Minutes for April 2023

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MINUTES: CORBY GLEN PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday April 12^th 2023 at 7.00pm in the Willoughby Gallery, Corby Glen.

Present: Cllrs Lamming (Chair), Andrew (from 7.15pm), Cook, Clink, Fowler, Harwood & Walsingham.

In attendance: Cllr Robins, 6 members of the public, including representatives from Allison Homes & National Grid,
Mrs. S. Woodman (Parish Clerk).

Open Forum:

The chairman welcomed the members of the public.

A resident of Willoughby Close raised the issue of the dips in the surface of the A151 near the bungalows: she and her husband (and other nearby residents) are awakened early each morning by the noise made by heavy vehicles going over the dips. They have tried complaining to LCC Highways, but to no avail. She requested the Parish Council to take the matter up on their behalf.

The representative of Allison Homes explained the situation regarding verges on the A151 which had been dug up by Western Power and poorly re-instated. Allison Homes have added some soil, but despite requests, Western Power had refused to make good as the land is owned by LCC not Allison. Photos to be supplied to the Clerk for communication to LCC. The issue with rubbish on the footpath has been resolved, and the new streetlights on the A151 are now working.

Currently 6 private and 8 rented houses are occupied.

The effect on the grass and trees of the work on St John’s grass area was raised. National Grid are laying an extra power cable to support the electricity now needed in the village; the cable will run up St. John’s Drive to the A151, and along the A151 to the junction with the B1176.

No notice of this work was received by residents. The clerk had only been contacted concerning permission to take the cable under The Green. It is believed that LCC had been contacted as the assumed owners of the land, but not SKDC. And of great concern is the unacceptable state of the workings. Cllr Cook had received numerous complaints from residents.

National Grid had been unaware of the situation, or of the use by the contractor of the grass area for storage. Cllr Robins has been in communication with National Grid, had provided photos and will be meeting representative/s of National Grid and Kier, the contractor, on site the following day. Assurances were received that on completion of the work, the area will be returned to at least as good as state as originally. The whole project is not expected to be completed until June. It was suggested that National Grid might liaise with Allison Homes for the use of their road sweeper to keep the roads affected by National Grid’s work clean.

The representative of National Grid agreed to communicate with residents; Mr Miles was also requested to add details to the council’s web site for information.

1. Apologies for absence: Cllr Evans. Reasons given and accepted.
2. District and County Councillors’ Reports:

SKDC: Nothing to report. The chairman congratulated Cllr Robins on being returned unopposed.

3. The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on Wednesday March 8^th 2023 were approved by a majority
   (5 for, 3 abstentions).
4. Councillors’ Declarations of Interest:
5. Review of Action Log:
   A card has been sent to Dr Elder on his retirement from the Parish Council

The clerk confirmed that the CSW equipment owned by Colsterworth is covered by CGPC’s insurance whilst stored in the village.

The new bench has been added to the Asset list, and Rowan Smith agreed to re-paint the white line in the phone box area.

The agreed donation of £50 has been sent to the Bowls Club for Coronation Pro/Am tournament.

6. Clerk’s & Chairman’s reports on matters outstanding:

75/20 Superfast Broadband: No change; an ‘update’ reported that work is still due be completed by October 2023.

Mr Miles reported that BT are concentrating on upgrading facilities to digital, and this may result in poor service for the time being. He was requested to add this information to the web site; Cllr Walsingham to add to NextDoor.

12/22 Consider state of benches, bins, phone box, noticeboards & options to fix: see 02/23

The Clerk has drafted a list of benches in order to bring the Assets register up to date. She will provide this to cllrs who are requested to notify her of any errors or omissions.

57/22 Community Congress: Mr Miles was requested to add the warm Spaces information to the web site. Currently WI’s Knitter Knatter Group & the new singing group practice sessions will be funded for 3 months. Cllr Lamming is looking into additional funding.

