BULWICK PARISH COUNCIL 485
MINUTES OF MEETING 06/03/2023, 7pm at Bulwick Village Centre
Present:
Councillors: Cllr M Beaton (Chair), Cllrs L Vaughan, J Sanderson, Clerk A Disney
In Attendance: 4 members of the public.
1. Apologies received and approved: Cllr Doel and Cllr Fisher
2. Declarations of Interest and Changes to the Register of Interests:
There were no Declarations of Interest or changes to the Members Register of Interests.
3. Approve and sign the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of 16th January 2023
It was RESOLVED that the minutes be signed as a correct record.
Proposed: Cllr Vaughan Seconded: Cllr Sanderson Approved by all Cllrs at the meeting
4. Matters arising from the minutes, not listed on Agenda
Village Street Lighting: The Clerk advised the Councillors that work has been completed on the refurbishment of 10 / 14 streetlights. The invoice has been received. All Cllrs agreed that the invoice be paid
Proposed Cllr Beaton (Chair). Seconded Cllr Vaughan. All in attendance approved
Cllrs advised that the work had been well received in the village and nighttime visibility greatly improved. Cllr Beaton (Chair) thanked the Clerk for their work.
The Clerk was requested to obtain a quote from EON for a light deflector to be added to lamp 12 on Millies lane as the light, now it is brighter, is directly impacting a residence on the lane.
Action Clerk
5. Meeting Open to the Public
An issue regarding the pathway on main street by property no 7 & the lack of space for pushchairs was raised. It is thought that a small grass area could be removed to improve space. The Clerk is requested to raise the issue on Fixmystreet to Northants Highways requesting their direction on this matter
Action Clerk
6. Highway Matters
6.1 Parking on the Village Green: The Clerk confirmed to the Councillors that the Village Green is under the ownership of the North Northampton Highways. If the Parish Council wish to place anything on this land then they will need to apply for permission & / or licence.
Cllr Vaughan updated attendees following receipt of advice following an on-site meeting with North Northants Road Safety team . The team has given information on the trees that would be permissible & proposed that the Parish Council should engage with the vehicle owners and request they refrain from parking on the green.
Cllr Sanderson requested the Clerk to confirm with North Northampton Highways if the triangle is in reality a traffic island and not a village green. Update at next meeting
Additionally, the Clerk advised that the Fixmystreet team have acknowledged the issue regarding the missing give way sign and plan to add a give way sign in the new financial year
Action Clerk
6.2 Mobile Speed Sign: Cllr Vaughan advised that after consultation with SWARCO that there seems to be an issue with the battery life as they should be lasting longer than 10 days between charges. SWARCO attended site on 15th Feb 2023 to inspect the sign and batteries.
Report from the visit still outstanding. Cllr Vaughan to chase
The Clerk Disney confirmed to the meeting that Western Power (the unmetered supplier) require further information from SWARCO before they would be able to confirm the feasibility of charging the sign from village lamp posts. They advised that the sign would need to be adapted to enable it to connect to a lamp post, which would be additional costs.
Cllr Sanderson requested Cllr Vaughan to review the original spec / order to ensure that provided speed sign is in line with the terms and conditions.
Action Cllr Vaughan
6.2 Damaged Fence by Village Brook: The Clerk advised the meeting that discussion was on going with North Northants Highways regarding repairing the fence. As the fence is acknowledge as a safety requirement the Highways team are looking into the possibility of the repair being undertaken by their team. Clerk to keep councillors advised.
Action Clerk
6.4 Queens Jubilee / Remembrance in Bulwick.
The Clerk confirmed the licence had been granted to plant the tree at Red Lodge Road Junction
The council resolved to order from Majestic Trees after researching a number of suppliers.
Cllr Beaton (Chair) Agreed to place the order and manage the activity.
Action Cllr Beaton (Chair)
Proposed Cllr Beaton (Chair) Seconded Cllr Sanderson. Agreed by all attendees
6.5 Plaque: The Parish Councillors agreed that a plaque should be situated with the tree: to make clear the objective in planting a tree to commemorate the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II 1926 – 2022. Cllr Vaughan agreed to lead the plaque project.
Action Cllr Vaughan
Proposed Cllr Sanderson Seconded Cllr Beaton (Chair)
6.6 As budget was not original set to plant a tree, the Parish Council agreed to move funds by virement from Litter Picking and Grass Cutting to fund procurement of tree and plaque.
