December 2023 Minutes EOM
Harlaxton Parish Council
Chair: Andrew Cartlidge
Email: harlaxtonpc@gmail.com
Address: 3 Church Street, Harlaxton, Lincs, NG32 1HB
Website: http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Harlaxton/
Extra Parish Council Meeting
7:45pm on Thursday 14 December 2023
Harlaxton Village Hall, 3 Church Street, Harlaxton, NG32 1HU
Minutes
1. Meeting Opened at 19:55.
2. In Attendance: Cllrs Wickes, Smith, Gabriel and Cartlidge
3. Apologies (Non-Attendance): Cllr Phillips was accepted as unwell.
4. Resolution to approve minutes of Parish Council Meetings: PCM of 29 November 2023: Approved
5. Public Forum (15 Minute Presentation/Discussion): None present
6. Updates - County Councillor, District Councillor, Police & Crime
Cllr Vernon advised that the County Councillor Volunteer Scheme, in which the Parish Council provide the materials and LCC Councillors provide the workforce, remained open. The Parish Councillors offered the HSSC front grass area as a possible exercise. The LCC Highways drive through will be in February, and the Parish Council confirmed that the list of LCC issues will be issued shortly.
Cllr Leadenham advised that there was no further news on any Swine Hill application and that SKDC currently have sufficient housing allocation for the next 5 years.
7. Updates and Discussions
7.1. Clerk/Administrator:
Clerk matter agreed and closed.
Administrator CV received. HPC to request an interview in early January 2024.
7.2. Councillor Expenses: Expenses approved for the printing and postage.
7.3. Village Voice: The copy for the “Spring” edition has to be with JB by 20th January 12 January [post meeting amendment]. Topics for the introduction included Manor Drive Drainage, the relaunch of the Gregory PH, matters raised with LCC Highways, Potholes, Lincolnshire Devolution, and an urge to villagers to report any A607 incidents to the Police.
7.4. Christmas Tree: It was agreed to put lights around the Obelisk.
8. Village Hall
8.1. Licence Agreement: The simplified version was discussed and adopted. This should be sent to the Harlaxton Village Hall Committee for their signatures.
8.2. Improvements to WC’s, sinks and Flooring. It was agreed to defer discussions until another time.
9. HSSC
9.1. Car Park and Manor Drive Flooding: It was noted that the contractor has now completed the car park works, and the new drainage seems to be working successfully. A full breakdown of costs should be requested from the contractor. Landscaping works are required on the grassed area in the new year/spring. Some potholes in the HPC section of the drive, for which a budget of £50 was agreed for councillors to make good.
10. Sports Field
10.1. Football Pitches: The Portuguese Football Academy are monitoring the condition of the grass and are currently only using the pitches over the far side to avoid the saturated grass in front of the entrance gates. Some grass repairs will be required in the spring season. Quotes should be sought for spiking the sports field to improve drainage. Now that the drainage is working across the car park, the possibility of a new trench in the field to the south of the sports field was discussed. It was agreed to revert to The Manor to request that they re-create the ditch on their land and once again channel this into the Coopers Plantation ditch.
11. Grass Cutting, Hedges, etc
11.1. Grass Cutting: The updated invoice from SKDC for the 2022/2023 cutting by EnvironmentSK was discussed and approved. Despite numerous and repeated requests to quote, HPC currently has only two quotes for the main village grass cutting, and three quotes to cut the HSSC front grass, sports field grass and the children’s play area grass. It was agreed to accept the lowest aggregate quotes but to defer this until Friday, 22 December, until SKDC has responded.
12. Closed Session (If required): None required
13. Any other business: None
14. Next scheduled Parish Council Meeting: 7:30pm Wednesday 24 January 2024.
15. Meeting closed at 21:38