January 2023 Minutes
Minutes of the meeting of Fiskerton Parish Council held on Thursday 19th January 2023 at 7:00pm in Fiskerton Village Hall.
Present: Cllrs K Brereton, C Darcel, C Hill, A Walker, P Whitt, C/Cllr I Fleetwood, D/Cllr A Welburn, Mrs M Vail (Clerk), and 10 residents (one resident arrived at 7.07pm).
Meeting started at 7pm.
001/23 Open session: suspension of standing orders for 15 minutes for residents to speak:
Before Open Session began, the Chairman read out the following statement in respect of a flyer signed by Cllrs C Darcel and Cllr C Hill which had recently been delivered to households in Fiskerton:
In regard to a flyer recently delivered to homes in Fiskerton by Cllr’s Darcel and Hill I can confirm that, this is not a parish council document, it was not approved by the parish council and it does not represent the views or ambitions of your parish council.
The flyer is littered with errors and inaccuracies and had they had courtesy to inform the PC of their intentions then some of these errors could have been corrected.
I can assure you that this council operates within its legal boundaries and is in compliance with all rules, regulations and policies. As chairman I spend many hours with the clerk to ensure all our activity is lawful and proper.
The council is fully conscious of how precious public money is and make every effort to ensure every penny is spent in the best interest of the village and to the benefit of our residents, it appears that this flyer is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the hard work of the parish council, village hall management committee and the village scouts.
Should you wish to question how the Parish Council operates or spends money, then in the first instance please submit your requests in writing to the parish clerk. If you wish to complain about individual councillors or the conduct of a Councillor or the content of this flyer then your complaints need to be addressed to the monitoring officer at West Lindsey District Council.
Residents then variously spoke on the flyer and its contents; with responses given by Councillors to a number of the points raised. During this, at 7.15pm it was RESOLVED to suspend Standing Orders to allow the Open Session to continue beyond the allocated 15 minutes.
One resident spoke against FPC spending approximately £6000.00 on speed indicator signs, however others spoke in favour of them; and C/Cllr I Fleetwood and D/Cllr A Welburn both highly praised the positive impact these signs are having in neighbouring villages.
Standing Orders resumed at 7.33pm; at which point two residents left the meeting.
002/23 Apologies for absence: None.
003/23 Declaration of interests including:
i. Councillors to confirm that their Declaration of Interest forms are up to date:
No Declarations of Interest were made. All Councillors confirmed that their Declaration of Interest forms are up to date.
004/23 Approve notes of meeting of 1st December 2022 as a true record:
RESOLVED unanimously that the notes of the meeting of 1st December 2022 were a true record; and these were duly signed.
005/23 To receive observations of the District and County Councillors including:
Cllr I Fleetwood:
o The January 2023 Briefing had been circulated.
o SID data is being collected across local parishes
o The annual street signs and bus shelter cleaning regime is due to commence; although accessing bus shelter roofs is an issue. Action: Clerk
o Spring litter picking will take place
* D/Cllr A Welburn:
o The Dec 2022/Jan 2023 report has been circulated
o WLDC finances have been audited and are in excellent shape. Residents can access WLDC meetings via their website; and sessions at meetings are available for the public to speak. Public comments are also welcomed via the WLDC website.
* D/Cllr C Darcel:
o A WLDC Consultation concerning budget setting had taken place with a cluster of parishes. Noted that this had not been widely known about. D/Cllr A Welburn advised that there has also been a Police Consultation.
D/Cllr C Hill – nothing to report.
006/23 Chairman’s report:
With reference to the opening statement read out at the start of this meeting, Cllr A Walker reiterated that the Parish Council distanced itself from the flyer and the personal opinions/comments made within it by Cllrs C Darcel and C Hill. Comments on the matter were then invited from Councillors. At a proposal by Cllr A Walker, seconded by Cllr K Brereton, RESOLVED to submit the statement to Fiskerton News, with three for and two against (Cllr C Darcel, Cllr C Hill). Action: Clerk
At a further proposal by Cllr A Walker, seconded by Cllr K Brereton, RESOLVED to publish the statement on the Facebook page, with three for and two against (Cllr C Darcel, Cllr C Hill). Action: Cllr A Walker.
