April 2024 Minutes
Washingborough Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 17th April 2024 at 6.00pm in the
Community Centre, Small Hall, Fen Road, Washingborough, Lincoln. LN4 1AB
Present:
• Cllr Mrs J Aspinall
• Cllr Mrs L Hannam
• Cllr R Harrington
• Cllr G Peck
• Cllr Mrs L Simons
• Cllr Mrs W Skelton (Facilitator)
• Cllr Mrs R Whipp
In Attendance: Miss K Broddle (Clerk) and Mrs E Salter (Assistant Clerk).
Also Present: District Cllrs Ian Carrington and Carola Goodwin and LCC Councillor Lindsey
Cawrey.
Members of the Public: Six members of the public were present.
a. Public Forum: None.
b. Reports from LCC and NKDC – The reports were circulated prior to the meeting.
111. Co-option of two new Members:
The Co-option of Mrs A Nixon and Mr A Fraser was proposed, seconded and resolved.
112. Localism Act 2011 requirements:
a. Apologies and reason for absence were received and resolved from Cllr Mrs B Bland.
b. Declarations of interest: Cllr R Harrington declared an interest in point 122a.
c. Applications for dispensation: None.
113. Draft notes of the Parish Council meeting held on 20th March 2024 were proposed,
seconded and resolved for signing as the minutes.
114. Matters raised at Public Forum: None.
115. Clerks Report (for information only):
a. The resignation of Cllr M Gibbons was noted.
b. To advise that the new grass cutters have been delivered and are in use.
c. To advise that Councillors should now use their .gov.uk email.
d. To note the receipt of emails from a parishioner.
116. The notes from the Finance & General Purposes Committee Meeting of 8th April 2024 were received and the following item was proposed, seconded and resolved:
a. The end of year movement of earmarked reserves.
117. To discuss and resolve the following:
a. The request from South Lincs District Association Camping and Caravanning Club to hire Council Facilities: following further information, it was proposed seconded and resolved that due to their request included allowing dogs on the playing fields and use of the Community Centre at a time when it is closed, Council were unable to agree to the request.
b. Police priorities setting: it was proposed, seconded and resolved for the priorities to be, the inappropriate use of e-scooters, drug issues in the village and young people congregating at the shopping precinct.
c. Update of the flooding working party: it was advised that the information collated is to be sent to the LCC flood inquiry and also Doctor Caroline Johnson MP and that the working party will now start work on updating the Emergency Plan for the village.
118. Planning Matters:
a. To resolve any comments on the following applications received:
i. 24/0432/TCA: 24 High Street – Work to various Trees in the conservation area.
Council had no comment to make on this application.
b. To ratify comments on the following applications retuned under Clerks delegated powers:
i. 24/0208/HOUS: West Lodge, 14 Manor Road – Erection of a shed to front of property and installation of 14no. solar panels.
Council had no comments to make on this application and this decision was ratified.
c. To note the decisions from NKDC on the following applications: None.
119. Financial Matters:
a. The payment schedule for April 2024 was proposed, seconded and resolved and the salaries payments were noted.
b. The accounts and budgets for March 2024 were noted.
c. The Unity Trust bank statement for March 2024 was noted and signed.
d. The quotation, from Safe & Sound Security, for the annual maintenance of the intruder alarm and CCTV system was proposed, seconded and resolved.
e. The move from the NAS storage drive to PCloud for storage for the office shared files was proposed, seconded and resolved.
120. It was proposed, seconded and resolved that Cllr Mrs R Whipp facilitates the initial part of
the May Full Parish Council meeting.
121. Under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 it was proposed, seconded and
resolved to move into closed session for the following items:
Councillor R Harrington left the meeting, following his declaration of interest in point 122a.
122. Grants:
a. Grant applications were received from Washingborough Bowls Club and Penfold Players.
It was proposed, seconded and resolved to award the following:
Washingborough Bowls Club - £280.
Penfold Players - £1470.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 7.05 pm
SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS: April 2024 Amount
Petty Cash
10-Apr-24 Pitstop Petrol £42.00
14-Apr-24 Co-op Batteries £1.35
Total £43.35
Current Account
16-Apr-24 NKDC NDR (CC) £416.20
16-Apr-24 NKDC NDR (P) £358.40
16-Apr-24 Sharpeshine Window Cleaning £39.00
16-Apr-24 JKBS Repairs to Boiler (CC) £336.00
16-Apr-24 XLN Telephone & Broadband £104.51
16-Apr-24 Ricoh Photocopies Costs £224.99
16-Apr-24 LALC Website Maintenance £102.00
16-Apr-24 Chantry Agr Tractor Exhaust Drawvar Pin £74.17
16-Apr-24 ESPO Gas Bill (CC) £1,121.72
16-Apr-24 LALC Annual Subscription £739.74
16-Apr-24 Clear Councils Annual Insurance £4,516.82
16-Apr-24 Selmec Replacement of CC Exterior Lights £1,554.00
Total £9,587.55
Salaries etc Salaries etc £9,757.63
Total expenditure: April 2024 £19,388.53
March / April NKDC Report
Carola, Ian and Reece
Citizens Advice Mid-Lincolnshire
Recently, NKDC has been working with Citizen’s Advice Mid Lincolnshire (CAML) to bring their face-to-face service into the Sleaford Kesteven Street NKDC Offices. This has been to make the advisory service process much more accessible to all residents of North Kesteven, no matter what support they are seeking. We are on now track to ‘soft launch’ this service as of Monday 15 April 2024 – with CAML providing their service during NKDC’s face-to-face opening hours on Mondays and Wednesdays, where afternoon sessions will be available via appointment only.
