Annual Council Meeting Minutes

Meeting Date:

Summary
This summary is generated by AI and may contain errors. It does not form part of the official minutes.
Catch up on the latest updates: Councillor Arthey was re-elected as Chair for another year. The council discussed the return to in-person meetings starting 17th May. A decision on climate emergency initiatives was postponed to the next meeting.

The Annual Council Meeting was held on Thursday 6th May 2021 via videoconferencing on the Zoom Platform and commenced at 7.03pm.

Present
The Chairman, Mr. Arthey welcomed the following Parish Cllrs. to the meeting – R Corcoran, M Hainsworth, B Howe, R Howe, J Moore and A Sturgeon. In attendance were Mrs V Waples, Clerk.

In accordance with the changes in legislation, it was noted that this meeting was taking place via videoconferencing and that councillors and members of the public were permitted to film, record, photograph or use social media in order to report on the proceedings of the meeting.

Opening – the Chair opened the meeting and thanked all for attending. The Clerk read out the statement on reporting at virtual meetings of the parish council.

1. Election of Chair

  1. Election of Chair and to approve that the signing of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office can be signed away from the meeting – Cllr. Arthey, having agreed for his nomination to go forward, was proposed, seconded and approved by all to be the Chair of the Council for a further year, aif. All agreed that the signing of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office could take place at the earliest opportunity when the Clerk and Chair were able to meet observing social distancing, aif.

2. Apologies of Absence

  1. There were no applicable apologies of absence as all Councillors were present.

3. Declarations of Interest

  1. There were no declarations of pecuniary or local non-pecuniary interests for the agenda under discussion. There were no declarations of gifts of hospitality received exceeding £25.
  2. There were no requests for dispensations for the agenda under discussion.

4. Minutes of Previous Meetings

  1. To approve the minutes of the following Parish Council Meetings:
    • 10th March 2021 - the meeting agreed that the circulated minutes were a true and accurate record of the meeting that took place, aif.
    • 25th March 2021 - the meeting agreed that the circulated minutes were a true and accurate record of the meeting that took place, aif.
    Agreement was forthcoming for the signing of the minutes to take place at the next meeting at which Councillors would be present in person or whenever was convenient for the Clerk and Chair to so arrange, aif.

5. Parish Matters

To receive updates on items raised at previous meetings:

  1. Climate Emergency / Climate Awareness – it was agreed that this would be deferred until the next meeting, aif.

6. Public Forum

(maximum 10 minutes)

  1. To receive comments from the public on the agenda as published: there were no members of the public present and the Clerk confirmed that she had not received any comments via email.

7. Statutory Business

  1. Meetings of the Parish Council – to receive the paper from the Clerk on the holding of meetings effective 17th May 2021 – Council received the paper notifying all that in person meetings would now need to take place to transact the business of the parish council. It was also noted that under a further ruling announced on 5 May, the High Court confirmed that meetings open to the public also meant physical attendance. The Court’s further ruling requires that local authority meetings must be open to the public in a physical sense, and that references to being ‘open to the public’ or ‘held in public’ mean the physical attendance by the public. It was agreed that the Clerk will undertake a risk assessment on the venue not controlled by the Parish Council to be used for the return to face to face meetings and ensure that the checklist detailing the mitigating measures are actioned prior to the first meeting.

8. Correspondence

  1. BMSDC – To note that the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan has been submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for Examination (Notice of Submission of the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan to the Secretary of State (Regulation 22) – this was noted.
  2. SALC - Expiry of remote meetings regulations 2021 – this was noted.
  3. BMSDC - Tree, hedge and wildflower planting for Parishes – Council to consider the following:
    • To submit a request for free trees and hedgerow plants to all our parishes - regardless of whether they are to be planted on council, parish, church, or private land – Cllr. Moore proposed to send all a plan as to what was being proposed and requested permission to approach the landowner and subject to his agreement to approach BMSDC will contribute to this plan as per the email sent round by BMSDC. It was noted that the submission needs to be with BMSDC by 20th June 2021. It was agreed that consideration for a hedge to be laid at the front of the Village Hall. All agreed that as long as the plan was acceptable to all, and this would be undertaken via an email trail, then Cllr. Moore was given delegated authority.
    • To consider BMSDC’s action plan to improve and strengthen biodiversity (wildlife and plant life) in its area – it was agreed that the actions being proposed by the PC would comply with BMSDC’s overall action plan. It was agreed that further work could be undertaken in regard to ponds and the associated plant life.
  4. To note all relevant correspondence received since the last meeting has been circulated via email – all correspondence received since 25th March 2021 which was of relevance to the Parish Council had been circulated by email and this was noted.

