Parish Council Minutes of Meetings 2023

Minutes of the Meeting of Harmston Parish Council

at The Memorial Hall, Harmston on Tuesday 21st March 2023 at 7.30 pm

OPEN FORUM – 15 minutes held before meeting commenced. There were no residents present at this meeting.

1/3 APOLOGIES AND REASONS FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Cllr Carrington. Reasons accepted.

2/3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST ON ANY ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Cllr P Chapman declared an interest in 10a.

3/3 REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES

a) Local Police A few newsletters from different sectors of the local police were received and shared ahead of the meeting. (To report any illegal or antisocial incidents please phone 101. This process is essential in gathering evidence. For more information on the Cliff Villages Policing Team, follow this link https://www.lincs.police.uk/about-us/your-area/teams/cliff-villages-policing-team/)

b) County Councillor Report County Councillor Carrington was unable to attend.

c) District Councillor Reports Cllr Overton report was shared via email, and she highlighted some points. ID for voting can be out of date, but ID is essential to vote. NO ballot papers will be released without photo ID. PCSO’s are set to be cut from 91 to 50, but the budget remains – therefore Cllr Overton is keen to keep all PCSO’s in place. As the boundaries are set to change, Cllr Overton conveyed her thanks to the PC, as she will no longer be attending HPC meetings. Chair Cllr Wallace also thanked Cllr Overton for her support. Cllr Hagues report was shared via email. Cllr Hagues also pointed out that Community Lottery Grants of up to £500 are available, and that there is a website specifically for the Kings Coronation.

4/3 TO APPROVE THE NOTES OF THE LAST MEETING

The Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 21st February 2023 were approved, and signed by the Chair. The Clerk thanked the Chair for writing the minutes in her absence at February’s meeting.

5/3 CLERKS REPORT

1. Meeting attended re Parish and Town Councils

2. Replacement auditor and payroll accountant sought

3. Meeting dates for 2023-4 drafted and checked with HMH

4. New signatories submitted to the bank

5. Procedures for upcoming elections followed

6. All actions from February 2023 meeting completed

7. Posters made to advertise Repairs role, shared via website, boards & FB

8. HMH contacted re Kings Coronation celebrations

9. Community Speedwatch advertised, and volunteers collated NB: Please remember this report only lists some of the main actions, and not all actions carried out by the Clerk

6/3 FINANCIAL MATTERS

a) To consider the Financial Overview for 2022-2023 to date (emailed) Clerk explained that she had recalculated the expected end of year figure. Chair and Clerk to look at how the current spreadsheet calculation can be altered towards the end of the year.

b) VAT Report There were no issues. The Clerk explained that the reason the spreadsheet and VAT report are shared ahead of each meeting, is to enable the PC to have sight of the accounts consistently throughout the year, and not just at the end of year (AGAR), for transparency and understanding.

c) To consider the Financial Report for March 2023 There were no issues.

d) Monies to be paid Cheque signed by new signatory.

e) Online banking update One new signatory in place. Problems with registering a second. Clerk will monitor and chase if necessary. Clerk clarified the process of how a payment will be authorised. ACTION: Cllr Hamilton and the Chair to notify the Clerk if they are contacted by the bank. TD: ongoing

f) Agree Auditor and Payroll accountant As both our current Auditor and Payroll provider are no longer offering their services in the new financial year, the Clerk has been researching replacements. ACTION: Clerk to instruct LALC re Audit, and to ask them for payroll recommendations. TD: 31.3.23

HPC BI-MONTHLY FINANCE REPORT – March 2023

7/3 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

a) TREE WORKS.

b) PLANNING 22/1779/OUT Chair attended the meeting online. Planning permission has been refused. planners explained they have a policy to not extend that ‘ribbon’ of building. HPC had no objections.

8/3 ELECTIONS 2023

a) Clerk to hand out packs to Councillors

Councillors were handed their packs, and the Clerk went through each page. The pages that needed completed by Councillors were highlighted.

b) Ensure Parish Councillors understand the process and the actions they need to carry out

ACTION: Clerk register for electoral roll. TD asap. ACTION: Clerk & Chair to check if one person can witness all election papers TD asap.

9/3 MEETING DATES

It was agreed to hold the AMPC and the APM on the same evening (18.5.23), which the Clerk has checked and has booked. ACTION: Clerk to amend dates and double check hall is available and can be accessed slightly earlier, for a 7pm meeting start time. TD: 31.3.23 It was agreed to keep the additional date in February, for now. All other dates were acceptable, and had been previously checked by the Clerk with HMH.

10/3 PLAY PARK

a) To consider responses to advert for handy person 4 applicants.

Only one response to questions so far. Clerk has specified a cut-off date of this Friday 24.3.23.

b) Agree on next steps

ACTION: Clerk to request quotations from top 2 or 3 applicants (based on following criteria) for corrective action to Play Park as per December 2022 report. The most suitable candidate will then be selected by the Clerk based on the following: the applicant having a business that deals with similar work; price; availability; experience of maintenance work; references for examples of previous work, and liability insurance being place. Clerk and Chair to make choice together.TD 10.4.23

11/3 KINGS CORONATION

a) Volunteers It was agreed that the PC would be happy to help HMH with any celebrations that are organised.

b) Next Steps ACTION: Clerk to contact K at HMH, and explain that if she contacts the PC and lets them know what help is needed, when and where, and the PC will help where they can. TD: 1/4/23

12/3 ROAD SAFETY 

a) To discuss parking on roads close to The Thorold Arms HPC are aware of existing issues. ACTION: Clerk to find emails containing concerns regarding the parking and share with PC.TD: 30.4.23. HPC have been informed that double yellow lines could be requested as it is a safety hazard, but that the support of our District Councillor would be needed. Clerk has already contacted Cllr Carrington to seek his opinion, with no response as yet. Clerk to wait a week, and if no response, ACTION: Clerk request the support of Cllr Carrington. The HPC have not reached a decision as yet regarding the double yellow lines, and are currently looking at options that may be available.

b) Approve costs of Community Speedwatch and agree next steps Clerk has requested more up to date costings. Costs cannot be agreed until these are obtained. Clerk now has 6 volunteers and has enquired about training. There is a session possibly in April 2023. ACTION: Clerk acquire course date, notify volunteers and register them when possible.

13/3 DATE FOR NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of Harmston Parish Council is their AMPC which will be held on Thursday 18th May 2023 at the Memorial Hall, Harmston, at 7.30pm (approx.), following the Annual Parish Meeting for Harmston at 7.00pm. There being no further business the Chair closed the meeting at 9.45pm Please be advised that these are notes of the meeting taken by the Clerk and cannot in any way be regarded as the official minutes.