Parish Council Minutes of Meetings 2025

Notes of the Meeting of

Harmston Parish Council

at The Memorial Hall, Harmston

on Tuesday 18th March 2025 at 7.30 pm

OPEN FORUM – 15 minutes held before meeting commenced. There were no residents in attendance.

1/3 APOLOGIES AND REASONS FOR ABSENCE

Parish Councillors Hamilton & Harrison sent their apologies, reasons accepted. The Clerk also sent apologies, reasons accepted. Cllr Robson agreed to take the notes of this meeting due to the Clerk’s absence.

2/3 CO-OPTION

a) To discuss new applications and vote.

b) Newly elected Councillors to complete mandatory forms There were no new applicants in attendance.

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

Full list is available to view on http://harmston.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/ Cllr Chapman declared an interest for agenda item 9a ‘Village Maintenance’

4/3 REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES

a) Local Police Following a discussion regarding recent criminal activity in the village, PC Roberts promised to look into numbers and history of previous crimes of theft and break-in within Harmston village in the time since lights in Harmston Park were changed to be switched off at midnight in 2022. ACTION: Follow up with PC Roberts to ensure Harmston crime statistics are provided to HPC before next meeting. T/D 30 April 2025 Clerk

b) County Councillor Report Cllr Carrington gave a comprehensive brief regarding local government reorganisation; Last month, Government requested all councils in two-tier areas across the country to submit a proposal for future new unitary councils in their area by 21 March 2025. City of Lincoln Council is one of these authorities, with several others expected to submit proposals, including NKDC.

c) District Councillor Reports Cllr Cooper will send his brief to the Clerk. Cllr Pennel gave a brief on recent NKDC activities.

5/3 TO APPROVE THE NOTES OF THE LAST MEETING

It was RESOLVED: That subject to the Clerk adding a comment at section 4/2 (b) ‘quoting comment from resident’s email to clerk Re Police Officer comments who attended his car theft, (preferable to add Officer's name and badge/rank if this can be found out from the resident)’ the Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on  Thursday 27th February 2025 were approved, and signed by the Chair. ACTION: Add note to 27 February 2025 minutes quoting comment from Police Officer within resident’s email re theft on Harmston Park’ T/D 31 March 2025 Clerk

6/3 CLERKS REPORT

1. New meeting dates for 2025-2026 confirmed with Harmston Memorial Hall

2. New meeting dates 2025-2026 shared with local Police contact and County and District Councillors via email, and date shared with residents via noticeboards and website and relevant FB pages

3. Article written and submitted to Harmston Matters Newsletter

4. Heathcliff View team contacted for details of contributing an article -no response as yet

5. Harmston Memorial Hall contacted regarding adding meeting dates to the ‘Hall Hirers’ board. No response as yet – clerk has article ready for display

6. All data gathered regarding the lights on Crescent Mews and Thorold Way shared with Cllr Carrington

7. Information regarding the proposed battery site at Coleby has been shared via noticeboards, website and relevant FB pages

8. Permission formally granted to the handyman, re works to be carried out on the noticeboard

9. List of suggestions from auditor is being worked through – with some points achieved so far

10. Working from Home agreed new amount has been implemented

11. LCC contacted regarding checking if all lights need turning back on (as opposed to a select few) on Thorold Way and Crescent Mews – no response as yet

12. Clerk has contacted E-ON to arrange a site visit on Chapel Lane re new location for existing light

13. Clerk has contacted resident on Chapel Lane inviting them to join the site meeting re new placement of existing light

14. Clerk has contacted National Grid to ask them for further advice on the process of reinstalling the light on Chapel Lane – no response as yet

15. E-ON have been contacted to enquire about potential existing warrantee on the damaged light on School Lane – awaiting a response

16. All actions set for the Clerk at the last meeting have been carried out with the exception of 2 points – opening a savings account and prioritising tasks for play area and asking for quotes from the handyman (this is mainly the outcome of there being less than 3 weeks since the previous Parish Council Meeting). The Clerk will attend to these before the next meeting in May. NB: Please note this report only lists some of the main actions, and not all actions carried out by the Clerk

7/3 FINANCIAL MATTERS

a) To consider the Financial Overview to date for 2024-2025 (emailed) It was RESOLVED: That the Financial Overview be accepted.

b) To consider the VAT report to date It was RESOLVED: That the VAT Report to date, be accepted Appendices 3

c) To consider the Financial Report for March 2025 It was RESOLVED: That the Financial Report for March 2025, Part A be accepted Appendices 1

d) Monies to be paid Invoices of pending payments were checked against proposed spend, and it was RESOLVED: that the Financial Report, Part B for March 2025, be accepted and for the Clerk to make these payments Appendices 2

e) Financial File to be checked and finances monitoring log to be completed – File checked and signed by Cllr Chapman

8/3 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

a) TREE WORKS None

b) PLANNING None

9/3 VILLAGE MAINTENANCE

a) To discuss play inspection report and agree works required A new inspection report has been received, this will now form the basis for new quotes for works to be carried out by the handyman. ACTION: Review report and prioritise work needed and request quote from handyman. T/D: 19 April 2025 Clerk

10/3 STREET LIGHTS AND ROADS

a) Update on Harmston Park Street Lights and agree actions ACTION: Contact LCC Street Lighting Officer and ask why lights in Thorold Way were turned off at midnight, given that the street has two traffic calming 'build outs', understood by HPC to be the main reason for retaining overnight street lighting and could the lights now be turned back on overnight. (Please copy LCC Cllr. Carrington in this action). T/D 31 March 2025 Clerk Post meeting Note: Wording for flyer to obtain Cresent Mews residents views on overnight streetlighting is still work in progress between Cllr Robson & the Clerk – All members to help with this as required.

b) Update on Chapel Lane Lights and agree actions The faulty light at the lower end of the road has been reported to E-ON for repair. Work is ongoing by the Clerk to have a replacement light fitted to the other end of Chapel Lane to replace the light removed from the BT pole.

c) Update on light on School Lane and agree actions –E-ON have now explained the LED lamp module has been damaged and they are unable to repair under warranty, allegedly damaged by contractor. Cost to repair is £350. Chairman proposed HPC agree repair cost of £350 and fix ASAP as it is very dark in that area, seconded by Cllr. B. Smith and agreed by all. ACTION: Arrange with E-ON for street light at high street end of School Lane to be repaired. T/D 31 March 2025 Clerk ACTION: Write to any Contractors who worked in the area next to and around the now damaged School Lane light, advise of the damage caused during that time and ask if they would consider making a contribution to the repair/replacement of the lamp unit. T/D 31 Mar 2025 Clerk 1

1/3 ROAD SAFETY

a) Update on SpID – Qty 2 new batteries are to be purchased to replace worn out units; quote has been requested by Clerk. The Cliff Villages shared SpID being used on Vicarage Lane has now been requested by Welbourn PC.

b) ACTION: Download all data from both speed camera devices and share this data with HPC members & LCC Cllr. Carrington. T/D 31 March 2025 Chairman

c) ACTION Contact leader of the Harmston Community Speed Watch Group and ask whether, in light of temporarily giving up the Vicarage Lane speed device, the group can re-instate the community speed check programme. T/D 31 March 2025 Clerk

12/3 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next Parish Council Meeting will be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council: Tuesday 20th May 2025, to be held at The Memorial Hall, Harmston.

This will be preceded by the Annual Parish Meeting at The Memorial Hall, Harmston. Commencing at 7.00pm

There being no further agenda matters to discuss the meeting was closed by the Chairman at 20.51.

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.