June 2022 Minutes
Harlaxton Parish Council
29th JUNE 2022 19.30
Village Hall
3 Church Street
Harlaxton
NG32 1HB
Minutes
1. Meeting open:
Meeting opened at 19:35- AC
2. In Attendance:
Andrew Cartlidge (AC)- Chair Jane Mann (JM) Kate Darcey (KD)
Samantha Key (SK)- Clerk
3. Apologies:
Jane Brown (JB) Simon Wicks (SW)
Harlaxton Parish Council Meeting 29th JUNE 2022 19.30
Venue: Harlaxton Village Hall Minutes
4. Resolution to approve minutes of Parish Council Meeting: Minutes from 25.05.22 agreed and signed.
5. Parish Councillors Declarations of Pecuniary Interest: None
6. Public Forum: No-one present.
7. Updates from County Councillor, District Councillor and Police and Crime representative:
County Councillor- had a telephone conversation with SK re supporting our objections to Saltby Airfield. Cllr Vernon apologised for not having attended one of our meetings yet.
District Councillor- sent an email in response to Harlaxton Parish Council asking for support in objecting to the Saltby Airfield. She also has a personal interest in objecting as she will be affected
Police and Crime Representative- nothing.
Harlaxton Parish Council finds it to be a disappointment that (despite having had all the dates in advance) there has been no attendance and very limited communication from the above parties.
8. Updates and Discussions
A) Projects: over the last couple of years many projects have been put on hold and as such there is some money available to spend. Currently the priorities are (not in order):
- HSSC roof
- HSSC gate and fencing (this quote has been accepted and work is waiting to start)
- HVH wiring
- HVH access ramp
- Village gates- quotes have been received previously, however need to get quotes back in again with the focus being on The Drift and Swinehill areas, the A607 may depend on the outcome of the Manors application. Whilst we have been told previously we can not have speed limits on the gates, we can have “please respect our speed limits” on them.
- HVH gate and fencing. SK to arrange quotes
- Notice board to be placed on The Gregory- AC currently has it, following the painting of The Gregory need to check what colour it needs to be, currently is stained wood.
- Telephone box restoration- need to get updated quotes from Western Power. The rotary club would not do this as a project, however there is a parishioner who would be interested in completing the project, need to establish costs for this. Need to decide what it would be used for as whilst it needs doing the Parish Council want to justify the money spent on it.
Suggestions were made for it being a history/information point.
- Defibrillator- the fan is dead, looks like a new box is needed. The Rotary Club kindly raised the money for the initial defibrillator and the excess from what was raised to the cost was placed in Harlaxton Parish Council bank account for maintenance etc. It had been suggested that this could be moved to the Telephone Box (after the restoration).
Vote to keep the defibrillator in current location: AC, JM, KD agreed.
- CCTV- Swann version was previously agreed and voted on, need to place order.
- AC would like to make bird boxes for the village (particularly for Coopers Plantation. Discussions around what bird boxes are needed, also boxes for hedgehogs and bats would be appreciated.
- Flower beds by the bus shelter and wildflower verges- the cost would mainly be for fencing/roping to protect whilst they grow. This would not be likely to start until September.
- Bench near obelisk is Parish Council property, needs work. AC to inspect.
B) Memorial tree: location has been agreed, KD has not been able to get in touch with the donator with regards to the words for the plaque. Agreed to plant in September/October, the plaque can then follow from that. KD has created a suggestion for the words and will run pass the donator.
C) Saltby Airfield: JM- lorries have already started using Stoney Track to exit the airfield, despite the planning permission not having been heard. (11 trucks since Friday). They are coming in loaded via Croxton Kerrial. There is another meeting Tuesday 5th July to bullet point the handling of the planning application, there has been some discussion around whether Parish Councils opposing the development would get 3 minutes each to speak. Each Parish Council will make a request for the time. Need to work on a draft as to what Harlaxton Parish Council would say (in those 3 minutes). Harlaxton Manor had very kindly shared some traffic data with us (that they had collected as part of their planning application) and we should see if they are happy to share with Denton Parish Council re the volume of traffic etc. SW has done some research into who is involved in the planning request and beneficiaries of the application. People can still submit objections and additional comments, need to make people aware of this- could look to put this in the next village voice. JM and AC filmed a video of a large vehicle making the proposed journey- this needs to be uploaded. Could ask Cllr Westropp if she has any videos of anyone riding a horse along the route to show how dangerous it would be.
