Harmston Parish Council Clerk to the Parish Council Mrs G. Dixon, Bumble Bee Cottage, Vicarage Lane, Harmston, Lincoln LN5 9SL Tel: 07904022702 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.harmston.info

MINUTES OF HARMSTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT HARMSTON MEMORIAL HALL.

Tuesday 19th January 2016 at 7.30 pm

Meeting 5 of the 2015/16 year

Present

Frances Mannsåker, Chair John Martin-Hoyes, Vice Chair Iain Edgar Jonathan Chaplin Anita Fox Brian Hamilton Mark Jones

M A Overton, County Councillor L Conway, District Councillor – arrived at the meeting at 8.05pm

Gail Dixon, Clerk to the Council

One member of the public and PC Hanson

1 Open Forum

One resident attended to draw the Council’s attention to his objections to the planning application of 2 Farm Cottage, Church Lane, Harmston. Planning ref no:15/1506/HOUS. He left a copy of his letter of objection. The Chair thanked him for coming and noted that Council would be discussing the application later in the meeting.

The Council meeting then opened at 7.45pm

2 Apologies

Apologies had been sent by Cllr. Laura Conway stating she would be late.

3 Notice of the death of Edward Hennell – Past Chair of HPC.

The current Chair wished to have Mr Hennell’s death noted in the Minutes as he served the Parish Council for over 25 years. The Council would send a letter of condolence to the family.

4 Police Report

PC Hanson reported that there had been no crime in Harmston since the last meeting.

In response to the Council’s previous concerns over vehicles using Blacksmiths Lane and Vicarage Lane as a ‘rat run’ to avoid the Church Lane traffic lights, he confirmed that the police would do a formal traffic check at an appropriate time. The police would then write to the owners of any vehicles found to be doing this, warning them that this was an offence. This would be followed up by a further traffic check and any second offender would be prosecuted. He would also attend the Waddington Parish Council meeting to draw attention to the Harmston issue, as RAF officers attended that meeting.

The Council welcomed this action warmly as a very positive and supportive outcome of a long- standing problem.

PC Hanson left the meeting at 7.45pm.

5 Reports from County and District Councillors

Cllr M Overton raised her concerns over the proposed closure of the Leadenham tip. It was a well-maintained, busy local asset; its closure would save only £25,000 pa, but could result in more fly-tipping and increased traffic to the Lincoln site, which itself is almost at full capacity. With the planned increase in housing in the area, she argued it would be better to maintain the tip. After some discussion, Councillors agreed to lend their support to the campaign to keep the tip open as a valuable community service used by Harmston residents.

On the Local Government Boundary Commission, Cllr Overton expressed her concern that the proposal splits the cliff villages up, noting that this was a matter Harmston had already raised with other Cliff Village Councils. She has drafted a proposal arguing against this. The Chair noted that this would be discussed later in the meeting.

Cllr Overton also commented on new rules that are coming in for the whole of the planning system. She encouraged Councillors to attend relevant consultation meetings where anyone is allowed three minutes to put their point of view; there is one scheduled on March 14th at 10.am.

Cllr Overton left the meeting at 8pm.

Cllr Laura Conway arrived at 8.05pm

Cllr Conway reported that currently all responses to the Further Draft of the Central Local Plan were being collated. A report summarising the main issues raised during the consultation was presented at the recent meeting of the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee, which took place on the 18th January. The report can be viewed as part of the agenda pack on the NKDC website, and can be viewed here: https://nkdc.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=729&MId=6227&Ver=4

The Final Draft is expected to go out for consultation in April and May, with submission for Examination in June. If successful, to Plan will be adopted by the end of 2016.

NKDC will be holding two Council Tax Consultation Events to explain the financial framework in which the Council is operating, and to seek the views of local residents on the Budget. These events are taking place at 7pm on January 25th in the Council Chamber at the NKDC Offices in and on February 4th at the Terry O’Toole Theatre in . All residents are welcome to attend and take part in the Consultation. Cllr Conway strongly encouraged residents to attend, as the sessions were extremely informative and enable residents to meet and question senior Officers and Members.

Cllr Conway left the meeting at 8.25pm.

