DEEPING ST JAMES PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held at The Institute on Thursday, 30 September 2004 at 7.30pm. Councillor Warrick, Chairman, presided over Councillors Abel, Auger, Blessett, Clare, Dilks (arrived 8pm), Fisk, Helyar, Shinkins, Stevens, Thomas and the clerk. Two members of the press were present. There were three members of the public present.

147/04 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received and the reasons accepted from Cllr Blades for personal reasons and Cllr Chambers due to family bereavement.

148/04 MOTION TO CHANGE THE ORDER OF BUSINESS

Cllr Warrick, seconded by Cllr Shinkins, proposed that in accordance with Standing Orders 23 (d) to change the order of business to permit agenda item 4 regarding the co option of a new councillor be moved to immediately before Parish Pump as several candidates had now applied. This was unanimously agreed.

149/04 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST- None

150/04 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 August 2004 having previously been circulated, were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.

151/04 REPORT OF MATTERS ARISING OUT OF THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

Having regard to probity Cllr Helyar and Cllr Auger, as members of S.K.D.C., took no part on matters relating to the Health Check and did not register a vote.

Cllr Blessett reported back to the Parish Council with the report on the working parties findings with regard to the Health Check Consultation. It was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that the Parish Council would respond positively to the Health Check but suggest that it have the same common aims and purposes as the County Structure Plan. It was also proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that if a Programme Leader was appointed, he would be invited to attend a meeting of the Parish Council.

Cllr Shinkins reported that the earth banks at the skate park were not yet in place but that a local contractor would soon have the necessary machinery available to carry out this work on a voluntary basis.

152/04 CORRESPONDENCE BEFORE THE COUNCIL

The Council considered its response to the following correspondence, a summary detailing the content having been previously circulated.

Having regard to probity in matters relating to planning Cllr Helyar and Cllr Auger, as members of S.K.D.C., took no part on matters relating to planning and did not register a vote.

153/04 MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD ON 9^th AND 23^rd SEPTEMBER 2004

The minutes of the meetings were presented by Cllr Blessett. It was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed the Parish Council would accept the recommendations contained therein.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS BEFORE THE COUNCIL AT THIS MEETING

Ref.	Address	Proposal
S04/1369	12 Pendlebury Drive Deeping St James	Replacement of 1.8 m garden wall- No Objection
S04/1386	194a Eastgate, Deeping St James	Erection of dwelling- No Objection

154/04 FINANCIAL MATTERS

1. ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT

It was proposed by Cllr Helyar, seconded by Cllr Stevens and unanimously agreed to pay the following accounts:

2. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALLOWANCES AND EXPENSES FROM SKDC REMUNERATION PANAL.

The Clerk reported that these had not yet been received and it was agreed to defer this item to the next meeting.

2. Report from Summer Play Scheme

The report from the Summer Play Scheme was received by the Parish Council.

155/04 REPORTS

FINANCE COMMITTEE- The minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 04 were presented by Cllr Warrick. It was proposed by Cllr Warrick, seconded by Cllr Stevens and unanimously agreed to approve the minutes and the recommendations contained therein.

TRANSPORT COMMITTEE- The minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 04 were presented by Cllr Warrick with particular emphasis on the forthcoming road safety campaign. It was noted that the new CPSO was due to take up employment on the 4 October and the Clerk was asked to invite him to attend a meeting of the Parish Council. It was then proposed by Cllr Thomas, seconded by Cllr Auger and unanimously agreed to approve the minutes and the recommendations contained therein.

CEMETERY COMMITTEE- The minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 04 were presented by Cllr Auger. It was proposed by Cllr Auger, seconded by Cllr Blessett and unanimously agreed to approve the minutes and the recommendations contained therein.

ALLOTMENTS COMMITTEE- The minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 04 were presented by Cllr Fisk. Cllr Stevens expressed concern at the proposed rent of £20 a year for each plot and proposed that it should be set at £30, this was seconded by Cllr Shinkins with 5 votes for and six votes against. It was therefore carried that the rent would be set at £20 per year. It was then proposed by Cllr Fisk, seconded by Cllr Thomas and unanimously agreed to approve the minutes and the recommendations contained therein.

156/04 NOTICE OF RESOLUTION OR RECOMMENDATION

1. GRANT AID ASSISTANCE

Cllr Warrick, having given notice of recommendation that the Council considered the next round of applications for grant aid assistance in accordance with the Council’s procedures on grant aid, requested that the following application received by the closure date be debated:

2. EMPLOYMENT ISSUES- Cllr Stevens expressed concern at the lack of job searching provision locally. It was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed to write to South Kesteven District Council asking support for locally based employment services.

3. LIBRARY FACILITIES- Whilst Cllr Stevens expressed support for the local library she also expressed concern at the limited provision of local library facilities. It was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed to write to South Kesteven District Council asking for enhancement of local facilities.

4. FLOOD DEFENCE- Cllr Blessett expressed concern whether flood defence was adequately addressed and it was proposed, seconded and agreed that he would look further into this and report back at a later meeting.

5. HIGH LOCKS FOOTBRIDGE- It was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that Cllr Blessett would compose letter to Anglian water querying whether fencing was temporary and suggest that fencing in keeping with the local heritage would be more appropriate.

6. THE CROSS- Cllr Able suggested that anti-vandalism signing should be placed at monument. The Clerk was asked to investigate.

7. LOCAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT- Cllr Shinkins asked that the former Terry Wrights shop which has now been occupied with new businesses should be considered as a new business development area. It was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that the new businesses be contacted and welcomed by the Parish Council and to investigate promoting the area with hanging baskets, Christmas Trees etc. The Clerk was asked to contact the owners of the former petrol station to enquire their long term intentions with the land.

157/04 MOTION TO EXCLUDE THE PUBLIC AND PRESS

In accordance with Standing Order 63, it was proposed by Cllr Anderson, seconded by Cllr Chambers and unanimously agreed that, in accordance with Section 1(2) of the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings Act) 1960 the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business due to its confidential nature.

158/04 CO OPTION OF NEW COUNCILLOR

The Clerk had previously circulated all five applications for the vacancy caused by the resignation of Councillor Anderson and the applications were duly considered. A vote was then taken in accordance with Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) Rules 1986/2215,r 8(3) and LGA 1972, Sch 12, para 39 and Mr Andrew Pelling received an absolute majority vote.

The members were very impressed by both the response and calibre of the candidates. It was proposed, seconded and unanimously approved for the Clerk to write and suggest they apply again should another vacancy occur or at the next elections.

The meeting reverted to open session at this point.

159/04 PARISH PUMP

Cllr Redgrave reported that some pavements within the parish were stained by old chewing gum which was very unsightly. However it was noted that removal required special machinery which was not readily available.

Cllr Blessett reported that the police had diverted traffic across Deeping Gate Bridge following an incident and that the resulting traffic was extremely heavy. He expressed doubts on this course of action and requested it be considered at the next meeting on 28 October 04.

Cllr Shinkins requested that ‘out of hours’ health care be placed on the agenda for the next meeting. The Clerk reported that she had received a letter asking for this to be discussed at this meeting but that it had not been received with sufficient time and would be placed in the correspondence for the meeting on 28 October 04.

The meeting closed at 10.00 pm.

Signed: ……………………………………… Chairman Date: 28 October 04