April 2023 Minutes
DEEPING ST JAMES PARISH COUNCIL
The Institute, 38 Church Street, Deeping St James, PE6 8HD
E-mail: clerk@deepingstjames-pc.gov.uk
Tel: 01778 343266
Webpage: //deeping-st-james.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk
Facebook: Deeping St James Parish Council
Parish Clerk: Julie Fortnum
Minutes of the meeting of Deeping St James Parish Council held in the meeting room at The Institute 38 Church Street Deeping St James PE6 8HD on Tuesday 18 April 2023 at 7.30pm.
Present: Parish Councillors Bowell, Dilks (County and District), Fowler, Gilbert, Hall, Halls, Hosking, Robinson, Rose, Shinkins-Hoppe, Stevens (District) and 4 members of the public.
The minutes were taken by the Parish Clerk, Julie Fortnum.
No open forum took place as the members of the public in attendance confirmed that there were present to observe the meeting not to address the Parish Council.
23.169 To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
Apologies had been received and were accepted from Councillors Denman and Thomas.
Councillor Olson was not present.
23.170 To receive declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 – being any interest in agenda items not previously recorded on Members’ Register of Interests.
A form was circulated for members to complete if necessary
Councillor Stevens – agenda item 23.174.1 payment to partner
23.171 To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 21 February 2023.
The minutes were agreed and signed
23.172 To receive the Clerks report and receive an update on matters arising from previous minutes.
- Deeping St James United Charities have advised that they have rearranged their meetings so the meeting where the Parish Council’s Trustee nominee will be considered is now 17 May 2023 not in July as previously thought.
- the Lincolnshire County Council lamppost on the public right of way running through Jubilee Park which was taken away around 21 February 2023 has not been replaced and now poses a risk as the capped top has been removed leaving a sharp edge. The Clerk received no reply from LCC when an email was sent on 22 February 2023 asking what had happened so this will be followed up.
- UPP Broadband have advised that they are unable to offer any sponsorship for the Coronation Picnic in the Park on Sunday 7 May 2023
- A local resident has reported seeing youngsters causing damage to trees in Millennium Wood and provided photos of the damage which have been shared with the Maintenance Team who will nurture and monitor the trees to ensure they survive.
- The volunteer warden of Millennium Wood has advised that the Yew tree which was recently inadvertently felled is sprouting new shoots.
- The Internal Audit has made contact with the Clerk to complete the year end checks and sign off section 3 of the Annual Governance and Accounting Return for 2022-23. The Clerk has advised that she will not be in a position to do this until mid- May 2023
- A visitor to the Cemetery has made the observation that the flowers growing from bulbs planted on the grave-beds are being cut too soon after flowering leading to many dead heads growing in following years. The Clerk has spoken to the maintenance team who have advised of the challenge of maintaining the area to a high standard and leaving dying flowers and the visitor has been advised of the Cemetery regulations stating that it is a lawn Cemetery.
- The agreed payment of £300 has been made to the Friends of Deeping St James (former In-Bloom team) and a reply has been received stating that they will no longer be maintaining the raised bed at Exeter Gardens so this will be factored into the Parish Council’s maintenance team’s schedule.
- A pitch (close to the start line) for the Parish Council gazebo has been requested at the Raft Race event due to be held on Sunday 6 August 2023
Councillor Stevens arrived at 7.40pm
23.173 To receive reports from the District Councillors and County Councillor.
Councillor Stevens advised that she was involved in the distribution of the UK shared prosperity fund some of which was being used for Korpfest in Stamford on Sunday 16 April 2023, the Deepings Film Festival on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 April 2023 and the Ukulele Band on Saturday 22 April 2023. The Deepings Library will also be holding an Anglo-Saxon re-enactment event which local primary schools will be attending.
23.174 Financial matters:
As the income and expenditure paperwork was being checked by Councillors Bowell and Hosking it was agreed that agenda items 23.174.1 and 23.174.2 would be dealt with later in the agenda when the checks were complete.
3. To receive the minutes and any recommendations from the finance policy and personnel committee meeting held at 8pm on Tuesday 11 April 2023 – Councillor Bowell introduced the minutes of this meeting from which there was one recommendation (minute 23.68) to be dealt with under this agenda item. The committee recommended that due to the balance in the bank balance as at 31 March 2023 being healthier than predicted when the budget and precept was being set that £22,500 should be moved to reserves (£20,000 general reserves and £2,500 earmarked to purchase a third reactive speed sign). RESOLVED
23.175 Planning and transport matters:
1. To receive the minutes and consider any recommendations from the Planning and transport committee held at 7pm on Tuesday 11 April 2023 - Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe introduced the minutes from this meeting from which there were no recommendations.
