Minutes
MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 5th FEBRUARY 2020
IN THE ST ANDREWS COMMUNITY CENTRE AT 7.40 pm
Members Present:
Cllrs Cotton (Chairman), Hillman, Hughes, V Spurr, I Willox and J Willox.
Absent:
Cllrs Ashton Derry, Broxholme, Ives and Stafford
In Attendance:
Elaine Atkin Parish Clerk
John McDonald Community Centre Manager
Jackie Brockway District & County Councillor
There were 2 members of the public in attendance.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
Cllr Hillman left the meeting (7:40 pm)
The following public questions/queries were raised:
- The mosaic has been removed from the flood wall of the Foss Dyke. Where is it and what’s happening with it? It was confirmed that this was removed for safe keeping as a number of tiles had fallen off, due to moisture getting behind them. The tiles were being kept safely and the intention was to replace them (possibly in a different location) as part of the Bridge Street Conservation Project.
- Parking on the High Street outside Scrummies and One Stop is now limited to 30 minutes. Whilst alternative parking is available at the Community Centre, this is too far to walk for some elderly or disabled residents. 30 minutes is not long enough if you are having lunch at Scrummies. Could this be extended? Cllr Brockway agreed to raise this with LCC.
- The Village Hall car park now has cameras on it, and someone recently had their car blocked in by the caretaker. It was confirmed that the Parish Council do not manage the Village Hall and the parishioner was directed to the Chairman of the Village Hall committee.
- A question was raised regarding the poor state of windows on a High Street property above one of the commercial properties, and whether the Council was able to force the owner to make improvements. It was confirmed that this is a private property and it would be down to the owner.
Cllr Hillman returned (7:46 pm)
A comment was made about some parishioners moaning about the precept and what it is spent on. They thought that parishioners should just enjoy the facilities that are provided.
If the Bar shutters are in place until 11:00 am, what about teas and coffees? The Community Centre Manager confirmed that it was deemed uneconomical to invest in a vending machine. Other options are being investigated, but this is subject to the licence clarification.
Agenda item 9 (025/20) references a minute from the January St Andrews & Community Committee meeting but these minutes have not yet been published on the website. The Clerk confirmed that this was an omission and would be rectified.
FULL COUNCIL MEETING
018/20
TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES AND ACCEPT VALID REASONS FOR ABSENCE, THESE HAVING BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE CLERK PRIOR TO THE MEETING
Apologies and a valid reason for absence had been received from Cllrs Ashton Derry, Broxholme and Stafford. It was resolved to accept these.
019/20 TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCALISM ACT 2011
Cllrs I Willox and J Willox declared pecuniary interests in agenda item 13 (minute 030/20 & 036/20).
020/20 TO APPROVE THE NOTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 8TH JANUARY 2020 AND THE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN THEM AS THE AGREED MINUTES
It was proposed by Cllr Hillman and resolved to approve these.
021/20 TO CONSIDER AND APPROVE COUNCILLOR CO-OPTION APPLICATION(S)
Two co-option applications were considered, and it was proposed by Cllr V Spurr and resolved to co-opt Gary Bardill and Peter Hewes onto the Council. Neither were present at the meeting and the Clerk would make arrangements for them to sign the relevant paperwork.
022/20 TO NOTE RECEIPT OF COMMITTEE MINUTES AND FINANCE DOCUMENTS AND PLANNING COMMENTS MADE
These were noted.
023/20 TO RECEIVE REPORTS FROM DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS AND POLICE
The Crime Report was noted. Cllr Cotton clarified that with the retirement of our regular PC, it was likely that Saxilby would now fall under Gainsborough area.
The following update was received from Cllr Brockway:
- Cllr Brockway asked Council for clarification that she should request an extension of High Street parking from 30 to 60 minutes and this was confirmed
- Apologies were given for not attending recent meetings. Cllr Brockway is now trying to catch up with a backlog of emails
- Ongoing issue with potholes alongside the Foss Dyke near the industrial estates
- Church Road closures due to Anglian Water caused lots of complaints on social media. Closure was extended illegally without the correct licence. More Church Road closures to come.
- Reports of vehicles parking on grass verge on William Street and causing damage
- Bin bag removed from dog bin at corner of Sykes Lane and St Andrews Drive but then left on the ground for 4 days. Who is responsible for this? WLDC have now removed it.
