September 2020 Minutes
MINUTES of the Hough on the Hill Parish Council meeting held at 7.30 pm on Thursday 3rd September 2020 at All Saints Church Community Area, Hough on the Hill.
Present: Cllr R Kingscott (RK), Cllrs. R. Holden (RH), Vicky McLean (VM) and Steve Rowland (SR), Cty Cllr A Maughan, Dist Cllr Milnes plus 1 member of the public.
RK welcomed those present. Sue Morgan had resigned and it was resolved to send her a letter of thanks and a memento – Cllr McLean will organise this. RK is moving away from the area and wished to retire as Chairman – it was proposed by RK and seconded by RH that SR take the Chair – he duly accepted the position and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office. It was then proposed by SR and seconded by RK that RH be Vice Chair – he duly accepted and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
The member of the public present asked if we could arrange for our contractors to strim round the new village gates on the C001 – clerk to get a quote. SR will clean up the Brandon phone box.– none.
6/20 - there were no apologies for absence.
7/20. There were no declarations of interest.
8/20 Minutes of the meetings held on 12th March and 26th May were read and it was resolved unanimously to accept them as a true record, and they were duly signed.
9/20 - Planning
S18/0078 and S20/0098 – Brandon Wood Clay Shoot – they are still shooting in contravention to the original planning approval.Two independent reports have been requested by Cllr Milnes.This application will be dealt with at high level and enforcement have been monitoring noise levels and agree there is a problem.
S19/0735 – Drive through coffee shop at A1 petrol station site – there were no planning reasons to object to the coffee shop and the application has been approved. A Section 278 Agreement is required between the applicant and Highways England and this is not yet in place. To close the right hand turn into Toll Bar Road when travelling northbound on the A1, a TRO is required and so Highways England have to go to consultation. This will be advertised in the press, on site and online. It is likely to be approved. No changes will be made to the southbound slip road.
S20/0187- tree works at The Old Vicarage, High Road, Hough – approved.
S20/0320 – extension at 5 Village Street, Gelston - approved.
S20/0893 – tree works at Forge Farmhouse, Hough – approved.
S20/1101 – 14 Village Street, Gelston – stone wall allowed to be taken down and now rebuilt with rendering and not stone.
S20/1302 – Beechers, Lower Road, Hough – no objection – pending consideration.
10/20. Playing field:
Reports for March, May, June and August to hand. There are weeds growing through in the play area itself and some growing in the hedges - SR will report back after he has done the September report.
11/20. Road safety/Highways:
The gates at the south end of Brandon have been painted – the north end ones still to be done. Water problem at High Road, Hough seems okay now. Cllr Maughan will report the blocked drains at the bottom of Water Lane, and on Lower Road. The Brandon sewer dyke was cleared in December 2019 and will be done annually by Black Sluice. The application for a reduced speed limit at Gelston will go to consultation. Missing sign on the green at Gelston to be replaced with a new plastic sign on wooden plinth “Please do not park on The Green”. Clerk to organise.
12/20 - Footpath 8 - Richard Davies has no update as yet.
13/20 - Defibrillators - Brandon has had new battery and pads fitted f.o.c. and so should be okay for two years now.
14/20. Communications:noted that News and Views has been well received in the Parish. Agreed that we should put a short entry in there relating to our meetings and giving contact details of Councillors. Also advertise for new Councillors saying the PC could close if nobody comes forward. New website has been set up– this had to be done due to Accessibility Laws. Will go live some time between now and December.
15/20. Financial matters:
[a] Bank balance at 31.7.20 £4,812.86 (deposit a/c} and £7,155.31 (current a/c).
[b] Resolved to sign the bank reconciliation/income and expenditure accounts for past 4 months.
Clerk to organise a new Bank Mandate.
[c] Insurance renewal considered and paid I May.
[d] Resolved to make a donation of £50 to LIVES.
16/20 - Correspondence - Broadband for outlying farms etc is due to be signed off today and so should happen in a matter of weeks.
17/20 - Presentations from invited speakers:
Cllr Maughan advised that the LCC Resilience Forum has been supporting community Groups involved with the Coronavirus pandemic.Covid in Lincolnshire is very low compared to
other places.He had been given a £3,000 Community Fund which he had distributed, including £500 to Scrubs Group.A lot of surface dressing has been done (not in our Parish) – the new contractors
have pride and positivity in their work.Devolution is still being discussed between NE Lincs, North Lincs and LCC.The Government is not forthcoming and the consensus is that now is not the right
time – different models could apply; now unlikely to be by 2022.
Cllr Milnes – waste collection has coped very well during the pandemic. Council meetings have been carried out “virtually” and this has proved to draw in more attendees. A strong letter has
been sent to various people concerning the closure of Grantham Hospital A & E Department.The new CEO is carrying out reviews of the Council.Preparation of a new budget is under way – there is
a shortfall due to Coronavirus costs. The Ward Member grant has been reduced to £500 but there was a Covid grant of £500 which went to the Scrubs Group.The new Local Plan has put elements of
the Neighbourhood Plan, out of date.Spatial Policies 3 and 4 will override the Neighbourhood Plan. The changes will affect our Parish which is now classed as a small village which means potentially,
growth will be allowed.The new Local Plan is already being reviewed.
VM said that a septic tank along Water Lane is spilling into the stream – this is a matter for Environmental Health or the Environment Agency.The road to Hough from Brandon is in a very poor state – Cllr Maughan will check to see if there is any programme of works for Brandon/Hough.
The field on Folly Lane is owned by Tom Lord.
18/20. Date and time of next meeting: 10th December 2020 at 7.30 pm.
Meeting closed at 9.07 pm.