May 2020 Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Harmston Parish Counci held remotely on Tuesday 19th May 2020 at 7.30 pm
Due to the Pandemic, this meeting was held remotely, and therefore has been declared a CLOSED Meeting, and the AGM was postponed until next year, in line with recommendations.
PRESENT:
Cllr M Jones (Vice-Chair), Cllr I Edgar, Cllr B Hamilton, Cllr P Wallace, Cllr M Shepherd
Helen Jones (Clerk)
1 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Due to pandemic restrictions, the public were given the opportunity to email any questions to the clerk. The clerk then shared these, and each email was addressed by the council. The clerk will email each individual with an outcome, and the outcomes will also be recorded in the meeting notes for others to see. Original email is not included due to GDPR, but the response is written in italics.
Question 1 – concerns regarding traffic through the village:
Traffic is an ongoing issue, and the HPC shares these concerns. Agreed that the HPC will approach District Councillors for their support. Clerk to email DCllr Overton and DCllr Hagues. HPC will continue to discuss this and add it to the agenda of the next HPC meeting.
In relation to the LED bulbs, it was calculated that 50 would be needed. Clerk to approach Eon and ask them for a quote, and to see if there are any funds available for such an environmentally driven project.
Question 2 - concerns regarding the YF signs:
Agreed that Clerk would contact Young Farmers and make them aware of complaint. It was noted that currently the pig shaped signs are being used to thank the NHS. Clerk to ask that signs are taken down (when being used for advertising events) in between planned events.
Question 3 - concerns regarding the YF signs:
Agreed that Clerk would contact Young Farmers and make them aware of complaint. It was noted that currently the pig shaped signs are being used to thank the NHS. Clerk to ask that signs are taken down (when being used for advertising events) in between planned events.
Question 4 – questions regarding recent Planning Application
The HPC as a whole did not support the application, and were united in their approach, as the Parish Council acts as a whole. If an appeal does occur, the HPC will address it appropriately, to reflect the views of the residents.
2 APOLOGIES AND REASON FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Cllr John Martin-Hoyes and DCllr Lucille Hagues – Reasons accepted. Cllr J Martin-Hoyes has resigned from the chair and council.
It was proposed by Cllr P Wallace, seconded by Cllr M Shepherd & it was RESOLVED that Cllr M Jones chair the meeting.
3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST ON ANY ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Cllr P Wallace declared an interest on item 12 Allotments.
He is a member of The Harmston Allotment Interest Group.
Cllr M Jones declared an interest on item 13.
4 MINUTES
It was proposed by Cllr M Jones, seconded by Cllr M Shepherd and it was RESOLVED that
the Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on 2nd March 2020 to be approved,
once the amendments had been made.
It was also agreed that the addition of ‘Matters arising from Minutes’ will be added to
the next agenda.
5 REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES
a) Local Police – No report
b) District Councillors – DCllr Lucille Hagues was unable to attend, but shared the
Newsletter
c) County Councillor – No representatives were present. No report given.
6 CLERKS REPORT
Please see separate report. Matter arising were as follows:
11. All agreed quote from D West was acceptable. Cllr I Edgar proposed, and Cllr M
Jones seconded that D West be asked to carry out works as per his quote.
13. Awaiting Government notice
14. Reverend Michelle’s email was shared
15. Cllr M Jones will assess the noticeboard for repair
18. Agree that Harmston Help has been a great source of communication, and that it
should be continued to be utilised by HPC.
19. All agreed that VE Day celebrations were a success.
22. There have been no further complaints
7 FINANCIAL MATTERS
Please see separate report, in addition the following matters were discussed:
Current statement was not made available and therefore accounts could not be approved.
Cllr M Jones will contact Lloyds to arrange online monthly statements being sent to the Clerk email address, and to check who the existing signatories are on the account.
Action: MJ
Cheques to sign:
£40.00 D West
Cheques to pay in:
£1,600.00 for Defibrillator
Action: HJ
Street Lights
Clerk to locate an old bill for Cllr I Edgar to enable him to gain a quote for LED bulbs and consider alternatives.
