January 2023
MIDDLE RASEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council on 17/1/23
Present:-
Cllr M Stamp (Chair), Cllr D Pattison (Vice Chair), Cllr G Dennis, Cllr P Dawson, Cllr M O’Connor, Cllr J Oxley, Cllr J Padley, and Cllr P Sexton
Also Present: Mrs A Harrison (Clerk)
Visitors:- Cllr S Bunney (LCC & WLDC)
1. Apologies for Absence – Cllr A Longmate
Resolved: That apologies be accepted from above member of the Council
2. To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the 2011 Localism Act:-
3. Notes of last meeting on 20th December 2022, to be approved as minutes:-
- Notes be signed as a true record.
4. Chair and Council’s Comments:-
- Cllr Stamp informed the Council he had taken receipt of the free bulbs from Market Rasen Rotary Club and requested suggestions on where to plant the bulbs in the village. It was agreed that Lincolnshire Landscapes will plant them, and the Clerk is to instruct them on the various agreed locations for planting
- Cllr Stamp informed the Council that the Lime Trees on the A631 are being removed at the moment as requested
5. Reports from District and County Councillors
WLDC Matters:
- Cllr Bunney brought the following to the Council’s attention
West Lindsey Sports Centre
I can confirm that The Market Rasen Sports Centre is available for hire for those groups wishing to book it for inside five aside football.
Pavements
Janet Sales has started an online petition about the appalling state of the pavements throughout Market and Middle Rasen. LCC do not place sufficient priority or resources on pavement maintenance and renewal. Hopefully, this petition will help address this situation.
Pavement Issues and concerns can be reported on Fix My Street, LCC Web Site or by phone to LCC Highways. Whilst the response is not always positive the information is stored allowing officers to build up a picture of the extent of the problem and along with Middle Rasen Parish Council I am working on a campaign to improve the quality and width of the pavements along the A46 as it passes through the village. In places it is impossible for mobility scooters, wheelchairs to use the pavements on either side of the road. It is planned to make a short YouTube news item video of the problem. It would make sense to include Janet’s concerns in this video item.
Government Emergency Alerts system
The UK government’s new Emergency Alerts system will be launched early this year. The system will enable people to be contacted via their mobile phone in the event of emergencies when lives are in danger, such as severe flooding. Messages will be sent to all compatible mobile phones within the area of risk. They do not track your location, need your phone number, or collect personal data. It is possible to opt out of the scheme.
If you get an Emergency Alert on your phone, you will hear a loud, siren-like sound. A message on your screen will tell you about the emergency and how best to respond to it.
Further information is available from https://www.gov.uk/alerts
Local Elections May 4 2023
Elections will be held on Thursday May 4 2023 for West Lindsey District Council and all Town and Parish Councils in the area.
Further information regarding nominations etc. will be sent to Parish Clerks. In the meantime, if you have any questions information can be obtained by contacting the election office at: ereg@west-lindsey.gov.uk or phoning 01427 676676
The current Government proposal is that electors will need to take some form of approved photo ID to the polling station along with their polling card. For those without suitable ID appropriate documentation will be available from WLDC. Once the exact details have been confirmed they will be widely circulated.
Emergency Plan
Work on the emergency plan across the Wider Rasen Area has progressed. A draft document has been drawn up which has been submitted to The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum [LRF]. The next piece of work to be undertaken by the group is to work on a snow, ice, gritting strategy. Please contact me or the Town Clerk if you would like to see a copy of the draft. Until GDPR requirements are sorted I am afraid the plan cannot be widely circulated.
LCC Matters:
- Cllr Bunney brought the following to the Council’s attention
Lincolnshire County Council Budget. The executive has proposed the following budget for the period 2023 – 2024. The main expenditure items are:
£275m for adult care and community wellbeing £84m for children’s social care
£47m for highways £22m for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue
It has been a challenge to set a balanced budget whilst maintaining the services that residents rely on. Full details can be found on the following link
https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s55220/Council%20Budget%202023-24.pdf
The proposals include three options for a rise in council tax of between 3% to 5%. The council will still need to use between £3.4m to £10.3m from its reserves to balance the budget. LCC would like to know what you think of the options. Please give us your feedback before 26 January 2023 here:
• Open Hyper Link Budget and council tax proposal 2023/24 | Let's Talk Lincolnshire
• Email finance@lincolnshire.gov.uk
• Post to Financial Services, Lincolnshire County Council, County Offices, Newland
Lincoln. LN1 1YL
Lincolnshire Bus Services
LCC is currently considering its bus service provision. Details and a response form can be found at the following hyperlink:
Bus service improvement plan - engagement survey report (lincolnshire.gov.uk)
For passengers who do not have a concessionary pass the £2 cap per journey applies to buses in Lincolnshire. In some cases, this represents a substantial decrease in cost to the customer.
