Minutes
Saxilby with Ingleby Parish Council
Extra-Ordinary Full Council Meeting Minutes
7:00pm Wednesday 7 August 2024
Function Room, St Andrews Community Centre, Saxilby
Members Present:
Cllrs Ashton-Derry, Barratt, Bowden, Bridge, Hadjoudj, Hillman (chair), Saunders, and Waller
Members Absent:
Cllrs Crump, Hughes, Spurr, I Willox, and J Willox
In Attendance:
Lydia Hopton, Clerk
Zarina Belk, Assistant Clerk
There were 91 members of the public in attendance and Cllr Brockway (LCC and WLDC) and Cllr Lee (WLDC).
Meeting
FC24/172 1. Receive apologies and accept valid reasons for absence, these having been submitted to the clerk prior to the meeting.
Apologies were received from Cllrs Crump, Hughes, I Willox, and J Willox.
Having been proposed (Cllr Waller) and seconded (Cllr Saunders), it was RESOLVED to:
Accept the reasons for absence from Cllrs Crump, Hughes, I Willox, and J Willox.
One member of the public left.
One member of the public arrived.
Two members of the public arrived.
FC24/173 2. To consider granting dispensation requests, these having been submitted in writing to the proper officer before, or at the start of, the meeting
None received.
FC24/174 3. Receive declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011
None disclosed.
FC24/175 4. 15 Minute Public Participation Session with respect of business on the agenda only
1. Cllr Brockway, West Lindsey District Council and Lincolnshire County Council:
Cllr Brockway suggested the consultation could consider other alternatives rather than ‘either’ ‘or’ options. They suggested it might be worth consulting residents to find out whether they would like to ask the council to stop doing something else to keep the St Andrews Community Centre going, so could it possibly be a wider consultation.
2. Member of public 1:
The resident stated the annual rental valuation of £18,850 obtained for the recreation ground charity by the independent valuer is negotiable and the parish council to date have not countered its valuation with their own offer. They felt the text in the draft consultation should be amended to reflect this. They noted any rental income to the charity would be channelled back into the memorial field as per Charity Commission law, whereas rent paid to private landlords would be lost. They noted the council have known the fire escapes are in need of repair or replacements and they felt to include it in the draft community consultation would be misleading. They felt the draft community consultation does not reflect the true ramifications or repercussions if the council vacated the community centre and to provide a more balanced document, the focus should be on the benefits if the council were to stay in relation to the detrimental effects if the council were to leave.
3. Member of public 2:
The resident said they would like to see included in the background paper that the council offices are bespoke offices built by the council, for council use, in 1995.
4. Member of public 3:
The resident shared they were a long-time resident and had been a member of the parish council and a trustee of the recreation ground during that time. They said they reiterated what had already been said.
5. Member of public 4:
The resident stated that they were speaking for themselves and their friends. They felt if the council left, football, tennis, bowls, and cricket teams would stop. They expressed the Pav meant a lot to them so they could hang out with their friends and have a drink and catch up and hold events. They felt if the building were to close, the library would not be available, the football teams would not be able to use the changing rooms, and many children from Saxilby would not have a team to play for and those volunteering had put in a lot of work and effort.
6. Member of public 5:
The resident requested an estimate of how much the council would pay for a standalone office per square foot to be included in the consultation for different office options.
7. Member of the public 6:
The resident felt the pavilion had been an unsustainable loss-making saga for too long. They noted the field on which it had been built, opened in 1923 as a memorial for those in the village who lost their lives during the first World War and run as a charity by the trustees. They felt the building had been a millstone around the parish council's neck for too long and that the annual cost of £50,000 to run it, without any maintenance, or additional work, couldn’t go on and it should close.
8. Member of the public 7:
The resident felt further information would be required to consider the two options being proposed, or the three options, if Cllr Brockway’s suggestion is also included.
They felt the document appeared to ask residents if the council should just provide council office space and not a vibrant community centre. They noted if the council did not want to fund it from the precept that residents contribute to, and from the income from renting out to users, then how does the council expect others to afford the community centre. They asked who the interested parties are that the council feels may offer solutions to maintain services normally provided by the parish council.
They noted the consultation paper provides historical details of the cost of running the community centre and the lease valuation, but not any increase in income that the council may obtain if the centre was used more. They noted the consultation paper has not provided costings for alternative offices.
They asked if the council had a viable alternative and how much it would cost including set up fees, disruption, and the move to the new offices to enable residents to do a cost comparison. They noted the council had spent a lot of money on the community centre over the years and felt this would be a waste of precept and opportunities to improve facilities for the village if the council left.
9. Vicki Hewes, Trustee of Saxilby Recreation Ground Charity
The trustee stated the charity had not been approached by any organisation asking to run the community centre and felt any suggestion the community centre may stay open, if the council left, would be misleading. They shared their view that repairs required on the community centre would need to be carried out by the council, whether they stay or go.
They shared the trustees are able to enter into lease negotiations, given the work flagged in the council's condition survey, and the figure of £18,850 cannot be assumed and should state it is subject to negotiation. They shared the trustees would have to take any decision on the lease amount to the Charity Commission for approval, but they were committed to ensure best value for the residents of Saxilby.
10. Cllr Lee, West Lindsey District Council
Cllr Lee expressed that the amount of people at the meeting shows the depth of feeling on the subject and noted it was quite a divisive subject within the community. They urged the council to think very carefully about the options in front of them and the way it's communicated to residents.
They stated the document that goes to residents should be neutral. He noted there are potentially cheaper rents but the cost to the community, he felt would be significant if the council were to leave.
He said the annual rental figure from the independent valuer may not be the final rental figure, that there had been significant investments here in terms of the library etc and if the council were to vacate he assumed there would be costs to put those facilities back to as they were when the council moved and the additional costs need to be considered. He noted it would be a very important decision, that many people care deeply about, and urged the council to do the right thing.
11. Member of the public 8:
The resident noted there had been a lot of work carried out on the community centre by various councils over the years. He noted it used to be a small hut and now there is this facility, which most villages would be proud to have. They urged the council to think before going to other facilities. They noted there is more people in the village, but infrastructure is going and we cannot afford to lose this. They stated the money for the building was raised from the Sports Association, a lottery grant and the council sold St Andrews church. The council asked to have a second tier, for a youth club, and a council meeting room. They noted when they were on the sports association, the council used to pay grants twice a year and they used to get nearly £1,000 every year. This was in 1998, 26 years ago. £18,000 is nothing compared to that amount, as costs have gone up. They felt the questionnaire could not say, if the council moved residents would benefit from lower West Lindsey rates, as rates have gone up every year.
7:25pm
FC24/176 5. To agree the content of the public consultation, as part of the process of council considering whether to continue the progression of a lease for the St Andrews Community Centre, following receipt of the rental valuation.
Having been proposed (Cllr Waller) and seconded (Cllr Ashton Derry), it was RESOLVED:
For comments to be shared with the clerk, for the clerk to collate comments from cllrs and members of the public, to circulate them, and arrange an internal meeting to consider the comments and re-look at the consultation, and for the updated draft consultation to be brought back to council to consider for approval.
The meeting closed at 7:54pm.
Please be advised that these are notes of the meeting taken by the assistant/clerk and cannot in any way be regarded as the official minutes of council proceedings until they are approved and signed at the next meeting.