MINUTES OF THE FISHTOFT PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 18 APRIL 2011 AT ROCHFORD TOWER HALL AT 7.00PM

Present:Councillor G Carrington (Vice Chairman)

Councillors M Ordway, M Clark, J Harrison, O Snell, J Flynn,

G Bishop, F Hourihan

Mrs K Partridge (Clerk)

1CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS: Councillor Carrington welcomed all to the meeting.

2APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Councillors R Singleton-McGuire, H Staples and E Barker (attending full Boston Borough Council meeting).

3DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT: None.

4POLICE MATTERS: Apologies had been received from PCSO Emma Gardiner.

Crime figures for the last 4 weeks:

ASB – 7

Suspicious – 1

RTC – 3

Criminal damage – 5

PilgrimHospital incidents: ASB 7; A & E 2

5MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELDON 21 MARCH 2011: It was resolved the minutes be approved and signed. Proposed by Councillor Clark, seconded by Councillor Bishop.

6REPORT ON OUTSTANDING MATTERS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

Highways Issues: Raised manhole cover outside Carp Diem had been reported to Anglian Water, it was understood a repair should have been completed before now, Councillor Clark will check on the progress.

Litter bin/dog bin: Boston Borough Council would not place a litter or dog bin at Fogartys corner, however, they were considering placing a dog bin in the Blacksmiths Grove area. The Parish Council can purchase their own litter and dog bin for placement at Fogartys corner, the Borough Council would add to their collection, however, the bins would have to be easily accessible. Bins are available to purchase from Glasdon and prices start from £134 for litter bin and£130 for dog bin. This item will be discussed again at a future meeting.

Playing Field Trust: Mr Chris Bradley had been in contact with the Clerk and reported he had collected all the financial documents from Mr Hancocks. He was slowly going through the accounts and bringing them up to date. Mr Bradley will attend the Parish Council meeting in May to give an update on the situation. A copy of the invoice for grass cutting/ground maintenance at the playing field had been received and came to £1,189.44, it was resolved the Parish Council would pay the donation of £900.00 held over from the last financial year.

16 May 2011 ______(Chairman) 318

Litter clearance employment: The Clerk had been in contact with LALC to check if Mrs Barnden would need to be classed as an employee with appropriate wage and contract of employment once the Parish Council is registered as an employer with HMRC; LALC had advised that anyone carrying out work for the Parish Council would need to be classed as an employee unless they were self employed. The Clerk had also spoken to Mrs Barnden and she was prepared to continue with the litter picking and be registered as an employee. Mrs Barnden would also need to be added to the Parish Council Insurance and this would cost an additional £6.30 for the coming year. This item to be discussed in full at a future meeting, however, it was agreed Mrs Barnden will need to be added to the insurance policy immediately.

Number 61 Bus Service: Councillor Bishop reported he travelled on the service bus on 4 April (day of revised time table). The first service did not stop, even though there were several people waiting and hailed the bus. A complaint was made to Brylaine and the driver in question had been dealt with. The service had been punctual recently. There are concerns regarding the IT5 and 6 services which pick up in the Bladon Estate area, this item will be raised with Brylaine at the June meeting.

Civic dinner: The dinner will be held on 20 May at the Ball House at 7.00pm. Councillor Ordway suggested an invite be sent to Mrs Ann Chapman, this was agreed.

7CLERKS REPORT, CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED AND COUNCILLORS ISSUES:

General correspondence received was available and included: Rural Links; Localism in Lincolnshire; Notice of Planning Committee Meeting; LCC Highways Proposed Works Quarterly Update.

Parish Council Election: Following the closing date for nominations, insufficient nominations were received and the parish is returned uncontested. It was pointed out there are vacancies – one on Hilldyke Ward and one on Village Ward. Co-options for these can be made at the next meeting but would need to be included on the agenda as an item.

