July 2024 Minutes of Meeting
BICKER PARISH COUNCIL
DRAFT Minutes of the Parish Council meeting
Held on Wednesday, 24th July 2024 at 7pm
In the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall
Present:
Cllr Bateson - Chair
Cllr Kelly – Vice Chair
Cllr Pell
Cllr Brown
County Cllr Brookes
Clerk – Alison Delaney
PUBLIC FORUM:
Representatives from European Energy UK Limited, NGET and AGR who are developing Vicarage Drove Solar Farm and sub-station, attended the public forum to answer questions from residents and the Council.
5 Bicker residents also attended the meeting
A representative from JDM Food Group attended the meeting. He notified the meeting that if the Parish Council considered they wanted to instal a second defibrillator in the village, JDM were willing to have it located on their perimeter fence, near their reception area in Monument Road. They would provide an electricity supply to run the required heater for the battery. The representative notified the Council that he was a qualified first aid instructor and would be able to provide CPR training for residents free of charge if the Council wished to arrange it. The Chair thanked the representative for these offers. Action: Clerk to add as an agenda item for the next meeting. Consideration for purchasing a second defibrillator for the village to be sited at JDM.
To enable the Parish Council to continue with its business, the residents and representatives left the meeting after 15 minutes to continue discussions about the solar farm in another room.
The Parish Council meeting started at 7.20pm
68/24 Chair’s remarks:
The Chair thanked everyone for coming.
The Chair thanked the Clerk for preparing the documentation for the meeting and liaising with the representatives at the Public Forum
The Chair thanked Councillor Pell for her assistance with monitoring the cemetery maintenance
69/24 To receive updates from Borough and County Councillors:
County Cllr Brookes reported on the following:
Highways have carried out a condition survey (including videos) of Cowbridge Road as evidence of its current state in case it deteriorates with the increased traffic from the solar farm.
Cutting of grass along the Old Eau. Cllr Brookes spoke to Black Sluice yesterday. He was told the Old Eau is a riparian drain, but that Black Sluice maintain it to ensure the conveyance (flow) of water. There is no requirement for them to cut all the way up the banks. However, they often cut the top part as well at the same time as they cut the banks. Their next planned cut is in November.
Cllr Cantwell had emailed the following information to the Clerk in advance of the meeting:
The Pylons Scrutiny Meeting has been delayed until National Grid can attend.
Milkinghill Lane will not have the grass down the middle of the road removed or sprayed by LCC.
Also, I have been invited to a number of new Bicker Fen Energy Projects and I have asked that these projects provide regular updates.
I spoke to representatives for the Energy Storage proposed site on Bicker Drove who seem very interested in engaging with the Parish Council about a community benefit fund, which I said, and they seemed to agree, would solely benefit Bicker Parish. I think it is worth contacting Firstway energy and inviting them to a Parish Council Meeting so they can explain this project.
70/24 To receive apologies for absence and acceptance of any reasons given:
APOLOGIES - were received and accepted from Cllr Carrott and Cllr Mountain who were on holiday and from Borough Cllr Cantwell who was at another meeting. The meeting resolved to accept the reasons for absence.
71/24 To receive Declarations of Interest in accordance with The Localism Act 2011:
Cllr Kelly – Parish Council representative on The Village Hall Committee.
72/24 Notes of the last meeting held on 13th June 2024 were accepted and approved as the Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Kelly, seconded by Cllr Pell. The Minutes were signed by the Chair.
73/24 To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies:
Nothing to report
74/24 Clerk’s report on matters outstanding:
Training: 09.07.24 – Clerk attended LALC New Clerk’s Finance Training which was very informative.
Defibrillator: Approval was given (proposed Cllr Brown, seconded Cllr Kelly) for the purchase of a new set of pads (as the current ones were out of date – approximately £30) and a new battery at the cost of approximately £250. The current one is over 6 years old and has two bars remaining out of 5. The manufacturer states that the battery has a standby life of 5 years.
Telephone box: This houses the defibrillator and needs repainting. Bicker Buds had informed the Clerk they would be willing to paint it, if the Parish Council would pay for the paint which would be approximately £20. Councillors agreed to this expenditure. Cllr Pell proposed, and Cllr Brown seconded.
Hire of Methodist Hall for meeting on 15th May when Village Hall was unavailable: Verbal cost of a donation of £20 for two hours use had been given to the Clerk at the time of booking. The payment was agreed by the meeting. Proposed by Cllr Pell and seconded by Cllr Kelly.
Playing field fence: Previous Clerk had informed the current Clerk that the Council needed to add the Playing field fence to the insurance as an asset, in case it is damaged and needs to be replaced.
Action: Clerk to find out the value of the fence and how much it would cost to add to the insurance. Clerk to add this as a discussion and decision item on the next agenda.
75/24 To Receive Finance Report
a) Schedule of “June payments for approval at July meeting” was approved. Proposed and signed by Cllr Kelly. Seconded and signed by Cllr Pell.
