2019 Annual Parish Meeting

SOUTH HYKEHAM PARISH COUNCIL 

Clerk: Carolyn Wilkinson
http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/SouthHykeham

Minutes of the South Hykeham Annual Parish Meeting held on Wednesday 3rd April 2019 at 6.30 pm in South Hykeham Village Hall. 

PRESENT: Parish Councillors: Mrs P Whittaker (Chairman), Mrs L Graham, P Driffill, D Rowson,  Mrs D Locker. Clerk: Carolyn Wilkinson.

North Kesteven District Councillors: Cllr Mrs Woodman and Mrs Sue Howe.  LCC County Councillors Mike Thompson.   Mr Richardson, Headteacher South Hykeham Primary School.

1. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies had been received from  Cllr S Roe, Phil Watt, Access Lincoln and Jeffery Kenyon, Principal Economic Development Officer NKDC.

2. Clerk’s notes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 11th April 2018 to be adopted as the minutes of that meeting.

Proposed Cllr Driffill, seconded by  Cllr Rowson and unanimously approved by those present at the last meeting that the Clerk’s notes should be adopted as the minutes of the meeting held on 11th April 2018.  The Parish Council Chairman Cllr Mrs Whittaker signed the Minutes.

3. Police Report.

In the absence of the Police Beat Team the Police report there was no report.

4. Reports.

a) Chairman of South Hykeham Parish Council.

Since August 2018 the council has been operating with a complement of 6 councillors and despite having advertised the vacancy created by the resignation of Mike Main we have not managed to recruit a new member to council.  Grateful thanks are extended to Mike for the time and effort he put into serving the Parish during his period of office.  It is hoped that the Council will have a full complement of 7 councillors following the Elections on 2nd May 2019.

The Parish Council would like to thank our District and County Councillors who continue to regularly attend the monthly Parish Council meetings to give their reports and for their continuing commitment to supporting the Parish Council and its parishioners.
Thanks are also extended to the Community Police Beat Team who attend meetings when they can subject to availability and their operational duties.  Regular reports are provided for our meetings and they have recently been conducting traffic calming enforcement in the vicinity of South Hykeham Primary School in response to the council’s request for proactive assistance . 

The Speed Indicator Device which was purchased through the Road Safety Partnership Community Speedwatch Initiative has been installed since February and has provided some useful evidence of ‘hotspots’ where speed limits are not being observed.  This information has been passed to the Road Safety Partnership, Police and Highways.  A request for a survey to be carried out at the school for a School Safety Zone has been put forward to LCC Highways through our County Councillor for that area, Cllr Mrs Overton,  and we are currently awaiting a response from her.  

The Neighbourhood Plan for Hykeham was adopted last year and a Joint Hykeham Planning Committee was formed to consider planning applications for the Parish and Town Council.  Agendas for the meetings will continue to be publicised on our noticeboards and the Parish Council website along with minutes of the meetings. Planning applications may be viewed by application to the Town Clerk at North Hykeham or at the District Council Offices at Sleaford.

The Parish Council continues to use litter picking services hired from North Hykeham Town Council and has increased the number of hours in order to meet the demand in order to keep the area as litter free as possible.  New litterbin locations have been identified and new bins have been installed at these locations with a further three placed on order for other new locations.  Council encourages dog owners to be responsible and to dispose of dog waste in the dual purpose bins provided.  The Parish Council has a service level agreement with North Hykeham Town Council for litterpicking and another for grasscutting services at Beechcroft.

 Regular updates on what is happening in the Parish is publicised through the Witham Herald and Parish Council website.  The Council would like to thank the volunteers who deliver the Witham Herald to each household in South Hykeham.

The Parish Council has been busy throughout the last year looking into various options to fund the improvements to the surface of the bridleway between Ascot Way and Mill Lane.   At present the two are mainly connected by roads, many of which do not have pavements making a car the only real safe means to travel between the two.  The improvements aim to provide a safe and pleasant connection between North and South Hykeham which can easily be traversed by foot, cycle or on horseback in order to access the school at South Hykeham and a wider range of local services.   

