May 2023 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
Metheringham, Sots Hole and Tanvats Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on
Wednesday 17th May 2023 at the Parish Council Offices, High Street, Metheringham, LN4 3DZ
Present: Chairman Cllr K Parker, Cllrs B Nelson, S Peek, C Toynton, M Worthington, J Tatton, D Parry, R Grummitt and M Westerman
In attendance: Clerk K. Sinclair and County Cllr R Kendrick
Public Forum.
There were no members of the public present.
The Chairman opened with the usual housekeeping and opened the meeting at 6.15pm.
Official Business of the Council
1. To elect a Chair of the Council
It was resolved to elect Cllr K Parker as Chair to Metheringham Parish Council. Proposed by Cllr Peek, seconded by Cllr Grummitt and approved unanimously.
Cllr Parker signed the declaration of acceptance of office.
2. Accept apologies for absence and reasons given in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972 s85(1)
Apologies were received from F Pembrey.
It was resolved to accept apologies received from Cllr Pembrey. Proposed by Cllr Worthington, seconded by Cllr Grummitt and approved unanimously.
3. Members declaration of interest
a. Members declaration of interest
None received.
b. Dispensations
None received.
4. To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19th April 2023
It was resolved that the draft minutes from the meeting held on 19th April 2023 were a true record and could be approved and signed as minutes with the amendment to the Community Infrastructure Levy amount due to amount received not previously stated. Proposed by Cllr Tatton, seconded by Cllr Toynton and approved with 7 votes for and 1 abstentions.
5. To note some minor discrepancies of the Parish Council minutes taken between August 22 and December 22 and resolve to make amendments to these where necessary.
It was resolved to make the necessary changes to the minutes with incorrect dates. Proposed by Cllr Toynton, seconded by Cllr Westerman and approved unanimously.
6. To elect a Vice Chair of the Council
It was resolved to elect Cllr R Grummitt as Vice Chair to Metheringham Parish Council. Proposed by Cllr Parry, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
7. To appoint representatives to outside bodies: Members must be independent of the outside body they are appointed to, should consult with Council prior to attending meetings and report back to Council on a regular basis.
a. Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC)
It was resolved not to appoint a representative to LALC at this time. Proposed by Cllr Worthington, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
b. Village Hall Management Committee
It was resolved to appoint Cllr Toynton to the Village Hall Management Committee. Proposed by Cllr Parry, seconded by Cllr Grummitt and approved unanimously.
c. Metheringham Swimming Pool Committee
It was resolved to appoint Cllr Worthington to the Metheringham Swimming Pool Committee. Proposed by Cllr Westerman, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
d. Metheringham Bowls Club
It was resolved to appoint Cllr Grummitt to the Metheringham Bowls Club. Proposed by Cllr Tatton, seconded by Cllr Worthington and approved unanimously.
e. Metheringham Community Hub
It was resolved to appoint Cllr Westerman as the representative for the Metheringham Community Hub. Proposed by Cllr Peek, seconded by Cllr Grummitt and approved unanimously.
Representatives to the Football Club and Gardening Club to be resolved at a future meeting.
8. To consider and resolve to appoint members to serve on the Committees of the Council
a. General Purposes Committee
It was resolved to appoint Cllrs Westerman, Tatton, Nelson, Peek and Worthington to the General Purposes Committee. Proposed by Cllr Grummitt, seconded by Cllr Parry and approved unanimously.
b. Finance Committee
It was resolved to appoint Cllrs Grummitt, Parry, Westerman and Peek to the Finance Committee. Proposed by Cllr Tatton, seconded by Cllr Worthington and approved unanimously.
c. Communication and Staffing Committee
It was resolved to appoint Cllrs Parry, Grummitt, Toynton and Westerman to the Communications and Staffing Committee. Proposed by Cllr Worthington, seconded by Cllr Nelson and approved unanimously.
d. Environment Committee
It was resolved to appoint Cllrs Worthington, Nelson, Toynton and Grummitt to the Environment Committee. Proposed by Cllr Westerman, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
e. Events Committee
It was resolved to appoint Cllrs Parker, Tatton, Worthington and Parry to the Events Committee. Proposed by Cllr Nelson, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
9. To review the Terms of Reference for each Committee
a. General Purposes Committee
b. Finance Committee
c. Communication and Staffing Committee
d. Environment Committee
e. Events Committee
It was resolved that each Committee would review their own Terms of Reference and recommend any amendments to full council for approval. Proposed by Cllr Tatton, seconded by Cllr Westerman and approved unanimously.
