CEMETERY COMMITTEE

Minutes of the meeting of the Cemetery Committee held on Saturday, 8 February 2003 at 10.30am in the Cemetery. Councillor Fisk, Chairman, presided over Councillor Auger and the clerk. No members of the public were present.

029 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received and accepted from Councillor Lewis.

030 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST none.

031 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

It was noted that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 November 2002 had been received at the Council meeting held on 28 November 2002 without adverse comment and were subsequently adopted and signed at the Council meeting held on 2 January 2003. The minutes were therefore accepted as a true and correct record without further discussion.

032 MATTERS ARISING NOT DEALT WITH ELSEWHERE ON THE AGENDA

.1	Memorial safety (021)	The clerk reported that the survey was underway.
.2	Clearance works (026)	Members noted that the approved works had not been started and asked the clerk to request that the appointed contractor now give the matter early attention.
.3	Budget 2003/04 (027)	Following the Council’s decision to use the play area for its originally intended purpose and not seek an alternative burial ground, the clerk confirmed that the final budget approved for the Committee included an additional allocation of £1,500 in the event that the area is entirely vacated by South Kesteven District Council and maintenance costs revert back to the Parish Council as a result.

033 CORRESPONDENCE

.1

Risk assessment - Tree inspections

The clerk reported that permission had been requested of, and received from, South Kesteven District Council’s Arboriculturist for urgent works to the London Plane Tree to cut back excessive growth of ivy and raise the canopy so that it did not interfere with users of the footpath. The works had since been carried out and this action was confirmed. As part of the risk assessment for the Cemetery the clerk further sought advice regarding the general condition of the trees. The Arboriculturist had reported that although visual inspections of the London Plane Tree and the Wellingtonia did not show any particular cause for concern, it was nevertheless prudent in view of their size, age and positioning in a public place to have an internal inspection carried out at regular intervals, usually every 2 3 years dependent upon the findings. The Committee agreed to recommend that the Council accepted this advice and instructed the clerk to obtain a quote for such works for consideration at the next full Council meeting.

034 INSPECTION OF CEMETERIES

The Committee inspected the entire area to consider the standards of maintenance, health & safety and other risk issues. Members were generally satisfied with the overall condition and appearance of the cemetery and agreed to make the following recommendations:

1.    The yew tree which is showing signs of disease and distress to be removed*.

2.    The wild fruit tree in the north west corner of the old cemetery to have two diseased boughs removed*.

3.    For health and safety reasons, the canopies of all other trees to be raised and pruned in a sensitive manner to avoid interference with members of the public*.

4.    For health and safety reasons, brambles and other weed growth from old graves to be cut back in a sensitive manner to avoid interference with members of the public.

5.    Replacement of the cemetery tap for health & safety reasons at a cost of £262.68 + VAT quotation provided by Robinson Construction (Deeping) Ltd

* Subject to approval by SKDC, the Planning Authority for the Conservation Area.

The Committee reviewed the amount of land currently available for interments and agreed that the extension works would need to commence in late autumn/early winter to enable the land to be ready for use from summer/autumn 2004. The clerk was instructed to negotiate with South Kesteven District Council a mutually convenient date within this time frame for the removal of the play equipment. The Committee further agreed to discuss the schedule of works for the extension at its next meeting.

035 GROUNDS MAINTENANCE CONTRACT FOR 2003/04

The clerk reminded members that the current contract had been issued for a period of one year with a view to extending to a second year following review. Having considered the quality of work undertaken during the past year, it was agreed to recommend that:

1.    Huddlestone Landscapes be offered the extension year subject to the updated price per visit being acceptable to the Council.

2.    The Committee be authorised to increase the frequency of grass cutting during the main growing period as it sees fit in order to keep the area tidy and prevent potential for complaint without further reference to the Council providing that such works can be met from the Committee’s maintenance budget for 2003/04.

The clerk advised members that a recent meeting had been held with the contractor to discuss issues relating to levels of insurance cover expected as part of the original contract award. The contractor confirmed that the necessary cover was in place

036 DATE OF NEXT MEETING To be advised.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 11.10am.