May 10 2022 - Annual Meeting of the Parish Council - Agenda
NOCTON PARISH COUNCIL
MEMBERSHIP
Chair: To be appointed at the meeting
Vice-chair: To be appointed at the meeting
Councillors: Mike Clarke, Neil Faulkner, Ian Goldsworthy, Mike Kaye, George McDonnell and MaryAnn Williams (one vacancy)
Dear Councillors,
You are hereby summoned to attend the Annual Meeting of Nocton Parish Council to be held in the Nocton Hub, Main Street, Nocton on TUESDAY, 10 MAY 2022 AT 7.30 P.M. for the purpose of considering those matters set out below.
Please note that this meeting will be preceded by the separate Annual Parish Meeting commencing at 6.30 p.m.
Karen Steels-Tallett Parish Clerk
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SUBMISSION OF PUBLIC QUESTION
In accordance with the Parish Council’s Standing Orders No. 1(e), the following question has been received:
Q. Can the Chair give an explanation as to why the Nocton Parish Council element of the NKDC community council tax has increased by 6.6% in 2022? In 2021 the increase was only 2.5% and the previous year there was a reduction of 2.0%. Will the Chair acknowledge that the 2022 increase was primarily as a result of the activities of the outgoing clerk which are under investigation?
A. A commitment was given to residents when building The Hub that every effort would be made to minimise the financial effect of so doing and to keep any increase in the precept as low as possible. In the two financial years prior to 2022/23, it had proved possible to use a small portion of the Parish Council’s Reserves and other income received to support its general expenditure and thus limit the effect on the precept.
Unfortunately, and as previously reported, following the resignation of the previous Parish Clerk, the Parish Council has encountered considerable difficulties in gaining access to its financial and other information for 2021/22. As such, and at the time of setting its annual budget and precept in January 2022 for the financial year 2022/23, it could not be fully certain as to its overall financial situation. Against this background, therefore, the Parish Council had little option but to exercise a considerable degree of caution when setting its budget and precept for2022/23 and thus could not commit to continuing with the similar levels of support from its Reserve which had proved possible previously. In addition, because Hub income and expenditure for 2021/22 did not appear to have been accounted for separately from the mainstream Parish Council budget on which the precept was based, it was not possible to state with any clarity as to whether the Hub was making a profit, loss or breaking even and whether any financial support would be necessary to cover its fixed costs.
Having said that, the precept paid by residents to support the work of the Parish Council still compares extremely favourably with similar councils elsewhere in the area.
A G E N D A
Members of the public and others present at the meeting are politely asked not to attempt to participate in the discussion of agenda items unless specifically invited to do so by the Chair.
1. To receive Nominations for the Appointment of Chair and Vice-chair
(a) To appoint the Chair of the Parish Council for the Municipal Year 2022/23.
(b) To appoint the Vice-chair of the Parish Council for the Municipal Year 2022/23.
2. Apologies for Absence
To receive any apologies for absence.
3. Declarations of Interest
Members of the Parish Council are required to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting. In addition, any private or personal non-pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered at this meeting should also be declared (unless it is insignificant or one which is shared with other members of the public generally as a Council Tax payer or inhabitant of the area).
4. Minutes of the Meetings of the Parish Council
(a) To note the minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 4 May 2021 (previously circulated)
(b) To approve the minutes of the Meetings held on 12 and 28 April, 2022
5. Appointment of Committees, etc
(a) To appoint 3 x members to the Finance Committee
(b) To appoint 3 x members to the Personnel Committee
(c) To approve the membership of the Hub Management Group. The current membership comprises Councillors George McDonnell and MaryAnn Williams, Nicola Clarke, Jayne Faulkner and Bob Webster. The Hub Manager is a standing member of the Group.
