January 2021 Minutes
A meeting of the Parish Council was held on Monday 11th January 2021 by video conferencing and commenced at 19:30.
Public Participation :There were 7 members of the public present. A member of the public raised concerns over planning application 20/1654/FUL. The Chairman thanked the member of public for attending and encouraged them to submit their comments to North Kesteven District Council’s Planning Department.
Present: Councillor Buckley-Jones (Chairman)
Councillor George
Councillor Rushby
District Councillor Carrington
District Councillor Tinsley
District Councillor Goodwin
Co-Clerk Operations: E. Salter
Co-Clerk Finance: J. James
146/M/20 Chairman’s welcome.
The Chairman welcomed those present and thanked them for coming.
147/M/20 To receive Apologies for Absence, Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations.
Apologies for Absence: Apologies were received from Councillor Sockell. Councillor Nicklin apologised for not being able to attend the whole meeting. Apologies were not received from Councillor Dziadkiewicz and Councillor Cann.
Declarations of Interest: There were no Declarations of Interest.
Requests for Dispensations: There were no Requests for Dispensations.
148/M/20 To approve the Clerk’s notes as minutes from the meeting of the Parish Council on 14th December 2020.
The notes having been circulated before the meeting were taken as read and were approved.
Planning Matters
Tree works received from NKDC.
149/M/20 21/0009/TPO 4 The Old Stackyard, Heighington, Lincoln LN4 1RF. TB Willow – fell to 3ft.
It was resolved to leave this decision to the Tree Officer’s discretion.
Tree works decision notices received from NKDC.
150/M/20 20/1698/TCA The Willows, 36 Park Lane, Heighington, Lincoln LN4 1RF.
Notification received from North Kesteven District Council, that a Tree Protection Order is not required.
Planning applications received from NKDC.
151/M/20 20/1654/FUL Land rear of 45 Washingborough Road, Heighington, Lincoln. Erection of 4 dwellings with associated access road and landscaping and erection of a two-storey extension.
Heighington Parish Council considered this application, the following concerns will be put to the planning authority:
The entrance to the proposed properties is on a long sweeping reverse bend and visibility for traffic entering Washingborough Road will be compromised. Issues regarding the public footpath at the rear of the proposed dwellings, the site, drainage, and green issues.
Planning application decision notices received from NKDC.
152/M/20 20/1496/HOUS 26 Stoyles Way, Heighington, Lincoln LN4 1TW. Extension to existing garage.
Notification from North Kesteven District Council that this application has been approved.
153/M/20 Clerk’s Report (for information only).
• To note the email regarding the school crossing patrol.
• To note the email regarding an increase of prices from Fasthosts.
• Millfield Primary Academy donated 20 hampers of food for distribution to the elderly residents of the parish in place of the usual parish Christmas lunch which could not take place. The Parish Council would like to thank the school for their kind thoughts which were very much appreciated. A letter has been sent to the school.
• Email sent to Mr S Priestley, Housing Strategy Manager at North Kesteven District Council thanking him for all his help in negotiations with Lindum Construction in securing the S106 monies.
• Washingborough Environmental report circulated to Councillors. Heighington Parish Council would like to thank Julie Holroyd for the extra work she has done on Potterhanworth Road field.
• To note the email received from North Kesteven District Council regarding the Parish Vacancy Guide and register of interests.
154/M/20 Correspondence (Read file for Members’ perusal).
• Environmental Operative reports for December 2020.
Financial Matters:
155/M/20 To approve the monthly accounts for December 2020.
The monthly statements were approved by Councillor’s George and Rushby. It was resolved to approve the monthly accounts for December 2020.
To note that a VAT claim of £1183.31 was requested on 4th January 2021.
156/M/20 To consider donating a sum of £50.00 to LALC to pass on to Pete Langford who has worked tirelessly in supporting the Parish Council’s new website.
Members agreed to donate £50.00 to LALC to pass onto Mr Langford. Mr Langford requested that all donations go to the RAF Benevolent Fund. The Parish Council would like to thank Mr Langford for his work.
Councillor Nicklin joined the meeting.
157/M/20 To Consider the re-appointment of Council nominated representatives of Garrett’s Charity to serve a four-year term from 18th March 2021.
Mr Chantler and Mrs Dunning had both indicated their willingness to be considered for reappointment. Members noted that there is no requirement for the nominees to be Parish Councillors. It was resolved that Mr Chantler and Mrs Dunning continue as Council nominated Trustees of Garrett’s Charity for the period to 18th March 2025.
158/M/20 To seek approval for the Trustees of Garrett’s Charity to increase the numbers of Trustees to manage the Charity from current requirement of seven to nine.
