DRAFT Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting on 2nd December 2024
DRAFT Minutes of the meeting of Scredington Parish Council held on Monday 2nd December 2024 starting at 7.30pm
Present: Councillors R. Johnson Chairman, J. Johnson, A Pywell and K. Sweeney, P. Griffiths (parish clerk).
Also in attendance was County Cllr A Hagues.
Four members of the public were also present.
1. Chairman’s welcome
Councillor R. Johnson welcomed everyone.
2. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from District Cllr R. Jackson.
10. Vacancy on the Parish Council
This item was brought forward in the agenda.
Hannah Thorogood and Richard Smith both indicated willingness to stand for the vacant position of Parish Councillor. Ms Thorogood was proposed by Cllr Sweeney and seconded by Cllr Pywell. Mr Smith was proposed by Cllr R. Johnson but no seconder was forthcoming. After a brief discussion, Ms Thorogood was co-opted on to the Parish Council and took her place.
3. Minutes of the previous meetings
3.1 The minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on 2nd September 2024 were agreed and signed.
4. Matters arising from the Minutes
It was requested and agreed that DRAFT minutes be produced by the clerk as soon as practical after the meeting and that these should be checked by all councillors and then uploaded to the parish council website, again, as soon as practical.
5. Report from District Councillor and County Councillor
5.1 District Councillor Jackson had sent a report by email – this is attached to these minutes. The highlights were
Notes on the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Mayoral Authority
Sleaford Museum extending opening hours
Police and Crime Survey now open
5.2 County Councillor Hagues said
The investigation into the flooding of approximately 800 homes has been completed and the report sent to all those homes.
6. Planning Applications
There were none.
7. Finance
7.1 The current bank balance was reported as £53,308.87, made up of £3,382.36 in general funds and £49,926.51 in the Bell Legacy Funds
7.2 The clerk stated that the AGAR audit had taken longer than normal because he had not provided sufficient exact detail on the original forms as to why the income and expenditure had exceeded the 15% variance reporting limit. He said that all had now been resolved and the audit fee was as expected and had been paid.
7.3 Request for consideration of a grant to support installation of solar panels for the Community Centre. There was a discussion about whether this would fall under the remit of the Bell Legacy Fund or not. It was agreed that any grant would come from general parish funds. A further discussion resulted in agreement for the Parish Council to give a grant of £1,000.00 to the Community Centre for this work.
8. Highway Matters
8.1 Cllr Sweeney raised the issue of dog fouling. She presented a proposed flyer to be hand-delivered to all households in the village asking residents to pick up after their dogs. The flyer is to go out in the name of the Parish Council. There was a discussion about the exact content of the flyer and Cllr Sweeney and the clerk were asked to finalise the content. The principle of delivering this soon was agreed.
8.2 Cllr Pywell said that he had not been able to find the current status of the complaint about a potential blockage of the footpath in Northbeck.
9. Matters Affecting the Village / Correspondence
9.1 Lincolnshire Reservoir and the Community Liaison Group (CLG). Cllr J. Johnson gave a brief overview of the meeting between Anglia Water and the CLG held in October. The clerk said that the minutes of this and previous meetings were now on the Parish Council website.
9.2 New play equipment. The initial groundwork has not yet started due to the non-availability of the contractor so there has been no progress on this
11. Date of the next meeting has been set for Monday 3rd March 2025
The Meeting closed at 8.45pm.
District Councillors Report – Scredington Dec 2024
Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Mayoral Authority
After some time in the making, the Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Combined County Authority is expected to be established early next year. The Devolution Deal is based on a shared ambition and vision to promote a flourishing future for all, supported by four missions and 24 mission targets developed by the ten local authorities in Greater Lincolnshire. This has contributed to and evolved in recent NK Plans thereby creating an important link.
The economy is fundamental to the development of Greater Lincolnshire and delivering our future prosperity, and the focus of the devolution deal addresses priorities for skills and employment, infrastructure and investment.