23.176 To consider the following correspondence.
1. Invitation to have a stall at the Deeping Carnival on Sunday 25 June 2023 –
After it was established that at least 5 of the Parish Councillors would be available to attend the Carnival it was agreed that a pitch for the gazebo should be booked. It was noted that the Priory Church Rose and Sweetpea Show which the Parish Council usually had a presence at was scheduled to take place on Saturday 24 June and at least 3 of the Parish Councillors said they would be available to attend this so a pitch should be booked for this too.
2. Lincolnshire Police Priority setting meetings quarter 1 (1 January to 31 March) update and call for priorities for quarter 3 1 July to 30 September)
Councillor Stevens stated that she was unsure that the Parish Council understands what issues are happening in the community as there is no consultation and also felt that when setting the budget for 2023-24 thought needed to be given to funding security patrols or even a PCSO as it was believed that the Deepings would be losing the current one in the upcoming restructure. This was acknowledged by other members of the Parish Council who agreed that this needed to be added to a future agenda for consideration. The Clerk was asked to respond to the Policing priority requesting stating that anti-social behaviour at the open spaces Jubilee Park and Woody Heights should be forwarded as a priority.
At this point Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe acknowledged that a resolution to suspend standing orders to amend the order in which the agenda was dealt with should have been agreed earlier. As the checks of the income and expenditure information had now been completed the following items could be considered.
23.174.1. To approve the payments for April 2023
It was proposed seconded and RESOLVED to pay invoices totalling £11,165.93
23.174.2. To note the income for April 2023 – income of £99,300.10 was noted.
3. Explanation for hold-up of the transfer of ownership of Jubilee Park from SKDC to DSJPC – Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe referred the members to the document that the Clerk had shared explaining that there was a small piece of unregistered land on Jubilee Park which required an adverse possession application in order for it to be included in the transfer of ownership. The Clerk a representative from the District Council and the Solicitors acting for both the District and Parish were working together to complete this application and finalise the transfer
23.177 To continue considering the lease/purchase of a Council vehicle.
Councillor Gilbert introduced this item explaining that after several meetings with the maintenance team over the last 9 months it had become clear that there is a need for the Parish Council to provide a vehicle to complete the tasks expected of them. The tasks included the collection and disposal of general, dog waste and green waste and the transportation of signage and materials and were continually increasing as the Parish Council took on more of the responsibilities no longer fulfilled by the District and County Councils. Taking this into account he said that it would be prudent to purchase a vehicle with an open back and a couple of examples had been shared with the members for information. Councillor Gilbert advised that there were responsibilities which needed to be fulfilled including putting a vehicle policy in place and a regular vehicle check list document along with consultation and agreement with the staff to changes to their contracts of employment.
It was also noted that the P11D tax implications of having a vehicle had been considered and would need to be agreed with the employee.
The recommendation from Finance, Policy and Personnel committee is to use the £20,000 that has now been agreed (under item 23.174.3) to be transferred to reserves to purchase, tax and insure a suitable vehicle and that delegated powers are given to the Personnel sub-committee to complete this purchase and put in place all appropriate policies and procedures. Seconded and RESOLVED
Councillor Gilbert recommended that one of the first contractual changes would be an amendment to the distribution of the vehicle allowance paid to the maintenance team with one team member no longer receiving any as they would have priority use of the Parish Council vehicle, the allowance of another being doubled to cover the cost implications of having a vehicle available to use for work purposes and the third remaining the same as the use of his personal vehicle for work purposes was negligible. Seconded and RESOLVED
23.178 To consider whether to, and if so how to, support the neighbouring parishes of Baston, Thurlby and West Deeping following proposed sites in these areas being put forward under the Lincolnshire County Council’s minerals and waste local plan call for gravel extraction sites?
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe introduced this item referring to the consultation on potential mineral sites nominated for allocation in the new Lincolnshire Minerals and Waste Local plan. Within this document there are several proposed sites for sand and gravel and limestone extraction notably 7 in neighbouring parishes (3 in Baston, 2 in West Deeping, 1 in Langtoft and 1 in Greatford). The impact of increased traffic on the local roads, on water quality of the River Welland and on local nature reserves and wildlife as well has how the sites would be left post extraction were mentioned and it was proposed seconded and RESOLVED that the Parish Clerk should contact the Clerks of the parishes mentioned asking how Deeping St James Parish Council can support them.
