APM Draft Minutes - 10th May 2023
Caythorpe and Frieston Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 10th May 2023
Present:
Councillors: Fritzsche (Chair), Crawley, Sandy, Dudfield, Roberts
There was 1 member of the public.
Clerk: Mrs D Manderfield
1 Apologies for Absence
Councillors: Allen
2 Approval of Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting 2022
These minutes had been presented previously and signed by the chairman as a true record of the meeting.
3 Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
4 Annual Report from Portfolio Holders and the Chairman
4.1 Report by Cllr Crawley
4.1.1 Litter Picking and the Big Clean
The litter picker employed by the Council continues to assist in keeping the villages clean, but has recently resigned to concentrate on her studies and sports. A replacement has been advertised for and one applicant has been identified and may be in post by the time of the APM
The Big Clean team attended the village on several occasion and have cleaned areas of roads and pavements. I continue to liaise with them for areas of priority.
I continue to liaise with Mid Uk about plastic waste from their operation and seek solutions to this ongoing issue.
I have organized litter picks around the village, organized for SKDC to clear the resultant rubbish and reported areas of fly tipping locally to SKDC.
New litter picking equipment has been purchased to equip the volunteers.
4.1.2 Environmental Sustainability
I have liaised with ESB who run the battery storage facility on Caythorpe Heath Lane and as a result, they have had a new gate fitted to try and stop fly tipping. A large quantity of new trees has been planted by them to screen the site and existing hedging has been trimmed and vegetation cut back. An area of wild flowers will be sown shortly.
I have approached the landowner of the field off Back Lane to scope the possibility of part of this being released as a new site for the village hall and playing field. This request has been turned down for the time being. I will raise this again should circumstances change.
Further trees have been planted on Millfield Crescent and along the A607, as well as around the playing field bringing the total planted to in excess of 300 with another 400 or more, planted around the battery storage site. We have obtained a petrol strimmer to assist in keeping the areas around newly planted trees clear of vegetation.
Voluntary donations from the Caythorpe DASH have increased the amount budgeted for tree planting.
As a result of Facebook publicity regarding tree planting , a local landowner has obtained and planted 950 trees just over the border of the Parish in Fulbeck that will have benefits for our own parish.
I have met with contractors to discuss and plan for fitting PV (solar panels), battery storage and air source heating to both the Village Hall and Hammond Pavillion. I have ascertained that there is grant funding available towards these works from SKDC. Detailed schemes and pricing are awaited.
I have been in communication and met with Lincoln County Council and Western Power about the possibility of installing EV charging points in the village. This project is ongoing.
I have spoken at the planning committee meeting regarding the application by New Earth Solutions for alterations and extended working hours at Mid Uk
4.1.3 Playing Fields
The new trees have been maintained and watered as necessary and I have pruned some of the hedging trees planted last year to keep them in check and encourage lateral growth. The Queens Platinum Jubilee hornbeam appears to have taken well on the playing field and looks resplendent in its purpose made tree guard.
I continue to attend meetings of the Playing Field Committee as a representative of the Parish Council.
4.2 Report by Cllr Allen
4.2.1 Neighbourhood Plan
By the end of July 2023 the Neighbourhood Plan and supporting documents were submitted to SKDC. The decision notice from SKDC that our NP meets the requirements was received on Sept 13th, and a 6 week consultation began on Sept 14th.
Comments on the Plan were invited from parishioners (via notice boards and News and Views), statutory consultees and external interested parties. Responses were sent directly to SKDC. When the 6 week period ended on Oct. 26th, the plan and responses were examined by an independent examiner, Andrew Ashcroft.
The examiner requested a number of changes to the wording, but made no material changes to the intentions of the 13 policies. Consequently all 7 of the proposed Local Green Spaces (LGS) were accepted, despite objections by some landowners and SKDC. The revisions were made promptly and the ‘Referendum Version’ was sent to SKDC for inclusion in the local elections on May 4th 2023. The plan was voted in by 344 votes to 49, and ought now be considered when development proposals are put forward for the parish.
It should be noted that the plan does not preclude all development in the parish. Infill development will be permitted subject to certain conditions, and there are areas on the outskirts of the villages that are not protected LGSs. Although there are no immediate plans to develop these areas, and the SKDC Local Plan discourages expanding the built-up area, growth may occur in the future if the need arises.
Going forward, the Plan also includes a number of ‘Community aspirations’, and it is expected that the PC will attempt to meet these in the future. Furthermore, the Plan itself may need updating before its anticipated expiry in 2036.
This is not quite the final chapter. Jake Horton has reminded me in his email:
This is just a quick update to inform you that while the Caythorpe and Frieston Neighbourhood Plan now holds full weight in the decision-making process – it still does need to be formally ‘made’ by SKDCs Full Council as set out in the constitution.
The Caythorpe and Frieston Neighbourhood Plan is therefore on the agenda for the Full Council that is taking place on the 18 May – Therefore, once formally approved then the Neighbourhood Plan will be classed as adopted.
Also, many thanks for your collaboration during this process and I hope the group are proud of the Neighbourhood Plan given it is a big achievement and takes a considerable amount of time and effort.
I will be in touch after the Full Council meeting to provide a final update.
As I am no longer a member of the PC , I have asked him to let the Clerk know the outcome of the SKDC Council meeting.
The Parish Council again extended massive thanks to Cllr Allen and her team for all their hard work
4.3 As there had been no other reports submitted Cllr Fritzsche précised the portfolios and the workings of the council
4.3.1 Finances – the budget had been set for 23/24 and the precept increased by 7% to £34209.18 which equated to £4.41 per band D household
4.3.2 Maintenance Register – this shows maintenance and costs of general village maintenance including grass cutting, cleaning and dog bin emptying. This along with the Project Register are used for budgeting purposes
4.3.3 Project Register – all projects undertaken by councillors are monitored here. Some projects require massive funding and grants are generally sought. This year the Parish Council have had more benches erected around the village, and the yellow lines down the High Street are finally in place. There are plans for EV Charging Points and renewable energy for the village hall and the Hammond Pavillion in the future but this will inevitably be costly and require loans. It was decided that there was the necessity to electrify the church clock, and grants were sourced for this project to hopefully go ahead this year.
All of these registers, along with the Risk Register are considered at every Parish Council meeting.
4.3.4 Celebrations - The Parish Council delivered a fantastic Queen’s Jubilee Party with help from an SKDC grant. This was shortly followed by the News & Views Caythorpe & Frieston Community Support Group being awarded a grant towards the Coronation celebrations, both events were considered a great success.
4.3.5 Fireworks – Whilst the Social Club are aiming to finance the event through crowd funding and sponsorship the Parish Council agreed to underwrite any shortfall.
5 Any Other Business:
Cllr Crawley thanked Cllr Fritzsche for all his hard work over his years of Chairman and Councillor and presented Cllr Fritzsche with a bottle of whiskey to express his gratitude. The meeting was then closed