Minutes of the Bi-Monthly Meeting of Knaith Parish Council held in the
Village Hall on Monday 11th July 2022
Present: Councillor D. Belton (Chairman)
Councillor A. Morphet
Councillor S. Breeze
Councillor D. Randall
Councillor E. Bailey
Councillor S. Bowdler
Councillor W. Stanser
Mrs E. Coulson (Clerk)
District Councillor Jessie Milne
15 Minute Public Forum
It was raised by a Parishioner that residents are parking right up to the corner where Willingham Road and Upton Road meet causing issues when drivers/cyclists are trying to pull out of the junction. The parking sometimes does not meet the requirement of 10 metres from a junction. The Clerk will contact PCSO to see what can be done.
1/7/22. Gate Burton Energy Park Briefing
Attendees from Low Carbon were James Hartley-Bond and Beth Motley. Sue Fortune also attended from Lincolnshire Community Foundation.
Stage One Consultation closed with just over 200 comments submitted. 42% were against the project, 30% were neutral, 15% needed more information, 10% supportive and 3% supportive with reservations.
Concerns raised were Ecology and Wildlife 16%, Landscape and visual impact 19%, Local heritage and archaeology 18%, Land use and Agricultural 18%, Flood Risk, 8%, Noise 11%, Traffic access and construction 15%, tourism and recreation 5%.
Full feedback on Stage One Consultation can be found at gateburtonenergypark.co.uk.
A map is now available that shows all three projects together to show the impact collectively.
They are working with Island Green Power to maximise the opportunity and minimise impact.
James Hartley-Bond went over the proposed plans and corridors. Surveys are required as a technical exercise to survey land for potential route corridors. Three potentials at present, one being delivered largely by underground cabling. Working with Island Green Power to ascertain if a shared route is possible.
Slight possibility of archaeology issues that may make overhead cables a necessity but they are hopeful the cables can go under the River Trent.
Questions/Concerns from Councillors;
Q. When the final corridor will be defined. A. Timeline is for this winter.
Q. How big will the cable corridors be? A. 15 metres in width but If all three cable corridors go through the same trench then this will affect the size.
Q. What disruption will there be to main roads? A. Haul roads will be built to keep construction off main roads.
Q. In terms of Ecological and minerals, is there a possibility you will find any? A. After harvest In August and September, trenches will be dug on the proposed sites for surveying.
Q. Where will the location of the batteries and Substation be? A. The proposed site is in the middle of the proposed site to reduce flood risk and visibility.
Q. Are National Rail aware of the proposed plans? A. National Rail is slow to respond.
Q. Wildlife concerns, is the land going to be restored to original state after cables have been dug? A. The soil will be sorted and separated in Sub Soil and Top soil and the land made good again.
C. View behind houses at Station Road will be massively impacted as the view is uphill and the proposed hedging will block out view altogether. A. A member of the Team will make contact and visit site to take photos and mock up what it may look like with the hedge/panels in place.
C. The Land as you Leave Knaith Park on the left of Station Road is a real issue as this is heavily used by locals and will cause major upset if included in the plans.
C. With Island Green Power x 2 projects and Gate Burton Energy Park, the size of the three projects is immense. Why have they not had to be submitted together as the impact of one as opposed to all three is massively different? A. Planning Inspectorate will be tracking all three projects and it was done for ease and from a resource prospective.
C. The project feedback from another site that was presented by James was not comparable to the project that is proposed here. The size and demographic are different, as well as the number of dwellings that are near it. The panels here are worrying close to residential dwellings.
C. The Visual impact of the project is going to be devastating to our local community. No other Solar Farm is comparable for any data to be sufficient.
C. Agricultural Land has had a recent re-classification making all the land for the proposed site viable farming land. Solar Farms should not be used on viable farming land.
Sue Fortune introduced herself. She is the Joint CEO for the Lincolnshire Community Foundation. Lincolnshire Community Foundation was founded in 2002 and is dedicated to serving the diverse county of Lincolnshire; delivering positive environmental/societal change and, most importantly, positive outcomes for people and places.
No formal agreement has been set in place but this may be an option for management of the Community Fund.
Funding would be accessible through grants that would have to be applied for. The process would be transparent and applications decided by a group of Trustees.
It would be clearly outlined what the fund could and couldn’t be used for.
Concerns were raised that funding may not be granted for local specific projects.
Questions/Concerns raised with regards Community Fund;
- Could the postcodes affected get significantly reduced electricity? This was not something they are looking at.
