THEDDLETHORPE PARISH COUNCIL 

Minutes of the monthly meeting held on Thursday, 27th January 2022, 7.30pm

Theddlethorpe Village Hall, Silver Street, Theddlethorpe All Saints. 

Chairman: Cllr C Richardson, Vice-Chairman: (not present)

Parish Councillors: Cllr G Foister, Cllr D Sears, Cllr J Shepperd

Also, present: Parish Clerk: None

County Councillor: Cllr N Sears, Cllr D McNally 

District Councillor: Cllr S Harrison  

Item 01/22-01   Chairman’s Welcome 

The Chairman welcomed the Sixteen (16) members of the public (MOPs) to the Village Hall, all confirmed they resided within Theddlethorpe. 

The Parish Council (PC) were concerned about the regrettable events that took place at the last meeting & there was clear dissatisfaction from the PC & the members of the public.

The PC is guided by legislation, procedures and best practice guidance. A short presentation on the main guidance’s on the differences between Public Forum & Parish Council Meeting was shared not to lecture but to aid the understanding of processes. This also showed that the PC has gone beyond some of those restrictions to allow for debate & transparency due to the unprecedented situation we are all in. The guidance does not and restrict freedom of speech, but shows there is a time & place for these things.  

The Chairman explained that it would be unfair to impose the guidance shared tonight.

Item 01/22-02   Public Forum 

The Chairman opened up the Public Forum at 19:40hrs.

A MOP stated that they disagreed with the draft minutes of the last meeting & issued a contrasting response on behalf of the MOP’s to all councillors and narrated it line by line. The Chairman reviewed it with the Councillors and stated that the MOPS & PC may have to agree to disagree on the claims of inaccurate statements of events. Councillors have the right later in the agenda to agree & make changes to the PC’s draft minutes as necessary.

A statement was made that the questionnaire topic for the Parish meeting requested in December was a survey, that would have many questions and it was to be in a format that had been used successfully by GOTEC.

A statement was made that the MOP’s had rearranged the Parish meeting they had proposed and to March 17th to allow a greater number of people to attend due to current COVID concerns which may have prevented attendance.

A MOP stated that the email addressed on the Parish Post for Cllr C Lister was incorrect.

A MOP stated that they were concerned that they had been nominated for the Christmas lunch but had not received a phone call to participate and no one was answering the phone number on the nomination form. The Chairman explain that the event was supported by the Charity of Mrs Elizabeth Rook and they do not have phone numbers for those who participated. Also the MOP’s phone comes up as “No ID Caller”. The Charity was issued a list of names & partial information on all returned forms. There was not a form given to the Chairman for the MOP in question. The Chairman apologised to the person and requested their phone number to ensure this didn’t happen again. 

A statement was made that England was built on Green Lanes & pleasant lands & the GDF site would remove or prevent people using the 2 Green & pleasant lanes that surround the site and prevent the enjoyment of flora & fauna. A picture of some flowers taken on these lanes was handed to the Parish Councillors for review.

A statement was made that there had been talk of providing more public transport in the Parish should the GDF facility be supported. As a regular user who relies on the current public transport, it is clear that hardly anyone ever uses the existing public transport and therefore this is not required.

A statement was raised on concerns that the water table could be drained away or lost due to the underground tunnelling and development of the site.

A statement was made that any development could bring in more people & housing to the area and all the noise and issues that go with it. But people who come to live here do so to retire here to get away from all that.

A statement of concern was raised due to recent media statements with regards to preventing burial of people underground along the east coast of Lincolnshire forcing people to be buried in land away from where they live. If it is not acceptable or safe to bury people underground along the coast, how can it be acceptable to bury Nuclear Waste.

It was stated that Lincolnshire County Council had no support for Horse signage in the County & were at odds with the British Horse Society (BHS). Could the PC contact the BHS and obtain some signage as they are aware of 1 horse incident which was dreadful. The Chairman explained that Gillian Henshaw was the area representative for BHS and had been keeping the PC informed on signage. The PC has had 3 requests for horse signage rejected by Highways over the past few years, with the last rejection discussed only a few months ago. The PC supported signage especially along the A1031 as there are increasing numbers of equestrian properties & equestrian businesses. There have been multiple issues over the past few years and the BHS has advised that all incidents even minor ones should be reported to them to allow for evidence statistical collection.

The Chairman was then given a list of 6 different names to that who proposed the initial Parish meeting in December.

The chairman was asked about missing declarations of interest forms for the council. The Chairman explained that the council had decided before Christmas to do new forms as refreshing data was a good thing to do, and not all forms had been received back. Those that had been returned had been published.

The Chairman closed the public forum at 20:10hrs

Item 01/22-03 Apologies & acceptance of absence 

Apologies had been received & accepted from Cllr B Lister & Cllr B Lister.

Item 01/22-04 Police Matters 

No representatives from the Local Neighbourhood Policing Team were present.

