Minutes

There were twelve members of the public present. A few remarked their support on the lease of the Parish Rooms to CVV.  Other issues raised included unnecessary vehicle traffic on Grange Lane and Birkett’s Lane walking trail, hazard for pedestrians walking along the bend at Ings Lane with no footpath and an open dyke especially with vehicle traffic on both directions, broken manhole covers in some areas and the state of the permissive footpath at Covenham Reservoir.  These issues will be raised with the LCC Ward Member. One other issue raised was the council budget for next year which is for discussion at the January meeting.  All comments were noted.

Report from Outside Bodies

1. ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop reported about a recent meeting held between Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board (LMDB), ELDC, the Member of Parliament and Environment Agency (EA) to discuss about the flooding issues after the recent storm specifically the outfall at Louth Canal.  He was pleased that there were no issues at Covenham and the Poulton Drain with all the rainwater.  There will be ongoing talks with the aim of LMDB taking over the drains that are currently the responsibility of the EA.  Cllr Mossop also noted that the sustainability score of each parish is being updated and it is hoped that Covenham is classed as a small parish rather than a medium village.  This means that housing development will be on a much smaller scale.
2. LCC Ward Member. Cllr Alex Hall sent his apologies

11/23-1 Record of Members Present and Apologies

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

Also present: ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop and Mrs Nadine Must (Parish Clerk/RFO)

Apologies received and accepted: LCC Ward Member Cllr Alex Hall

11/23-2 To receive any Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda. Prior to the meeting, Cllrs IA, AQ and LJ requested dispensation on matters relating to Covenham Village Volunteers and have been given dispensation by the Proper Officer with due regard to Standing Orders 10g (i to iii) to participate in the discussions and vote where required.  Cllr AS declared her interest on the discussion regarding St Barnabas Hospice Trust funding and was not involved in the voting.

11/23-3 Minutes from 14 September 2023. It was resolved that the draft minutes from the meeting were accurate and was duly signed by the Chair.           

P: IA; S: AQ, Passed

11/23-4 Council Matters

1. Chair’s Remarks.   Cllr GP thanked all for attending the meeting despite the cold weather.  She reported that there had been several events held in the parish since the last parish council meeting which all went well including Christmas Fair, Pie Peas and quiz organised by CVV.  The Chair was also pleased with the attendance of more than 30 people at the brief Act of Remembrance at St Barts organised by the Parish Council.  Everyone felt it was a nice way to pay respects as well as enjoying some refreshments provided by CVV. The Chair reminded everyone again to use their dedicated email addresses for parish council business to comply with legislation. She also noted that with a full agenda of items for consideration, any comments should be brief.  Other issues not on the agenda should be sent to the Parish Clerk for itemising at the next parish council meeting.
2. Clerk’s Report.  Noted.  It was resolved to include phone numbers on the list of Parish Councillors for the noticeboards.  Cllr AM to print off.  The use of the dehumidifier only started in December and will be used until the end of the month.
3. Communications Received.  Noted

i.    Police and Crime Commissioner Parish Council Engagement.  Cllr TA has volunteered to attend this session.

ii.   Sub-Regional Strategy Consultation.  The Parish Council has comment.

iii.   St Barnabas Hospice Funding Request.  It was resolved to donate the hamper received from Barclays Bank to help with their fundraising campaign.

iv. Slow Ways national walking network.  Cllr LJ reported that residents who walked the Village Trail were enthusiastic about this campaign and will pursue further.

4. Parish Noticeboard.  The quotes made of Aluminium and recycled plastic were discussed but it was resolved to also consider natural wood and get the two local suppliers to provide quotes.  It was also resolved that the new noticeboard be placed at the front of the Parish Rooms to the left of the front door.  It was also agreed to apply for grant funding for the cost of the new noticeboard.
5. Councillor Training. The Chair attended a full day training on Council Procedures and found the day interesting, informative and enjoyable and recommend other councillors to attend training. Councillors interested in any of the training events should contact the Parish Clerk to be registered on their chosen sessions.
6. Contract Lease of Parish Rooms to Covenham Village Volunteers.  The details of the lease terms from CVV were discussed and a number of amendments made.
   1. Permitted Users.  Remove the 2-hourly bimonthly meetings and replace with all Parish Council meetings including working groups with no time restriction as long as meetings have been booked previously.
   2. Repairs.  A clearer distinction that the building structure maintenance and repair are for Parish Council expense and internal furnishing will be borne by CVV.  Both parties will have their own Public Liability cover. Confirmation required on who’s responsible if building structure is damaged at a CVV event.
   3. Alienation.  All Parish Council meetings need to booked beforehand. Bookings for Working Group meetings will be made by members of relevant group.
   4. VAT.  To be deleted as Parish Council can only reclaim VAT for invoices they have paid for. CVV will be responsible for their own VAT costs
   5. Legal Fees.  Both parties will be responsible for their own costs.

The Clerk will contact Bridge McFarland for details of the title deeds to allow registering ownership with the Land Registry and for legal advice when the lease agreement has been sent for consideration.

