NORTH AND SOUTH WHEATLEY PARISH COUNCIL

Parish Clerk: Sara Stilliard T The Old Milking Parlour, Cottam Road, South Leverton, , Notts. DN22 0BU. . Tel: 01427 881582

www.northandsouthwheatleyvillage.co.uk.

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 12th May 2020 This meeting was held remotely via Zoom and all documents had been circulated by e-mail prior to the meeting

Present: Cllrs M Newby (Chair), R Naish; V Wilson; D Cooke; M Burton; A Parker; J Goacher; D Cartwright; C Page; J Nixon and Clerk: S Stilliard. Residents: none present Guests: DCllr James Naish

PUBLIC FORUM – none present

Address by the Chair Welcome and thank you for attending

This meeting would normally have been preceded by the Annual Parish Meeting and the PC’s AGM. However, as I informed you all last month, NALC directed that for this year (2020-21) these meetings could be either postponed or cancelled entirely. Given the current rules on social distancing I don’t think we would be able to hold a Parish Meeting until September at the earliest, and even that may not be possible, so I would propose that we cancel this year’s Annual Parish Meeting. The PC’s AGM is currently deferred until we can meet in person but if councillors are happy for Rob and me to continue as Deputy Chair and Chair then we could also cancel the AGM. I’ll take views on this.

I would like to propose a vote of thanks to the Clays Responders for the excellent work that they are doing to support the vulnerable members of our community during this period of Lock Down and in particular to Lucy Easthope and James Naish for their work in establishing and running this group. James will be giving us an update on the current status of the group later on in the meeting.

The purpose of this meeting is two-fold: • To cover off any essential PC business – we have a reduced agenda so that we can concentrate strictly on the essential items. • To allow all councillors to share views to make sure that we are fulfilling our duties and that we have not let anything slip. I note that neither Sturton nor North Leverton are meeting this month but all PCs have to meet in June to sign off the annual accounts. Depending on how social distancing rules go over the next few weeks we’ll make a decision closer to the time about whether this should be via another zoom meeting or whether we would feel safe to meet in person. Obviously it is much easier and more productive to meet in person, and I would propose that we use the VH large room so that we can maintain a safe degree of separation, but I’ll seek individual views on this closer to the time. Clerk’s note: Since the PC meeting NALC has made it clear that face to face meetings must not be held in the current circumstances therefore future meetings will be made via Zoom until further notice

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PLANNING MEETING

Apologies for Absence - none

Declarations of Interest and Confidentiality – Planning Meeting – none

New Applications – none

Old Applications awaiting decisions –

Works to Trees in a Conservation Area Consisting of Fell One Walnut Tree. Treetops Stone Lane Retford DN22 9DF Ref. No: 20/00436/CAT | Received: Thu 02 Apr 2020 | Validated: Thu 02 Apr 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

Demolish Existing Conservatory and Erect Single Storey Front, Side and Rear Extensions Conifers Sturton Road South Wheatley Retford Nottinghamshire DN22 9DL Ref. No: 20/00272/HSE | Received: Tue 03 Mar 2020 | Validated: Thu 05 Mar 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision

Installation and Operation of a Solar Farm Comprising an Array of Ground Mounted Solar PV Panels with Associated Infrastructure Including Housing for Inverters a Substation Compound, Point of Connection Mast, Fencing, Security Cameras, Cabling, Access Tracks and a Temporary Construction Compound. Land North West And South Of Field Farm Wood Lane Sturton Le Steeple Nottinghamshire Ref. No: 20/00117/FUL | Received: Tue 04 Feb 2020 | Validated: Thu 06 Feb 2020 | Status: Awaiting decision Erect Two-Bedroom Dwelling with Integral Garage ( Resubmission of P.A 19/00299/FUL) The Manor Sturton Road South Wheatley Retford Nottinghamshire DN22 9DH Ref. No: 19/01540/FUL | Received: Thu 28 Nov 2019 | Validated: Thu 28 Nov 2019 | Status: Awaiting decision

Decisions –

Erection of 29 Dwellings, Comprising of 16 Houses, 10 Apartments and 3 Bungalows Land Adjacent To The Sun Inn Low Street North Wheatley Nottinghamshire Ref. No: 20/00245/FUL | Received: Wed 26 Feb 2020 | Validated: Fri 06 Mar 2020 | Status: Rejected

