May 2021 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard’s Leap Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap Parish Council held at Cranwell Village Hall, Old School Lane, Cranwell Village, NG34 8DF on Monday 17 May 2021 at 7:00pm.
Participating: Chairman: Cllr Mr T R Batten
Councillors: Cllr Mrs C Batten, Cllr Mrs M Cassidy, Cllr Mr M A Cassidy, Cllr Mr S Chapman, Cllr Mr M Pears and Cllr Mrs A Riley
Mr Eddie Findlay, Clerk to the Parish Council
There were 3 members of the public in attendance.
New Lincolnshire County Councillor, Richard Wright, introduced himself. He stated it was his intention to attend as many meetings as possible.
The Chairman declared the meeting open at 7:02pm.
1 .Election of a Chairman.
Cllr Pears nominated Cllr Mr T Batten for Chairman of Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap Parish Council, seconded by Cllr Chapman.
There were no other nominations.
Action: The Council unanimously RESOLVED to approve Cllr Mr T Batten to act as Chairman. Cllr Mr T Batten signed a Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
2. To receive apologies for absence and reasons given i.a.w. Local Government Act 1972, Sch 12, para 40.
Cllr Bayly was unable to attend and his reasons were made known to the Council.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve Cllr Bayly’s reasons for absence.
Proposed by Cllr Riley, seconded by Cllr Pears and approved unanimously.
3. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications in relation to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.
Disclosure of pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests is to be in accordance with the Localism Act 2011. The need for disclosure is to be based upon agenda items, or at any suitable time during a meeting when it becomes apparent to a Member.
Cllrs Mr and Mrs Cassidy declared an interest in minute ref: 66.b. page 16-2021 as they are payment recipients.
4. Election of a Vice-Chairman.
Cllr Mr T Batten nominated Cllr Pears for vice-Chairman of Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap Parish Council. seconded by Cllr Riley.
There were no other nominations.
Action: The Council unanimously RESOLVED to approve Cllr Pears to act as vice-Chairman.
5. Re-Adoption of Documents: Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Code of Conduct, the Annual Investment Strategy, Risk Assessment, Complaints Procedure, Grievance Procedure, Discipline Procedure, Communication Policy, Social Media Policy, Grant Awarding Policy, Bullying and Harassment Policy and the FOI Publication Scheme.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve the re-adoption of the documents listed above following minor amendments being made to the Standing Orders and the Social media Policy.
Proposed by Cllr Mr M Cassidy, seconded by Cllr Mrs C Batten and approved unanimously.
6. Consider the adoption of the following;
Risk Assessment for use of the Village Hall.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve the Risk Assessment for use of the Village Hall, during COVID-19 restrictions.
Proposed by Cllr Mr M Cassidy, seconded by Cllr Mrs C Batten and approved unanimously.
7. Gifts and Awards.
Cllr Batten had circulated a document for discussion. The Clerk advised that there was no Power
to buy gifts for long serving or retiring councillors. A bench could be purchased, or a tree planted in their honour (as an example), but an individual cannot be given a gift directly from public money.
With regards to retiring or long serving staff, Council has a Power under s.111, to buy a gift.
For funerals – a donation could be given to a charity of their choice but there is no power to purchase a wreath. The Chairman could use his allowance for this. However, the council does need to be very careful in setting a precedent, especially when there is no specific power to do any of these things. There is no power to purchase a get well soon card or gift.
s.137 expenditure need to show a benefit to some, or all, of the inhabitants or area, not individual.
Giving out Awards/Honorariums is a tricky one, because the council under s.137 cannot give to individuals – however, if it can somehow be linked to another power then you could give out an award under s.111 depending on what the Award would be for.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to defer a decision to enable the Clerk to draw up a draft document for consideration.
Proposed by Cllr Mr M Cassidy, seconded by Cllr Riley and approved unanimously.
8. Notes of the ordinary meeting of the Parish Council held remotely on Tuesday 27 April 2021 to be approved as Minutes.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve the notes of the extra-ordinary meeting of the Parish Council held remotely on Tuesday 27 April 2021 as Minutes.
Proposed by Cllr Mrs C Batten, seconded by Cllr Mrs C Cassidy and approved by a vote of 5 for and 2 abstentions.
9. Financial Matters
a. Approve the payments made since the last meeting.
Southern Electric *****59419 DD £ 117.52
BT Business Payment Services Ltd DD £ 70.56
Anglian Water (Acct *****5216 - Old School) DD £ 32.00
Southern Electric *****69418 DD £ 146.87
Warden and Security Services (Inv-059) EB-0670 £ 132.00
John Scotney Inv x 4 (3763-3764-3765-3766) EB-0671 £ 762.00
Streetwise Environmental Inv 51170 EB-0672 £ 468.19
aadefib.com Inv 12961 EB-0673 £ 102.00
HMRC GOV.UK.PAYE Online £ 7.78
Cranwell PCC (Grant for grass cutting) EB-0674 £ 400.00
Cranwell Primary Sch PTA (Grant - trim trail)EB-0675 £ 300.00
LIVES (Grant) EB-0676 £ 500.00
HMRC (Clerk's PAYE/NI) EB-0677 £ 292.00
Mr A E Findlay (Clerk salary) EB-0678 £ 438.60
Mr A E Findlay (Clerk expenses) EB-0679 £ 53.90
Total: £ 3,823.42
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve the payments made since the last meeting.