The Parish Councillors requested the Clerk to update the budget allocation based on the virement approval
Proposed Cllr Beaton (Chair) Seconded Cllr Sanderson Agreed by all attendees
Action Clerk
6.7 Commemorative Bench – Cllr Vaughan proposed that in recognition of the contribution Roger Glithero made to Bulwick Village as Parish Council Chair a commemorative bench be purchased and located either on the village green or on the corner of Red Lodge Road.
Cllr Beaton (Chair) nominated Cllr Doel to lead this project. The Clerk to provide details of potential suppliers. Once costing is understood a decision will be made on the final location at May’s meeting
Action Cllr Doel & Clerk
Proposed Cllr Vaughan Seconded Cllr Beaton (Chair) Agreed by all attendees
Village Centre Ownership: Held until next meeting. Cllr Beaton (Chair) is leading this project
Action Cllr Beaton (Chair)
7. Defibrillator Tender: The Clerk confirmed that BT have granted permission for the Defibrillator to be located in the K6 telephone Kiosk and that they would continue to pay the electricity charges.
As part of the installation the light in the kiosk must be updated and any other outdated circuits. The Clerk has requested Community Heartbeat Trust (CHBT) to provide a quote for the electrician to undertake this work during installation. Awaiting quote
Action Cllr Sanderson & Clerk
Planning permission underway. Closing date for comments 3rd March. Awaiting outcome of planning
Action Clerk
Cllr Sanderson explained a rota has been established to undertake the weekly checks required once the defibrillator is in situ.
Cllr Sanderson to confirm training plan after confirming with CHBT
Actions Cllr Sanderson
Cllr Sanderson advised that signage, paint and other items have already been delivered in preparation for the project to commence.
The Clerk advised that the invoice for the defibrillator had been received and the invoice for the yearly maintenance. All Cllrs in attendance approved payment.
Action Clerk
Proposed Cllr Sanderson Seconded Cllr Beaton (Chair) All in attendance approved
8.0 Telephone Box Refurbishment:
Cllr Beaton (Chair) advised that a donation from Crown Decorating Center of red paint for the refurbishment has been received.
Cllr Beaton (Chair) thanked Crown Decorating Centre for sponsoring the refurbishment.
It was agreed by the councillors present that during the refurbishment before, during and after photographs to be shared with Crown Decorating Centre and that a sign will be placed in the telephone kiosk highlighting their sponsorship.
Cllr Beaton will lead the tender process for the telephone refurbishment and update at next meeting
Actions Cllr Beaton (Chair)
9. Planning – Update For information
NE/23/00059/FUL Erect small ground mounted solar array on land to the north of Hicklings Business Units, Deene. at Hicklings Lodge Deene Corby NN17 3EH (PP-11796301) – Parish Council Supports response sent.
NE/23/00153/FUL Proposed pitch roof to existing garage to be converted into habitable room and new detached timber carport to front driveway Location: Chapel House S outhwick Road Bulwick Corby NN17 3DY - Parish Council Supports response sent
NE/22/01558/TCA/ : Approved
NE/23/00005/LBC: Works to refurbish the K6 Telephone box in same colour as current (Red), install a Defibrillator in the Telephone Box, and replace Signage to display Defibrillator. – Parish Council Supports response sent
10. Finance 2022 / 23:
10.1 Accounts for payment: It was RESOLVED that the following accounts be paid:
Direct debit. £9.00. Bank charges. Paid to HSBC.
Cheque no. 300001 for £6.70. Unmetered power supply. Paid to SSE.
Cheque no. 300002 for £21.55. Planning application postage costs. Paid to A Disney.
Cheque no.300003 for £2,685. Defibrillator and cabinet installation. Paid to Community Heartbeat Trust.
Cheque no. 300004 for £198.00. Defibrillator annual support cost. Paid to Community Heartbeat Trust.
Cheque no. 300005 for £45.00. Media Course - Cllr Vaughan. Paid to NCALC.
Cheque no. 100060 for £500.00. Fund transfer to new bank (authorised via email). Paid to Unity Trust Bank
Cheque no. 300006 for £202.95 Clerk’s salary. Paid to A Disney
Cheque no. 300007 for £50.60. Clerk’s HMRC reimbursement. Paid to A Disney
Cheque no. 300008 for £6,318.72. Street light refurbishment (10 of 14 lamps). Paid to EON
Cheque £500.00 and Bank Charges £9.00 already taken from account. Tonight’s cheques: £9,529.13
10.2. Receipts:
£15,000.00. Precept payment. North Northants Council.
