MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF EAGLE & SWINETHORPE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, 29TH JULY 2013 – 7.30PM – EAGLE VILLAGE HALL

PRESENT:Councillor Nik Wallis (Chair), Councillors Ms Dawn Warnock, Mrs Marion Parker, Mrs Annette Bryan, Mr Nigel Bottom (left the meeting at 8.30pm), Mrs Chris Patty (part of the meeting only). Mrs Val Milstead – Clerk. 5 members of the public

ACTION
13Apologies
Apologies had been received from Councillors Mark Nolan, Michael Chennells, Katy Thomas. Apologies had also been received from Councillor Mrs B Wells.
2Police Items
The Clerk had received a police report from the Local Beat Team for the period 24/06/13 to 28/07/13 that stated there had been no reported crime for Eagle during that time.
Councillor Mrs Bryan advised the parish council there had been suspicious activity involving a van stopping and the driver peering down people’s drives on Thorpe Lane. The registration number had been noted.
3Declarations of Interest
Councillor Mrs Chris Patty declared an interest in Item 8.4 on the agenda.
4Public Comment
Several members of the public were present to express their concerns regarding the erection of the wind turbine at Old Farm, Harby Lane, Eagle Moor. Some of these concerns were around the visual impact, the noise that would be emitted from it and the disruption whilst installation was taking place and also servicing. The parish council listened to these concerns and said they would take them into consideration when considering the application under the Planning item on the agenda.
Councillor Bottom responded to the issues raised at the last meeting by a member of the public as follows:-
1He said the grass at the playing field was cut as and when needed, a decision made by the Playing Field Committee. The parish council will look at setting an annual budget for future grass cutting. The Clerk to prepare an analysis of costs for previous years. This is to be put on the agenda for August.
2Regarding the cycle track – Councillor Bottom said this was now open and there were no issues with motor cycles. Due to lack of evidence at present this was to be an issue that would be dealt with if and when it happened.
3Hedge cutting – Councillor Bottom suggested that perhaps a parishioner might cut the hedge. There appears to be an issue
about cutting the inside of the hedge as the gate is not unlocked.
4Lack of use of the playing field – Councillor Bottom and several other councillors said this was not true and there is plenty of evidence to substantiate it. The Clerk was asked to report the light outside the playing field being out. / ACTION
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13Minutes of the meeting held on 24th June 2013
The minutes of the above meeting were proposed as a true record by Councillor Mrs Marion Parker and seconded by Councillor Mrs Annette Bryan.
6Matters Arising
6.1The Clerk was asked to chase up the letter sent to Lincolnshire County Council pointing out the incorrect population figure in its letter to the parish council regarding the closure of libraries and withdrawal of mobile libraries.
6.2The Clerk was requested to ask Keith Lipton & Sons, Stonemasons, when the repairs to Eagle War Memorial were likely to take place.
6.3The new dog waste bin had been delivered to Councillor Bottom who said he would pass it on to Councillor Nolan for erection at the end of Back Lane.
6.4An automatic email response had been received from Lincolnshire County Council with regard to the Clerk reporting the split grit bin at the bottom of Scarle Lane.
6.5The Clerk had received some information from Eagle WI for the website and this had been passed to Councillor Thomas.
6.6Councillor Bryan said she would chase up a further quotation for
making the village entrance gates as the Clerk had not yet received this. The Clerk had been unsuccessful in obtaining any more quotes due to people not being able to undertake the work because of volume of work or just not replying to her letters. / VM
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7Correspondence
1Email from Keep Britain Tidy put on circulation.
2Councillors were advised of an email from Gallagher Bassett International Limited, Claims Handling Agents for North Kesteven District Council confirming acceptance of liability for the damage to Eagle War Memorial. The emailed confirmed they had instructed K J Lipton & Sons, Stonemasons, to proceed with the work as outlined in the quotation obtained by the parish council.
3Email from Sgt Jon Hammond re school safety zones – put on circulation.
4Email from the Chairman of the Playing Field Committee re use of field for parking for bonfire event and insurance claim for recent theft. Discussed at Item 11.1 on the agenda – Playing Field Update.
5Circular from Came & Company – put on circulation.
6LALC newsletter – put on circulation.
7Clerks & Council Direct – put on circulation.
8Notice re libraries consultation from LCC – put on circulation and notice board.
9Email response regarding matters relating to Eagle Playing Field – addressed at Item 4 – Public Comment.
10Email from Gill Corner re street lighting – discussed at Item 13 on the agenda.
11Councillors advised of receipt of acknowledgement for request to repair/replace grit bin at bottom of Scarle Lane, Eagle. / ACTION
8Planning
8.1Planning Application for Erection of a single 500Kw wind turbine (77m blade tip height) at Old Farm, Harby Lane, Eagle Moor. The parish council discussed this application at length and made strong objections to it on the grounds of its size and location. It did not consider the proposed site was appropriate for a single wind turbine and had concerns about it being in the flight path of aircraft. It also had concerns about a small nearby airstrip where light planes and microlites took off and landed.
