2018 Meetings

Folkingham Parish Council

MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

held on Thursday 17th May 2018

Item

Action

1. Welcome & Chair's Remarks   The meeting commenced at 1930.  The Chairperson – FPC Cllr Hannah Weston Smith and FPC Cllrs Lucy Robb, Richard Clark, Phara Hansen, Kevin Edmeads and Stuart Cameron-Clark were present, along with Emma Walken (Clerk) and 4 members of the public.

The new Chairperson – Cllr Hannah Weston Smith offered her sincere thanks to the outgoing Chair, Ray Wright (who had resigned in the preceding AGM) for his 12 years of outstanding service to Folkingham Parish Council. She thanked him for his support and invaluable experience and knowledge and added that she looked forward to taking on the role of Chairperson – noting it was both exciting and nerve-wracking to take on the role. The Chair also added additional thanks to Victoria Strauss, who resigned from FPC in the previous year following 18 years of service to Folkingham Parish Council.

2. Apologies – Apologies for absence were received from Cllr King (SKDC).

3. Declarations  - There were no declarations of interest.

4. Public Questions

4.i) A member of the public asked about advance communications for Parish Council Meetings.  The Chair and Clerk responded by reminding those present that Parish Council Meetings are advertised in each copy of The Voice and Agendas/Minutes are posted on the 2 Notice Boards (outside the shop and on the playing field) and on the parish council website at parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Folkingham.  Residents can also request to be notified when any amendments are made to the website by following the links on the website.  It is also possible to request copies of any official documentation from the Clerk.

4.ii) The same member of the public queried the amount spent on Church Grass cutting each year.  The Chair responded by notifying those present that the previous AGM had agreed a maximum limit to this contribution of 8 cuts per year.

4.iii) The same member of the public asked about responsibility of the Pavilion and noted that gas cylinders had recently been stolen from the site.  He also noted that the notice board at the playing field was damaged and contained out of date information. The Chair responded that the Pavilion is the responsibility of RFFC and that the theft had been reported. The Clerk apologised for the outdated communications and offered to update and check the condition of the notice board.

4.iv) Another member of the public asked for an update on Traffic Calming and asked the council to note the issues experienced living on the North bend of the A15 at Market Place. It was noted that heavy vehicles often quite literally cause them to “shake in my bed” and that the weight issues and sheer volume of traffic is causing kerb damage and potential building damage as well as broken sleep.  Reports to LCC and SKDC have received no response. The Chair advised that the issue would be looked into but that previous requests for calming measures on the bend had been met with the reply that the sharp bend acts as a natural calming measure and that it was unlikely that we would be offered extra support in this matter.

4a)       PCSO Sandra Brommell arrived at 7.36 and provided the following update:

Several Lincolnshire residents had fallen victim to telephone scams – in particular those claiming to be from members of the Police.  1 elderly lady had gotten as far as drawing money from the bank to hand over to a scammer but was intercepted just in time.  More information on scam awareness is available from Lincolnshire Police.

PCSO Brommell has been running a drop in session at Folkingham Stores on Wednesdays from 3 – 4.30.  The next sessions will be on 4th and 11th July.  She has also be attending the Pop in club on a Monday.

Some damage to motor vehicles outside the Village Hall was reported following an event one evening. There have been several complaints about speeding on West Street and also dangerous parking on the junction with Chapel Lane/West Street as well as on Churchfields Road.  Residents are reminded that photographs are valuable when dealing with parking complaints.  It was suggested that FPC speak to the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership about the possibility of training some residents in the use of speed radar guns.  It has been suggested that West Street become a 'no cold-calling' zone.  It was questions whether this could be extended to the whole village.  PCSO Brommell to investigate further.

A member of the Council asked PSCO Brommell why complaints about minor issues such as parking or barking dogs are sometimes dealt with more promptly than, say, a burglary.  PCSO Brommell replied that there are often resourcing issues and that complaints regarding issues actually in progress rather than those past sometimes receive a quicker response as the issue may be still in progress and can therefore by resolved immediately.

5.  Notes of the meeting held on 15th March 2018

The notes of the meeting held on 15th March 2018 were approved, signed by the Chairman as a true record of proceedings and accepted as the minutes.

6.  Matters Arising – updates from previous meetings unless covered by a separate agenda  item.

There were no matters arising.

