January 2022 Minutes
Willoughton Parish Council
A meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall, Thursday, 27th January, 2022, at 7:30pm
Present
Cllr. Mr. D. Cowell (Chairman), Cllr. Mrs. K. Phillips (Vice-Chairman), Cllr. Mr. G. Rowles Nicholson,
Cllr. Mrs. S. Rovezzano, Cllr. Mr. P. Baldwin, Cllr. Mr. P. Howitt-Cowan (W.L.D.C.),
Mrs. K. Baldwin (Clerk)
Apologies
Cllr. Ms. H. Goring, Cllr. Mr. B. Moore
County Councillor Mrs. C. Perraton-Williams did not attend the meeting and did not give any apologies
Register Of Interest
Cllr. Mr. D. Cowell expressed an interest as his Wife is Chair of Governors at Willoughton School
Cllr. Mr. G. Rowles Nicholson expressed an interest as local landowner and landlord and lessee of the Playing Field
Minutes Of The Meeting Held 18th November, 2021
The minutes of the meeting held 18th November, 2021, were approved and signed
Matters Arising
The question of dog poo on Vicarage Road has now been resolved as unfortunately the person responsible has since passed away.
The additional dog poo bin requested on Long Lane will be installed in the coming days. West Lindsey District Council do not provide bins with dog poo bags so this has been put in obeyance for the present time.
Planning permission has been granted for the Old Post Office on Templefield Road under the number 143909. All of the recommendations suggested by the Parish Council have been adhered to and we look forward to the necessary work being completed.
Cllr. Mrs. K. Phillips has been looking into the provision of trees under the Queens Green Canopy project. The local growers, British Hardwoods, can only supply saplings but recommended a Company from Retford, Green Mile Trees. Cllr. Phillips has contacted them and ascertained that they can supply larger oak trees of varying sizes and costs and will deliver. This was discussed and it was agreed that two oak trees, to be placed on the Playing Field, would be the correct number. The trees should not be too large and would be purchased according to trunk size. Cllr. Rowles Nicholson has kindly donated the use of a “digger” to enable planting. The outcome will be reported at the next meeting.
The traffic survey through the Village has been postponed until things are more back to normal following the Covid 19 outbreaks.
Following the recent Planning Application on the Old Post Office, it was discussed and decided that a refresh of the Neighbourhood Development Plan would be useful. Cllr. Mr. P. Baldwin has agreed to write a digest of the Plan and this will be discussed at the next meeting.
Playing Field
No matters for discussion on the Playing Field were raised at this time
Highways
Cllr. Howitt-Cowan informed the meeting that the A631 is to be closed overnight starting at the end of February, to enable the deteriorating section of road to be repaired. The start date of the project is Monday, February 28th, and is due to last for up to six weeks, depending on weather. The closures will be between the B1433 Gainsborough, Middle Street and Pilham Lane from 7:00pm to 6:00am on weekday evenings only.
No other items were raised.
Accounts And Confirm Precept
The Precept for 2022/2023 in the sum of £7,800 as submitted, was confirmed unanimously.
There is the sum of £4644.74 in the Current Account and £11,501.21 in the Savings Account.
A VAT reclaim in the sum of £331.31 was submitted on 20th January, 2022.
There are five cheques requiring signature:
Cheque 812, Luana de Santis, Litter picking for January £89.10
Cheque 813, Willoughton Village Hall, cost of hire for Outreach
Postal Services from September 2021-January, 2022 £228.00
Cheque 814, Intellitech Services Ltd. for website maintenance £250.00
Cheque 815, Luana de Santis, Litter picking for February £89.10
Cheque 816, Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils – cost of training £27.00
Total £683.20
Once these cheques are cashed, this will leave £3961.54 in the Current Account
This gives a total of £15,462.75 in the Parish Council Accounts
Correspondence
A letter asking for funds together with a Newsletter has been received from LIVES. It was unanimously decided that the Clerk should send a letter requesting re-training for the Village defibrillator from one of their representatives, after which a contribution will be made.
Any Other Business
The Clerk has been informed by Intellitech Services Ltd. that after the end of March they will no longer be able to maintain the Parish website. Other Clerks in Lincolnshire have employed the services of Pete Langford for website maintenance and the Clerk has been in touch with
Mr. Langford to ask if he would be willing to maintain the Willoughton website going forward.
Pete has agreed and works through LALC. The cost for this work would be £15.00 plus VAT per month. This will be reviewed by LALC after the end of March.
Discussion followed and it was unanimously agreed that the service offered by Mr. Langford should be utilised. The Clerk will inform him accordingly.
The Churches Festival in West Lindsey is to take place on 14th and 15th May, 2022, and St. Andrews Church in Willoughton is to take part.
West Lindsey District Council is carrying out a consultation on Selective Licensing for the Private Rented Sector. The Scheme at present covers a small part of Gainsborough South West Ward and the Council wants to expand this area to cover the wards of Gainsborough North, Hemswell,
Market Rasen and Wold View. The measures are far reaching and involve additional tasks, costs,
Inspections and an inevitable increase in staff. Whilst it is appreciated that rogue landlords should be suitably dealt with, the vast majority of landlords are caring and mindful of their tenants and
maintain their properties appropriately. There are a number of rented properties in Willoughton, all administered by a caring landlord. Discussion followed and it was unanimously agreed that the Willoughton Parish Council is against these proposals. Cllr. Mrs. K. Phillips has agreed to draft a letter voicing these objections which will be circulated to Council members via e-mail for their approval.
West Lindsey is holding an online event for Parish Councils covering this topic on 1st and 3rd March.
The Clerk then tendered her resignation as she wishes to retire, but will continue until someone new is appointed and the necessary handover completed.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting closed at 8.47pm