6 Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The notes of the previous meeting (3rd November 2015) had been distributed to Council members. Cllr J Chaplin, seconded by Cllr A Fox, proposed that they be accepted as Minutes. Agreed

7 Actions undertaken since the previous meeting

Cllrs had been provided with a list of actions that had been undertaken since the last meeting:  New laptop purchased for Clerk/Office use  Harmston’s name added to the Cliff Parish Councils’ joint objection to the Fulbeck Wind Farm proposal  Cllr MJ arranged for a qualified electrician to inspect the connection for the Christmas tree lights and has confirmed all is now safe for use  SID set up on Blacksmiths Lane to monitor traffic both ways from 22.11.15 for two weeks, then transferred to Vicarage Lane. The data will be downloaded for analysis by Parish Clerk when survey completed. As a preliminary example of findings, between 4.00pm and 4.30pm on 08.12.15, 36 vehicles passed of which 12 were over 30mph and 11 over 40mph.  Chair wrote to LCC Highways over the possibility of speed bumps on Vicarage and/or Blacksmiths Lane. Unfortunately, Highways are only doing essential maintenance at present, while awaiting re-organisation in April 2016; they are unable to do more, including traffic management projects, because of budget cuts, but will note our concerns for consideration post-restructure.  Clerk has asked Aubourn Clerk for details of Aubourn’s ‘slow down’ wheelie bin sticker initiative  Chair has also written to PC Hanson to enquire about a greater police presence on Blacksmiths Lane at busy times for deterrence, but has received no reply  Chair has written to RAF Waddington station commander about personnel using Blacksmiths Lane as a rat run to avoid the traffic lights. At the same time, she raised the issue of the works access for the airfield being onto the A607  Harmston’s submission in response to the draft Central Lincolnshire Local Plan was completed in full and on time; this followed the proposed response as set out in the paper submitted to the November meeting. No further representations had been received from village residents.  Nina Camm Environment Manager for NK is continuing to try to find a solution to the wheelie bins left in public space at the top of School Lane.  The Clerk has been informed that the dog litter bins need re-positioning as they are set at the wrong height. Two will be remover, as previously agreed, and those remaining will be re-positioned by Acorn Maintenance.  Cllr AF looked into possible grants for funding the play area and, with a little help from the Chair, has made a formal application to WREN on the Council’s behalf. The outcome of this will be known in April.  The annual event for the lighting up of the Harmston Christmas Tree was very successful, with a strong attendance and many compliments received afterwards. Many thanks go to Cllrs IE, JC, MJ and BH and the Clerk for all their work in making it so successful, including setting up and decorating the tree, arranging the refreshments and hosting the event.  Following the failure of the old lights after the ceremony, a new set of good quality tree lights was purchased and used for the remaining time.

The Chair noted she had attended the Harmston Memorial Hall Committee meeting on 14th January. There was a proposal to hold another summer Harmston Day in late July, in co-operation with the Parish Council and the Church, which he hoped members would support. Improvements to the Hall’s facilities were on-going.

8 Financial Matters

a) A current statement of account, together with a bank reconciliation, was noted b) Outstanding invoices:

Payable to Reason Amount 17.11.15 Lalc Cllrs training day lunch £7.50 08.12.15 F Mannsaker Reimbursement for new Xmas Tree Lights £126.00 20.12.15 G Dixon Reimbursement New Lap top & Office £75.24 essentials 01.01.16 EON Electricity supply quarter Oct-Dec £306.35

Cllr B Hamilton, seconded by Cllr I Edgar, proposed that all invoices to be paid. Agreed.

Cheque payments made since the previous meeting were noted:

28.12.15 Acorn Maintenance – last payment for 2015 £392.50 11.01.15 HMRC Clerks Q3 £121.80 08.01.16 EON 2 invoices combined - £142.13 + £28.16 £170.29

c) The Petty Cash report for the period September to November The report showed that £167.97 was spent on food, drink and sundries for the Christmas Lights event. The Clerk requested a cheque to bring petty cash back up to £200. Agreed.

d) Donation request from the Church for grass cutting. A letter from the Church was read out requesting a donation of £420 towards the cost of grass cutting. Cllr I Edgar, Seconded by Cllr A Fox, proposed that the Council pay the donation. Agreed.

e) Annual donation towards the maintenance of Harmston Park. New Cllrs queried what the payment was for, and it was explained that the Council had for some time made a contribution to the upkeep of the recreation areas as these were used by all Harmston residents. Cllr Fox asked that the Clerk formally request a breakdown of how the money is spent before the annual payment is made, as a review would be timely. Agreed

f) Precept – finalising the budget for the financial year 2016/17 The Clerk produced budget calculations of between 0% - 10% to set the precept, on the basis of an estimated expenditure for 2016/17 of £12,281.66. The Tax Base (band D homes) had increased slightly from last year to £290.35 but as expected the Council tax support grant 2016/17 had been reduced to £79.34. It was noted that Harmston’s precept was significantly lower than other Cliff Villages, as the Council had traditionally been careful to keep costs low. However, the Council also had to ensure it had enough funds to fulfil its responsibilities and costs were increasing.

