Minutes 9th March 2022

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 9 th March 2022 at 7.30pm at the Village Hall

Present: Cllr A Birmingham, Cllr S Luxton, Cllr R Tillett, Cllr N Vickers and Cllr E Hollingsworth
In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk), Cllr Jamie Kemp (EDDC) and 5 members of the public

The Chairman opened the meeting by highlighting the current tragic events happening in Ukraine and invited all present to take a moment of reflection for those suffering in many different ways.

58/21 Apologies:
Apologies received from Cllr W Honan

59/21 Declarations of interest
None

60/21 Minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 12th January 2022
Were agreed as a true record and SIGNED by the Chairman

61/21 Public Question Time
A member of the public brought to the attention of the Parish Council that the recent installation of kissing gates on footpaths had meant that disabled people in wheelchairs or buggies were unable to use them. She offered to assist the Parish Council in sourcing disabled accessible gates in the future. The Chairman thanked the member of the public for bringing it to the Council’s attention and stated that in future the Footpath Warden and Councillors would certainly consult with her on suitable gated entrances to the Parish footpaths. Councillors would also look into retrofitting those gates which were not suitable.

A member of the public stated that they were not satisfied with the Parish Council’s consultee response to a recent planning application and as to how the Parish Council deals with planning applications within the village. The Chairman stated that Council would respond to the complaint in writing. Councillor Kemp highlighted that he had been informed by EDDC Planning that the property referred to did not form part of the SSSI, as indicated by the member of public.

62/21 Lead Councillor updates

The following updates were provided:
• Finance – Budget for 2021-2022 was all on track and the precept request had been submitted to EDDC for 2022-2023
• BSVHT – The trust had commissioned repairs to the electricity circuit at a cost of approximately £2.5k and the temporary repair to the extension roof would continue, pending a decision being made on replacing the roof
• Verges - The first cut of the year would be in May/June and the Council AGREED to use a local contractor. A final cut in November would be commissioned so that the spring bulbs were not overwhelmed
• Trees & Natural Environment - The Queens Jubilee tree had been planted amongst the WW1 trees and EDDC were going to supply and fit a ceremonial plaque to mark the occasion. The Council AGREED to investigate installing a sign at the WW1 tree site explaining that the area may look untidy but it was kept wild on purpose to encourage wildlife
• Highways - Councillors felt that there were too many cones in the village and it looked untidy. An article would be placed in Speke Up to encourage people to put the cones away in the winter when they were not required. The Council would also look again into the possibility of residents parking with the County Councillors
• Planning – Villagers were able to sign up for the weekly alerts to planning applications in the Parish via EDDC planning portal. Details of the link to receive the alerts will be published
• Communications – The Welcome Pack was nearing completion and would be sent to Councillors for sense checking. A copy would be uploaded to the Council website when complete. The Chairman thanked those involved.

63/21 Financial Items

The account summary to February 28th (previously approved by Cllr A Birmingham) was NOTED.
It was NOTED that the following payments were approved remotely in accordance with Financial Regulations

2 x Payments to Carole Oliphant (January & February Salary)
2 x Payment to HMRC (January & February Salary)
2 x Payment to BT for Village Hall WiFi (paid by DD on 28.01.2022 & 28.02.2022) - £28.15
1 x Payment Ayre Contractors – Cleaning of Station Hill - £253.80

It was NOTED that: Payments approved by Councillors S Luxton, A Birmingham and R Tillett in accordance with the Financial Regulations

Council APPROVED the internal auditor

Cllr N Vickers would investigate an alternative contract for WiFi in the Village Hall before the end of the current contract on 26th May 2022

64/21 EDDC Update

Cllr J Kemp gave a brief update and stated that EDDC had set and agreed the budget. He apologised for recent missed waste collections and requested that any instances of recycling left on the side of the road by operatives be reported to him.

65/21 Village Hall Roof Repairs

The Chairman outlined the steps taken over recent months by the Council to ensure due diligence and also highlighted the difficulties that had been experienced in trying to obtain suitable quotations from Contractors. In summary:
• A formal tender process, in accordance with standing order 13.4 was conducted in December 2021
• The tender was advertised in the locality and on the Council’s website but no companies had responded within the deadline
• The Council had received an offer from a benefactor which was made without prejudice to cover the entire costs of the roof repairs
• A local contractor had now been identified and provided a quotation of £11950 + VAT for the works required and the benefactor had agreed to the cost and to the works commencing as soon as possible
• The Council would meet the cost of obtaining planning permission for the works to go ahead
• The Council would reclaim the VAT on the final invoice

It was therefore RESOLVED that: The Council would accept the donation for the repairs and instruct the contractor to commence works as soon as planning permission had been received
(Proposed by the Chairman)

66/21 Co-Option
The Council had two applications and RESOLVED to co-opt Brad Hillson to the Council. Brad was invited to take the role of lead Councillor for Footpaths.
(Proposed by the Chairman)

Cllr B Hillson duly signed his Acceptance of Office which was countersigned by the Clerk.

The Council invited Mr Peter Stewart to work with the Council supporting specific projects that have been identified within the village.

The Chairman thanked both for their interest and welcomed them.

67/21 Resignation of Clerk

It was RESOLVED that the Clerk salary would be SP 23- 26 in order to attract a suitable candidate. The closing date for applications would be 31st March 2022 and the start date would be 1st May 2022.

68/21 Other information/correspondence received/ discussion

• The response from SWWA was NOTED
• Speke Up submission were agreed – deadline was 15th March
• It was AGREED that the Annual Parish Meeting format would be ‘light touch’, with updates from lead councillors and any other topics that parishioners requested
• Council would explore holding a competition for the best Christmas lights in 2022 and encourage villagers to look at other opportunities to enhance the display of lights within the village
• Councillors would explore what other events were planned in the village

69/21 Next Meeting
• Meeting closed at 9.30pm. Next Meeting on Wednesday 4th May 7.30pm followed by the APM at 8.00pm– Village Hall