Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting – 20 May 2020

Stanford on Soar Parish Council

Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held virtually on 20 May 2020 at 19:00

Page 20/16 Present Frances McKim (Chairman) Rushcliffe Borough Councillor (RBC) Lesley Way Sarah Lambert Clerk to the Parish Council Rebecca Hague Craig Leggett

1. Apologies for absence Apologies received from Prue Adkin, Wendy Butler, Paul Waterfall, Rachael Eldessouky, Rushcliffe Borough Councillors Carys Thomas and Kevin Shaw and Nottinghamshire County Councillor Andy Brown.

2. Amendments to Standing Orders Proposed amendments to Standing Orders to allow for meetings to be held and decisions made virtually had been circulated to councillors prior to the meeting. Councillors agreed unanimously to adopt these amendments.

3. Declarations of interests None.

4. Open Session No residents present.

5. Minutes of the last meeting held on 26 February 2020 The minutes were accepted by Councillors as a true and accurate account of the meeting and signed by the Chair.

6. Borough and County Council Matters Cllr Way gave an update on Rushcliffe Borough Council matters, the main focus over the last couple of months had been the coronavirus response, financial support is available for businesses and also for individuals to help with council tax. A motion put to Rushcliffe Borough Council by Cllr Shaw regarding the reduction of noise from fireworks had received full support. This financial year’s community support fund is now available. The leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council has launched a loneliness campaign which will be built on going forward.

7. Planning • 20/00746/FUL – Miniature Golf Course at Stanford Hall - Erection of timber club house – PC No objection, pending decision from RBC

8. Finance a) End of Year Accounts and Bank Reconciliation The end of year accounts and bank reconciliation had been circulated prior to the meeting and were accepted by councillors.

Frances McKim – Chairman of Stanford on Soar Parish Council. Tel: 01509 233219 Email: [email protected] Rebecca Hague – Clerk for Stanford On Soar Parish Council. Tel: 07795 246923 Email: [email protected] Page 20/17 b) Payments The payments below were agreed by the Council.

Invoice No. Payee Reason Total 1 D Rumsby Internal Audit Fee £60.00 2 St. John the Baptist Parish Church Churchyard Maintenance £500.00 3 CPRE CPRE Subscription £36.00 4 Came & Co. Insurance £388.31

9. Internal Auditor’s Report The Internal Auditor’s Report had been circulated to councillors for consideration prior to the meeting.

10. Annual Governance and Accountability Return – Section 1 The Annual Governance and Accountability Return had been circulated prior to the meeting. Councillors accepted the Annual Governance Statements in Section 1 and the AGAR was signed by Cllr McKim.

11. Annual Governance and Accountability Return – Section 2 The Annual Governance and Accountability Return had been circulated prior to the meeting. Councillors accepted the Accounting Statements in Section 2 and the AGAR was signed by Cllr McKim.

12. Certificate of Exemption The Council confirmed it was exempt from the compulsory external audit and the completed Certificate of Exemption was signed by the Cllr McKim and the clerk.

13. The General Power of Competence The Council confirmed it was still eligible for the General Power of Competence.

14. Policy Reviews (a) Standing Orders (b) GDPR Policies (c) Risk Management Scheme (d) Financial Regulations and Internal Controls (e) Publication Scheme (f) Code of Conduct (g) Assets Register

The above policies were reviewed by the Council and with the amendments to Standing Orders under Item 2 it was agreed all policies were up to date.

15. Environment The village litter pick had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, however some councillors had cleared sections of roadside litter. The litter pick will be rescheduled for the autumn/next spring. The Council are happy with the maintenance of the garden area at Five Oaks Spinney.

16. Traffic and Highways Maintenance Cllr McKim relayed an update from Cllr Brown. The white lining on Main Street at the junction with Normanton Lane had been completed and the resurfacing of Main Street was in the budget for Page 20/18

2020/21 but had been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The bus stop improvement work was nearly complete and cattle crossing signs were due to be installed near Underhill Farm. The overgrown pavement along Main Street which is used for pedestrians accessing the bus stop is dangerous as it not wide enough for a pushchair or wheelchair, Cllr Brown is aware of the situation but Cllr McKim to emphasis the urgency of suitable remediation work. It was understood a cyclist had been knocked off his bike by Five Oaks Spinney as he overtook a turning vehicle. Cllr Leggett had witnessed a car travelling past the interactive speed sign at 56mph.