A disturbing call was received by the Chairman and a brief overview of the events with regard to a vulnerable person in distress whom needed help. Calls were made to the 101 service & following many layers of automated messages which constantly redirect you to ELDC or to use the Police website, you eventually get through to press this number to talk to someone, no one answered.

The Chairman was able to use the internet to identify the distressed caller and track down the address & issue them to the Police after then calling 999. It was unclear during the call whether a response was going to be undertaken or not, until Chairman stated that he’d drive to the other Parish and check on the person themselves. It was stated that a car had been dispatched and would arrive in 10 minutes & the Chair requested to be kept updated. No response has been received. 

Item 01/22-05 Declarations of Pecuniary Interest from members in accordance with Localism Act 2011

None.

Item 01/22-06 Approval of Minutes from the Meeting held on December 9th 2021. 

Councillors stated that the minutes were a true reflection of the meeting.

Approval proposed by: Cllr D Sears & Seconded Cllr G Foister.

The minutes were duly signed by the Chairman.

Item 01/22-07 District & County Councillor Reports 

District Cllr S Harrison informed the PC of the following:

Information on mental health and contact numbers – it was agreed that these should go onto the Parish Website.

A recording studio has been set up in Skegness and will be free to use by the local community – information can be found on www.soundlincs.org

ELDC budget setting consultation is nearing an end, so if you go online, you can get involved and have your say.

County Cllr D McNally informed the PC of the following: 

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) tax increase for 2022/23 would be 3% which covers the increases required for Adult Social Care.

LCC has had its annual road repair budget reduced by the Government by 25% down £12M.

An overview was given on the local areas who suffered Avian Bird Flu – Lincolnshire was the worst affected County.

County Cllr N Sears informed the PC of the following:

Road Speed Camera had been located outside the Theddlethorpe Academy on Saturday 21st. The speed issues were being reviewed by LCC with regard to Mill Road.

Item 01/22-08   Chairman’s Report  

Coastal Communities Team Meeting & Mablethorpe Area Partnership

I attended the January CCT meeting & Mablethorpe Area Partnership meetings where questions were asked with regard to the GDF proposal and the previous working group meeting in November which has been previously reported around defining the Search Area and methodology used. Following scrutiny of work produced, the conclusion to that meeting should be approved for public release in early February.

CCT Feedback in support of Theddlethorpe Parish Council was;

• That a weighted voting process in favour of the local community, should a larger geographical area be allowed to vote for the GDF.
• That any community partnership funding process should be designed to be very simple and easy to access for community groups. Concerns were raised following an explanation of the process at the last Mablethorpe engagement meeting & that the funding management process had already been set up and managed by RWM.
• Support of Youth engagement should take place as soon as possible with the offer that RWM should contact the CCT or Mablethorpe Area Partnership, as they would like to work together to map out how best to achieve this.

Mablethorpe Area Partnership feedback in support of Theddlethorpe Parish Council was;

• Concerns were raised with regard to the potential that local businesses may not have a vote on any future agreements i.e., if a person owned a business in the area, but did not live within the search area or host community then they would not be entitled to a vote in the Test of Public Support.
• Concerns raised that a more level playing field is needed with regards to accessing independent objective resources in supporting No Campaign groups. Support and funding should be made available through community partnership that allows those groups to access independent experts at no or very little expense.

• Community funding should be ring fenced or prioritised to benefit those that are impacted from the site investigation and search area communities that are most in need of investment.

Item 01/22-09 Clerks Report 

Parish Councillor election advertised on noticeboards and on the Parish website. Closing date 3rd February and a message has been left stating that no co-option can take place. Process is managed by ELDC Elections office.

Several emails of criticism had been sent to the Parish Council, which stated some had also been sent to ELDC monitoring Officer and leaders of Councils & RWM. Several communications had been written to stir emotions with different individual Parish Councillors.

Received several positive feedback comments on the Parish Post and requests to see if would be continued through 2022.

Confirmation that Allerdale has moved into Community Partnership to forward discussions on a GDF in their search area. Their search area is made up of 13 Electoral Wards.

Parish Precept has been submitted for 2022/23.

Visit Lincs Skill Portal advertisement was shared.

Queens Jubilee

A letter was received from HM Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, with a website link to the official Jubilee organising website. The letter has been sent to potential organisers of events on Brickyard, Sea Lane & Saltfleet road. At present events are hopefully going to take place at Theddlethorpe Academy (Fri 27th due to school holidays), St Helens Church, Brickyard lane & the Village Hall. The chairman asked that planning needs to start early with coordination between groups, so that we have events on through the entire weekend and everyone gets a chance to mix & socialise. This is a good opportunity to get Parishioners out of isolation & get involved in something special.

Parish Councillor Co-option

Co-option requests will now be moved until after election.

Item 01/22-10 Parish Councillor Matters to be Raised 

Recent visitors to a function at the Village Hall had trouble finding it as the post code for the area took them to Tesco and the signage from main A1031 is confusing and points to a different location. Signage needs altering or improving & postcode changed.

