ROUGHTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Thursday 16th May 2019 At Roughton Village Hall

starting at the end of the Annual Council Meeting which concluded at 7.58 pm.

Those present:  Councillor Smith (Chair), Councillors Drew, Lupton, Poucher, Councillor Mrs Simpson and the clerk Mrs S Helliwell. 

In Attendance:  District Councillor Fitzaden-Gray.

Public:   None present.

             019       Chair’s Remarks:  The Chair thanked everyone for attending and giving their time.

             020       Apologies:  Councillors Dormer and Lynaugh.  Councillors proposed, seconded and resolved unanimously to accept these apologies.  The local PCSO had also offered his apologies.

021       Declarations of Interest:  None.

022       To approve the notes of the meeting held on 14th March 2019 as minutes: 

            These were proposed, seconded and resolved unanimously to be correct.  They were signed by the Chair.

023       District Councillor Report:  This agenda item took place first as the County Councillor was delayed.  District Councillor Fitzaden-Gray thanked everyone who had voted for him in the recent elections and said it was very nice to be re-elected.  He informed that Skegness, Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea beaches had been awarded Blue Flag status which was really good for the area.  He said the date of Horncastle Xmas Market had been arranged for Sunday 8th December which is the same weekend as the Lincoln Xmas Market and people who were travelling to the area for the weekend could visit both markets.  He hoped that the Xmas Market would be even more successful than last year when all cashpoints in Horncastle ran out of money!

8.03 pm County Councillor Bradwell arrives.

024       County Councillor Report:  County Councillor Bradwell introduced herself and apologised for being late due to attending a Parish Council meeting in Hemingby.  She said that Highways issues were slightly better than last year with the state of the roads being much improved and the FixMyStreet system working well.  The County Council were just starting to roll out three cuts a year of vegetation/hedges on verges and junctions and said that this helped with visability and keeping on top of it.  Councillors said that a hedge on Horncastle Road near the T-Junction of Fifty Acre was very overgrown and visibility of drivers was impaired – The County Councillor would look into who owned this property.  She also informed that the drains were to be blasted to prevent flooding.  She also asked about Broadband in the Parish and Councillors informed that this was still extremely poor.  She explained about a ‘Gigabit’ voucher scheme where local businesses could get a voucher for £2500 and houses could get a voucher for £500.  She said that if there were a few villages interested in this then she would arrange a meeting for them to get together to discuss this matter further.  Roughton said they would be interested in learning more about this scheme.  Regarding the ‘No Through’ sign at Martin, she was embarrassed to say that they were no further forward with this although she had chased it but the budget is unfortunately low and signs are a low priority.  She informed that Louth Hospital is to remain open and will have more things happening there including a recuperation ward and more small operations taking place which is a good new story and will stop log jams at Boston and Lincoln.  There is now a Falls Service in operation which combines LIVES, EMAS and the Local Community Health Trust.  Two ambulances will assess you and 78% of people haven’t had to go to hospital and the service includes checking on the person afterwards.  She said rural areas need this kind of service and funding had been provided by the County Council for 6 months and had come from ‘Winter Pressures’ funding.

8.32pm County Councillor Bradwell left the meeting due to attending Kirkby on Bain Meeting also.

025       Clerks Report:

a.   The clerk said she had received a letter of thanks from Citizen’s Advice Bureau for the donation by the Parish Council.

026       Broadband Update:  The clerk informed that she had contacted Onlincolnshire on three separate occasions to get an update for the meeting but had not received a response.  She will contact them yet again for some information.

027       Planning:

            a.   Applications:  Nil. S/141/02457/18 Land Off Moor Lane, Roughton Moor, Woodhall Spa, LN10 6YZ – Application withdrawn 16.04.19.

            b.   Permissions Granted:  S/141/00159/19 Oak Lodge, 60 Horncastle Road, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, LN10 6UZ.  S/141/00406/19 Eastfield House, 52A Horncastle Road, Woodhall Spa, LN10 6UZ – Refusal of Planning Permission. 

.028       Training Available:  The Clerk informed all of the training currently available.

 029       Finances: 

            a.   Bank Balances and signing of statements.  The clerk confirmed current account balance of £5911.50 and deposit account balance of £15.00, a total of £5926.50.  Bank statements were checked by all and signed by the Chair as required. 

            b.   Precept Update.  The clerk reported that the full precept requested had been received in the current account on 15 April 2019.

            c.   Annual and regular payments.  The following payments were agreed by all present.

            LALC Training 2018/19             £108.00              Cheque no. 700254     

            LALC Annual Subs 2018/19        £227.84           Cheque no. 700253

            Data Protection 2018/19            £40.00               Cheque no. 700251

            Council Insurance 2018/19         £395.11            Cheque no. 700256

            Village Hall Rent 2018/19           £100.00            Cheque no. 700252

            d.   Audit Governance Statement.  This was checked by Councillors and signed as required by the Chair.

            e.   Audit paperwork completion.  This was all checked by Councillors and signed by the Chair and RFO as required.  The clerk will send paperwork to the internal auditor initially and then forward for external audit by the deadline date.

030       Date of Next Meeting and Items for Agenda:  The date of the next Roughton Parish Council Meeting is to be held on Thursday 4th July 2019 at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall.  Agreed by all.

            Agenda Items:  Items to be forwarded to the clerk prior to the agenda being published.

031       Clerks Salary and Expenses:  The Council agreed to pay the clerks salary and expenses for the period 14th Mar 19 – 16th May 19, £207.10, Cheque No. 700255.

Meeting Closed at 9.05 pm