A new Council email address has been created for Cllr C Darcel; and instructions for setting it up issued. Cllr C Darcel advised that he has not yet set it up. RESOLVED with four in favour and one against (Cllr P Whitt) to allow Cllr C Darcel to temporarily use an alternative email address.
Due to a change in personnel across three different organisations (Church, caterers, Squadron Association), there are concerns that the 49 Sqn Association’s annual visit to the village on Remembrance Sunday and future wreath laying events may not run smoothly. Therefore, a proposal by Cllr A Walker was made to put arrangements in place for the Clerk to be copied into emails to oversee and correct any issues. With an amendment by Cllr K Brereton that a Councillor take this job on if it becomes onerous for the Clerk, Cllr K Brereton seconded the proposal, with all in favour.
A D of E student (a minor) has asked if the Chairman can oversee her undertaking litter picking for her award. Following consideration, including to note concerns in relation to the age of the student, and the need for a risk assessment and supervision, it was RESOLVED unanimously to approve Cllr A Walker to oversee the student. Cllr I Fleetwood can help with litter picking equipment if required.
007/23 FINANCE
a. To resolve to receive the following payments/receipts schedule from 25th November 2022 to 31st December 2022:
RESOLVED unanimously to receive the schedule below.
PAYMENTS
The first three items include 22/23 salary award back payments:
* Clerk salary, Nov, £665.68
* Pension, Nov, £227.93
* PAYE/NI, Nov, £111.33
* LCC, village gateway scheme, £1099.93
* Lambert Smith, Nov consultancy fees, £165.81 + £33.16 vat = £198.97
* Lincs Flooring, (Lottery Grant purchase), £715.66 + £143.13 vat = £858.79
* Amazon, 5 x tub chairs, (Lottery Grant purchase), £583.29 + £116.66 = £699.95
* McAfee, £62.49 + £12.50 vat = £74.99
* Sage, payroll & accounts package, Dec, £19.00 + £3.80 VAT = £22.80
* Virgin media call package, Dec, £9.45 + £1.88 VAT = £11.33
* Virgin Media, phone handset, Dec, £7.00
* Clerk, salary, Dec, £461.53
* PAYE, Dec, £52.60
* Pension, Dec, £152.33
TOTAL = £4334.03 + £311.13 = £4645.16
RECEIPTS
* Interest, Dec, £13.42
* LCC, grass cut reclaim, £698.74
* National Lottery, balance of grant, £3776.25
TOTAL = £4488.41
b. To resolve to approve payment of the following accounts for January 2023:
RESOLVED to approve payment of the following accounts for January 2023. Action: Clerk
* Clerk, salary, Jan, £461.73
* PAYE, Jan, £52.40
* Pension, Jan, £152.33
* Clerk printing costs, May 2022 – Jan 2023 inclusive, £108.60
* Sage, payroll & accounts package, Jan, £19.00 + £3.80 VAT = £22.80
* Virgin media call package, Jan, £9.45 + £1.88 VAT = £11.33
* Virgin Media, phone handset, Jan, £7.00
* Fiskerton Village Hall, October 2022 meeting, £24.00
TOTAL = £834.51 + £5.68 = £840.19
c. To resolve to agree the budget for 2023/24 to include:
i. Consider a suggestion of giving residents parish precept holiday worth some £63 to Band D council tax; and the £17,000 approx. for the village hall and other unnecessary spending is taken out of the reserved funds:
Noted that at the November 2022 meeting three budget options had been considered; and it had been resolved at that meeting to increase the budget but with amendments to the budget as presented at that time.
For this January 2023 meeting, three budget options have been circulated. Cllr A Walker explained Option 1 (which is the amended, approved option from the November meeting); and Option 2 (to increase the budget). Cllr C Darcel explained Option 3 (his proposal to decrease the budget to give residents a ‘precept holiday’).