Correspondence had been received from the Trustees of Garrett’s Charity seeking Parish Council consent to increase the total number of Managing Trustees of the charity from seven to nine in order to increase the pool of talent and build in some resilience as several Trustees tend to be a little older. The two additional Trustees would be co-opted residents of Heighington. Members resolved to give consent to increase the number of Trustees from seven to nine.
159/M.20 To receive recommendations from the Policy & Resources Committee regarding the following policies:
• Subject Access Request Procedure (SAR)
• Consent Form and General Privacy Notice
• Records Retention Policy
• Data Protection Policy
• Data Breach Policy
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Members resolved to approve the above policies.
160/M/20 To note the resignation of Councillor Chantler.
Details have been forwarded to the Monitoring Officer at North Kesteven District Council and the vacancy has been posted on social media. Members would like to thank Councillor Chantler for their participation of the Parish Council.
161/M/20 To receive an update on the issues of Pitts Road/Sheepwash Lane junction from County Council.
It was noted that an email had been received from County Councillor Oxby, informing the Parish Council that he was hoping to arrange a site visit with Councillor Cawrey and the area manager of the Highways Department. It was agreed that the Co-Clerk Finance would contact Councillor Oxby again following concerns that traffic using the new bypass would add to the ongoing issues. It was noted that no County Council representation had been at the Parish Council meetings since April 2020.
Councillor Nicklin left the meeting.
162/M/20 To receive reports from County and District Councillors (for information only).
County Councillor Ron Oxby:
County Council Report January 2021.
The good news. Well, it's happened, the Eastern-by-pass is open and already motorists are reporting it is having an impact, reducing traffic in the centre of Lincoln, and making travel easier around the town. The next few months will see the final stages being completed, landscaping and clearing of the site.
The bad news. The covid situation has now resulted in another lock down for the next few weeks. Let's hope the Vaccine does its job and a type of normality will resume.
Soon the Council will be discussing and agreeing the budget, with all departments carefully assessing their needs over the next year as will our Parish Councils. Increases in the general rate and Adult social care will be expected.
The council has agreed to establish a joint committee to strengthen the working partnership with North and North east Lincolnshire Councils. As reported in earlier reports, this should enable these council to share some of the services they offer resulting in savings to our residents.
The Midlands Forum for Growth Virtual Conference took place in November, showcasing investment opportunities from the enterprise zones and energy opportunities in the north to the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone. This was an opportunity to champion Greater Lincolnshire. North and North east Lincolnshire have an abundance of investment opportunities across a wide range of industries such as advanced engineering, petrochemicals, ports and logistics, food, and energy. The area also boasts the largest UK port by volume, making it a perfect location for import and export opportunities. A video link is available; https://lnkd.in/dv7hfhp.
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP is holding a series of online jobs fairs until October 2021 on a new dedicated website. A November event welcomed over 400 visitors in three hours. The next virtual event took take place on the 16th December. Exhibitors are welcome to register for free and members of the public can visit for free and interact with the exhibitors, just like a physical event. More information is available at the website, ww.greaterlincsjobfare.co.uk or contact, jobsfare@lincolnshire.gov.uk
Lincolnshire Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing hotline is a joint initiative across health, social care and the third sector. It is available 24/7 for those needing to talk to someone who can offer emotional support during these trying times.
Medieval Lincoln castle. You can find about the integral role played by Lincoln Castle in medieval times I the channel 4 documentary series 'Britain's Most Medieval Towns' hosted by Professor Alice Roberts. It is now available on catch-up TV on all 4.
Wishing you all a Happy new year and let's hope 2021 will give us and end to the dreaded Covid situation.
Regards Ron
DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS TO PARISH COUNCILS
Heighington, Washingborough & Canwick Ward
Cllr Ian CARRINGTON, Cllr Carola GOODWIN, Cllr Glenn TINSLEY
January 2021
Issue : COVID 19 Stats:
Commentary:
Heighington, Washingborough, Branston area – 290 per 100K residents tested positive to 5 Jan 21.
North Kesteven – 286 per 100K to 10 Jan 21.
National rate – 614 per 100K to 10 Jan 21.
The vaccine programme continues to ramp up and it is currently anticipated that all people over 70 will be offered inoculations by mid-February, although it is likely that restrictions will not be eased until sometime after.
Based on our experience to date we have a clear plan for managing the work of the Council over the next few weeks. In outline:
• We will review the operating position of all services to ensure consistency across the Council and ensure we are meeting the new guidance.
• We are again seeking to minimise direct face-to-face contact with individuals and customers as much as possible.
• A new business grants regime will be rolled out to ensure that we support businesses using the national funding made available.
