September 2021 Minutes
Rauceby Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday, 22 September 2021 at 7.30 pm at The Village Hall, South Rauceby.
Present: Cllr M Ireland (in the Chair), Cllr B Balderston, Cllr G Enstone, Cllr R Enstone, Cllr S Enstone, Cllr J Malloch, Cllr R Wright (LCC) and the Clerk, Mr I Grady. One member of the public was also present.
Public speaking time: One member of the public, Mr D Spurrier, was present and invited to speak at item 8(i) of the agenda.
1. Apologies for Absence: Cllr S Waring (NKDC), Cllr K Colehouse, Cllr M Froggatt, Cllr S Waite.
2. To Receive any Declarations of Interest: None
3. To decide on any items to be carried out in Closed Session: None
4. To approve as a correct record the notes of the meeting held on 7 July 2021
Unanimously approved and the Chairman signed the minutes.
5. Rauceby Gigabit Project
Cllr Enstone reported on the current status of the Rauceby Gigabit project.
- The smaller High Dyke scheme has reached the stage of a final offer from Openreach. The final costs to connect 14 houses along the High Dyke from Ermine Farm into Ancaster is £44,538. Based on the current level of interest, there is a maximum grant available of £32000, hence the scheme is currently unaffordable on its own. Discussions with Openreach have confirmed that there are limited opportunities for self-dig or cost reduction. The next step is to combine the contract for this scheme with the larger Rauceby scheme, on the basis that there are greater opportunities for increasing the grant available in Rauceby which can help to close the funding gap.
- With regards to the larger Rauceby Scheme, Openreach have confirmed that unfortunately this will need to proceed to a full survey before we receive a final offer - a process that can take a considerable time. At this stage there is no confirmation regarding timescales, although these have been requested.
- In general the process is taking a very long time - it is now two years since the first enquiry was made. The main issues appear to relate to the availability of resource in Openreach to progress a large number of applications, disruption due to COVID, and the transition to a new voucher scheme by central government in March this year. However, communication with Openreach is now very good and we have the full support of the broadband team at Lincolnshire County Council, plus the assistance of our MP when requested.
6. Reports from Visiting Representatives and Police Matters
- NKDC: Nothing to report.
- LCC: Cllr R Wright notified the Council about:
- o The importance of the Sleaford emissions and transport infrastructure public participation initiative that had just commenced (see also item 8(ii) below);
- o An investigation being undertaken by Lincs CC regarding traffic calming measures throughout the county; and
- o Progress of the Holdingham roundabout road works.
- Police: Nothing to report
7. Planning Applications
New Applications (this may include applications received since the agenda was circulated)
i) 21/0871/FUL | Erection of 2 no. poultry units totalling 78,000 bird capacity (meat production) and 3 no. feed silos with associated hardstanding. | Boiling Wells Farm Grantham Road, Greylees, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. (An error by the Applicant regarding bird capacity – 78,000, not 39,000 – has been rectified, and taken into account by the Planning Sub-Committee) No Objections by Planning Sub-Committee of RPC.
ii) 21/1288/TCA | T1 Cedar - fell | 4 St Peters Close, North Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 8RA. No Objections by Planning Sub-Committee of RPC.
Plans decided by NKDC since the last meeting
i) 21/0964/TCA | T1 Ash - fell | 72 Main Street, South Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 8QQ. No Objections by RPC; TPO not served.
ii) 21/0906/HOUS | Demolition of existing conservatory and erection of garden room with first floor balcony over | Shelford, Rauceby Drove, South Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 8QB. No Objections by Planning Sub-Committee of RPC; Approved by NKDC.
8. New Business Notified to the Clerk prior to the meeting.
i) 20 year plan for Rauceby Estate (Guest speaker Mr D Spurrier, a trustee of the Gillian Hoare Settlement). The estate trustees think it would be good practice to have a 20 year plan for the Rauceby estate to provide a positive context for its long term stewardship. It is proposed that the plan is prepared by an experienced independent consultant, Rural Solutions, who are to be invited by the trustees to carry out an appraisal at the estate in respect of the proposals.
It was Mrs Hoare’s wish that the Parish Council be involved in a collaboration with the trustees of the estate. The Council Chairman, Mr Ireland, therefore requested that when the consultants carry out their site appraisal he be invited to attend any meetings that are convened regarding this matter.
The purpose of today’s presentation is to commence engagement with the Parish Council to hear their views about what might be done together over the next 20 years to make Rauceby a better place to live in. The views of the Parish Council can then be used to help shape the estate plan.
In addition to residential planning opportunities this initiative could include wide ranging issues where the estate has an involvement such as the difficulties with school car parking, sewer smells in South Rauceby and Churchyard maintenance as examples.
When the creation of the Gillian Hoare Charitable Trust has progressed there will need to be another discussion about the inclusion of a Nominee from the Parish Council as one of the Trustees of the charity.
As a starting point for discussion and consideration Mr Spurrier made a few suggestions where the estate may make a contribution:
1) The creation of a footpath network with new car parking, possible electric car charging points and possible access to woodland.
2) Diversification opportunities for job creation in the old farm buildings.
3) Amending the access to the pub and the creation of an outdoor area (dead elm area).
4) The creation of a new car park for the school in the adjoining grass field with appropriate rubber matting.
5) The possible creation of a dog fouling area.
6) The possible creation of a playground in South Rauceby.
7) Provision of new housing with an element to be retained by the Estate to focus on young occupants.
8) Should some of the Estate properties be used as holiday lets in order to create jobs?