Votes to indicate preferences were taken as follows:
Option 1 – no votes
Option 2 – 3 votes
Option 3 – 2 votes
It was then RESOLVED to accept the Option 2 budget of £24,687.00, as the budget for 2023/24, with three in favour and two against (Cllr C Darcel, Cllr C Hill). This represents a 3% increase, or £717.00, on the 2022/23 budget, and will increase the charge on a Band D property by approximately £1.92 per annum.
d. To resolve on final precept figure to be submitted to WLDC by 27 Jan 2023:
RESOLVED with three in favour and two against (Cllr C Darcel and Cllr C Hill) to submit a final precept figure of £24,687.00 for 2023/24 to WLDC. Action: Clerk
PLANNING: to consider and agree actions as required:
008/23 Neighbourhood Plan: No update available.
009/23 Central Lincs Local Plan: an email has been circulated regarding the Examiner’s outcomes. It appears that none of FPC’s request have been adopted, therefore, 122 homes have been included in the Plan allocated to the north of Corn Close.
Two planning applications have been received, with the deadline for submission of comments to WLDC falling before the next meeting. Therefore, these will be considered at this meeting and decisions ratified at the February 2023 meeting. Cllr C Hill declared an interest and will abstain due to sitting on WLDC’s Planning Committee.
o 146046 - Planning application for 6no. dwellings, conversion and extension of barn to create 1no. dwelling, 2no. detached garages including associated landscaping and access. LOCATION: Land to the South of Chapel Road Fiskerton . APPLICATION TYPE: Full Planning Application.
o 146047 - Listed building consent for 6no. dwellings, conversion & extension of barn to create 1no. dwelling, 2no. detatched garages including associated landscaping and access. LOCATION:Land to the South of Chapel Road Fiskerton , APPLICATION TYPE: Listed Building Consent
After consideration of both applications, RESOLVED with one abstention (Cllr C Hill) that there are no objections. Action: Clerk
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED:
010/23 WLDC Parish Newsletter 16th edition – noted only.
011/23 Invitation from LCC to share Parish Council views on the LCC Budget and council tax proposal for 2023/24:
Noted that LCC have provided three options to increase their precept of 2.99%, 3.99% and 4.99%; and that they will be subsidising their budget with up to £10million from their Reserves. A proposal by Cllr A Walker to support a 4.99% raise was not voted on. A proposal by Cllr K Brereton to support a 3.99% raise was not voted on. Therefore, it was agreed that Councillors should individually submit any comments to LCC.
012/23 Resident email regarding parking concerns on Fiskerton Road:
A request to the resident to provide an address had not been responded to. The Clerk has forwarded what information she has to the Community Police Inspector.
013/23 Resident email regarding state of the verge on the south side of Ferry Road:
Noted that FPC cannot take direct action to resolve matters, but can report the issue to LCC via Fix My Street and C/Cllr I Fleetwood. Action: Clerk
NEW ITEMS: to consider and agree actions as required:
014/23 Draft constitution documents for Village Hall: car park agreement, play area agreement, and Village Hall Management Committee constitution – any update from Charity Commissioners:
Cllr A Walker summarised the above-mentioned two documents which had been presented to FPC by the VHMC for consideration. Initial responses from the Charity Commissioners had been unsatisfactory; and they had wanted a Trustee to contact them, not the Clerk. Therefore, Cllr A Walker, as a Trustee, had approached them again, and a reply had recently been received that responsibility for any of the property cannot be passed to FPC, but with it being an incorporated charity, it can lease out the play area by lease agreement. Noted that, as FPC is a Custodian Trustee, it cannot own the play area. Noted that:
o All correspondence received to date has been circulated to Councillors
o clarity is needed in case of accidents who would be responsible?
o Both VHMC and FPC hold insurance cover for what each is responsible for.
o This matter remains ongoing
Action: Cllr A Walker to update the VHMC.
During the above discussion, D/Cllr A Welburn left the meeting at 8.45pm.
