2024 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

Morton and Hanthorpe Parish Council
5, The Paddock, Morton, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 0NY
Telephone: 01778 571249    Email: mhpc.clerk@btinternet.com

Minutes of the Morton & Hanthorpe Annual Parish Council Meeting - Tuesday 7th May 2024

In attendance: Cllrs:   R. Wells (Chair), B. Hyde, W. Lawrance, S. Reynolds, M. Harris, A. Morris, K. Morris, M. Tuohy, C. Holden

Also in attendance:    County & District Cllr. S. Woolley, N. Walker – R.F.O. & Clerk.

7.15pm PUBLIC FORUM        No members of the public present, no questions submitted.

7.30pm ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

AGENDA

1.   ELECTION OF CHAIR PERSON.

Cllr. Richard Wells was nominated for Chair Person. Proposed by Cllr. B. Hyde, seconded by 

Cllr. W. Lawrance. The Council approved the nomination and Cllr. R. Wells was elected.

2.   CHAIR PERSON’S DECLARATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE.

Cllr. R. Wells signed the Declaration of Office to Chair Person, witnessed by N. Walker, Proper Officer of Morton & Hanthorpe.

3.   ELECTION OF VICE CHAIR PERSON & ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE.

Cllr. Brian Hyde was nominated as Vice-Chair Person. Proposed by Cllr. M. Harris, seconded by Cllr. K. Morris. The Council approved the nomination and Cllr. B. Hyde was elected as Vice-Chair Person and duly signed the Declaration of Office, witnessed by N. Walker, Proper Officer of Morton & Hanthorpe.

4.   TO CONSIDER APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

Cllr. A. Tilley, C.Cllr. Martin Hill

5.   TO RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ANY ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.

None submitted.

6.   TO CONSIDER CLERK’S NOTES OF MEETING HELD ON 26TH MARCH 2024 FOR APPROVAL AS MINUTES. 

Following a proposal by Cllr. B. Hyde, seconded by Cllr. C. Holden, the Clerk’s Notes of the meeting held on 26th March 2024 were approved as Minutes and duly signed by the Chair Person, Cllr. R. Wells.

7.   ANNUAL CHAIR PERSON’S REPORT (2023/24)

Cllr. R. Wells presented his Chair Persons report to the Council. (See attached).

8.   CLERK’S REPORT AND CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED.

Report:

Accounts to be circulated shortly (delayed due to non-receipt of bank statement at beginning of month. Only received on 25th April after chasing!). 

VAT Refund claim submitted.
HMRC P60’s created and issued.
Precept (£16,000 received).
Note: 1 Council vacancy. Co-Option process initiated. Applications/nominations awaited.

Correspondence:

Notification of continuation of litter picking grant.
Notification & invoice for 2024/5 Parish Insurance (current LTA with Zurich - £684.32)
Balfour Beatty Homes – Volunteering offer (1 to 2 days) in or around Morton.
Art pop-up event offer. Opportunity will depend on their current funding application.

9.   TO CONSIDER APPROVAL OF PAYMENTS MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH BUDGET:

Payments:

Total payments in period=         £      2,836.02

Following a proposal by Cllr. B. Hyde, seconded by Cllr. S. Reynolds, the Council approved the payments.

Receipts:

Total receipts in period =           £  16,211.26  

10.   TO CONSIDER PLANNING MATTERS:

Applications:

S24/0622   24 Paddington Way, Morton. Single storey rear extension. (Revised submission of S23/0312) 

No comments or objections were raised on the above application.by the Council. 

Decisions:

S24/0199    The Chestnuts, The Grove, Hanthorpe. Tree works: sycamore & horse chestnut– crown lift to 6 metres.  Work Allowed

S24/0391   The Old Farmhouse, 71 High St. Morton, Replacement of existing windows with same pattern triple-glazed units.  Granted

11.   TO CARRY OUT ANNUAL REVIEWS AS FOLLOWS:

a) Cemetery Charges. (Increased last year). 

b) Minimum Amounts for Tenders. (Currently £750.oo) Amended 2022.

c) Parish Land Rents. (Commencing 1st April 2023)  

- Haconby Allotment – increased £100.oo last year, paid ½ yearly.
- A15 Field – 2024/5 £280.oo annually – increases 3% each year.  

d) Risk Register (No changes required, however now supported by the Emergency Plan)

The Council identified that no amendments were required to the above items.

e) Financial Regulations    (Paying-in amendments as raised at 26th March PC meeting)

As raised at the last PC meeting on 26th March 2024 an update was required to the above document. This is required due to the diminishing bank branches available for depositing of monies. The Clerk circulated the proposed amendment.

The amendment was accepted by the Council; Proposed by Cllr. A. Morris, seconded by Cllr. M. Harris.

12.   TO CONFIRM THE DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING: 

 (Annual Parish Meeting + Parish Council Meeting) – TUESDAY 11th JUNE 2024.

13.   TO RECEIVE REPORTS FROM OUTSIDE BODIES.

County & District Councillor- Sue Woolley:

Planning- 71 dwellings north east of the crossroads: Further amendments to the planning have been raised with a requirement to identify drainage levels after problems arose. Further detail is expected.

SKDC Refuse Collection: there seem to be recurring problems f missed collections on South & North Fen Droves and at The Pastures off Hill View Gardens. These have been raised with the dept. concerned. Morton & Hanthorpe Parish Clerk has also received complaints and highlighted the problem. Council tasked the Clerk to formally write to SKDC Refuse Dept. in support of this issue.

A straddle stone placement issue in Hanthorpe was under review by LCC Highways.

OTHER MATTERS:

A water leak on the Hanthorpe to Stainfield Rd. continues after numerous attempts by Anglian Water to address the issue. Clerk to seek AW to properly address the issue. Car parking adjacent to the church bungalows continues to cause problems. Previously planned parking (in place of the greens in front of the properties) did not occur although monies that were assigned were spent elsewhere. Clerk to investigate potential funding routes and re-energised plans.

Playing field goal post area: unidentified item in ground. Clerk to investigate. Confirmation on article submissions to village magazine to be clarified.

Meeting closed at: 8.20 pm.

Chairman’s Annual Report

7th May 2024

Following the election in May the Parish Council has had another busy year with continuing to maintain the Cemetery, Playing Field and Bus Shelters as well as the grass cutting.

Sadly, we saw the death of past Councillor Peter Chubbuck who had served the village for many years, stepping down at the election, as a councillor and also as Chairman of the Village Hall committee and a member of 2000+ committee.

Work on the 71-house development to the north of the village has begun and the Council has expressed to SKDC concern about the drainage of the site. These concerns were highlighted on January 2nd when continued heavy rain caused flooding in some parts of the village, must noticeably on Station Road due to the inability of the Rundle to cope. My thanks go to our clerk Nick Walker who worked tirelessly in the rain giving assistance to parishioners at risk.

Councillor Sam Walker has resigned leaving us with a vacancy which it is hoped can be filled through co-option.

In February we saw the introduction of the purple lidded bin for paper and cardboard waste which appears to be working well.

I would like to thank all the Councillors and District and County Councillors Sue Woolley and Martin Hill for their support throughout the year. And a special thanks to clerk Nick Walker for his help and devotion to the Council which is often over and above his basic brief.

Richard Wells
Chairman
7.05.24