November 2021 Minutes
Great Ponton Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of Great Ponton Parish Council held on 1st November 2021 at 7pm.
Present: Councillors E.Booth chairman, D.Booth, I.Cruickshank, G.Taylor. C.Ramsey and R.Parkinson.
County Councillor David Bellamy.
Chairman’s welcome.
Open public forum. No public in attendance.
1. Apologies. Apologies had been received from Councillor J.Booth. Reasons given and accepted by all.
2. Declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2001. None received.
3. Notes of the general meeting held on 6th September and the EGM of 4th October 2021 These had previously been circulated and it was resolved to accept these as a true copy of the minutes with some alterations.
4. District and County Councillors reports.
No report had been received from the District Councillor.
County Councillor David Bellamy was asked various questions: How many times does it take to finally get fly tipping removed. Anything that’s reported by ‘Fix My Street’ app goes to SKDC. Blocked drains and salt bins are County Council issues. Councillor Bellamy, having also had problems with the Camping & Caravan Club relating to another of his parish councils, said that there are other organisations for camping and caravans that could be explored.
5. Matters arising from the minutes.
a. Highways matters. Bridge over the A1 has finally been cleaned. Path along the church has been tidied up. Path in front of church has been reported as a case opened up as there is no edge to the path and is very uneven. Potholes had been filled in. Reported the salt bin at Pit Lane has a broken lid.
Councillor Taylor reported that 11 vehicles were parked from the A1 junction as far as Cringles Way, all possibly belonging to one person. A garden is severely overgrown in Cringles Way, possibly due to resident being away. One local resident is parking in a dangerous position causing a blind spot.
b. Community Speed Watch. 16456 vehicles, maximum of 50 mph and an average speed of 24.4 mph.
c. Boundary Village Centre. Still ongoing.
6. Village Centre matters and reports.
At the meeting of the Village Centre held the previous week, accounts had been discussed and it shows a balance of £14682 in the bank. There is now a working committee in place. It was agreed at the parish council meeting that Councillor Cruickshank be the parish council representative on this committee and the parish clerk to write to them accordingly. Chairman Councillor Eileen Booth of the parish council has asked for a more indepth breakdown of the accounts.
7. Community Playing Field.
a. Playing field. As discussed at the meeting held on 4th October, a price had been received for the clean up of the dyke which runs from the A1 to the main gate. Bates Environmental has priced this at £285.50. It was resolved to accept this figure and the clerk to make contact accordingly to get this work started. Beano’s Wood, which is privately owned, is now closed to the general public. Access is from the playing field and the owner now has erected a sign stating the wood is private property with no public access.
b. Football Club. Clerk had been contacted by Grantham Town Academy Football Club, they have now decided not to hire the football pitches as the money in hire fees needs to be put to more urgent issues. Should they change this decision, they will of course make contact to see if the pitches are still available. Galliford Try who have said they will put down hardstanding around the cabins have contacted the parish council, they will now plan to do this work next year.
c. Campsite. After the extra general meeting on 4th October closing the camp site down temporarily, quotes had been received from contractors to supply and fit a new cesspool as per Camping & Caravan Club instructions. See item 8e.
8. Financial matters.
a. The finance report had previously been circulated. It was resolved to accept the figures given.
b. Clerks increase of hours. The parish clerk has requested an increase in permanent working hours. It was resolved to accept the increase to 5 hours per week with immediate effect.
c. Clerks salary. After discussion, it was resolved to increase the clerks hourly salary to bring it in line with the salary scales provided by NALC. The hourly rate will be £11.08 per hour from the new financial year in April 2022.
d. Budget/precept. The parish clerk gave a comprehensive discussion on the budget and discussed why the various increased. It was resolved to accept the precept figure of £11211, this is an increase of £1772 from the previous year. It takes into account the clerks new salary pay and other increases of charges.
e. Prices as follows for the supply and fit of new cesspool. Contractor 1; £3495. Contractor 2; £6069. Contractor 3 £5500. All plus vat. Before any decision was made, it was agreed to ask contractor 1 to resubmit their quote with an extra pipework. Once all quotes have been received, clerk will notify all Councillors to make their decision prior to the January meeting. This is due to works commencing and the area having more work done prior to being the Caravan Clubs inspection in time for reopening next season.
9. Browns Trust. The clerk gave a comprehensive discussion regarding the Browns Trust statement for the Christmas payout. Clerk explained for the benefit of the new councillors, that the Brown’s Trust small income of interest was to be distributed to widows of the parish, who are eligible to receive this. Due to the lack of monitory interest received, the amount of £7 will be given prior to Christmas.
10. Planning matters.
Any planning application that had been received had been dealt with prior to this meeting.
11. Correspondence.
a. Any correspondence received had been included in the agenda. Councillor Parkinson had received a letter from former councillor Peter Jackson, this was read out and related to the Village Centre. It was noted that any correspondence received by any councillor, had to be sent to the parish clerk first to be dealt with.
12. Councillors reports and items for the next meeting.
Councillor Ramsey had a few items that needed to be discussed.
1. Residents of Cringle Way would like a grit bin. Clerk to contact highways dept.
2. Western Power had repaired the generator and not replaced the handrail.
3. Grass verges are churned up along Dallygate due to off road parking. What is the possibility of erecting bollards or similar to discourage people to park there. Clerk to contact highways to discuss the way forward.
Councillor Parkinson suggested some form of community engagement to gain their input. Clerk explained that every May during the Annual Parish Meeting, everyone is invited to discuss ideas and concerns for the village. This is very poorly attended. Maybe a push for next May’s meeting could be worked on.
13. Date for the next meeting. Provisionally set for 10th January 2022
14. To resolve to go into closed session.
No.
Meeting ended at 9.25pm