2019 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

Belton and Manthorpe Parish Council

Chairman - Councillor Katy Gibson. 32, Low Road, Manthorpe, NG31 8NQ.

Tel 01476 563958

Clerk - Chris. Morgan, 10 Manchester Way, Grantham NG31 8RR

Tel. 07758762811

Minutes of the Belton and Manthorpe Parish Council Meeting held on 28th August 2019, at the Manthorpe Playgroup Room at 7.30pm

Present Cllrs S. Syddall,( Chair) S Thompson, C Thornton,  J. Ashford, M.Morris,  J.Bishop, R.Hallam County Cllr Ray Wotten

In attendance Chris. Morgan (Clerk and Proper Officer). 

1. Chairman’s Remarks. Cllr Syddall opened the meeting and welcomed everyone present, stating that since the last meeting things had been quite, but was grateful for the work that had gone on to get the defibrillator installed at the Manthorpe Church, in partnership with St. John’s Church Manthorpe. This had happened in a short period of time and he was grateful to all those involved.

2. Apologies for Absence – Apologies Cllr. Ian Stokes.

3. Declarations of Interest – Cllr Hallam, spoke about 20 Low Road Manthorpe and the fact that she was an immediate neighbor, and the condition of the garden and weeds there was having an impact on her property.  Chair thanked Rona for the info, but felt that it would not have any impact on any discussions that would be held on this subject.

4. Minutes of the last meeting held 8th May 2019 – It was Resolved to adopt the minutes as a true record, proposed by C.T. seconded S.T. and the minutes were duly signed by the Chairman and Clerk.

5. Belton Liaison Comm. Cllr Syddall, updated the meeting on the Belton Liaison Comm. meeting on 19th August 2019. A general discussion, by all present, took place re the meeting/minutes, there were matters in the minutes relating to just Belton village matters, and some matters that were of concern/use to Belton P.C. and only those matters relevant to the P.C. was discussed at this meeting.  The minutes, would be attached to theses minutes/notes and would be placed on the P.C. website by CM, when received and approved from NT

6. Planning applications since the last meeting. – There had been a number of planning applications since the last meeting, the majority of which the Parish Council did not have any comments to make, however there were applications from a Mr Ward, of 9, High Road Manthorpe, which had been retrospective.  The Parish Council had submitted comments on these applications and had also received a decision notice from SKDC informing the P.C. that these applications had not been approved.  The other application that the P.C. had submitted comments on was that at 20, Low Road Manthorpe by Belton Bottomry, for the demolition of existing cottage and erection of detached two storey dwelling and garage. This application was still pending; a decision has not been made yet by S.K.D.C. Comment was also made re the boundary hedge (with the footpath, Low Rd.) at 20 after a number of complaints had been received re the overgrown hedge preventing use of the footpath.  It was noted that the hedge had been cut back.  Cllr Wootten did say that L.C.C. had sent “enforcement” notices to the owner re this. Cllr Wootten was thanked for his input and support with this.

7. Speed Limit Manthorpe village – Cllr Ray Wootten updated the meeting on this matter informing them that he had had a positive response from his colleagues at Lincs C.C. highways, and that this matter was not out for consultation, and he was hopeful that the issue would be resolved to the satisfaction of the Belton and Manthorpe Parish Council, in the due course of time and the procedure needed to be taken. Nothing had been received of this issue from L.C.C. and Cllr Wootten stated that he would follow this up with L.C.C.  Cllr Wootten was thanked for his help and support in this matter.

8. Reactive Speed camera. C.T. gave an update on the reactive speed camera, and of data that had been received.  All the relevant data is available to all the councilors via “Dropbox.” In July the new position and post in the Orchard had now been used and the data was discussed. CT continues to move the equipment around the relevant locations and stated that if any Councilors had a preference for this they should contact him. C.T. was thanked for his work with the “Reactive Speed Camera”

