February 2020
Approved Minutes of the Meeting of Rippingale Parish Council, held on Thursday 13 February 2020 in the Village Hall
Present: Cllrs C. Charlton (Chairman), S. Goode, S. Charlton, E. Field-Lucas & A. Vaughan
In Attendance: Michelle Free (Clerk/RFO) & 3 Members of Public (incl HCS Co-ord, RGAG Reps & VHMC Chair).
Public Forum: The Chairman opened the Public Forum at 7.00pm and gave an overview of the process. There were no comments made.
1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks.
283. The Chairman opened the Meeting at 7.02pm. There was a lot on the Agenda, which included a review of policies and procedures. The Chairman reminded the Cllrs of the need to be succinct in their comments.
2. Apologies for Absence.
284. Cllrs Warcup & Moseley were absent. Apologies had been received from Cllr Warcup.
3. To receive any new Declarations of Interest.
285. There were no new Declarations of Interest to be recorded. A number of Cllrs were direct and indirect beneficiaries of some expenditure transactions presented for approval at item 7.1.3 (308).
4. Approve Minutes of the previous Council Meeting.
286. The Chairman highlighted a typo and an omitted word in the published DRAFT Minutes. The Council unanimously resolved to accept the Amended Minutes of the Meeting on 16 January 2020 as a true and accurate record. The Chairman and Clerk initialled the amendments and the Chairman signed the file copy. Clerk to publish the approved Minutes.
5. External & Community Group Updates.
5.1 Police, County & District Councillors’ Reports
287. There were no reports from the Police, LCC or SKDC.
288. The Chairman stated that the Sands Court and Scarborough Court hedges had not been cut; the Sands Court hedge was obstructing the footpath. SKDC was responsible for the maintenance and he had reported the issues online. Clerk to report and chase.
5.2 Community Groups & Organisations.
289. RJPFT. Updates discussed at item 6.2 (300).
290. Neighbourhood Plan. Cllr C. Charlton briefed the Council on the steady progress and last night’s Meeting: all policies were now complete and a skeleton plan was with the Consultants; public consultations had been arranged at the Dowsby and Rippingale Village Halls, the latter on the 27 & 29 February; a flyer had been produced and would be delivered to all households in both villages. The next meeting was planned for 4 March. The Steering Group planned to present the proposed Plan to both Parish Councils on 12 March.
291. RGAG. As previously resolved, Cllr S. Charlton confirmed that an allotment inspection had been carried out with Council and RGAG Representatives; the inspection report had been previously circulated to all Cllrs. A few issues, including some H&S matters, had arisen and letters to the tenants were in progress. The plots required remeasuring to ensure the documented sizes were correct, and some adjustment to the plot numbering would help avoid confusion. The Council thanked the RGAG Chairman and Treasurer for their time and appreciated the assistance. It was unanimously resolved for the remeasuring of the allotment plots to be delegated to 3 Cllrs in conjunction with RGAG Cttee Reps.
292. The RGAG Chairman highlighted that the dyke between the allotments and the highway needed clearing. The Council Chairman confirmed that this had been reported to LCC who were monitoring the situation; the RGAG Ctte were also asked to consider reporting the issue. The dyke could be cleared by self-help but at own risk. The RGAG stated that he would clear the grid.
293. Feast. In the absence of Cllr Warcup, the Chairman confirmed that the Cttee were working hard on planning the Annual Event. Cllr Field-Lucas stated that a list of competitions was due to be included in the next Newsletter, along with an invite for other ideas. See item 5.2.1 (297) for Feast Constitution.
294. HCS. The Co-ord stated that everything was ‘hunky-dory’. The Scheme was one driver short, but no more volunteers had come forward.
295. VHMC. The VHMC Chair stated that there had been some storm damage to a side fence panel and a roof tile was missing. The fence had been mended but they were awaiting the storms to pass before getting the roof repaired. A Comedy Night was arranged for Marchand a Ceilidh Dance was planned to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
296. PCC. No update as there had been no PCC Meeting.
5.2.1 Feast Constitution Feedback
297. The revised Constitution had been reviewed by the Feast Cttee and a few minor tweaks were proposed. The Council unanimously resolved to accept the revised Feast Constitution. The Chairman signed 2 copies. Cllr Field-Lucas to present the copies to the Feast Cttee Chair for signature; one to be given to the Clerk on completion.
5.2. Allotment Maintenance
298. Due to the ongoing waterlogged field, the hedge had been cut by a Contractor; invoice included at item 7.1.3 (308).
6. Parish Matters.
6.1 Woodland Trust Tree Scheme
299. No details circulated. Item deferred due to absence of Cllr Moseley. Ongoing.
6.2 JPF Play Equipment Project & RJPFT Grant Funding Update
300. The Chairman stated that approx. £11,000 had been raise to date with an additional £10,000 each allocated by both the Council and SKDC. The Bishop of Lincoln’s Social Fund application was still pending; an application to the Postcode Lottery Fund had also been resubmitted. The deadline date of 31 March for the Crowdfund SK could not be altered. It was hoped that donations may be received following the publicity in the Grantham Journal and Stamford Mercury. Chairman to update the Crowdfund SK page.
301. An update of the previous quotes was in progress. The requirement to advertise the project on the Contract Finders website was unclear; mandatory for projects costing in excess of £25,000 of public funds. More investigation was required. Ongoing.