03/23 Maintenance of village web site: Mr Miles has now attended a training session and has administration access. He has determined that work needs to be done as a matter of urgency to ensure the web site complies with legislation and government guidelines:

• Privacy Statement: A draft Privacy Statement was emailed to councillors for their approval. The clerk was asked to confirm with LALC that it is in line with their expectations.
• Acceptance of Cookies
• Terms of Use document
• Compliance with accessibility guidelines & Accessibility Statement
• Data Protection Policy. The council does not have an official Data Protection Officer as such; data protection / retention issues would be referred to the clerk. The clerk will enquire from other clerks how they deal with email retention.

Mr Miles has these updates in hand. He has also added other information as has been requested.

As regards authorisation of further changes, the chairman expressed her confidence in Mr Miles’ expertise. He will liaise with the clerk, who will contact councillors as necessary. Updates should ideally be provided in WORD format.

Mr Miles will in future be able to advise the council of the various website-related statistics.

The chairman thanked Mr Miles for undertaking this work.

09/16 Neighbourhood Planning: Cllr Clink reported that the inspection process is taking longer than expected. But as no election will be required in our area, this is less significant. It will be important to ensure the referendum in late summer / autumn is well supported – publicity via council website.

As the plan has now been submitted, it will be taken into account when future development is considered, even though it will not carry the same force as an agreed plan.

7. Matters to be resolved:

02/23 Consider how best to make use of Cllr Hill’s offer of 2 days labour: Cllrs Walsingham & Fowler had met a representative of LCC and discussed the work proposed. The re-concreting of the pump was considered too problematic to be undertaken. (Cllr Cook was requested to assess what is involved).

Laxton’s Lane: a car/s has been driven part way down the lane and earth moved from the banks to the centre of the lane. This is to be removed. Shovels and waste bags will need to be provided.

The team can assemble the shelves for the bookcases in the phone box, provided the timber is supplied ready cut.

A small group will be convened to discuss the matter in detail (Cllrs Walsingham & Andrew + ?).

The work is expected to be carried out “before the summer holidays”.

06/23 Tree Survey – report: The clerk had obtained 3 quotes for the work defined in the recent inspection report. This included a climbing inspection and affixing missing tags. It was agreed unanimously to accept the lowest quote of £300 + £60 VAT = £360. There will be a re-inspection fee of £60 when the work has been carried out.

16/23 Local Council Elections: All who stood were nominated had been accepted without an election. There is still one vacancy to be filled by co-option. To be advertised on the website.

20/23 Register of Rights of Access across The Green: As requested, the clerk had consulted the Land Registry for all properties identified as bordering The Green. She had obtained copies of the Land Registry initial entry for those properties where ‘easements’ or Restrictive Covenants had been indicated. Following a layman’s examination of the documents, no specific access rights had been determined – but the documents should be examined by someone with relevant expertise to confirm this.

The clerk was requested to consult the Land Registry entry for The Green itself and obtain copies of the entries and plans available. A budget of £20 was agreed unanimously for this.

27/23 Request for undergrounding work on The Green: The council debated the legality of allowing work on The Green. Cllr Cook will further research the relevant legislation.

National Grid agreed to provide the council with plans for where that are currently hoping to lay the cables. It is not clear why this was not done when the work was originally considered. It is anticipated that National Grid will give permission for the plans and accompanying explanation to be shared with residents via the web site.

The preference is to lay cables under a verge rather than under the carriageway; it is difficult to re-instate the tarmac surface to an acceptable level. National Grid was requested to consider locating the cable under the southern verge of the A151. This would obviate the need to affect The Green.

The Green is problematic for many reasons: the proximity of the trees to the road (no TPOs are required because the trees are protected by being within a conservation area); the legal status and restrictions of a Village Green.

Cllr Fowler proposed to authorise the chairman to make a decision, once the plans have been provided. This was not seconded.

Cllr Cook proposed that permission for work to be carried out on The Green by National Grid be refused until the plans could be considered. This was seconded by Cllr Clink. Agreed by a majority (4 for, 3 abstentions). Once the plans are received, if necessary, an EGM can be called to agree the way forward. This requires 3 working days’ notice. Cllr Cook will circulate the relevant legislation for councillors to review.

The cable will be laid at a depth of 1m. Cllr Harwood asked about utilities supplying properties on Bourne Road. National Grid has plans of the location of these, but if a connection not on the plan is encountered, the council was reassured that national Grid will make good.

