Minutes of the Meeting of Fotherby Parish Council on 2nd January 2024
Present: Cllr Steve Mansfield (Chair), Cllr Tim Hunter (Vice Chair), Cllr Kevin Ensell, Cllr Lee Sutton, Cllr Christina Chen
Apologies: Viv Davies (Clerk)
(Minutes taken by Carol Libera)
The meeting commenced with an open forum. 5 residents were present.
OPEN FORUM:
Cllr Mansfield offered printouts of the recent Archer survey in Peppin Lane, should anyone want one.
A Parishioner queried the dates of FPC meetings in April and May as they will clash with Bank Holidays so may need to be changed. It was decided that the dates would probably be moved to Tuesdays 2nd April and 7th May but Cllr Mansfield would check with the Clerk.
Mention was also made about the ‘bivouac’ built on Fotherby Common, which had been shown on Fotherby Community facebook page. Whilst there were no actual objections, there was a possibility that whoever keeps making it may be removing the long branches which mark out the pathways. It was also feared that it may attract an undesirable element as drug paraphernalia had been seen there in the past. It was agreed to leave it and monitor its use.
Mention was also made of all the bottles lined up on the edge of the valley at the Common. It was suggested that bottle hunters had been at work looking for older bottles emerging from the Tip and this would always be a problem as the Tip continues to expose buried items.
BUSINESS TO BE TRANSACTED
1/2024 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Mrs V Davies, Clerk.
2/2024 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – TO BE STATED IN ANY PROPOSITION
There were no declarations of interest.
3/2024 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF 4.12.23
Cllr Hunter proposed, seconded Cllr Sutton approval of the minutes of 4 December 2023. Cllr Mansfield signed the minutes.
4/2024 CLERKS UPDATE unavailable
5/2024 MATTERS ARISING FROM ACTION PLAN/MINUTES
There were no matters arising
6/2024 FINANCE
Cllr Mansfield has seen the financial documents sent by the Clerk. Proposed Cllr Mansfield, seconded Cllr Ensell approval of the cheques below.
There was some discussion on the expenses as the sheet is not totally self-explanatory. It was suggested that the Clerk could explain this in more detail, concerning the entry as PAYE, when she is available.
Chq No.
1373 WAVE Allotment Water £19.10
1374 V Davies Clerk Salary £224.60
1375 V Davies Clerk Expenses + reimbursement £81.61
7/2024 PLANNING APPLICATIONS: TO CONSIDER ANY NEW OR ONGOING APPLICATIONS
Cllr Hunter had seen an application to build 50+ houses in Louth but this is not of concern to Fotherby so no comment will be made.
8/2024 MAINTENANCE AT THE DOCK
There will be an article in January Keyhole explaining the need for a gardener for 4 hours a month, in the hope someone will come forward to take it on.
9/2024 FLOOD RISK ITEMS:
FIELD DRAINAGE, REAR ALLENBY CRESCENT
There had been a letter received from the field owner’s representative towards the end of last year where they had stated their intention to look at it properly in the Spring.
Cllr Mansfield stated that a resident of Allenby had been very helpful in supplying him with information and photographs as well as walking the field edge to obtain photos of the dyke and boundaries.
10/2024 PROPOSAL TO RELOCATE PARISH SHED & PURCHASE COMMUNITY SANDBAGS
Mr Pridgeon has stated that this will be discussed at the Almshouses Trust meeting this month and will listen to what the Almshouses residents want. It was hoped to move the shed from the churchyard to a place more central in the village for convenience of access, also to avoid anyone trying to move sandbags through the churchyard, if it remained in its current position.
11/2024 FOTHERBY COMMON: APPLICATION FOR LOTTERY FUNDING UPDATE FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENTS
Cllr Ensell has prepared the first draft of the Lottery application and hopes to finish it during February. Cllr Sutton will ask a different company for a quote so that the grant application can be completed as the road is getting worse. It was agreed that it would be good to have all the information available to Cllr Ensell as soon as possible.
12/2024 PREPARATION FOR INTERNAL AUDIT: TO APPOINT INTERNAL AUDITOR
The Clerk to be asked to double check that matters are in hand concerning this.
13/2024 LITTER STRATEGY & FLY TIPPING UPDATE
There has been some small scale fly tipping recently and Cllr Ensell has contacted the Police, in particular concerning the number of cans littering the verges and the ongoing implications of drink driving. The Police assured him that they are aware of the situation and had recently stopped and arrested a driver in Utterby for drugs. A further update is going into Keyhole.
14/2024 VILLAGE ASSETS:
AUDIT OF 30 MPH SIGNS
Cllr Mansfield has removed the broken 30 sign from near Little Grimsby Lane corner but has not yet had time to clean the others.
SID UPDATE
Cllr Chen confirmed that Mr Drury has received the SID and will look at it later this month. Cllr Chen discussed with Cllr Sutton the notes inside the box and will order anything needed to get the SID up and running again.
15/2024 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will take place on Monday 5th February 2024