10. Policies: To review and adopt the following policies:
a. Standing Orders
b. Financial Regulations
It was resolved that the General Purposes Committee review the Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and recommend to Full Council at a later date. Proposed by Cllr Westerman, seconded by Cllr Worthington and approved unanimously.
c. Code of Conduct
It was resolved to readopt the NKDC Code of Conduct. Proposed by Cllr Toynton, seconded by Cllr Peek and approved unanimously.
d. Co-option Policy
It was resolved that the General Purposes Committee consider the adoption of a co-option policy and review LALC’s model policy for co-option.
11. Asset Register: To consider and verify the asset register for 2022-23, if available.
A full review of the asset register is required. It was resolved that Cllrs Worthington, Toynton, Nelson, Parker and Roy form a working party group to review the asset register and present to Council at a later date. Proposed by Cllr Westerman, seconded by Cllr Grummitt and approved unanimously.
12. Reports from representatives on outside bodies:
a. To receive a report from the County Councillor
County Cllr R Kendrick informed Council on the focus to repair minor roads including fen roads. He was asked to identify roads within his area and put forward Princes Street as a suggested top priority due to its poor state of repair. There is to be a speed limit reduction on the B1188 through Blankney. Fix my street had over 47,000 reports across Lincolnshire in the last 12 months and appears to be an affective way of reporting faults in the region.
County Cllr R Kendrick left the meeting at 7.01pm.
b. To receive a report from the District Councillors
District Cllr D Parry was unable to give a detailed report due to being newly elected. The District Council is to hold its Annual General meeting next week and Cllr Parry has training to attend over the coming weeks. One of the first emails received since being elected was one praising the community spirit in the village.
c. To receive a report from the Bracebridge Heath Neighbourhood Policing Team
There was some discussion over the title of Bracebridge Heath Neighbourhood Policing Team and whether Metheringham came under North Hykeham and Cliff Villages Policing Team. Clarity on the official title to be obtained. The representatives would be raising concerns or the new system being uncoordinated and the 101 staff being under staffed at meeting being held next Monday.
The representative left the meeting at 7.18pm.
13. Reports from Council representatives on other village organisation and committees:
a. Metheringham Village Hall Management Committee
Cllr Parry reported a successful year with the new booking system working well. The Village Hall Annual meeting is tomorrow night.
b. Metheringham Swimming Pool
Cllr Worthington gave an update with progress being made the Swimming Pool MOU review. However, the minutes received following the review were not an accurate representation of what was discussed including that the Council representative would attend the Trustee meeting not just the Committee meetings. Clarity on other issues has been requested and the review will be ongoing.
c. Metheringham Community Hub
Cllr Westerman reported more school visits and recruitment of 3 more volunteers. Numbers are not quite back at pre-COVID level but are steadily increasing. There is a water leak which is being looked into. Tributes were paid to a volunteer who passed away suddenly.
d. Metheringham Bowls Club
Cllr Grummitt reported that the season was underway with a recruitment drive. The club does not have that many members but social members are increasing. They raised £400.00 on the day of the coronation celebrations.
e. Metheringham Football Club
Cllr Parker announced that the football season had now finished. Issues remain with the grass cutting schedule which is being looked into. There has been an increase of teams so more pitches maybe requested in due course.
14. Finances:
a. Insurance:
i) To consider and approve the Council’s insurance renewal premium due on 1st June 2023 at a cost of £2545.88. (an increase of £188.38 from the previous year)
ii) To consider and approve the insurance renewal premium due on 1st June 2023 for the Metheringham Swimming Pool at a cost of £843.81 (an increase of £2.72 from the previous year)
iii) To consider and approve the insurance renewal premium due on 1st June 2023 for the Metheringham Village Hall at a cost of £558.53 (an increase of £47.61 from the previous year)
iv) To consider and approve the engineering and inspection insurance for Metheringham Swimming Pool and Metheringham Village Hall at a cost of £500.82 (an increase of £6.95 from previous year)
It was resolved to renew the insurances through BHIB Insurance Brokers as above. However, Cllr B Nelson and the Clerk to carry our insurance review and update all policies where necessary. Proposed by Cllr Parker, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
b. To approve the accounts for payment:
i) To consider and approve the bank reconciliation for end of April 2023
The bank reconciliation was not available at the time of the meeting. It was resolved to defer this to the next meeting. Proposed by Cllr Toynton, seconded by Cllr Grummitt and approved unanimously.
