2024 Rauceby PC Minutes of Meetings

DRAFT Minutes
Rauceby Parish Council
email: raucebypc@gmail.com, website: https://rauceby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk
Minutes from the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday, 18 September 2024 at 7.30 pm at the Village Hall, South Rauceby. 

Present:      Cllr S Enstone (in the Chair), Cllrs J Malloch, G Hall, G Enstone, M Ireland, P Ireland, B Balderston, J Hoare and M Froggatt; R Wright of LCC, J Clarke of NKDC and the Clerk, Mr I Grady. 

Public speaking time: There was no member of the public present. 
1. Apologies for absence: Apologies were received from Cllr A Hagues of NKDC
2. To receive any Declarations of Interest: None were received.
3. To decide on any items to be carried out in Closed Session: None required. 
4. To approve as a correct record the notes of the meeting held on 17 July 2024: Unanimously approved; the Chairman signed the minutes. 
5. Rauceby Gigabit Project: Cllr S Enstone described the situation to date. Most orders for installation are in, with 5 householders yet to commit. The voucher scheme has been extended to the end of November. There is confidence that the remaining vouchers will be taken up. 
6. Reports from Visiting Representatives and Police Matters if any: 
NKDC:   A short report was made by Cllr J Clarke:
The closed car park in Sleaford will be opened shortly; the precarious building that caused the shutdown has been demolished. 
He reported that there appears to have been in increase in motor vehicle speeding incidents in the district. This is in line with our own experiences in Rauceby.
Cllr Clarke left the meeting after this item.
LCC:   Cllr Wright also stated there was a notable increase in speeding incidents in the County.
He appealed to everyone to take note of any recent road works/repairs and to report any shortfall in quality to the Highways Department. This is to ensure that contractors give value for money and that they do not walk away from badly completed work.
Police:   No representative was present to make a report.
7. Planning Applications 
Received from NKDC (This may include plans received since the agenda was circulated):
i. 24/1002/TCA|T1 Plum - Reduce by 1.5m to previous reduction points as per photo T2 Cherry - Fell and remove. T3 Ash limb - Side to the boundary fence, approximately 3m. T4 Aspen - Deadwood the lower canopy from the ground only. |The Old Chapel, Chapel Close, South Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 8QZ. (Item was added after initial publication of the agenda in order to enable discussion at this meeting.) No Objections at regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 19/09/24.) Cllrs G Enstone and S Enstone excused themselves from the discussion about this application.

Plans decided by NKDC since the last meeting
ii. 24/0821/PNAGR | Erection of agricultural storage building| Boiling Wells Farm Grantham Road Greylees Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8QX. (Item was added after initial publication of agenda in order to enable discussion at this meeting.) No Objections at regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 19/07/24.)
iii. 24/0709/VARCON | Application to vary condition 2 (Materials) and 3 (Approved plans) attached to planning permission 23/1490/HOUS - Demolition of existing conservatory, erection of single storey extension to rear and garage converted with alterations to roof. Variation of both conditions to allow larger rear extension and alteration to facing materials. | 38 Pinfold Lane South Rauceby Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8QE. No Objections at regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 19/07/24.)
iv. 23/1321/LBC | Conversion and change of use of barns to class E retail gun shop | North Rauceby Lodge Church Lane North Rauceby Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8QU. No objections by Planning Sub-Committee (Submission to NKDC complete 07/12/23.) This application was amended by the applicant. There were no objections to the amendment by the full Council. (Submission regarding the amendment complete 17/05/24.)
v. 23/1320/FUL | Conversion and change of use of barns to class E retail and gun shop | North Rauceby Lodge Church Lane North Rauceby Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8QU. No objections by Planning Sub-Committee (Submission to NKDC complete 07/12/23.) This application was amended by the applicant. There were no objections to the amendment by the full Council. (Submission regarding the amendment complete 17/05/24.)
8. Matters Arising and New Business Notified to Clerk prior to meeting
i. Discussion regarding maintenance of Village entrance sheep signs. Cllr Malloch reported that he had contacted the original fabricator who described how and with what to paint the signs. What was described appears to be very expensive as specialist paint was specified. The painter who repainted the telephone kiosk is to be contacted to quote for the job. It also seems that on closer examination the plinths on which the signs stand, are also in need of repair as concrete is spalling off. Based on the eventual overall cost projection a decision will be made as to whether we go ahead with the refurbishing or leave the signs untreated and replace them with something more durable. When the sheep signs were installed many years ago it was acknowledged that they had a limited life span.
Action (Sep 1): Cllr Malloch to contact painter. 
ii. Confirmation of litter picking event October. The next litter picking event is planned for Saturday 5 October. All residents are invited to participate.
iii. Litter picking grant from NKDC. A grant to subsidise litter picking has been offered by NKDC. After discussion it was decided not to apply. It was felt that the conditions for accepting a grant would be too onerous for the benefit received   the grant would be about £100 this year and zero for subsequent years.
iv. Speed indication devices. Two quotes have been received and the best one, from Elan City, is £4500 (excluding VAT). Another advantage with this supplier is that several of their devices are already in place in Lincolnshire and they appear to have a good reputation with the users. An application has also been made to the Rural England Prosperity Fund for a grant to purchase the devices (one for each major entrance to the village). This is in progress and we should hear shortly about the success of the claim.
In addition Lincs Highways Dept have been contacted regarding permission to install them. The Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership have been in touch to say that our project should be done through them. The Clerk will be co-ordinating activities in the village.
Cllr R Wright left after this item.
Action Sep (2): Clerk
v. Distribute likely dates for meetings in 2025 and provisional dates for 2026. The following dates for 2025 and provisionally for 2026 were agreed:

vi. Central Lincs Design Code. An invitation to participate in a survey regarding the Central Lincolnshire Design Code has been received from NKDC. It was decided not to take part as the questions in the survey were aimed for individuals responses and seemed somewhat trivial.
vii. Gritting requirements for winter. We have been invited to apply for a free 1 tonne bag of gritted salt in preparation for winter. It was agreed to make this application and the delivery would be to Heath Farm.
Action (Sep 3): Clerk
viii. Potential scam notification. An obvious scam email has been received and councillors were reminded to be aware of the dangers. The Lincs Webmaster was alerted and he said that anyone receiving such emails should forward them to report@phishing.gov.uk a dedicated government site setup to receive these type of notifications.
9. Update on Outstanding Matters 

i. Actions from previous meetings: 

ii. Action July (7) Bus shelter replacement costs: estimated like-for-like replacement costs are given as £15-16,000 each. In terms of the impact of these values on our insurance costs, it was decided to wait until the next round of policy renewal takes place (in the new FY) before making any decisions.  At that time it will be determined if there is any need to increase our insurance coverage.
10. Financial report
i. The financial report was approved and signed off by the Chairman.
The Current account stands at  £9057.17 as of 28 August 2024.
ii. This month's payments were approved:
* I Grady: Expenses (Hi-Viz vests and litter picking signage)  £156.51
* I Grady: fees (2 months) (GDPR)
* Stuart Clegg Associates (Payroll management)  £25.20
* Andrew Deptford (replacement of defibrillator pads)  £138.00
* J Earl Gardens Grass cutting)  £224.00
* Citizens Advice Mid-Lincs (donation, see 10(v) below)  £100.00
iii. The Savings account stands at  £10,000 at 28 August 2024 (interest will be added at the end of the FY).
iv. Purchase of war memorial wreath for Remembrance Day: agreed
v. Consider request for donation to Mid-Lincs Citizens Advice: agreed
11. Any Other Business:  Any matters which have arisen after the agenda was published. 
i. An Invitation to attend a Health & Safety event held by LALC was discussed. It was decided not to attend.
12. Date of Next Meeting: The meeting closed at 20h30. The next regular meeting will be held at 19h30 on Wednesday, 20 November 2024 (please note that the agenda stated an incorrect date) at Rauceby Village Hall. 

Matters which have been raised in meetings and which may be considered further at a future date:
* South Rauceby Well refurbishment: deferred until more appropriate.
* Watching brief on requirement for EV charging points for the public and for residents who do not have off-road parking facilities (originally discussed March 2024).
* Councils  new duty to prevent sexual harassment: when more information becomes available about how compliance is to be managed the Clerk will prepare a policy document for adoption by the PC (originally discussed March 2024). 
* The Council shall keep a watching brief on the progress of the Rauceby Foundation re-wilding project at the plot of land on Main Street ear-marked for a public leisure area (originally discussed May 2024).