The Parish Council is delighted to announce that Access Lincoln has agreed to match fund the Parish Councils funds set aside for the project, along with the Planning Gains from the Thorpe Lane development.  Application has also been made to Lincolnshire Co-op for the Parish Council to be considered as a candidate for their Community Champion(Environment).  The Co-op has confirmed that the application the clerk submitted has been accepted as a qualifying project for this award.  The Council is currently waiting to hear who the successful applicants for the Community Champion awards will be.

It is hoped that the resurfacing will be completed by March 2020 and the upgraded bridleway will become an all year round, all weather sustainable access between North and South Hykeham and vice versa.  Concern was expressed by Mr Richardson, Headteacher on behalf of the school governors about the pupils and parents not having a safe crossing point from the bridleway over Mill Lane.  After some discussion it was agreed that Mr Richardson should be invited to attend the meeting that has been requested with LCC Highways to look at the possibility of providing a School Safety Zone and to consider any other traffic calming measures that might be suitable at this location.  Cllr Mrs Locker arrived at this point.

b) District Councillors’ Reports.

Cllr Mrs Woodman and Cllr Mrs Howe NKDC gave their reports. NKDC continues to be an innovative council and has once again produced a balanced budget.

The Council  in partnership with other agencies and councils across the County is delivering a Wellbeing Service which seeks to support adults across the whole of Lincolnshire to achieve more fulfilled and confident independent living.

There has been extensive modernisation of the refuse vehicle fleet with a new depot built to improve the waste and recycling service.

The supply of new housing in the District continues with additional affordable homes being built to meet the increasing demand.

North Kesteven District Council, its Leader, Members and Officers have over the year made a notable effort and impact to positively promote North Kesteven for the benefit of its residents, communities and businesses through working in partnership with other stakeholders and having a collaborative approach to the challenges faced.  The District has supported relocation of business activities to Teal Park, a strategic employment site initiated through partnership working.  It has encouraged the building of council house provision including those of innovative straw-bale construction.  North Kesteven is recognised as a District steeped in aviation heritage and it has created the International Bomber Command memorial (IBBC) sited on Canwick Hill, with its tall spire directed towards Lincoln Cathedral, and it is actively involved in supporting and promoting the tourist industry of Lincolnshire.

The District continues to invest and support business expansion, irrespective of the size and activity of the business, investing in the creation of workshop space availability to meet demand from growing enterprises.  It is supportive of retaining and developing critical services for residents and businesses and invests heavily in provision and infrastructure.  It strives to offer housing choice for its residents, households and communities and has worked in partnership with Lincs-Inspire to positively promote health and well-being, providing the creation of modern sports centre facilities in Sleaford and North Hykeham and promote engaging outdoor facilities at the Whisby Natural World Centre for children of all ages and their families.  It supports the social enterprise of Hill Holt Wood, and works to positively enrich the lives of the individuals supported there.

The District has, during the year, been fortunate to secure Heritage Lottery Funding for the preservation and maintenance of Mrs Smith's Cottage situated in Navenby and create a Visitor Centre to preserve the historical legacy of the life of Mrs Smith, which will be showcased to interested parties through educational, school visits in the future.

In summary it is acknowledged that the district of North Kesteven is vibrant, innovative and engaging for all its communities, residents and businesses whilst being applauded as the safest place to live.                                                                                                                                                                                           

c) County Councillors’ Reports.

Cllr Mike Thompson gave his report.

Community Speed Watch  Cllr Thompson reported that he has received an update from the coordinator to say that Countywide 300 first letters have been issued to drivers reported under the Speedwatch initiative, 8 second letters have been sent out, but no third letters have so far been required.

The Future of the Heritage Service  Lincolnshire County Council is considering changes to its Heritage Service, which if implemented would involve changes including the closure or handing over to third parties of a number of sites, and the development of the heritage offering at Lincoln Castle and The Collection Art & Archaeology Museum.  Alongside these changes the Heritage Service is also proposing to support the development of community heritage, both new and existing, throughout the county including offering financial support, leadership, advice and guidance. LCC would like to hear views from members of the public about the proposals at this formative stage in the council’s thinking. They have described the case for change as clearly and succinctly as they can in Sections 3 and 4 of the Consultation document which can found at:-
https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/heritageconsultation
 
The Consultation document, the Executive Report and the Detailed Business Case should be read prior to completing the survey. For further information or to make a request for any of the documents, including the survey, in a different format please contact :- hmt@lincolnshire.gov.uk or call 01522 782040. The closing date for the consultation is 24 April 2019 at 12 noon. 