This is an extremely progressive and constructive step for NKDC and CAML customers, as well as Job Centre Plus. This is because it offers higher levels of efficiency, as well as all information and guidance being accessed in one place. We will be reviewing and addressing any initial problems in the first instance, but we then hope to move toward a strong communication plan to share and celebrate the co-location, where residents can find support.
Council takes ownership of Carre Arms Hotel in Sleaford
As you will know, following the unanimous decision taken by Full Council on February 29, 2024, NKDC has taken ownership of the Carre Arms Hotel in Sleaford. The news has been released this week following the purchase of both the hotel and its operating company having been finalised. In a move which will secure a prestigious hotel business, protect jobs and broaden its economic and social benefits, Members agreed that there were significant advantages to the community in protecting this key local infrastructure asset, which could otherwise be lost as a viable business. Acquisition of the Carre Arms also assists the Council significantly in advancing its ambitions around expanding the local visitor economy – being one of only two hotels in the immediate area with more than 10 rooms – and the regeneration of Sleaford Town Centre. The move also protects a historic, landmark building and introduces opportunity to enhance its viability as an accommodation, conference and functions provider.
A couple of years ago the Council engaged in a pilot to look into options for changing the way business rate receipts are allocated. During this time, we were able retain a greater share of what would ordinarily be sent off to government. It is from that resource that we’ve been able to finance this acquisition.
North Kesteven District Council at 50
Fifty years ago, on April 1, 1974, North Kesteven District Council opened for business. Born out of three smaller district councils and taking on aspects of work from the former Kesteven County Council – all of which had duly served the area for the previous 40 years – the new Council set out with new roles, responsibilities and relationships. Fifty years on, North Kesteven District Council continues to serve its residents, businesses and visitors with clear purpose and a far-sighted view on making things better for its flourishing communities. This is most clearly exemplified in its immediate 10-year plan to invest a record £270m in more and better housing, enhanced business opportunities, functions and facilities; to work in partnership with all other councils, health agencies and public services locally; and to promote and progress climate action for a carbon net-zero future. Looking forward into the next 50 years it is impossible to say what the shape of local government will be in 2074 – whether the units will be larger or smaller, what might be devolved from central government or passed up for regional determination etc – but what is certain is that North Kesteven District Council, through its Members, its colleagues and its positive relationship with partners, will always seek to be a high-performing, value-for-money Council that is responsive, responsible and reflective to the needs of its communities and delivers (day-in, day-out, year by year) services which are excellent, effective, efficient and exemplary.
Read more about the history and future of the Council HERE. Various activities to commemorate this significant anniversary are being planned, with more details to be shared in due course.
Water Courses – Rights and Responsibilities
If you own land with a watercourse running through it, along its boundaries, or under it, you have certain rights and responsibilities that in legal terms make you a ‘riparian owner’. Being a riparian owner helps to protect your own home, your neighbour’s home and those who are situated upstream from flooding, whilst also supporting the natural environment of our rivers and streams. If a watercourse forms the boundary between your home and a neighbour, the law automatically presumes that you are responsible for maintaining up to the centreline of the watercourse. However, this information can vary based on any formal information that indicates a separate contract, such as a title in deeds.
Below is some more information on rules and regulations for those living close to a watercourse:
• If there is a fence between your land and the watercourse, the presumption remains that the watercourse marks the land boundary, rather than the fence.
• If there is a hedge, the land owner on the hedge side of the bank is presumed to have riparian responsibilities for the whole watercourse, rather than just up to the centreline.
• If a watercourse runs alongside an adopted highway the responsibility for maintenance is presumed to lie with the landowner on the non-highway side of the bank. However, in certain circumstances, maintenance of these watercourses may be the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council.
If you have any further queries in relation to riparian ownership please contact Lincolnshire County Council: Riparian ownership – Lincolnshire County Council.
Heckington by-election result
Christine Collard has retained the vacant Heckington Rural seat on North Kesteven District Council for the Conservatives. She polled 425 votes to secure a 33.57% share of the 1,266 votes cast.
