2021 Town Council Minutes of Meetings

Minutes of a Meeting of Market Deeping Town Council Held on Wednesday 10th March at 7.30pm

Zoom meeting code 875 5292 4559
Password 980553

Present:

Cllr Yarham (Chair)
Cllr Miss Moran
Cllr Brookes
Cllr Broughton
Cllr Hembrow
Cllr Mrs Redshaw
Cllr Shelton
Cllr Mrs Sked
Cllr Davis
Cllr Miss Collins
Cllr Dolan    
Cllr Neilson    

SKDC Cllr Baxter, the clerk and the deputy clerk were also in attendance.

Cllr Yarham welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked the SKDC members if they would like to speak.

Cllr Miss Moran, for SKDC, advised that she had attended a planning meeting, and was concerned at the lack of road connectivity on the part of the new Linchfield Road housing estate that will back on to Tescos. Residents will have to drive a long way to cover a short distance to access facilities. SKDC has awarded a £300,000 grant for leisure facilities and £75,000 will be allocated to the Deepings.

Cllr Baxter advised that a planning application for 14 properties on Wellington Way should be expected in May. The planning application for the new 3G pitch for the proposed leisure centre should also be received in May/June, and council tax increase for 2021/22 had been approved. Cllr Baxter had attended a presentation  by a police representative who advised that crime in Market Deeping is on the increase, with violence, sexual offences and anti-social behaviour being the main crimes reported.

Cllr Broughton, for SKDC, had received training on licencing. He also reported that half of the salt he retained for flooding purposes had now been used, with a quarter of a tonne remaining. As there are no locks on the salt bins received, they have not yet been placed.

Cllr Mrs Redshaw asked SKDC councillors about increases to council tax, green bin charges and parking charges. There being no other public speakers, the meeting commenced at 7.46pm.

176.    Chairman’s Welcome & Introductions

Cllr Yarham welcomed members to the meeting.

177.    Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Cllr Lester.

178.    Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011

None were declared.

179.    Acceptance of minutes of a meeting held on 10th February 2021

It was proposed by Cllr Yarham, seconded by Cllr Shelton and RESOLVED with 10 in favour and 2 abstentions to accept the minutes of the meeting as a true and accurate record. The Clerk will sign the minutes on behalf of the chairman.

180.    Reports: Including reports from Deepings First, Committees (Planning and Highways), Mayor’s Diary and the Clerk

Deeping s First 

Cllr Shelton asked members to refer to item 8 on the agenda. He advised that the referendum will take place on the 6th May, together with the Police and Crime Commissioner and County Councillor elections. The plan is now in the monitoring and review phase and, as it is a joint plan, will need to be approved by both Market Deeping Town Council and Deeping St James parish council.

Planning & Highways 

Cllr Brookes advised members that the Neighbourhood Plan constitution had been discussed at the meeting. He also advised that the SKDC Draft Design guidelines for Rutland and South Kesteven was a huge document, and it would be beneficial for it to be examined prior to a Planning and Highways meeting so that members could discuss issues at the meeting that had been identified beforehand.

Mayor’s diary

The Mayor and deputy Mayor had attended no events due to Covid restrictions.

Clerk’s Report 

1.    The shared drive of the office pcs has been replaced but the clerks still do not have access to all files. Work is ongoing.

2.    It is Commonwealth Day on Monday 8th March. The park keepers will raise the flag, and a statement from the Mayor will be placed on the website, but no service is possible due to current restrictions.

3.    Following last month’s Full Council meeting, the park keepers have inspected the cemetery hedge and advise that if it is cut back as per minute 171, it would expose dead foliage and would look most unattractive. How do councillors wish to proceed? Councillors agreed to leave the hedge as it is.

4.    The accounting year end closedown has been booked for 7th May. This is a whole day process and will be conducted via Teams with the RBS accounts technician.

5.    Annual fire extinguisher services have been carried out at the Town Hall and the Cemetery, and some equipment has had to be replaced as it was older than UK Fire Extinguisher British Standards dictate.

