March 2023 Minutes

Canwick Parish Council

A Meeting of Canwick Parish Council was held on Monday 20 March 2023 at the Village Hall, Montagu Road, Canwick.  District Cllr Goodwin, County Cllr Cawrey and the Clerk were also present.

Present:

Councillor L.J. Pennell – Chairman
Councillor I.D. Carrington – Vice-Chairman and District Councillor
Councillor H.L. Dowson            
Councillor R.C.Narborough
Councillor L. T. O’Melia

1.      Apologies and Declarations of Interest:  Apologies had been received from Cllr Griffin and District Cllr Tinsley. There were no Declarations of Interest.  The Chairman reminded members they could make the appropriate declaration at any stage should it become necessary.

2.      Clerk’s Notes from the Meeting held on 20 February 2023:  The notes from this meeting had been distributed to each member.  The Chairman proposed that the notes be accepted and approved as minutes for signing and this was unanimously agreed.  
 
3.       Matters Arising:

3a.   Information Packs for New Residents:  None.

3b.   Website:  Pete Langford, the Webmaster, had issued Clerks with a monthly update on the numbers of hours left for the financial year.  It was noted the number of hours that can be carried forward is now six and they can be used throughout the next financial year.  It was agreed that a suitable grant would be made when more detailed costings were available.

3c.     Telephone Box:  Jenny Dawson had updated on the renovation of the telephone box.  Cllr Carrington stated it is an important project for the village and it is the view of the Trustees of the Village Hall to go for quality materials and quality work.  The Parish Council had been asked for a contribution of approximately a third of the cost with some flexibility.  It was agreed that a suitable grant would be made when more detailed costings were available.

4.   Planning:    The Chairman reminded members that any District Councillor present could not express an opinion on any of the planning items. He also reminded members if they wished to listen to any NKDC planning and other public meetings they were live streamed on audio via the NKDC website.  

4a.  23/0114/FUL:  Proposed New Dwelling and Garage in Curtilage of Garden - Glebe Farm, Heighington Road:   No update.

4b.  Items Notified since Publication of the Agenda:  None.

5.   Environment:

5a.   Highways Issues:  An e-mail had been received from Cllr Cawrey reference an issue with Highways files which had now been resolved. It was noted all the potholes mentioned in Canwick were on Washingborough Road.

Cllr Cawrey reported that Lincolnshire had received a six and a half million pounds allocation for Highways although this still left a deficit of five million pounds,

She also reported that there were huge concerns that bird flu had been found in fish stock.

6.       Correspondence:

6a.   NKDC Parish Updates:  This had been e-mailed to members.  The Chairman reiterated that voter ID would be required at the May elections.

6b.    Police Correspondence:  This had been e-mailed to members. It was noted there had been a changeover of PCSO for the area with Sarah Lingard being our new PCSO. It was also noted that this was an operational change and unrelated to the potential reduction in PCSO numbers.  Cllr Carrington stated NKDC and LCC were trying hard to not have reduced numbers of PCSOs. 

6c.    Citizens Advice Mid Lincolnshire:  This had been e-mailed to members. The Chairman stated it is our policy to only give grants within the Parish. It was noted NKDC contribute to the charity. 

6d.   LCC Town and Parish Council Newsletter February 2023:  This had been e-mailed to members. The Chairman asked members if they had any comments.  No comments made. 

6e.  LCC – Highways News:  This had been e-mailed to members.  Noted.

6f.   New Advertisement Service for Town and Parish Councils:  This had been e-mailed to members.  Noted.

6g.  Civility and Respect – March Newsletter:  This had been e-mailed to members.  Noted.

6h.  Items Received since Publication of Agenda:  None

7.   Four Parishes Cluster Group:  No update. 
 
8.    County and District Councillor Reports:  

A District Council report had been received from Cllr Tinsley and e-mailed to members.  Noted.

Cllr Cawrey reported:

•   An issue of ownership with a hedge boundary on the new development at Shrewsbury Road.
•   Lincs Fire and Rescue had sent 4 firefighters to Turkey, to help the rescue efforts after the earthquake, where an amazing job was done.
•   There will be a live screening of the Coronation at Lincoln Castle on 6 May 2023.
•   There will be a Ward Walk with Highways on 4 April where the obscured signage on Canwick Hill will be brought to their attention.  The Chairman would be unable to attend and it was agreed to leave the Walk to Highways and our County Cllr.  Cllr Cawrey stated she would report back.

Cllr Cawrey asked for any questions.  No questions raised.

9.     Meeting Calendar:  The dates had been confirmed with Di Vaughan, the Village Hall Bookings Secretary.  The Clerk   to finalise the Calendar and Cllr Narborough to print and laminate a copy for the Notice Board.

10.     Finance:

10a.  Bank Account Update:  The Chairman reported that on 28 February  the balance on the deposit account was £11,004.22 with £8.46 new interest.  The current account balance was £693.86 with an outstanding cheque for £572.65 leaving a net balance of £121.21.

10b.  Clerk’s Salary January -March 2023:  This had been e-mailed to members.  The Clerk’s salary for the period January – March 2023 totalling £418.68 was due for payment.  Payment agreed.

10c.  Lalc Subscriptions:  It was noted the Lalc Subscription and Training Fee were both due on 1st April.  The subscription for the year was £159.18 and the annual training fee was £120.  Payments agreed.

10d.  Payments due in March/April:  See 10b and 10c.

10e. Transfer of Funds:  The Chairman proposed transferring £700 from the deposit account to the current account to cover the payments due.  All agreed.

10f.  Annual Audit:  The Chairman stated we had received the relevant paperwork from PKF Littlejohn that day.  He confirmed we were well within the £25,000 threshold to declare ourselves exempt as a smaller authority. It was not yet known if we had been selected for a higher level audit.

11.   Urgent Items for Information:  None.  

12.    Date of Next Meeting:  The next meeting was scheduled for 7pm on Monday 17 April 2023 followed by the Annual Parish Meeting at 7.45pm at the Village Hall, Montagu Road, Canwick.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 7.50pm.