Parish Council Clips

The following is a summary of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 8th March 2023.

Present at the meeting were Cathryn Nicoll, Chair Scothern Parish Council, 23 members of the public (including Parish Councillors), Simon Crampton, Sudbrooke Parish Council, Councillor Sue Rawlins Lincolnshire County Council, Councillor Roger Patterson, Vice Chair, West Lindsey District Council

Lincolnshire County Council - Councillor Sue Rawlins

The impact of the current economic situation on LCC’s budget was raised. All areas have been under scrutiny. Funding has been identified from reserves to support some specific highway projects. 
The Scothern drainage scheme carried out in 2022 has been completed, however there continues to be some drainage issues in Craypool Lane/Back Lane which are being addressed with Anglian Water.
Speeding issues continue and Councillor Rawlings has requested a review of speed limits.

District Council Report
 
Councillor Waller was unable to attend but has advised that WLDC has been successful in a bid to buy Royal Air Force Scampton. However, an outcome of central government utilising Scampton to house asylum seekers is awaited. Councillor Paterson said the issue of using part of it to house asylum seekers had not yet been determined, however it was felt it would be unlikely due to infrastructure required.

Chairman Report on Scothern Parish Council’s Activities 2022/23 – Councillor C Nicoll

The Chairmans report is available on Scothern Parish Council’s website. The areas covered in the report include the progress of the development of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, the review of the Scothern Neighbourhood Development Plan, update on the renovation of the War Memorial, the speed watch initiative and many of the successful activities the Parish council has led or supported over the past year.

Update on Village Hall Improvements - Chris Shepherd, SRC Chairman
 
Most regular users are now back, ad hoc bookings for parties, meetings, events continue.  The Spirit of Scothern sub-committee continue to run events to good effect which raises money for the hall refurbishment.  
The refurbishment plan for the hall has been revised and in the short term we will concentrate on updating the inside of the hall and pursuing an outdoor corridor for access to the toilets.  Quotes are now coming in for work to be done and we expect to make a start on these in the next few months.

The Provision of Public Transport in Scothern.

Councillor Rawlins advised of a recent meeting of the LCC Highways and Scrutiny Committee and presented extracts from the Lincolnshire Enhanced Partnership Plan for Buses – documents are available on LCC website. A meeting will be held between LCC and Stagecoach on Friday 10 March 2023 and Councillor Mrs Nicoll has provided information from Scothern Parish Council regarding public transport in the village. 
Councillor Patterson works for PC Coaches and is the CallConnect Manager. PC Coaches is supported financially by Lincolnshire County Council. They are actively looking at putting a service into Scothern however there are issues of timings of vehicles. Councillor Patterson will feedback the points of this meeting and ask the MD to attend a Parish Council meeting.

Issues raised by attendees at the meeting that will be fed back to LCC for their meeting:

The Call Connect service is not well attended currently. No one is using the 9:00am service as it is too early, it only stops in Scothern at certain points this is not accessible for all residents.

Before Covid we had a more regular service, but it still has not been reinstated. Can funding for the Call Connect service be moved to another service for Scothern?

The time taken to resolve this is unacceptable, the reasons provided by LCC are not helpful.  Why should we need to put in a detailed proposal for a new service when other existing services are not being scrutinised for value for money, why not look at a redistribution of services. Councillor Rawlings confirmed there is a review of services being undertaken.

This service does not enable attendance at Welton or Nettleham Surgeries. 

Scothern needs a proper hourly service, need a choice of times for going to Lincoln, not just a senior citizens issue, we need to consider people who want to go to work and use a bus and what teenagers will need.

Sudbrooke Parish Council Chair indicated Sudbrooke would be willing to look at something jointly for Scothern and Sudbrooke. 

Other Points Raised by the Public

Parking in the vicinity of St Luke’s Nursing Home and the grass verge(s) at the end of Elmdene raised.  

Full notes of the meeting are available on the Scothern Parish Council website.

Scothern Parish Council Meeting March 2023

The following is a summary of the Scothern Parish Council meeting held on 8th March 2023 following the Annual Parish Meeting, all seven councillors were present.

Scothern Parish Council Clerk

The Parish Council is delighted to announce that it has appointed a new Parish Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer. Leticia Cooper is an experienced Clerk and commenced on 13th March 2023. Leticia can be contacted on the details below and on the Parish Council website.

Vehicle Activated Speed Signs

The Parish Council latest report of readings taken from the speed signs located in the village was presented. The information will be available on the Parish Council Website.

Bus Services for Scothern

The Parish Council was pleased with the discussion regarding an improved provision of bus services for Scothern at the Annual Parish Meeting and this would be fed into the review being held by Lincolnshire County Council. It was agreed that a survey of potential public transport usage be undertaken to provide credible evidence of the demand for a service. This has been arranged with Lincoln University Business School. It was also agreed to write to Edward Leigh MP to seek support.

Great British Spring Clean

The Parish Council will participate in the Great British Spring Clean and arrange a litter pick day between 17 March and 2 April. Date to be confirmed and advertised to residents.

Planning Matters

a) Planning Inspectorate Appeal Ref: APP/N2535/W/22/3306219.
144213 - Land to rear of Weir Farm Paddock, Scothern. Outline planning application to erect up to 36no. dwellings - access to be considered and not reserved for subsequent applications – decision awaited from Planning Inspectorate which could take up to six months or more.  
     
b) 146177 – Planning application for extension to detached garage – 17 Saint Germain’s Way, Scothern No comment to make relating to application – WLDC advised.
All Planning Applications can be viewed on West Lindsey District Council’s website by use of their application tracker; and comments on individual applications can also be made.

Council Contact Details

Please contact, Parish Council via email at scothernpc@yahoo.co.uk or telephone 07549 137538
 
Next meeting

The next full Parish Council meeting will be held on Wednesday April 12, 2023, at 7.30 p.m. in the Methodist Church. The agenda and minutes are available from the website.