Meeting 3 November 2020
MINUTES OF THE REMOTE MEETING OF MALTBY LE MARSH PARISH COUNCIL HELD VIA THE ZOOM PLATFORM ON TUESDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2020 @ 7.30PM.
PRESENT; Cllrs D Whitehouse, B Williams, A White, P Baildon and clerk G Simpson.
Public Session.
No session scheduled due to the time limit of 40 minutes for the meeting to be completed and no questions had been previously received.
20/033] Chairman’s welcome.
The Chairman opened the meeting thanking all for their attendance.
20/034] Apologies.
Apologies had been received from Cllr S Harrison who was attending another meeting.
20/035] Declaration of Interests and applications for dispensation in relation to DPIs.
None
20/036] Notes of the meeting held on 8 September 2020 to be approved as minutes.
It was proposed, seconded and resolved to accept the presented notes as the minutes of the previous meeting, signed by the Chairman Cllr Whitehouse.
20/037] Clerk’s report on matters outstanding.
The clerk reported all approved payments had been made. The representation sent directly to Highways regarding the speed limits on Strubby Road had not been accepted. Highways had replied stating the representation had to come via the regional County Councillor, so this had been forwarded to Cllr Cullen. Unfortunately, Cllr Cullen was not present to give an update and has failed to respond to emails requesting an update on the current situation. Lincs Road Safety Partnership had been approached regarding this issue and they also referred it back to our County Councillor. Attempts to get Cllr R Davies to rearrange his cancelled meeting with parish councillors due to the lockdown have also been unsuccessful. He too advises communicating through our County Councillor is a more efficient use of councillor’s time and resources. The clerk had remotely attended the LALC Annual General Meeting and a webinar on General Data Protection Regulations. The new parish council website can be viewed only if you type in the new address manually. We are waiting for LCC to turn off the old site, then the new one should appear on a google search.
20/038] Chairman’s report.
The Chairman thanked Cllr White for cutting the hedge along from the Village Hall and asked if every effort could be made to keep the field gateway as clean as possible. He congratulated the organisers of the Scarecrow competition which had been very successful despite one complaint from a very irate motorist who was offended by the appearance of some of the entries. The noticeboard at Hodgetoft Lane requires cleaning.
20/039] Financial Matters.
The quarterly budget report and bank reconciliation were accepted. The clerk had provided a draft budget for 2021/22 for consideration over the next two months with final approval due at the January meeting. It was resolved to approve the following payments; J Alldridge £50.00, R Aldrich GM £193.00, and G Simpson £342.50.
20/040] Co-option to fill vacancy for a parish councillor.
Having received the appropriate authority from the elections office to co-opt, the vacancy for a parish councillor was advertised locally and 4 requests for application forms were received. Only 2 had been returned, so these two candidates were considered for the position. After a unanimous vote it was resolved to co-opt Mrs Jane Gray onto the Parish Council. The Parish Council now needs to find a new Internal Auditor as this position has to be independent of the Council.
20/041] Reports from Outside Bodies.
There were no reports.
20/042] Planning.
Application N/112/01764/20 extension to restaurant at Grange Farm had been supported. Application N/112/01744/20 Land off Beesby Road was discussed at length. This application involves the possible loss of the old bus shelter as a new access to the site could be required for the application to be successful. This shelter was constructed with funds from local residents back in the early 1950’s and has been maintained and insured by the parish council for many years. Efforts have been made to determine how much the shelter is used. It was agreed to try and negotiate a compensation package with the applicant if this community asset is to be lost.
At this point the Chairman called for a short recess as the time limit for meeting was about to expire at 8.10pm and councillors were asked to re-join a new Zoom meeting at 8.30pm. During the recess the clerk contacted Mrs Jane Gray who was able to join the other councillors at the reconvened meeting where she signed the declaration of acceptance of office.
It was resolved to go into closed session due to the confidential nature of the next item.
20/043] Clerk performance review.
The clerk’s work and salary were reviewed.
20/044] Date of next meeting.
The Council agreed to set 5 January 2021 as the date for the next remote meeting.
Meeting closed at 8.45pm.