March 2022 Minutes
WILLOUGHTON PARISH COUNCIL
A Meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall, Thursday, 31st March, 2022, at 7:10pm following the Annual Parish Meeting
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. Mr. B. Moore, Cllr. Ms. H. Goring, Cllr. Mrs. Clio Perraton-Williams (L.C.C.)
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 lessee of the Playing Field.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD 27TH JANUARY, 2022
The minutes of the meeting held 27th January, 2022, were approved and signed.
MATTERS ARISING
A dog poo bin has now been installed on Long Lane by West Lindsey District Council and a cheque in payment has been sent.
Two Oak trees have been obtained to commemorate the Queens Platinum Jubilee and were planted on the playing field on Saturday, 5th March, 2022. Members of the Parish Council were assisted in this task by Charlie Longman and David Thomas. Prior to planting it was thought that a digger might be needed and Adrian Hall kindly collected the digger from its location at Brandy Wharf on that morning - however, it was not required. A huge “thank you” is due to all three gentlemen and the Clerk is to write a letter to each acknowledging this. It was also decided that a gift in recognition of their contribution would be appropriate. Cllr. Mrs. K. Phillips has agreed to purchase and deliver these gifts.
The existence of the Oak trees is to be added to the Queens Green Canopy Map and again Cllr. Mrs. K. Phillips has agreed to undertake this task.
The question of purchasing a suitable plaque was agreed and this will be discussed at the next Parish Council meeting.
With regard to the Neighbourhood Development Plan a separate meeting is to be held to discuss any changes which may be necessary and this was agreed for June 16th, 2022, at 7:00pm in the Village Hall.
PLAYING FIELD
The new bench has now been installed on the playing field and has been donated by the Daughter of Dot and Reg Woodhead in commemoration of her Parents who lived in Willoughton for many years.
I’m sure this will prove to be a wonderful addition for everyone to use.
Mr. Matthew Waller is to be approached with regard to repairs to the shuttering on the side of the small playing area and to the seat which has been in place for many years but is requiring some maintenance.
HIGHWAYS
Speeding traffic through the Village would appear to be back to that of pre-Covid days. The Clerk is to write to the Road Safety Partnership requesting monitoring equipment to be placed at appropriate locations to check speeds and types of vehicles.
Water is still egressing on the bend into the Village in front of Caudle House. This is of concern on frosty mornings, especially with the speed of vehicles hitting the corner. It is at least two years since this problem was pointed out to Anglian Water and the Clerk is to write complaining with regard to the lack of progress. A courtesy copy of the letter is to be sent to Cllr. Mrs. C. Perraton-Williams.
The drain on Templefield Road is still to be cleared.
CODE OF CONDUCT
A new Code of Conduct has recently been published by West Lindsey District Council and the Parish Council has been invited to sign up for the new Code. A motion to accept the new Code was proposed by Cllr. Mr. P. Baldwin, seconded by Cllr. Mr. G. Rowles Nicholson and unanimously agreed. Those present then signed the pro-forma supplied by West Lindsey and these are to be returned to the Guild Hall for entry on the West Lindsey website, with a copy being retained in the Parish Council records. The pro-formas from the two absent Councillors will be completed in due course.
ACCOUNTS AND PAY RISE FOR CLERK
There is the sum of £3902.12 in the Current Account and £11,832.72 in the Savings Account.
Cheque 817 in the sum of £187.63 was paid to Cllr. Mrs. K. Phillips in re-imbursement for the purchase of the Oak trees.
Cheque 818 in the sum of £114.00 was paid to West Lindsey District Council for the dog poo bin.
Cheque 819 paid to Luana de Santis in the sum of £89.10 for litter picking for March.
These three cheques were duly signed and forwarded.
The National Minimum Wage rises to £9.50 per hour from 1st April, 2022, and the litter picker will be paid appropriately.
Clerk’s pay rise – a National pay rise has been agreed by NALC which will be backdated to last April (2021). The Clerk’s pay will rise from £13.51 per hour to £13.75 per hour, giving an increase of 24 pence per hour.
There are 4 cheques for signature:
Cheque 820, Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils, annual sub., £137.97
Cheque 821, Luana de Santis, litter picking for April £95.00
Cheque 822, Willoughton Village Hall, rent for Outreach Postal Services, February and March £108.00
Cheque 823, Limestone Farming Company Ltd., Peppercorn rent for Playing Field £13.00
Website Maintenance Service
LALC have indicated their charges for this service for the coming year:
From 1st April, the Parish Council can buy either 10 hours or 20 hours @ £15 per hour, ie either £150.00 or £300.00 for the year.
It was proposed by Cllr. Mrs. S. Rovezzano, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. K. Philliups and passed unanimously that 10 hours should be purchased. A cheque in this amount was duly signed to be forwarded to LALC.
After reconciliation there will be £3548.15 in the Current Account and £11,832.72 in the Savings Account.
This gives a total of £15,380.87 in the Parish Council accounts.
CORRESPONDENCE
There was no correspondence which required attention – advertising booklet from Glasdon.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The vacancy for a new Clerk was discussed at this point. It was decided that 4 hours per week would be offered going forward and that rates of pay, supply of equipment etc. would not be specified in any advert. The closing date should be indicated as 30th April.
The Clerk is to write an advert and this will be placed on the Village Facebook page as well as in the Job Vacancy section of the e-News supplied by LALC.
Any progress will be reported at the next meeting.
The use of the Household Waste Depot in Kirton Lindsey for residents of local Villages was discussed.
Kirton Lindsey falls under the remit of North Lincolnshire and is therefore not available to residents from West Lindsey. A letter is to be sent to Lincolnshire County Council (with a copy to our County Councillor Mrs. C. Perraton-Williams) requesting that local residents be allowed to use this facility.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting closed at 8:12pm.