302. The Play Equipment Annual Inspection Report had been received. All items were low or very low risk, apart from the swing chain (moderate). Chain to be checked by Cllrs Vaughan and S. Charlton with regards to replacement or removal.
6.3 Update on Bus Shelters Request
303. The Chairman invited W. Gray to speak. Following the article in the last Newsletter, 2 responses had been received. Both were negative. A request for both positive and negative comments was suggested. W. Gray stated that she had received an offer of £1,000 sponsorship for each of the 2 shelters; the VHMC may also be able to donate a small amount. In was unanimously agreed for the Chairman to include another notice in the Newsletter.
6.4 75th Anniversary VE Day Celebrations
304. The option to arrange additional village events was considered. The Council unanimously agreed that the event was already sufficiently marked with the events already being planned by the Church and VHMC. No further events were required.
6.5 Great British Spring Clean
305. The option to arrange local activities to coincide with the Keep Britain Tidy events was considered. A designated event would require much effort to set up. Residents were usually proactive in picking up litter; most was thought to come from vehicles passing through the village. The cut verges had highlighted a lot of rubbish but LCC were thought to be considering their own ‘Big Clean’ initiative. It was unanimously agreed for a self-help message to be included in the Newsletter.
7. Finance Matters
7.1 FY2019/20:
7.1.1 Accounts to date & Independent Check
306. The RFO gave an overview of the previously circulated Accounts to 31 January and invited comments. Cllr Goode had checked the invoices and online banking and agreed with the reconciled bank statements. There were no questions or comments.
7.1.2 Interim Internal Audit
307. The interim independent Internal Audit had now been carried out. Due to a bereavement the report was still pending but the findings had been circulated to the Council: a query regarding reclaiming additional VAT had been clarified. The Chairman acknowledged the in-depth audit.
7.1.3 Approval of Income & Expenditure List
308. The previously circulated list was presented for approval. The reimbursement of Feast Expenses to Cllr Field-Lucas was deferred until the next Meeting to enable 2 independent Cllrs to sign the cheques and payment sheets. The Council resolved to approve the list of income & expenditure; Cllr C. Charlton abstained from resolving his expenses payment and Cllr S. Charlton abstained from the resolution on the payment to E.C. Charlton & Son. Cllrs Field-Lucas & Vaughan signed the cheques and payments sheet. Clerk to submit BACS payments.
7.2 FY2020/21:
7.2.1 Parish Agreement of LCC Grass Cutting
309. The Agreement for the LCC verge safety cuts had been previously circulated. There was no change to the areas or the agreement terms. The Council unanimously resolved to accept the terms of the Agreement; the Chairman signed the acceptance form. Clerk to submit to LCC.
8. Planning Updates
310. The Clerk confirmed that application S19/1868 and S19/1993 were still pending. S19/1782 (Single Storey rear extension at Chaff Houses) had been conditionally granted.
9. Admin Matters
9.1 Annual Policy & Procedures Review
311. The following, previously circulated policies, associated model templates and comments were reviewed: Code of Conduct; Complaints; Disciplinary & Grievance; Financial Regulations; Equal Opportunities; Grants; Health & Safety; Recording of Council Meetings; Risks; Standing Orders.
312. The Council unanimously resolved to accept the existing documents, spending limits and durations; the incorporation of the legislation changes to the Disciplinary & Grievance Policies; update of the S.137 expenditure; and terminology changes based on the NALC & LALC model documents.
313. The inclusion of a Fire Policy was deferred until the outcome of the JPF Portacabin planning application was known. Further clarification was required from LALC on vexatious complaints. Clerk to contact LALC. Clerk to publish revised policies.
9.2 Review of Rippingale News Layout
314. Cllr Field-Lucas highlighted the comments received regarding the Rippingale News. Change options were discussed. It was unanimously resolved to adopt a standardised layout and impose a limit on the size/word count for submissions. Cllr Field-Lucas granted delegated authority to finalise the layout in conjunction with the Newsletter Editor.
9.3 Clerk Report & Correspondence
315. The Report had been previously circulated, and the correspondence was available for inspection. The Clerk had booked to attend the FOI & Data Protection training prior to the cost increase.
9.3.1 The Pension Regulator Re-declaration
316. The Clerk reminded the Council of its legal duty as an employer to review and re-declare its compliance of staff enrolment in a pension scheme every 3 years. There were no staff eligible for auto-enrolment. The Clerk had completed the re-declaration subject to Council approval. The Council unanimously resolved that the re-declaration was correct.
9.3.2 Website Training
317. LCC were updating the website used by the Parish Council and attendance by one representative at the mandatory training was required. Both the Clerk and Website Co-ord required administrative access to the website. Both were available to attend and would train the other as required. The Council unanimously resolved for the Clerk to attend the Website training.
9.4 Matters Arising Matrix.
318. There were no additional items to be discussed.
10. Urgent Reports.
319. The Chairman informed the Council that Cllr Goode was resigning from the Council on conclusion of the Meeting due to a change in work commitments. On behalf of the Council, the Chairman thanked Cllr Goode for everything he had done throughout his tenure, especially involvement with overseeing the Finances. The Clerk stated that the vacancy notice would be published following the Meeting. If the SKDC Returning Officer did not received notice a request for an election the post could be filled by Co-option.
11. Items for Next Agenda
320. Review of the remaining policies and allotment plot measurements to be included on the next Agenda.
There being no more business, the Chairman closed the Meeting at 8.11pm and opened a Post Meeting Public Forum. There were no comments.