 February 2022

8. Financial Matters – ratification of payment schedule for February 2022

Income received £225.00 – Burial fees.

Bank accounts:

Business current account £20583.83

Business reserve account £16341.41

Business reserve account £537.69

It was agreed that a donation of £500 to the Platinum Jubilee celebration, would be paid.  The Parish Clerk requested information as to where this should be paid, which is to be confirmed.

February payments:

9. Councillor vacancy – Co-option

Interest has been received from a parishioner (Mr Ian Johnson), who has submitted a CV and application. It was agreed that Mr Johnson had a lot of experience and qualities that he could being to the Committee.

Proposed – Cllr Heavens

Seconded – Cllr A Wilkinson

Action: Parish Clerk to send Mr Johnson the appropriate documentation and training dates.

10. Burial ground – compulsory purchase

Currently have 29 burial spaces left in the cemetery.

For quite a while now, the Parish Council have been trying to acquire land to expand the

cemetery. The land cannot be sold at the moment as the owner has life occupancy.Cllr Smith had spoken to Perkins (Estate agents) regarding this.Other options for consideration would be Sands Lane, although the high-water table would be an issue.

There would obviously be a full consultation regarding the purchase or change of use for any land. It was agreed that it would be best to have cemetery land all together and wait until such a time that the land becomes available. Perkins and the owners are aware that the Parish Council are interested in purchasing the land.

11. Tenancies – Sand Land and Top Road

Tenancy agreements for both Sand Land and Top Road are up for renewal on 31 March 2022.

The current tenant of Sand Lane (0.9 acre) does not wish to renew the agreement for the coming year (from 1 April 2022).Another parishioner is interested in taking on the agreement. The current agreement for Sands Lane is £247.50 per annum 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. An increase of 10% was imposed in 2020.

Top road (3.12 acres) a 10% increase was imposed in 2020, the current agreement is £330.00, from 1 April 2021 – 31 March 2022. Current tenant wishes to continue with the agreement for 2 years.She is currently maintaining hedgerows and spraying the land as part of the agreement. Action: The tenancy fees to be reviewed and agreed at the next meeting.

12. Review accessibility and privacy statements

Parish Clerk outlined the requirements to update the above through the website.Action: Parish Clerk to action.

13. Gigabit scheme

Wendy Sycamore, Openreach, attended the meeting and updated parishioners as to the current situation regarding broadband in the area. Wendy looks after the East Midlands area and her role is to look at how rural broadband can be improved.Currently, Osgodby is not in the plan for broadband development, however there are schemes in place to ensure that the village is not left out. The village has applied for the costing, £62,417 divided between 109 properties who expressed interest. The voucher scheme gives up to £1500 per property. We would therefore need 42 properties out of 109 to cover the cost of the scheme, which will then enable all the 109 properties to be connected. Once properties pledge for the vouchers, householders can choose from one of the providers on the market (e.g Sky, talk talk). Therefore, the more properties that can pledge, the better.Once the costing has been reached, and the work allocated, there will be a 12–15 month time scale to connection.Vouchers are then requested from the government on householder’s behalf.Parishioners asked questions regarding the scheme. Properties in Kirkby and Usselby are covered, but not properties in Kingerby.

The Parish Council will not be asked to sign a contract until the pledge contract is reached.The Parish Council is liable for any shortfall of properties being signed up to the scheme however there will be no requirement for the Parish Council to underwrite the scheme providing the sufficient voucher pledge was reached. Openreach cannot see any issues with cable laying in this area, although

the costings would need to be re visited and distance of connection may be affected.

Wendy discussed the timescale and process for rolling out the scheme.If enough pledges are received, a pledging website will be set up. Only the minimum number of households will be claimed for (42). If businesses are included within this, then we need fewer residential properties to make up the pledge.

Openreach will work with the Parish Council to market the scheme to interested parties.One parishioner asked about opting out of marketing information if personal details were provided, which was confirmed.Wendy also offered to leave her contact details for parishioners, if they have any further questions.

‘Project Gigabit’ will shortly be rolled out by the Government, which focuses on connecting the hardest to reach rural places. Cllr Bunney informed the meeting that he will try to find out the date for this.

Wendy asked if the parish Council will confirm the address list, which is not those who expressed an interest, but a list of all the addresses within the distribution points.One parishioner mentioned that other people in the parish may not be aware of the scheme.

14. Review of neighbourhood plan.

A parishioner, Diane Johnson, had contacted the Parish Clerk expressing interest in supporting with the review of the plan.

A date for a separate meeting needs to be arranged. Stephen Chester informed the meeting that he will forward a document to help the Parish Council to review the NP.Interested parties should have an initial meeting.Suggest Chair, Cllr Wilkinson, Heather Muddiman, Ian Johnson, Diane Johnson and it was suggested that a meeting is held before the next PC meeting.

15. Any other business

Cllr Masterman has been invited to the Safer Lincolnshire panel and will update the committee as to issues discussed.

Cllr Heavens still does not appear on the WLDC website.Action: Cllr Bunney will chase.

Meeting closed at 21.05hrs.Minutes approved 14 March 2022 Cllr M Bodman (CHAIR)

                Agenda 14 March 2022

Apologies for Absence

Chairman’s and Councillor’s remarks

To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the 2011 Localism Act

Reports from District & County Councillors, Police and the Village Hall, if present

Minutes of the last meeting on 14th February 2022 and matters arising

Correspondence

Planning

Financial Matters – ratification of payment schedule for March 2022

Planning for AMG – 23rd May 2022

Councillor training

To review the options for provision of a footpath from Sands Lane to A46