Boston Mayflower Grant Scheme: Mrs Roberts of Fishtoft had contacted the Clerk regarding the Mayflower Grant available, up to £750. She had requested the Parish Council apply on behalf of local residents for some hard standing at the bus stop on Fishtoft Road/Scotia Way, or even a bus shelter. She had raised her concerns that Parish Council money always appears to be spent on the football field or the war memorial rather than helping the majority of local residents. It was agreed the Clerk contact Mayflower to obtain details of the grant; speak to Brylaine to ascertain if the 61 service is to become permanent; find out from Anita Ruffle if permission would be required to site a bus stop/shelter; it would also be necessary to speak to the land owner. The Clerk will also contact Mrs Roberts.

Councillor Ordway commented on the issue of litter in dykes, previously mentioned at a Parish Council meeting, and asked if this could be chased up with NFU, Marshalls, Staples, etc.

Councillor Snell reported that following the patching by Highways on Church Green Road, a large pothole in the area was not repaired at the same time and this caused someone on a bicycle to fall off. Fortunately the person was not badly hurt. Councillor Snell has reported the pothole to Highways, but a repair has not yet been done.

16 May 2011 ______(Chairman) 319

Councillor Bishop reported there was a cut in the power supply to Church Green Road area last week under a planned interruption, unfortunately, the work overran and electricity was not reconnected until almost 8.00pm. Contact had been made with Central Networks who explained a fault was detected in the underground network and repairs were necessary before the supply was restored, they were apologetic for the problems caused.

Councillor Clark reported the footpath from PilgrimHospital towards Burton Close is in a bad state of repair and very uneven. This item to be reported to Highways, Councillor Clark will also report to Richard Lennard.

Councillor Clark reported a field along Fishtoft Road is very overgrown and untidy, a request is to be made to the farmer (believed to be Mr Wicks) for it to be cut and tidied.

8FINANCE REPORT:

a)an end of year budget sheet was presented and accepted.

b)to approve payment of the following accounts:

Mrs Barnden – litter clearance - £22.00

K Partridge – clerks salary - £237.15

K Partridge – clerks expenses - £29.23

Chris Cook – newsletter and photocopies - £58.50

LALC – annual subscription - £843.60 (140.60 VAT)

LALC – Good Councillors Guide - £4.24 (71p VAT)

Playing Field Trust – donation year 2010/11 - £900.00

It was resolved the accounts be paid, proposed by Councillor Ordway, seconded by Councillor Clark.

c)to approve the end of year accounts and complete the Annual Governance Statement on the Audit Return

An End of year receipts and payments account had been forwarded to all Members prior to the meeting, it was resolved this be accepted.

Questions on the Annual Governance Statement were completed. It was resolved the Statement be accepted and the Audit Return was signed by Councillor Carrington and the Clerk. Proposed by Councillor Clark, seconded by Councillor Ordway.

9REPORT FROM COUNCILLOR CLARK, HIGHWAYS LIAISON:

Update from Richard Lennard, Highways Officer:-

The following works have been completed – Church Green Road carriageway re-surfacing and Clampgate Road patching.

The following schemes will be undertaken this financial year (subject to budget):-

  • Rimington Road – carriageway re-surfacing
  • Clampgate Road – carriageway patching

The following areas will be surface dressed:- Wythes Lane; Burton Croft Lane; Gaysfield Road; Old School Lane; Cut End Road; Southfield Lane.

In addition, a two man team will undertake minor maintenance within the parish.

16 May 2011 ______(Chairman) 320

The following works will be undertaken on a cyclic basis:- gully emptying; pothole patrol, grass cutting; weed spraying.

Toot Lane footway is progressing, although there is no date at the moment for completion.

10PLANNING MATTERS: To discuss the following planning applications:-

B/11/0154 – erection of a timber shed at land to the north of Rhoda Lea and to the south of The Cottage Sibsey Road, Fishtoft. There were no objections, however, concerns were raised as to the purpose of the proposed shed, it is stated it would not be used for overnight accommodation, would this be monitored in the future.

B/11/0163 – resubmission of application B/10/0456 to take down and re-build existing boundary wall further towards Wing Drive and incorporate grass verge into domestic cartilage at 24 Wing Drive – there were no objections.

11DATE OF NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held on Monday 16 May 2011 at Rochford Tower Hall and will commence at 7.00pm with the Annual Parish Meeting, the Parish Council meeting will follow.

There being no further business to discuss the Vice Chairman closed the meeting at 8.45pm.

16 May 2011 ______(Chairman) 321