January 2021 Minutes
NOTES OF OSBOURNBY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Meeting held via Zoom on Wednesday 13 January 2021 a 7 p.m.
27. Apologies: Cllrs Camm
28. In virtual attendance: Cllrs Jackson (Chairman), Harvey, North, Baldwin, Baker & Wright. Mrs Libby King (Clerk)
29. Minutes of Previous Meeting held on 2 September, which had already been circulated, were agreed. Proposed Cllr North, Seconded Cllr Harvey.
30. Chairman/District Council Report: Cllr Jackson reported that there are now 2 Covid Safety Ambassadors in Sleaford. They will be wearing yellow tabarbs. Their aim is to work with businesses to ensure that all the safety precautions are being followed. They will be in place until end March. Cllr Jackson also reported that the banding of the wards is now complete and Osbournby Ward will lose Wilsford and gain Helpringham. The work has now been completed in the overgrown garden in New Street.
31. Clerk’s Report: Mrs King apologised as she had forgotten to put donations on the agenda. A request for a donation has been received from LIVES. £100 had been donated in June 2020, so it was suggested a further donation is made next financial year. This was agreed. An email from Lincolnshire Police, Safer Together Co-ordinator has been received explaining what they are doing. Mrs King will forward the email to councillors and suggest it is put as an agenda item for next time, regarding any concerns and issues for Osbournby. A number of posters have been received during the year regarding the corona virus pandemic and Mrs King has been putting these on the notice board in the cemetery and by the village hall. Notices asking owners to pick up their dog poo have also been displayed. It was suggested that a newsletter be done in the spring. As it was not possible to have a skip in November,it was agreed to see if this is possible in the spring.
32. County Council Report: Cllr Andrew Hagues had sent an email giving his report which Mrs King had circulated earlier. This is the contents of the email
As you will be aware, Lincoln eastern bypass opened just before Christmas. Connecting A15 through to Lincoln / Wragby Rd. There is still work to do on some footpaths and verges and planting.
LCCs core services, including Adult social and children's services are operating as normal.
Day care centres are open, but for only priority groups. Staff will continue to make home visits, but of course will ware PPE.
All primary schools and secondary schools are closed except for keyworkers children and vulnerable children. These groups will still receive free school meals.Any child that cannot access a laptop or tablet at home for online learning, should contact their school. Children needing school transport will need to book this through LCC website.
Sleaford library is still open for click and collect.The government has announced £100m funding for the final link for the Lincoln bypass. The southern link will go from A15 to A46. The design work will start shortly and is expected to site on site in approximately 3 years.
Finally, members may have seen on this evenings Look North, that several new covid-19 vaccination centres will be opening shortly in Lincolnshire and as soon as I have the locations and timings, I will relay that to you. I'm aware that a site already exists at Grantham and is giving vaccinations to the highest venerable group of people in that area.
33. Budget Setting for 2021/22: A copy of the draft budget had been circulated prior to the meeting. Amounts had been included in this budget for the phone box, defibrillator, litter bins, speed watch and bus stop. All the above are owned by the Parish Council and therefore a budget is needed to be set for them. Cllr Wright had asked about the possibility of a dog poo bin by the bus stop as the litter bin is used for this purpose. However the Environment Officer at NKDC has informed us that it is acceptable for this waste to be put into the normal litter bin, therefore the budget for litter bins will be reduced to £50. A sum of £1,000 has been included for the bus stop. Work is needed to refurbish the bus stop but this will need to be done in the spring once the weather improves. Mrs King advised that she has received a tender letter from Alan Drury regarding the cutting of the cemetery and churchyard grass. The price will increase by £5 per cut for both the cemetery and churchyard. This increase was approved and Mr Drury was thanked for the hard work in keeping the cemetery and churchyard tidy. The budget was agreed and a precept of £5,250 be requested this year. Proposed Cllr Harvey, Seconded Cllr North.