P: AM; S: TA, All in favour

11/23-5 Working Groups Reports

1. Parish Rooms Working Group.  No update.
2. Personnel.  No update
3. Finance Working Group.  Cllr AM noted that there are only two members of this group and asked for more volunteers.

11/23-6 Parish Rooms

1. Restrictive Covenants. The Chairman of CVV will send the email correspondence with the Methodist Trustees regarding their decisions on removal of covenants.
2. Internal building dampness.  CVV have applied for funding request to deal with this matter.
3. UKSPF Grassroots Grant. A copy of the application by CVV was discussed and a few statements need to be updated for consistency.  Cllr Mossop will review the application and provide some useful feedback.  Cost of training for volunteers were discussed and DBS checks may be required.  The Clerk will check if a charity will be able to do this more cheaply and report back to CVV.  The Clerk reported that an application for funding for the noticeboard will be submitted in due course and any other projects that may be required.
4. Wasps and rodents.  Cllr LJ dealt with the contractors to rid of the wasps.  Another visit is due within three months for any lingering issues.  Cllr LJ also took action on the mice issue and bought some foam to cover the areas where they were coming in.  There were six mice caught and there have been no issues since.  It was agreed to purchase a mesh to place over the drains in the front of the building to deter further rodent issues.  Cllr LJ to action.

P: TA; S: AQ, All in favour

5. Leaky drainpipe.  Cllr LJ reported that the drainpipe on the north end of the building is loose and has caused some damp in the Men’s toilet and kitchen area.  Cllr LJ to take action and get this solved.
6. Smart Meter.  The Council thanked Cllr LJ for liaising with EDF on getting the correct smart meter installed.  However, the mobile signal in the area is poor and it will not be able to send the readings back to company.  It was still necessary to send a monthly reading to be invoiced the correct amount.  Cllr AQ has volunteered to send the Parish Clerk the readings for submission.

11/23-8 Finance and Budgets

1. Payments.  The Council accepted payments for November 2023 detailed below and the receipts and payments between meetings.

P: AQ; S: IA, Passed

2. Latest Receipts and Payments Monitoring.  This was noted.
3. Barclays Bank.  The Chair reported that the bank had upheld the parish council’s complaints and had credited £200 to the account as an apology and sent her a hamper.  The hamper is going to be given to St Barnabas Hospice for their fundraising campaign.  The bank wrote a letter with the results of their investigation including a brochure of the Financial Ombudsman Service about taking the complaint further.  The Council resolved to use the Ombudsman service.

P: TA; S: IA, All in favour

11/23-9 Community Amenities and Groups

1. St Barts Church. They received a £500 grant from Cllr Mossop through his Community Grant.  They also received a grant from Historic England and all grants will be used to continue with the next stage of refurbishment including archaeology and building structure works.
2. St Mary’s Church. Cllr AM reported the smart meter has not been installed despite the number of appointments scheduled.  Repair work to the tower had stalled after the initial work in October.  The gardener trimmed the cemetery hedges but the grass cutting in the closed churchyard had not been done and the hedge is scheduled to be done soon and was delayed due to the bad weather.  There have been three social events since September which were all well attended and raised money for church funds and SENSE which was this year’s chosen charity.  The final event of the year is the traditional Carol Service on 15 December a 7pm.  All are welcome and will be followed by wine and seasonal refreshments free of charge.
3. Covenham Village Volunteers.  The Chairman of CVV reported that they have instructed their solicitors to draft a lease agreement which will be presented to the Parish Council.  Their social events have been very well attended, including the "Ghost Story" event held as a joint venture with St Barts this autumn.  The £60 donation given at the Remembrance Sunday event was presented to the Royal British Legion and £171 was raised for Macmillan at their dedicated coffee morning event. Currently Boxer fit sessions are doing well and yoga is scheduled for the new year and the first session was swiftly oversubscribed so a second session is being set up for more attendees.
4. Monthly lunches. Cllr GP reported that this is still going well. The next lunch is on 6th December which will be the Christmas Lunch. Prior booking is required. The Phoenix Singers will again provide the entertainment. There will be no lunch in January.
5. Covenham Reservoir Steps.  There were no reports from LCC Ward Member.  The Clerk will ask for some updates.
6. Christmas Tree.  The Vice Chair will purchase and put up as arranged last year.

11/23-10  ELDC/LCC Services

1. ELDC. No further reports
2. LCC.  The streetlight issue is not expected to be resolved until February 2024.  The Clerk asked Councillors to provide reference numbers from FixmyStreet on issues reported so that she can get some update.

11/23-10 Planning Matters. 

1. Updates on applications
   1. N/037/01586/23 | Non-material amendment to that previously approved under planning permission ref no. N/037/01064/20. | Haiths Farm, Main Road, Covenham St Bartholomew – approved
2. Applications considered
   1. N/038/01927/23/DC | Discharge condition 6 (Materials) imposed on N/038/00940/23. | Ashdown Cottage, Newbridge Lane, Covenham St Mary.  The Council had no comments.

11/23-11 Date of Next Meeting – Thursday, 25 January 2024, 7pm Parish Rooms

The meeting closed at 9:10pm.