September 2024
MINUTES OF THE HOGSTHORPE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
HELD ON WEDNESDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER 2024
Present: Cllrs Diane Hanson (Acting Chairman) Chris Rolph, Mary Banks, Ellen Smith, Bernadette Hornby, Pauline Pauline Perry Clerk: Kath Hayes
Also present: Dist Cllr Roger Dawson & 3 members of the public
PUBLIC FORUM
A member of the public again drew attention to churchyard. He listed these as (1) Notice Board in cemetery stating from when the rules for the cemetery apply (2) no items to be removed by council from graves (3) Head wall on west side to be built at end of dismantled wall (4) End of dismantled wall on east side to be taken down and bricks used to repair entrance to graveyard (5) Have contractor to level the site in the churchyard and place old gravestones neatly (6) rebuild wall on churchyard entrance from A52.
There is an agenda item for Churchyard and these will be discussed at that point.
A further member of the public brought up the issue of memorials on the grave which the council have asked to be removed. Her son had met with a councillor and clerk and agreed to clear the grave. However, this plot was being well maintained by themselves and she could see no reason why this would be necessary It was explained that to have anything other than in the grave headstone area made it very difficult for the contractor to cut the grass neatly between the headstones. It would seem to be an issue that appears to have suddenly come up but Cllr Rolph explained that these rules had been in place for a number of years but this has become an issue of late. The council are trying their best to neaten up the cemetery and councillors and a member of the public have been doing a fantastic job of clearing the grass from around the graves and clear the cemetery of rubbish.
There is an agenda item in which this point will be raised.
1. APOLOGIES - Cllr Ray Murray, Dist Cllr Colin Davey
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None
3. APPROVAL OF NOTES OF MEETING
The Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting on 3rd July 2024 were unanimously approved and signed by the Acting Chairman.
4. CLERK S REPORT
The clerk read out her report, noting that the memorial plaques for Les Wildman and Paul Smith had been fastened to the two village seats. Also noted were HSBC funds which the clerk was trying to get claimed back, the Planning Applications for the National Grid infrastructure and LALC training bookings.
5. REPORTS FROM OUTSIDE BODIES
i. District Councillor Dawson reported that there had been no planning meetings held for a number of months. The National Planning Policy Framework is being consulted on - the Government will no doubt be changing this in line with their current plans. He will find out what the County Council are replying to this. With regard to the plans for the pylons from Grimsby to Walpole, he gave a copy of the Anderby response to the clerk to help with a reply from Hogsthorpe.
ii. Cllr Banks reported that the Village Hall committee had not had any further meetings.
iii. There was nothing to report for the Goodwin Charity farm.
iv. The allotment secretary reported that problems with tenants over the past couple of months had now been sorted and things were again running smoothly.
v. It was agreed that the council were happy to have a table at the forthcoming open day at the Village Hall.
6. CORRESPONDENCE Nothing to report.
7. FINANCIAL MATTERS
i) The clerk asked that more councillors become signatories on the bank account. Cllr Hanson had agreed to this and the form was duly signed. Cllr Hornby also agreed to become a signatory clerk to complete the forms in readiness to be signed at the next meeting.
ii) Funds for the Hogsthorpe Plan Steering Group held by HSBC would hopefully be retrieved.
iii) As there was no meeting in August, cheques had been signed for £468 to K Hayes for salary, £117 To HMRC, and £35.49 for homeworking allowance, postage & stationery. It was further agreed to pay cheques for £637.50 to Robert Aldrich for grasscutting, £200 to R Cooke for fitting of church benches, £85.79 to Sid Dennis for bin emptying, 750 to David Groves for cutting of trees and £126.90 to K Hayes for homeworking allowance, memorial plaques and printer inks. Also agreed in the closed council meeting were a cheque to V Worley for £450.72 for pay owing and £708 to K Hayes which included £300 overtime payment, and £177 to HMRC for PAYE.
8. CHURCHYARD/CEMETERY MAINTENANCE
i) The clerk produced a report to note what work had been completed in the churchyard and cemetery. There is still a lot to do.
ii) The benches are now installed
iii) General tidy up is continuing. The trees have been cut back and the old diseased apple tree taken down. The resident s wall has been put back, the old piles of branches and rubbish had been cleared, the unsightly Sid Dennis bin replaced and, thanks to the volunteer, noted below, the front of the church war graves and the other imposing grave had been cleared of weeds and the old grass removed from around the church which would have contributed to damp in the church.
iv) It was noted that the front trees need pruning as they are encroaching onto the footpath. Robert Aldrich had offered to cut these back at a cost of 280 and to cut back the hedge between the churchyard and the old people s home for a further 80. It was agreed to give him the go-ahead clerk to contact.
v) The PCC had held a meeting at which the newly planted oak tree had been discussed. They had agreed to remove it after the growing season to somewhere else in the churchyard so that the roots would not encroach onto the main footpath. An ideal site was thought to be where a tree had been uprooted near the war memorial graves in the main churchyard. To be decided at the next meeting.
vi) Grasscutting. Rob Aldrich had been asked to remove dead grass from his usual cuts. This had proved to be an improvement and he would be asked to continue with this for the remainder of the year at an additional charge of 36 per cut. Thanks were given to the councillors, with special thanks to Fran Wilson who had used her own mower and helped in clearing the old cut grass from the graves. It was agreed that petrol costs for the mower should be reimbursed. There had been a very large heap of grass put in the corner of the cemetery which was of concern but it was agreed to leave this until the end of the year and see if anything else needed to be done. This grass was mainly from the clearing of dead grass from the headstones and had accumulated over the past year.
