Minutes of the Council Meeting Held in Lindsey Village Hall

Minutes of the Council Meeting held on Wednesday 17^th July 2024 in Lindsey Village Hall, Church Road, Lindsey which commenced at 7.30pm.

In attendance: Cllrs. C Arthey (in Chair), B Howe, R Howe, J Moore and A Sturgeon, Mrs V Waples, Parish Clerk, District Cllr. Jamieson (in part) and County Cllr. Finch (in part).

1. Opening and Welcome

The Chair, Cllr. Arthey, opened the meeting and thanked all for attending. The statement on reporting at meetings of the parish council was taken as read.

2. Apologies of Absence

To receive apologies of absence – verified apologies of absence were received from Cllrs. Corcoran and Hainsworth.
Council consented to accept the apologies so submitted, aif.

3. Declaration of Members Interest

To receive declarations of registrable, other and non-registerable interests as detailed in Appendix B of the LGA Model Code of Conduct Model Code of Conduct 2020 – there were no declarations of interests.
There were no declarations of gifts of hospitality received exceeding £50.
There were no requests for dispensations for the agenda under discussion.

4. Minutes of Previous Meetings

To approve the minutes of the following Council Meetings:
- 8^th May 2024 - the meeting agreed that the circulated minutes, following an amendment to the list of apologies given, Agenda Item 3i and the removal of Agenda item 3ii, were a true and accurate record of the meeting that took place and agreement was forthcoming for the Chair to sign the minutes, aif
- 12^th June 2024 - the meeting agreed that the circulated minutes were a true and accurate record of the meeting that took place, and agreement was forthcoming for the Chair to sign the minutes, aif.

5. Public Forum

(maximum 10 minutes)

To receive a report from County Councillor James Finch – Cllr. Finch was invited to submit his report in which he commented on the following: a copy of the written report submitted can be seen at Appendix A
- Solar farm given planning approval in West Suffolk.
- Climate Action – annual event.
- Cold callers as reported by Suffolk Trading Standards.
Questions / issues raised by Councillors:
- Crossroads on A1141 – overgrown vegetation is impacting visibility – Cllr. Finch agreed to raise this issue again and to ask that the recommendation for this area to have increased cuts be reinstated as previously agreed.
- Potholes on Church Road – whilst they have been reported and yellow lines have been placed around the holes no work had been undertaken to date. Cllr. Finch agreed to look into this matter.
To receive a report from District Councillor Leigh Jamieson – Cllr. Jamieson was invited to submit his report in which he commented on the following: a copy of the written report submitted can be seen at Appendix B.
- Listed Building – improvements in terms of energy efficient – paper to be brought to the District Council the following week.
Questions / issued raised by Councillors:
- When questioned over the abundance of electric charging vehicle spaces in public car parks and the lack of use of the charging stations, it was confirmed that this was being monitored by the Public Realm department.
- Results of General Election – when questioned as to whether this would have an impact on local government, it was mentioned that it was anticipated that there will be an impact once the full implications of changes to the planning system as outlined in the King’s Speech
- Solar Farms, energy security and food security – when questions as to whether there was an expectation that this will impact those in the system, it was stated that it was unclear at this stage, but it was anticipated that there will be an impact given recent approvals on the borders of Suffolk. It was noted that there were such applications within the planning system for Babergh and Mid Suffolk.
To receive comments from the public on the agenda as published – there were no members of the public present.
To receive comments from the public as submitted:
- Speeding in the village within the 30mph zone – given that there had only been a further verbal comment relating to speeding issues in the vicinity of The Rose, it was agreed that, for now, the council would continue to monitor the situation.
- Churchyard maintenance – lack of maintenance work – it was noted that investigations had been carried out over this matter with confirmation that the costs to the PCC were £600+ a year and that the PC provided a £400 a grant per annum for the maintenance of the churchyard. Whilst some work had been undertaken, further work was required and agreement given that this matter, including further financial assistance, should be explored further. It was agreed that Cllr. Sturgeon would speak with the Church Warden to ascertain the extent of the current contract and Cllr. Moore would investigate a contractor option.

6. Parish Matters

Climate Awareness / climate emergency – to receive an update / information on climate related issues coming forth – Heating Bildeston project was progressing well – community energy fund has been drawn down in the sum of £40K and the feasibility contract was underway. More funds will be available at a later date for the next stages. Cllr. Sturgeon also made the meeting aware of work being undertaken to help communities get started with community wind turbines. The website: https://wewantwind.org/ provided assistance across the country identifying sites for such turbines. A site in Lindsey had been explored for a wind turbine and the landowner was onboard with this being explored further. It was agreed that any energy generated should be able to be fed into those dwellings surrounding the area. All noted that Groton substation is due to be upgraded soon. Heating Bildeston Community Interest Fund – discussion followed over the rural benefits that might accrue from a suitable sized turbine being located in the village and agreement was forthcoming for the PC, in principle, to explore this matter further under the Heating Bildeston Project banner.

