July 2023 Agenda
Wyberton PARISH COUNCIL
Mrs Val Austin, Clerk, Wyberton Community Centre, 295 London Road, Wyberton, PE21 7DE
Telephone: 01205 351450
Email: clerk@wyberton-pc.gov.uk
The next monthly Parish Council meeting will be held on Wednesday 12th July 2023, at 7pm at the Wyberton Community Centre Meeting room.
Val Austin
Mrs Val Austin
Clerk /RFO to the Parish Council
Dated: 5th July 2023
The business to be dealt with at the meeting is listed in this agenda.
AGENDA
1. Chairman to open meeting: See appendix A
2. Apologies for absence: To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Clerk prior to the meeting:
• Cllr Maxine Stones – Advance apologises due to holidays,
3. Public Forum: To resolve to suspend the meeting for a maximum of 10 minutes to allow members of the public to ask questions or make short statements to the council.
4. Declarations of interest (if any): To receive declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 – being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on Members’ Register of Interests:
5. Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday 12th June 2023- To resolve as a correct record and to authorise the Chairman to sign the official minutes.
6. Lincolnshire County and Boston Borough Councillors Comments:
a) Cllr Mrs Alison Austin: - Points for Cllr A Austin from Wyberton Cllr Steve Slater.
• Reduction on the speed limit on London Road, from 40 to 30 mph.
b) Cllr Mr Richard Austin:
c) Cllr Mr Chris Mountain:
7: Update on Items from previous agendas:
a: Village Gateways – Update: - Gates have arrived, waiting for installation. Payment to be made, approved payment on last month’s spending sheet. Spoke to Highways, the clerk to complete The erection of a structure on the Highway form for each of the locations. The clerk to confirm with Cllr Steve Slater on the locations.
b: LHP Land Parthian Avenue Village Green: Ongoing – Update at meeting.
c: Footway Lighting – Update: No further update
d: Brown Garden Waste Bin – Update – Brown bin received, had the 1st collection. Date for collections every 2nd Thursday. Waiting for stickers for bins to arrive. Clerk to chase up.
e: Website – Update – Cllr Jason Stevenson to update on progress.
f. Policies - To note: The clerk will be updating Wyberton Parish Council’s policies & uploading them to the website / Drop box for councillors to recommend changes, that will go to full council for adoption.
g: Parish Hall Road Sign – The clerk spoke to Highways, regarding the Parish Hall sign on the roadside, Highways will let The clerk know if it is possible to change to Community Centre. – On going.
8: Councillors to discuss & resolve the following items:
8.1 Discuss & Resolve – Go Green - Purchasing of Laptops / tablets for councillors. Instead of printing out paperwork for the meeting, all councillors to have devices.
8.2 Discuss & Resolve – Funding for the Summer Event – Cllr Hev Ainsworth to share a report with full council for funding
8.3 Discuss & Resolve – Install Bench – Plaque on tree – Cllr Steve Slater – To stall a bench on the grass area by the school / Winter’s Way. Also, to have a plaque next to a tree to mark the passing of the lives due to the covid pandemic.
8.4 Discuss & Resolve – The purchase of a Strimmer – The clerk has been advised that the strimmer is too old to repair as they can no longer get the necessary parts. A new strimmer is required.
8.5 Discuss & Resolve – Areas to benefit within village. Cllr Steve Slater to share a list with councillors before the next meeting.
Potential items for Next Agenda – (Not to be discussed – For next Agenda)
1. Neighbouring Plan –
9. Finance
A: Approve Payments of Accounts
B: Bank statements – To be shown at the meeting as at 12th July 2023
C: The clerk has applied to Lloyd’s bank for a debit card – In progress
D: Website Ticket Purchasing – The clerk to speak to Lloyd’s bank with regards to having an online events bank account. (Linked to the main account) – In progress.
E. Discuss & consider – 2024 – 2025 Spending review for Wyberton Finance committee.
10: Planning matters: Town and Country Planning Act 1990 - To consider and make observations on all planning applications received and to note planning approvals, refusals, enforcement complaints and appeal decisions advised by the Borough Council –
To include those received between the day of posting this notice and the day of the meeting
10.1 –
B/23/0104 – No objections – Advised BBC via email
B/23/0152 – No Objections – Advised BBC via email
B/23/0207 – Cllr S Slater had some points with regards to this planning, the clerk has advised BBC.
B/23/0198 – No objections – Advised BBC via email
B/23/0214 – No objections – Advised BBC via email
B/23/0201 – No objections – Advised BBC via email.
Next Meeting: Wednesday 9th August 2023 – at 7pm
Chairman’s Opening Comments
Item 1 – Annex 1
Dated: 12 July 2023 Agenda
The elections in May are the beginning of a new four-year session for parishes councils across England, and following the election of the officers of the councils at the May meeting, it is usual then to introduce the policies, protocols and standing orders of the council, and to commence a review of these so that they may be updated as required. It is appropriate for this to follow the Councillor Induction (and Refresher) training provided by Lincolnshire Association of Local Councillors (LALC) which always follows the elections, in order that councillors understand under what authority we act. All should have received a copy of the Good Councillor Guide, and to become familiar with the areas which do and don’t apply to a parish council.
Over half of our councillors were able to attend the LALC induction training this month, and now have a good grounding into the role of our council, including Legal obligations, Code of Conduct, and the ‘corporate body’ responsibility of the council in such areas as finance, and employment of staff.
It is good that there is a wealth of enthusiasm to meet and resolve the ambitions, issues and needs of the community we represent, and to fully use the resources available to us – funded by the residents through the parish precept.
Many of the issues the residents face is the legal responsibility of higher authorities for which residents pay their council taxes; - the Borough Council, the County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner. Others are Central Government agencies such as the NHS, Local Education authorities, the Environmental Agency and many others. It may be said that the role of a Parish Council is to hold all these to account on behalf of the residents. We have no authority to assume roles which are held elsewhere.
As we review our policies, protocols and standing orders we will determine whether our resources are cared for appropriately. They are limited; in terms of property there is only the Community Centre, and our most important human resource comprises just two key employees, the Parish Clerk (also the Financial Officer), and the caretaker/cleaner.
The seven Nolan principles should guide our conduct with all our colleagues
The intention of the review is that we all become familiar with them, particularly with the standing orders and code of conduct. Cllr Jason Stevenson and I have dealt with issues in the past two months where inappropriate e-mails have been sent to colleagues; these are potentially available as a public record to the embarrassment - or worse - of the sender and council.
Committees must meet the legal requirements; this appears not always to be the case. The Standing Orders will advise. For example, notice of all meetings must be posted with an agenda three clear days prior to the meeting. Which is achieved by posting on the notice boards and websites. Social media will shortly be added. There is much more to follow in these standing orders, and they are statutory requirements.
The agenda for the Parish Council meeting is of concern. The standing orders look for a meeting of two hours 30 minutes maximum, and issues resolved should not be re-opened for 6 months. The Proper Officer (Parish Clerk) will consult the chair/vice chair if these restrictions appear to be at risk. Hence not all requests for agenda items can be met.
Wyberton is one of the smaller Parish Councils, with few resources and few responsibilities. Some larger councils have allotments, cemeteries, and welfare facilities. There seems to be no reason for the differences except historical. Wyberton may well need more than it has, and there are processes that could enhance our communities. However, it has a potentially strong and dynamic team which can - and has - achieve much for the community.
As a corporate body we will only do so by working together within the statutory framework – so knowing what that is essential!
Chairman: Mike Sharp