- The use of a mediatory is not ideal; views of the parishioners should be sought as to what they would like it to be spent on.
- Compensation is being used to smooth over resistance and we must fight robustly for fair compensation and what we as a Parish want.
The Chairman thanked Beth, James and Sue for attending. They all left the meeting.
2/7/22. Apologies for absence
No apologies.
3/7/22. To receive any declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and to receive any applications for Dispensation. Members may make declarations at this point but also make them at any point during the meeting
There were no declarations at this time.
4/7/22. To approve the Minutes of the last meeting on 9th May 2022
Minutes have been circulated and it was Proposed by Councillor Stanser, and seconded by Councillor Breeze and resolved to sign as a true record.
5/7/22. Clerk’s report on Outstanding Matters
- Salt Bins
Contacted LCC Highways Wintercare Team, Tim Hunter. He informed me;
- If the Parish Council were to source and pay for a grit bin, would Lincolnshire County Council fill/refill this bin?
Lincolnshire County Council holds no responsibility for the filling or maintaining of grit/salt bins purchased or owned by others. Therefore, it would be the responsibility of the parish Council to fill and maintain any grit bin they purchased.
- Do you have a supplier of said Grit Bins that you could suggest please?
We source our grit bins in large quantities, with LCC marking, and as a result, not from a company in Lincolnshire. We would advise that you look to companies such as builders’ merchants and/or the internet for the purchase of a grit bin suitable to your needs.
We would also ask that any grit bin you decide to purchase is not coloured green (as this is the colour of LCC grit bins), and that if you do decide to place one out that you inform us of the specific location and the colour of the grit bin, so that we can add it to our database so that if we get requests to fill the grit bin we can advise the Member of the Public who to approach. It may be worthwhile ensuring that the grit bin is marked as Parish Council property.
The Clerk also researched the price of a Salt Bin and the average price is £120 + VAT. The Parish Council decided that this is not something that is needed at present. We have the salt that was delivered by Lincolnshire County Council which can be used by residents is required. Resolved with no further action needed.
- Street Sign
Lincolnshire County Council is not responsible for the street signs so they have passed the query onto WLDC. The Clerk chased this up 7 July 2022 and WLDC have not been informed. Details passed on to WLDC from original report.
- Queen’s Jubilee Grant
Following the Parish Council’s application to WLDC Jubilee Funding, the following should be noted;
Email 26/05/22
“Good Afternoon All,
Further to the WhatsApp David sent earlier, I thought I would check the status of our funding application. The following statement was on the website:
"We have received over 60 applications to this fund far exceeding the level of interest we expected. As a result, the fund has been closed earlier than planned due to the fund budget being fully awarded.
If you have applied before Friday 22 April 2022, your application will be reviewed by our Community Grants Panel and you will be contacted shortly.
Any applications received after Monday 25 April 2022 will no longer be accepted. Applications received after this date will be placed on our reserve funding list should additional funding become available"
Not what I was expecting! This was not on the website when I submitted our application 12th May as it still allowed me to submit and download the applications. So frustrating!”
District Councillor Milne said she would look into this for us as this should not have happened.
- Highways & Ditches
Following several months of attempting to get the dykes and drain cleared, the following update was made on fix my street website;
“Update 07/07/22:
We are sorry but due to workload across the county, we are unable to programme and complete the work at this time. We acknowledge that the issue has not gone away, but we have to prioritise and manage our works programme to ensure that we focus on repairing intervention level safety defects in a timely manner. The Highways Officer has dug a grip in the verge where the kerbline starts to alleviate the issue to some degree, but should the issue deteriorate or worsen in the meantime, please feel free to re-report the issue and we will have a fresh look, however at this time we are closing this job and enquiry down. Thank you for reporting this matter.
State changed to: No further action”
The Councillors were in agreement that this should be re-opened again and that the comments made above are unacceptable. The Clerk to re-open case.
- Grass Cutting Heynings Close
The Clerk was contacted by the resident at number 9 Heynings Close, enquiring about being reimbursed for the cost of cutting the verges in Heynings Close. The Parish Council do pay for the cutting of the land that is own by the Parish Council but this is cut, by agreement, by the resident of number 11. Councillors are in agreement that the Clerk is to respond and inform them that unfortunately this is not a service that the Parish Council are responsible for. All other residents in the village cut the frontage of their houses at their own expense.
6/7/22. Correspondence
- Crime Reports for May and June – Circulated.
- General Correspondence – List circulated.
