Minutes

 

There were two members of the public present including the Chairman of Covenham Village Volunteers who responded to queries and discussions relating to the Parish Rooms. There were no other comments.

 

a) ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop reported that East Lindsey District Council marks its 50th year as a district council after the merge of nearby urban districts. He was pleased that Covenham had been pro-active in objecting to the proposed pylons with the open meetings held in the parish rooms and other councils were similarly inclined.

 

b) LCC Ward Member. Cllr Alex Hall reported that LCC voted to pursue the Devolution deal.  The main contention was the creation of an Elected Mayor but the opportunity of more money coming through outweighed the issue.  Approval from the Parliament is now awaited. He also reported that the Louth Transport Scheme scheduled for April has been postponed until June.

 

Present: Cllr Gillian Pollard (GP) (Chair), Cllr Ian Appleby (IA) (Vice-Chair), Cllr Anne McCready (AM), Cllr Angela Quinton (AQ), and Cllr Terry Aldridge (TA) 

Also present: LCC Ward Member Cllr Alex Hall, ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop, Mrs Nicky Gulley Brown, Chairman of CVV and Mrs Nadine Must (Parish Clerk/RFO)

Apologies Accepted: Cllr Lesley Jackson (LJ) and Cllr Anna Smith (AS)

 

03/24-2 To receive any Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda. Cllrs IA and AQ declared their interest in all matters relating to CVV and had been given dispensation by the Proper Officer.

 

03/24-3 Minutes from 26 February 2024. It was resolved that the draft minutes from the extra-ordinary meeting were accurate and was duly signed by the Chair.

P: AQ; S: AM, Passed

 

a) Chair’s Remarks.   Cllr GP reported that the 

i. draft lease agreement is being progressed and is hoped to be finalised soon. 

ii. on the proposed pylons, she had written to National Grid and several Ministers of Parliament on behalf of the Council. Although she did not get a reply from the Prime Minister nor the Leader of the opposition, she received a nice reply from the Louth and Horncastle MP. She will continue to pursue this issue.

iii. The lamp post outside The Thimbles has finally been repaired and now working.

iv. She thanked all fellow councillors for their efforts and reminded residents to get in touch with any of the parish councillors for any issues they want raised.

 

b) Clerk’s Report.  Noted.  The noise nuisance from the bird scarer during the night had stopped although the noise level during the day has increased. No further action required.

 

c) Communications Received.  Noted

i. Grimsby to Walpole update.  It was noted that National Grid did not ask prior permission from farmers and had already put up notices to access land to carry out more surveys.

ii. LCC Electric Vehicle Charger locations.  The Council was not minded to propose having an electric vehicle charging point outside the Parish Rooms.

 

d) Parish Noticeboard.  It was resolved to defer the purchase indefinitely.  The Council agreed that there were more urgent matters that required substantial financial resources relating to the Parish Rooms.

P: AQ; S: IA, All in favour

e) St Bart’s Churchyard. It was noted that Covenham PCC would have been responsible for the maintenance of the churchyard.  However, as Covenhan Parish Council had already taken on the cost of the maintenance of the churchyard in agreement with the St Barts Heritage Trust, there is no action to take.  St Barts Heritage Trust have their own insurance cover for all events they organise and held in the churchyard.

 

f) Newsletter.  The Spring edition had been delivered to all households.  It was noted that there was a new advertiser for the newsletter who had taken a half page advert.  The frequency of publication was discussed and the Council agreed that there will be two editions annually coming out in Spring and at Christmas.

P: GP; S: AM, All in favour

 

g) Contract Lease of Parish Rooms to Covenham Village Volunteers (CVV).  The initial report from the solicitors was only received a few hours before the meeting and there was not enough time for the parish councillors to make an informed discussion.  It was agreed to set up a meeting with the solicitors to expedite the matter forward. 

P: AM; S: TA, All in favour

03/24-5 Executive Committee.  A proposal to create a committee to oversee personnel and finance was not agreed on this occasion as it was noted that the committee will not have any delegated powers and recommendations will still need approval from the Full Council.  It was therefore agreed to defer until the next meeting in May when Cllr TA will submit proposed terms of reference for consideration.

P: AQ; S: IA, All in favour

 

a) Restrictive Covenants. It was resolved to send a reply to the Methodist Trustees regarding the removal of the covenant.  The Parish Council has no means to pay outright the value of the consideration. Significant amounts of the Parish Council reserves are being spent on required surveys on the Parish Rooms which have not been expected in order to comply with leasing the parish rooms to CVV.  The precept money expected for the next financial year did not allocate any budget for this expense and the parish council does not have other means to raise funds.