6. Parish Council Standing Orders, Policies and Financial Regulations
It is customary to review the Parish Council’s Standing Orders, policies and Financial Regulations at the Annual Meeting to ensure that they remain up-to-date and accord with best practice, etc. It is, however, proposed to defer this matter to a future, but early, meeting in order that the recently appointed Parish Clerk may contribute to the review.
7. Chair’s Annual Report for 2021/22
To receive a report from Councillor Mike Clarke.
8. District and County Councillor Reports
To receive reports from the (a) County Council and (b) District Council representatives.
9. Former Acting Clerk’s Report
(a) Schedule of Payments – To note the following payments made and income received since the last meeting
(a) Parish Council’s Bank Accounts:
To note the following position as at 30 April 2022:
PC Main Account: £33,758.88; Hub Account: £11,214.17; 200 Club: £1,564.30
(b) Defibrillator
To note that an order has now been placed for a replacement defibrillator at The Hub. Councillor Neil Faulkner to confirm that a letter of thanks has been sent to Lincoln Rotary for its generous donation towards the cost.
10. Parish Council Internal Audit 2021/22
To note the current position regarding the work currently in hand to prepare for the Internal Audit 2021/22.
11. Parish Council Website
To consider engaging the services of a Consultant or other arrangement, to undertake a fundamental review of the Parish Council’s website to ensure that it complies with current regulations and guidance, etc.
12. Provision of Grit/Salt Bin
To note that the Chair has approached Lincolnshire CC for the provision of a Bin for the permanent storage of grit/salt for The Hub car park.
13. Street Lighting Issues
To note the current position regarding (a) Street Light No 25, Main Street (Min. No. 17); and (b) a review of lighting times for existing street lamps (Min. No. 20(a)). Councillor Mike Clarke to report.
14. Grass Cutting at Nocton Park
To consider a request from a resident that the Parish Council assumes responsibility for cutting the grass on the communal areas of Nocton Park Road, particularly at its junction with Potterhanworth Road, now that the road has been adopted by the County Council and is no longer being cut by NPML Ltd.
15. Nocton Hub
To note the current position regarding the following matters agreed at the meeting held on 12 April:
(a) Intruder Alarm Service Contract (Min. No. 7.1) (Cllr M. Clarke)
(b) External Advertising by Ripon Arms (Min. No. 7.4(iii)) (Cllr G. McDonnell)
(c) External Noticeboard for The Hub (Min. No. 7.4(iv)) (Cllr M. Clarke)
(d) Access Statement and Fire Strategy Documents (Min. No. 12(c)) (Cllr M. Clarke)
(e) Anti-fungal Paint to Cellar Room and provision of splashbacks in the Male Toilets (Min. No. 12(d)) (Cllr N. Faulkner)
(f) Access Ramp (Min. No. 12(e)) (Cllr M. Clarke)
(g) Commemorative Plaque (Min. No. 12(h)) (Cllr M. Williams)
(h) Use of Decals by Ripon Arms (Min. No. 12(j)) (Cllr M. Clarke and Cllr M. Kaye)
(i) CCTV (Min. No. 12.2) (Cllr M. Kaye)
(j) Community Lincs (Min. No. 12.3) (Cllr M. Clarke)
(k) Preventing the marking of walls (Min. No. 20(c)) (Cllr N. Faulkner)
(l) Storage and Movement of Hub Tables (Min. No. 20(d)) (Cllr M. Williams)
(m)Hub Store Room – Access and Storage Issues (Min. No. 25) (Cllr N. Faulkner/Cllr M. Williams)
16. Planning, etc Issues
(a) Land Adjacent to No. 7 Rostrop Road
To consider the Parish Council’s response to this Application as drafted by Councillor Mike Kaye:
Officers will be aware that Nocton Parish Council supported the last outline application for this site (19/1215/OUT) and are in favour of the principle of development. It is considered to be among the better sites available. It is a quiet, peaceful area with a very pleasant outlook. We shall comment under four headings.
