2022 Rauceby PC Minutes of Meetings

Rauceby Parish Council

Minutes from the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday, 19 January 2022 at 7.30 pm at The Village Hall, South Rauceby. 

Present:     Cllr M Ireland (in the Chair), Cllr G Enstone, Cllr R Enstone, Cllr S Enstone, Cllr J Malloch (Vice-Chairman), Cllr M Froggatt, Cllr S Waite, Cllr B Balderston and the Clerk, Mr I Grady. 

Public speaking time:  One member of the public was present and spoke to the Council regarding a Planning Application submitted by himself in December 2021. He described the purpose and benefits of the application and Councillors clarified various aspects. The Applicant left the meeting immediately after his presentation and before the Council had its discussion. The Councillors discussed the application fully in Item 7(i) below. 

1.   Apologies for Absence: Apologies were received from Cllr K Colehouse.

2.   To Receive any Declarations of Interest: The Chairman declared an interest in item 7(i) below and requested the Vice-Chairman lead the discussion on that item. The Chairman also declared an interest in Item 8(iv) below. 

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 17 November 2021:

Unanimously approved. The Chairman signed the minutes. 

5.   Rauceby Gigabit Project: 

Cllr Simon Enstone reported on the current status of the Gigabit Project. Since the last meeting there was an open meeting organised on the 4th December which was well attended - both by residents who were already committed to full-fibre, and those newly interested. As a result, the current situation is that for the larger, Rauceby scheme, the full quote by Openreach is now close to being closed by available funding - a gap of <£3000 remains (vs a total project cost of £323k).  For the smaller Ermine Street scheme, there is still a funding gap of £12k, for which there is limited visibility for additional grant funding since the level of household engagement is already close to 100%. Discussions are still underway with Lincolnshire County Council to seek support.

As a next step Openreach will submit the schemes to UK Govt Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for pre-approval. This is expected to be completed by the end of February, following which a web-site will be set up to allow all residents to officially register their upgrade pledges. Once this website has registered a level of commitment exceeding the quote, Openreach will commence preparation for installation – a process that can take 12 months.

6.   Reports from Visiting Representatives and Police Matters:

•   NKDC: Nothing to report.
•   LCC: Nothing to report. 
•   Police: Nothing to report.

7.   Planning Applications:

Received from NKDC (This may include plans received since the agenda was circulated):

i)   21/1927/FUL | Proposed erection of 3 detached houses and garage block. | Land To The Rear Of 38-44 Main Street North Rauceby Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8QP. Rauceby Parish Council discussed the application and also gave consideration to comments made by the applicant and correspondence received prior to the meeting from a parishioner.  It was decided to support the application by a majority decision (7 votes for and I abstention) although a recommendation was made that the Council would like to see safe passage for two vehicles passing when using the proposed north access.

Plans decided by NKDC since the last meeting:

ii)   21/1763/HOUS | Erection of single storey rear extension and detached double garage | Woodman’s Cottage, Cliffe View, South Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 8PY. No Objections by Planning Sub-Committee of Rauceby Parish Council. Approved by NKDC.

iii)   21/1831/HOUS | Erection of 1.5 storey garage | 30 Main Street, South Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 8QG. No Objections by Planning Sub-Committee of Rauceby Parish Council. Approved by NKDC.

iv)   21/1647/FUL | Erection of agricultural storage building with ancillary diesel tank and storage container (retrospective) | Boiling Wells Farm, Grantham Road, Greylees, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 8QX. No Objections by Rauceby Parish Council. Approved by NKDC.

8.   New Business: Notified to the Clerk prior to the meeting.

i)   Lincolnshire CC Tax proposals 2022/23: After discussion it was agreed to support the 3% Council Tax proposals by LCC, all being ear-marked for adult care.

Action: The Clerk to notify LCC of our support. 

ii)   Fatal accident at A17/Rauceby crossroads, 14 December 2021: The members of the council expressed their dismay that this accident occurred after the council had repeatedly warned LCC of the dangers at this very busy junction. 

Action: The Chairman to write to LCC Councillor R Wright to ask him what is to be done about this situation.

iii)   Defibrillator: It was recorded that the defibrillator located at the Village Hall had been used in an emergency event over the Christmas period. The consumables for the defibrillator and accompanying First Aid kit have been replaced. 

iv)   Public Right of Way Claim: An email has been received from Mr Steve Parkhouse, the Coordinator for Ramblers Lincolnshire Don’t Lose Your Way. He is preparing applications for public rights of way designations and as part of the application process has asked whether the Council knows who, if anyone, owns the land associated with the bridleway along Drove Lane. After discussion it was decided to respond as follows: In previous planning applications associated close to Drove Lane Rauceby Parish Council has been informed that the ownership of Drove Lane from Tom Lane down to at least the new Western Power Distribution Switch Station has been confirmed to be Lincolnshire County Council Highways Department. This may indicate that their ownership continues further East down Drove Lane.

Action: The Clerk to notify Mr Parkhouse of our discussion

v)   Meetings for Next Year: The programme of Parish Council Meetings for 2022, agreed at the last meeting, contained a couple of errors; the following table was proposed and it was agreed to replace that discussed previously: 

Except for the July meeting the dates are the third Wednesday of every second month:

9.   Update on Outstanding Matters: 

i)   Resignation of Cllr Colehouse: It was noted that Cllr Colehouse submitted his resignation with effect from the end of the January meeting. 

Action: The Clerk to commence the procedures for notifying 

NK Electoral Services in order to fill the vacancy. 

