minutes 13 May
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF MALTBY LE MARSH PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL ON MONDAY 13 MAY 2024 @ 7.00PM.
PRESENT; Cllrs D Whitehouse, B Williams, A White, J Gray, S Hill-Andrews and clerk G Simpson, along with County Cllr N Sear and District Cllr T Hesketh.
Public Session.
No members of the public were present.
24/001] Election of Chairman.
Cllr Whitehouse was nominated for Chairman, proposed, seconded and resolved.
24/002] Delivery of declaration of acceptance of office.
Cllr Whitehouse signed the declaration of acceptance of office as Chairman, witnessed by the clerk.
24/003] Election of Vice Chairman.
Cllr Gray was nominated for Vice Chairman, proposed, seconded and resolved.
24/004] Apologies for absence and acceptance of any reasons given.
None.
24/005] Review of standing orders, code of conduct, financial regulations, asset register, general data protection and risk management.
It was resolved to make no changes to the documents at this time.
24/006] Diary of meetings for the coming year.
The following dates were agreed; 1 July, 2 September, 11 November, 13 January 2025, 10 March 2025 and 12 May 2025.
24/007] Declarations of interest and applications for dispensations.
None.
24/008] Confirm draft minutes of the meeting on 11 March 2024 as a true record.
It was proposed, seconded and resolved to accept the distributed notes as the minutes, signed by the Chairman.
24/009] Clerk’s report on outstanding matters.
Emails had been sent to Cllr Matthews and National Grid outlining the Council’s thoughts regarding the proposed pylons from Grimsby to Walpole. The AGAR for 2023/24 had been downloaded and the finance papers presented to the Internal Auditor. Emails have been exchanged with Zurich Insurance regarding the renewal quote after consultation with the Chairman. All approved payments have been made but it was necessary to transfer £100 from the savings account to cover them. The clerk had registered for and attended 2 webinars regarding the non-statutory consultation over the proposed EGL3 and EGL4 schemes which could result in under ground powerlines running through the county from the coast to Walpole in Norfolk. This needs to be followed as there will be a statutory consultation next year. The clerk had also attended a virtual meeting with 2 Canadian communities where a nuclear GDF is being proposed organised by the Community Partnership. The outstanding message from the Canadian community leaders was the need for education about the proposals as opinion had changed over the 12 years they had been involved in the process.
24/010] Chairman’s report.
The Police camera van continues to appear in the village. Anglian Water carried out works in the village on 9/10 April but not sure what the purpose was. A new bus timetable is available but there is still no late service from Louth. He had applied for and received the free portrait of the King being offered to parish councils and was now hanging on the wall of the meeting room. A community resuscitation and training officer has been in touch offering CPR and defib training through EMAS at no cost to ourselves. After discussion it was thought this might be suitable for a WI night and enquiries would be made, especially regarding acceptable numbers of attendees.
24/011] Reports from outside bodies.
Cllr Hesketh noted some potholes on route from Mablethorpe had been filled but many remained. He had attended a meeting with senior members of NWS and members of the Community Partnership to express his concerns over the reports being published regarding the GDF. He had also attended the breakfast at the Village Hall, excellent value, and was in discussion with the WI about applying for a grant for a set of speakers which were needed.
Cllr Sear had inquired about the footpath on Strubby Road and was told it was beyond micro-surface treatment and would require full reconstruction but for such a small section they would see if it could be included in a future programme, however no guarantee or completion date. The Chairman stated that other paths in the village that had received micro surface treatment already had weeds growing through them. Cllr Sear provided details about the charity Lincs Links and spoke about schemes available to combat fraud. More mobile banking is coming to Mablethorpe and the Maltby Straight repairs will hopefully start in October.
24/012] Review insurance cover and renewal.
The renewal quote from Zurich was higher than expected since a LTA was in place. The clerk had been exchanging emails with the company for a full explanation for the increase and had been offered a £28.35 reduction in the renewal premium. After full discussion it was resolved to accept the offered reduction and pay a premium of £271.60.
24/013] Financial matters.
- The internal auditor was happy all was in order, completing and signing the Annual Internal Audit Report.
- Annual Governance & Accountability Return;
- The Annual Governance Statement 2023/24 was studied before proposal of acceptance, seconded and resolved with the Chairman and Clerk signing the document.
- It was then proposed, seconded and resolved to accept the Annual Accounting Statement for 2023/24 and duly signed and dated.
- It was proposed, seconded and resolved to submit a certificate of exemption 2023/24 from a limited assurance review under Section 9 of the Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulations 2015.
- The period for the Notice of Public Rights for an exempt authority was set to run from 3 June to 12 July and would be displayed on the noticeboard and published on the website.
- The current financial statement and bank reconciliation were accepted. It was agreed to transfer £3000.00 to the instant access savings account.
- Resolved payments; Zurich Insurance £271.60, J Alldridge £62.50, R Aldrich GM £179.00.
24/014] Planning.
No new applications received. The planning condition to provide a footpath along Hodgetoft Lane imposed on the 4 new plots was discussed and Planning Enforcement needs to get involved. The tree preservation order covering the mature trees at Oakmere was discussed as the Council had lodged their objections to felling but were concerned the tree department at ELDC stated they could not enter in to any correspondence. We would at least expect to be informed of any decisions made and Cllr Hesketh offered to investigate the procedures.
24/015] Correspondence.
The following was noted; Glasdon products, Sunshine Gym, Clerk & Councils Direct and Lloyds Bank.
There was discussion about the village sign on the approach from Beesby being invisible in the hedge somewhere. Cllr White offered to find out if it was still there before arrangements to clear the hedge could be made.
The drain on the first S-bend still floods despite works that had been carried out in that area by Highways. It was suggested that next time it floods photos are taken and uploaded to the Fix My Street site on the LCC website.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 8.32pm.