ii)To consider and approve payments made between 1 April and 16 May 2023
The list of payments was circulated. See attached Appendix A. It was resolved to approve all payments made since the last meeting except the TV Licence which was already being investigated by the Clerk. Proposed by Cllr Tatton, seconded by Cllr Westerman and approved unanimously.
iii) To approve the accounts for payment to made
The list of payments was circulated. See attached Appendix A. It was resolved to approve the list of payments to be made. Proposed by Cllr Toynton, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved with 8 votes for and 1 abstention.
c. To consider grant applications received by from the following groups:
i) Metheringham Football Club
It was resolved to award £500.00 the Metheringham Football Club to help towards the cost of new kits. Proposed by Cllr Parry, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
ii) Metheringham Gardening Club
It was resolved to award Metheringham Gardening Club £2650.00 towards new village planters and storage shed. Proposed by Cllr Westerman, seconded by Cllr Parry and approved unanimously.
iii) Metheringham Squash Club
It was resolved to award Metheringham Squash Club £1000.00 towards new solar panels. Proposed by Cllr Nelson, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved with 8 votes for and 2 abstentions.
15. To agree dates and times for ordinary council meetings being held in 2023-24
It was resolved to hold all ordinary meetings on the last Wednesday of the month at 6.30pm, excluding December which would be held early January. Proposed by Cllr Parker, seconded by Cllr Parry and approved unanimously.
It was resolved to suspend standing orders and extend the meeting beyond 2 hours.
Proposed by Cllr Grummitt, seconded by Cllr Worthington and approved unanimously.
16. To consider a request from a small trader to hire the pavilion to operate a tuckshop
It was resolved to not allow the trader use of the pavilion due to currently planning restriction on use of the building. Proposed by Cllr Grummitt, seconded by Cllr Westerman and approved unanimously.
17. Planning applications:
a. Planning Application Reference: 23/0454/HOUS - 26 Drury Street Metheringham
Proposed demolition of side extension and prefab garage and erection on new side extension.
b. Planning Application Reference: 23/0517/PNH - 50 Princes Street Metheringham
Proposed single storey rear extension 5m in length.
Notice of Decisions:
- Planning Application Reference: 23/0160/HOUS - 24 Londesborough Way Metheringham
Proposed single storey front extension – approved.
Council had no comments regarding the above planning applications.
18. Public bodies (admission to meetings) act 1960 exclusion of the press and public: To resolve that in accordance with section 1(2) of the public bodies (admission to meetings) act 1960 and by reason of the confidential nature of the remainder of the business, the press and public be excluded.
It was resolved to enter into closed session. Proposed by Cllr Grummitt, seconded by Cllr Westerman and approved unanimously.
The meeting was closed to the public at 8.34pm.
19. To receive an update on the ex-Clerk’s status
An update was received.
20. Employment and payroll:
a. To approve job adverts for the following positions:
i) Handyperson
The draft job role was approved with the addition of hourly rate set at NJC SCP 18-23. Proposed by Cllr Westerman, seconded by Cllr Grummitt and approved unanimously.
ii) Cleaner
It was resolved that the Staffing Committee would draft the job role for the cleaner. Proposed by Cllr Grummitt, seconded by Cllr Worthington and approved unanimously.
b. To consider the employed litter pickers hourly rate for 2023-24
It was resolved to pay the litter picker at the rate of NJC SCP 1. Proposed by Cllr Parry, seconded by Cllr Tatton and approved unanimously.
c. To receive updates on payroll discrepancies within 2022-23 and resolve actions if required
It was resolved to contact HMRC regarding claims during previous years for Employers Allowance which the Council were not eligible for and pay any amount due. Proposed by Cllr Tatton, seconded by Cllr Nelson and approved unanimously.
21. Date and time of next meeting
Wednesday 31 May at 6.30pm.
The meeting closed at 8.13pm.