Lincolnshire Independent Dave Darmon was second with 369 votes and Liberal Democrat Susan Hislop a close third with 345. Overall turnout was 31.06% of the 4,076 eligible voters. The seat became vacant on the resignation of Stewart Ogden. The ward’s other district councillor is fellow Conservative Cllr Sally Tarry.
Climate scorecards success
We’ve been praised for our work on addressing climate change in a national analysis of all councils’ performance published this week. The Council’s work in Planning and Land Use and Collaboration and Engagement is highlighted in a new report by Climate Emergency UK, whose ‘scorecards’ rank the actions of every UK council against a number of criteria. The report, titled “Scorecards Successes: What factors enable climate action within UK local authorities?”, places the Council 50 percentage points above average for Planning and Land Use and 28 percentage points above average for Collaboration and Engagement when compared to other District Councils. We scored 14 percentage points higher than the average District Council score overall, achieving a ranking of 12th in the UK (out of 164 District Councils). Under the assessment for Planning and Land Use, our participation in the climate-positive Central Lincolnshire Local Plan came in for particular praise. This Plan has a number of features that mark it out as prioritising environmental concerns, such as pushing the boundaries on energy efficiency in new buildings, promoting renewable energy generation and reducing embodied carbon. In its comments on Collaboration and Engagement the report particularly praises efforts to engage the public in climate action, which we do primarily through the Act on Climate campaign. The range of user-friendly information on the NKDC website and the Climate Pledges are picked out as being especially noteworthy. Engagement with the business community was also noted, with the Council’s aim to help enterprises reduce their environmental impact being positively picked-out. For example, the Council has subsidised 300 free places for businesses on the sustainability platform Zellar, which helps SMEs make a climate action plan and guides them through making changes to reduce their impact. Climate Emergency UK commissioned respected sustainability consultants Anthesis to undertake independent analysis of their Scorecards and identify what makes councils effective in taking climate action.
More empty homes attract additional Council Tax charge
Changes in the legislation affecting long-term empty homes means that from this April any house that has been unfurnished and unoccupied for 12 months or more becomes subject to an additional liability for council tax; requiring the owner to pay double the standard charge. Up to now, that has applied after two years of being empty. This change potentially brings an additional 193 properties under the premium charge within North Kesteven. While there are circumstances in which discounts and exemptions can be applied, such as structural alterations or initial two months of vacancy, if a house remains empty for more than a year it is now charged at double the full charge of an occupied one. Homes that remain empty after a year of being promoted for sale or rent will also be included. Charges increase to three times the rate after five years and four times after 10 years. From April 1, 2025, an additional premium on furnished, unoccupied properties will see double council tax apply to second or holiday homes. And from this April an established 10% discount for second homes no longer applies. This affects around 150 properties within North Kesteven. These circumstances may provide an additional incentive to owners of empty properties to do more to bring them back into use more swiftly. For more information see www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/emptyhomes
Heckington Digital Hub
Spring is here and so is the opportunity to boost your digital confidence! The Heckington Digital Hub offers support for anyone who could do with help navigating the digital world. Sessions are held every Wednesday during term time from 1pm to 2.30pm at the Heckington Methodist Church Hall, Church Street, Heckington NG34 9RF.
One of six hubs held across North Kesteven, this inclusive space is run by the Council in collaboration with a range of dedicated volunteers, with sessions covering a range of topics including:
• Setting up and sending emails
• Video calling
• Accessing services online, such as NHS and council services
• Online shopping
• Safety and security online
• Using apps effectively
• And much more
If attending the Heckington sessions, if possible, please bring along your own device, this could be a laptop, tablet, or smart phone. There is a tablet available to use, but you make the session more beneficial by being supported on a device which is familiar to you. For more information on the Heckington Digital Hub and further Digital Hub session locations, visit: https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/your-community/digital-hubs or call 01529 414155. To read what Heckington Digital Hub volunteer Rory and Digital Hub's coordinator Rachael say of their roles visit the news story on the Council's webpage via the link: https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/council-news/2024/03/spring-spotlight-heckington-digital-hub
Lincolnshire County Council Report
Councillor Lindsey Cawrey
The only thing I have to report is that I had a site visit to the Sustrans route at the point it meets the Ferry Lane footbridge. As members know, there is an ongoing issue with cyclists travelling at speed across the footbridge and not heeding the ‘Cyclists Dismount’ signs. I have already had an email conversation with Highways about what can be done – for example more signage, the relocation of signage, physical barriers etc – but the Sustrans route is not owned or operated by the county council and the footbridge across the South Delph is the property of the Environment Agency. I have informed Cllr Ian Carrington, in his capacity as local NKDC member, as he has a working knowledge of NK’s relationship with Sustrans. I will continue to pursue a solution that is workable for all users of the Sustrans route, the footbridge and local residents. I am happy to answer any questions that members may have.
Thank you!
Lindsey