One Dwelling with Detached Double Garage (Plot 1) Amendment to P/A 17/01660/FUL Land Adj Laburnum House Low Street North Wheatley Retford Nottinghamshire DN22 9DR Ref. No: 20/00036/FUL | Received: Wed 15 Jan 2020 | Validated: Fri 17 Jan 2020 | Status: Granted

Works to Trees in a Conservation Area T1 Ash Remove T2 Ash Remove T3 Conifer Remove T4 Holly Tree Remove The Rowans Stone Lane North Wheatley Retford Nottinghamshire DN22 9DF Ref. No: 20/00327/CAT | Received: Wed 04 Mar 2020 | Validated: Wed 04 Mar 2020 | Status: No Preservation order required

Other planning issues

The Solar Farm proposal – DCllr Naish gave the PC an update on this as follows:- In recent weeks, I have met with Planning Officers at Bassetlaw to discuss the progress of this application (see below extracts from an email to the Chair of Sturton Parish Council on 27/03) and with the developer to agree compensation for the development if it goes ahead. A decision is likely to be delayed slightly due to movement restrictions which have prevented the in- person completion of the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) by consultants appointed by Bassetlaw. This document is likely to take 3 weeks to complete as soon as the consultants are able to visit the site. DCllr Naish’s full report follows:- • I had a meeting with some of Bassetlaw’s Planning Team on Friday 20/02. The Chair of Planning, Cllr David Pidwell, was also present.

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• It is no surprise to planners that they are seeing applications of this size starting to land. Without significant government subsidies, the smaller solar farms have become unviable • There have been several public responses about the applicant’s proposal but not masses. I said that this is likely because local opinion was canvassed extensively last summer • The Planning Team has looked extensively at the need for a full EIA and completed an internal screening process as required by environmental legislation. They have concluded, like the developer, that a full EIA isn’t needed. This isn’t because the environmental impact of the proposal isn’t important, but because a full EIA involves engagement with the Secretary of State and will significantly increase both costs and timelines for – primarily – bureaucratic purposes. Bassetlaw believes that there is enough information provided to enable decision-making without going down this route (but acknowledges that it cannot be 100% confident that everything provided by the applicant is accurate). The applicant would likely contest producing a full EIA because of the hurdles involved, and it is likely that the Government would agree that it isn’t required in this instance. Government policy towards green energy at the moment is “the more, the better”, so there would have to be very specific reasons for requesting a full EIA which Bassetlaw’s internal screening hasn’t suggested • The Planning Team at Bassetlaw has visited the site and saw it being used by c.30 ramblers and cyclists. The Rambling Association has been consulted about the proposal but hasn’t responded yet – this is worth pursuing • Following your engagement, Notts CC has asked for permission to resubmit its response to ask for additional information about flooding impacts. This is permitted and has been explained to the applicant who apparently “didn’t bat an eyelid”. The applicant needs to demonstrate that the proposal will have “nil impact” on flooding (it doesn't have to reduce the risk but can't make it any worse). The applicant is providing further information as requested. Bassetlaw’s Planning Team doesn’t have expertise in flooding so Notts CC is expected to play a key role here • The applicant is perceived to be working effectively towards the 10% ecological enhancement which is required under current legislation. One or two third parties have raised specific questions about aspects of its plans but there aren’t expected to be any major issues for the applicant on this front • The biggest question and personal concern for Bassetlaw’s Planning Team is the visual impact. Having visited the site, they appreciate that it will have a big impact on our local area. External consultants have, therefore, been appointed to complete a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) which helps to identify the impact of developments on views / landscapes. They will make a recommendation to support or approve the application, which will likely shape Bassetlaw’s overall recommendation. This work is ongoing. Bassetlaw has contacted the applicant to say that they would like to see visual representations of the site once built and to understand the exact parameters of the solar panels that will be installed (size, how many in total, spacing between panels etc.). The applicant has provided vague responses so far but decision-making councillors will likely want to know this information, so they will need to provide it fairly soon • The application fee for this proposal was significant – several thousand pounds. Rejection will likely result in an appeal to the Secretary of State and will cost Bassetlaw money if it loses at appeal. The Planning Team, therefore, has to be confident about any decision to reject the proposal and will need at least one third party (e.g. Notts CC or the LVIA consultants) to support any rejection through the appeal stage • In terms of next steps, COVID-19 may have a key role to play. Planning Committee members – who will make the decision – would be encouraged to visit the site together but this may not be possible given current circumstances. The District Councillor, County Councillor and Parish Council will all get an opportunity to speak at the Committee meeting, as will one supporter and one opponent. A decision is required by early May, although this may be delayed given revised ways of working at the Council. I will try to stay informed about this I left the meeting with the impression that Bassetlaw understands local concerns and shares some of these, but will need strong justification to reject a green energy project. If this justification is to come from anywhere, it will likely be from the LVIA at this point. If the LVIA comes back with a

