Minutes are in DRAFT FORM until approved at the following meeting.      

SCOTHERN PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of Scothern Parish Council

Held in the Methodist Church, Wednesday 8th January 2025 at 7.30pm

Present: D Canton, R Creaser, J Johnson (Chair), B Patchett, M Unwin

In attendance: L Brooks-Sleight (clerk)

1/2025 Apologies for Absence

Receive from Cllr Atkins & Nicoll, reasons accepted.

2/2025 Representatives Report

Cllr Velan sent his apologies

3/2025 Co-option

One application from Mark Unwin was received for the co-option process. All members read his application, and it was approved, proposed & seconded. M Unwin signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and confirmation of having received the Councils Code of Conduct. Clerk to send Register of Interest form for completion within 28days.  Resolved  

4/2025 Public Participation

No public present

5/2025 Declarations of Interest

None declared

6/2025 Minutes of last Meeting

The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 11th December 2024 were approved as a true & correct record. Proposed & seconded. Resolved

7/2025 Clerks Report

• Flooding on Monday after heavy rainfall – Craypool Lane flooded again. This was reported to Highways as AW sewer now repaired but excess rainwater still flows into the sewer pipe, highways don’t have an excess rainwater pipe and the sewage system overflows.   AW have confirmed that the upgrade work at Nettleham is complete and both pumps at our pumping station are fully functional.
• Highways are due to inspect all gullies & drains in the coming weeks once emergency response is over.
• HMRC – PAYE 2022/23 overdue payment has now adjusted and will not be pursued. All payments are up to date.
• An invoice has been submitted to Sudbrooke PC for 50% of the grass cutting of the verges for 2024
• A resident passed on a letter he received from Stagecoach regarding bus services to/from the village, this was noted.
•  

8/2025 LALC Subscription & Training Scheme 2025/26

a. The Annual Subscription - £289.94 to be paid 1st April 2025 was approved. Proposed & seconded Resolved

b. It was approved to join the Annual Training Scheme 25/26 - £135+vat (core training refreshments £13 per delegate for each full day events) to be paid 1st April 2025. Proposed & seconded. Resolved

9/2024 Play Area

1. A quote to remove the slide for Safety reasons, £80+vat was approved. Resolved Cllr Atkins has arranged to meet companies for quotes for new equipment to discuss at the February meeting.
2. The clerk to register with 2 free survey companies and input the questions approved at the December meeting for residents to have a say on the future play area.

10/2025 LALC Training Scheme

11/2025 Highways

The condition of Main St and Dunholme – straw/mud/leaves at the side of the road, clerk to request the road sweeper.

12/2025 Community Speed Watch

Cllr Creaser sent the speed data report prior to the meeting which was noted. Also, the speed limit on Sudbrooke Rd was discussed due to the limit dropping quickly from ‘60’ to ‘30’ as you enter the village. Clerk to contact Cllr Rawlins to ask if it would be possible to request a lower speed along Sudbrooke Rd, suggested ‘40’ to encourage drivers to slow down before entering the ‘30’ limit.

13/2025 Police

Cllr Canton reported on the latest crime figures and his intention to attend the Public Engagement Session next week.

14/2025 Finance

The monthly accounts for payment with the corresponding bank statements and bank reconciliation up to 31/12/24 were approved as a true & correct record. Cllr Canton & Creaser were nominated to authorise the online bank payments. Proposed & seconded. Resolved                                                                                                               

15/2024 HR Group/Committee

It was decided to keep the HR as a group at present. Cllr Patchett was nominated & approved to join Cllr Johnson & Canton on the HR group. Resolved

16/2025 Employee Home Working Allowance

Cllr Johnson informed the council that the Home Working Allowance for employees is up to £26per month, tax free. Currently, the PC are paying the employee £5 per month. After discussion, it was approved to increase to £26pm from Jan 25. Proposed & seconded. Resolved

17/2025 Scothern Emergency Plan

The clerk updated the council - the EP has been updated as suggested by the LRF and has been resubmitted for the next stage.

18/2025 Village maintenance

Nothing to report

19/2025 Welcome to Scothern Leaflet

The welcome leaflet was presented and approved to be delivered to all new residents to help them settle into the village, along with a current copy of the Scothern News. Resolved

20/2025 Planning

No current planning to discuss from WLDC

21/2025 Correspondence for discussion

Email from resident re: building a co-op in the village was received and noted. Clerk to reply to the resident, stating that they would need to contact the co-op with their request.

22/2025 Correspondence for information (sent prior)

• LALC Training Bulletin
• LALC – 20/9/24 E-news
• Lower Witham Resilience Newsletter
• LCC Town & Parish September Newsletter
• Anglian Water Flooding update information

23/2025 Agenda items for next meeting and any updates/points from members   

Cllr Unwin suggested producing a report on the flooding at Grange Park adjacent to the Nettleham Rd development

24/2025 To consider the exclusion of the public and press in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to

meetings) Act 1960 s1 (2) due to the confidential nature of the items to be Discussed

Nothing to discuss

The date & time of next Council meeting – 12th February 2025 at 7.30pm