015/23 Review use of Dropbox:
The Clerk and Cllr A Walker are increasing their familiarity with the use of Dropbox via a free trial package, but with limited storage space. RESOLVED unanimously to approve expenditure of £79.90 to purchase 2TB of space on Dropbox. Action: Clerk, Cllr A Walker
016/23 Reviewed play area risk assessment:
i. Chairman to sign document:
Cllr A Walker will sign the document after reviewing it with Cllr K Brereton.
ii. Consider any issues raised:
Any required repairs to be brought to the Feb 2023 meeting. Action: Cllr K Brereton
017/23 To approve expenditure for Microsoft Office package and antivirus software:
Antivirus software has been transferred free of charge from the old laptop. RESOLVED unanimously to purchase Office 2021 from Amazon at a cost of £14.00. Action: Clerk
018/23 Allotments:
Concerns have been raised as to the poorly maintained condition of one allotment. All plot rental fees for 2022/23 have been paid. Action: Cllr A Walker to inspect site.
019/23 Bus driving via Ferryside and Ferryside Gardens on return trips to Lincoln:
Residents have raised concerns. Noted that other buses turn around at the Tanya site/Diamond House. The bus has been identified as transporting students to Riseholme College (RC5 route). Action: Cllr K Brereton to chat with driver.
020/23 When using the official FPC emails, lack of response from the Chair of FPC:
Cllr C Hill advised that this was in connection with an email she had circulated to all regarding some speed signs which had appeared at her property; and the person depositing these signs had not advised her. The Chairman responded to the email 2 days after receiving it but this was after the agenda had been created.
Confirmed that the signs are currently in the VH office and budget has been allocated to purchase replacement signs.
UPDATE REPORTS: to consider and agree actions as required:
021/23 Village Hall defibrillator – supply of maintained emergency light:
Action: Cllr K Brereton to chase quotes.
022/23 Paddock- any update on offer to purchase:
The Church Commissioners have indicated that they have no plans to dispose of the land at this time. FPC’s Agent has approached the Church Commissioners to see if a higher offer, or a long-term lease agreement would be considered. A suggestion was also considered to purchase a part of the Paddock, sufficient for a play area, it was felt at this time that FPC should pursue its initial request for all of the land. Action: Cllr A Walker to liaise with Agent.
One resident left the meeting at 9.17pm.
023/23 Joint parish council meeting in February with Community Policing Inspector:
The Inspector has suggested a date of 20th February for the meeting. He has asked for possible locations to meet; but the Police are unable to pay for hall hire. RESOLVED unanimously that, if and as required, FPC will pay its fair, rota-ed share of one equal part of each hall hire fee.
024/23 Field on the South side of Ferry Road – possible development:
Cllr A Walker has talked with the land owner. The land appears to be for the landowner’s family use only.
025/23 Village Gateway Project:
An invoice for work has been paid but there is no progress to date from LCC. Action: Cllr A Walker to chase.
026/23 Drafting of bullying protocols:
Action: Cllr A Walker to circulate a draft document sourced by Cllr C Darcel.
027/23 Remaining Lottery grant money:
Surplus National Lottery monies of £3810.00 have been used to purchase various items for the Village Hall as detailed in previous minutes. There remains £33.74 still to be transferred to FPC from the National Lottery.
The unspent monies of £800.00 from the Hodgson Trust will be put towards external decoration and a defibrillator light at the village hall.
Cllr A Walker then proposed, with Cllr P Whitt seconding, with all in favour that:
i. £800 be transferred to the VHMC for them to arrange for the external decoration and a defibrillator light.
ii. That a letter be written to the VHMC handing over ownership of all the items purchased with grant monies from FPC to the VHMC plus certificates for works carried out; guarantees and all other documentation.
Action: Clerk
Three residents left the meeting at 9.42pm.
028/23 Action log – to consider any items which have an update:
The Action Log was reviewed with many actions having been completed. Those actions that are incomplete are all being progessed.
MEETINGS:
029/23 Matters for inclusion on next agenda: Approve: TSO Host fees, summer bedding costs; grass cutting quote; LALC Annual subscription and training 2023/24, bus shelter, Coronation gifts, asset register, play area tree
030/23 Resolve to reschedule Annual Meeting of FPC from Thursday 18th May due to 2023 being an election year:
RESOLVED to move the Annual Meeting of FPC to 15th May 2023.
Meeting ended at 9.45pm.
Mrs Michelle Vail Clerk/RFO to Fiskerton Parish Council Dated 06.02.23