vii) Grave Memorials the Clerk reported that the request to remove memorabilia from graves had upset a few people see also public forum but most had complied with the request. This had been necessary so that the grasscutting could take place between the grave stones and the grass over the graves did not get out of hand. Other items of glass and metal could be a danger. There was still one in particular that the clerk had been unable to contact and there were one or two others which needed to be contacted. Further checks would be required over the next couple of months.
viii) It was agreed that the rules and regulations of the churchyard and cemetery needed to be published. The clerk would look into getting a notice board put up and would put the regulations on the web site. The burial and memorial regulations would be copied to all councillors for any amendments to be made before publishing.
ix) Some head stones were needing attention and a thorough inspection was required, possibly with the assistance of BRAMM (British Register of Accredited Masons). This would be considered over the next few months.
x) The ground between the old churchyard and the cemetery where the wall had fallen down was not satisfactory. This item would be put as an agenda item for a future meeting.
xi) The gravestones which had been laid flat needed cleaning and a decision needed to be taken as to whether these were sited and aligned properly.
xii) Other items requested under the Public Forum would be investigated for inclusion at a future meeting. It must be appreciated that councillors are volunteers and can only give a certain amount of time. Any help from members of the public would be appreciated.
9. VILLAGE MAINTENANCE (Highways and grasscutting)
i. The clerk reported that, despite again contacting Highways with regard to what verges they were responsible for, there was still no reply. The clerk believed that they were doing a new survey on the amount of grasscutting throughout the village.
ii. Cllr Hornby reported that she had been in touch with LCC regarding the sign in the churchyard which was falling apart. This would need a new guide arm but repair would be put in hand. She had not been able to get any further with the grass at the end of Wilkinson Way. Historical ownership was complicated.
iii. Replacement of the Parish Council notice board was discussed. It was agreed that it would be a good idea to place the current one for use in the cemetery ground and look at prices for a new Parish Council notice board. With regard to where to site it, this would be considered at a future meeting. Clerk to look into costings.
iv. The village sign had been re-carved and repainted by Elaine Carter who had made an excellent job of it and it was now in pristine condition. It was now with RDR to put back clerk to chase up.
v. Cllr Rolph reported that the speeding cameras had been erected on lamp posts. An email had now been received from Highways to state that these posts were not allowed. The speeding monitors had now been removed and stored in the Playpark changing rooms. Separate posts were required which could be installed by Highways at a cost of 250 each. Authorisation was given by the councillors to go ahead with this cost. Cllr Rolph would arrange for a site visit to discuss where these should be placed he suggested that they be placed as far out of the village as possible. Cllr Rolph would continue to note the data but suggested that other councillors should be shown how to download the information.
vi. An email from the Senior Technician for Streetlighting at LCC had been received stating that the column on Tavern Lane, by a historical error, should not belong to LCC as this is a private road. They were asking if the Parish Council wished to adopt this or it would be removed. The Councillors agreed that this should not be adopted by the parish. A member of the public who lived on Tavern Lane would take this up with the Technician concerned.
vii. Benches on the Heritage garden required repainting Co-opted Cllr Fran Wilson agreed, to undertake this.
10. PLAYPARK
Cllr Smith Playpark Chairman reported that a meeting had been held and minutes would be published. The playpark is much more popular and the school was now using it. Car boot events were going very well and had increased from 1 to approx. 25 each event over the past 6 months last one would be end October. Finances were in a good position. She would be arranging another playpark tidy up and now the children were back at school, would be arranging to get the playpark equipment painted. She would be asking for volunteer help via facebook. She had arranged for a table at the forthcoming Village Hall event and would welcome it if councillors could visit.
11. ALLOTMENTS
See item 5iv). The rules and regulations are to be reviewed.
12. PLANNING
i. N/084/00912/24 Variation to planning permission at Ponderosa, South End, had now been granted.
ii. NGR:E:554490 Preliminary enquiry for Wireless Infrastructure Group to upgrade the site at Mill Lane. No objections would be put in.
iii. S/086/01190/24 National Grid Grimsby to Walpole. This application was for pylons running through the district. An objection would be put in similar to those submitted by Orby and Anderby. LCC had already strongly objected to this proposal.
iv. S/064/01147/24 National Grid Eastern Green Link 3 and 4. This would appear to be for future National Grid Infrastructure Planning. We were invited to give comments with regard to the Environmental Impact Assessment. Clerk to reply objecting to major infrastructure plan in line with LCC reply.
13. COUNCILLOR TRAINING
Four councillors were booked on councillor training in Mablethorpe on the 10th September.
A LALC Memorial Management and Inspection training had also been offered on the same day. The new co-opted councillor agreed to attend. N.b. It has since been confirmed that this programme is fully booked.
15 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
As the next meeting clashed with the court case, the date was changed to Wednesday 16th October 2024.
A prospective councillor, the appropriate documents having been completed, was invited to join the council. It was accepted by a show of hands from the current councillors to co-opt this person to the council. Fran Wilson was duly welcomed and took her seat on the Council.
16 ANY OTHER BUSINESS FOR NEXT AGENDA Nothing of note.
CLOSED SESSION
A closed session was held at the end of the meeting to:-
(a) discuss additional payment of 300 per month until year end to clerk for overtime. This was unanimously agreed.
(b) update the councillors on the details of the upcoming court case. The offer of 900 had been turned down by the claimant; the tribunal case would therefore go ahead for 6 days starting 30th September 2024 and ending 10th October 2024 It was agreed to send a cheque for 450.72 for outstanding pay owing.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.00 pm
2024/09
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