It was further noted that a new member of the Planning Sub-Committee would be needed to replace Mr Colehouse. Cllr Froggatt was nominated, seconded and unanimously voted into the position. 

ii)   Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration (Spanning Thursday 2nd June to Sunday 5th June): It was not possible to hold the pre-Christmas meeting. 

The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in Rauceby are being coordinated by representatives of the Parish Council (Cllr M. Ireland), the Women’s Institute (S. Clark and S. Horton) and Rauceby Junior School (J. Waites). A reminder that the following items have been considered:

•   Rather than a beacon (because we have no specialist apparatus), a “Big Jubilee Lunch” and/or Picnic could take place instead on the Sunday accompanied with village games, quiz and music.
•   Rauceby School has offered the use of the playing field and toilet facilities for this event.
•   An approach is to be made to others in the village to join a Jubilee Organising Group including school PTFA and Village Playgroup.
•   Aim to meet again with additional members, in the early New Year.

iii)   Traffic calming measures: Cllr Malloch reported that the gates have been delivered and we are now waiting for an opportunity to paint and install them. 

Regarding the issue of the red tarmac road marking at Cranwell, we had hoped to raise the issue with Cllr R Wright at this meeting. As he was not present this shall be followed up by mail. 

Action: Cllr M Ireland to contact Cllr R Wright.

iv)   Website maintenance: The Rauceby Parish Council website is in the process of being updated. All information (historical agendas, minutes, financial information, policies etc) that is required to be present is now available on line. In order to make the site more attractive to visit it is suggested that links to other sites be made available so that visitors can use our site as a central information hub. Suggestions were made for links to the websites for the following amenities: the pub, the Aviation Museum, the WI, Local Walks and the Gigabit project. In addition a request was made for photographs to adorn the home pages (several photographs can be used that would cycle through a sequence to display several views of the village). 

Action: The Clerk to follow up these suggestions

In addition it was noted that the Standing Orders Procedure had been updated to the latest version published by LALC and styled for Rauceby Parish Council. It is expected that it will be ready for adoption by the Council at our annual meeting in May. All other procedures are being examined to ensure they are still up to date.

10.   Financial Matters:

i)   Rauceby Parish Council Budget 2022/23. The proposed budget for 2022/23 had been presented to the Councillors prior to the meeting. It was discussed and agreed, with some highlights noted. 

Action: The Clerk to publish the budget.

ii)   Determination of the Precept for 2022-23. 

The zero percent increase Precept calculation has been received from NKDC and is stated as £5956.84. After discussion it was decided that a 2% increase on this value would not be unreasonable given that there has been no adjustment for inflation and there are new items to be funded that are in addition to normal requirements (e.g. Queen’s Jubilee celebrations). This would raise the Precept by £120 to £6076.

Action: The Clerk to finalise the precept calculation and submit it to NKDC.

iii)   Financial report (January 2022) 

The Financial Report was approved and signed off by Chairman.

Current account stands at £16,544.19 on 29/12/2021.

iv)   Expenditures: This month’s expenditures were approved and cheques signed:

B Knight & Son – Provision of speed control gates £492.60.
I Grady – Clerk fees £244.76 and expenses £75.23.
Village Hall – Meeting hall rental £16.00
J Earl – Grounds maintenance £140.00

11.   Items of Urgency 

i)   It was reported that a property on Pinfold Lane was undergoing significant alterations. The Council had previously been assured that the changes were covered by Permitted Development considerations of the Planning Regulations and that all the necessary Building Regulations had been complied with. However the local neighbours were concerned that they had not been informed of such building works – the nature of it, the duration and there being significant disruption of their peace of mind. The Parish Council will discuss this with NKDC to alleviate the residents’ concerns. 

Action: Chairman to discuss with Cllr Waring of NKDC

ii)   A few months ago it was reported that a local student was carrying out a prolonged litter-pick exercise as part of her participation in the DofE scheme. She has now completed this and has asked the Parish Council to validate her record book. As part of the report-back it was noted that there were a few areas of the village that had persistently attracted litter (drinks cans, cigarette packets etc) and there were some more unsavoury items that were too disgusting to collect. The Council discussed whether camera traps could be deployed in these places.

Action 1: Chairman to validate record book

Action 2: Chairman to discuss this issue with Cllr Waring of NKDC.

iii)   We have been notified of a Snowdrop Event in Whisby Nature Park on Sunday 6 February between 12h00 and 15h00, which we were invited to publicise. This was discussed and it was noted that there may be other Snowdrop Events taking place locally. 

Action: Clerk to place posters of Whisby event on our noticeboards.

iv)   Remote Meetings Petition: The following message was received from NKDC:

“We thought you might be interested to know that the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) and Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) have launched a petition asking UK Government and Parliament to allow councils in England to have a choice in how they could hold their meetings.   

Previously, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DHULC) had said that the Government would work closely with Councils to ensure “they understand and are aware of the options” but recent articles state appear to rule out the prospect of further consideration in advance of the outcome of the ‘Call for Evidence’ process that DLUHC had heralded.

There has been a good response so far but tens of thousands are required to make the Government take notice and this might be an item of interest for your parish/town council.”

Rauceby Parish Council discussed this item and concluded that the Council would sign the petition in favour of allowing more flexible arrangements to holding meetings.

Action: Clerk to sign petition and enable other councillors to do so.

12.   Date of next meeting

The next meeting will be 7.30 pm on Wednesday, 16 March 2022 at the Rauceby Village Hall.  

There being no other business the meeting closed at 21h15.