2021 Property Committee minutes

Minutes - Property Committee - 6 July 2021

Minutes of the Nettleham Parish Council Property Committee meeting
Held on Tuesday 6 July 2021 at 7.30pm in the Old School, Small Hall
 
Present: Cllrs D Newsam (DN)(Chair), J Radcliffe (JR), P Jenkinson (PJ), J Evans (JE), Mrs J Clayton (JC), P McNeill (PM)
Also in attendance: Mrs D Locker (Parish Clerk), Jane Ashby (Facilites Manager), Claire Ward (Assistant Parish Clerk) and one member of the public.
Public forum: A member of the public wished to raise some matters relating to the weirs and the Beck management plan which are on the agenda for discussion under item 6.
 
The meeting commenced at 7.50pm
The Chairman of the Property Committee thanked all for attending.
 
072/21To resolve to receive apologies and accept reasons for absence: None
 
073/21 Disclosure of interests in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any requests for dispensations
None received
 
074/21 The notes of the Property Committee meeting held on 8 June 2021 to be approved as the 
 minutes 
It was proposed, seconded and 
AGREED: that the notes of the Property Committee meeting held on 8 June 2021 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the chairman.  Unanimous 
 
075/21 Financial Matters (FM)
a. To approve recent/proposed expenditure:
Ratification of expenditure:
  • B Knights - £58.95 + VAT, slats for bench
  • B Knights - £37.08 + VAT Fence rails
  • Tesco - £52.02 +VAT Fuel for van and mower/strimmer
  • Wickes - £1.97+VAT Bolts for bench repair
  • RPN Plumbing – Replace water tap at Parish office
Proposed expenditure: None
It was proposed, seconded and 
AGREED: To approve recent/proposed expenditure. Unanimous
 
b. To consider the income & expenditure report at 31.05.21 (month 2)
The contents of the income and expenditure report were noted
 
076/21 Facilities Manager Report
The Facilities manager report had been circulated and the following updates provided:
  • Payment for one of the two memorial benches has been received;
  • Quotes have been received for a new circular meadow sign;
  • The topple test in the cemetery is still outstanding;
  • Awaiting a reply from WLDC about walnut tree on the green which requires trimming;
  • The 5yr electrical test has been completed, with no further work required;
  • The signs in the maze have been well received by the public;
  • An email has been sent to Martin Chester (Continental Landscapes) confirming the councillor’s preference for strimming around trees in the village rather than spraying;
  • The resident who has been in touch with the parish council about extending the field path network has been advised to comment via the neighbourhood plan consultation.
077/21 Working Groups (15 mins max)
To receive reports as follows:
a) Beck (PJ):
  • The weirs in Nettleham beck have been measured recently and found to be up to 2” higher than the current Environmental Agency (EA) licence permits;
  • Repairs to weir 1, which have been approved by the Parish Council, also require the approval of the EA;
  • The fee to apply for a licence variation to deal with both issues is £1500;
  • An alternative option would be to purchase replacement weir boards or cut the existing boards down to the correct size. A resident attending the meeting informed Councillors that the issue is the height of the concrete base, which should be flush with the bed of the beck, rather than the height of the weir board;
  • It was proposed to contact EA to find out about the impact of the weirs being too high            ACTION JA
  • The Beck Management plan was discussed at the meeting of the Beck working group on 5 July and some further changes have been proposed. The revised plan will be finalised at the Beck Working group meeting on 18 October 2021 and presented to Property Committee at a subsequent meeting.      ACTION PJ
 
b) Mulsanne Park (DN):
  • The plans for the refurbishment of Mulsanne Pavilion are on-going. Currently grant applications to the Football Association and WLDC are being finalised;
  • Complete and submit grant applications.     ACTION DN
 
c) Field paths (JC):
  • Nothing specific to report, but a meeting may be arranged after 19 July;
  • An informal meeting with Trueloves property developers has taken place to discuss approaches to discouraging members of the public straying into cultivated fields. Trueloves were directed to Countryside Access guidelines. Future field path links are contingent on further development;
  • The Chairman has agreed to find out who owns the hedge beside the rugby club as it needs trimming.    ACTION DN
 
d) Vicars Wood (JC):
  • Nothing to report, there will be an inspection in the next few days;
  • It was confirmed that there is a management plan in place.
078/21 To discuss purchase/installation of exercise equipment for adults at Mulsanne Park 
  • Committee discussed a proposal to install exercise equipment on the grass area near the children’s play area at Mulsanne Park. Examples and prices were presented with individual items of exercise equipment ranging from £3000 - £4000. 
  • Funding would be required to go ahead with this project, but grants may be available     ACTION DN
079/21 To discuss expenditure for works to prevent escape of footballs, from the MUGA into Residents gardens
  • Committee discussed the problems caused by those playing football tennis and street snooker in the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) in Mulsanne Park. Raising the height of the fencing around the street snooker would be very costly;
  •  Moving the football tennis net across to the other side of the court would be cheaper and may alleviate the problem, although this would need to be monitored. However it may also reduce the opportunity for residents to play basketball;
  • It was agreed to ask the tennis club to move the net to the next court;                        ACTION DN
  • Also to follow up with an email to the residents affected, outlining the action taken  ACTION JA/DL
080/21 Tree matters 
a) To receive an update on tree matters; 
  • Nothing to report, an inspection will take place in the next few days;
  • LCC have been tree felling in the area;
  • Quotes for tree work have been requested.        ACTION JA
081/21 Correspondence
a) Request to upgrade/replace bench near beck 
  • Councillors were advised that the bench was approximately 30yrs old and beyond repair. Historically old benches have been replaced with new donations. 
  • It was agreed that the original donors should be informed and invited to replace the bench if they wish to do so.   ACTION JA/DL
  • Parish Council Policy guidelines make it clear that donated benches will be repaired but not replaced.
b) Offer of free village grass cut following damage to bench at the junction of Croft/Crescent Close
  • Councillors considered the offer of a free grass cut and agreed to accept it, suggesting that the village handyman repair the damaged bench.       ACTION JA
It was proposed, seconded and
AGREED to accept the offer of a free grass cut from Continental landscapes. Unanimous
 
82/21 Councillors’ Reports/Future Agenda items
a) Swathe (PM)
WLDC (Planning) is awaiting a further 1:100 scaled plan of the proposed burial ground extension before moving forward with the application.        ACTION PM
b) Allotments (PM)
No further updates, but a new allotment holders’ agreement has been drafted and is awaiting review by the legal adviser.   
c) Future agenda items
  • Swathe update  (PM)
  • Confirmation of allotment handover date   (PM)
  • Allocation of last year’s underspend of budget ( £20 k)   (DN)
  • Introduction of wildflower verges and other areas such as the old quarry site   (PJ)
  • Future plans for Bishop’s palace site, specifically the deployment and coordination of volunteers   (JE)
  • Purchase of a portable power washer   (PJ)
083/21 Date of next meeting:
The next meeting of the Parish Council’s Property Committee will be held on 7 September 2021 at the Small Hall, Old School, Mill Hill at 7.30pm
 
Meeting ended at 21.15 pm