Minutes of Doddington and Whisby Parish Council
Cllr I Macalpine-Leny (Chairman); Cllr G Beale (Vice-chairman); Cllr A Bryant;
Cllr G Patrick; Cllr E Taylor; Cllr E Mathers; Cllr R Twigg
MINUTES OF DODDINGTON AND WHISBY PARISH COUNCIL
MEETING HELD IN THE GAMES ROOM, THE OLD RECTORY, DODDINGTON ON MONDAY 10TH JUNE 2013 AT 6.30PM
The meeting opened at 6.30 pm. The Chairman welcomed two officers from Lincolnshire County Council Highways Department who had been invited to discuss parish traffic problems
1Roll-call and apologies for absence
Cllrs I Macalpine-Leny (Chairing), G Beale, G Patrick, E Taylor, E Mathers and R Twigg were all present. Advance apologies received from Cllr A Bryant were accepted. District Cllr Mrs B Wells and Area Highways Manager Mr Alan Brown and Principal Highways Officer Ms Kyra Nettle were also present, together with 10 members of the public
1.1Acceptance of office as Chairman
Cllr I Macalpine-Leny signed a declaration of acceptance of office, which was counter-signed by the Clerk
1.2Acceptance of office as Vice-chairman
Cllr G Beale signed a declaration of acceptance of office, which was counter-signed by the Clerk
2Declarations of interest
No declarations
3Police report
No report was received
4Discussion with officers from LCC Highways department concerning road traffic issues
Mr A Brown gave Highways’ views and approach to the volume of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) using the B1190 through Doddington. A survey had been conducted last November of vehicles entering and leaving the northern end of Doddington, revealing 3.3% of all vehicles were HGVs. He understood that the Parish Council would like a 7.5t weight limit on this route, effectively prohibiting all through journeys by HGVs, but the level at which the County Council would normally intervene is 10 – 11%. Police would have difficulty differentiating between local deliveries and through journeys and the limit would be difficult to enforce. Additionally, such a ban would entail a complex and expensive arrangement of signs to cover all the possible approaches to the route. Although he was aware of the narrowness of the road in places, this is by no means unique in that many ‘B’ roads in the county were the result of improvements to historical tracks and were also narrow and often bordered by deep ditches. There is no exceptional case for treating the B1190 differently from many kilometers of other ‘B’ roads Intervention at this level would not reflect an even-handed approach to the whole of the county and could not be justified since a universal approach would leave HGVs with no routes to travel. However, he was willing to look into the case for piping the ditches to allow road widening
Cllr I Macalpine-Leny put the case that the imposition of a ban on large goods vehicles would not be unduly expensive, since a ready-made bypass already exists in the form of the A46 and A57, upgraded at great expense by the County Council. HGVs have difficulty passing each other due to the narrowness of the B1190 and several vehicles have left the road, some narrowly avoiding serious injury
Cllr G Patrick disputed the proportion of HGVs, claiming 7.4% from the Parish Council’s own surveys. He thought the positioning of the Highways’ camera at the northern end of the village was not indicative since it did not capture all traffic. Mr Brown undertook to conduct a new survey on the Lincoln Road at a location to be agreed with the Parish Council. Cllr Patrick has spoken with certain haulage companies, some of whose vehicles have experienced accidents on the route, and has reached an understanding that those companies would no longer use the B1190 as a short cut. Cllr Patrick also disputed previous statements that large
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numbers of HGVs were delivering locally, since Parish Council surveys put the figure at less than 5%. A copy of the survey would be made available to Highways.
Members of the public related their experience of HGVs through the village, particularly at night. Vehicles brake noisily at the sharp corner and a collision is always felt to be imminent. In addition, the proximity of the vehicles, which do not respect the speed limit, to the houses along Main Street gives rise to severe vibration and structural damage is occurring. Some of the properties are listed buildings and Highways should recognise that the traffic is causing damage to them. Exception was taken by some members of the public to the expression of HGVs as a percentage of traffic, since this does not reflect the true extent of the problem: a truer picture is only gained by an actual count of such vehicles, and a recommended acceptable level of HGVs was requested. Mr Brown did not accept that a percentage figure of HGVs was not a fair measure of the situation and maintained there was no planning error contributing to the problem. A case was cited of a driving assessor who stated he would not allow his vehicles to travel this route for reasons of safety, but Mr Brown stated that no notification had been received by his department of any accidents on this road. His offer to widen the road was not met with enthusiasm since it would simply encourage more vehicles, also there would possibly be an issue with field drainage. The logic of granting Thorpe-on-the-Hill a 7.5t limit was questioned, since it effectively transferred the problem elsewhere, but this was explained as being a historical limit. The work done on Black Lane was questioned; a large amount of money has been spent on widening and resurfacing half of the lane, but only temporary edging repairs are carried out on the remainder, which seems a false economy. Mr Brown explained that finance was the limiting factor, and that it would be brought up to the same standard in due course.