• Vulnerable people will be supported through the shielding process which is already up and running.
• Essential functions that support and enhance the health, wellbeing and finances of customers continue to be prioritised, which includes reaching out to affected businesses and those identified as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable.
• Our finances will be kept under regular review so that we continue to operate a strong financial strategy which can support delivery of our functions.
Action : All
Issue : Covid Scams
Commentary
A range of scams are occurring in which fraudsters are using the fear and confusion of Covid to extort money from unsuspecting residents. There has been an increase in cold calls encouraging people to pay over the phone for vaccinations and social media has been used to gain access to personal details by claiming to be gathering information for council Covid surveys. Be careful and watchful!
Action : All
Issue : Covid Ambassadors
Commentary
NK has two Covid Safety Ambassadors who will start patrolling the District from Monday 11 January to protect the health of communities while bolstering public confidence in high streets and retail areas.
Some key points to note are set out below and should you have any questions or concerns then, please contact Mark Stuart (Public Protection Manager) on 01529308287 or mark_stuart@n-kesteven.gov.uk
Role and Responsibilities
Working as a pair for North Kesteven District Council from Monday, they are fully trained for the role, will explain, encourage, and engage best practice and compliance for businesses in various settings.
Before beginning their roles, the Ambassadors have undergone further training on Coronavirus to complement their existing skills and are required to carry bodycams as a precaution.
In their role they will:
· cover different times of day as part of their shift patterns and will work to identify and support those businesses found not to be following the Government’s Covid Secure guidelines.
· be easily identifiable with uniforms including clearly marked high visibility vests and carry identification documents from the Council.
· speak with customers not complying with the Covid guidance, for example not wearing a face covering unless exempt or ignoring social distancing inside premises and encourage them to stick to it to help themselves and others.
· never call to a residential property, only working within business premises and public spaces.
They do not hold the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices, which remains the remit of police and Local Authority enforcement officers. Any business matters requiring enforcement will be escalated to the relevant partners including the local Environmental Health Team.
The ambassadors will be in place until the end of March and will be provided using Government funding identified specifically for this purpose.
Action : All
Issue : Rough Sleepers
Commentary
SWEP provision (Severe Weather Emergency Protocol) is only in place when weather is predicted to be zero or below for 3 or more consecutive nights, or in extreme weather conditions as predicted by the MET office.
As this year we have the additional concerns with regard to COVID-19 and are providing an offer of emergency accommodation to all verified rough sleepers under the ‘Protect Programme’, regardless of the usual SWEP arrangements.
The Housing Options Team will continue to notify all relevant agencies such as the Street Outreach Team, Change4Lincs, P3, Framework, NACRO, New Life Church etc. with regard to the provision to ensure any rough sleepers who are not currently engaged with our services are referred to us for emergency assistance.
Accommodation will be secured for any verified person who is claiming to be homeless with no place to stay and at risk of sleeping rough in North Kesteven, regardless of Priority Need.
Our services will contact any individual we are aware of or who is referred to us, who is currently sleeping rough or without any form of accommodation to ensure that they have somewhere to stay.
We will verify claim of homelessness (is there anywhere to stay/are family willing to accommodate for the period concerned)
If they have insufficient funds, arrange travel to a known place of stay.
We will advise our Out of Hours Service to ensure any person seeking emergency accommodation out of hours is placed, until next working day when they should contact the Housing Options Team for further investigation & assistance.
If there is any difficulty arranging accommodation within North Kesteven, we will secure options in neighbouring areas ie: Lincoln, South Kesteven, Newark
We will ensure that any person affected has access to food & shelter and an appropriate move on plan will be put in place.
These are short term emergency provisions only, but individuals will continue to be supported appropriately by the Housing Options team to discuss the future options, housing needs and arrangements.
Should you have any concerns about an individual who may be rough sleeping, the information below can be used to alert the Street Outreach Team and Change4Lincs Services to enable emergency contact and of course the NK out of hours service is available should any individual require emergency assistance on 01529 308308.
streetoutreach@p3charity.org; change4lincs@southkesteven.gov.uk
Cold weather funding for 2020/21 has also been obtained and this too will be used to assist in funding the services we have available and enabling provision wherever needed.
If you have any further queries or require any additional information regarding our services, please do not hesitate to contact the Housing Options Team for further details on Housingoptions@n-kesteven.gov.uk
Action : All
163/M/20 Closed Session
The chairman moved that the remainder of the business be held in ‘committee’ and that the public and press be excluded there from for reason that the business to be transacted or advice tendered is of a confidential nature, which could be prejudicial to the public interest to publicise. Members resolved to proceed on that basis, ‘in committee’.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 20:44 hours.
Signed: Date: