Meeting Minutes: 28th March 2024

KIMBOLTON & STONELY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES of the Council meeting held at 7 p.m. on Thursday 28 March 2024 in the Youth Hall at the Mandeville Hall, Kimbolton.

PRESENT  Councillors  P Seabrook (in the Chair); K Hutchinson; Mrs R Lloyd; L Farrer; Mrs J Stainer; Ms C Jessup; M. Buckley; R Gooderham; Ms H Bradbury Mrs D Hellett and J Lee .

IN ATTENDANCE   C L Thatcher, Clerk to the Council and one member of the public. 

35/24   APOLOGIES  were received from County Councillor I Gardener and District Councillor J Gray

36/24   PUBLIC FORUM   The Chairman of the Mandeville Hall Committee, who was present, said that Budgens were shortly to have the white lining on their car park renewed and they had invited the Mandeville Hall Committee to have theirs re-done and to split the bill. The total amount is £900, of which the Hall Committee would be liable for half, but they asked that this council split the cost with them, each paying £225.     He has written formally to request this.     

37/24   DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST.   

   None were made.

38/24 COUNTY COUNCILLOR  is away on holiday

39/24    MINUTES 

• of the Council meeting of 29 February 2024 were read, approved and signed as a true record of that meeting, following alterations to 24/24d) to include Councillor Mrs Hellett having mentioned the need for tree cutting in Halls Meadow and repairs to benches.   

She also said that 24/24 f) was incorrect in that no caveat had been placed upon the payment of £640 in respect of further work to make the website accessible.  It was therefore agreed to delete all of the final sentence after £640.

Councillor Hutchinson indicated he has been assured that £1000 had already been agreed by the Council and that this sum was not the subject of agreement at this meeting.

40/24     MATTERS ARISING.

• MVAS signs . The Clerk has purchased an android phone which was passed to Councillor Ms Bradbury so that she could access the MVAS.
• Proposed closure of Fire Station.   The meeting at the Mandeville Hall on 19 March was very well attended, with representatives of 14 parish and town councils present.  The thinking behind the proposals by senior Fire Service officers was explained and it is not expected that a decision will be made before 2025.  Councillor Gooderham said he felt that the meeting had been worthwhile and has made a difference.  He has a meeting with management in a few weeks so will receive a report.  He said that Kimbolton Station was getting much busier and they now employ 7 trained fire fighters plus 2 more in training.  In 2022 they had 43 call-outs and in 2023 this rose to 105.  So far, there have been 46 this year.

It was agreed to retain this as an agenda item.

• War Memorial Gates.  It was agreed that the war memorial gates and fence are in reasonable condition at present and that the only necessary work is in removing the trip hazard of the bolt in the ground.  Councillors Gooderham and Farrer said that they would deal with that.
• The quote from Manor Farm was read and deemed favourable, so it was agreed to employ them for the churchyard tree work. 
• Cemetery Cottage shower room. It was agreed to accept the quote supplied via Oliver James in the sum of £1375 plus VAT – provided the work quoted was as specified in our quote request to them.
• 20 mph Speed Limits   The Clerk reported that the bid had been submitted just in time for the deadline, only to then be told that the deadline had been put back a week!

• Of the Council meeting of 14 March 2024 were read, approved and signed as a true record of that meeting.

There were no matters arising.

 41/24    PLANNING

 No applications have been received.

42/24   REPORTS

 Allotments.   Councillor Mrs Hellett said that the clearance of the fruit tree area needs finishing; the bonfire area needs levelling and the inside of the hedge at the vehicle entrance needs cutting back.

The Chairman said that roundup should be used on the vacant areas and also on the ‘drying ground’ o make sure there is no re-growth of the brambles cleared recently.

Pound Lane    It was agreed to order mini-goal and wicket side panels to enhance the play area at Pound Lane.             

Councillor Hutchinson said that he had in his possession a copy of correspondence confirming that the Chairman and Clerk had met with an architect to discuss the siting and design of a building at Pound Lane.     As a member of the Pound Lane Working Party, Councillor Hutchinson said that he was very annoyed that individual members appeared to be dealing with issues without involving the Working Party.      The Chairman responded saying that Council had agreed that a building at Pound Lane be investigated and the intention was to provide a ‘starting point’ for discussion.  Researching matters such as this can be done by an officer of the Council, and the Clerk had attempted to get some information together to help move this along, as it is now some two years since Council agreed to investigate the provision of a building at Pound Lane and, more recently, the idea of an ‘architectural competition’ for the design had been suggested by Councillor Hutchinson.   It was agreed to arrange a Pound Lane Working Party meeting soon.

