September
AUBOURN AND HADDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held
on Wednesday 5th September 2012
in the Community Heritage Room, Aubourn Clock Tower
Cllr Mrs P Woodman MBE, Chairman of the Parish Council welcomed everyone to the
September meeting.
85/16/12 PUBLIC TIME & POLICE REPORT
PCSO Czjakowski had sent her apologies but reported that there were no crimes
in the last month.
86/16/12 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
There were apologies for absence from PCSO Czjakowski.
87/16/12 PRESENT AT THE MEETING
Cllrs. Mrs. P. Woodman MBE (Chairman), M. Coulson, D. Knott, Mrs. N. Wetherill,
Mrs. B. Bower, District Cllr. Mrs Sue Howe and the clerk.
88/16/12 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
It was agreed by the Council that under the new Code of Conduct they wished
to retain the option for Councillors to declare any interest they had in matters to
be discussed at the meeting.
Cllr. Mrs Wetherill declared a prejudicial interest at item 9.2 – Finance Payment of
Accounts.
89/16/12 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING & MATTERS ARISING
The minutes of the Parish Council meeting were then agreed and signed as a
true record. The matters arising were noted as follows:-
i) Minute 82/15/12 – item (ii) Telephone kiosk at Haddington – the kiosk had
now been repainted.
ii) Minute 82/15/12 - item (iii) Pond at Haddington – the Upper Witham Internal
Drainage Board had investigated the recent flooding and had determined that
the culvert which drained from the pond towards Wainwrights Cottage was
silted up. This would be discussed with LCC Highways at the site meeting.
iii) Minute 79/14/12 – item (ii) Highways Issues – the clerk had contacted Alan
Brown regarding the footway at Sky Lane and the overhanging branches. He
had asked the contractor to deal with this.
90/16/12 REPORT FROM NORTH KESTEVEN DISTRICT CLLR. MRS HOWE
Cllr. Mrs Howe informed the meeting that the public consultation on the Housing
Growth Strategy would end on 10th September 2012.There were planning
proposals for the old St. John’s site at Bracebridge Heath. Some disused garage
sites in the district that were to be released for affordable housing, Community
Champions awards are due to be announced on 18th September at Whisby and
the Spires and Steeples Challenge is taking place once again. Cllr. Mrs Howe was
thanked for her attendance and she left the meeting.
91/16/12 CODE OF CONDUCT AND RELATED MATTERS
The new code of conduct was signed by the Chairman. It was agreed to put a
notice on the boards that a copy of the code could be obtained from the clerk
and was on the parish website. Register of Interest forms had not been
completed by some of the councillors and these were requested again.
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AUBOURN AND HADDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
5th September 2012
92/17/12 PLANNING
There were no planning applications.
93/17/12 CLOCK TOWER
1. Window – the council resolved not to repair the broken window in the
storeroom at the moment.
2. Lighting – Cllr. Mrs Woodman would meet with M. Monaghan and the
electrician to seek a resolution to the problem of viewing the chosen lights
before fitting.
3. Open Afternoon Sunday 9th September – this had been advertised locally and
Cllr. Coulson would arrange for the signage to be prepared for the Clock
Tower visits. The Council agreed for the Heritage Room to be cleaned
thoroughly allowing two hours for this work to be done.
94/17/12 ADOPTION OF CLERKS CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT AND JOB DESCRIPTION
The documentation was signed by the chairman and the clerk.
95/17/12 FINANCE
1. Treasurers Report - the Treasurer’s report was presented and the balance in hand
was reported as follows: -
Community Account - £1457.08
Business Premium Account - £7837.82
Clock Maintenance Account - £2266.95
The Treasurers report was accepted.
2. Payment of Accounts - the following accounts had been approved, agreed by
Councillors and cheques signed where required:-
D. Parker – Expenses August - £18.82
It was noted that the Council would be no longer contribute to the business
telephone calls and computer use by the clerk whilst working from home.
(Salary £468.00 and LCC Pension £172.25 paid through Standing Order on
1/9/12)
EON – Electricity for Clock Tower - £34.00 (Direct Debit)
EON Street Light Maintenance to 30/9/2012 - £160.06
A. Ogg – Grass cutting - £120.00
Feather and Son – Gas Bottle - £32.99
(Previous month’s cheque to Flogas for replacement gas bottle - £20.48 was
cancelled)
96/17/12 CORRESPONDENCE
A schedule of correspondence since the last meeting was provided. Items
discussed were:-
i) EON Letter regarding street lighting energy savings – the Council agreed not to
convert their lights to make energy savings.
ii) Audit Commission – the appointment of Grant Thornton LLP as the new
external auditor from 1st September 2012 was noted.
iii) Upper Witham Internal Drainage Board – Letter regarding the pond at
Haddington (see Minute 89/16/12 (ii).
iv) Cluster Meeting – this had been arranged for Thursday 13th September at 7pm
at Witham St. Hughs Village Hall. Cllr. Wetherill and Cllr. Bower agreed to attend
on behalf of the Council.
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AUBOURN AND HADDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
5th September 2012
97/18/12 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
1. Highways – a meeting had been arranged with LCC Highways Manager Alan
Brown for Monday 10th September and Cllrs. Mrs Woodman, Mrs. Wetherill, Mrs
Bower and Cllr. Knott would attend.
2. Dovecote Lane – the clerk would write to Police Inspector Mike Jones and Sgt
Hammond regarding the damage to residents vehicles which had been reported
as there had been no police action.
3. Environment Agency – a further request would be made to the Environment
Agency with regards to the replacement of the gates which lead to the weir.
4. Hedges – a letter would be sent to Philip Wynn at H & J Nevile with regards to
the overgrown hedges opposite the houses in Dovecote Lane. The hedges on
Bridge Road, Church Road and Royal Oak Lane all required attention as they
were overgrown and impeding pedestrian access.
5. A complaint made by the occupant of 4 Dovecote Lane, regarding overhanging
branches, was relayed by Cllr Mrs Bower. Since this was a Council property Cllr
Mrs Woodman offered to query the possibility of the cutting back being done by
the district council.
6. Insurance – Cllr. Mrs Woodman questioned the £250 excess on the insurance
policy which she thought was high but had been at that level when the policy
was first accepted in 2008. It was agreed that other excess limits should be
explored with the insurer and this information reported back.
98/18/12 DATE AND TIME OF THE NEXT MEETING
It was agreed to hold the next Parish Council meeting on Wednesday 3rd
October 2012 in the Community Heritage Room Aubourn Clock Tower at 8pm
The meeting closed at 9.35pm
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