September 2023 DRAFT Minutes
Great Ponton Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of GPPC held on 4th September 2023 at 7pm
Present: Councillors Richard Parkinson Gordon Taylor Linda Adams and Fred Furber. Parish Clerk Carol Ramsey. Councillor Ben Green. Mrs Barbara Furber.
Chairmans welcome.
Open public forum. Mrs Barbara Furber. Barbara expressed concern regarding the pathway at the side of the church where the edges are overgrown. It was agreed these would be cut. Barbara also asked regarding the possibility of a basketball hoop, golf football and the possibility of archery on the playing fields. She also asked why the second car park at the P/F remains locked. It was explained it was to keep the area secure.
1 Apologies. Eileen Booth, David Booth and David Bellamy
2 Declarations of interest according with the Localism Act 2001. None received.
3 Previous minutes 3/7/23 were declared as correct.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MEETING (Richard Parkinson Chair)
4a Community speed watch. 16686 vehicles passed through the village with an average speed of 25.9 mph, maximum of 51 mph was recorded. Speed camera x 2 solar panelled are £4250 +VAT. Richard Parkinson has sourced other quotes and these will be again discussed at the next meeting. GPPC will pursue a 20mph advisory scheme around the school at Dally gate. This matter has been requested to Highways along with other traffic calming measures and has been rejected. GPPC will appeal this decision. RP to request free speed signs.
4b Boundary village centre still ongoing.
4c A date of 9th October 23 is provisionally booked for installation of the outdoor gym equipment and double swing. A site visit will precede this. It is suggested to involve GP families in decisions regarding the positioning of the equipment.
4d Grass cutting is going well with our two new contractors.
4e Quotes for speed cameras will be discussed at the next PC meeting. It was decided to opt for one extra camera and better utilisation of the existing camera.
4f/g Gates. It was proposed to re think the gates positions and costs. It was suggested to have two single gates at each end of the village. One as the village is entered from the High Dyke near to the 30mph sign on the left. The other near to the Church car park entrance on the left as the village is entered. Chris Watton has quoted £443.84 for the provision and installation of these gates. GPPC to paint the gates and purchase signs. This would give a savings of £500 on quotes received. Linda Adams proposed this motion Fred Furber seconded the motion. The paperwork has gone off to the LCC who will confirm the positioning of the gates.
4h Our new litter picker has started and all is going well. It was resolved that the litter picked will continue to be disposed of in Fred Furber’s General bin.
4i A list of jobs/areas that require attention in the village was given to all. Most jobs/areas have reported to SKDC/The Big Clean and some jobs have already been completed.
District and county councillors’ reports.
Ben Green explained the new state of politics in Grantham and the surrounding area. It has become a Rainbow Alliance with six independent groups. Ben is passionate about the cleanliness or otherwise of the A1 in Lincolnshire and urges our support with this matter. SKDC are looking at council tax reductions for veterans possibly in bands a-d. SKDC are looking at battery collections as part of refuse facilities. If GPPC want to cut less grass and plant more trees we can apply to the Woodland Trust for tree packs.
Village centre matters
Emma Meadows was to attend the meeting but was called away at the last moment. As a Trustee I agreed to give all an update. She gave her apologies and also a breakdown of Augusts accounts. Since the EGM all cash taken is being banked on a regular basis. The bank mandate for change is still ongoing. Bank statements are still going to Mandy Rawding. The day-to-day management now realise the lack of funds in the bank account so early in the financial year and are looking where savings can be made. There is a healthy list of functions for September and October. The AGM is to be held 6th October 2023. The accounts for 2021-22 have been taken to Ian Stokes for independent verification. As these minutes are been written I can confirm that yesterday via the internet I, as the VH admin person secured a three-year deal with British Gas, the existing supplier, at a rate that will take the spending down from almost £10k to £3908.00. As a charity the VH should have been paying vat at 5% not 20%, this is now in place, and as a gesture the new deal was backdated 5 days. There are many more services where cutbacks can be made.
Community playing field
Gordon Taylor handed in his resignation as Camping Club coordinator from the end of October 2023.
Richard Parkinson, on behalf of the GPPC, accepted his resignation, and thanked Gordon for all his past work. Gordon is to continue his role of parish councillor.
7a the dangerous roof has been removed from the portacabins at a cost of £200. There have been sightings of teenagers on the roofs remaining, and wiring has been pulled off the roof. David Booth stated he would check on the wiring on return from his break. The future of the portacabins should be reviewed as a matter of urgency. The toilet has been left open for the villagers since our last meeting. There have been no problems and it was resolved for the toilet to remain open for now. The step to the toilet (a now broken pallet) needs to be addressed asap.
7b As GT has resigned from the end of October the future of the CC will be discussed at the next meeting.
8 Financial matters
7a Updated financial accounts were given to all parish councillors and accepted. Banking with HSBC is now running smoothly.
8 Correspondence
As already discussed,
9 Councillors reports and matters for inclusion on the next agenda
Concern was raised over LCC outright refusal of a 20mph advisory speed limit on Dally gate. It was resolved to ask Charlotte Vernon for help in this matter.
Concern was raised over speeding in the village in general, not just Dally Gate. Can we ask our local PCSO for help?
It was agreed to write to the school to ask their cooperation in preventing parking on the grass verge near the school especially since the Big Clean have worked so hard to reinstate the pathways.
All councillors agreed to hold our meetings in the Community Centre going forward.
Date of next meeting 6th November 2023 at the Community Centre at 7pm.