October 2023 Minutes

Morton crest

MORTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting for Morton Parish Council held on Monday 9th October 2023, at 6:30pm in the Community Room at Morton Trentside School

15-minute public forum – Ian Eccleshare, Laura Eccleshare, Albert Parker in attendance.  

Chair welcomed Ian, Laura, and Albert to the meeting.   Ian was invited to address the Council regarding Agenda item 8a(ii) where he gave a brief overview of the family run business and explained the need to expand his current site by a further 4-acres by utilising a field to the rear to store and process inert materials, which includes construction, soil, and recyclable waste.  This plot is already owned by the company and is not visible from the road.  A bund would be constructed around the area to reduce noise and dust.  Councillors expressed concern of increased traffic, which would have an impact on the village. Ian explained that by expanding the current storage site this would enable better and more efficient storage which would result in less site traffic in the long term, as currently waste is having to be regularly transported to sites out of the area which increases traffic and the carbon footprint.  Cllr Gott asked what the bund would be made up of and Ian replied that this would be 4.5-5 metres in height and made up of soil and grass.  A comprehensive Design and Access Statement had been published and Ian welcomed anyone to visit the site if they so wished.  

Cllr B Allison thanked Ian for attending the meeting and any observations/comments submitted by the Council would be in line with the Morton Neighbourhood Plan.

Ian, Laura, and Albert left the meeting at 6.43 pm.

In Attendance - Cllr B Allison, Cllr J Butoid, Cllr Parry, Cllr Youngman, Cllr Gott, Cllr Lightfoot, C.Graves (clerk)

1.   Apologies For Absence – Cllr C Allison – apologies noted and accepted. Cllr Ward - No apologies received.  

Cllr B Allison informed the Council that a letter of resignation had been received from Cllr Mander.  Clerk to inform WLDC and arrange notification of vacancy.

2.   Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 11th September 2023 - Proposed as a true and accurate record by Cllr Lightfoot. Seconded by Cllr Butroid.

3.   Declarations of Interest – Cllr Butroid, 54 Field Lane (8b), Cllr Gott and Cllr Youngman (8aii)

4.   Accounts – Distributed prior to meeting. No questions.  Proposed Cllr Lightfoot. Seconded Cllr Gott.

a)   AGAR Notice of Conclusion – Clerk informed the Council that the external audit was now complete, and a notice of conclusion had been received. The following except for matters were raised; The AGAR was not accurately completed before submission for review. Please ensure that amendments are corrected in the prior year comparatives when completing next year’s AGAR. Information received from the smaller authority indicates that assets purchased during the current year have not been included in Section 2, Box 9. 

5.   Community Safety (Crime, Vandalism, Anti-Social Behaviour & Speeding) 

a)   SID data – Cllr B Allison distributed data collected from SID1 and SID2 between 1st and 30th September.  Cllr Youngman raised concern at a recent fatality that had occurred in East Stockwith. Clerk to contact Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership and request information of other parishes who had speed tests carried out.

b)   New crime reports – Clerk informed the Council that a large knife had been found in the cemetery by the gardener.  The Clerk had reported this to the police and handed it in at the station.  Clerk advised that it proved difficult to access the police station, despite being informed by Lincolnshire control room that it was open, she found it closed.

Parish Council Engagement Session - Lincolnshire Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner are embarking on a new programme of online engagement sessions to hear about the work being done to keep communities safe and the Parish Council can submit questions prior to the session, the first being on 14th December.   Cllr B Allison was nominated to represent the Council and he requested that councillors consider what topic they wish to be raised, these should be emailed to either Cllr B Allison or the clerk.

6.   Playing Field & Shared Community Facilities 

a)   Formation of Playing Field Committee – Clerk distributed a brief report from Cllr C Allison. Attendance was disappointing for the initial meeting however the next meeting was planned for 6th November.  School representative raised the question of safeguarding, although it was generally felt that the community have lost their ability to use this community area.

b)   Hot water supply – Clerk to email school following a change in leadership and make introductions with a view to arranging a meeting where use of the community room and any improvements needed to the facilities can be discussed further. 

c)   Liability Insurance – Clerk reported that she had sought advice from the insurers and spoke briefly with the clerk of Lea Parish Council regarding their recent anniversary festival.  As the Parish Council would not be responsible for running the festival it was advised by the insurers that the committee would be required to arrange their own liability insurance.   Discussion took place regarding renting out the playing field for a small nominal rate. Cllr Youngman advised that the next festival meeting was 25th October.

