April 2024

Minutes of a meeting of Bracebridge Heath Parish Council held at the Pavilion on 9th April 2024 at 7pm  

Present: Councillors C Barr, C Broad, C Callan, B Emes, S Manders, V Marden, G Scott, R Stone and K Trought

In attendance: Clerk to Council, Mrs S Knowles, District Councillor Pete Burley and one member of the public.

Public Participation Session

Report from Lincolnshire County Councillor, Cllr Cawrey – Cllr Cawrey was not in attendance.

Reports from North Kesteven District Councillors, Cllrs Burley and Cawrey – Cllr Burley reported on the request from NKDC for suitable electric vehicle charging points, garden waste scheme increase in cost, by-election at Heckington, Climate zero efforts acknowledge nationally, empty homes and additional costs through council tax for homes left empty for more than a year, PCC elections and the need for voter ID to vote, NKDC’s purchase of the Carre Arms in Sleaford.

Questions or points raised by residents and members of the public - Nil

The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

COUNCIL SESSION  

Code of conduct reminders

Nolan Principles

Members were reminded of the Nolan Principles which underpin the Council’s Code of Conduct - Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty & leadership.

Register of interests

The Chairman reminded members that they should submit to the Monitoring Officer at North Kesteven District Council any changes to the content of their Register of Member Interest forms. Interests should be declared in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

24044. TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES AND ACCEPT VALID REASONS FOR ABSENCE – Nil

24045. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

a. TO RECEIVE MEMBERS’ DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ADOPTED CODE OF CONDUCT – Cllr Callan declared an interest in matters relating to the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC) and would abstain from discussion and voting. Cllr Manders and Cllr Trought declared an interest in matters relating to planning application 24/0272/HOUS 3 Hillman Close due to the proximity.

b. TO RECEIVE AND CONSIDER MEMBERS’ REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ADOPTED CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDING ORDERS – Nil

24046. TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING – 5th MARCH 2024- It was RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 5th March 2024 be approved and signed as a true record by the chairman.

24047. FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE

a. TO RECEIVE THE CLERK’S REPORT ON PAYMENTS BETWEEN MEETINGS – Payments made between meetings, direct debits and payments made using delegated authority - Presented at report 24047a. All reports can be downloaded from https://bracebridge-heath.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/council-business/april-2024/2

b. TO REVIEW AND CONSIDER PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS - It was RESOLVED: That payment of accounts as presented at report 24047b be accepted and signed. All reports can be downloaded from https://bracebridge-heath.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/council-business/april-2024/2

A refundable deposit of £50 for hire of facilities were also approved to be paid.

c. TO REVIEW AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF BANK RECONCILIATIONS – It was RESOLVED: That bank reconciliations for the council’s savings account for February be accepted and signed by Cllr Scott. The bank balance for savings account was £143,588.99.

It was RESOLVED: That bank reconciliations 392-393 be accepted and signed by Cllr Scott, bank balances being £115,140.52.

d. TO REVIEW BUDGET, INCOME AND EXPENDITURE AND CONSIDER ANY BUDGET VIREMENTS - Report noted. No concerns raised.

e. TO RECEIVE THE INSURANCE REINSTATEMENT VALUATION REPORT AND CONSIDER ANY ALTERATIONS TO THE INSURANCE SCHEDULE – The report was accepted. Insurance levels were satisfactory.

24048. TO RECEIVE THE CLERK’S REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED AND CONSIDER ANY RECOMMENDATIONS –

Items noted:

Dog waste bin overflowing, correspondence relating to planning application 23/1535/FUL – 4 Winchester Close, Community Champion grant, Hedgehog Highway Project, Anglian Water pipeline update, pathway owned by Mabec Developer between Sleaford Road and Lichfield Road.

24049. TO RECEIVE AND ACCEPT A REPORT ON DECISIONS MADE USING DELEGATED AUTHORITY – The following report was accepted:

• Payments made as reported at item 4a.
• Credit card statement.
• Submission of a grant application to the North Kesteven Rural England Prosperity Fund.

24050. TO CONSIDER POLICIES FOR REVIEW

a. FINANCIAL REGULATIONS – It was RESOLVED: That the revised Financial Regulations v3.4 (April 2024) be adopted.

b. STANDING ORDERS – It was RESOLVED: That the revised Standing Orders (April 2024) be adopted.

c. EMERGENCY SCHEME OF DELEGATION - It was RESOLVED: That the revised Emergency Scheme of Delegation v1.3 be adopted.

d. ORDINARY SCHEME OF DELEGATION - It was RESOLVED: That the revised Ordinary Scheme of Delegation v1.2 be adopted.