34. Parish Council Website: Cllr Linda Baldwin has been working on the new website with Pete Langford, who is a volunteer helping Parish Councils set up the new website. He has given Cllr Baldwin and Mrs King a huge amount of help in setting it up, although it was acknowledged that there is still a great deal of work to be done before all information is included. LALC are co-ordinating donations for Pete, who has said that he personally does not wish to receive any money but would like any donations to go to RAF Benevolent Society and Guide Dogs for the Blind.
35. Tree Report from NKDC: The report from Christopher Clay of NKDC has been received. He has identified some work needed, however the trees in question are those which are alongside the High Street. P&P French undertook some crown lifting in the autumn and it was agreed that the trees that need crown lifts would be looked again in the autumn. There were no trees in need or urgent attention.
36. Litter bins/dog poo bins: Recently the lock on the litter bin by the bus stop had broken and a new lock had been purchased. Cllr Wright had fitted the new lock and NKDC Environment Department had been informed that the bin was now able to be unlocked and emptied. Cllr Wright was thanked for repairing the lock.
37. Painting of Phone Box: Mr Clive Corbyn has offered to paint the phone box in the spring. This offer was kindly taken up. Mrs Margaret Pearson was thanked for her work in keeping the books tidy.Planning Matters: No Planning applications have been received since the last meeting.
38. Planning matters: No planning applications have been received since the last meeting.
39. Update from Aswarby Estate: An email had been sent to Mark Jones on various outstanding matters in the village. A copy of the email had been circulated prior to the meeting. This is the contents of the email:
The Whichcote Arms – there are obvious challenges associated with the re-letting of the pub however the Estate remains committed to the future of the property. The property is currently been occupied by a family member during January. Thereafter we have contractors instructed to undertake various repairs before the property is formally offered to the market to re-let. Ideally we would like to find a tenant who would build the business and ultimately diversify from just a pub – there are good outbuildings and therefore a little shop, café or other would in my opinion be an asset for the village. This structure would also help to support the pub element of the business. I would be interested to hear the PC’s view on this approach as planning permissions may be required.
Sleaford Football Club – I am in contact with them. I am meeting them on site on Friday – they would like to make Osbournby their home pitch. Again linked to the above this could be good for the village. This could also pave the way for play equipment as part of the Drove development.
Drove development - the current owner still has the site for sale, hence there is limited involvement with the Estate. That said, the Estate will try to facilitate the development should the existing owner sell the land. The planning permission has been crystalized and therefore no further planning consents are required before development. The Estate would like to see S106 monies distributed to the school and for the purchase of play equipment. I have written to the current owner again asking for an update, also suggesting the site should be cleared and cut. I will let you know if I receive a response.
area – we have been trawling through historic records at the Estate Office to hopefully help – which hasn’t resulted in anything helpful I’m afraid. From looking at the evidence we have gathered, it is difficult for the estate to prove ownership. It is possible that the area in question was part of the original highways ownership, possibly when the road layout was changed. The advice so far is that the Estate would also find it difficult in claim adverse possession as the land is clearly accessed by the village. I suspect an approach to the Council - Highways asking whether they can review historic records would be the next step.
Sycamore Farm – the property has now been sold. Hopefully the property will be renovated soon.
It was agreed that Mrs King would contact LCC Highways and NKDC to see if the ownership of the land at the cowpond could be identified.
Mr Mark Jones had not mentioned in his email the trees that appeared to be in danger of falling alongside the public footpath on the way to the Mickling. Cllr Jackson will take photos which can be sent to Mr Jones.
40. Payments since last report in November 2020.
9.11.20 Cheque No. 855 Streetwise £252.00
856 P&P French £180.00
857 LALC £4.50
858 R.Jackson £120.00
26.11.20 859 NKDC £99.00
860 Alan Drury £120.00
18.12.20 861 Mrs E King £324.88
862 HMRC £71.60
863 Lincs YMCA £48.00
41. Correspondence: No correspondence had been received which had not been discussed or circulated.
42. Dates of Next Meetings: Meetings to go back to being first Wednesday of every second month: 3 March, 5 May, 7 July, 1 September, 4 November. Depending on Government guidelines these meetings will either be via Zoom or in person.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.45 p.m.
Following the meeting the Councillors were shown the new website and discussions were held as to what could be included