2025 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, 19 March 2025 at 7.30 pm at the Village Hall, South Rauceby. 

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

Public speaking time: There were no members of the public present. 
1. Apologies for absence: Apologies were received from Cllr P Ireland. 
2. To receive any Declarations of Interest: None were received.
3. To decide on any items to be carried out in Closed Session: None requested. 
4. To approve as a correct record the notes of the meeting held on 15 January 2025: Unanimously approved; the Chairman signed the minutes. 
5. Reports from Visiting Representatives and Police Matters if any: 
NKDC – Cllr A Hagues had distributed the latest NKDC newsletter to councillors earlier in the month. 
LCC – Cllr Wright described the progress being made at LCC level of the formation of three Unitary Councils in the county. Some decisions have to be made by LCC by the end of the month and proposals sent to London. 
Police – No representative was present to make a report.
6. Planning Applications 
Received from NKDC (This may include plans received after the agenda was circulated):
i. 25/0232/TCA| G1 - Comprising 9 cypress, various shrubs and a yew hedge. Fell to ground level and chip out stumps. This group of trees has been planted on LCC verge without consent by a past local resident, it is alleged that the trees have caused damage to the adjacent boundary wall to manor farm and we are proposing removal of these trees to prevent further damage/allow access to repair the wall. Replacement planting will be carried out locally to compensate for the loss of trees. | Main Street, North Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. No Objections were raised at the regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 27/03/25.)
     Plans decided by NKDC since the last meeting
ii. 24/0039/TCA| x3 Leylandii - Fell| Manor House Main Street North Rauceby Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8QP. No Objections by Planning Sub-Committee of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 25/01/25.) NKDC decided: TPO not served.
iii. 24/1324/FUL| Erection of 2 No. additional poultry houses and associated infrastructure| Ermine Street Farm, High Dike, Byard's Leap, Cranwell, Lincolnshire, NG32 3RN PI. No Objections by Planning Sub-Committee of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 27/11/24.) NKDC decided: Approved.

7. Matters Arising and New Business Notified to Clerk prior to meeting
i. Maintenance of Village entrance sheep signs. In progress. Cllr Malloch is having difficulty contacting a specialist repairer.
ii. Speed monitoring in the village. The purchase of one device has been approved in principle by the Parish Council (at a cost of about £2250). Contacting the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership to carry out a traffic survey and to advise on different (possibly cheaper) monitoring devices has proved difficult. 
Action Mar (1): Chairman (to contact LRSP)
iii. Emergency Planning. The development of Emergency Planning arrangements for the village is in progress. A workshop was given in January by the Lincolnshire Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Service on Emergency Plan preparation and was attended by the Chairman and Clerk. Cllr Enstone gave a short presentation on the contents of the workshop.
In summary, the purpose of an Emergency Planning/Leadership team is to identify in advance the kinds of emergency that may arise in the village. Flooding is probably the most likely, but there may be other scenarios such as widespread power failure, water supply failure, tree fall, motor vehicle accidents to be considered. The team would then devise means of mitigating any consequential problems before any of the emergency services have time to arrive on scene.
At the PC meeting it was decided to call for volunteers from around the village to form an Emergency Leadership Team. This would not be part of the PC but a separate organisation comprising parishioners of the village. The Chairman agreed to lead the team in order to get the planning process started and had already taken the opportunity of using the final Gigabit newsletter to request volunteers from around the village, from which 2 names had so far been received. Cllr Balderton volunteered to be part of the team; other councillors were invited to let the clerk know by email whether they would be willing to join. The Chairman will organise a kick-off meeting in April for all volunteers to agree the structure of the Emergency Planning Leadership team and next steps towards completion of an emergency plan for the village. 
Action Mar (2): Chairman
Action Mar (3): All Councillors
iv. Provision of Gritting Bins. Complete. LCC has installed a full bin at the foot of the steps up to the village hall. (Issue finalised)
v. On-line banking arrangements with Lloyds in progress; the clerk is trying to work out the most efficient way of achieving this. 
Action Mar (4): Clerk
vi. Village Burials. There was a concern that the burial area in the churchyard is running out of space and that the PC would have to find new ground to accommodate future requirements. However it was further reported that a detailed survey is being carried out and at the moment it does not seem that there is an issue. (Issue finalised)
vii. Reminder to councillors. 
1. The annual check on fitness-for-purpose of the PC Procedures and Policies is due to be reported at the May meeting. The Clerk keeps an eye on statutory requirements on an ongoing basis but the councillors are requested to check that those Policies and Procedures listed in the Parish Website reflect the specific requirements of Rauceby PC.
Action Mar (5): All Councillors
2. Also due for its annual check is the safety assessment of all parish owned (and for convenience non-parish owned) assets. Cllr M Ireland agreed to carry out this survey.
 Action Mar (6): Cllr M Ireland
viii. VE Day 80th Anniversary commemoration. This was not considered to have sufficient support in the village and so, unless there is a late show of demand, this event will not be celebrated in the village. Cllr Wright explained that there would be a £500 gift from Government for those organisations organising such an event.
ix. ICO – Renewal confirmation received. Noted (Issue finalised)
8. Update on Outstanding Matters 
i. Actions from previous meetings: 

9. Financial report
i. The financial report was approved and signed off by the Chairman.
The Current account stands at £17495.64 as of 14 February 2025 (before the approval of expenditure described below).
ii. This month’s payments were approved:
* I Grady: fees (2 months) (GDPR)
* Village Hall hire fee (Nov 24) £19.00
iii. The Savings account stands at nil as the investment period ended in February and the proceeds transferred back to the cheque account. Interest for the 3 months ending February 2025 of £118.30 was deposited into the current account.
After discussion it was agreed to reinvest in a savings account for the next 12 months, even though the interest rates are substantially lower than last year.
Action Mar (7): Clerk
iv. Consider donations for forthcoming FY. It was decided to put this item onto the November agenda as the budget for this year has already been finalised.
v. The Rauceby Parish Council budget for the next FY as presented in previous meetings was discussed and agreed. It was noted that a new item of bank charges is to be included. The clerk considered that this amount could be absorbed in the admin category without changing the overall value of the budget.
vi. Further contact is required with Lloyds Bank to set up on-line banking with respect to the other co-signatories required for cash transactions.
Action Mar (8): Clerk
10. Any Other Business:  Any matters which have arisen after the agenda was published. 
i. NKDC Parish and Town Council Forum
Cllrs S Enstone and M Ireland and the Clerk are to attend the Parish and Town Council Forum where there will be an opportunity to hear more about Local Government Reorganisation and to ask questions on it.
ii. Rauceby Main Street Conservation Area. 
Some time ago Rauceby Foundation described some developments that may take place at the Rauceby Main Street Conservation Area (bullet point 4 below). Cllr Malloch asked whether there had been any developments on this.  The Chairman will follow-up with the Foundation to understand the current status.
Action Mar (9): Chairman
11. Date of Next Meeting: The meeting closed at 20h35. The next regular meeting will be held at about 19h30 on Wednesday, 21 May 2025 at the Rauceby Village Hall. It will be preceded by the annual OPEN Meeting starting at 19h00. 

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).