July 2024 Minutes
Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir Parish Council
Minutes of a Parish Council Meeting held at Woolsthorpe Village Hall
Monday 1st July 2024 at 19.00
Present Cllr. McCallion - Chair
Cllr. Bunn Cllr. Jarvis Cllr. Packer
Julie Gillies - Clerk
Guests DC Rob Leadenham CC Mark Whittington
Graham Watts, Monitoring Officer SKDC Sarah Turtle, VPG representative
7 Parishioners
12/24 WELCOME REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR
Cllr. McCallion welcomed everyone to the meeting.
13/24 APOLOGIES: TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies had been received and were accepted from DC Pam Bosworth due to ill health.
14/24 TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCALISM ACT 2011
No declarations of Member interests in relation to agenda items were received. No requests for dispensations from Members were received.
The meeting adjourned at 19.02 for the Public Forum.
Cobleas Cemetery – discussion took place surrounding the ownership and responsibility of the water tap, Oak Tree and litter bin.
Hedges – concern was raised about overgrown hedges on the edge of public footpaths, encroaching on public footpaths and the safety of pedestrians and drivers with road signs being covered.
Hedge on Sedgebrook – a parishioner reported he had partly cleared it back and the Estate had completed the work. The Estate to be asked, by the parishioner, to remove the hedge cuttings.
Hedge from bridge to Woolsthorpe crossroads (Kirby End Cottages) – overgrown and obscuring vision for motorists. Cllr. Packer to raise the issue with the tenants if possible.
Jacob Dunne, Community Engagement Officer for Belvoir Castle, to be contacted for assistance. Allotment site – now overgrown and in a poor state.
Fix my street – issues were reported with the system.
Cllr. Leadenham stated that the closed churchyard should be the responsibility of SKDC and he would speak to the person responsible.
Signage on Cliff Road – Concern was raised at the speed of traffic and a request was made for Lincs CC to move the national speed limit sign further up the hill.
The Parish Council were advised to put the request in writing to Cllr. Whittington, copying in Cllr. Leadenham. Cllr. Whittington acknowledged the request but explained that 30mph speed limit signs could only be placed where there were houses.
Discussion took place on speed limiting solutions for this area. Cllr. Whittington to speak with the authorities once the request had been received from the Parish Council.
Cllr. Whittington explained that an Archer Survey could be conducted at this site but it had to be site specific. An Archer Survey had been requested for the Land Rover event.
Denton Parish Council offered to share the results of the Archer Survey conducted in their village. Safety issues with the pick-up location of school buses was discussed.
The meeting re-convened 19.34.
15/24 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the extraordinary Parish Council Meeting held on 4th June 2024 were agreed to be a true and accurate record and were signed by Cllr. McCallion as Chair.
16/24 Resignation of Cllr. Julie Duff and co-option to fill vacancies
Cllr. Julie Duff had resigned and her resignation was accepted.
Tribute was made to Julie Duff for her contribution to the issues of the village and Parish Council. Suggestion was made for a thank you letter to be sent to Julie Duff.
It was proposed that Simon Hardcastle-Waugh be co-opted to the Parish Council with immediate effect.
Proposed Cllr. Jarvis, Seconded Cllr. McCallion and agreed unanimously. One vacancy remained.
17/24 FINANCE
a) Resolved – To accept the bank reconciliation (appendix i)
b) Resolved – To accept 2024/25 budget to actuals (appendix i)
The Clerk was asked when the 2023 VAT reclaim would be submitted and it was explained this would be done once the final invoices had been confirmed.
18/24 Responsibilities
Playground – Cllr. Jarvis
Hedges and verges – Sue Hayle (with photographs) Finance – Cllr. Packer
Community Cleaner – Cllr. Packer
Dog mess – Sue Hayle (with photographs). Suggestion was made for more dog mess bins. Potholes – Sue Hayle (with photographs)
Speed signs – Cllr. McCallion Community Speedwatch – Cllr. Jarvis Planning – Cllr. Bunn
The meeting adjourned at 19.45
Discussion took place on the reporting and rectifying of potholes.
It was explained that Fix My Street generated a works order request so it is only the potholes reported that can be repaired.