24051. TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF AN ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY - It was RESOLVED: That subject to the following amendments the existing Communication Policy be withdrawn and the Engagement and Communication Strategy v1.0 be adopted.

Amendments to the Engagement and Communication Strategy:

4.1 – examples of services users using buildings be included

5. Include a section referring to informal face to face contact with councillors and staff

6 – Include historical content in the list of what a council is responsible for

9 – Remove example survey

24052. TO CONSIDER THE COUNCIL’S MEETING CALENDAR FOR MAY 2024 TO APRIL 2025 - It was RESOLVED: That the calendar be adopted with the venue for each meeting to be confirmed on the agenda for the respective meeting.

24053. PLANNING

a. TO CONSIDER PLANNING APPLICATIONS RECEIVED SINCE THE LAST MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

24 0272 HOUS 3 Hillman Close– It was RESOLVED: That Bracebridge Heath Parish Council has no comments or objections.

24 0352 HOUS 10 Ripon Close - It was RESOLVED: That Bracebridge Heath Parish Council has no comments or objections.

North Hykeham Relief Road – No comments or objections on the revised and additional documents. It was noted for the council’s future reference that properties built following the prospective reserved matters application on land at Sleaford Road (20/0057/OUT) would need to have additional noise insulation to mitigate noise from the relief road.

b. TO RECEIVE A REPORT ON PLANNING DECISIONS – a written report was received.

24054. TO NOTE THE CLOSURE OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HEATH BOWLS CLUB FOLLOWING TERMINATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH MINUTE 23132 (SEPTEMBER 2023) – Re-entry to the site was noted.

24055. TO CONSIDER A PUBLIC SURVEY AND CONSULTATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE RECREATION GROUND – It was RESOLVED: That subject to some alterations the initial survey and consultation for the Recreation Ground would be held between 22nd April and 13th May 2024.

24056. THE HEATH: VILLAGE HALL AND LIBRARY

a. TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON INSTALLATION OF BROADBAND – A written and verbal update was given. Broadband installation was progressing.  

b. TO CONSIDER PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF A CYCLE RACK –  It was RESOLVED: That a wall mounted cycle rack be installed in the car park at a purchase cost of £29.99.

c. TO CONSIDER PURCHASE OF INTERNAL PAINT – It was agreed that the clerk was authorised to purchase paint using the existing ordinary scheme of delegation.

d. TO CONSIDER A PROPOSAL FOR A COMMUNITY PROJECT ON RED HALL LANE OUTSIDE THE HEATH – It was RESOLVED: That the community rock snake project would be held, clerk to use delegated authority to purchase materials (in the region of £30).

e. TO CONSIDER A PROPOSAL FOR A COMMUNITY EVENT – BRACEBRIDGE HEATH BOOK BAKE-OFF - It was RESOLVED: That the book bake off proposal is accepted and the event is ran by Cllr Emes, supported by staff.

24057. TO CONSIDER CO-OPTION TO COUNCIL VACANCIES – Nil.

24058. TO CONSIDER ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING – confirmation of match funding for the NK REPF funding application.

Items of a confidential nature to be debated in the absence of the press and public. Under the Public Bodies (Admission to

Meetings) Act 1960 (due to the confidential nature of business)

It was RESOLVED: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of the following items on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information.

24059. TO CONSIDER QUOTATIONS FOR A CLEANING CONTRACT FOR THE COUNCIL’S COMMUNITY BUILDINGS – It was RESOLVED: That the quote from A Nicolls (KBG Cleaning) be accepted and an initial contract of 3 months be accepted. The clerk was authorised to contract ad-hoc cleaning as required by the schedule using delegated authority.

24060. TO CONSIDER ACTION RELATED TO THE RECOVERY OF UNSPENT PUBLIC FUNDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BRACEBRIDGE HEATH BOWLS CLUB CONSTITUTION – It was RESOLVED: That a final letter requesting unspent funds be transferred to the council be sent to the club. If the matter was not satisfactorily resolved after 2 weeks, officers were authorised to refer the matter to Lincolnshire Police.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 20:45

Signed___________________________Chairman                                                                                                                                7th May 2024