9) The creation of a tree plan for the village and surrounding land.
10) Is there a demand for a shop?
11) The creation of a cycle path to Sleaford.
12) Any other opportunities that the village feel would be beneficial to the community.
13) Might it be sensible to identify a site for a cemetery to be run by the Parish Council? It is quite a long process and it would be worth discussing sooner rather than later.
Action: Parish Council – to convene a meeting of the Council to (a) consider Mr Spurrier’s suggestions, adding any other items that are felt appropriate and prioritise all the items;
(b) prepare a response to Mr Spurrier.
ii) Traffic/Transport strategy for Sleaford. Cllr S Enstone attended the first consultation meeting for this topic in Sleaford on Monday 20th September. Rauceby was one of only two Parish Councils represented at his meeting. There was a good discussion about the issues in Sleaford which included a statistic that approximately 60% of the traffic along Southgate travels not more than 2km, so strategies to reduce congestion are needed to prioritise alternatives to car-use for journeys within the town. Opportunities for creating a more extensive walking and cycling network linking Sleaford to surrounding villages was discussed, together with strategies to improve bus utilisation. The town management will take into account views put forward at the meetings to create an ongoing strategy.
iii) Waste textile collection. A private company, Alford Storage and Textile Company has approached the council to install clothing and textile collection bins in the village with a view to sharing the proceeds of such collections. This was discussed as a potential money raiser for the village but was rejected because of the number of challenges it appeared to raise. A canvass of other Parish Councils in Lincolnshire was made and although the scheme has been seen elsewhere, no replying councils had used this company.
Action: Clerk – to offer the introduction to the Primary School
iv) Lincs Tree Planting initiative. LCC has been funded and has offered to plant trees in villages around the county. The offer was discussed but not considered a sufficient priority for the already well-treed village.
Action: Clerk – to officially turn down the Lincs offer
v) Riparian Survey. The Lincolnshire Flood Risk and Water Management Partnership have, in joint collaboration with North East Lincolnshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council, developed an initiative to improve the way that riparian watercourses are managed across Greater Lincolnshire. The project is being delivered by the Lincolnshire Riparian Working Group (LRWG) which is a joint venture of 13 organisations from across Greater Lincolnshire.
Although there is little water flow in the village (there are streams on the boundary of Rauceby Estate) it was felt we should maintain an interest in this project.
Action: Clerk – to notify Lincs of our maintained interest
vi) Remembrance Day RBLI (industries) purchases. This was discussed and it was decided not to pursue a purchase.
vii) Remembrance Day RBL purchases (distinct from RBLI). This was discussed and it was decided to purchase a wreath in the normal fashion.
Action: Clerk – to purchase a wreath.
9. Correspondence
i) LALC AGM. An invitation has been received for a representative of the Parish Council to attend the Annual General Meeting in October. After discussion it was decided we would not attend.
ii) Website maintenance. An offer has been received from Mr P Langford a contractor for LALC Website Management Services, who for £15/month will provide advice and maintain the Parish Council website. The Parish Clerk explained that this task was proving to be particularly arduous as the software was extremely difficult to operate. Many Parish Councils have taken up Mr Langford’s offer. After discussion it was decided that we should also take up the offer.
Action: Clerk – to organise the transfer of website maintenance
In addition Cllr R Wright was asked to return a comment to LCC that the current mechanism for maintaining the website was quite inappropriate for the people expected to do the job.
iii) The Queen’s Green Canopy. A LALC newsletter has been received inviting people across the country to Plant a Tree for the Jubilee. This was discussed and it was decided not to proceed (see item 8(iv) above).
iv) Paper and card recycling initiative. The Parish Council asked Cllr R Wright to pass on its commendation to the waste management departments of LCC and NKDC for promoting the new purple bin paper and card recycling system.
10. Update on Outstanding Matters
i) Position of Post Box, South Rauceby. No further progress.
ii) Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacon. After the last Parish Council meeting two other organisations in the village showed an interest in arranging a beacon event for the Jubilee: the Women’s Institute and the Rauceby Junior School. A meeting is to be arranged to gather the three groups to make preparations for the celebrations.
Action: Clerk – to organise an initial set-up meeting
iii) Traffic calming measures. Cllr Malloch reported that as the price of wood had increased recently, the cost of fabricating the gates had consequently increased by £106. We have received consent from the Highways Manager of LCC to install gates at the village entrance. We have also received confirmation from Zurich Insurance (our insurers) that our current policy includes the type and level of liability cover required by LCC. (In addition, the premium cost to replace the gates in the event of an accident will be £6 per year from next year – this year is already covered.)
It was therefore decided that a set of gates be purchased and installed at the Rauceby Drove entrance to the village in accordance with the specification given by the LCC.
Action: Cllr Malloch – to place the order and organise installation
iv) Standing Orders. Item 9(ii) above will resolve this issue.
v) Ditch maintenance near school. Matter resolved
vi) Feedback on Central Lincs Local Plan. No feedback was received; matter closed.
11. Financial Matters
i) Financial report (July 2021) – for approval and signing
Report approved and signed off by Chairman
Current account - £17,654.07, 20/07/2021
ii) This month’s expenditures were approved and cheques signed
J Earl – Grass cutting £178.00.
I Grady – Salary £244.56 and expenses £39.98.
T J Bookkeeping – Salary preparation £25.00
HMRC – PAYE, I Grady £82.20
12. Items of Urgency
None raised
13. Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be 7.30 pm on Wednesday, 17 November 2021 at the Rauceby Village Hall.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.05 pm.