See also Open Forum.

8. Reports from:

Planning: to consider planning applications received prior to & after publication of the agenda:

S22/1002 The Presbytery – Appeal – No comments.

Greens Working Group:

07/21 Playground Equipment Maintenance:

Playground Inspections: Have been taking place on a regular basis. Cllrs to ensure records are up to date.

Swing uprights: Upon investigation Cllr Cook found that adjustments are needed for the uprights to fit the anchors snugly. They will be manufactured next week and Cllr Cook hopes to fit & test them before the next meeting. Some damage to the bottom of the uprights of the other swings was reported. To be monitored.

Picnic Bench: Alan Greetham had shown an interest in refurbishing this with oak. Although plastic is arguably less attractive, it does have the advantage of requiring little or no maintenance. Cllr Cook will continue to investigate.

9. Payments and Accounts

(i) Bank balances – monthly update approved unanimously as set out below.

(ii) Invoices for payment – Councillors resolved by a majority (6 for, 1 abstention) to approve payments as set out in schedule below.

10. Matters to be further discussed at this meeting:

19/22 Use of S106 funds from DWH development / residents’ consultation:

Cllr Lamming had asked for suggestions at the Warm Space meetings, but no further ideas were forthcoming. The clerk reviewed the ideas from the previous meeting. Some research has been done. Still awaiting a price for the Barleycroft Footpath lighting from Cllr Hill.

The Allison Homes representative was asked if they have details of traffic calming measures which have been provided via S106 funds associated with other developments, and please to email them to the clerk.

Cllr Robins was asked how long the funds remain available – he will confirm. He also suggested that a ‘steering’ group or similar be set up to determine and evaluate options for the use of the S106 funds.

56/22 Emergency Planning: Deferred til next meeting.

04/23 Celebration of King Charles III coronation: The application for lottery funding was not successful. A further meeting is scheduled for Saturday April 15^th 2023. Mr Miles to put the poster on the web site; Cllr Walsingham to promote this via Next Door.

Flyers are planned for all households in the village (perhaps combined with a possible Sheep Fair flyer). Allison Homes kindly offered to help support the flyer. Cllr Lamming and Mr Astley plan to invite people identified during covid personally to the events.

Road Closure signs will be needed for The Big Lunch – Cllr Robins to see if any available from SKDC. (Note – CGPC could eventually purchase their own using S106 funds.)

Cllr Harwood’s paddock will be open throughout the weekend for parking if required.

11/23 Empty plinth by War Memorial ideas: Deferred til next meeting.

14/23 Town & Parish Community Fund: To be discussed at next meeting.

17/23 Refurbishment of Market Place: To be covered by S106 funding.

19/23 Grants & Donations Policy: A draft policy had been emailed to councillors. Cllr Fowler queried the purpose of the policy. This was explained as providing a transparent framework for decision making when funding / donations were requested from the Council. Cllr Fowler felt that common sense was adequate in these circumstances. The council voted by a majority to accept the policy (6 for, 1 against).

21/23 Businesses open as usual signs: Needed when a road is closed. Not available on their own from SKDC.

22/23 Potential effect of ‘new’ homes on traffic within the village: Clerk to respond to resident – council sympathises with her concerns and had raised this issue during the planning process.

23/23 New Row retaining wall: Next meeting.

24/23 Tanners Lane ditch: Next meeting.

25/23 Barleycroft – Pridmore footpath surface: Next meeting.

26/23 Pothole reporting: Next meeting

28/23 War Memorial, letters missing: Next meeting.

29/23 Leaflet with Telephone contacts (Anglian Water, Electric board etc.) & map of village with street names:
The question of the production of a suitable map of the village to be discussed at the September meeting.

30/23 Street lighting, Coronation Road not working: It is not clear whether these street lights are the responsibility of LCC or SKDC. Cllr Robins is liaising with Cllr Hill to resolve the situation.

11. Next meeting:

The next regular meeting will take place on Wed 10^th May 2023 at 7.00pm in the Willoughby Gallery, Corby Glen

Meeting closed at 9.02pm.                                                                                                            Mrs. Sue Woodman – Parish Clerk

Action Log 12^th April 2023