£2,813.00 Speed sign grant. Northants Police.
£1,975.00 Defibrillator Grant. North Northants Council.
£47.84.00 VAT refund. HMRC
£500.00 Bulwick Parish Council. Open deposit Unity Trust Bank.
10.3 Summary of Balances
National Savings £0
Current Account 28th February 2023 £ 15, 091.39
Total Reserves £ 5,562.26
10.4 Bank Statement & Accounts:
The Bank Reconciliation was unanimously approved and duly signed by the Chair
10.5 Defibrillator Accounts
The Clerk presented the status of Accounts for the Defibrillator project
It was unanimously approved and duly signed by the chair
10.6 Internal Audit FY22/23
The Bulwick Parish Council internal audit is confirmed as set for the 27th April 2023 at 10am, Banbery Lodge, Nottinghams Yard, Blatherwycke Road, Bulwick NN17 3EU. Internal audit by Justina Medwell.
10.7 Clerk Change of Hours
After a discussion the Parish Council resolved to increase the Clerks hours to 30 hours per month
Proposed Cllr Beaton (Chair). Seconded Cllr Vaughan. Approved by all at the meeting
11. Future Bank Project
The Clerk Disney, advised the councillors that the HSBC Account is now closed and the Unity Trust Bank Account is live. All Councillors should have received a letter instructing them on how to set up access and therefore be able to authorise payments on line. Coucillors to confirm at next meeting if they are all active on the account.
12. Policies and Training:
Policies, Procedures & information
The following polices were updated and approved at the meeting
1. Standing Orders 2022 (update)
2. Complaint procedure
3. Publication Scheme under the Freedom of Information Act
4. Subject Access Request (SAR) disclosure
5. Data Breach Log established.
6. Website Accessibility Statement
7. Schedule of charges and fees for council information
Proposed Cllr Beaton (Chair) Seconded Cllr Vaughan All attendees approved
Documents to be loaded onto Parish Council Website
Action Cllr Vaughan
12.2 Training Plan 2023 / 24
The Clerk presented a proposed training plan for councillors 2023 / 24. It was approved by all present
Proposed Cllr Beaton (Chair) Seconded Cllr Vaughan All attendees approved
12.3 Feedback from training / events
Cllr Vaughan advised meeting attendees that she had attended a training course on Social Media Marketing. Two take outs from the training was a proposal to hold video interviews with councillors to share via social media, however meeting attendees were not in favour of this
Secondly that the current platform used to host the Bulwick parish council is outdated and not cyber secure. Cllr Vaughan proposed to migrate the account to an upto date platform. It was agreed that Cllr Vaughan should request a quote to undertake this work and present at next meeting.
Proposed Cllr Vaughan. Seconded Cllr Sanderson. All meeting attendees approved.
13. Police Liaison Representative Report (PLR)
Bulwick Parish PLR, Stephen Hedderly, attended the meeting to update the Parish Councillors after attending a Rural Crime event at Althorpe. Please see separate report Bulwick Parish Council Police Liaison.
The Councillors thanked Mr Hedderly for undertaking the PLR role and informing them of the status on Rural Crime. The Crime map showing the peaks on rural crime was of particular interest and the type of crimes such as Fuel theft (oil tanks); Catalytic Convertors; Heritage crimes such as theft from Churches; Home and garden theft. Etc
It was agreed by all in attendance that at the Parish Council Annual Meeting set for 15th May 2023 at the Village Centre at 6pm to include an agenda item regarding the Police Report on Rural Crime.
Action Clerk
Mr Hedderly agreed to approach the Police representatives to attend the meeting and present to residence.
Action PLR
The Parish Council urges residence to support this event as it is very informative & can provide information on how to approach Crime prevention.
14. Correspondence:
14.1 SSE Energy Solutions confirming that Bulwick Parish Council electricity supply is not eligible to receive any energy relief scheme benefits – Shared with Councillors - closed
15. Any Later Business for the Next Meeting
None
16. Date of Next Meetings: Monday 15th May 2023
Annual Meeting 6.00 – 7.00
Parish Council Meeting 7.00 – 8.00
Meeting closed at 8.30pm
Signed …………………………………………………………………………… Dated …………