11th March 2020
Minutes
Haconby & Stainfield Parish Council
Parish Council Meeting
Wednesday 11th March 2020
Present: Councillors Richard Dixon-Warren (Chairman), Brian Blackbourn (Vice Chairman)
Philippa Dixon-Warren, Janine Rayfield, Derek Bailey, David Winn
Parish Clerk – Mrs Wendy Gray
3 members of the public were in attendance
1. Chairman’s Introduction and Announcements. Chairman welcomed everyone to meeting and made a statement – see Enclosure 1.
2. Public Questions, Comments or Representations.
3. Apologies for Absence. Cllr P Moseley, Neighbourhood Police Team.
4. Police Report. Apologies received. Councillors requested that the Police be asked to provide an update if they are unable to provide a presence at Parish Council meetings.
5. Updates – LCC/SKDC/Parish Council.
a) LCC Update: No update provided.
ib) SKDC Update. No update provided. Cllr Moseley advised if we have any issues do not hesitate to contact him.
6. Disclosures of Interests. Cllr R Dixon-Warren (13d) – Cllr Bailey (13c) Tenant - dispensation agreed for comments.
7. Risk Assessments. Cllrs P Dixon-Warren and R Dixon-Warren reported:
Driven around area, some pot-holes fixed, pot hole outside 29 Chapel Street – to be reported.
Trees overgrown (opposite Cllr Rayfields house) around Telegraph Pole – landowner to be asked to cut back.
8. Minutes. To resolve that the minutes of the meeting of the Council meeting held on 15th January 2020 be signed as a correct record. Cllr Blackbourn proposed, seconded Cllr Rayfield, all in agreement.
9. Matters arising from the Minutes 15th January 2020. None / on agenda.
10. Administrative Report and Correspondence Received.
Parish Council Summit Meeting 20th March with Gareth Davies MP and Leader of SKDC Kelham Cooke. Now cancelled.
LCC Website – being upgraded – training for Clerks. Now cancelled.
Claim – Zurich has reviewed the Council’s claim on its insurance policy and advised that the policy would not respond.
Pensions Regulator re-declaration required by 30th June 2020.
Update on income and expenditure to date.
Precept 2020/2021 – £1508.34 requested.
VAT to be reclaimed – £162.60.
11. Invoices to be agreed for payment.
Parish Clerk Salary - £104.14 Parish Clerk Expenses - £39.37 (£143.51)
Community Cleaner - £147.78
HMRC - £138.40
All above agreed and signed off by Cllr R Dixon-Warren and Cllr Blackbourn.
Income Received:
Parish Land Tenant (Farm Business Tenancy) £1,545.
12. Planning Applications Update.
No new applications.
Northfield House Planning Consent – discussion on representations made and supported. Council to follow up on any issues arising.
13. Business Items:
a) Parish Councillor Vacancy. Resolved to co-opt Mr Paul Smart onto the Parish Council. Cllr Bailey proposed, Cllr Winn seconded, all Councillors in agreement. Declaration of Acceptance of Office duly completed – DPI form to be completed and forwarded to Parish Clerk. DPI form completed and forwarded to SKDC.
b) Claim. FOI Request received 6th March 2020. Response required within 20 working days i.e. by 3rd April 2020. Chairman has sought LALC advice on how to proceed
c) Parish Land
i) Sale of Plot 10 on Haconby Lane. Local Government Act (Section 127) requires best consideration of sale of the land. Resolved that Council revise the last resolution and replace with a resolution to secure the best consideration possible for the sale of Plot 10, Parish Land, by marketing, independent valuation and/or proper legal advice. Proposed Cllr Winn, seconded Cllr Rayfield, all in agreement.
ii) Maintenance and tenants’ issues. Walkabout very useful, land is absolutely saturated. Plot 2 getting sorted. Need to follow issues up with other tenants. Footpaths clear and new bridges installed. Garden Allotments – need to ensure up to date with (Parish Clerk to contact as not heard from tenants). Resolved to renew current Common Law Tenancy agreements at current rents for a further year, subject to grant of planning permission, with option to review rents for 2020-21. Proposed Cllr Winn, Seconded Cllr Blackbourn, all in agreement (one abstention – Cllr Bailey)
iii) Application for planning permission for change of use. Cllr R Dixon-Warren reported that meeting with Planning at SKDC and District Cllr Moseley was extremely useful and helpful. Deadline for putting in planning application was put on hold. Resolved to apply for planning permission for a mixed use comprising agricultural and leisure uses to include general agricultural, allotments, dog agility and any other leisure uses that the Council may wish to permit’. Proposed Cllr Winn, seconded Cllr Blackbourn, all in agreement (one abstention – Cllr Bailey).
