September 2021 MInutes
Great Ponton Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of Great Ponton Parish Council held on 6th September 2021 at 7pm.
Present: Councillors E.Booth chairman, D.Booth, I.Cruickshank, J.Booth, C.Ramsey and G.Taylor
District Councillor David Bellamy.
Chairman’s welcome.
Open public forum. No public in attendance.
Administration.
a. Vacancy for parish councillor. Application had been received from village resident Richard Parkinson. Richard gave a brief presentation of why he would like to become a parish councillor. It was resolved by all to co-opt Richard l to the parish council. Richard duly signed the Dpi.
b.Vacancy for Vice-Chairman. The Vice chairman vacancy had arisen due to the former vice-chairman resigning. Councillor E.Booth had proposed Councillor Iain Cruickshank as vice-chairman, this was seconded by Councillor J.Booth. It was resolved to accept Councillor Cruickshank as vice-chairman.
1. Apologies. No apologies had been received.
2. Declaration of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011. None received.
3. Notes of the general meeting held on 5th July 2021These had previously been circulated and it was resolved to accept these as a true copy of the minutes.
4. District and County Councillors reports.
No report had been received from County Councillor Adams. District Councillor David Bellamy discussed the proposed new leisure centre for Grantham and the impact that covid had been to the current leisure centre. Councillor Bellamy left at 7.20pm.
5. Matters arising from the minutes.
a. Highways matters. Reporting of potholes and minor works are still taking place to Lincolnshire County Council. The state of the bridge had been reported to Highways England, who’s reply was they check the bridge condition every two years and all seemed well. The clerk had been supplied with photographs showing the overgrown vegetation on the bridge and how bad the state was for those pedestrians trying to cross it. These had now been sent to Highways England, not reply had been received. They will now be contacted regarding the state of the overgrown central reservation.
The area surround the steps down from the church to the road has now been cut back. Also the church car park overgrown vegetation has been cut back, this will be done on an ad-hock basis to keep it looking tidy.
b. Community Speed Watch. 17303 vehicle counts were noted, with an average of 25.6 mph. Speed of 60 mph had been logged at 5.40pm Discussions had taken place regarding the cost of another speed watch machine or whether a permanent one be erected. Clerk suggested having an Archers Survey done which will then show what speeds are actually taking place. This is then evidence whether to purchase another speed camera.
Question was raised asking if a mirror could be place opposite the turning into The Terrace, as visibility isn’t good with vehicles driving from the left due to the curve in the road.
c. Boundary Village Centre. Still ongoing.
6. Village Centre matters and reports.
The Village Centre representative Councillor Cruickshank gave a brief update regarding the finances from the previous year and they are still awaiting the paperwork. It had been difficult for the treasurer to get access to bank statements as these seemed to have gone to a trustee who wasn’t forthcoming at supplying them. There are only two current trustees as no public Annual General Meeting had been arranged to increase the trustee numbers, although Councillors Cruickshank and County Councillor Adams had been dealing with some of the paperwork. Chairman asked if a meeting could be arranged before the next parish council meeting in November and an update given on the way forward with the Trust.
7. Community Playing Field.
a. Playing field.Another order of poo bags had been received, these are being used by pet owners but some are now being found thrown in the dyke or hanging on trees, this is totally unacceptable as there are plenty of bins around and owners could always use their own bin at home. Volunteers have now stopped strimming around the cabins due to being covered in dog poo coming from off the strimmer.
b. Football Club.Clerk had been contacted by another football club to use the pitches, it turns out that this club is affiliated to Grantham Town Academy who is paying rent to use the pitches, and they have given permission for use. Clerk had received their insurance documents.
c. Campsite.The Camping & Caravan Club, of whom the parish council has the certificated site has completed their annual review of the area. They have now made demands to update the site and questions asked. They have requested that the area be fenced off giving a designated caravan/tent area for safety purposes. This was discussed at great length, and it was resolved to put in place a non-permanent fence to allow for grass cutting and general maintenance.
d. Pat testing. After discussion it was agreed to have the few electrical items pat tested each year.
e. To retrospectively agree the cutting of the path alongside the church. It was agreed to add to the grass cutting specification the footpath alongside the church, this has been done and will be cut each time the grass gets cut.
8. Financial matters.
a. The finance report had previously been circulated. It was resolved to accept the figures given.
b. Bank signatures. Due to the resignation of a previous signatory, after discussion, it was resolved to accept Councillors Iain Cruickshank and Carol Ramsey be added to the bank mandate.
9. Browns Trust. The clerk informed everyone that the interest on the Browns Trust account was now reduced to pence per month. This year the pay out will be less than £10 per person who is able to receive these funds. It was agreed that the payment will be made in cash as due to latest correspondence from the bank, charges are now being made per cheque used.
10. Planning matters.
No planning applications had been received.
11. Correspondence.
Some correspondence received had been included in the agenda. Clerk stated that the bank are now charging for cheques and also that she has an appointment with the bank regarding their account safeguarding proceedures, this is being done to every business client and not isolated to the parish council. Councillor E.Booth had placed posters around the village regarding the Grantham Transport Strategy.
12. Councillors reports and items for the next meeting.
None requested.
13. Date of next meeting. Set for 1st November 2021.
14. To resolve to go into closed session.
No.
Meeting ended at 8.55pm