 

b) Guttering works. It was reported that the works done were satisfactory and the invoice is approved for payment.

 

c) Defibrillator.  It was agreed to get more information from service providers before making a decision on who will service the device and the cost involved.

 

d) Survey works.  The Council considered al the quotes for each of the surveys required and agreed on the preferred supplier.

i. Land valuation of the Parish Rooms. The quote from Lincolnshire Surveyors Ltd was accepted.

P: IA; S: AQ, All in favour

ii. EPC assessment. The quote from Michael Carr Consultancy was accepted.

P: GP; S: AM, All in favour

iii. Risk Assessment.  The quote from First Call Fire Risk Assessment was accepted.

P: GP; S: AM, All in favour

iv. Asbestos Survey.  The quote from PAC Asbestos Surveys Ltd was accepted.

P: IA; S: AQ, All in favour

a) Payments.  The Council accepted payments for March 2024 detailed below and the receipts and payments between meetings.

P: AM; S: GP, All in favour 

 

b) FY2023/24 Annual Governance and Accountability Returns (AGARs) Intermediate Review – noted.

c) Latest Receipts and Payments Monitoring.  This was noted.

d) Bank Statements.  The balance on the accounts were noted.

 

a) St Barts Church. Survey works are ongoing to progress further conservation works.

 

b) St Mary’s Church. Cllr AM reported that the Treasurer’s role had been split into three after the resignation of the previous incumbent.  They are still needing a third volunteer to deal with day to day finances. A wedding is booked for May and the social events programme had restarted with a Pudding Night last week which all those attending enjoyed and hoped to be repeated. Other organised events were mentioned including an Open Gardens event in June.  They are still looking for offers of gardens to open.  Grass cutting in the cemetery is a concern as the previous contractor has withdrawn his services but will continue to cut the hedges.  Cllr AM is in talks with another contractor to provide the service but no commitment has been made.

 

c) Covenham Village Volunteers.  The Chairman reported that CVV are continuing with the social events on a monthly basis, varying the theme a little each month with the next one on 20th April being the first Fish & Chip night.  There is a weekly cafe & Crafternoon all day Thursdays, yoga on Tuesday evenings and Boxer fit on Wednesday evenings.  First fund raiser of 2024 due to take place on Good Friday, a walk to and round the reservoir followed by hot dogs and a refreshing drink and some fund-raising activities at the Parish Rooms.  They are continuing with the lease application and still trying to get the covenants of the Parish Rooms lifted.  A generous amount of funding was granted for setting up our community hub from the Parish Rooms, further funding is being sourced for building renovations.

 

d) Monthly lunches. Cllr GP reported that the lunches continue to be popular and well-attended.   Pre-booking is advised for catering purposes.  There is no charge but donations towards the costs are gratefully accepted. The next lunch is on Wednesday, 3rd April with the usual homemade soup and puddings will be on the menu.

 

a) ELDC. No further reports.  It was proposed to consider a bin at Grange Lane for the next meeting.

 

b) LCC. The potholes along Cold Harbour Lane and Birkett’s Lane which had been reported on FixmyStreet but had not been repaired will be followed by Cllr A Hall.

 

c) Anglian Water - Covenham Reservoir Steps.  It was agreed to send back the Parish Council’s disappointment on their refusal to restore the steps for the amenity of residents.

 

a) Updates on applications

1. It was noted that N/037/01614/23 | Sunnyside, Grange Lane, Covenham St Bartholomew was on appeal.  The foul smell along the lane lingers and the Parish Clerk was asked to contact the ELDC Environment Officer to assess the situation and give a report of his findings.

 

b) Applications for consideration.  There were no other applications to consider.

 

03/24-11 Schedule of Meetings for FY 2024/25.  The Council agreed to hold the meetings as tabled below.   All meetings to be held in The Parish Rooms.

 

Date	Time	Meeting
Thursday, 30 May 2024	6pm	Annual Parish Meeting followed by the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council
Thursday, 25 July 2024	7pm	Ordinary Parish Council Meeting
Thursday, 26 September 2024	7pm	Ordinary Parish Council Meeting
Thursday, 28 November 2024	7pm	Budget Setting Meeting
Thursday, 30 January 2025	7pm	Ordinary Parish Council Meeting
Thursday, 27 March 2025	7pm	Ordinary Parish Council Meeting

The meeting closed at 8:45pm.