Question on maintaining/monitoring the dykes – Council or Black Sluice IDB responsible? Investigate responsibility for removing tree when weather permits.
d) Transfer of Responsibility for Churchyard Maintenance. Resolved to put maintenance of St Andrew’s closed churchyard out to tender and liaise with PCC to discuss a cost-effective solution for both. Proposed Cllr Bailey, seconded Cllr P Dixon-Warren, all in agreement. (one abstention – Cllr R Dixon-Warren).
14. Any other Business. Items for next meeting and issues/points arising from discussion for future discussion.
Parish Clerk to update Cllr List with new Cllrs’ details and circulate.
Resolve to move into Closed Session after item 15. Proposed Cllr Blackbourn, Seconded Cllr Bailey, all in agreement
15. Date of Next Meeting. Wednesday 13th May 2020 – Annual Meetings commencing at 7 pm in the Hare & Hounds Public House. Working Group meeting date TBC.
The meeting closed at 20.29 pm.
16. Closed Session. Contingency planning.
Note to be sent to Cllr Moseley thanking him for assistance with Planning Application.
Note to be sent to LCC Highways thanking them for upgrading the public footpath through Haconby Spinney, including building a bridge across the ditch on the western boundary of Plot 3.
Approved: RA Dixon-Warren
Date: 8 July 2020
Enclosures:
Chairman’s Address – see overleaf.
Enclosure 1 – Chairman’s Address to Members of Public Present:
“I think a brief reminder and update appropriate.
This is your Parish Council. Six residents of the parish (soon to be back up to seven, I hope) who voluntarily take a little time out of their lives to serve this community as part of the lowest and least influential tier of local government in England.
The Council meets six times a year, supported by a part-time Parish Clerk, to manage Parish resources and decide responses to parish needs and requirements.
Every decision the Council takes is based on what it perceives to be in the best interests of the parish. It tries to be as transparent as it can be about everything it does.
The Council comprises local businessmen and women, and retired teaching, NHS and military people. No lawyers, accountants, town & country planning graduates or arborists. Just people trying to help other people. I think this shows good will.
The Council’s routine responsibilities are not onerous or particularly time-consuming, quite rightly. However, to improve transparency, a Parish Information and Policy Guide was produced over two years ago, available on its website. To improve management of resources a major review of the rental and management of the Parish Land was re-started and implemented last year. These were both significant and time-consuming pieces of work.
The Council has also had to deal with unexpected and major issues over the past year, which increased its workload, depleted its financial reserves and were, on occasions, very stressful.
These issues included dealing with the risk to public safety presented by the diseased horse chestnut tree, commissioning expert advice on the contamination of Parish Land, assuming responsibility for maintaining a closed churchyard, mounting a defence against a claim against the Council for compensation and expenses, and responding to an anonymous query to SKDC about the use of Parish Land.
On 2 March, the Council posted a brief explanation of the claim, including the reasons for not revealing the name of claimant or any details that would identify them. Shortly afterwards, it was accused on Facebook of failing to act properly. It was told that it was ‘laughable’ that it ‘was loosing the parish’s money through incompetence and trying to hide why’. And in a response to a supportive comment, Councillors were attacked directly.
There was no attempt to contact the Council directly, nor was any evidence produced to support these allegations.
Within five days, despite the invitation to quiz the Council at this meeting, the expressions of dissatisfaction with the Council became a Freedom of Information request. This included accusations of a ‘cover up’, ‘illegal behaviour’ and ‘illegal conduct’. Again, no evidence was produced to support these assertions. The Council responded that it would deal with the request for information as required by the Freedom of Information Act.
People might think that being publicly pilloried on Facebook last week would undermine the goodwill that underpins the service that the Council provides to the community. And they might be right.
Yet here is the Council assembled, ready to continue to serve, ignoring rage and rudeness for the greater good. And conscious of an unspoken groundswell of support for what it does, for which I express my gratitude.”