Cllr. Whittington confirmed that there were currently no reports of potholes in Woolsthorpe on Fix My Street. It was also reported that the new system introduced by the County Council a few years ago, is working better than the previous system.
Concern was raised at the number of accidents happening in the village. The meeting re-convened at 19.55
19/24 Playground
Attempts to contact Jacob Dunne to discuss the issue, had not been successful to date.
The area behind the Village Hall was considered a safer area for the playground and would make it a whole community space.
The meeting adjourned at 20.00
Query was raised on the community orchard and the potential funding for playground facilities and a safe area for this to be situated.
The meeting re-convened at 20.04
20/24 Community Orchard
Steve Redman, parishioner, volunteered to help with this. Cllr. Jarvis to contact the Duchess to discuss the land.
21/24 SKDC land behind Hillside Road
Cllr. Leadenham reported that he had investigated this area with SKDC Head of Property Services but it had not been considered large enough to be used for the play area.
The meeting adjourned at 20.06
Query was raised on who is responsible for maintaining the track/lane. It was confirmed that SKDC were responsible. Cllr. Leadenham to raise the matter.
The meeting re-convened 20.08
22/24 Community Speed Group
The two signs and six high vis vests were on order and would be delivered to Cllr. McCallion. Cllr. Leadenham had arranged a training session to take place on Monday 15th July at Harlaxton. Posters to be put up around the village.
Currently there was one Councillor – Cllr. McCallion and five parishioners who had been trained. Cllr. Leadenham and Sarah Turtle (VPG and Denton Parish Council) were also trained.
Tracey Gwyther, parishioner, volunteered to take part in the training course.
The plan was to ensure speed checks were carried out when an event was taking place.
Cllr. Leadenham reported on a meeting to discuss the potential locations for the speed checks. David will take photographs and these would be forwarded to the police.
Posters for the training session had been put on the Parish Council Facebook page.
23/24 Vale Parish Group (VPG)
It was explained that the VPG was a group of parishes working together for the benefit of the villages. Sarah Turtle, Parish Council representative, reported on the meeting held in June:-
Forbidden Forest – a huge amount of litter had been left at the site and around the vale, after the festival, some of which remained. One of the planning conditions stipulated that litter picking should take place.
There were still some management issues with the event.
VPG have been invited to a Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which usually meet pre-event and to a sub- SAG meeting.
Complaints or praise of the festival to be sent to the licencing department of Melton Borough Council.
Children’s Homes – Belvoir Estates policy had been discussed.
Question Is there any further impact on this?
Answer Looking at Melton Borough Council document produced on Children’s Homes (Planning Guidance for Applicants of Children’s Homes). Neither SKDC nor Lincolnshire CC have this policy.
A52 at Bottesford and A52 to Barrowby – consideration being given to how the issues can be addressed. Cllr. Whittington offered his help.
Taxis - Cllr. Leadenham to meet with the licensing manager for SKDC and Melton Borough Council licensing department to discuss the considerable number of Uber taxis coming from Wolverhampton.
Concern was raised at young people getting into taxis which have no signs or registration plates. Councillors were asked to let Sarah know if there were any issues to be raised.
24/24 CHAT benches
CHAT benches were explained and due to the need for more benches in the village, it was suggested that CHAT benches would be a good idea.
The cost per bench was around £400 to purchase.
Query was raised on ownership of the bench at the bus stop. The Clerk to confirm.
A potential site was suggested and Cllr. Jarvis agreed to view the area and request a meeting with Jacob Dunne to discuss this.
Suggestion was made for a few raised beds for the community garden.
25/24 Cobleas Cemetery
Discussion took place on the issues and responsibilities queried during the Open Forum
An explanation was given to the history of the maintenance of the cemetery and the installation of the water tap for the benefit of the community.
A meeting to be arranged with the Vicar to discuss these issues. Cllr. McCallion, Cllr. Jarvis and Cllr. Packer volunteered to attend the meeting.
Cllr. McCallion to draft an email for the Clerk to send.
It was stated that the PCC needed to be more transparent on the revenue received on this site.
26/24 Items identified for next meeting
Emergency Plan – Cllr. Leadenham encouraged the completion of the form. Cobleas Cemetery
27/24 Date of next meeting
Monday 2nd September 2024 at 19.00. Cllr. Packer gave his apologies.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 20.52.