7. Statutory Matters

Financial Regulations 2024 – to review and adopt the new financial regulations as adapted to Lindsey Parish Council – Paper Lindsey Financial Regulations – all agreed to adopt the model financial regulations as adopted to Lindsey with immediate effect, aif.

8. Correspondence

BMSDC – Summer Holiday Activity Programme – all noted the activities on offer.
BMSDC – Town and Parish Updates – all confirmed that the monthly updates were emailed to Councillors for their perusal.
SALC – all confirmed that the weekly news bulletins were emailed to Councillors for their perusal. Councillors to contact the Clerk if there are any items of interest / training courses they wish to attend.

9. Financial Matters

To consider schedule of receipts received and payments made since the last meeting – Paper A – all confirmed receipt of Paper A (details can be seen at Appendix C).
To consider and approve the verified items awaiting authorization as per the schedule submitted – Paper B – having reviewed the paper submitted, all approved the payments awaiting authorisation for settlement via online transfer, aif. All noted that there was no expenditure settled via the internet banking system since the last meeting for approval (details can be found at Appendix C).
To consider the Council's financial position to date – Paper B – Council noted the reconciled position of £9,974.08 once the accounts awaiting payment had been settled, aif. Cllrs. Howe and Moore confirmed that they had verified the position against the bank statements and cashbook. (Details can be found at Appendix C).
To consider the actual versus budget for the period ending July 2024 - Paper D – all noted the slight underspend as at the end of July 2024 and the allocation of CIL monies for the street licence for the corner setts and contribution to the community defibrillator located at The Rose.
Council to approve the costs to transfer the current website to a new .gov.uk domain name to be hosted by suffolk.cloud with dedicated emails address for the clerk and councillors – Paper .Gov.uk names – following receipt of the clerk’s paper and noting that the clerk had applied for a government grant of £120.00 towards the cost, council approved the services of suffolk.cloud to register and administer the .gov.uk domain name: lindseyparishcoucnil.gov.uk at a cost of £90 for two years which will provide a linked dedicated council email address for the clerk, aif. Council also considered and approved the use of dedicated email addressed once the domain name was up and running. It was agreed that the cost implications of this matter would be brought back to council in November for inclusion in the annual budget for 2025 onwards.

10. Year-End Process

To note the following as part of the Council’s Year-End Process:

That the council has received an automated response confirming receipt of the Exemption Certificate – council noted the receipt of the confirmation.
That there had been no requests to view the council’s accounting records during the period of the exercise of public rights – this matter was duly noted.

11. Clerk’s Report

To receive an update on the repairs to the parish and church noticeboards – it was noted that the work had been completed with cork boards for the interior. All agreed that this noticeboard was sufficient for both parish and village notices and that the adjacent wooden noticeboard should be removed. Cllr. Arthey made the meeting aware that he would arrange to discuss the renovation and re-siting of the village sign with the party who had agreed to carry out the work and firm up a date.
Improvements to the two triangles near the Rose Pub – to receive an update on the project to install improvements to both areas – council noted that work was due to commence on both triangles by the end of the month, weather permitting.

12. Planning Matters

https://www.babergh.gov.uk/planning/application-search-and-comment/

To consider the following planning applications: none received at time of serving.
To note the following planning applications determined by the local planning authority: late submission:
- DC/24/01686 – Planning permission for the erection of single storey two bay cartlodge (following demolition of garage) @ Cob Cottage, Rose Green Road.

13. Parish Councillors’ Reports

The following reports on village issues were received from Councillors present:

Cllr. Moore made the meeting aware that he was intended to build a new pond on his land for drainage purposes and there was an anticipated that this will also become a haven for great crested newts.
Cllr. Moore requested that any wind turbine needed to take into account local needs and not be expected to service a wider community.
Cllr. Sturgeon asked that thanks be offered to James Buckle for his informative farm tour as arranged by Heathpatch Ltd as attended by three parish councillors.
Cllr. Sturgeon informed the meeting that a resident had requested whether the white lines could be improved at the White Rose crossroads.
Cllr. Sturgeon informed the Clerk that the 30mph further along Kersey Road (east) was hidden by the overgrowth.
The Clerk’s attention was brought to the hedgerow of the property between Frogs Hall and The Martins which is overgrown and encroaching the highway.
The Clerk’s attention was drawn to the hedgerow of The White Rose which had overgrown and was encroaching the highway.
The Clerk was asked to ascertain whether CIL money could be used for churchyard maintenance and bring this back to the council as an agenda item once information have been obtained.

14. Date of Next Meeting

All meetings will take place in the Village Hall, Church Road, Lindsey.

To note the dates of meetings for 2024 – 25^th September (TBC) (post meeting date changed to 16^th October) and 13^th November.

15. Close of Meeting

There being no other business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 9.03pm.