Minutes

Minutes of the meeting held Thursday, 14 September 2023 at 7:10pm in the Parish Rooms

 

There were three members of the public present; the Chairman of Covenham Village Volunteers, a Trustee of Covenham St Barts Heritage Trust and a resident who only stayed for a short time.

 

Report from Outside Bodies.  

a) ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop sent his apologies as he is away.

b) LCC Ward Member. Cllr Alex Hall was not present and did not send any reports/updates

 

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

Also present: Mrs Nadine Must (Parish Clerk/RFO)

Apologies received and accepted: Cllr Terry Aldridge (TA)

 

09/23-2 To receive any Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda. Cllrs IA, AQ and LJ declared their interests on matters relating to Covenham Village Volunteers.

 

09/23-3 Minutes from 27 July 2023. It was resolved that the draft minutes from the meeting were accurate and was duly signed by the Chair.

P: AM; S: IA, All in favour

 

a) Chair’s Remarks.   Cllr GP thanked all for attending the meeting.  She was pleased that community groups continue to put on events for the village.  It was brought to her attention the graffiti on St Barts Church wall and at St Mary’s Church.  This was unacceptable and is not welcome in the parish and she offered assistance to ensure it does not happen again or to catch the offender. On the issue of villagers not knowing their parish councillors, it was emphasised that the names are on the website and on the inside page of all the parish newsletters published and delivered to all properties. For those who do not use the internet, the lists of names and contacts will be pinned on the noticeboard.  It was worth noting that there are always councillors at the Friday Café and the Monthly Lunches who will be happy to speak to any resident.  The Chair also reminded everyone to use their dedicated email addresses for parish council business to comply with legislation.

b) Clerk’s Report.  Noted.  The Clerk will chase ELDC on when the Birkett’s road sign will be reinstated.  Historic parish council documents are now kept in the filing cabinet in the Parish Rooms.

c) Communications Received.  Noted

d) Community Engagement.  Meetings of the Parish Council are advertised on the noticeboard and on the website. All residents are welcome to attend and feedback any issues they want to raise.  As reported by the Chair above, there are always councillors at community groups events and are accessible.  Councillor details will be posted on the noticeboards and continue to be listed on the newsletters.

e) Parish Noticeboard. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk find quotes for a 1650x750mm or a 1850x750mm noticeboards on plain mounting posts and rectangular header option. There is still no consensus on where the new noticeboard will be located.

f) Gardening Services for St Mary’s Churchyard.  It was agreed to offer the contractor two hours every two weeks between April and October, weather dependant and extra hours for hedge cutting and other maintenance work.  A monthly invoice will be submitted for payment processing.

P: IA; S: AQ, All in favour

g) Plant troughs outside Parish Rooms.  It was agreed to maintain Angela’s Garden Services for planting up the troughs and pay for the cost of the compost, plants will be donated freely.

h) Parish Newsletter.  It was agreed to publish the parish newsletter in October 2023.  The deadline for articles is 22nd September and sent to the Parish Clerk for editing.  The Vice Chair is happy to get delivery of the newsletters for distribution.

 

a) Parish Rooms Working Group.  It was agreed that there was no need for new members until the lease of the Parish Rooms is finalised.

b) Personnel.  The group members have been unable to find a suitable time to meet together due to other commitments and health issues.  It is hoped that a meeting will be scheduled before the end of September.

c) Finance Working Group.  The group has not met and it was agreed for that the Parish Clerk will send Cllr AM a draft terms of reference for the group to review.

 

a) Restrictive Covenants.  There has been no further update from the Methodists Trustees. It was agreed that the Chair will contact the local Methodist Group and inform them of the pressing need for a resolution in order to apply for grants currently available to assist with all the costs associated with the lifting of the restrictive covenants.

b) Internal building dampness.  It was agreed to take the offer of Mrs A Aylett for her dehumidifier to be used in the Parish Rooms for the whole of November.  This will hopefully solve the dampness in the parish rooms.

c) Room hire cancellations.  The cancellation policy was reviewed and it was agreed to amend the notice for refund of hire charges.  Community Groups would be given up to 24 hours prior to the event being cancelled to get a refund and Private/Commercial Groups may cancel bookings by giving two weeks’ notice prior to the event to get a refund.

P: IA; S: LJ, All in favour

d) UKSPF Grassroots Grant. The Parish Council has agreed and authorised Covenham Village Volunteers to apply and manage the funding application relating to all costs associated with the lifting of the restrictive covenants and other capital works required in the Parish Rooms.

P: IA; S: AQ, All in favour

 

a) Payments.  The Council accepted payments for September 2023 detailed below and the receipts and payments between meetings.

 

P: LJ; S: IA, All in favour 

 

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

c) Barclays Bank.  The request to remove signatories on the bank mandate has not been actioned and the bank has required further signatures and identification verification. The Parish Council has correctly completed the forms provided by the bank.  The Parish Chair has signed a strong complaints letter to the bank and it is hoped that the issue will now be resolved.

d) VAT Reclaim.  The refund for £574.63 of VAT paid has been completed and money received.

 

a) St Barts Church. It was reported that there is a Ghosts talk in mid-October with mulled wine and supper.  The graffiti on the north wall has been reported to the police. 

b) St Mary’s Church. Cllr AM reported that the works to the Tower will start in early October and will take six weeks.  There were also graffiti in one of the trees.  The Tea Party and the Wolds and Coast events were successful.  The Harvest Supper is on Friday, 29 September.  There is no need to book to attend the service but booking is necessary for the supper. A Bingo is also scheduled.

c) Covenham Village Volunteers.  The Friday morning cafés continue and the monthly Walking Group is held when volunteers are available to lead.  They have applied for the ELDC Community Grants but have not had a response.  They are holding a Macmillan Coffee Morning on the 1st October which will also coincide with the monthly walk.

d) Monthly lunches. Cllr GP reported that this continues to be popular and with the end of summer, the menu will be returning to homemade soup and pudding. The next lunch is on 1st November. The October lunch will not proceed due to works at St Mary’s Church.

e) Remembrance Sunday – This is scheduled for 12 November and will have the same arrangements as last year.  The Chair will lead the commemoration which starts at 11am. Attendees to congregate at 10:45am at the war memorial in St Barts Church and there will be refreshments available in the Parish Rooms at 11:15am.  The Clerk will order the remembrance wreath from the Louth British Legion group and to be collected by the 

 

a) ELDC. No reports

b) LCC.  No reports

 

a) Updates on applications

1. Approved - N/037/01103/23/DC | Discharge condition 10 (landscaping for screening) imposed on N/037/01064/20. | Haiths Farm, Main Road, Covenham St Bartholomew

2. Approved - N/038/00940/23 - Erection of detached dwelling with integral garage. | Ashdown Cottage, Newbridge Lane, Covenham St Mary

3. Feedback submitted from Chair and Cllr AM - 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

b) Applications considered

1. N/037/01614/23 | Planning Permission - Change of use of existing garage, workshop and holiday cottage into a single dwelling. | Sunnyside, Grange Lane, Covenham St Bartholomew.  The Parish Council agreed with the report from the Environmental Protection Team to require a screening assessment of the contaminated land.  The foul smell in the vicinity has been a regular issue and there have been no action to resolve this.  The proposal will also increase traffic flows in Grange Lane which is not only a narrow lane but also the visibility coming out of the lane is poor and a hazard to motorists.

 

09/23-11 Date of Next Meeting – Thursday, 30 November 2023, 7pm Parish Rooms

 

The meeting closed at 8:35pm.