7/7/22. Financial Matters and Grant Considerations
- Internal Audit April to June 22 – Approved and signed by Councillor Bailey and The Clerk.
- Financial Statement to July 22 – With payments totalling £247.25 and receipts of £.35 It was resolved that the Chairman would sign the statement for the record.
8/7/22. Gate Burton Energy Park
Following the earlier Agenda Item 1/7/22, the question was asked if the Parish Council should have an official position with regards these projects. Councillor Bowdler will draw up a leaflet to be distributed to Parishioners with regards the official position and what the Parish Council will do with regards the project and where they can raise any questions/concerns.
Councillor Morphet has visited Lackford Solar Farm, his report has been circulated.
The Chairman asks each Councillor in turn if they were for or against and All Councillors were against the proposed plans by Low Carbon for Gate Burton energy Park.
District Councillor Milne informed the Council that a group has been formed called 7,000 acres which opposes the plans for all proposed Solar Farms. Councillor Breeze was going to attend the next meeting on the Parish Councils behalf.
9/7/22. Stag’s Head Public House
The Parish Council were contacted by Mark and Amanda who own the Public House. Primarily they came to inform us that it is no longer financially viable for them to run or invest any further money in the pub. This was for various reasons.
They asked if the Parish Council would be interested in the Stag’s Head as a community pub. The Parish Council informed them that this would need great consideration as well as many lines of enquiry with regards need, local requirements, funding just to name a few.
Councillor Morphet met with Royal Oak Committee in Collingham in order to see how they established a Community Pub with a view to considering whether a similar enterprise might be possible with the Stag’s Head in Knaith. Full Report was circulated to the Council for consideration. The Chairman thanked Councillor Morphet for his time and effort
It was agreed that the Parish Council would reach out to the Parishioners to gather views on whether they would like the pub to re-open and if so what would they like to see with regards food, drink, activities and if they could contribute i.e. time. Councillor Morphet agreed to draft the leaflet for distribution.
Councillor Bailey proposed that Councillor Morphet attend Lea’s Parish Councils next meeting to outline what we are and will be doing to see if it would be beneficial to involve Lea Parish in the research stages. Councillor Morphet agreed that he is more than happy to attend. Councillor Bailey will speak to Lea Parish Council to organise.
10/7/22. Village Hall – Repairs
Councillor’s Bailey and Stanser declared an interest as they sit on the Village Hall Management Committee.
The fence has been replaced and looks very good. Councillor Stanser asked the Parish Council if they would like to make a contribution towards the fence as previously discussed. Councillor’s Bailey and Stanser left the room in order for the rest of the Parish Council to discuss.
Pre-COVID it was resolved that the Parish Council would make a contribution towards the fence. It was proposed by Councillor Belton and agreed by remaining Councillors that a contribution of £2,000 be made.
Councillors Bailey and Stanser returned and were informed of the above.
11/7/22. Village Hall – Legal Status
The Clerk’s Mother-In-Law suddenly passed aware recently so she apologised as she has not been able to chase the status of this. Item carried forward to next agenda.
12/7/22. Broadband
Councillor Bowdler is working to get an update from Quickline as to when Knaith Park will be included on the rollouts. Unfortunately, they cannot confirm this at the moment with the next contract bid due in 2023.
Pressure needs to be applied to Lincolnshire County Council to ensure that we are included in this rollout.
13/7/22. Speeding Initiatives
Training for use of the Speed gun will be held 14th July at 7pm Butler’s Pantry in Lea.
Councillor Bowdler would like it shown in the minutes that he would like a date to be set to agree or disagree to spend funds on fixed speed indicators as previously submitted. Points raised were a) No data at present is being submitted to the police. b) Its a £3.5k investment in the village. c) They are wired straight into the mains and d) it would run 24 hours a day.
The Parish Council needs to be seen using the equipment already purchased. This will hopefully be used by the next meeting now training has been organised. This is the police preferred method of recording speeding vehicles. If a vehicle gets caught twice, the police will visit them.
The Clerk informed the Council that WLDC offer a Match Funding Grant and maybe this could be used to fund part of the proposed speed indicators proposed by Councillor Bowdler. The Council instructed the Clerk to research this option.
14/7/22. Items of information to be noted and if necessary, dealt with at the next meeting.
No items noted.
15/7/22. Date for next meeting
A date was set for the next Bi-Monthly Parish Council Meeting - Monday 12 September 2022 at 6.30 pm.
With all business concluded the meeting closed at 9.27pm
Signed ………………………………………. Dated ………………………………