December 2022 Minutes
MORTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting for Morton Parish Council held on Monday 5th December 2022 6.30 pm Morton Village Hall
15 minute public forum – no members of the public in attendance.
In Attendance - Cllr Parry (Chair), Cllr B Allison (Vice-Chair), Cllr Gott, Cllr Bull, Cllr Butroid, Cllr C Allison, Cllr Hammerton, C Graves (Clerk)
1. Apologies For Absence – Cllr Youngman, Cllr Panter, Cllr Snee – apologies noted and accepted.
2. Minutes of the Meeting held on 31st October 2022 - Approved by all Parish Councillors. Proposed as a true and accurate record by Cllr Butroid. Seconded by Cllr C Allison.
3. Declarations of Interest – No declarations of interest noted.
4. Matters Arising and Review of Outstanding Items
a) Crime Vandalism and Antisocial Behaviour – No police in attendance and no report received. Cllr Parry informed Council that the Clerk had received communication from Inspector Head advising that a directive had been issued over a year ago that PCSOs and Police officers no longer attend Parish Council meetings. Cllr Parry expressed disappointment that this information had not been shared as we were unaware of this directive. Discussion took place regarding lack of engagement from the police, leaving local issues unaddressed. However, Inspector Head had asked for a meeting with Cllr Parry and Clerk would liaise with Inspector Head, Chair and Vice-Chair with potential dates. Cllr Bull reported that there had been two burglaries on Laughton Lane recently.
b) Councillors Update – Cllr C Allison asked if the noticeboard could be re-stained as it was looking tired. Cllr Gott to action.
Cllr Butroid enquired whether there had been any update from Cllr Rollings regarding the warping drain funding. Some work had been undertaken to dig out, unfortunately, this has had limited affect as the drain continues to be blocked. Clerk to follow-up with Cllr Rollings. Clerk advised that St Pauls Church were hosting a Carols and Candle concert on the evening of Thursday 8 December, and all were welcome.
Cllr B Allison asked if any correspondence had been received from Tape to Tape prior to the 10k. Clerk advised that the only communication received was an email to notify of the road closures, however, this was received only a few days before and prior notification had already been received from highways. Cllr B Allison suggested that it would be beneficial for Tape to Tape to engage with the Council prior to next year’s race. Clerk to contact Tape to Tape.
Cllr C Allison advised that a trial of dog poo bag dispensers had been installed on Pump Alley and Trentside with information of the locations of bins in the village.
c) SID Signage – Cllr B Allison distributed data extracted from SID1 and SID2. Council raised concerns of the average daily violations (282 SID1) and (138 SID2) with a top speed of 94 mph in a 30mph zone. Following recent correspondence with Chief Inspector Haward of Lincolnshire Police the Council were encouraged to hear that Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership would be arranging a speed check for Morton in the new year. Clerk to share most recent data with LRSP and Inspector Head. Discussion took place regarding keeping SID1 charged, and it was agreed that the Clerk would enquire with Unipart about solar panels. Cllr Parry suggested that monies be ringfenced if needed for an additional solar sign and thanked Cllr B Allison for his report.
d) Parking – Cllr Gott reported that inconsiderate parking on the junction of Cross Street continues and there was an increase of cars parked on Front Street just after the bend from Morton Terrace. Cllr Hammerton informed the Council that he had contacted QEHS regarding student parking, however, there was little that could be done, and the school could not enforce anything. It was suggested that the issue was raised with Cllr Richard Davies of Lincolnshire Highways highlighting the Councils concerns. Clerk to action.
e) Lagoon – Cllr C Allison reported that there had been a marked increase in pichon lorries passing through the village. Clerk to request an update on the fence from WLDC enforcement.
5. Accounts – Financial statement distributed prior to meeting. As requested, the Clerks salary and expenses were now separately identified. Proposed Cllr B Allison. Seconded Cllr C Allison.
a) Setting of Precept 2023/24 – Financial forecast distributed by email on 9 November and Councillors requested to consider the precept estimate for 2023/24 for submission to WLDC by the end of November. It was resolved to submit a precept estimate of £14,963. Proposed Cllr Hammerton, Seconded Cllr B Allison (email response). Clerk to action.
Discussion took place regarding election expenses. Cllr Parry requested that the Council consider including an election expense element on submission of the final precept. Clerk advised that if a contested election were to occur costs would be shared with district council elections. It was resolved to include £500 for election expenses on the final precept. Proposed Cllr Parry. Seconded Cllr B Allison.
6. Burial Ground – Quotes for carriageway repairs would be sought in the new year. Clerk expressed concern that on handover from the previous clerk the database was not up to date and records were not in good order which made it difficult and time consuming when requests were received for historical plot references. Clerk would work her way through the records and update the database, however, this would take time. A letter of appreciation was shared with the Council that the Clerk had received from Mrs Pritchard thanking her for conducting enquiries relating to a family burial plot.
7. Planning Matters – No applications received and no update on the Horsley Road development. It is understood that Floss Mill Lane is a private road so it is unclear how this would work for site access. Cllr B Allison reported that it was interesting to note that LCC no longer install street lighting on new developments and this responsibility falls to the developer.
8. Playing Field and School Facilities – Cllr Butroid reported that work continues to be successful on reducing the rabbits. Cllr B Allison asked whether the annual cost of £4,300 on maintaining the playing field against an income of £540 was acceptable. Cllr Parry replied that charges to local sports teams was kept to a minimum to encourage use of the playing field, however, he did understand the frustrations of members of the public not being able to use the field in school hours. The Parish Council also receive no financial contribution from the school. Clerk had received communications that the plans for a Morton Festival on 15 July 2023 had been cancelled. Cllr Parry requested that the Clerk contact all parties interested in the Playing Field Committee and contact the school and sporting team for representation.
9. Website Maintenance – Clerk gave an update on the website maintenance service. Currently the annual service level agreement was 10 hours. This number of hours was adequate and any hours remaining (up to 5 hours) could be carried over. Costs for 2023 would be £170 excluding VAT. Cllr Butroid enquired if the Clerk carried out any maintenance of the website. Clerk replied that although initial online training was given it soon began apparent that maintenance of the website was quite a task for clerks with no website experience. Cllr Hammerton thought that the charges were good value for money. It was resolved to continue with the website maintenance service. Proposed Cllr B Allison. Seconded Cllr Butroid. Discussion took place regarding recommendations for secure .gov email addresses for parish councils and councillors. It was felt that one dedicated email address is adequate, and Clerk would explore costs and set-up. Although this was not mandatory it would ensure that if a new clerk was appointed in the future contact details for email would remain the same.
10. Meeting Dates 2023 – Revised dates distributed prior to meeting up to 15 May 2023 which would include the Annual Parish Meeting and the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and dates for the remainder of the year would be agreed thereafter.
11. Items for inclusion on the next Agenda
a) Precept – Final
12. Date and Time of Next Meeting – Monday 9th January 2023 at 6.30pm, Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 7.55pm.