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recommendation to support the proposal, I expect Bassetlaw will make this recommendation to Committee Members and they will consider this alongside representations on the day.

SWNP steering committee – progress report / next meeting There has been significant progress with the Neighbourhood Plan during lockdown.

All three parishes have met over the past few weeks to review the “draft draft” of the revised Plan and to agree their key views, significant green gaps, local green spaces and site allocations. Final amends are being made by Helen Metcalfe and James Naish at the moment, prior to seeking approval from Steering Group members.

Once approval has been received, we will start to plan a formal public consultation in accordance with Regulation 14 of The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 – hopefully for late May or early June. During this consultation, we will be gathering the views of all stakeholders including those who live and work in Sturton Ward.

Once these views have been gathered, the Plan will be amended as necessary before being submitted to Council for examination. If there are significant amends required, a second Regulation 14 consultation would need to be considered.

BDC is very keen for the ward to have their NP in place to help planners frame a response to the likes of the recently submitted 29 house planning application Action DCllr Naish to share the Draft plan on line for early feedback The Chair proposed a vote of thanks be made to James Naish for driving the NP forward over the last few months

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

05.20.01. Apologies for Absence – none

05.20.02. Declarations of Interest and Confidentiality None declared at this stage.

05.20.03. Police Report The crimes of interest – incidents of burglary, criminal damage and thefts – reported for the beat area between 01/04/2020 and 30/04/2020 were – Burglary Other – 1 - North Wheatley. Theft from Motor Vehicle – 2 – North Leverton x2. Attempted Theft from Motor Vehicle – 2 - North Leverton x2. Criminal Damage Other – 2 – Wiseton, .

This month there have been seven reported crimes of interest across the whole beat area. This compares with seven crimes reported throughout March 2020 and four crimes in the same month last year. From 01/04/2020, there have been seven crimes of interest reported across the beat area. This compares with four reported in the same period last year. As such, at the conclusion of the first month in this tracking year, these figures equate to an increase in reported crime of three crimes.

Please continue to report crime - and incidents - through to our control room on 101, or 999 as appropriate. Even in these most difficult of times, where possible, reported crimes will be dealt with in the same way as they have always been recorded, and dealt with. Generally speaking, there has been a reduction in reported crime in the last month, or so, across the county. This is highly likely to be due to most properties being occupied throughout most of the day and night.

Nottinghamshire Police have recently started using a new system for recording incidents. As from February 2020, the Police report will include anti-social behaviour incidents only, negating other incident types from this category, such as hoax calls to the emergency services, found/ abandoned

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vehicles and wildlife/ animal issues. Again, these figures should, therefore, start to decrease but will be more accurate in relation to actual anti-social behaviour incidents on the area. However, as has been confirmed by the Force, there has been an increase in this type of incident being reported to the control room last month. The increase in reports is mainly from community members concerned that Government instructions around the Coronavirus not being adhered to. Some instances were found proven, whilst others were not. This month there have been seven reported incident of anti- social behaviour across the whole beat area. This compares with two reported incidents for March 2020 and five reported for the same month in 2019.

As the Government instructions in relation to the country’s situation runs into May, it has been noticeable that the greater majority of community members are complying with all of the guidelines. It is also evident that community groups have been set up in individual parishes to help and support older, and vulnerable, residents at this difficult time. This is very pleasing to see and I am sure is welcomed by those who are receiving this exceptional assistance. Please constantly review the Government guidelines in relation to what we are being advised to do, and not to do. Please stay safe and I look forward to seeing you when the situation gets better.

