Minutes

19th January 2022

Uffington Parish Council

Unapproved Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at Uffington Village Hall on Wednesday 19th January 2022 at 7.45pm

Present: Barrie Brown – Chairman, Cllr Sheehan, Cllr Hartley, Cllr Genever, Cllr Hutchins, Cllr Barratt, Cllr Church and three members of the public

Clerk – Mrs. K Turner

Cllr Brown opened the meeting and welcomed everyone present. Mary Freelan, a campaign manager from UPP broadband was invited along to the meeting and was given an opportunity to introduce herself and the company. Mary explained that UPP were now providing Broadband in Stamford and surrounding villages and were keen to talk to residents about their products and services. They are an independent privately owned company and focus on employing locally and are heavily committed in supporting local events and being part of the local community. Several questions were raised regarding costings etc and residents of Greatford road who have been previously struggling with internet connection. Clerk to provide Village Hall committee contact details and local advertisement avenues, the  Parish magazine being mentioned.

  1. Apologies: Cllr Kelham Cooke, Cllr R Trollope-Bellew
  2. Approval of Minutes from 8th December:

Pro: Cllr Sheehan           Sec: Cllr Barratt

 

  1. Matters Arising

A member from the Mallard Pass action group was given the chance to update the Council on the current status of the Solar farm. Members of the Group have met with MP Alicia Kearns who is actively against the project. The group has now met with all affected Parishes and has reiterated that all villages stay together and informed of any new developments in relation to the project. There has been a heavy media presence with regular reports from The Stamford Mercury and a feature on BBC Midlands. The group are keen for the villages to stick together and to keep the plan in the spotlight.

Cllr Brown explained that the Parish Council sent reminders to all residents asking for their opinions in relation to the Solar farm and to reiterate that their feedback needed to be sent into Mallard Pass by the 16 December. A response from the Parish Council was sent direct to Mallard pass on behalf of the village after the feedback had been received. The item is attached as a separate document and can also be viewed on the Uffington Parish Council website.

New and updated correspondence will be drafted to be sent to the new Highways manager at LCC in request for a footpath extension along Greatford Road. Action – Clerk to contact residents and Uffington Cricket Club for views.

The blocked drain has been reported to LCC and work is scheduled. No further updates

The new pieces of play equipment have been installed and the inspection took place on 18/01/22. Councilors agreed that as the play area was now of a significant size and height regular inspections and maintenance could no longer be safely carried out by the Council members. A maintenance contract would need to be put in place. Action – Clerk to obtain 3 contractor maintenance quotes. Cllr Genever kindly agreed to remove some of the old logs from the play area

Allotment agreements and rental requests are in the process of being sent to all tenants

A resident of the village was invited to talk to all Council members regarding the parking situation on Needham Allen Close. It was reported that SKDC had sent a letter at the end of 2021 to residents advising them that there is a strict no parking policy on the green area. A District Cllr has been to visit the resident and to hear their concerns but there has been no solution put forward as yet. Uffington Parish Council members were sympathetic to the issue and agreed that all residents would need to come together to formalise a plan to take to SKDC. There has been an offer to purchase some of the land but this has been refused. Action – Clerk to contact SKDC to clarify the legal status of the land in question

  1. Queens Jubilee

The official opening of the play area and planting of the commemorative tree under the Queens green canopy scheme was decided to be held on Sunday 6 February. Cllr Brown and his wife Dianne have very kindly donated a tree that will be planted.

The price for the official plaque to be ordered from the official website is £119.99. This was agreed to be purchased by the Clerk.

All council voted in favour

The Council also noted to stay in touch with the Village Hall in regards to any planned events taking place in June. A possible village rounders match was also suggested.

  1. Reports from outside bodies

Cllr Rosemary Trollope Bellew and Cllr Cooke report sent to all Council members. Full reports can be viewed on the website

  1. Accounts

Expenditure Out

Clerks Wages Dec                                        £213.44

Litter picking invoice Dec                               £40.00

       Village Hall Hire                                             £10.00

       Woodland  Trust                                            £8.95

 

Total                                                                        £272.39

 

Payments In

  •  

 

Bank balance as at 13.01.22

Treasurer’s account: £417.07

Business account:£5,606.46

 

Cllr Brown asked if all Cllrs to confirm they had seen and read the accounts information

Pro: Cllr Hutchins                 Sec: Cllr Genever

All Cllr’s agreed

  1. Declaration of Interest
  2.  
  3. Planning

S21/2153 – Mr. T Lennon - Land Between No 9 And 21 Main Road Uffington Stamford Lincs

It was noted that this application had been refused by SKDC

  1. Correspondence – Full list of correspondence received

31 Lindsey Road was granted access across Parish Council land for building works to be undertaken and for tree maintenance to be carried out by the resident. Full Council agreed

Allotment boundary – An enquiry has been made to the Land Registry for details on which reports would need to be obtained to clarify. Cost for a contractor to undertake the works is out of budget. A working group was suggested.

  1. Any other business

State of Casewick Lane was reported again by Cllr Genever. Action– Clerk to contact new Highway’s manager

Cllr Hutchins gave an update on behalf of the Speed watch group. Both speed signs are being monitored and the group hopes to start regular sessions once the weather improves. Even though there is no formal requirement the group will be sharing their reports and information with the Parish Council and to the village going forward so that the groups effort and progress is highlighted to everyone. Action – Clerk to contact LCC for an update regarding the movement of the 30mph speed sign

Noted that the streetlights in the village look dark. Streetlight out on Newstead corner Action- Clerk to raise query and report

 

Meeting closed at 9.25pm

Next Full Council Meeting to be held at the Village Hall on Wednesday 2nd March 2022 at 7.30pm