Minutes

Tathwell And Haugham Parish Council 

Minutes of the meeting held Wednesday 19th August 2020 at 7:35pm via Zoom 

Public Forum 

Mrs Jean Howard informed the council about the need to register all public footpaths leading to the two churches by December 2023 to ensure and safeguard public access, both to the churches, and as paths for the general public through the churchyards. The process will take a lot of time and legal work and the parish council was requested to provide support. The Council resolved to put this item on the next meeting’s agenda. Mrs Howard to provide the Clerk all information detailing the support required from the Council. 

The Clerk did not receive any apologies or reports from 

a) ELDC Ward Member 

b) LCC Ward Member 

c) Louth Rural Neighbourhood Policing Team 

20/08-1 Record of Members Present and Apologies 

Present: Cllr E Hairsine (Chairman); Cllr L Fear (Vice-Chairman) and Cllr J Stainton 

Also in attendance: Mrs J Howard, Mrs N Must (Parish Clerk/RFO) 

Absent: Cllr C Shaw 

20/08-2 To receive any Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda - None declared 

20/08-3 Minutes from 6th May 2020 – It was resolved that the draft minutes were accurate. The Chairman will sign at the next opportunity. 

20/08-4 Council Matters 

a) Chairman’s Remarks. There were no matters to discuss that were not on the agenda. 

b) Actions from Previous Meeting. The Clerk reported that all actions from previous meeting have been completed. 

c) New Website – LCC have given parish councils until December 2020 to transfer relevant documents from the current website to the new website which is still work in progress. The current website does not comply with accessibility regulations and LCC support will end. Both the Chairman and Clerk attended training sessions on how to upload on the new website. The work and effort required are extremely challenging and time consuming and it was noted that the Clerk had already used up her annual working hours. A quote for £250 from an IT Specialist had been received. The Clerk will explore other quotes and funding opportunities where available. However, time is limited and the Council may have no option but to outsource the work and pay from available reserves. 

d) Communications. All relevant communications were forwarded to councillors and noted. 

20/08-5 Finance and Budgets 

a) Payments approved 

i. HMRC Income Tax - £40.40 

ii. Parish Clerk salary and expenses - £344.50 

b) VAT – The council noted receipt of VAT reclaim of £297.87 received in July. 

c) Budget Monitoring and latest Receipts and Payments – noted 

20/8-6 Community Amenities 

a) Tathwell Notice Board – Based on the two quotes/estimates received to replace the back of the noticeboard and the pin boards, clean and varnish as required, the Council resolved to accept the local firm that quoted £166.25 plus VAT. The Clerk will contact both suppliers to confirm decision and request ELDC ward member for community grant to cover costs. 

b) Wightman Corner Notice – The Chairman had replaced the notice with updated contact details and highlighting the rules on the use of the site. There was an incident last June when a vehicle parked overnight which was not allowed. The police were informed but no harm done. The gates are now locked every evening to deter further incidents. 

c) Siting of speed limit sign on Poverty Lane – There were concerns that the sign was not in the best place to alert drivers of the speed limit restriction. A more appropriate area was suggested, and the Chairman will take photos which will be sent to LCC Highways for their consideration. Further signs were required along the junction with Little Tathwell Lane. The Chairman will send photos to Clerk for action. 

d) Water Pressure issues – About 4 weeks ago the Fire Brigade (FB) reported low water pressure at the hydrant opposite the memorial at around 10.30pm, but since then no one has noticed any low pressure since. The Chairman will contact the FB to follow up. 

e) Covid-19 pandemic– Nothing to report since last meeting as the parish appear to have missed the worse of the pandemic. 

20/08-7 Planning Matters. There were no current or outstanding applications to consider. 

20/08-08 Date of Next Meeting - The next council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 4th November 2020 at 7:30pm. Unless current legislation changes, the next meeting will continue to be held remotely via Zoom. 

The meeting closed at 20:20 pm.