17. Social Functions VE Day plans had to be cancelled due to the lockdown but it is hoped these can be revisited next year.

18. Correspondence Nottinghamshire County Council have reopened six waste and recycling centres cross the county. Leicestershire County Council have no plans to reopen Loughborough waste and recycling centre at present.

Cllr McKim has prepared a village update to be circulated due to the postponement of the Annual Parish Meeting (Appendix A).

19. Date of Next Meeting Wednesday 9th September at 19:00, location to be confirmed.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 19:45.

Appendix A

Stanford on Soar Parish Council Update for residents – 21 May 2020

Annual Parish Meeting cancellation & village update Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s Annual Parish Meeting which was due to be held on 20 May 2020 had to be cancelled. This report on activities has been prepared & circulated to all residents to keep you updated. However, the Stanford on Soar Parish Council (SPC) did hold a virtual meeting. If residents have any queries or observations please feel free to raise these with either the Chairman, the Clerk or a councillor.

This is a very testing time for us all. If you are aware of anyone who could do with some assistance with anything, or just a friendly chat, do let someone on the SPC know. Help is at hand. Otherwise – keep safe.

Update on selected issues • Parish Council members and clerk: Regrettably Simon Tyldesley resigned as he moved out of the village, but the SPC was delighted to welcome Craig Leggett (Main Street) onto the council. This means the Parish Council consists of Frances McKim (chairman) and Prue Adkin (Normanton Lane), Sarah Lambert (Paddock Court), Wendy Butler (Stanford Hills), Paul Waterfall (Underhill Farm) with Rachael Eldessouky & Craig Leggett (Main Street). Rebecca Hague from Rempstone acts as both clerk and financial officer.

Andy Brown remains our Nottinghamshire County Councillor with Carys Thomas, Lesley Way and Kevin Brown our Rushcliffe Borough Councillors.

• Finance and precept – the SPC finances are in a stable position with over £11,000 in the bank account. As a result this year’s annual precept was reduced to £5,000.

• Planning applications: For once there were no significant new applications during the year. Details of all those made & the SPC responses can be viewed on the Rushcliffe BC planning website. A watching brief is being maintained on activities regarding the building of the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) in the grounds of Stanford Hall, officially due to open in 2023. Likewise, the proposals (no formal application yet made) for Riggets Green, (the large development centred on Cotes) is also being monitored carefully.

• Five Oaks Spinney and environs: Following the attacks and removal of part of the lead flashing on the pump’s roof, the lead was replaced with matching tiles. The lead was sold and raised over £170. A contract has been agreed with a local ground’s maintenance company to look after the garden. Planning permission was granted in Q3 of 2018 for part of the Five Oaks farm site, but work has yet to begin. Our thanks, once again, goes to Brian Springthorpe for doing such a fantastic job mowing the village grass and verges.

• Highways: A very successful joint meeting with Normanton on Soar, organised by County Councillor Andy Brown, was held on 14 August with the Nottinghamshire County Council Highways Department to discuss issues of concern. We are pleased to report that all the road drains were sucked-out, the long requested bus stop facility at Stanford Hills is virtually complete, white lining has been undertaken around the Normanton Lane junction area & road signs for the cow crossing at Underhill farm are awaited. The dangerous state of the footpath in the village is to be given priority and most significantly, Main street in the village is in the budget for complete resurfacing. Timings on these may, however, have slipped due to the covid situation.

• Litter pick, rubbish and fly tipping: A litter pick was all organised by Craig Leggett for late March but had to be cancelled. If individuals can do some tidying-up, litter picking ‘grabbers’ & gloves are available from Sarah Lambert. Fly tipping, particularly down Cotes Lane, remains an issue but both Charnwood & Rushcliffe Borough Councils do react and clear rubbish quickly, once reported.

• VE Day Celebrations – plans were in hand, organised by Sarah Lambert, to hold some village celebrations – unfortunately these were also cancelled due to the covid pandemic.