Harmston Parish Council

MINUTES OF HARMSTON ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

HELD AT HARMSTON MEMORIAL HALL following the ANNUAL PARISH MEETING.

Tuesday 16th May 2017. The meeting started at 8.25 pm

Meeting 1 of the 2017/18 year

Present

Frances Mannsåker, Chair

John Martin-Hoyes, Vice Chair

Jonathan Chaplin

Iain Edgar

Brian Hamilton

Mark Jones

Anita Fox

Gail Dixon, Clerk to the Council

1 / Election of Chair & Vice Chair
The Chair called for nominations for the post of Chair for the forthcoming year. Cllr F Mannsåker was Proposed by CllrI Edgarseconded by Cllr A Fox. Resolved. The Chair called for nominations for Vice Chair. Cllr J Martin-Hoyes was Proposed by Cllr F Mannsåker & seconded by Cllr M Fox. Resolved.
The declarations of office were then signed.
2 / Apologies
Apologies were sent by PCSO S Kennedy. This was covered at the Annual Parish Meeting.
Cllrs MA Overton, R Oxby and C Mills were in attendance at the Annual Parish Meeting and gave their reports then. They gave their apologies at the start of the Parish Council meeting and left.
3 / Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The notes of the previous meeting (15th March 2017) had been distributed to Council members. Cllr I Edgar proposed, seconded by Cllr A Fox, that they be accepted as Minutes. Resolved
4 / Actions undertaken since the previous meeting
  • The Clerk has written to Highways to request any relevant data relating to the increase of traffic through Harmston during the construction of the eastern bypass. There has been no response to date.
  • The Clerk contacted Highways and presented the case to have the street lights switched back near the bus stop at the top of Vicarage lane. The council is pleased to report that Highways have agreed and reinstated the 6 lights from the bus stop to the Church lane junction. Over the long term however Highways have informed the Council that the lanterns will be replaced by LED lanterns which will switch off at midnight and come back on at 6am.
  • The Chair has confirmed with Action Play and Leisure that a first phase of the new play area will be constructed on the playing field in the summer.
  • A new litter picker has been employed for once a week.
  • The Chair has written to Nina Camm again about the wheelie bins left next to the village notice board near school lane. There has been no response to date.
  • The Clerk wrote to Carol Hill to accept the invitation of support at the flower festival on 7th and 8th October. The Parish Council will do a floral display organised by Cllr I Edgar.
  • The end of year paperwork has been completed and given to Alan Humphries for him to complete the Councils internal audit.
  • The website has been updated.
The Council has been informed that the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan was adopted on 24th April 2017 and that future planning decisions will be taken in the light of the policies within the plan.
5 / Financial Matters
a)To consider the internal audit report.
Mr Alan Humphries kindly agreed to do the internal audit for the final year before the new audit regulations start for the 2017/18 year. He produced a report that Cllrs considered and accepted. The Council wished to thank Mr Humphries once again for his time and hard work.
b)Acceptance of the Annual Governance Statement
The Annual Governance Statement was considered by Cllrs. Resolved. The Chair signed & dated the statement.
c)Acceptance of the End of Year Accounts
The End of Year accounts for 2016/17 had been distributed to Cllrs prior to the meeting. The bank balances at year end were £1,953.81 in the Treasurers account & £12,513.46 in the instant access account. Unclaimed VAT for the year will be £296.99.
Proposed by Cllr B Hamilton, Secondedby Cllr A Fox, Resolvedto accept the end of year accounts.
d)Statement of accounts with a list of outstanding invoices requiring payment & list of payments made in-between meetings.
A statement of account together with a bank reconciliation was noted.
Outstanding Invoices
Payable to / Reason / Amount
16.05.17 / Came&Company / Annual insurance renewal / £464.59
16.05.17 / LincsFieldpaths / Annual subscription / £5
Payments made in between meetings were noted
Ex/chq / Payable to / Reason / Amount
SO / G Dixon / Clerks Wages - MARCH / £217.24
SO / G Dixon / Clerks Wages - APRIL / £224.24
794 / EON 01.04.17 / Supply / £337.65
795 / LALC 01.04.17 / Annual subscription / £194.53
796 / LALC / Annual training subs (agreed last meeting) / £85
All Agreed.
e)Petty Cash report March - May: The clerk had spent £60.25 since the last meeting but still had £139.75 in hand. She reported that there was no need to replenish funds at this time.
7 / Matters for Consideration
a)Play area up-date
Awards for All had written to the Council turning down the application for funding. This was due to a VAT technicality. Cllr F Mannsåker had taken advice from the Big Lottery Fund and had re-presented the application. She reported to Cllrs that the application had been checked by Wendy Moore from the County Council, who believed that the application wasconvincing. The Councils preferred supplier is happy to start phase 1 of the Play area in August. Cllr F Mannsåker will write to Peter Sowerby to keep him updated.
b)Annual Harmston Day
The date of the event is Sunday June 25th. Cllr F Mannsåker reported that the event will follow the same format as last year and hoped that the weather would be kinder this year. Cllr A Fox informed the meeting that there would be no dancers this year, as the date had changed she was unable to get a team together. Cllrs confirmed their other contributions.
c)Village Maintenance
The clerk informed the meeting that a new litter picker, had been taken on. He had been recommended by the clerk of ColebyParish Council as he litter picks for the Council and is also caretaker for Coleby Village Hall. He will be litter picking once a week around Harmston and will be paid £60 per month as agreed by Cllrs by email. The initial contract will be 6 months and then will be reassessed by all parties. The litter picker will email an invoice to the clerk each monthResolved. Other jobs will be assessed and tendered as the need arises. Cllrs discussed the importance of keeping the paths clear. Cllr J Martin-Hoyes advised that paths should be left to Highways. Council will keep an eye on it.
8 / Planning Applications during the period: March - May
Applications for planning:
Ref: 17/0184/VARON
The annex at The Old Garth Approved
Ref: 16/1071/FUL
Land adjacent to 5 Ridge View
The Council had commented on 5 Ridge View previously. After looking at the new updated application Cllrs found the application had hardly changed and so no further comment was needed. Cllr B Hamilton commented that he was not happy on the size of the dwelling and its change of use.
9 / Correspondence
A schedule of correspondence received from March – May had been distributed to Cllrs.
10 / Date for the next meeting and meeting schedule for the coming year
Tuesday 18th July ‘17
Tuesday 19th September ‘17
Tuesday 21st November ‘17
Tuesday 23rd January 2018
Tuesday 27th March ‘18
Tuesday 22nd May ‘18 which will include the Annual Parish Meeting
The Chair thanked all who attended and closed the meeting at 9.30pm

…………………….……………………

ChairDate

Harmston Parish Council