In last month’s Police report, it was mentioned that there has been a significant increase in the number of scams circulating where the intention of the scammers is predominantly to try and extract bank details from innocent victims. With the introduction of Government loans and grants to businesses to help them through this period, there are some scams out there that are trying to exploit this situation. Links from the scams put the enquirer through to what appears to be legitimate request forms. However, in many instances these are not legitimate and the purpose of the same is purely to extract personal information from the enquirer. While the Coronavirus pandemic has brought out the best in many people, there are also others trying to exploit the situation. The National Cyber Security Council (NCSC) has launched a new way of reporting suspicious e-mails. Anyone can now forward them to [email protected]. If anything is found to be malicious, the NCSC will take it down and help protect others from falling victim to scams. The service has been co developed with the City of Police. As well as taking down malicious sites, it will also help by identifying new patterns in online offending. Victims of fraud, or cybercrime, should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.police.uk

As ever, the beat team will keep an eye out to look after you and your homes. However, please continue to report suspicious persons, vehicles and activity in your local area to allow those officers on duty to attend in real time and to check out on their purpose. As you can appreciate I have a large area to Police and am trying to provide the communities with assistance and reassurance during these unprecedented times and I have been working hard and changing my shifts to try and accommodate this.

Confirmation of the Police contact numbers are as follows: - Notts Police – Non-Urgent – 101. Notts Police Urgent – 999. Mobile numbers for other non-urgent matters: PCSO Dave Airey – 07525 226838

05.20.04. Finance 05.20.04.1. Bank Reconciliation. The bank reconciliation to 28th April 2020 was approved

05.20.04.2. Accounts for Payment. The following payments were approved. S Stilliard – salary and expenses £ 417.60 Darbys Accountants – PAYE services for the year £ 60.00 Melvin Fox – new fence around the Pavilion £ 800.00 Freddie Allen – grass cutting for April £ 450.00 Action Clerk to make payments

The latest bill from Anglian Water was very high in comparison to usual quarterly bills. The Clerk will investigate why this is and chase up the new meter which has been promised – making readings easier to take. Action Clerk

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05.20.05. District Councillor Report James Naish reported an outpouring of support for residents throughout Sturton Ward and good communication with residents via leaflets which have been distributed to all homes in the ward. A NCC grant of £5,000 has been lodged with both Sturton and North Leverton PCs as statutory bodies and a Tesco bags grant of £500 is also in Sturton’s bank account and some of this will be used to pay printing expenses etc. Most will be held pending any future issues and if it is not needed it can be returned to Notts CC. So far demand for the funding has not been as high as expected. Wheatley PC is still deciding whether to apply for a similar grant to hold against future need Action DCllr Naish to find out if there is any grant funding left and whether it can be repaid if not needed

DCllr Naish’s full report follows:- There has been a very positive community response to Covid19. More than 120 people locally have volunteered as Clay Responders. The key activities have been as follows:

1. Printing information leaflets, distributed by volunteers, to ensure residents are made aware of support available to them during the pandemic. • Weekend of Friday 20th March – initial communication about Clay Responders • w/c Monday 6th April – first leaflet focusing on local services available to Sturton Ward residents • Weekend of Friday 17th April – second leaflet focusing on local services available to Sturton Ward residents, plus sunflower seeds for each house in the Ward • Weekend of Friday 1st May – leaflet about “Stay at home” VE Day celebrations • Boards have been erected in 6-8 locations in some villages in the Ward and are being updated by volunteers 2. Safely sharing books, games, plants, compost etc. between residents to encourage and promote mental well-bring. This has been offered via the Open Door office in South Wheatley. Hundreds of items have been dropped off by local residents and there has been a notable increase in people collecting items such as jigsaws, games and books over the past 7-10 days 3. Running a local food bank for the ward, following the closure of Bassetlaw Food Bank in Retford. We have received regular donations and made several direct distributions as well as general distributions to Church Close in Wheatley, Watkins Lane in Sturton and Habblesthorpe Close in North Leverton. 4. Regular phone calls are also being made to vulnerable residents by volunteers to “touch base”, although this service hasn’t been as widely used as expected.