7. Reports from SKDC/LCC

Cllr Hill (LCC) arrived at 7.45 and provided the following update from LCC:

The cold spell experienced over the winter has resulted in a huge issue with potholes across the County.  Cllr Hill reported that 39,000 tonnes of salt were spread during this time.  The damage to the highways has resulted in a backlog of over 7,000 potholes to be repaired.  An additional £3.4m from the Government’s Pothole Action Fund has been given to Lincolnshire to repair local roads. The county council now has a total of £12.4m to spend on potholes, road repairs and other improvements in 2018/19, which includes the £9m previously earmarked by the council for this financial year. The additional money brings the total investment in Lincolnshire’s roads to £37.4m for 2018/19, which is £2m more than 2017/18. The Council is now aiming for a 'one time fix' and is working in areas to repair damage all in one go.  Preventative work such as surface dressing also continues.

The Highways Liaison service is proving to not work as well as was hoped and the Highways Portal ahas proven inadequate and will be changed.

Parish walkabouts will be reinstated and Cllr Hill invited the Clerk to email him to arrange a walkabout from Highways directly.

The LCC spring run of verge grass cutting has been completed. The next cut will be in the Autumn.

There continues to be no improvement in the NHS Recruitment crisis facing Grantham and Boston Hospitals.

8.        Traffic Calming Update

Plans for the village entry gate signs into the village highlighting the 30 mph limit are now complete.  It was noted that significant support of the scheme has been offered by several village residents.

Clerk to chase the situation regarding the additional 30 mph signs for the rest of the village. 

Several complaints have been received from residents of Chapel Lane regarding speeding vehicles.  One resident was almost hit by a vehicle as she exited her driveway.  Chair to add this to speed issues log.

Cllr Hill left the meeting at 8.25pm

9.     Playing Field

• Cllr Robb has applied for a community grant to assist in replacing the damaged swing.  The grant application previously required additional financial data from FPC, which the Clerk has provided to Cllr Robb. They have now also requested photographic evidence and previous RoSPA reports. Cllr Robb and Clerk to action.

EW/LR

10.    Grass Cutting

• The FPC contribution of 50% of St Andrew's Church church mowing costs was discussed. FPC had budgeted £770 for 2017/18 towards this, based on the previous years costs.  To date FPC have actually contributed £975 this financial year. It was noted that an annual cap had been agreed in the preceding AGM.
• Cllr Clark agreed to liaise with our Grass Contractor and LCC/SKDC to finally understand who is responsible for which areas in the village.

RW

11.   Allotments

There has been a complaint from an allotment tenant regarding the erection of a fence using concrete footings.  Cllr Robb to investigate further.

LR

12.   Village Green

A new tree is to be planted on the Village Green with the help of a local resident.  Cllr Hansen agreed to offer support with this project.

PH

13.  Summer Events

The Folkingham Fayre is confirmed as Saturday 28th July – to coincide with the New Inn's annual Beer Festival weekend.  The village hall is booked in case of bad weather.

It is hoped to hold a Dog Show as usual but unfortunately Emma Yardley will be unable to organise it this year so this needs to be resolved.

Funds raised will be split between the Millennium Green and Village funds.

14.  Folkingham Flyer

Cllr Clark hoped that the next edition of the Flyer will be ready by the end of the month.

RW/ALL

15.  Planning  Applications received/decisions made by the SKDC planning department are as follows:

No updates at the time of the meeting.

16. Finance

The Clerk provided all councillors with a Financial Summary, including cheques to be presented at the meeting.  All were accepted. 

17.  Training Update

The Clerk provided Councillors with an updated list of available LALC training days and reminded them that training days are available from LALC by request.

18.  Correspondence

The Clerk noted that it had been confirmed by LALC that Local Town and Parish Council's would now be exempt from the need to employ a dedicated Data Protection Officer.

19.  Future Meetings

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 12th July at 7pm in Folkingham Village Hall. Next scheduled meeting: 20th September 2018

20.  Any Other Business

The Chair requested that the minutes of meetings be circulated within 2 weeks of the meeting. 

The Chair proposed that, in recognition of Ray Wright's service to the Council, a donation of £100 be made to his favoured charity – the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network.  This was seconded and unanimously agreed. Chair to complete a Grant Request Form to this effect.

The Clerk advised the Council that she would be starting a new job with NKDC from 4th June.  Whilst she does not intend to resign from the role of Clerk at this time, she will be less available than previously and will be less likely to be able to fulfil short notice requests.  Email continues to be the best way to contact the Clerk

EW

EW/ HWS

21.   There being no further business the meeting closed at 2053