Proposed by Cllr Mr M Cassidy, seconded by Cllr Riley and approved unanimously.
b. Approve the payment of invoices etc. as listed on the Payments to be Authorised sheet.
Warden and Security Services (Inv-060) Chq. 1888 £ 132.00
John Scotney Inv x 2 Chq. 1889 £ 196.88
Streetwise Environmental Inv 51247 Chq. 1890 £ 479.88
David Holman (planning fee reimburse) Chq. 1891 £ 231.00
Cllr Cassidy (mileage) Chq. 1892 £ 24.75
Anglian Water (Acct *****5216 - Old School) DD £ 32.00
BT Business Payment Services Ltd DD £ 74.28
NKDC (Brown bin fee) DD £ 35.00
Total: £ 1,205.79
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve the payments of invoices etc. as listed on the Payments to be Authorised sheet.
Proposed by Cllr Mr T Batten, seconded by Cllr Riley and approved by a vote of 5 for and
2 abstentions.
c. Approve the bank reconciliation from the previous month.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve the bank reconciliations from the previous months.
Proposed by Cllr Mrs M Cassidy, seconded by Cllr Mr M Cassidy and approved unanimously.
d. Audit – confirm acknowledgement of Section 1, the Annual Governance Statements in relation to the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2020/21 Part 3, page 4 only.
Action: The Chairman read out the 9 Annual Governance Statements and all Councillors verbally affirmed their agreement as YES to all statements.
Proposed by Cllr Riley, seconded by Cllr Pears and approved unanimously.
10. Receive a report from the Clerk on matters pertaining to the Parish Council.
The Clerk had requested an update on when Council might receive the two purchased Speed Indicator Units from The Smart Group. They had responded “We have been delayed by the worldwide chip shortage = the latest update is that we should have our order, from February, by the latest next Tuesday so you should have your signs by the end of the month.”
SSE again contacted. The supply will registered on 14 May 2021 and then they will request the install date and inform me accordingly.
The Clerk had again contacted the noticeboard refurbishment contractor requesting an update on when the work will be carried out. No update received from contractor.
The Clerk had again contacted the Village Cross repair contractor requesting an update on when the work will be carried out. Skillington had replied and are looking at end of May 2021.
The Clerk had received a letter, withdrawing the offer of a donation. It was felt that the proposed way forward was outside what was originally suggested to the public and they had been given no additional opportunity to comment. Costs had yet been proposed.
The Clerk informed the Council that after 10 years, he intended to resign.
He plans to allow Council sufficient time to advertise and recruit a replacement Clerk/Responsible Finance Officer, with his last working day being Tuesday 31 August 2021.
The Clerk declared he would be happy to assist in training his replacement if there was adequate time to do so prior to his planned departure date.
He thanked Councillor’s past and present for last 10 years and wished them every success for the future.
11. Planning Applications.
21/0584/HOUS – First Floor Side Extension - Hill Top, Long Lane, Brauncewell, NG34 8R.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to submit no objections to the listed planning application.
Proposed by Cllr Riley, seconded by Cllr Pears and approved unanimously.
12. New Pavilion.
Update on progress.
It was confirmed that the Pavilion planning application had been presented to NKDC for scrutiny.
D/Cllr Clegg entered the Village Hall at 7:35pm.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to close the meeting to allow D/Cllr Clegg to address the meeting.
Proposed by Cllr Mr T Batten, seconded by Cllr Pears and approved unanimously.
The Chairman re-opened the meeting at 7:42pm.
13. Consider the confidentiality of email communications between Councillors.
A couple of companies were suggested who offer bespoke Councillor email addresses.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to defer the item to the next meeting.
Proposed by Cllr Mr T Batten, seconded by Cllr Bayly and approved unanimously.
14. Consider a proposal to establish a Parish Database of email addresses to enable regular contact with the public.
With all the data protection concerns it was felt that it may be too onerous for the Parish Council. The companies approached as per minute ref: could be asked for guidance.
15. Receive reports from Councillors on their Areas of Responsibility.
Cllr Cassidy reported that the long missing 30mph road sign near West Avenue end of the B1429 had finally been replaced.
Part of the cut down telegraph poles used to bollard the Sports Field had rotted through and was in need of replacing.
Cllr Pears reported that the street sign for St. Benedict’s Close was now resting against the new fence. The matter had been reported to NKDC Street Scene Team.
It has been noted that the recently re-surfaced car park was now above the Social Club damp proof line. It was suggested the contractor be contacted for guidance.
The application form for the location for the Speed Indicator Devices was requested for completion.
16. Consider the request from a resident to use the Village Hall car park as overflow parking on Saturday 14 August 2021.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to approve the request.
Proposed by Cllr Riley, seconded by Cllr Pears and approved unanimously.
17. Meeting dates.
Confirm the date of the next meeting.
The next meeting was confirmed, subject to there being no changes to the COVID-19 restrictions as being Monday 14 June 2021. This would be a shortened Annual Parish Meeting, followed immediate by the June ordinary meeting.
Consider re-arranging the date for the September 2021 meeting.
Due to the Clerk’s resignation , it was decided to leave the September meeting as 13 September 2021.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8:05 pm.