- Confirmed that our retired PC had a patch of 1002 miles to cover
- Cllr Hillman made Cllr Brockway aware that the state of Church Lane grass verges was still an issue.
- Cllr Cotton confirmed that the new crematorium at Lea was now open.
- Cllr I Willox passed on his thanks to Cllr Brockway for sorting out the potholes along West Bank.
024/20 TO NOTE RECEIPT OF THE SUMMARY OF CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED AND LIST OF MEETINGS HELD BY COUNCILLORS IN JANUARY
These were noted.
Cllrs Hughes and V Spurr also attended the Nettleham meeting with Cllr Hillman.
025/20 TO APPROVE EXPENDITURE ABOVE SPECIFIED LIMITS, AS PER FINANCIAL REGULATIONS
It was proposed by Cllr Hillman and resolved, to approve this expenditure.
026/20 TO APPROVE THE 2020-21 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE RECOMMENDATION FROM JANUARY’S ST ANDREWS & COMMUNITY COMMITTEE (MINUTE 013/20)
Cllr Hillman proposed, and it was resolved to approve this.
027/20 TO APPROVE A LETTER REQUIRED BY HSBC BANK, IN RELATION TO THE MOVE OF THE COUNCIL’S MAIN BANK ACCOUNT
Cllr Cotton proposed, and it was resolved to approve the letter. Cllrs Cotton and I Willox signed the letter on behalf of the Parish Council.
Cllr Brockway and one member of the public left (8:32 pm).
028/20 TO REVIEW PROGRESS ON THE 2019/20 ACTION PLAN
It was proposed by Cllr J Willox and resolved to note the progress.
One member of the public returned (8:35 pm).
029/20 TO REVIEW AND APPROVE THE:
Financial Regulations – It was resolved to defer this item.
Whistleblowing Policy - It was resolved to approve this.
Council Publicity During an Election Period Policy – It was resolved to approve this.
Respect Code – To confirm whether Councillors should be included.
Lone Worker Policy – It was resolved to approve this.
Safeguarding Policy and Procedure – It was resolved to defer this item.
Wellbeing Policy – It was resolved to approve this.
030/20 TO CONSIDER AND AGREE WHICH PROJECT(S) A CONTRIBUTION FROM A DEVELOPER, FOR CROSSING COUNCIL LAND, WILL BE USED FOR
It was resolved to defer this item to closed session (minute 036/20), due to confidentiality reasons.
031/20 CLOSED SESSION – COUNCIL TO RESOLVE TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PUBLIC BODIES (ADMISSIONS TO MEETINGS) ACT 1960 FOR THE FOLLOWING 4 ITEMS, ON THE GROUNDS THAT PUBLICITY WOULD BE PREJUDICIAL TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST BY REASON OF THE CONFIDENTIAL NATURE OF THE BUSINESS TO BE TRANSACTED.
It was proposed by Cllr V Spurr and resolved to go into closed session.
Both members of the public left the meeting – 8:50 pm.
032/20 TO CONSIDER AND AGREE A CONTRACTOR FOR TREE PLANTING ON BRIDGE STREET
As per the recommendation, Cllr V Spurr proposed, and it was resolved, to agree the River Stewardship Company (RSC) as the contractor.
033/20 TO NOTE RECEIPT OF THE REPORT FROM NEW YEAR’S EVE
Cllr Cotton confirmed that the report has been discussed in great detail with himself, Vice Chairman, Community Centre Manager and the Clerk and asked that thanks be recorded to the staff, for their actions and response at the time.
The report was noted.
034/20 TO REVIEW THE (INTERNAL) CASH HANDLING PROCEDURE
It was proposed by Cllr Cotton and resolved to approve the document.
035/20 TO REVIEW THE (INTERNAL) PAYROLL PROCEDURE
It was proposed by Cllr Hillman and resolved to approve the document.
The Community Centre Manager left the meeting (9:20 pm).
036/20 TO CONSDER AND AGREE WHICH PROJECT(S) A CONTRIBUTION FROM A DEVELOPER, FOR CROSSING COUNCIL LAND, WILL BE USED FOR
(Item deferred from open session – minute 030/20).
Cllrs I and J Willox left the meeting (9:24 pm).
It was proposed by Cllr Hillman, as per the recommendation, to allocate the funds to the Bridge Street project (with the Bridge Street Working Group to recommend for approval which project element it is to be used for) and to the wheeled park budget.
The meeting closed at 9:30 pm.