MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 12 DECEMBER 2017 AT 7.00PM IN THE STANHOPE HALL

In the chair: Councillor Burbidge

Present: Councillors Aron, Birchall, Lamb, Lechler, F Martin, J Martin, Moore, Roark and Stott

In attendance:  A Bushell - Town Clerk  4 members of the public  J Fieldhouse - Horncastle News  N Wass - PCSO

Public participation: A member of the public spoke about LCC’s gritting routes for the town and handed out maps showing the routes for Horncastle, Lincoln and . The resident queried why Grantham and Lincoln had twice as many roads gritted than Horncastle. He commented that the town had grown but the gritting route had not changed, and he appealed for the Town Council to make representation to LCC Highways to bring Horncastle in line with larger towns in the county. The resident suggested the roads that should be added to the gritting route for Horncastle. Cllr Aron responded by stating that 4 gritting lorries left the local depot and they prioritised A and B roads. They were currently at full capacity, so in order to add new roads some of the existing roads would need to be removed from the route. A Foundry Street resident spoke about the parking issues in Foundry Street and thanked the Council for the e-mail correspondence that she had received on this matter. She informed the Council that residents had not been made aware of the changes to the car park at the fire station as stated by Fire and Rescue. A member of the public informed the Council that he felt that the Joseph Banks Centre needed to be better advertised because it was an asset to the town, and half of residents were no aware that the Tourist Information Centre was located there. The Town Council was asked to encourage more knowledge of who Joseph Banks was and his connection to the town because it was not well understood. The resident was informed that the Joseph Banks Centre was represented at the Horncastle Together meetings, and there were lots of other opportunities for the Joseph Bank centre to promote itself, one of which was the new Horncastle Matters Community magazine. Cllr F Martin agreed to suggest to ELDC that it paid for an advert to promote the Tourist Information Centre in the next issue of the Horncastle Matters magazine. It was suggested that the Joseph Banks Centre should be promoting itself in the magazine too.

121. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS Cllr Burbidge reported that he had attended the launch of the Horncastle Matters Community magazine, and the Church Christmas Tree Festival since the previous meeting. He mentioned that there had been a good turnout on Sunday at the Christmas Festival, despite the weather.

122. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND REASONS GIVEN Apologies with reasons given were received and accepted from Councillors Williams and Wilkinson. ELDC Cllr Campbell-Wardman had also sent apologies.

123. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS AND DISPENSATIONS No declarations of interest or requests for dispensations were received.

124. TO ADOPT A NEW CODE OF CONDUCT AS RECOMMENDED BY THE PERSONNEL & FINANCE COMMITTEE

PROPOSED, SECONDED AND RESOLVED unanimously to adopt the new Code of Conduct recommended by the Personnel & Finance Committee.

125. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS HELD ON 14 NOVEMBER 2017 MOVED, SECONDED AND RESOLVED (unanimously): that the minutes of the meeting held on 14 November were approved and signed as a true record of the meetings.

126. REPORTS FROM THE CLERK AND COUNCILLORS ON MATTERS OUTSTANDING Members noted the following list of outstanding matters: Remaining from September meeting

Issue Action Notes Larkfleet Community Apply for a grant towards replacing a Estates agreed amount to Fund piece of play equipment in Coronation seek funding for. Walk park Update Town Council To include photographs of councillors and Website has been website to include members of staff on the Town Councillors updated. photographs of page of the website. There are 4 councillors Councillors and Councillors were asked to supply the without photos, and 5 members of staff Clerk with a photograph of themselves. councillors without information about themselves. Remaining from November meeting

Issue Action Notes Subscription to To take an annual subscription to the Subscription paid, and first Horncastle News Horncastle News newspaper paper was due on 6th December, however vouchers were not received in time and Clerk ended up having to purchase the paper again, and reclaim the cost back from Johnston Publishing.

127. FINANCIAL MATTERS a. To approve future and retrospective payments and note income received by the Council RESOLVED that: the following payments be approved: i) Payments to be made: Recipient Detail Amount ELDC Election costs - Thursday 14th September £6,168.47 Jackson Buildbase Maintenance Supplies £259.65 * Westwood Computer Set up of Server and computer security in TC Services office in preparation of GDPR £137.50 Achurch & Sons Maintenance supplies £24.50 * Page Paper Stationery & ink cartridges £39.30 * Staff Wages - December £3,901.76 LCC Pension Fund Pension contributions - December £1,240.25 HMRC PAYE & NI contributions - December £634.10 Petty Cash Top up petty cash £25.00 Lights4Fun/A Bushell Christmas lights for trees at the library £45.66 Edmundson Electrical Christmas lights £780.00 * J.T. Friskney Spanner £8.99 * Cllr Bill Aron Travel allowance claim - CCTV meeting £16.65 Links2Lincs EPC at Cemetery Lodge £70.00