Schedule of “July payments for approval at July meeting (as no meeting in August)” was approved. Proposed and signed by Cllr Kelly. Seconded and signed by Cllr Pell.
Councillors agreed the Clerk could set up standing orders for their salary, mobile and working from home allowances on the 15th of each month. This would ensure that if a meeting had to be moved to later in the month, or if, like in August there was not a meeting, the Clerk’s contractual payments were still made. Proposed by Cllr Pell and seconded by Cllr Brown. The payments would continue to be shown on the payment schedule each month.
b) Quotation for Cemetery Grounds Keeping was approved. Proposed Cllr Pell and seconded by Cllr Kelly. Cllr Pell enquired if they had been asked to mow the verges outside the cemetery, as this had not been done.
Action: Clerk to request that they also carry this out and obtain the cost.
c) Quotation for work to trees in the parish. Councillors were concerned about the high cost of the quote and setting a precedent by paying for work on all the trees in the parish. Action: Clerk to request a breakdown of the quote into work for the playing field, which the Council owned and other work. Clerk to provide the information to Councillors via email for them to decide that way, rather than wait until the September meeting.
d) Quotation for the control of moles in the cemetery and playing field: Councillors were concerned about the high cost of the quote. Action: Company to be asked whether they could offer a reduction for a three or five year contract. Clerk to obtain another quote for comparison. Clerk to provide the information to Councillors via email for them to decide that way, rather than wait until the September meeting.
County Cllr Brookes left the meeting.
e) Quotation for medal bars for Chains of Office: The quotation for £195.95 was approved. Proposed by Cllr Kelly and seconded by Cllr Pell.
76/24 To Discuss Planning Applications Received Since Last Meeting:
B/24/0266 – Vicarage Drove
B/24/0277 – Cowbridge Farm House – proposed agricultural store building
Councillors had reviewed the applications prior to the meeting and did not have any comments to make.
77/24 Review of Cemetery fees: Clerk had provided Councillors with updated information from the last meeting containing the fees of other Parish Councils obtained through the network of LALC Clerks. Councillors agreed that our fees looked in line with those of other PC’s. It was resolved that the cemetery fees remained the same. Councillors agreed that our fee schedule could be shared with other LALC Clerks who had requested them in return for sharing theirs.
78/24 Social Media Options for the Parish Council: It was agreed that because of the time, the discussion and a decision on this item would be postponed to the next meeting when the views of more councillors could be sought. Action: Clerk to add it to the agenda for the next meeting.
79/24 LALC (Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils) recommended list of policies. Clerk had put together a priority plan to review the PC’s existing standing orders and policies in the light of the LALC List. The PC did not have two statutory documents – Publication Scheme (under the FOI 2000) and Code of Conduct. The Clerk had adapted model policies from LALC and circulated them to Councillors in advance of the meeting. It was resolved by all present to adopt the two policies.
Action: Clerk to date the policies and add them to the Council website.
80/24 To Receive Members Reports:
Cllr Brown reminded Councillors that he and Borough Councillor Cantwell held monthly surgeries in the ward. The Clerk has put the dates up on the three Parish Council Notice Boards and circulated to Councillors so they are aware as well. The next surgery in Bicker Village Hall will be on Saturday, 16th November from 12-1pm.
Cllr Pell reported the new “Dogs on Lead” sign in the park had been removed.
Action: Clerk to order another one to be put up with more secure fixings
Cllr Kelly reported that visibility at the junction of Mill Lane with Donington Road was very poor because bushes were overgrown and vehicles had to edge out into the main road to see clearly both ways. Action: Clerk to report on FixMyStreet.
81/24 To Receive Correspondence:
a) Email - Asda Foundation – Investing in spaces and places grant. It was considered that this year, the fund was not suitable as the minimum application amount was £10k and the closing date was 28th July.
b) Email – BBC Parish Council Liaison Meeting – 10th October. It was noted that this was on the same date as the PC meeting that month. Action: Clerk will send our apologies
c) Email – South East Lincolnshire Council’s Partnership - Parcel Pick up point. It was considered that a Parcel Point was not needed in the village as residents used the Post Office.
d) Email – Resident re school renovations and planning. This was noted by Councillors. No action needed as the resident is dealing directly with Boston Borough Council.
e) Email – Resident re Battery storage facility at Vicarage Drove. This was noted by Councillors.
f) Email – Boston Neighbourhood policing plan. This was noted by Councillors
g) Email – grass cutting leaflet. This was noted by Councillors.
h) Email – BBC re naming of road on new development. It was considered by Councillors that The Paddocks would not be suitable for the new road name, as there was already a property called The Paddocks nearby, which could cause confusion. Action: Clerk to respond to the email rejecting the suggestion and asking for another.
82/24 – Date of Next Meeting: Thursday, 12th August at 7pm at the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall.
The meeting closed at: 9.10pm