9. Clerk’s Financial Report

  1. To receive and approve the Annual Internal Audit Report for the Year ending 31st March 2021 – Paper A – congratulations to the Clerk in particular with reference to 2.8. All noted the comments regarding reserves. The meeting received, approved and accepted the Internal Report as submitted, aif.
  2. To receive and approve the Payments & Receipts Account for the year ending 31st March 2021 – Paper B – the meeting received and approved the statement of Accounts for the year and authorised the Chair to sign the paperwork at the earliest opportunity. A copy of the Accounts can be found on the Council website: https://lindsey.suffolk.cloud/parish-council/council-finances/
  3. To note the Bank Reconciliation for the year ending 31st March 2021– Paper C – noted – it was confirmed that Cllr. Corcoran had signed off the end of year bank reconciliation prior to the meeting as all relevant paperwork had been shared via Office 365.
  4. To consider and approve the Annual Governance Statement for 2020/2021 as per Section 1 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Guide (AGAR) – Paper D - all agreed that the statements as posed could be answered in the affirmative bar statement 9 which was not applicable, aif. A copy of the AGAR can be found on the Council website: https://lindsey.suffolk.cloud/parish-council/council-finances/
  5. To consider and approve the Accounting Statements for 2020/2021 as per Section 2 of the AGAR – Paper E – the accounting statements for 2020/21 were received and accepted. A copy of the AGAR can be found on the Council website: https://lindsey.suffolk.cloud/parish-council/council-finances/
  6. To consider the recommendation that having fulfilled the criteria required, Council considers itself exempt from a Limited Assurance Review – as the Council was a smaller authority where the higher of all gross annual income or gross annual expenditure did not exceed £25,000, and that it met the qualifying criteria as set out in the Certificate of Exemption, it was able to declare itself exempt from sending the completed Annual Governance and Accountability Return to the external auditor for a limited assurance review. Council approved the exemption and instructed the Clerk to ensure that the relevant paperwork was submitted to the external auditors by the due date of 30th June 2021, aif.
  7. Should Agenda Item 9vi be so approved, that delegated authority be given to the Chair to sign the Certificate of Exemption from a Limited Assurance Review for the year 2020/2021 at the earliest opportunity - Paper F – agreement was forthcoming for the Certificate of Exemption to be signed by the Chair in good time to allow submission by the due date, aif.
  8. To receive the dates from the RFO of the period for the exercise of public rights and the publication requirements of the Annual Governance and Accountability Guide for the year ending 31st March 2021 – Paper G – the meeting noted the dates that had been set by the Clerk which covered the period 14th June to 23rd July 2021.
  9. To consider schedule of receipts received since the last meeting – Paper H - the meeting noted the monies received since the last meeting - (Appendix A refers) which covered the 1st instalment of the precept and CIL Receipt as levied against DC/19/01412 and DC/17/04868.
  10. To consider and approve the verified items awaiting authorization as per the schedule submitted – Paper I - all agreed that subject to formal verification by the two authorised signatories, Council approved to accept the schedule of invoices awaiting payment. (Appendix A refers).
  11. To consider the Council's financial position to date – Paper J – the meeting noted the carried forward balance of £4,992.46 once the agreed schedule of invoices awaiting payment had been taken into account. It was agreed that the authorised signatories would review the bank reconciliation and sign the papers submitted to ensure a full audit trail, aif. (Appendix A refers). The Clerk and Chair provided the meeting with a resume of the CIL pot and how it should be administered by the Parish Council in determining spending patterns and the manner in which projects could be supported.

10. Clerk’s Report

There were no further matters coming forth that had not been dealt with elsewhere on the agenda.

11. Planning Matters

  1. To consider the following planning applications:
    • DC/21/02121 - Newlyn, Rose Green Road – change of use from stables to home office – it was agreed that the Parish Council would raise no objections to the application as submitted, aif.
  2. To note the following planning applications determined by the local planning authority:
    • DC/21/01704 – Discharge of conditions application – Condition 3 (proposed Fenestration) @ The Granary, The Tye
    • DC/20/05951 – Withdrawal of the planning application – change of use and conversion of barn to dwelling. Erection of two-storey extension and garage. Creation of new vehicular access @ Barn at Church Barn Meadow, Church Road.
    It was agreed that an email should be sent to the Enforcement Officer – Simon Bailey and the Planning Officer - Jasmine Whyard– requesting that, following the withdrawal of the application for conversion, an investigation be commenced into the recent installation of the hardstanding which includes a concrete entrance. Post meeting note, a further application for this site has been submitted and the matter will be reconsidered by the Council at a further meeting.

Parish Councillors’ Reports

To receive reports on village issues from Councillors present:

  1. Cllr. Howe - Thatched Barn, Rose Green – it was noted that there was an expectation that discharge of conditions should be submitted once the works were at slab level. The Clerk agreed to review the matter and contact the planning authorities if more information was required.
  2. Cllr. Hainsworth offered thanks to District Cllr Jamieson and Cllr Lindsay for their intervention in the request for action over the potholes on the Lindsey to Chelsworth Road.
  3. Cllr. Sturgeon made the meeting aware of the Open Farm Sunday Event on 27th June.

12. Date of Next Meeting

Parish Council Meeting Wednesday 14th July 2021 commencing at 7.30pm, in Lindsey Village Hall.

There being no other business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 20.36pm

Appendix A – Financial Report

Items received since the last meeting:

Income Description Nett VAT Gross Ref
12.04.21 BDC – Precept 1 of 2 2243.50 0.00 2243.50 Bacs
12.04.21 BDC – Parish CIL Receipt 1721.40 0.00 1721.40 Bacs
19.04.21 BDC – Parish Grant 78.00 0.00 78.00 Bacs
Total Income £4042.90

Items Paid out since the last meeting:

Total Expenditure £NIL

Items to be Authorized for Payment:

Expenditure Description Nett VAT Gross Ref Power
06.05.21 Clerk’s Salary & Expenses 353.26 0.00 353.26 486 LGA 1972 s111 & s112
T Brown Internal Audit 86.14 0.00 86.14 487 LGA 1972 s150
Suffolk Cloud – Website Hosting 110.00 0.00 110.00 488 LGA 1972 s111
SALC – Membership Fee 143.05 0.00 143.05 489 LGA 1972 s143
Total £692.45

Financial Report

Date £
Opening Balance 06.05.21 5684.91
Add Income Received April – May 4042.90
Less Expenditure Incurred April – May 0.00
Less Expenditure from verified list 06.05.21 692.45
Closing Balance 06.05.21 4992.46

Bank Reconciliation

Community Account Statement – 06.05.21 5684.91
Less unlogged cheques * At 06.05.21 692.45
Plus unaccredited income 0.00
Reconciled Total 1642.01

*

  • 486 £353.26
  • 487 £86.14
  • 488 £110.00
  • 489 £143.05

£692.45

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