2023 Town Council Minutes of Meetings

Minutes of the Meeting of Market Deeping Town Council held on Wednesday 14 June 2023 at 7.30pm at the Town Hall, Market Deeping.

Present:

Cllr Broughton
Cllr Miss Collins
Cllr Dr Byrd
Cllr Shelton
Cllr Mrs Jones
Cllr Mrs Sked
Cllr Hughes
Cllr Ms Reed
Cllr Hanson

The Clerk was also in attendance.

Members of the public representing The Deepings Youth Group were also in attendance.

Cllr Baxter was also in attendance.

At 7.30pm Cllr Broughton welcomed everyone to the meeting and the Open Session commenced:

The Deeping Youth Group representatives talked about the Youth Group and the variety of activities which were taking place.  The number of children attending regularly has increased.  Cllr Broughton thanked the representatives for their time and explained that the funding would be discussed later in the meeting.

Cllr Dr Byrd representing SKDC has attended lots of training and is enjoying meeting other Councillors.

Cllr Baxter reported that he too has attended training and is Deputy Leader for SKDC and has the portfolio for Finance and Development.

27. Chairman’s Welcome & Introductions

Cllr Broughton again welcomed members to the meeting at 7:50pm

28. To note apologies and accept valid reasons for absence
 
Cllr Wey had sent apologies and these were accepted.

29.    Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011 

Cllr Miss Collins all declared an interest in agenda item 9.

30.  Acceptance of the minutes of a meeting held on 17 May 2023 

Cllr Broughton asked members if they were to accept the minutes of the meeting of 17 May 23.  It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept the minutes of the meeting as a true and accurate record.   The chairman signed the minutes. 

31.  For members to consider co-option of Councillors

It was RESOLVED unanimously to co-opt the following people as new Councillors:

Ms Jayne Reed 
Mrs Wendy Cook
Paul Hanson
Nick Neilson

New Councillors Cllr Ms Reed and Cllr Hanson signed the acceptance of office form and joined the
meeting.

32.  Reports: Including reports from Committees: Planning and Highways, Deepings Neighbourhood plan, Amenities and Open spaces, Town Hall and Cemetery, Finance and Personnel, Mayor’s report and the Clerk’s report.

Planning & Highways

Cllr Shelton reported that there have been two meetings since the last full council meeting.
The Planning & Highways committee had a very useful meeting with Graham Simpson from Lincs County Council at which they were able to ask him about local issues.

An application for a 3rd supermarket in Market Deeping has been received and MDTC are in support of this, subject to a footpath being in place for residents.

A new bus shelter has been installed at Towngate Mews on the Peterborough Road.

Deepings Neighbourhood Plan (DNP)

Cllr Dr Byrd reported that the DNP meets on the 1st Monday in the month and is open to welcoming new members.

The DNP will be carrying out a detailed review of their plan.

Amenities and Open Spaces

The damaged trees will be protected near Wade Park Avenue.

Town Hall and Cemetery

Cllr Miss Collins reported that cemetery fees had been kept the same for 2023/24 due to the current level of the cost of living.

It is also proposed to replace the existing door on the Town Hall. It will be made from Oak and will be in keeping with the current door style.

Mayoral Diary

The Mayor has attended Deeping St James Primary school to present prizes and presented a bouquet of flowers and card to a resident on her 105th Birthday.

The Mayor attended a football presentation evening and presented trophies and medals on 5 June 2023.

The Mayor attended a presentation evening for Deeping United ladies football team at the Bull Hotel in Peterborough on 10 June 2023.

The Mayor attended the Service for the installation of the Mayor of Peterborough at Peterborough Cathedral and was accompanied by Cllr Dr Byrd on 11 June 2023.

Clerk’s Report – 14 June 2023

33.  Correspondence to be noted and resolved upon

34.  Council Finances

a)  Income and expenditure by cost centre

Members had received a copy of the Council Finances and Omega report prior to the meeting. Cllr Broughton asked if there were any questions.  There were none.

b) Accounts to be paid 

It was RESOLVED unanimously that the council pay its bills.  See appendix A. 
 
c) For members to receive and accept the internal auditor’s report

It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept the report.

35.  For members to consider grant application for the Deeping Youth Group 

It was RESOLVED with 7 in favour and 2 abstentions to make a donation of £6,000 to Deeping Youth Group

36. For members to consider grant application for Play scheme

It was RESOLVED unanimously to pay £2850 to MADCAPS for the playscheme

37. For members to consider grant application for the raft race
 
It was RESOLVED unanimously to pay £350 towards the Raft Race.

