November 2019 Minutes
Langtoft Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 26th November 2019,
at Langtoft Village Hall
Present: Cllrs Andy Halfhide (Chairman), Andy Hallam (Vice Chairman), Angela Brogan, Debbie Hallam, Yvonne McCulloch, Steve Valentine.
In Attendance: Julian Tatam (Parish Clerk), County Councillor Barry Dobson, and 4 members of the public.
67 /19-20 Open Forum
Questions were asked about:
Langtoft Pre School. It was agreed that posters could be placed in the village noticeboards. It was also suggested that the SKDC lottery might be a way of raising funds and that the fundraising officer might also be able to provide some guidance.
BP Filling Station. The planning application has been refused and the Parish Council and District Councillor’s contribution to this was acknowledged. There was concern that the application had received the support of the planning officers, despite the number of weaknesses in the case. The lack of objection from Highways was also a concern.
Parking outside the Village Shop. The initial request to introduce parking restrictions outside the shop has been rejected as it could not be specific for the shop. C Cllr Dobson agreed to support a request for a 30 minute restriction as this would help to alleviate congestion and the parking on the double yellow lines.
The open forum closed at 7.50pm and the members of the public left.
68/19-20 Chairman’s welcome and remarks
69 /19-20 Apologies for absence
Valid apologies were received from Cllrs Branch, Fraser and Trickey.
70 /19-20 Declarations of Interest
None
71 /19-20 To approve the minutes of previous meetings
The approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 15th October 2019 was proposed by Cllr D Hallam, seconded by Cllr Brogan; all in favour.
72 /19-20 Report from County and District Councillors and Police
D Cllrs Trollope-Bellew and Cooke sent their apologies.
C Cllr Dobson: He is still pushing for LCC gritting to be extended to Stowe Road and King Street but so far it has not been included in the 2019/20 winter programme.
The flooding at the crossroads has been alleviated but the final surface of the repair needs attention as the tarmac is already breaking up.
PCSO M Laughton submitted a written report: There has been an incident where men in a van are again offering to paint rooves in Langtoft. Also in a daytime burglary in Uffington, jewellery and money was taken.
73 /19-20 Clerks Report
The Clerk’s report on actions since the last meeting had already been provided to the Councillors, including a log of communications. Key points, not covered elsewhere:
Had continued to press LCC for a justification for the gritting decision.
The parking issues around the village hall due to coach parties departing from there are more frequent than first thought.
74 /19-20 Other Matters
Gritting:
LCC have agreed to grit from the A15 to the school but have so far refused to include West End and Stowe Road in their routes. They already grit East End.
A competitive quotation to grit just West End and Stowe Road has been obtained and this would reduce the overall cost but still provide protection on the main routes through the village. A motion to accept this quotation was proposed by Cllr A Hallam, seconded by Cllr Valentine; all in favour.
The policy will be to grit when a heavy frost or ice are forecast. This will be less frequent than the LCC gritting policy due to cost. The Clerk will undertake the Met Office online training and decisions to grit be made by the Clerk, Chairman and Vice - Chairman.
Hedge and Black Bull Green:
The withdrawal of the current hedgecutting contractor has prompted a review of the policy.
The hedge has become rather overgrown in recent years and the acceptance of a quotation for £635.42 to reduce the size of the hedge, remove the elder and replace with hawthorn whips was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by Cllr A Hallam; all in favour. This will improve the hedge and simplify maintenance in future years.
Emergency Planning:
LCC are promoting the development of Emergency Plans to improve resilience of communities in the County. It was agreed that a speaker from LCC be invited to address a future LPC meeting on the topic.
Planning Application at 22 East End:
No further news or documents on the SKDC planning website.
The Clerk has emailed SKDC Planning requesting a S.106 contribution of £250,000 for improvements at the crossroads, should the application be approved.
Community Speed Watch:
Cllr Valentine reported on a recent meeting where the use of ‘radar speed guns’ by volunteers was discussed. However, given the cost, number of volunteers required and lack of legal enforcement it was decided not to join the scheme.
Instead the existing speed indicators will be used to better effect; the purchase of 3 replacement batteries (£169 each) and 2 chargers (£40 each) and, if required, another backing plate was proposed by Cllr A Hallam, seconded by Cllr Valentine; all in favour. To be funded from the contingency budget. This will simplify the replacement of recharged batteries and keep the indicators in service longer.
Communications:
Cllr Valentine reported on his progress with setting-up a Facebook page for LPC. Hopefully this will be in place by January.
Deepings First Neighbourhood Plan:
The plan had been circulated to Councillors. It does not have any direct impact upon Langtoft so LPC will not make a formal comment.
75/19-20 Working Groups
Reports were presented for the groups; of note are:
Finance and General Purposes:
The accounts are up to date and currently running well within budget. An initial assessment of the budget for 2020/21 suggests that the current precept will be adequate.
Events:
Some battery powered Christmas lights will be purchased to decorate the noticeboard at the crossroads.
The design of the Council’s Christmas card was approved.
Amenities and Highways:
Quotations for recycled plastic to repair the benches and the slide at East End Park are being obtained.
The provisional date for the letter pick has been brought forward to 21 March 2020, before there is too much growth of vegetation.
Penfield Nature Reserve:
Legal negotiations to take over the site continue and are nearing a conclusion. There are some covenants on a very small area of the site but these are not considered to be unduly constraining on LPC.
76 /19-20 Finance
Year to date accounts. The projected accounts to 30 November had been circulated to all Councillors.
The actual balances at 20 November that date totalled £33,734, with £20,172 of this sitting in the deposit account.
The half year internal audit has been completed with no adverse comments.
77 /19-20 Date of future meetings
Next Full Council meeting: 7 January 20209 at the Langtoft Village Hall at 7.00pm
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.45pm.