Parish Magazine Printing 12 copies of Neighbourhood Development Plan £77.24 Work boots £57.81 Stuart Goodacre Travel allowance claim - November £53.55 Cross street, Column lights & anchor point Gala Lights testing £11,214.00 * Cllr Brian Burbidge Travel allowance - Mayoral duties £24.75 E-on Electricity at Cemetery Lodge £150.86 # British Gas Gas at Cemetery Lodge £151.72 # G.L Clarke & Son Diesel for lawnmower £45.54 # Welton Garden Services Grass verge cutting £600.00 * Traffic Management Traffic Management for Remembrance Day Services Parade £1,176.00 Water & Sewerage charges at the Allotment Wave toilet £11.97 Water & Sewerage charges at the Allotment Wave gardens £41.94 Firestop Servicing of the fire extinguishers £115.62 * Askew Carpets New carpets at the Cemetery Lodge £1,924.80 * Horncastle Matters Contribution to issue 1 of Community Magazine £200.00 E Farrington Allotment Deposit Refund £45.00 ii) retrospective payments: Recipient Detail Amount Vodafone Mobile phone contract £17.10 * E-on Electricity at the allotment toilet £8.95 # Post Office Stamps (petty cash payment) £3.04 EKM Ltd Repairs to Play equipment at Coronation Walk park £502.49 * Johnston Publishing Annual subscription to the Horncastle News £41.60 Key cut for Town Council office (petty cash Locks & Leather payment) £5.00 * Tesco Light bulbs for cemetery lodge (petty cash payment) £10.25 * Mr D Birchall Cable ties for Christmas trees £57.52 Molly Maid Cleaning of Cemetery Lodge £364.00 * Fillingham Trees Christmas trees £1,128.00 * District Planning application fee Council £192.50 Atkinson Arb Tree work £1,050.00 Banovallum Brass Donation for Remembrance Parade £50.00 Royal British Legion Donation for Remembrance Parade £40.00 * These payments include VAT at 20% which will be reclaimed from HMRC. # These payments include VAT at 5% which will be reclaimed from HMRC. iii) Fund Transfers Details Reason Amount From deposit account to To move money into current account to cover £30,000.00 current account payments

The following payments were noted. Item Amount Cemetery fees £1,546.00 Cemetery Lodge Rent £400.00 CBF fund £25.25 VAT refund £2,937.57 Bank interest £43.18 Christmas trees £520.00 Horncastle Timebank donation £306.58 HWMC donation towards Remembrance Parade costs £300.00

128. DRAFT 2018/19 BUDGET PRODUCED BY THE PERSONNEL & FINANCE COMMITTEE Councillors received the draft budget and a recommendation from the Personnel & Finance Committee that the 2018/19 precept should go up by 2%. The Clerk ran through the changes to budget items that were being proposed by the Estates Management and the Personnel & Finance Committees. The draft budget was received without any questions. Councillors were reminded that the budget would be formally adopted and the precept set at the Town Council meeting in January.

129. UPDATE ON THE FOUNDRY STREET PARKING ISSUE; AND TO CONSIDER WHAT IF ANY ACTION THE TOWN COUNCIL WILL TAKE OR RECOMMEND TO ELDC, LCC OR THE RESIDENTS OF THE STREET Councillors received a report which included clarification from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue on the new car park at the Fire Station in Foundry Street, the response from ELDC sent to a Foundry Street resident regarding an enquiry about a resident’s parking permit scheme, and a list of alternative solutions to address the parking issues which had been suggested by Cllr Stott. The Clerk reported that Highways had confirmed that the request to look at whether additional parking spaces could be created on the street by the removal of double yellow lines or marking out new parking bays had been added to the list of areas to be looked at, but Highways were unable to confirm the timescales for doing this. The Highways Officer had taken a quick look at the street and they felt that there was scope to reduce the length of the traffic restrictions and increase the number of parking bays. Cllr F Martin confirmed that she had spoken with ELDC about resident’s parking permit schemes and she explained why ELDC wouldn’t look at a permit scheme for Foundry Street. It was acknowledged that the main parking issue on Foundry Street was that there simply wasn’t enough parking spaces, therefore a permit scheme wouldn’t resolve this. Cllr Burbidge suggested that this was an item that should be brought up at a Highways Cluster meeting, but since it had been agreed that Cluster meetings would only take place annually then it would not be that helpful. AGREED that Cllr Aron would speak with the Highways Officer and try and find out how many more spaces would be created by reducing the length of the traffic restrictions and marking out more parking bays; and the timescales for doing this.

