Meeting Minutes: 25th May 2023

KIMBOLTON & STONELY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES of the annual Council meeting held at 7 p.m. on Thursday 25 May 2023 in the Youth Hall at the Mandeville Hall, Kimbolton.

PRESENT  Councillors P Seabrook; J Gray ; K Hutchinson; Mrs D Hellett ; Ms C Jessup; Mrs J Stainer; R Gooderham and L Farrer

 IN ATTENDANCE   County Councillor I Gardener and Lionel Thatcher, Clerk to the Council 

74/23      ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN

It was proposed by Councillor Gooderham, seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellett and unanimously agreed that Councillor Paul Seabrook be elected Chairman for the coming year.

75/23      APOLOGIES  were received from Councillors Mrs R Lloyd; Ms H Bradbury; M Buckley and District Councillor J Gray

76/23     PUBLIC FORUM was not used.

77/23     DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST.   

   None were made

78/23     COUNTY COUNCILLOR  Ian Gardener said that the composition of the County Council had now changed, with there being 22 LibDems; 27 Conservative and 9 Labour, resulting in there being no overall control.     He has been appointed to the Highways; Planning and Environment Committees together with the Fire Authority.

A travelling exhibition by Vectare, the contractors operating the Ting bus service, will be visiting Kimbolton High St on 2 June at 1030 for about 30 minutes.

The Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership will be publishing its consultation document tomorrow.

The results of LHI bids will be made known in mid June.

Following points raised on speeding and HCV’s there was a discussion on ways in which to tackle the problem.

Councillor Gardener left the meeting.

79/23    MINUTES of the Council meeting of 27 April 2023 were read, approved and signed as a true record of that meeting.

 80/23     MATTERS ARISING

• Neighbourhood Watch. No report
•   Pound Lane  A quotation has now been received from E Farrer and Son and a further quote is awaited.
• Cemetery Wall repairs.  A quote has also been received from E Farrer & Sons for undertaking the re-build of sections of the cemetery wall.  It was proposed by Councillor Gooderham, seconded by Councillor Mrs Stainer and agreed to seek a second quotation and then accept the cheaper of the quotes and press on with re-building four ‘panels’ in this financial year.
• MVAS signs  Councillor Gray reported current readings, and asked when the signs are to be moved around.

Councillor Farrer joined the meeting,

• Health & Well-Being of Residents The sessions are remaining popular and venues have been booked until the summer.. 
• Coronation Event Working Party.  All agreed that the event had been a success and Councillor Gooderham suggested that better quality bunting be purchased, with a view to erecting it each summer period.     The Clerk thanked the Fire Service who had erected the bunting and the banners and upon who we will be relying to take them down again.  He suggested a donation to the Fire Services Charity as a thank you.  The sum of £100 was proposed by Councillor Mrs Hellett, seconded by Councillor Hutchinson and unanimously agreed
• Website. A sample of a professionally-produced website had been circulated and members were keen to upgrade ours.  A question was asked as to who owns the domain when it is set up by a specialist company.  The Clerk will enquire.

The Clerk pointed out that we currently have an agreement with a hosting company and that has until next January to run.  It was agreed to tell the company which has produced the new ideas that we are interested but that it will need to be held in abeyance until the end of the year.  In the meantime a Working Party will be formed for the purpose of deciding on the layout and what to include .

• Litter Pick.  Councillor Mrs Hellett said that the litter pick had been arranged for Sunday 29 May, commencing at 1030 in the Mandeville Hall car park and lasting until 1230.
• Street Market is to be held on 19 August 2023 on Castle Green.  Councillor Mrs Hellett said that she has confirmed this with the School and so far has around 20 traders attending.
• Christmas Event to switch on the Christmas lights will be held on Sunday 3 December and an application for a road closure will be made.

81/23    PLANNING

The following application was considered –

23/00770  14 Newtown Lane – demolish 2 garages and erect dwelling.

Councillor Hutchinson thought that the 1.5 storey building proposed was too close to the existing bungalows (8m away from them) and would be overbearing.  He was also concerned about the loss of parking space for other residents in that area, who would most likely be forced to park on Newtown Lane.

It was proposed by Councillor Gray, seconded by Councillor Ms Jessup and agreed to recommend refusal because of overdevelopment of the site; overbearing effect of the new dwelling on existing bungalows and loss of parking space for other residents.

82/23  REPORTS

Allotments   The former bonfire site still needs clearing and weeds are growing rapidly over it.  They should be sprayed.

Pound Lane the cricket nets have been removed and large postholes left in the ground which could prove to be trip hazards.   These should be filled in.

Playpark gate still needs a new latch and the Ginnell needs spraying.

Councillor Mrs Hellett thought a commemorative bench should be purchased to replace one of the broken ones still in use.    This will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

Grass cutting.  The Clerk reported that the village grass had not been cut in recent weeks and he had been unable to contact the contractor, either by email or phone and feared they may have ceased trading.     Already there had been a number of complaints and of course the growth is considerable at this time of year.  The Chairman and Clerk were authorised to seek emergency coverage either by our own staff or by another contractor, with a view to cutting back the long grass initially whereupon a decision may be made as to the way forward.

Outside Bodies.

Mandeville Hall.  Councillor Hutchinson said that the AGM had been held and that the Chairman and Clerk had both attended.  The Chairman commented upon the large balance of some £71,000 which the Hall Committee has in its accounts and wondered whether there is some special purpose in mind for holding such a sum.  

Councillor Ms Jessup said that she was one of the organisers of the Seniors’ Lunch Club and that they had recently been told that the suppliers of the food intended retiring, so were having to source another supply.     One of their options could be to acquire the services of a cook and to make use of the Mandeville Hall kitchen, so she had written to the Hall Committee asking if this might be possible, if it became necessary and had received a negative response, denying them the use of the commercial kitchen.  

Councillor Hutchinson said that the Lunch Club should send representatives to a Mandeville Hall Committee meeting. 

The Clerk pointed out that it is a year since a donation of £500 was made to the Hall Committee in lieu of paying rent for our meetings and he wished to know whether this sum should now be repeated.  There was some discussion and it was proposed by Councillor Mrs Stainer, seconded by Councillor Hutchinson and agreed to make a further donation of £500.

Kimbolton School Governors.  There had been an oil leakage from the tank at the Prep School and this had leached across the road into the ditch on council land at The Butts.  A clean-up had been done with clean-up pads on The Butts.

The swimming pool will be closed over the summer period in 2024 for refurbishment.

83/23  APPOINTMENT OF VICE CHAIRMAN.

It was proposed by Councillor Mrs Stainer, seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellett and agreed that Councillor Hutchinson should be Vice Chairman for 2023/2024.

84/23  CHAIRMAN’S ALLOWANCE

It was agreed that the allowance should remain at £500.00.

85/23  WORKING PARTIES

It was agreed that the composition of the Working Parties for the coming year would be –

Website – Councillors Gray; Ms Bradbury and Mrs Hellett.

Allotments – Councillors Mrs Hellett and Mrs Lloyd

Footpaths – Councillors Mrs Lloyd; Mrs Stainer; Ms Jessup and (co-opted) G Lloyd.

Grounds and Car Parking – all members

Playgrounds – Councillor Mrs Hellett

Planning Structures and Supervision of Property – all members

Trees – Councillors Gooderham; Ms Stainer and Ms Jessup.

Personnel – Councillors Hutchinson; Farrer and Buckley

Highways –  Councillors Farrer and Gooderham

Neighbourhood and Countryside Watch – Councillor Farrer

Pound Lane – Councillors Hutchinson; Gooderham; Farrer and (co-opted) Ms Mugglestone

The Chairman is ex officio member of all Working Parties.

86/23  REPRESENTATIVES TO OUTSIDE BODIES

The following were agreed –

Civil Protection – Councillor Gooderham

Mandeville Hall – Councillor Hutchinson

Kimbolton Trust 1986 – Councillors Seabrook and Hutchinson

Kimbolton School Governors  – Councillor Mrs Hellett

87/23  GENERAL POWER OF COMPETENCE

It was agreed that both this Council and the Clerk remain qualified and therefore the General Power of Competence will be adopted for the coming year.

88/23  FEES AND CHARGES

• Allotments.  No increase proposed.
• Cemetery. It was proposed by Councillor Mrs Hellett, seconded by Councillor Ms Jessup and agreed to increase cemetery charges w.e.f. 1 August 2023 by 2%, rounded to the nearest £5.

89/23  ANNUAL WALKABOUT

It was agreed that this should take place on Wednesday 14 June, commencing at 6.30pm at the Mandeville Hall.

90/23  CORRESPONDENCE   

• Groundworks required at the Butts.  This is in connection with the oil leakage and the clean-up operation.
• Huntingdonshire District Council has circulated the Local Plan Issues Papers Consultation, which is now open.

91/23  ACCOUNTS

• The following were approved for payment –

K & M Lighting             streetlight maintenance               128.15

MG Recycling            Skip hire                                         260.40

FirstCallTM                 Traffic management                    2010.44

Lockwood Litho          Coronation leaflets                        210.00

1^st Kimbolton Scouts     Room hire                                  130.00

All Style Marquees       Marquee hire                             1140.00

Fishers                       Sundries                                        185.18

Hunts DC              Fitness instructor hire                         172.80

Electrodell              Cottage electrical repairs                  352.80

Anglian Water          Allotment water                                 79.20

Paul Robinson       Refund allotment deposit                    50.00

Grafton Projects       Paper & ink cartridges                    203.50

Mrs D Hellett           Purchase of gift cards                        30.00

H Brace Services          Groundwork                             1260.00

Payroll costs         Pay, PAYE & NIC                             2977.89

Mick George            Skip hire                                          260.40

Crowsons        Refund of payment made in error            350.00

• To receive the 2022/2023 accounts, which were circulated and presented by the Clerk.
• To read and agree the Annual Governance Statement

     The Clerk read the statement, which was completed and then signed by both the Chairman and      the Clerk.

• To complete the Annual Accounting Statement.

The Clerk presented the statement, which summarised the figures presented in b) above and which was duly signed by the Chairman and the Clerk and will be sent to the external auditors.

92/23  DISTRICT COUNCILLOR was unable to be present

93/23  HIGH ST CAR PARKING  no report

94/23  MEMBERS’ POINTS OF INFORMATION

The recent spate of graffiti in the village was raised by several members.  It is not known who was responsible, but efforts will be made to try and clean it off.

Councillor Mrs Hellett asked the Clerk to publish a precis of the meeting again.

Huntingdonshire DC need to be asked to clean out the drains in the village.

 95/23  NEXT MEETING

The Clerk told members that he will be on leave in June, returning on 27^th.  Whilst this was in time for him to attend the June meeting, he would not be able to issue the summons when required by statute and therefore asked whether members would be prepared to delay the next meeting until Thursday 6 July.  This was agreed and the next normal meeting of Council will now be held in the Youth Room at the Mandeville Hall on Thursday 6 July 2023 commencing at 7pm.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 2215 hours.