7.   Burial Ground

a)   Grant Update (refurbishment work to carriageway) – Clerk advised the Council that unfortunately the expression of interest that had been submitted to WLDC for consideration of funding towards the cost of the refurbishment had been refused, as it was felt that this would not benefit the wider community. Discussion took place regarding the quotes received of approximately £16,000 and what the council could allocate from the current budget.  Cllr Parry advised that although the accounts were healthy, consideration should be given to ensure that adequate funds are kept in reserve for unexpected costs and ongoing increases in services.  Cllr B Allison suggested that other options for funding should be explored, including approaching businesses that are involved with the burial ground. Clerk to investigate this further.  Cllr Youngman suggested that the two bushes either side of the carriage are trimmed back to ensure that hearses and vehicles can easily pass when necessary.   Clerk to contact PC Garden Maintenance. 

b)   Clerk would have sample letters for review regarding the cremation plots prior to the next meeting. 

8.   Planning

a)   New planning applications received:

i)   147236 – application for change of use of existing summer house for use as daycare business, resubmission of 146189. 16 Mill Lane, Morton, DN21 3BW. Clerk to submit no comments.

ii)   PL/0069/23 – change of use of agricultural land to be used for storage and process of inert materials as part of existing waste transfer system.  Gainsborough Skip Hire, Laughton Lane, Morton. Following the public forum earlier in the meeting councillors considered what impact the expansion would have on the village; the main concerns being increased traffic.  It was therefore agreed that along with the relevant points of the Neighbourhood Plan observations to be submitted would include a need for the applicant to ensure that the bund was erected, as soon as possible and site traffic monitored closely. It was hoped that if the application was granted the expansion of the business may create further employment opportunities for the area.  Cllr Parry shared his disappointment through past experiences when planning applications had been granted and breaches had been overlooked by the enforcement department at WLDC and lack of action taken.

iii)   147365 – application for part two storey part single storey rear extension including detached annexe.  36 Walkerith Road, Morton, DN21 3BZ.  Council had concerns relating to flood risk and adequate escape from the detached single storey annexe.  Clerk to submit observations.

b)   54 Field Lane (Kitty’s Field) - no update.

c)   Neighbourhood plan and new central Lincolnshire local plan – Cllr B Allison distributed a list of policies relating to the 2017 local plan crossed referenced to the new 2023 plan for reference along with amendments, policies no longer valid and new policies.

9.   Village Environment

a)   Re-wilding Field Lane – Cllr Butroid updated the Council on progress. Funding may be available from the Councillor Initiative Fund or Community Fund from WLDC. Notification of planned re-wilding to residents would be arranged for social media, notice board and website.  Clerk to approach L Slingsby and ask for advice regarding the impact on grass cutting. 

b)   Fix my street – Report circulated by Cllr B Allison for October, which included 8 active reports in and around the village. 

10.   Tyler Trust – Cllr Butroid gave a brief update.  No funding requests had been received and the move across to internet banking was now complete. 

11.   Village Hall Representative – Cllr Youngman gave a summary of the recently held AGM.  The committee were looking to recruit new members to join, and anyone interested should contact the village hall committee.  The hall continued to be utilised to its full potential including regular theatre and entertainment groups, craft clubs and exercise classes. Some planting had taken place in the garden and the annual Christmas Fayre would take place on 3rd December. Chairman thanked Cllr Youngman for her report. 

12.   Community Assets

a)   Refurbishment of noticeboard – Clerk to arrange quotes. 

13.   Councillor Updates – Cllr B Allison informed the Council that the website www.crashmap.co.uk is a useful publicly available map which identifies road traffic collisions in the area. Results can be filtered according to the area and particular casualty types.

14.   Items for Inclusion on next Agenda 

a)   Cremation plots

b)   Re-wilding

c)   Councillor Vacancy

d)   Clerk’s salary – closed session

15.   Date and time of Next Meeting – Monday 13th November at 6:30 to be held at Community Room, Morton Trentside School.

Meeting closed at 8 pm.