Lincolnshire NHS Healthy Conversations NHS colleagues have recently released plans for community engagement of their vision for NHS Services in Lincolnshire. These are being followed up by events throughout the County. They continue from the Sustainability and Transformation Plan, ST Partnership, Acute Services Review and the NHS Long Term Plan put out by the Government in January. The announcements were considered at the Lincolnshire Health Scrutiny meeting on 20th March. Events have so far taken place in Boston, Skegness, Louth and Grantham. Dates and arrangements for Lincoln, Gainsborough and other locations will be posted after the local elections on the 2nd May. In the meantime further information is available on the NHS Healthy Conversations website:- 
https://www.lincolnshire.nhs.uk/healthy-conversation/helpful-information

d) Village Organisations Reports

Mr Richardson Headteacher of South Hykeham Primary School

South Hykeham Primary School  is 148 years old having originally opened in 1871 as a one room building.  The original red brick Victorian classroom remains and is still used today. It was purpose built as a school and will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2021.

Mr Richardson has been the head of the school for 15 years.  Life at the school is broad and all encompassing and the children are encouraged to develop a caring attitude and consideration for others.  Ofsted at its last visit in May 2018 commented on the fact that the pupils had “outstanding relationships with each other” and overall the school was judged good with the children showing outstanding behaviour.

Over the years the school has grown and in 1958 an extension to the School took place and the main building was enlarged considerably.

In 1989 a mobile classroom was added to provide additional accommodation and there have been further extensions to the School including a further two extra purpose built infant classrooms.  In 2016 more building work was completed to extend the capacity of the school from 5 to 6 classes.

More recently the roof of the Victorian classroom was replaced but in keeping with the original.  The original slate was removed from the back of the building and fitted on the front with new slate being fitted on the back.  The building is not listed.  Cllr Mrs Woodman queried whether or not the school was listed as a sensitive building with the District Council.  Cllr Mrs Woodman will make enquiries. Mr Richardson reported that the Friends of the School have raised £3,000 for the school’s annual residential trip to Parsons House near Sheffield. The trip aims to help develop team building skills.

The school has competed at the Lincoln Music and Drama Festival and came first place in the poetry reading section.  There is also a thriving interest in music and the school has sung at the Hykeham Nativity and the Hykeham Day Centre.

The football team qualified for the ‘half-time tournament’ at Lincoln City Football club and new outdoor gym equipment has been installed at the school.

The school is currently fundraising to purchase and install a defibrillator for public use in the school car park and is grateful to the Parish Council for the grant donation it made towards the project.

5.  Community Speedwatch initiative update.  As already reported in Chairman’s report.

6.  Parish Council Grants and Donations 2018/19. The Clerk reported that last financial year donations of £250 were made to South Hykeham Village Hall towards the installation of a perimeter fence and £250 to South Hykeham Primary School towards the purchase of a defibrillator.  

Provision of £500 has been made in the budget for awarding donations to Village Organisations during 2019/20 financial year.  Application forms are available at the meeting this evening.    

7. Finance Report 2018/19. The Clerk had prepared a financial statement and balance sheet for the year ended 31st March 2019 which was distributed at the meeting.   The Clerk will be meeting  with the internal auditor who has carried out inspections of the Parish Council accounting systems throughout the year and from her overview audits has reported that the Council’s financial matters appear to be managed properly.   The external auditor has set the due date for completion of the Council’s Annual Return for 2018/19.  

8 Project to improve the surface of Public Bridleway between Beechcroft and Mill Lane.  This item had already been covered in the Chairman’s report.  Nothing further to add other than the tender documents are currently being drawn up by Lincs Procurement and will be brought back to the Parish Council for final approval prior to tenders being invited from suitably qualified contractors.

9.  Parishioner’s Open Forum and Questions.  There were no parishioners present.

The meeting closed at 7.05pm.