Personnel.  Councillor Buckley suggested that councillors go with our Grounds Staff for a day, or an afternoon, to see what work they do.  He and Councillor Ms Jessup would like to do this and would welcome anyone else wishing to join them.

Village Maintenance

It was pointed out that a resident of Tollfield has taken to parking vehicles right in the entrance to Tollfield from Thrapston Rd, causing large vehicles wishing to enter Tollfield to drive over the verge, churning it up.   The Clerk was asked to request the police to speak with the resident.

REPORTS BY REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES.

• Mandeville Hall Committee.   No report as no meeting had been held.
• Kimbolton Trust      Councillor Seabrook said that several applications for funding have been agreed.
• Kimbolton School Governors.  Councillor Mrs Hellett said the swimming pool refurbishment starts next Tuesday.  There is a new Head of the Prep School and her name is Claire Petrie.

There is general concern in the private education world about the possible imposition of VAT on fees.

43/24   FLOOD FORUM  The Chairman said that he had inspected the river and noted that the weirs were holding up water by about a metre.      He thought the drain at Hellett’s corner needed attention and asked that the County Councillor be contacted.

44/24  TO AGREE to suspend Standing Order 36a to permit further discussion of the following item.  This was proposed by Councillor Hutchinson, seconded by Councillor Mrs Lloyd and agreed.

45/24  WEBSITE  The Clerk explained his concerns about the proposed website, in that it did not appear to meet the requirements of WCAG2.1AA and the ability to view it on all platforms appeared to be flawed.  He had checked it with Councillor Mrs Hellett and found that it performed correctly on one desktop machine, but on another and on a tablet, it missed out all reference to the cemetery. He did not feel able to recommend the website for use.   Councillor Mrs Hellett disputed this and said that in her view the website was compliant and had been made suitable for all platforms. Councillor Hutchinson said that he had checked a number of other council websites, all of which included disclaimers indicating that full accessibility could not be achieved.

It appears that not all members of council have had the opportunity to study the website and it was therefore agreed that the latest version be circulated to all, so that everyone might check it on their own machines and report back to the next meeting.

46/24   CORRESPONDENCE   

• Letter from the Mandeville Hall Committee (referred to in 36/24 above) was considered and it was proposed by Councillor Ms Jessup, seconded by Councillor Mrs Stainer and agreed to contribute £225 towards the cost of white line painting.

47/24  ACCOUNTS

• The following were approved for payment –

Louise Halsall     Aquafit instruction          384.84

Mick George      Skip hire                          223.20

Hunts D.C.        Fitness Instructor             388.80

K & M Lighting  Mtnce                              128.15

E Farrer & Son   Cemetery wall rebuild   4260.00

Fishers              Sundries                            71.18

H Brace              March     work              1680.00

Payroll costs      Pay,PAYE,NIC             3194.98

C L Thatcher  reimb. Petrol;phone;net      204.82      

48/24  DISTRICT COUNCILLOR  Councillor Gray was not able to be present

49/24    HIGH ST CAR PARKING  no report

50/24    MEMBERS’ POINTS OF INFORMATION

Councillor Mrs Lloyd said that the Union flag flying in the churchyard was starting to look worn and suggested replacing it.

Councillor Mrs Stainer said that a bench in the new cemetery had rust on it.

Councillor Mrs Hellett said that a date needs reserving for a litter pick.  She has spoken with the School about a summer Street Market and they have no objection to the use of the Green.

It was agreed to place the need for volunteers to assist with events on the next agenda.

A plaque is needed for the oak tree planted recently.

Councillor Buckley said that he has enquired about an instructor for Line Dancing as a part of the Fitness project and is hopeful of finding one.

Councillor Lee referred to the need for attention to the potholes in Pound Lane. 

51/24   NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Council will take place on Thursday 25 April 2024, commencing at 7pm in the Youth Room at the Mandeville Hall.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 2130 hours.