D) K and S fencing was a like for like quote and (as per previous agreement) has been given authority to start the work.
E) Website: there is an ongoing issue with the Parish Council website, whilst documents are uploaded some are only visible when using the search function. Speaking with LALC they have a webmaster who can either upload the documents for a fee or alternatively provide 15mins of support a month. SK believes there is no reason that as clerk she cannot manage the website but the LCC provided training video is poor, previous users have also struggled. Contact was made with the webmaster to see if a 2-hour training session could be arranged, the cost for this has been confirmed as £15ph +VAT for a maximum of 2 hours. An IT expert in the village has offered their support and JB now has access to look at the website management (a mutually convenient date could not be arranged prior to holiday).
Vote to utilise offers from villager and JB first: AC, JM, KD agreed Vote to spend £30+VAT on webmaster training: AC, JM, KD agreed.
F) Dig: The University of Evansville, as part of their archaeological course, have been conducting digs within the Parish. The main site has uncovered a pre- historic site, large amounts of Neolithic (2000bc-4000bc) flints and possibly some Mesolithic (circa 6000bc) artifacts have been found. This has included possible evidence of pits dating back to these times. Dr E. Stammitti has directed the dig and co-ordinated several local, national, and international groups, the Harlaxton History Society has taken an active part. This is possibly going to be a 3year project with filming for “Digging for Britain” hopefully there will be talks given through the History Society as well.
G) Traffic Survey: 3 quotes have been received (shared prior to the meeting). Look at placing counters on the crossroads to count incoming/outgoing traffic. Need to be located on The Drift (before Strood Close) and on the High Street (more likely to get queuing traffic on the High Street so needs to be a clearer location)- opposite the footpath. Looking to record traffic number and peak times. As hire is for a week they need to be in place before the school’s finish (w/c 22nd July) or after they restart (September). Use this data to provide better information for LCC when talking to them about the consideration of a crossing or central island.
Vote for NDC quote (4 counters): AC,JM,KD all agreed.
9. RFO Financial Report:
Completion of the internal audit was 15th June 2022 and therefore the audit fee of £50 is now payable. Can Harlaxton Parish Council also send a note of thanks to the auditor for completing. There has been an amendment made to the assets this to correct an error in a previous year. JM has completed the audit as was acting RFO in the absence of a Clerk, documents requiring the RFO signature will be signed by both JM and SK to cover the transition.
9.2 : Annual Governance Statement to be signed by Chair and Clerk. AC,JM,KD agree to it being signed.
9.3 : Accounting statements need resolution to approve. Chair and RFO to sign. Vote to approve: AC, JM, KD all agree.
9.4 : Public Rights. Form needs to be signed and go to external auditor. Another form needs to be signed and go on the website and noticeboard. The announcement is dated for 1st July 2022, commencing on 4th July 2022 for 30 working days.
For the last 2/3 years the Parish Council has been exempt because both income and expenditure have been under £25000, however now the income is over that amount there is no exemption.
Update: accounts for 20th May 2022 to 20th June 2022 show income from Football Club, SKDC cleaner grant and additional hire of cricket pitch. Expenditure has been staff salary (including backdated pay), grass cutting contract, insurance payment and councillor expenses for bulbs/plants.
10. Planning Applications: No comments
11. Communications:
A) 14.06.22 email C.Terry- re Pearson Gregory field/Tree- speak to professionals to gain advice on the tree and its condition.
12. AOB:
None
13. Closed Session: Not required
14. Next meeting: 27th July 2022
15. Meeting Close: Closed at 21.45 by AC
Chair – Andrew Cartlidge
E-mail: harlaxtonpc@gmail.com