130. NOTES FROM COMMITTEE MEETINGS a. Personnel & Finance Committee on 30th November RECEIVED with no comments b. Planning & Development Committee on 4th December Cllr Burbidge summarised the meeting, and he gave an update report on the Langton Hill development by Cyden Homes. The notes were RECEIVED. c. Estates Management Committee on 5th December RECEIVED with no comments

131. TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE BRIDGE ACROSS THE OLD RIVER BAIN TO BANOVALLUM CARR FOLLOWING A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE ESTATES MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Councillors received a report containing additional information about the bridge and a recommendation by the Estates Management Committee. PROPOSED, SECONDED AND RESOLVED (unanimously) to: a) Receive the donated funds raised by Horncastle Walkers are Welcome; b) Purchase the bridge to enable the VAT to be reclaimed and therefore reduce the cost of the bridge; c) Take ownership and future maintenance responsibility for the bridge

132. REVIEW OF THE 2017 REMEMBRANCE PARADE EVENT AND TO CONSIDER WRITING TO ABOUT THE 2018 EVENT

Cllr Stott declared an interest and left the meeting at 7.40pm.

Councillors received a report on the 2017 event and suggestions for improving the 2018 event which had been made at a debrief meeting attended by representatives of the Royal British Legion, Horncastle War Memorial Centre, St Mary’s Church and the Town Council. It was acknowledged that the event had gone well and the new route had been a success. It was pointed out that next year’s Remembrance Parade might be a bigger event because 2018 is the 100 year anniversary of the end of WW1, and a couple of groups in the town had started thinking about events to mark the anniversary. Councillors were reminded that it had been suggested at November’s meeting about writing to Lincolnshire Police to ask if they would consider providing Police support at next year’s event, but in 2016 Lincolnshire Police had announced that they would not be providing Police support at Remembrance Parades from 2017 onwards. The Clerk explained that even if the Police were to provide support, the Town council would still need to apply for a Temporary Traffic Restriction Order (TTRO) and provide advanced warning signs in order to comply with the TTRO, which would be an additional cost, although it was acknowledged that once the signs were purchased they could be used for many events. It was also pointed out that if there was a major incident then the Police would need to leave, so a road closure implemented by a Traffic Management Company offered more reassurance. PROPOSED, SECONDED AND RESOLVED unanimously to write to the Lincolnshire Police and Marc Jones, the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner to ask if they would offer Police support with the Road closure at the 2018 Remembrance Parade.

Cllr Stott returned to the meeting.

133. REPORTS FROM THE POLICE, DISTRICT COUNCILLORS AND COUNTY COUNCILLOR PCSO Wass wished everyone a merry Christmas. He commented that the Festival on Sunday had gone well and was a credit to the town. It had been a quiet December so far so he didn’t have much to report. An issue of a group of youths showing no respect for traffic safety was mentioned, and PCSO Wass explained that the local policing team did speak with youths and offer advice about keeping safe. He was not aware of this issue recently but would have a quiet word with the youths if he saw them in the town.

District Councillor Martin had nothing further to update from the last meeting. ELDC was currently busy preparing budgets.

County Councillor Aron reported that LCC had had its initial budget briefing which would go out to stakeholders in January. The Lincolnshire Fairer Funding campaign was going well and would be debated in parliament. A scrutiny review on part street lighting was currently underway, and improvements to the highways fault reporting portal would come into effect in January. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue had taken over two response vehicles with pumps on- board, and the blue light collaboration was going on throughout the county. The first briefing session on the coastal highway was due to take place next month. The new building going up at the highways depot in Hemingby Lane was a salt barn. Gritting routes and outstanding highways issues were discussed, and it was suggested that a letter be sent to highways about long standing highways issues, and the gritting of Mareham Road.

134. REPORT FROM THE CCTV PARTNERSHIP REPRESENTATIVES FOLLOWING A MEETING HELD WITH THE OTHER TOWNS IN THE PARTNERSHIP, AND RECENT DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PREVIOUS CCTV CONTRACTOR; AND TO AGREE THE NEXT COURSE OF ACTION Cllr Aron had produced a report which he read out. Cllr F Martin confirmed that at every ELDC Overview meeting an update on CCTV was received, and as far as she understood it the issues

with BT had been resolved. It was also reported that ELD Cllr Marsh was disappointed that a representative from ELDC had not been invited to the meeting of representatives from the CCTV Partnership held in November. The ELDC Overview Committee had requested a visit to the Boston Control Centre, and it had been assured that the number of people monitoring the cameras was within the guidelines. Concerns were raised about the warranty of the new cameras and whether they were still up to date since they were purchased 18 months ago. A letter had been sent from the CCTV Partnership to ELDC to ask for the installation to be temporarily put on hold until representatives had a chance to speak to their councils and agree the next course of action, the Clerk was asked to get a copy of this letter. PROPOSED, SECONDED AND RESOLVED (unanimously) to: a) Write to ELDC to ask for confirmation of a completion date for the installation of the new cameras on the digital system, and to also ask for assurance about the quality of the cameras and whether they were still within their warranty period. b) Not pay the CCTV invoice from ELDC until the promised level of service is received and all the issues have been addressed Cllr F Martin also agreed to ask ELDC about the cameras.

