November 2020 Minutes
Minutes of the meeting of Cowbit Parish Council held on
Monday 2nd November at 7.30pm via ZOOM
Attendance. Cllrs Tyrrell, Elliott, Fragale, Barnes and Sandhu.
County Cllr Pepper, 2 members of the public, 1 member of the press and the Parish Clerk.
1. Chairman’s welcome.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Public Forum.
The CSW co-ordinators thanked the Parish Council posting on Facebook regarding the CSW and advised speeds of 97mph had been recorded, the co-coordinators noted they had requested additional Police support.
A resident raised concerns with condition of the war memorials, noting Clarkson’s is in a bad state of repair. Council agreed they needed cleaning and agreed to clean and tidy for this year and look into placing one at the base of the Village sign for future years.
A resident mentioned the lack of bins in the Willow Court/Backgate area. Cllr Elliott noted the district had reviewed and were only able to place an additional bin on the bridge where currently sited. The Council and residents discussed potential locations and believed the grassed area on Willow Court would be best, Council agreed. The Council asked the Clerk to contact the developers to enquire regarding siting a bin and Cllr Casson to arrange collection.
2. Apologies.
a. District Cllrs Casson and Woolf.
3. Declarations of interest.
a. Declarations of interest where received from Cllr Elliott and Cllr Barnes regarding the discussions on the grant for the Village Hall storage cabin, both Cllr Elliott and Cllr Barnes are Village Hall Committee members and though they will not directly financially benefit if the grant is awarded they would like to abstain from voting.
4. Notes of the meeting held on 7th September to be approved as the new minutes.
a. It was resolved to accept these notes as the minutes. Duly signed.
5. Matters arising from the minutes.
a. None.
6. Police matters.
a. None.
7. Cemetery matters.
a. Ongoing, to find land suitable.
8. Highways matters/CSW.
a. None.
b. CSW. In September, 4 sessions were carried out, 20 vehicles out of 135 checked were reported over the speed limit (14%). The highest speeds were 69, 66 and 97mph all on Barrier Bank. In October, 6 sessions were carried out, 28 vehicles out of 194 were over the speed limit (14%). Two were recorded at 63mph. It was noted that the number of volunteers had dropped slightly and the co-ordinators enquired whether another plea could be put out on Facebook. The CSW co-ordinators enquired whether it was possible to a repeater 30mph along Stonegate and Backgate as though there are signs in place at the end there are no repeaters, Cllr Barnes suggested the 30mph repeater should be located on the road. Clerk to enquire with LCC Highways.
9. Financial report.
a. The financial report had been circulated and it was resolved by all to accept the figures given.
10. Planning matters.
a. Planning applications had been circulated and any comments made were listed on the SHDC portal. Cllr Elliot noted the application for 4 bungalows had been approved.
11. Village Hall representative.
a. The Village Hall Committee Chairman, Darren Harper updated the Council, noting that due to Lockdown, the bookings had been very few. The committee expect limited bookings into the New Year. The School had sole use of the Hall as an extension of the School, since September this had been reduced to using as a staff room and for P.E. Maintenance had been carried out on the toilets. The possibility of using the site to host the Post Office during the pandemic had been explored but had not been required as yet.
b. The Village Hall Committee Chairman advised the Hall had received a grant to carryout works on the Hall including for the cabin, which would benefit the Hall, its users and the Parish Council. The Chairman explained that between receiving the quotes and being able to carry out the works the costs had increased and the committee would like to ask the Council for a donation of £1050.00 to cover the additional costs. All agreed to a donation of £1050.00 to the Village Hall and an additional £200.00 should the Village Hall require. The Village Hall Committee Chairman noted after works were completed they had a small amount of gravel to spare which was offered to and accepted by the Council. The Chairman would arrange collection.
12. Playing field/Pavilion.
a. Cllr Sandhu noted concerns with the bins in the playing field overflowing after football training had been resolved and football training had reduced due to the weather. Cllr Sandhu also noted he and Cllr Elliott had met with the Football Team, discussions included goals not being locked, posts for goals to be chained to and marking out of pitches. The Football Team offered to mark a pitch for local children to use. Cllr Sandhu advised the proposed second set of goal posts would be located further away from the Play area and green netting along the fence maybe an idea when the pitch is marked out.
Discussions occurred regarding the usage of the field and play area during the current Lockdown, all agreed for Cllr Elliott to put a communication on the Village Facebook page advising those using to adhere to the regulations and ensure hands are washed before and after use.
b. The Council discussed the Sports Holiday Club Proposal, discussions included offering the service free, partially funded or payable, and concerns were raised regarding paying for the service in advance given the current Lockdown. Council agreed in principal it is an excellent idea which would be of benefit to the village, it was agreed for Clerk to register their interest for confirmation closer to the summer.
13. Correspondence.
a. Any correspondence received was included in the agenda.
14. Councillor’s reports & items not on the agenda.
a. Cllr Fragale mentioned the Bus Shelters are looking scruffy, the Chairman agreed. It was agreed to add this item to an agenda in the Spring (March or May meetings) for further discussion.
15. Date of the next meeting. Monday 11th January 2021 at 7.30pm via ZOOM.
Meeting closed at 8.50pm.