6. Crime and Vandalism: - no report received from Local Policing Team
- Cllr Bunney informed the Council that a new PCSO has joined the Neighbourhood Policing Team
7. Clerks Report on Matters Outstanding:-
- Streetlights on Dovecote have finally been fixed
- Letter sent to homeowner, West View, Low Church Road to cut back hedges
- Streetlight number 31 on North Street reported to highways - fixed
- Appalling condition of Stockmoor Lane reported to highways - investigating
- Large pothole on Manor Drive reported to highways - fixed
- Free bulbs from Market Rasen Rotary Club have been delivered
- Footpath issues on Gainsborough Road reported to highways – reply received: - We use a risk-based approach to prioritise encroachments that are considered to be a significant danger or nuisance to users of the highway. In this instance we are not taking immediate enforcement action but will continue to monitor and review this site as part of our routine inspections of the highway. If the problem deteriorates considerably, please report this again to us. Request made for a copy of the risk report
- Cost of living support information placed on our webpage and sent to Community Spirit for publishing
- Links for crime reporting sent to Community Spirt
- Planning – all comments sent to planning and parishioners comments forwarded to enforcement officer regarding noncompliance of planning refusal
- Contacted by Time Assured as they were called out to fix the Church Clock as not striking and invoice received
- Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership contacted regarding the speeding vehicles coming through the village – reply received :- “I will arrange for a speed survey to be completed in the next few weeks. This will take the form of a covert radar to monitor the volume and speed of traffic over a seven-day period. This will allow us to see if the general speed has increased when compared to previous years surveys. The survey data will be shared with the Parish as well as the local police for their information. Has the parish considered the involvement of the Community Speed Watch scheme? From our records it does not seem that you are currently members and I attach some helpful literature on the subject. Should you have any questions or need further information the CSW email is CSW.admin@lincolnshire.gov.uk. The scheme gives the parish access to additional passive and reactive speed signs that may be displayed along the road to remind drivers of the speed limit, as well the possibility of using volunteers to carry our speed checks, report the vehicles to the police who in turn send out educational warning letters. The success of the volunteer scheme cannot be ignored, as our records show that 90% of drivers who received a letter do not go on to receive a second letter”.
- The Environmental Agency were contacted regarding two large overhanging branches on a section of crack willows as they are overhanging the River Rase and could fall in high winds either into the river blocking the flow or onto the footpath endangering walkers. They are located on the footpath along the River Rase between the corner of Stockmoor Lane and Manor Drive heading towards West Rasen, approximately one hundred meters from the sleeper bridge
8. Planning:-
146043 – The Watermill, Low Church Road, Middle Rasen, LN8 3TY
Planning application for the change of use of land for the siting of 1no. Shepard’s Hut for holiday including extending access way and removal of poly tunnels – No Comments
Planning Granted
145836 – West View, Low Church Road, Middle Rasen, LN8 3TY
Planning application for proposed single storey extension
145831- 3 Gallamore Court, Middle Rasen, LN8 3UH
Planning application for single storey rear extension
9. Correspondence:-
LALC E News 09/01, 16/01, Annual Training Scheme Information
WLDC Parish News December Issue 16
CLLP CLLP Review of Proposed Main Modifications
Clerks’ and Councils’ Direct January 2023 Issue 145
Cllr Hugo Marfleet’s January Brief
10. Finance and Accounts for Payment
Income:-
Middle Rasen PCC £ 70.00
Expenditure:-
Time Assured £168.00
Viking Direct £175.12
Middle Rasen PCC - Church Hall £ 65.00
Salaries £562.52
Resolved: All Invoices passed for payment on 17th January 2023
11. Reports from meetings:
12. To Discuss Resolve Precept 23 – 24
Proposed by Cllr Pattison and seconded by Cllr Dawson
Resolved: That the precept be set at £19000.00
13. To Discuss and Agree New Date for the Annual Parish Meeting and the April Meeting of Middle Rasen Parish Council
Proposed by Cllr Dennis and seconded by Cllr Oxley
Resolved: That the date be moved to 25th April 2023
14. Items for next meeting
- Update bank signatures to remove ex councillor and add new
There being no other business the meeting closed at 8.31pm.