Minutes

 

There were nine members of the public present at the meeting including two who were candidates for co-option.

 

The state of the permissive footpath leading to Covenham Reservoir was raised.  The staircase had been broken and it was reported that this will not be re-instated by the landowner.  The LCC Ward Member will take this issue with the Highways team and will report back.

 

It was also reported that the unacceptable stench from the drains on the Main Road at Covenham St Bartholomew (CSB) were reported to LCC Highways.  An investigation is underway to determine the best solution to resolve the unpleasant smell.

 

The resurfacing recently done on the Main Road CSB had made the road higher compared to the level of the properties.  Flooding towards the properties is a risk during heavy rains.  A resident recommended that those properties affected should contact LCC Highways to remove some of the resurfacing to leave a small gap for the water to drain.

 

a) ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop reported on the status of the removal of covenant restrictions.  See Minute Reference 07/23-7a below.

 

b) LCC Ward Member. Cllr Alex Hall was requested to follow up requested works to fill the hole near the footbridge, the broken light on the lamp post and the deteriorating gulley along Mill House corner. It was also requested to repair the broken footpath along the Main Road.

 

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

Also present: Cllr Edward Mossop (ELDC), Cllr Alex Hall (LCC) and Mrs Nadine Must (Parish Clerk/RFO) 

 

07/23-2 To receive any Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda. None received

 

07/23-3 Minutes from 25 May 2023 and 22 June 2023. It was resolved that the draft minutes from both meetings were accurate and was duly signed by the Chair.

P: AA; S: IA, Passed

 

07/24-4 Co-option.  It was unanimously approved to co-opt Lesley Jackson and Anna Smith to the parish council.  They both signed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office duly witnessed by the Parish Clerk.  Both participated in council proceedings thereafter.

P: AQ; S: AM, All in favour

 

a) Chair’s Remarks.   Cllr GP reiterated the parish council’s commitment to make both villages of Covenham a pleasant place to live. The Council will continue to work with other authorities to improve local amenities. The request for clearing the footpaths have been completed and the cemetery and churchyards have been tidied up, following the issues with the previous gardening contractor.  The Chair thanked all the different village groups for producing and delivering a monthly news sheet promoting their events.  Working together builds on each of the group’s importance in the village.  Cllr GP thanked all the members of the different groups including fellow parish councillors for giving their time for free to volunteer.  The Chair repeated that residents can contact any parish councillor about any village issue and the parish councillor will do their best to resolve. 

b) Clerk’s Report.  Noted.  There was feedback from one of the contractors who quoted for gardening work and the Clerk to reply back that the grass verges have been included in the most recent cut but had not been done in the first cut in order to deal with the very long grass in St Mary’s closed churchyard. The spare plastic furniture has not been sent to the recycling centre but will be posted on Facebook for anyone interested and Cllr AA to deliver.  Failing any interest, Cllrs AA and LJ will get a scrap man to take the furniture at no cost to the council.

c) Annual Parish Meeting actions.

i. Footpaths cleaning. ELDC Pride Team completed this in June.

ii. Ultrafast Broadband providers. This will be promoted in the next parish council newsletter which was agreed for September 2023 issue.

iii. Birkett’s Road sign.  This has been reported to ELDC and a new sign is being done.

d) Communications Received.  Noted

e) Community Engagement.  Cllr AA presented her findings from the survey she did with a number of households. The key messages were that the parish council needed to be more pro-active and set out its priorities to engage better with the residents. Activities such as Meet your Councillors’ events, restore the publication of the parish newsletter, and having a list of parish councillors with photos and contact details to be printed and published on the notice boards. A proposal to set up a focus group to consider these issues were unanimously agreed.  Cllr AA to lead the group.

P: AA; S: TA, All in favour

f) Parish Council documents.  The Parish Clerk will start populating the metal storage cabinet in the parish rooms for storing parish documents.  The Vice Chair will get a spare key made. The Clerk to purchase necessary stationery materials for storage purposes.

g) Closed Churchyards Maintenance. The absence of relevant documents relating to the Council taking on the maintenance of the closed churchyards has been considered. Covenham Parish Council has now resolved and put on official record to exercise its power under section 215 of the Local Government Act 1972 to maintain the two closed churchyards at St Mary and St Barts.  A gardening contractor will maintain the closed churchyard at St Mary’s and the Parish Council will be responsible for the costs of maintenance.  The Parish Council has noted that St Bart’s has a group of volunteers who maintain the closed churchyard and the Trustees want to continue with this arrangement. The Parish Council has therefore agreed to give an annual grant which will be reviewed annually.  A grant of £250 has been approved for 2023.  Other gardening works including hedge cutting will be considered when required. There will be a significant overspend on this budget allocation for this year and will have to be re-considered when the budget for next year is proposed.

P: LJ; S: AM, All in favour

h) Land opposite St Mary’s Church used as carpark.  Cllr TA had spoken with the land owner and volunteered to cut the grass which he has now done.   It was agreed that this piece of land is not the responsibility of the Parish Council and any grass cutting done by individual councillors do so of their own accord.

i) Parish Noticeboard.  It was noted that the noticeboard would require a lot of work and considerable cost.   It was therefore agreed to get a replacement instead of having it repaired.  The Clerk to get quotes.  The siting of the noticeboard was also discussed and will be considered when a replacement has been agreed.