9. Community Speed Watch – CM had circulated a paper prior to the meeting to all Councillors, a general discussion took place on this initiative with all the Councilors in favour of it. CM informed the meeting that he had met with our neighbouring P.C. (Barkston and Syston) Clerk, and also with Mike Brooks who is the Coordinator for the Long Bennington initiative, and went through the relevant process that needed to be done. It was also noted that there may be a possibility to have a joint initiative with Barkston and Syston, on this and the costs and resources could be equally divided by the two P.C.’s – Barkston and Syston have their meeting on 9th September and CM will notify all the Councilors of any comments/decisions that come from that meeting. The matter of recruiting volunteers for this initiative was discussed. The request for volunteers would be publicized on the web site, and In Touch Mag. informed, and CM would produce a leaflet, for a leaflet drop to all properties in Belton and Manthorpe. J.B. also stated that this could be advertised on the Manthorpe Village web site. Resolved

10. Burial Ground –MM gave an update on the recent “use” of the burial ground, at a recent funeral, and the issue of a large amount of old flowers had been left in the burial ground. MM had made a number of trips to the local tip to get rid of the waste. A discussion took place, by all present, re the P.C. policies. Resolved, all the policies are, current, fit for purpose and appropriate. MM was thanked for taking the time and commitment to ensure the burial ground was kept in a tidy and orderly manner.

11. Defibrillator – JB updated the meeting on the recent initiative to obtain a defibrillator for the village of Manthorpe.  Work has been done in partnership with St. John’s Church Manthorpe, and a 24/7 Public Access defibrillator had been placed in the Church Yard at the Church. Financial support had been received from British Heart Foundation, Cllr I Stokes Community Grant fund and Larkfleet Homes. All were thanked for their help and support, without which this project would not have been successful.  Once the defibrillator is fully up and running a “photo shoot” will be arranged for all the parties involved and the relevant publicity completed. MM offered a vote of thanks to all those involved for their work in making this project so successful – Unanimously agreed and all thanked.

12. Use of Barkston Heath Lane by HGV – CT reported that he had received complaints from residents re the use of HGV’s along Barkston Lane and Five Gates Lane. A general discussion took place by all present. One issue was Grain Lorries, but it was stated by a number of Councilors that we are in a rural, farming community and grain movement was necessary at this time of year.  The other matter was HGV’s using Five Gates lane when there is a weight limit prohibition. It would appear that Mitchells Packaging from Alma Park were the “main culprits” here. It was stated that this may have occurred because of the closure of Harrowby Lane due to the works there, however since the opening of Harrowby Lane it was stated that the problem still exists. Resolved CM to write to Mitchell Packaging outlining the concerns of the P.C. and to ask that the drivers be reminded of the weight restriction

13. Accounts. CM updated the meeting re the accounts and circulated the Income/Expenditure since the last meeting. Movement on the accounts had been minimal, (see below) Resolved Accounts accepted by the members, and approval given to pay 1 outstanding invoices 1) Andrew Pearsy re the maintenance of the hedging at the Manthope footpath. Action CM to pay the invoice.  MM proposed that £5k should be transferred to the Savings account from the “working account” Resolved, unanimously agreed. Action – CM to transfer the £5k

There has been no unexpected expenditure since the last Meeting, please see below details of income and expenditure since the last meeting.

The Belton and Manthorpe Finance Policy, is part of the “model polices” that have been adopted from LALC and approved by the Council.

14. Correspondence –CM updated the meeting on correspondence received since the last meeting, the vast majority was via email which had been forwarded to the Cllrs, and CM had updated Cllr Thompson personally, as appropriate.  Cllrs. CT, ST, and JB had attended a meeting at the Woodland Trust  re their proposals, in partnership with the National Trust re “Reconnecting Grantham to its historic landscape” the Cllrs updated the P.C. on the meeting  - Notes of the meeting and the plans are attached for info. Although there was not an Agenda item “AOB” as the Chair is not in favour of this, as all matters should be on the agenda, to be discussed, on this occasion he was prepared to accept AOB – Cllr Thompson stated that she now had an I-Pad and could now receive e-mails but was having problems with attachments. It was “work in progress” to become familiar with the I-Pad and she asked the other Councilors for their patience, while she became more proficient with the equipment.

15. Date and Time of Future Meetings.

Dates of future meetings agreed as:

Wednesday 27th November 2019              Belton, Old School House at 7.30pm

Wednesday 19th February 2020                 Manthorpe Playgroup Hall at 7.30pm

Wednesday 29th May 2020                         Belton, Old School House, at 7pm to include the Annual Parish Meeting and the

                                                                          Annual Parish Council Meeting.