We have so far received funding from the following sources: Notts CC - £5,000 – received by Sturton PC Notts CC - £5,000 – received by North Leverton PC Tesco - £500 – received by Sturton PC Local donations - £335 – received by the Clay Responders Just Giving page No applications have been made for Wheatley directly.

The Clay’s Responders group is working very well and many of the volunteers have not been needed as yet whereas others are regularly doing shopping / collecting medicines etc. Because the Clay’s Responders publicity is highly visible residents do know that there are people ready to help even if just someone to chat to.

It had been suggested that a driver could be paid to undertake food and medicine deliveries but there was no support for this from councillors Likewise there was little support for an ex-gracia payment to the 2 shops in the Ward when they are businesses which are at least still trading whereas many local small businesses are not able to. The PC was more sympathetic to the idea of paying for screens for example which are distress purchases to keep customers safe, but no decision was taken.

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Finally Councillors also did not want to be involved in organising games / play for children when lock down restrictions are loosened. It was thought that this should be a parent led initiative if needed at all. Action Clerk to respond to Lucy Easthope on behalf of the Chairs of Sturton Ward in response to her suggestions for these measures Action Chairs / Clerk

Bassetlaw is now taking bookings again for its Bulky Waste Collection service on 01909 534 501. It is taking telephone bookings only and will ask a few simple screening questions so that operatives are not at risk when collecting items. Details of what can be collected and how much it costs are available online via: https://tinyurl.com/ycc4qppo

In line with Government Guidance (https://tinyurl.com/y9bdskgv), there will be four stalls selling food in Retford on the Square each Saturday . Trading hours are from 0830 to 1300 and the stalls will be appropriately distanced. Risk assessments have been undertaken for the safe operation of the stalls along with safe systems of work. The following traders will be standing: Fish – Harper’s Fish; Fruit & Veg – Smith’s Fruit and Veg; Eggs – Harden Eggs; Butcher – Bowrings.

NSL, which undertakes car parking enforcement, has returned to work. They will be issuing warnings only – from Thursday (07 May), Friday and Saturday – to motorists who have not paid for parking.

05.20.06. Minutes of the PC Meeting held on 10th March 2020. The minutes were agreed by Council and will be signed off by the Chair

05.20.07. NALC / reports from outside bodies Offer of training courses on how to use Zoom had been circulated The Clerk has the full transcript of the new Government Guidelines for the first steps in loosening the lock down measures if any councillor wants a copy

05.20.08. Correspondence / Reading bag There were no items of correspondence this month

05.20.9. Highways / Footpaths / Water Course / Public Safety 05.20.9.1. Street Lights / street furniture Nothing to report

05.20.9.2. Other matters to report The verges on the dual carriageway need cutting back since they are impeding visibility for cars pulling out The road surface outside Corner Farm on Sturton Road is very poor with potholes and degraded tarmac The road surface outside Tavistock House in Sturton Road is also very poor Action Clerk to report all these matters to Highways

05.20.10. The Lengthsman Scheme A resident had complained that the verge / bank outside her house was not being cut by the lengthsman whereas others with similar situations / gradients were included. Action Cllr Naish to talk to the lengthsman about this Action Clerk to see if there is a defined scheme of work for the lengthsman in Wheatley and if so circulate it to all councillors to see if it needs amending If there is no plan then one needs to be drawn up – Action Clerk to put this item on the June agenda

05.20.11. Website / Facebook page Cllr Wilson has talked with Steve Rockcliffe about the job of managing the Sturton Ward web sites and now needs to talk with the Clerk about the feasibility of her taking the role Action Clerk / Cllr Wilson

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Dates of meetings for 2020

June 9th; July 14th; September 15th; October 13th; November 10th; December 15th Meetings will start at 7pm until further notice

Minutes subject to approval at the next meeting Sara Stilliard – Clerk, tel. 881582

Distribution list: All Parish Councillors, CCllr J Ogle, DCllr J Naish, Website, Terry Davey; PCSO Dave Airey, Notice boards www.sturtonward.org.uk

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