135. UPDATES FROM REPRESENTATIVES The following reports were received: Horncastle Together: There had been a meeting on 30th November, and Horncastle History and Heritage Society had updated the meeting on their plans to promote the town with interpretation boards located around the town. Stanhope Hall: Details were given about recent events that had taken place in the hall. Stanhope Hall had participated in the Christmas tree scheme by having 6 trees, it currently had a healthy bank balance, and the hall had been offered as a venue to host events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1. Surgery: The surgery which took place on 18th November hadn’t been that well attended, but the majority of people who had stopped and spoken to councillors had been positive with a couple of compliments being received about the improvements to the town by the Council’s Estates team. The Chairman mentioned the letter which appeared in the previous week’s Horncastle News complimenting the Town Council’s staff who were tidying up the town, and the Clerk was asked to feedback to the Estates Supervisor and the Estates Assistant that they were doing a fantastic job. A comment had been received about a lack of signage at the short stay Market Place car park to show where long stay car parks are; and Cllr F Martin agreed to feed this comment back to ELDC. Comments had also been received about Street Lighting and ways to advertise the markets. Christmas Lights: All the lights were up and were looking good. The Chairman read out an e- mail from a visitor to the town complimenting the town’s lights.

136. UPDATE ON HORNCASTLE PROJECTS An update report was provided to councillors. It was confirmed that a meeting had been scheduled to discuss the large project to provide a recreation area for teenagers, and the 6 new planters that had been approved by the Estates Committee would be arriving at the end of the week.

137. UPDATE ON THE NEW BURIAL LAND A report was received which contained an update on the estimated costs of the new burial land, and proposed changes to the wording of a couple of the Heads of Terms for the sale of the land, by LCC. AGREED to note the report and accept the changes to the wording proposed by LCC.

138. CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED SINCE THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING The following correspondence was considered: From Regarding Action

Victoria Atkins MP Response to letter sent to her about the Fairer Scanned in & e-mailed to Funding for Lincolnshire campaign. councillors. Noted. Assistant Head at Would like to know if there are any ways the Need to suggest projects. Queen Elizabeth Town Council can suggest for students to help Grammar School out within the community during their community action days in July. Finance Business Details of the tax base for Horncastle will be Noted. Partner - Compass provided later in December, so until this figure Business Point is received the Town Council is asked to use the same tax base as notified for 2017/18. The precept request needs to be submitted to ELDC by 22nd January 2018. East Lindsey District Letter regarding a new approach to supporting E-mailed to councillors. Council businesses in East Lincolnshire Noted. Resident Complaint that the waste paper collection Noted skip/container located on Tesco’s car park is overflowing and looks an eyesore. Issue reported to ELDC, but the business that is responsible for the skip has gone into administration, so ELDC cannot do anything about it. Requested if signs can be put on the skip asking people not to leave any more paper/cardboard there. East Lindsey Application for funding To be considered at Citizens Advice January’s meeting Lincolnshire County Any Town or Parish Council wishing to enter Estates Committee already Council Highways into a formal agreement with the County approved that grass verge Council for grass cutting will receive a cutting will be organised by contribution for 2018/19 of 4.4p/m2/annum the Town Council again. LCC has been notified that the TC wants to enter into a formal agreement again, and the grant has been included in the 2018/19 budget. Lincolnshire County Advance notification of Highway Bridge works Noted. Council scheme - Slates Farm (Disused) Rail Bridge (on the A153) - 15th January - 4-6 weeks.

AGREED: that no projects for the Queen Elizabeth Grammar school community action days could be thought of at the current time, but councillors would have a think and submit any ideas to the Clerk to feedback to the school.

139. TO CONSIDER & RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING CONSULTATIONS a) Lincolnshire Schools admissions arrangements for September 2019 AGREED not to respond to the consultation. b) Scrutiny review by Lincolnshire County Council on the impact of the Part Night Street Lighting policy Councillors were provided with copies of feedback forms which had been completed by residents who had attended the Town Council surgeries. The general impression from the forms was that residents wanted the lights to remain on throughout the night. Councillors were reminded that LCC had stated in the letter about the scrutiny review that the available budget

would not allow for a wholesale reversal of the changes. Concerns were made about the accuracy of the maps provided by LCC, and the timings of the lights which turned off at 11.15- 11.30pm each night, and not midnight as stated by LCC. AGREED to inform LCC that the feedback that the Town Council had received on the lights showed that residents were prepared to pay for the lights to remain on.

140. ITEMS FOR FUTURE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING AGENDAS Councillors were provided with a list of items for future agendas. The following items were suggested and would be added to the list for January’s meeting:  To consider offering support with community events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1

The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.40pm.