Item 01/22-11 Financial Matters 

Expenditure for approval 

Mr C J Richardson

Reimbursement for Postage, printing Toner & Stationary (parish post), new Clerk laptop & software £1199.78

Approved Cllr D Sears, Seconded Cllr J Shepperd

Kenmoor Building Services – Christmas tree foundation works £2594.89

Village Hall Committee – Village Field/Green annual cutting / maintenance £1500

Village Hall Committee – annual hire charge of hall to Parish Council - £300

DB Electrical – Christmas Tree electrical supply installation - £315

Approved Cllr D Sears, Seconded Cllr G Foister

Precept forecast was distributed & discussion took place on increase in costs for 2022/23 – Reserves would be reduced over the next 18 months moving the PC more towards 6+ months operating cost.

Peter Strawson’s Ltd – refund had been received with our thanks for the over payment of the Christmas trees.

No purchase card has been received from Lloyds bank.

Item 01/22-12 Parish Meeting

The chairman took the council through why the process of request had not been carried out correctly by members of the public and left the process open to be procedurally defective.

Discussion took place whether to propose a new meeting, accept the current advertised information (PC Clerk to take arrangements over) or issue the Parish Council’s survey that was due to be issued along with the Parish Post in December. Councillors decided not to include the survey out of a sign of respect for the MOP’s that were at the December meeting, as they wanted to do one.

It was resolved by the PC to accept March 17th and the PC can ensure that the correct arrangements and advertising were in place.

Item 01/22-13 Covid Community Recovery

Discussion took place on the need for regular Village events aimed at Parishioners who don’t normally engage with the village hall or other areas & may be isolated. It may need Parishioners to twist the arms of some to attend and then hopefully enjoy what is on offer.

Initial discussions have taken started on a monthly luncheon, but like any event Parishioners will need to volunteer & help. A lot of hard work is done by only a few people in the Parish and there is no capacity to keep adding to those currently involved.

A request for ideas to be sent to the PC Clerk and Councillors to think of some ideas to discuss at the next meeting.

Item 01/22-14 Planning Matters:

N/179/000391/22 – The Hall, Thacker Bank, Theddlethorpe All Saints – Erection of a building to provide a vintage care centre & 2 residential units on the first floor (1-bedroom & a 2-bedroom flat).

1 query was raised as to the single vehicular access / egress. If the centre becomes very popular the single access may need to be reviewed as the it sits right on the corner of a bend of a narrow road.

Decision - Unanimously supported

Item 01/22-15 Highways / Footpaths / Lighting Matters

The White Road Barriers at the corner of Rotten row had been reported.

Salt Bins damage reported.

V/H signage – see item 01/22-10

Item 01/22-16 Road Safety

Cllr N Sear has given the Chairman a contact to look into support funding for a new bus shelter at Rotten Row / A1031. Removal of Ivey needs to be done to inspect condition properly but the main issue is the location as it is used by School Children (unknown number of in the meeting) and they access & egress the bus services right at the bad bend which is dangerous.

Councillor agreement to look at the use, position and replacement of to a safer location. It will be reviewed at the next Highways Parish visit by Cllr N Sears.

Theddlethorpe PC statement on speeding on Mill Road issued to Theddlethorpe Academy & Highways alongside speed data collected between 16th November & 14th January 22.

50178 cars were recorded travelling up along Mill Road past the School towards Louth (speed sign location 2) – approx. 850 cars a day (the period also covers the Half Term & Christmas Holidays).

19553 (39%) were recorded at travelling under the 30mph speed limit & 30625 (61%) were recorded over the 30mph speed limit. 166 drivers were recorded travelling between 60 & 90mph, with 2 recorded at 85-90 mph!

The camera is at location 3 and will be removed earlier to get the average results quicker for the school.

Item 01/22-17 Parish on-going issues & general maintenance

• Millennium Stone – Unable to be installed along with the Christmas Tree as planned.
• Information Boards – agreed that 3 new general use boards need purchasing in 2023.
• Litter Club – Litter pick group to be resurrected in 2022 as recently only the chairman has participated – so a request for Parishioners to volunteer and set up a monthly group.
• St Helens Church – Survey supported funding information has been identified by Cllr S Harrison. Information to be passed onto the Clerk. The Church has been handed back over to the Diocese and it is expected that the Church will close in the next 2 years.

Item 01/22-18 Reports from Outside Bodies 

None.

Item 01/22-19 Parish Correspondence (Parish Post / Website / other correspondences)

Discussion took place on whether the Parish Post could become a replacement to the Marshlander magazine that closed down due to retirement and no one wanting to take it on. The concept was agreed but it will require Parishioners to come forward to make this happen from a view of advertising, articles, distribution etc.

If a Parishioner is interested in looking into a Parish Magazine then please contact the Parish Clerk.

Item 01/22-20 To Resolve the Date of the next Monthly Parish Council Meeting  

The next meeting will be held in the Village Hall, Silver Street on February 24th at 7:30pm.

They’re being no other business; the meeting closed at 21:35hrs.