Access:
The new driveway is very close to the Rostrop Rd/Habbaniya Rise corner and at this point the road is extremely narrow. On the other hand, it is a cul-de-sac with extremely low traffic flows.
We note that the applicants intend to take measures to ensure good visibility at this point.
Appearance:
Judging from the preliminary drawings submitted, the house design is similar to its near neighbours in the materials used but the inclusion of a large, prominent attached garage spoils the overall effect.
Landscaping:
The development benefits from mature boundaries which will screen much of it, other than the frontage, from view.
Scale:
The D&A Statement claims a footprint of 124 sqm including the garage. Whilst the hazards of measuring from a scale drawing are appreciated, our measurement make it nearer 150 sqm some 25% bigger than its near neighbour. It also suffers from the fact that there is a large, prominent attached garage which further exacerbates the impression of mass. The neighbouring house has a smaller, more discrete, separate garage. The proposed dwelling is also apparently taller. These unfortunate characteristics could have been alleviated by a more sympathetic design with the garage separate and to the rear, accessed from Habbaniyah Rise.
More critically, approximately 45% of the area of the plot is to be covered by either the house/garage or paving. The D&A Statement states:
“New areas of paving will either drain into adjacent soft landscaped areas or be of permeable construction.”
Since all of them could be said to drain into adjacent soft landscaped areas, it seems likely that they may, in the event, be of non-permeable construction. We think that a detailed assessment of the likely effect on adjacent housing may be necessary particularly the house next down the slope of the aptly named Habbaniyah Rise.
Conclusion:
Nocton Parish Council supports this development and expects that the Planning Authority will take note of its reservations concerning particularly Access and Scale, in what we hope will ultimately be a successful Application.”
(b) Central Lincolnshire Local Plan
To note that the Parish Council’s comments which were agreed at the last meeting have now been submitted to the CLLP Planning Team.
17. Land Behind Nocton Hub
Councillor Mike Kaye to report further on any issues arising from the recent sale of the land behind Nocton Hub.
18. Nocton Primary School Summer Fete
To consider a request from Nocton Primary School for the use of the Village Green in connection with its Summer Fete on Saturday, 2 July 2022 and for setting-up on the day before. It has also asked for permission to use The Green for its Jubilee Celebrations in June on date(s) to be determined.
19. Village Green – Dandelion Clock
Councillor MaryAnn Williams to report on a proposal to re-gravel the area around the clock.
20. Date of Next Meetings
To approve the dates for future meetings of the Parish Council in 2022/23 as follows (all meetings to be held on the second Tuesday of the month in The Hub, Main Street and to commence at 7.00 p.m. unless otherwise stated):
14 June (provisional subject to member availability); 9 August (provisional subject to any urgent or other important business); 13 September; 11 October; 10 November; 13 December 2022; and 10 January (provisional subject to budget/precept timetable); 14
February; 14 March; 11 April and 9 May 2023 (Annual Parish Council Meeting)
At the conclusion of the public session, there will be a period of ten minutes in which members of the public may ask questions and/or comment on the issues discussed by the Parish Council during the course of the evening or to raise any other matters of concern or interest.
21. Exclusion of the Press and Public from the Meeting
To agree to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the ground that the nature of the business to be transacted is confidential.
22. Resignation of Former Parish Clerk
To note the current position regarding the action taken to deal with those matters associated with the resignation, etc of the former Parish Clerk.
23. Subject Access Request and Freedom of Information Requests
To consider and approve the Parish Council’s response to recent Subject Access and Freedom of Information Requests received (draft responses to be circulated separately to members of the Parish Council and Parish Clerk only).
24. Hub Staffing Matters
To consider further those issues referred to the Parish Council by the Hub Management Group as set out Item No. 24 of the meeting held on 12 April, 2022.
Karen Steel-Tallett (Parish Clerk) 45 Wragby Road, Bardney LN3 5X Email: clerk@noctonparishcouncil.gov.uk