October 2021 Minutes
STUBTON PARISH COUNCIL
Members
Martin Davis - Chair
Bob Warren - Clerk
David Butler – Vice Chair
Rick Crooks - Councillor
Andrew Smith -Councillor
Jackie Warren - Councillor
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 20th October 2021
Present
Cllr Martin Davis - Chair
Cllr David Butler – Vice Chair
Cllr Andrew Smith
Cllr Jackie Warren
Bob Warren – Clerk
Prior to the start of the meeting Cllr Davis read a statement in relation to the extraordinary meeting held on 4th October 2021 as follows.
Chairman’s statement on 20/10/2021
Thank you all for coming to the Ordinary meeting of Stubton Parish Council today. Before we begin, I just want to say a few words: There has been a lot of conjecture and speculation with respect to the extraordinary meeting held on 4th October, from certain quarters, some of whom did not attend the meeting. I would like to set the record straight and give clarity to those concerned. The Agenda Item was to discuss “whether the planning application S21/1734 met the Criteria of Class Q - Permitted development. (As minuted) It was structured so that the Chair gave each of the dozen or so of the residents that attended a chance to speak. Nearly all did speak, with some speaking for longer than others…but that is up to the Chairman’s discretion, as some offered pertinent information to help the PC determine the community opinion and in fact-finding. Then each Cllr in turn was invited to speak by the Chair all of which did so. Finally, the Chair (myself) spoke briefly, before reading out a statement that I then ‘moved’ that it be “submitted to the SKDC Portal”. Cllr Butler ‘seconded’ the move, and a show of hands resulted in a unanimous vote to submit that statement. ‘Due Process’ was carried out, and one cannot state otherwise! Everyone in Stubton village had ample time to comment and/or attend the extraordinary meeting, and for those that didn’t attend, the PC cannot review on sentiments it never received, or try to second guess their opinion. That would be ‘hearsay’! The submitted statement was verbatim, as the meeting was recorded by the Clerk, (for administrative purposes) and this statement was double-checked, after it was later challenged. All residents are entitled to an opinion regarding a planning application and to submit their own comments to the planning authority. It is a sorry state of affairs, when it becomes personal regarding someone or a group with an opposing opinion to one’s own. Hopefully, we can now move forward.
1. Cllr Davis welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. Apologies were received from Cllr Crooks who was on holiday. The Cllrs present unanimously accepted the reason for his absence.
3. There were no declarations of interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011.
4. Cllr Davis introduced the open forum and asked if anyone wished to raise anything.
1. A resident raised a concern about potential infill in relation to the planning application that had been made to convert a barn on Fenton Road to a residential property. The concern was for the piece of land between the last house on Fenton Road and the proposed development and in particular for the fate of the oak tree on that plot. Cllr Milne stated that oak trees were worthy of preservation and that maybe a request for a tree preservation order could be made to SKDC who could then investigate.
2. A resident made an observation about parking on pavements in the village stating that it made it difficult for pedestrians as well as being difficult for road users to see around them.
3. Cllr Davis raised a previously discussed issue with Cllr Maughan regarding kerbing on Fenton Road from the junction with Claypole Road. Cllr Maughan stated he had sent a note to highways regarding the issue but had not received an update. There was inadequate surface drainage on Fenton Road and it would be part of a much wider scheme if highways were to install kerbing to the part of the road in question.
5. The minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 25th August 2021 and Monday 4th October 2021 were agreed and approved unanimously by the Cllrs. Cllr Davis signed a copy of each for the record.
6. County Cllr Alexander Maughan provided an update on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council.
The Lincolnshire Climate Summit took place at Lincolnshire Showground bringing together the County Council and a wide variety of organisations such as local businesses, charities, nature organisations and local authorities. LCC has a Green plan in place with a view to reducing their carbon emissions by 68% between 1990 and 2025. However LCC only represent 1% of the carbon emissions for Lincolnshire so it was important that the Summit brought together different groups to highlight the responsibility we all have to contribute.
Cllr Maughan stated he is very interested in the use of electric vehicles and the introduction of charging points to rural areas. Caythorpe will be one of the first rural settlements in the county to trail on street EV charge points.
The Lincolnshire Local Transport Plan consultation has been launched today and will be looking at how transport can be made greener. For example Grantham and Boston are being looked at as towns for electric buses.
Locally, the signage for Doddington Lane has been ordered.
Doddington Lane and Cleansey Lane have been included in the highways programme for full reconstruction with a current planned completion date of 2025/26. It is important that residents keep reporting issues on FixMyStreet as this adds to the scoring process for determining which projects get completed first.
Cllr Maughan suggested it would be unlikely that there would be a speed reduction on Doddington Lane as any accident data would be unlikely to support the need for it.
With regards to HGVs using the road, that cannot be restricted but it may be worth opening a dialogue with the operator of the distribution centre to see if an agreement could be reached on routing of the vehicles.
7. District Cllr Penny Milnes provided an update on behalf of South Kesteven District Council.
Cllr Milne confirmed that the distribution centre is in the neighbouring ward and that nothing was raised when it came to the planning meeting for approval. An ongoing issue at all planning meetings is the response from Highways who generally raise no objections.
Cllr Milne again congratulated the village on the best kept village award.
SKDC has a new assistant director of planning, Emma Whittaker. The planning review is proving contentious and will require a number of changes to the constitution.
The Covid situation is still fluid and there are hopes that there is no need to go back into any kind of lockdown. A lot of the council employees are still working from home.
Deepings leisure centre remains closed with costings for repairs being prepared and hopefully a decision to be made by Christmas.
Local Planning
The last application for amendments to Home Farm Cottage was refused.
The non-material amendment to the roof of the cart shed at Hayloft Barn has been refused as being not a suitable material.
Although no decision has yet been made the case officer for the proposed conversion of the barn on Fenton Road to residential considers the building to be Class Q.
A number of residents raised concerns about this view and Cllr Milnes offered to discuss it with the principal officer as she was not aware of all the submissions that had been made.
8. The Clerk provided a financial update to the PC.
8.1 There were no payments requiring approval.
8.2 There have been no payments since the last meeting.
8.3 The PC currently has available funds of £2382.
8.4 Cllr Crooks, at the previous meeting, raised the issue of why the PC had so much money and how it was going to be spent. Cllr Davis stated that the PC would be addressing this in upcoming items.
9. Community Matters
1. Mr Wilson, for the Neighbourhood Planning Committee, explained that the proposed amendments to the plan had been submitted by Jake Horton at SKDC to an independent inspector and if approved that would go forward as the change to the plan. The proposal simply states that Stubton is no longer an unsustainable village and that SP2, SP3 and SP4 now apply.
2. The signs for Doddington Lane have been ordered. These will warn motorists of the bend near the junction with Brandon Road.
3. Cllr Warren updated the PC on the formal approach to LCC Highways to get permission for planting under the hawthorn tree on Brandon Road. The current situation meant that only NRSWA accredited contractors were permitted to excavate on any highway land. Cllr Maughan asked for a copy of the correspondence and he would speak to Rowan Smith from Highways.
4. Cllr Davis showed the meeting some examples of the type of Village signs the Cllrs were considering for the village. It was now thought that a pedestal type of sign like the one in Dry Doddington would be too expensive whereas the type of signs shown at the meeting could be obtained for around £600 plus the cost of a mount. The view was that the sign would be a benefit to visitors to Stubton and could be used to depict historical events.
A resident suggested that maybe a cheaper option might be to do something with a bench in the village.
A resident proposed that if the PC had excess funds they could make a donation to the defibrillator fund instead of a sign. It was agreed that this would be added as an agenda item for the next meeting.
The decision at a previous meeting was to make an application for a grant to cover some of the cost of the sign but there would be an expectation that if funding was approved the PC would have to be in a position to contribute the rest of the cost for the proposed sign. Hence the PC should have a clear view of the total cost involved and this should reflect the wishes of the residents as well. It was moved by Cllr Warren to canvass views of the residents by way of and online survey on what residents would like to see. This was seconded by Cllr Davis and agreed unanimously by the Cllrs.
5. Cllr Davis provided an update on the issue of noise from Stubton Hall that had been raised at the previous meeting.
Cllr Davis and Cllr Warren met with Claire Brainerd to discuss the issues. Claire showed great willingness to address the concerns of residents and was concerned herself that these things were happening without her knowing. She is happy to receive information regarding excessive noise late at night and of any anti-social behaviour in the grounds especially if it is reported as soon as possible after the event. She can be contacted on info@stubtonhall.co.uk. This email address is always monitored by her and her management team and they will respond to any enquiries. She did point out that there are occasional times when a later licence is applied for to allow a function to continue until 1am rather than the usual 12 midnight. She will be advising her staff to monitor the doors to the orangery which are meant to stay closed. This can be a challenge at times with guests ignoring the requirement. Cllr Davis stated it is important to keep communication open and to address issues in a constructive way.
6. The clerk advised that 2 quotes had been received to paint the phone box housing the defibrillator and a third was awaited.
The quotes received were for £370 and £400 for the painting of the outside only.
Neither tradesman would be prepared to start the job until next year due to the uncertainty of the weather at this time of year and the fact that oil based paint would be required.
It was agreed to carry the item over to the next meeting when the 3rd quote would be available.
7. Speed reduction in the village. Cllr Davis discussed the use of Mobile Speed Signs which monitor and log speeds of vehicles and give motorists a visual indication of their current speed. Battery operated versions are probably the best option as they can be moved to different localities within the village. Cllr Davis discussed the option of joining LCC Community Speed Watch at a cost of £40. Membership provided discounts on equipment purchased from them.
There was debate amongst all present as to the best approach for dealing with speeding in the village.
It was decided that the best starting point would be to join LCC Community Speed Watch and to see what could be learnt from them.
This was moved by Cllr Davis, seconded by Cllr Smith and unanimously agreed by the Cllrs.
8. Cllr Davis informed the PC that the presentation for the best kept village is on 22nd October and he would be representing the PC. He proposed that there should be a separate presentation in the village hall to thank volunteers and residents for their efforts. This was moved by Cllr Davis and seconded by Cllr Smith. The Cllrs voted unanimously.
10 Recruitment of a new clerk. Cllr Davis informed the meeting that the clerk had offered his resignation on 27th September and would be leaving the council after the completion of the minutes for this meeting. Consequently the PC is now looking to recruit a new clerk. Cllr Davis thanked the clerk for his service over the last 18 months during difficult times involving longer meetings, remote meetings and a number of contentious planning meetings. An advert will shortly be placed on the noticeboard and on the website. Cllr Davis invited anyone interested to apply for the position.
11 The next meeting of Stubton PC will be on Thursday 13th January 2022