Cllr I Macalpine-Leny drew attention to the safety risks to pedestrians crossing Main Street posed by vehicles entering Doddington from the northern end. The bend in the road obscures the view, and speeding vehicles have little time to slow down. The Parish Council fears that it is only a matter of time before there is an incident and it wants to be pro-active in taking measures to protect pedestrians. The number of crossings is estimated at 200,000 – 300,000 per year, the majority being visitors to the Hall or its affiliated businesses, and of whom a large proportion are elderly, infirm or very young.
Ms K Nettle advised that a survey took place on 8th June, when 122 crossings were counted in one hour, including 22 young / elderly. The latter group counts four times for survey purposes and the outcome is rated as significant. Other factors such as road width are taken into account and a final calculation will be made, but it is already clear that the volume merits a safety feature such as an island refuge in the middle of the road. However, the narrowness of the road is an issue and also the cost, both issues could be discussed with the Hall Estate at a future date. A review of all road signs in the village is desirable, including the need for warning signs to approaching traffic. Mr Brown supported this idea but is aware that excessive signage can detract from a rural area. He advised that there are moves to impose 20mph limits in rural villages but this is still under consideration at Governmental level. In any case, there are road engineering requirements to support such a limit, since enforcement would put an unreasonable burden on the Police. Speed Indicator Devices lose their effectiveness once their locations are known; mobile devices are more effective when timing and location are varied.
The discussion concluded with an undertaking by Highways to put forward positive ideas for road safety improvements, together with associated costs and other ways forward. Ms Nettle undertook to provide feedback on the Whisby crossroads accident review. The Chairman thanked both officers for their attendance.
5Public forum
A ‘reduce speed now’ sign has disappeared from the entrance to the village. Cllr G Patrick has notified the relative contact at Highways
The footpath from Smythson Green to Main Street is overgrown and almost impassable. An approach will be made to the Hall Estate to have it cleared. This issue was raised by two
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residents
ACTION: IHM-L
6Minutes of June meeting
6.1 Approval of minutes
Resolved: the minutes of the meeting held 20th May 2013 are accepted as an accurate record
6.2Matters arising
6.2.1Home Farm South front garden
This to be brought to the attention of the Hall Estate
ACTION: IHM-L
The short path to the notice board to be strimmed
ACTION: RT
6.2.2Missing Whisby sign
To be notified again to Highways
ACTION: CLERK
6.2.3Approach to fast food outlets concerning litter
Ownership of outlets to be established
ACTION: AB
Owner(s) to be approached with requests for cooperation in combating litter nuisance
ACTION: IHM-L
7Correspondence
7.1Letter from Kennel Lane resident about blocked street drain
A drain is blocked again due to invasive roots. A long-term solution has been requested of Highways
8Planning matters
8.1Joint Planning Unit development survey
The JPU is responsible for drawing up a development plan for many years hence and is entering a consultation phase. Leaflets and maps have been produced for circulation within the parish and copies were made available to the Council for distribution with the next issue of the parish newssheet.
ACTION: COUNCILLORS
Both Cllr R Twigg and the Clerk recognised the importance for everyone to make their views known to the JPU, since the development plan which emerges will be used for deciding all future planning applications
9Finance and payment of accounts
9.1Financial reports, year to date
Reports were circulated prior to the meeting
9.2Payment of accounts
9.2.1E.ON (energy) £17.48 cheque no. 760
9.2.2E.ON (maintenance) £32.69 cheque no 761
9.2.3J Reynolds’ salary and expenses, May £126.27 cheque no. 762
9.2.4HMRC PAYE on J Reynolds’ salary £30.40 cheque no 763
Resolved: the foregoing payments to be made
ACTION: CLERK
9.3New banking arrangements
An appointment has been made to meet an HSBC representative at the Stone Bow branch, Lincoln, on 19th June
ACTION: CLERK
10Speed Indicator devices – funding application
The Clerk has discussed applications with Lafarge Tarmac, who advise their grants are maximum £500. An associated trust fund cannot help either, since their mandate does not cover items of this nature. An approach to be made to County Councillor Reginald Shore for
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assistance and an invitation to be made to attend the next Parish Council meeting
ACTION: CLERK
11Parish Event 2013
The nature of the event is undecided, so the Council will keep its options open. The Hall Estate has offered the Coach House on 21st July and the Council will work towards this date, but if the Hall has a booking requirement, it should accept it. Hall estate to be advised
ACTION: GB
12Other business
- A problem of bad odours from a local business is recurring, causing complaints from businesses and residents. The problem is believed to accrue from current atmospheric conditions and is aggravated by tankers moving foul material at Bank Holiday times. Cllr R Twigg believes complaints should be made at every occurrence
Contact details of the Environmental Officer to be circulated by e-mail group to enable the public to make complaints
ACTION: AB
- The next issue of the newssheet is due in June, and will include the Chairman’s annual report. In addition, a short summary of the Clerk’s report and Councillors’ attendance figures is to be included. Contact details of the Environmental Officer to be given concerning offensive odours from nearby companies
ACTION: CLERK
- The welcome sheet to be updated by the Clerk; any changes needed are to be advised
ACTION: COUNCILLORS
13Circulation file
The June file was passed to the Council
The meeting closed at 9.10pm.
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