38. For members to consider premises licenses.

The Clerk explained that the previous premise license was dated 2010. After a discussion with the district licencing team, advice has been given to the council to amend its current Premises Licence. 

The reason, is that the current licence shows several premises locations, and the licence needs to relate to one area.  The process to do this is called a variation of its licence. 
 
This is a lengthy process and the assistant clerk has put a lot of work into applying for a new license.  It has involved liaising with the Police and SKDC licensing team and once finalised, it will need to be advertised in the local newspapers and via signs on the field.

Members discussed and RESOLVED unanimously for the Clerks to proceed with an application to vary its current licence.

39. For members to ratify the transfer of underspend 2022/23 to EMRs

It was RESOLVED to ratify the apportionment the underspend for 2022/23 of £44,170 to the EMRs as decided by Committees in the following proportions:

AOS – 50% - £22,085 – EMR 338 Play equipment
ADMIN – 20% - £8,834 – EMR 324 Town Hall
TH&C – 20% - £8,834 – EMR 324 Town Hall
P&H – 10% - £4,417 – EMR 328 Interactive speed sign

40. For members to ratify the decision of the AOS committee to spend on repairs and additional play equipment at John Eve Park 

It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept the quote for extending the area around the playground on John Eve field.

It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept the quote for resurfacing underneath the Matrix slide and Hurricane swing in the playground on John Eve field.

It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept the quote for additional and inclusive play equipment in the new area of playground on John Eve field.

41. For members to consider repairs to surfacing in John Eve Park.

It was RESOLVED that resurfacing work should be carried out in John Eve Park.

42. For members to consider making an application for UK shared prosperity funding

A discussion took place regarding CCTV For John Eve Park and the need for resurfacing due to vandalism.

It was RESOLVED that the Clerk and Cllr Byrd will attend the SKDC training course and report back to Council.

43. For members to give approval to sign the Transfer Deed – Persimmon
   
It was RESOLVED unanimously that Cllr Shelton and Cllr Broughton should sign the transfer deed for the transfer of land adjacent to Charter Avenue from Persimmon to Market Deeping Town Council.

44. For members to consider the siting of benches for public use

A discussion took place regarding a bench which has been donated to Market Deeping by the Rambler’s association.  It is the same style as a new one at Riverside.

It is proposed that an additional 4/5 benches could be placed in Market Deeping with a map showing their location, so that people can walk knowing where their next resting place could be.

The Clerk requested that the benches should be of recycled materials so there are no ongoing maintenance issues.  The recycled benches have a guaranteed lifespan of 25 years.

Permission has to be obtained from Lincolnshire Highways team and Cllr Dr Byrd wondered if permission could be obtained for all of the benches at once.

The benches have to be fitted by a trained operative.  The Clerks were tasked with finding out what the training entailed.  Cllr Broughton suggested that one of the Park Keepers should be trained.

45. For members to consider repairs to the Market Place clock

It was RESOLVED unanimously to proceed with the repairs to the clock in the Market Place.
 
46. For members to consider adopting an updated code of conduct policy

It was RESOLVED unanimously to adopt the updated Code of Conduct for Market Deeping Town Council.

47. For members to consider Christmas events for 2023

Cllr Byrd reported that the Christmas market will take place on Sunday 3 December 2023.

The stage, Iron Horse, tree and Santa are all booked.

Consideration needs to be given to First Aid, raffle tickets/prizes and a premises license for High Street needs to be obtained.

A request was made for everyone to save prizes for the tombola stall as we ran out last year.
The Clerk was requested to research a SUMUP type machine to enable card payments to be taken.

Cllr Dr Byrd will find out about a Town Crier. 

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

There were none.

49. Confidential/Personnel Matters: Consideration to go into Closed session to discuss:

Staff issues

There were none.

50. To consider items for inclusion on the agenda items for next meeting of the Town Council, to be held at The Town Hall, Market Deeping on 12 July 2023

It was suggested that a celebration event for Councillors with long service who have left should be discussed at the next meeting.

The Chairman thanked all members for attending and declared the meeting closed at 9.00 pm.  The next scheduled meeting of the Full Council will be held on Wednesday 12 July 2023.