Action: HJ, IE
Village Sign
Payment will be due soon – no date as yet. The sign is being made, and should be ready by late summer. The HPC suggestion of placing village sign near HMH was rejected. The HMH have suggested near the well or near the Village noticeboard on High Street.
8 PLANNING
TREE WORKS
a) None to report
The following planning applications were received:
b) 20/0552/HOUS Bumblebee Cottage
9 PLANNING 19/1085/FUL PIG UNIT
a) 19/1085/FUL
The refusal of the application was discussed and it was agreed that the HPC would monitor the situation over the coming months, and would subsequently advise residents in due course.
10 HARMSTON PLAY AREA
a) Cllr M Jones to get two quotes for the fencing – Budget stands at £3,500.00
b) Add to next meeting agenda so that a decision can be made based on the two quotes.
Action: MJ
c) Grass cutting – ask D West for a quote for approx. 400sqm of lawn cutting in play area
Action: HJ
11 CHURCH CLOCKS
The church clock faces have deteriorated, although the mechanics themselves remain sound. Cllr I Edgar proposed that the HPC contribute £1000,00 to the cost, Cllr B Hamilton Seconded. All agreed. Monies will be taken from the Section 137 fund.
In addition to this the Church have written to the clerk enquiring if the HPC are able to contribute to the costs of the annual lawn cutting costs. Cllr M Jones proposed the HPC do this and Cllr B Hamilton seconded this. All agreed that a contribution of £400.00 + VAT would be donated. HJ to check when last payment was made.
Action: HJ
12 ALLOTMENTS
No update. At least 6 residents would like an allotment. It was agreed that due to the current ‘lock down’ climate that these discussions would be scheduled for July’s meeting agenda.
13 PARISH CLERK
a) It was agreed (based on feedback from current and the previous two clerks), that 6 hours per week is not enough for a Clerk to carry out all their duties.
Therefore, if was agreed to check what LALC suggests, and the Clerk to look at the number of hours that have been agreed in a past meeting.
Action: HJ
b) H Jones is temporarily holding Clerk position, and is happy to continue permanently, however there were some concerns about transparency, and that perhaps the role should be advertised. It was suggested the role should be advertised on the HPC website and via LALC.
c) The clerk was asked to check the legalities with LALC, as the council agreed it would be good to resolve the situation asap.
d) Cllr P Wallace proposed a Staffing Committee should be formed (excluding Cllr M Jones due to relationship to H Jones), Cllr I Edgar seconded this. It was agreed that the committee be formed to search for and appoint a new clerk in line with LALC guidance.
e) Clerk to ask LALC how this can be resolved quickly and within guidelines.
f) Clerk expressed her wishes to remain as clerk.
14 CLIFF CLUSTER
There were no updates to discuss.
15 MATTERS RAISED FOR THE NEXT MEETING
a) Chairman
b) Harmston Play Area – consider both quotes and make final decision
c) Village Sign
d) Allotments
e) Clerk
f) Village Lighting
g) Road Traffic
16 DATE FOR NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be Tuesday 14th July 2020, 7:30pm at Harmston Memorial Hall (final venue will be ascertained nearer the time due to the pandemic).
17 OTHER MATTERS
a) HPC email listing for residents and HPC Facebook page – Clerk suggested this would be a great way of extending HPC communication with residents. Clerk to check with LALC the legalities of establishing such forms of communication. Cllr M Jones suggested a letter drop for written consent to be kept on file. On the HPC website there is a section re GDPR – Clerk to investigate this.
Action: HJ
b) Speeding through village. Currently no PC for Harmston. Cllr M Jones will talk to Highways re Eastern Bypass – the route has been planned with no thought to the impact onto the roads surrounding it. Agreed that this should be addressed at the planning stage. Traffic at the cross roads and lights has already increased generally.
Cllr P Wallace thanked H. Jones for her work in the clerk role – this was agreed by all.
There being no further business the Chair closed the meeting at 9.35pm