April 2021 Annual Parish Meeting
MIDDLE RASEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting on 20/4/21
Present:- Mr M Stamp (Chairman), Mr D Pattison, Mr T Smith, Mr A Longmate, Mr J Oxley,
Mr M O’Connor, Mr P Dawson, Mrs G Dennis and Mrs J Trotter (Clerk)
Visitors:- Cllr S Bunney (WLDC Councillor)
A minute silence was observed following the death of HRH Prince Phillip.
1) Apologies for Absence:- Cllr J Padley
Resolved: To accept apologies from Councillor listed above.
2) To approve minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 19th April 2019:-
The minutes were signed as a true record.
Resolved: To approve draft minutes.
3) Chairman’s Report:-
The 2020 Annual Parish Meeting did not take place due to the ongoing pandemic, and therefore the report presented today references the 2020 and 2021 years.
Council Members:
The Parish Council has remained stable over the pandemic period, however, the Council lost a long-standing member through illness in June 2020, Mrs Jane Ranby – greatly missed. Mr Tony Longmate was co-opted by the Parish Council in July 2020 to the vacant seat.
Thank you to all the Councillors for their continued virtual presence at meetings over the pandemic period, and following the lapse in the Coronavirus legislation, the Parish Council will meet in May 2021 in person and return to face-to-face meetings.
Lincolnshire/West Lindsey Councillors:-
Also sadly, the longstanding Lincolnshire County Councillor, Cllr Lewis Strange, passed away in May 2020. Both Lincolnshire County Council and the Parish Council have lost an experienced advocate.
Thanks also to both our temporary Lincolnshire County Councillor and West Lindsey District Councillors for their continued support of both the Council, and the parishioners - particularly with regard to planning and highways issues.
Finally, our thoughts are with all parishioners who have lost family members during the pandemic period.
Planning Applications:
Applications in 2019/20 – 14 – decreased by 15 from 2018-19 year.
Applications in 2020/21 – 29 – increased by 15 from 2019-20 year.
The Parish Council remain consistent in their approach to applications, however we still experience a level of frustration with the planning authority who continue to make decisions which would appear to give little regard to the local knowledge and experience of the Parish Council, particularly regarding flooding in the parish. The long-awaited development on Caistor Road has yet to come to fruition over the 19-21 period – we are aware that the first phase planning has been submitted for consideration which will fall into the 201-22 year – therefore reporting on this will be at next year’s meeting.
Grants:
2019-20
The Parish Council issued grants in the total sum of £350.00 as follows:
Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal - £50.00
Middle Rasen & District Horticultural Society - £200.00
East Lindsey Citizens Advice Bureau - £100.00
2020-21
The Parish Council issued grants in the total sum of £1,310.00 as follows:
Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal - £60.00
The British Red Cross - £500.00
Marie Curie - £500.00
LIVES – 250.00
Precept:
The Precept for both 2019-20 and 2020-21 remained at £18,000.00, which has allowed for investment in the parish during the pandemic, and also allows for prudent future budgeting, which is likely to be necessary given the large rise in government spending during the pandemic.
Contractors:
Once again thank you to both Green Grass Contracting and Lincolnshire Landscapes for their work over the last two years.
Lincolnshire County Council have continued to provide a twice yearly safety cut on amenity grass sites within the parish.
Winter Weather contracting arrangements were arranged, however, these were not utilised in either year.
Parish Maintenance:
The new noticeboard for The Brambles Estate has been delayed due to the pandemic, and the Parish Council continue to install and promote the use of waste bins, which has been particularly relevant given the “stay at home” directive in the pandemic period. The notice board will be installed in April 2021.
Whilst the flood alleviation scheme for the A631 undertaken in the 2018-19 period has been successful with very little surface water along the road during heavy rains, the Parish Council’s concerns about flooding in other areas of the Parish were recognised earlier in the year, with water from Brimmer Beck flooding onto North Street, and the high levels of the River Rase which were not seemingly mitigated by the flooding scheme at Market Rasen, despite continual calls to the environment agency.
The new speed limit scheme for A46 was approved and it is hoped that this will reduce speeding and fatalities on this stretch of road.
4) Financial Report:-
The Clerk reported that the 2019-20 financial paperwork was available to view on the parish website, and that the Council had followed the necessary requirements with regard to reporting during the pandemic period.
The Clerk had presented the final unaudited overview paperwork for the year 2020-21 prior to the meeting. Overspends and underspends were identified, and there were no queries. The end of year financial information will be available to view on the website as per regulations, and the Council will file an exemption certificate given that Council spending for the 2020-21 period remained under £25,000. The public rights notice will be placed in line with regulations.
Councillors thanked the Clerk for her report, and the Finance Councillor confirmed that the accounts have been checked and are correct. The Council thanked the Clerk for her continued hard work
5) Open Meeting
No comments were forthcoming.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 7.12pm.