February 2022 Minutes
Belton And Manthorpe Parish Council
Chairman - Councilor Simon Syddall, 5-6 Washdyke Lane, Belton NG32 2LT
Clerk - Chris. Morgan, 10 Manchester Way, Grantham NG31 8RR
Tel. 07758 762811
Minutes of the Belton and Manthorpe Parish Council Meeting held on 9th February 2022 at 7.30pm in the Old School House, Belton.
Present Cllrs S. Syddall, (Chair) Cllrs S Thompson, R. Hallam, E. Farley, J Ashford, A Charity.
In attendance Chris. Morgan (Clerk and Proper Officer). – County Cllr R Wootten, District Cllr Ian Stokes, Ian Cooper
1) Chairman’s Remarks. The Chair, Cllr Syddall, welcomed everyone to the meeting, stating that with Christmas and Covid ,things with the P.C. had been reasonably quiet and uneventful during the last quarter since the last meeting.
2) Apologies for Absence – None received.
3) Declarations of Interest – Nothing declared by anyone, and there were no matters on the agenda where any councilors present had any pecuniary interest to declare.
4) Minutes of the last meeting held 24th November 2021 – It was RESOLVED to adopt the minutes as a true record, proposed by EF seconded by JA and the minutes, were, duly signed by the Chairman and Clerk. – Matters arising – All covered by agenda items.
5) Update from National Trust – Mr. Ian Cooper the Belton House General Manager was in attendance and give an update on National Trust matters and Belton House. – The Christmas Light trail had been successful, slightly less footfall than was expected, this was mainly due to Covid worries. No concerns had been raised by any villagers or complaints received. The post code change had been a real improvement, although still one or two vehicles had ended up where they should not have been but, in general, there had been a great improvement. The new signage was also received positively and had helped. The route around the Light Trail had been reversed which had helped with previous sound issues and the environmental concerns. Planning for the trail next year would commence in April/May and if there were any concerns these should be forwarded to Mr. Cooper. Lion Gates had been reopened, and there had been a reduction in anti-social behavior there, although there were still issues with members of the public getting entry to the Park and grounds without paying, and the NT were looking at ways to address this. Belton House does receive a fee for every entry and it was in their interest to ensure that all members of the public who entered the property had their tickets scanned. Cllr Wootten did say that he had not received any complaints since the last meeting. (nor had his wife who is the District Councilor for the adjoining ward). The work along Five Gates Lane had now been completed, with the hope that this may reduce vehicles speed along there, it was still early stages and this was being monitored. Belmont Car Park was to be resurfaced during the next 12 – 18mths and work was being planned to be able to re-open the Belmont Tower. IC went on to speak about the priorities for the NT in the future, a) Re roofing of Belton House itself, which was a multi-million pound project, and scaffolding could be erected there for about the next 2yrs. Car Parking at the House, and an “access project” around the Court Yard and Stables. IC then asked for any questions. SS asked about the Holy Hedge that was encroaching across the footpath hear the School House. IC promised to discuss this with the maintenance team. This item was then extended to cover the identified issue re the footpaths at Manthorpe being to narrow. Lincolnshire Sensory Services had been doing an assessment for a service user and were concerned about the width of the footpaths. Cllr Hallam had taken certain measurements and would forward these to the County Cllr Ray Wootten to follow up, SS stated that he would also check with the Land Registry to try and assess the boundary situation. Cllr Wootten did say that the highways budget was short of 12 million pounds, and any monetary implications would need to be seriously considered by L.C.C.
6) Finance. –CM had circulated a Financial report prior to the meeting, along with the spread sheet outlining Income and Expenditure there were no queries from councilor’s, and it was RESOLVED, to accept the report and agree to the payments that had been made. Prop. AC seconded ST
7) Manthorpe Burial Ground – CM updated the meeting re recent consultation that DEFRA had been involved in Relevant papers had been circulated. The implication was that there could be less burial plots available, together with a potential 50% drop in income. The matter was in consultation and LALC had made representations in opposition. This was an ongoing item and would need to be kept on the Agenda with CM keeping the PC informed of any developments,
8) Constable Field Manthorpe -This land was owned by the P.C. It the past it had been rented out, but this was no longer happening. A general discussion took place re what the P.C. could do. RESOLVED Charles Dyson to be asked to survey and value the land and assess the suitability as to what could be done with it. It was agreed to accept the Letter of Engagement supplied by David Carter, of Charles Dyson. It was thought that there may be a covenant on the land. This would need to be researched. AC It was possible to obtain Indemnity Insurance if appropriate.
9) Planning Applications: There had been only a few Planning Applications since the last meeting, all of which had been circulated by CM and there was a separate paper outlining these. There was nothing contentious in any of the applications
10) Meeting with the Chief Constable CM informed the meeting that Barkston and Syston P.C. had approached the new CC to take up his offer of meeting with the P.C. B&S P.C. thought it appropriate to hold a joint meeting including Belton and Manthorpe. A general discussion took place and the principle was agreed. B&S P.C. to make the relevant arrangements and a number of Councilors from Belton and Manthorpe would be happy to attend.
11) Queens Platinum Jubilee IC stated that the NT may be arranging a Picnic In The Park event at Belton House, and he would keep the Parish Council updated on this. RW did state that match funding was available from SKDC for any event, if this was appropriate. It was asked if Manthorpe Church would be holding any event, as they had held a successful Christmas Fayre, and the Jubilee celebrations may be on their Agenda for this event. CM to research and update.
12) Any Urgent Business RW notified the meeting of work being completed re the proposition to have a Grantham Town Council and asked what the views of the P.C. would be. A discussion took place on this. SS stated that he would read the information available and report back to the P.C. RW also went onto say the he was a member of the Lincolnshire Police Crime Panel and for info another 67 officers were being recruited bringing the Police Establishment up to 1,186 officers. Lincolnshire was the lowest funded Force in the Country.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.05pm
13) Date and Time of Next Meeting- Wednesday 25th May 2022, at 7pm at Belton – The Old School, this would include the Annual Parish meeting, as well as the annual Parish Council Meeting.