After careful consideration, Councillors agreed to increase the precept by a 6 to 1 majority. The Chair proposed, seconded by Cllr M Jones, that the precept be increased by 2% and this was agreed by a similar 6 to 1 majority. The 2016/17 precept will therefore be set at £11,905.00.

All Cllrs expressed their concern with the rising EON costs. The Clerk has made enquiries about the feasibility of opting back into the Council controlled footway lighting scheme. NKDC are sending details over but the Council would be unable to opt back in until 2017.

It was agreed that any surplus in 2015/16 financial year was to be earmarked for the new play area.

g) Santander Shares. The sale of all the shares totalling £344.44 were cashed in August 2015 and the money earmarked for the new play area. The Clerk has however received a statement saying that there is £4.60 remaining in the account. The Clerk is to write to enquire.

9 Matters for Consideration

a) The Annual review of effectiveness of Internal Audit The Council is required to annually review the effectiveness of both its systems of internal control and internal audit. Following discussion and assessment of the current internal control systems and the introduction of the extended audit programme in 2010, members are satisfied that the systems in place are effective and meet requirements.

b) Response to Local Government Boundary Commission The Chair reported that she had examined the recommendations from the Electoral Commission over the shape of governance for Lincolnshire. For the most part, it seemed very sensible: the reduction in number of County Councillors and the principle of one member one division was straightforward.

There is a problem with the divisions as proposed, however. One of their objects is, in the words of the covering letter "the pattern of divisions should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities", and again, in the words of the summary proposals, that they should "reflect community interests and identities and include evidence of community links". But the actual proposals ignore the community of the Lincoln Edge and split the Cliff Villages into four separate divisions. This was particularly problematic for Harmston and Coleby, which were put into the Potterhanworth division, despite having no transport, shopping, education or other community links with the bulk of that division.

It was agreed that the Chair write of these concerns in response.

c) Village Play Area. Cllr I Edgar and the Chair met with Peter Sowerby in November and he approved the plans for the new play area; he also kindly agreed to fence the area when it had been installed. He has subsequently confirmed his support in writing.

The Chair looked into the cost of artificial turf, and reported that this would add an extra £10,000.

Cllr A Fox has applied for a grant from WREN for the remainder of the money needed for the new play area, based on the Option 3 estimate, but without artificial turf. As successful applicants will not be notified until April, Cllr Fox is also exploring the BIFFA grants.

It was noted that Peter Sowerby will re-use some of the old play equipment at his site and the area will be re-grassed.

Another leaflet updating all residents on how the play area is progressing will be distributed in spring.

d)Lighting on Vicarage Lane The Clerk has had correspondence from EON stating that a street light on Vicarage Lane has a damaged supply box and the lantern and bracket are rusty and need replacing. The cost for this work is £550 + VAT. The cost to disconnect and remove the light would be £184 + VAT.

Cllrs agreed that the cost of replacing the lantern was very expensive. They also considered the lighting was excessive and inappropriate for a country village, being that commonly used in urban areas and on major roads. It was agreed to look into reducing the number of lights and replacing them with more appropriate footpath lighting as a longer term goal.

Residents will be canvassed for their opinions before any final decision is taken.

10 Planning Applications during the period November – January ‘16

34 Thorold Way Planning ref no: 15/1408/HOUS This application had been approved by NKDC 2 Farm Cottage, Church Lane, Harmston Planning ref no: 15/1506/HOUS As this affected Cllr A Fox, she stepped out down from the meeting whilst the planning application was discussed.

Cllrs examined the plans and noted that the application was for a very large extension that overwhelmed the plot and would not be in keeping with its surroundings. It might also have an adverse effect on the properties on either side. It was agreed that the Council would oppose the application.

11 Correspondence

A schedule of correspondence received from November to January had been distributed. The Clerk read out a letter from The Salvation Army thanking HPC for the donation of £100 at the Christmas Tree Lights event. 12 Matters to be Raised at the Next Meeting

a) Progress on the play area

b) Harmston Day proposals

13 Date for the next meeting

TUESDAY 15th March 2016 at 7.30pm

The Chair thanked all who attended and closed the meeting at 9.10pm

……………………. …………………… Chair Date

Harmston Parish Council