8.2Planning permission had been received for the Erection of a side extension to dwelling at 41 Hilltop Close, Eagle.
8.3A planning application for the Demolition of existing buildings and erection of 4 dwellings (outline with access and layout for consideration) at Eagle Garage, 31 High Street, Eagle was considered. The parish council had no objections to the proposal. It did however had concerns about rainwater drainage in view of the existing flooding in the High Street after heavy rainfall and how this might be exacerbated by additional properties. It also felt that parking for 6 vehicles for 4 properties was not sufficient these days and would like to see provision for at least 2 parking spaces per property and 2 additional spaces for visitors. It would also like an assurance from the Planning Department regarding the safety of the removal of fuel tanks and the risk for the potential of contaminated land.
8.4Planning Application for the Erection of porch to front and creation of balcony with access over existing flat roof to side at Rivendell, 39 High Street, Eagle. The parish council had no comments to make regarding this application.
9Finance
9.1The following cheques were agreed and signed:-
E.On - £343.49 – electricity for street lighting.
Eagle Village Hall Management Committee - £15.00 – hire of hall (June 2013)
A Kent - £49.00 – litter picking
Clerk’s Salary & Expenses - £177.15
Eagle Village Hall Management Committee - £15.00 – hire of hall (February 2013)
9.2Co-operative Bank Statement as at 5 July 2013 - £22,858.52
9.3Bank of Ireland statement as at 5 July 2013 - £80.93
9.4Update on Audit – the Clerk said she had not heard from the
external auditors since submitting the Annual Return in June. / ACTION
10Update on Eagle War Memorial
This had been covered in Correspondence. Authorisation had been given to K J Lipton & Sons by agents acting for NKDC to proceed with the repair work.
11Open Items
11.1The Chairman of the Playing Field Committee asked the Clerk to respond to a letter she had received from Mrs Barrett, owner of the field used for parking at Playing Field events including Bonfire Night. Mrs Barrett had given the Parish Council/Playing Field Committee formal notice that they could no longer use this field for parking. The Clerk was asked to see if Mrs Barrett would reconsider this decision and allow the Playing Field Committee to use it no more than once or twice a year with permission from the farmer who rented the field from Mrs Barrett.
The request by the Playing Field Committee for the Parish Council to submit a claim for the recent burglary at the playing field was turned down as it was felt that the claim would not be considered by the insurers due to the lack of security in view of a recent newsletter from Came & Company.
11.2Village Website – Councillor Thomas and Councillor Warnock had met since the last meeting. They suggest that a change of the domain name would be beneficial to attracting more people to visit the site. Various options were discussed with Councillor Warnock and she agreed to explore possibilities and bring them to the next meeting. / VM
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12Village Entrance Feature
Lincolnshire County Council Highways have begun the speed reduction measures at both the entrance to the village via Thorpe Lane and Lincoln Road. These include new speed signs and red road markings which will have the speed written in large white letters going into and leaving the village.
The Clerk reported that she had not received any more quotations for the white gate features. She said she had been trying to contact David Park at Larfarge without success but would try further measures to make contact. / VM
13Street Lighting
The Clerk had contacted Gill Corner at E.On who had confirmed that the price of £98 + VAT per light still stood for fitting the retro-fit control gear and she had suggested that the parish council consider the defects highlighted in her letter to the parish council of 26th June 2012 should be considered and that perhaps the first 3-4 on the list were highest priority. / ACTION
After discussion and in agreement with all present the Clerk was asked to request that work on the 3 most urgent lights be undertaken from the list in E.On’s letter of 26th June 2012 and 3 other lights are converted to the retro-fit control gear. The Clerk was asked to point out that the extra energy savings were needed to pay for the rest of the project. / VM
14Urgent Matters for Discussion
14.1The Clerk had recently been contacted by Barrie Corscadden of Affordable Homes Limited, a specialist company in delivering new affordable homes in rural locations in agreement with the planning authority under the Rural exceptions policy.
Mr Corscadden had been told that as a result of a recent survey there was a need for affordable housing in Eagle, Thorpe on the Hill and North Scarle. He had spoken to the tenant of a 4 acre field on Thorpe Lane in the vicinity of the playing field but had been unable to ascertain the name of the owner of the field. The Clerk had been asked to seek the parish council’s views on such a proposal.
Following discussion the Clerk was asked to respond to Mr Corscadden saying the previous surveys suggested that Eagle had no need as it had a good mix of properties. Furthermore, the parish council felt it was not up to the parish to provide housing for Thorpe on the Hill and North Scarle. In any event it felt Thorpe Lane is too narrow for access.
14.2Councillor Annette Bryan wished it to be noted by the parish council that she had resigned from Eagle Playgroup. / VM
15Date and Time of Next Meeting
Tuesday, 27th August 2013 – 7.30pm – Eagle Village Hall
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.45am.

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