 

a) Personnel.  The Group has not met yet but the Chair will arrange one soon.

b) Finance Working Group. The Group has not met yet but the Chair will arrange one soon.

 

a) Restrictive Covenants.  District Cllr EM reported that the local Methodist circuit had agreed in principle to lift the restriction on the covenant.  However, their legal 'overseers' the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMPC) have required them to get a valuation survey to find out if there is any monetary value to lifting the restriction in order to fulfil charity law. This may result in a substantial financial burden on the parish council.  The survey is estimated to cost £650 plus VAT which the Parish Council is being asked to pay.  Cllr EM will report back after the TMPC meeting.

b) Building survey.  The report from the survey suggested that the issue was condensation and sealing the outside wall was not going to be effective.  The remedial work quote was for £6k which was prohibitive.  After much discussion, it was agreed to try using a dehumidifier for a month and open some windows to see if it will resolve the issue of water coming through the walls.  Cllr AA has volunteered to use her own machine.  It was also suggested to get quotes for a positive ventilation fan.

c) Damp Walls Work.  Based on the building survey, work on the damp walls won’t be required. 

d) Approved lease to CVV.  This is deferred until a decision from the Methodist Trustees is known.

e) Building valuation.  This is deferred until a decision from the Methodist Trustees is known.  It may be cost effective if the building valuation for insurance purposes is done at the same time as the valuation survey, if required.

 

a) Payments.  The Council accepted payments for July 2023 detailed below.

	To	Amount (£)
1	Parish Clerk Salary and expenses	984.50
2	SLCC Membership Fee (Pro-rata)	75.92
3	ELDC - Parish Election Fees	97.00
4	St Bart's Heritage Trust	250.00
	Total	1,407.42

The Council noted Receipts and Payments between meetings as detailed below.

P: AA; S: AM, Passed

 

b) Latest Receipts and Payments Monitoring.  It was noted that some of the budget allocated to specific expenditures will have overspending by the end of the year.

c) Barclays Bank.  The mandate change form to delete two previous councillors from the signatories list was signed by Cllrs GP and AM.

d) AGAR FY 2022/23.  The Council noted that the External Auditors have received and logged the Council’s Certificate of Exemption.

 

a) St Barts Church. The Trustees were pleased to have been granted £25,750 from Historic England, under the Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk scheme. This funding is to complete a detailed survey with the intention of rolling out to further conservation work.   

b) St Mary’s Church. Cllr Am reported that the Open Gardens in June went better than expected.  A Country Dance Night was held early July and those who attended had a fun evening.  The next event is the Ladies Day Tea Party on 12 August.  A prize for the best dressed lady and man will be given.  The Church has changed electricity provider which created a few issues including installing a different smart meter, which has not been completed as yet but scheduled.  They are waiting for the builder to start repairs to the church.  Grant money has been received and await results of further grant applications.  Church has to fund £2k of works.  They have now contracted a new gardener to maintain the cemetery

c) Covenham Village Volunteers.  CVV continue to hold the Friday morning café along with the Book Swap, the monthly walking group followed by refreshments at the parish rooms and monthly gardening club events and talks.  They have a social evening planned for the autumn as well as a photography talk and cheese & wine evening in September.  A joint event is being held at and with St Barts – Ghost talks and supper on 15th October – tickets will be available soon.  They now have an insurance policy in place, along with a draft contract for the lease pending any specific changes required. They are willing to pay half the cost of removing the covenants from the Parish Rooms and the first year’s lease up front to assist with the transition.

d) Monthly lunches. Cllr GP reported that this continues to be well attended. The generosity of attendees who have a good time getting together has also managed to raise extra funds being donated to two local charities. The summer menu had been changed to ham and cheese salad and quiche followed by a cold dessert from the usual homemade soup. Everyone is welcome to attend and the organisers look forward to meeting new people.

 

a) ELDC

i. Community Grants.  Ward Member Cllr EM reported that the grant per councillor has been increased to £2k this year. Application forms are available on the ELDC website and applications from all community groups are welcome.

b) LCC

i. Guidepost Route Study in Covenham. The suggestions were considered and the Council resolved the following: Grange Lane Road Sign- to leave the sign as it is and add a 'No through road' below the current sign to make it clear that it is a dead end.  Newbridge Lane Junction – It was agreed for LCC to move the sign next to the Anglian Water Treatment unit.  However, the Parish Council wants the waste bin to be left where it is including the post that holds it.  It is a more convenient location for dog walkers.

ii. Highways and Drains Survey.  It was agreed that parish councillors will individually complete the Highways Survey.  The survey will also be published in the next parish council newsletter for residents who may also want to complete the survey.  All Councillors will also look at the Drains map and plot any that have not been included. Cllr Mossop also reported that the open drain in front of Ambleside property in Covenham St Mary is not the responsibility of Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board but by the riparian owner.

 

07/23-11 Planning Matters.  No updates nor new applications considered.

 

g07/23-12 Date of Next Meeting – Thursday, 14 September 2023, 7pm Parish Rooms

 

The meeting closed at 9:50pm.