23.179 To receive information about the code of practice for the pre-election period, and taking into account this information, agree the management of the annual parish meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday 25 April 2023
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe referred to the advice given by the Assistant Chief Executive of the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils and the guidance A short guide to publicity during the pre-election period and the pre-election restrictions which had been shared with the Parish Councillors and reinforced that the Annual Parish meeting was not to be used as a political husting and that the asking and answering of questions at the meeting would need to be controlled by the Chair.
Councillor Dilks arrived at the meeting at 8.25pm
23.180 To receive and consider minutes and recommendations of other committees, reports from advisory committees, members reports from external bodies and reports of meetings, seminars, training and events attended on the Council’s behalf:
1. DSJ Allotments Association Annual General Meeting attended by Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe at the Institute on Tuesday 28 March 2023 –
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe attended this meeting from which there were some points raised which will be considered by the Parish Council’s Allotments Committee at their next meeting
2. Management of Memorials workshop organised by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management held on 31 March 2023 in Littleport Cambridgeshire and attended by the Cemetery Maintenance Worker –
The Clerk advised that the Maintenance worker had found this to be a very good course providing useful guidance.
3. To receive the minutes and consider any recommendations from the recreation and open spaces committee meeting held at 8.30pm on Tuesday 11 April 2023 –
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe introduced the notes from this meeting from which there were no recommendations as the committee had not been quorate. It was noted that the Coronation Picnic in the Park event now included a Barbeque with proceeds to go to the Exotic Pet Refuge. Councillors Bowell, Dilks, Gilbert, Hall, Halls, Hosking, Robinson, Shinkins-Hoppe and Stevens confirmed that they were able to attend.
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe also advised that Ian Prentice from Deeping Recycling Centre had offered to fund the cost of some Coronation lamppost signs.
The Parish Clerk was asked arrange for some to be obtained.
Councillor Halls left the meeting at 8.45pm
23.181 Parish Pump – items for information or inclusion on future agendas.
Councillor Robinson asked if anything could be done to reduce the number of cars parking on Linchfield Road when rugby and football was taking place on the playing field especially when the leisure centre car park was open and available for use. Councillor Dilks as County Councillor for Deepings East said he would bring this up at his next meeting with the Area Highways Manager.
Councillor Fowler advised that the streetlight along the footpath between Foxgloves and The Brambles had not worked for several years and despite being reported on www.fixmystreet.com no action had been taken. As it was understood to be a Lincolnshire County Council Lamppost Councillor Dilks said he would investigate this as well.
Councillor Hall advised that this was his last meeting as he was not re-standing and thanked everyone for their help and support over the years. Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe responded by thanking Councillor Hall for all his work on behalf of the community and extended these thanks to Councillors Olson, Robinson and Thomas who were also not re-standing.
Councillor Stevens advised that she had been told that Deeping United Football Club were unable to use the school playing fields after May 2023 and that although they were progressing with their planning application to develop land on Cross Road there were many difficulties to overcome so it was unlikely it would be available for use for a considerable time. She suggested that the Parish Council facilitate a meeting with the School and Deeping United Football Club. Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe understood the situation differently so some clarity needed to be obtained prior to arranging any meeting.
Councillor Bowell ad vised that former Parish Councillor Lisa Hughes had passed away on Sunday 16 April 2023. As this was the second Parish Councillor to have passed away recently (Alison Chambers) he requested that the Parish Council consider honouring them with a minutes silence at the start of the next meeting. He also advised that he would be attending the funeral of the late Lisa Hughes to represent the Parish Council.
Councillor Dilks apologised for his lateness this evening and then continued in his capacity as Chair of the Langtoft Deeping and surrounding area Royal British Legion Branch to invite everyone to the raising of the Union flag at 9.30am on Saturday 6 May 2023 at the Riverside Park High Street Market Deeping. It was noted that the Parish Council would be arranging for the Union flag to be raised at Jubilee Park on Saturday 6 May 2023.
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe ended the meeting by thanking those who are not re-standing – Councillors Hall, Olson, Robinson and Thomas
Meeting finished at 9.05pm