The Deal will bring several benefits over 30 years amounting to £720 million in funding for economic development, transport, net zero, skills, education, and digital infrastructure. In addition, funding has been allocated ahead of the formal arrangements being established next year, including £2.2million to support the development of Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park.
As part of the Devolution framework, the three constituent authorities (LCC, North Lincs and NorthEast Lincs) lead on the new arrangements and formation of the new Combined Authority. The seven district and borough councils are non-constituent members. However, in developing the governance arrangements, the seven district authorities in Lincolnshire have a voice to represent those interests through the establishment of a ‘District Joint Committee’.
On Monday, at the Extraordinary Meeting of Council, Members approved being part of a newly established ‘District Joint Committee’. This governance arrangement provides oversight of the initial formulation and development of the Combined Authority, facilitates joint decision making on matters within its remit, nominates four places to sit on the Combined Authority and places on Audit and Scrutiny.
This mechanism ensures that local leaders, businesses and institutions work closely together for the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability in this new Combined Authority's service delivery. It is important to emphasise that no local authority functions are being removed because of the existence of the new Combined Authority.
It is intended that the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson will serve a two-year term of office. In the Terms of Reference, there is a typo with use of the word bi-annual which will be rectified. West Lindsey District Council will provide committee secretariat for the District Joint Committee.
Next May will see the election of the Greater Lincolnshire Mayor alongside Lincolnshire County Council elections.
Sleaford Museum
Sleaford Museum is extending its usual Saturday opening hours for the day, so that more people can come by. Its exterior walls have been repainted, it has new wall lighting and it’s more visible from the road following the changes. It also has new signage, which was recently installed.
The improvements at Monument Gardens have been delivered by North Kesteven District Council together with stakeholders including Sleaford Town Council; which is the landowner; Sleaford Museum, the Sleaford and District Civic Trust, and Sleaford in Bloom which has long helped look after the area. Nearby businesses have also been kept informed throughout the project.
Contractor Lindum Group completed the works, while D Hatcher and Sons restored the Sleaford signage. The repainting of the Wyvern Barrier was completed by Bell Group. The project is funded by Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Winter heating subsidy office' benefit scam text
Lincolnshire Trading Standards have issued a scam alert. A scam text message claiming to be from the Government is circulating.
Do not click on any links provided in these messages.
Report the scam message for free by forwarding the message to 7726.
To check your eligibility for benefits visit the Citizens advice website
Police and Crime Survey *
The annual Police and Crime Survey plays a crucial part in understanding what residents believe are the priorities for keeping the communities of Lincolnshire safe.
The wide-ranging data that is collated as a result of the survey is shared with partners across local government to support us all in our collective aims regarding community safety, as well as being used to support joint bids for funding such as the Safer Streets Fund, which has seen millions in additional funding being gained for all of the districts of the county.
The survey is also used to ask residents about the amount of money they are prepared to contribute to the policing element of their council tax bill (known as the ‘precept’) and I will use the consultation findings to inform setting of the precept for 2025/26.
Funding for Lincolnshire Police remains one of the lowest in the UK, but the Police and Crime Commissioner is concerned to secure additional funding from central government to avoid having to make radical changes to policing across the county.
The 2024 survey is open from 6 November to 15 December. In addition, the Safer Together Team will attend public events to provide the opportunity to complete the survey face to face.
Take the survey HERE.
Severe Weather Emergency Protocol *
With temperatures set to fall below freezing, the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) has been activated. If you are homeless and rough sleeping or aware of someone who is, help and support is available. Please contact NKDC Housing Options team on 01529 414155 or email housingoptions@n-kesteven.gov.uk. If calling out of office hours, please call 01529 308308.
Quickline's upcoming fibre rollout
Fibre to the premises rollout for NKDC (see attached presentation) for those homes without full fibre. See presentation sent across.