6.    The electricity contracts have now all moved from OPUS energy to British Gas.

7.    SKDC has requested 4 weeks’ notice for reinstatement of the enforcement patrols. Committees had previously indicated that they would like to recommence patrols in April. Do councillors wish to proceed in April? Update: The earliest date now available is May as a new member of staff needs to be recruited. Do councillors wish to proceed in May? Councillors agreed that they did.

181.    Correspondence to be noted and resolved upon

Correspondence to be noted

Correspondence to be resolved upon:

182.    Council Finances

a)    Income and expenditure by budget cost centre

Members had received a copy of the Council Finances and Omega report prior to the meeting. Cllr Yarham asked if there were any questions. Cllr Brookes queried the general and Ear Marked Reserve totals, and the clerk gave further information, including the guidance regarding keeping 3-9 months of the value of the precept in reserve at all times to cover unforeseen eventualities.

b)    Accounts to be paid

Cllr Yarham pointed out the additional items to be approved and asked if there were any questions. As there were none, it was then proposed by Cllr Yarham, seconded by Cllr Broughton and RESOLVED unanimously that the council pay its bills for March. 
See appendix A.

8.17 pm Cllr Baxter left the meeting

183.For members to ratify the revision to the Deepings First Constitution as agreed by the Planning and Highways Committee
 
Cllr Shelton confirmed that the Constitution had been approved by the Planning and Highways committee and that the project was now at the monitoring and review stage. He asked whether any councillors believed that amendments should be made and no amendments were offered. It was then proposed by Cllr Yarham, seconded by Cllr Shelton and RESOLVED unanimously that the Constitution be ratified.

184.    For members to agree costs for mini digger hire and surface products for remedial work for a) John Eve field and b) the cemetery drive

Cllr Yarham explained that this request was being produced at Full Council as it covered 2 committees and was a more expedient way of dealing with the issues. Members RESOLVED unanimously to allow the hire of the digger and associated costs of the remedial work.

185.    For members to approve the asset register

The clerk had provided members with a copy of the register prior to the meeting. Cllr Davies asked if a stocktake had been made and the clerk confirmed that the park keepers had accounted for all the assets away from the Town Hall and the clerks had checked the Town Hall assets as far as possible. Cllr Mrs Redshaw advised that the poppy was no longer in the chambers. Members discussed devaluation and the clerk will confirm how and if this needs to be applied.

8.30pm Cllr Shelton re-joined the meeting having lost his signal during agenda item 8.

Cllr Broughton confirmed that the price paid for the Welland Gardens was £11,000. It was then proposed by Cllr Yarham, seconded by Cllr Broughton and RESOLVED with 11 in favour and one against to accept the asset register as shown subject to further details being added as appropriate in the 2021/22 financial year.

186.    For members to receive an update on Digital Council

Cllr Yarham advised members that he had completed 2 further on line requests and that the account had been approved and should be ready to pay imminently.

187.    Forthcoming events: Councillor’s Training Days, New Councillor’s Introduction/refresher, also ‘A guide to being a good Councillor’. Various dates are available for all these courses and all are via Zoom. The following courses will also be available in the coming year: LALC Councillor e-learning ❖ Display Screen Equipment Assessment • Managing and Reducing Stress • Personal Safety Essentials • Time Management Essentials • Equality and Diversity Essentials • Fire Safety Essentials • Health and Safety Essentials • Leadership Essentials • Data Protection Essentials • Introduction to Planning for Parish Councils

Cllr Yarham asked that all requests be passed to the clerk for booking. Cllr Yarham asked the clerk to book him onto the Equality and Diversity and Leadership essentials courses.

188.    For members to consider and discuss any points raised in the public session.

There were none.

189.    Confidential/Personnel Matters: Consideration to go into Closed session to discuss: Staff issues

It was then proposed, seconded and RESOLVED unanimously to move into Closed Session to members of the press and public in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, for members to discuss items that contained information of a confidential nature: Staff issues. It was RESOLVED with 10 in favour and 2 abstentions to allow the holiday request. It was then RESOLVED unanimously to come out of Closed Session.

Cllr Yarham thanked all members for attending and declared the meeting closed at 8.57pm. The next scheduled meeting of the Full Council will be held on 14th April 2021.