Minutes 9th September 2024
Minutes of meeting of Huttoft Parish Council held on Monday 9th September 2024 at Huttoft Village Hall commencing at 7:00pm
PRESENT: Cllrs. P Lapczuk (Chair), R Walker, C Meaker, R Ward & N Sylvester
IN ATTENDANCE: M Rudd (Clerk), Cllr C Matthews (LCC) & 11 members of the public
4759. WELCOME:
The Chair welcomed Councillors and members of the public to the meeting.
The Chair also introduced Kim Pickett from the Office of the Lincolnshire Police & Crime Commissioner and Jack Parker from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership who are joining the meeting to discuss agenda item 6.
4760. APOLOGIES:
Apologies were received from Cllr R Ganney (HPC) Cllrs G Marsh & S Devereux (ELDC).
4761. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
A resident raised concerns about the increasing noise coming from the Mill on Sutton Road and HGV vehicles parking very early in the morning on Alford Road. The resident believed HGV vehicles were restricted from entering the site before 7am. The Chair stated he believed no formal restrictions were in place and recommended to the resident to write to the Office of Traffic Commissioner requesting they investigate the concerns.
A resident raised concerns about the public footpath that runs between the side of the part-built property on Sutton Road, through the Axe & Cleaver Public House car park and into the playing field. Cars “block” the footpath by parking too close to the fence. The original sign notifying drivers to park away from the fence has been removed. Some cars have also damaged the property fence. Clerk will notify LCC of the blocked public footpath. Other concerns raised about the fencing at the back of the property will be reviewed once the Parish Council take over management of the Playing Field.
4762. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS:
None
4763. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 8th JULY 2024 TO BE APPROVED:
Proposed, Seconded & RESOLVED that the minutes, having been circulated and read, were approved and signed by the Chair.
4764. CLERKS REPORT ON OUTSTANDING MATTERS:
The Clerk reminded Councillors that the road improvement works on Old Roman Bank will be commencing on 16th September. Road closure and diversion signage will be in place.
4765. TO DISCUSS LOCAL CRIME AND ROAD SAFETY ISSUES:
For this item, Kim Pickett from Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner and Jack Parker from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership joined the meeting.
Cllr Walker had produced a report on the issues and talked through the main concerns raised by residents over the last few months, most notably vehicles speeding through the village, a lack of signage notifying drivers of a school and wildlife on country lanes, inconsiderate parking around school, potential for collisions on blind bends etc., speeding on Sea Lane and anti-social behaviour on Huttoft Car Terrace.
Jack Parker (LRSP) explained that there is a strict set of criteria for when roads have various signage, yellow lines and other markings, and as many of the roads in and around Huttoft have very low reported vehicle collisions, it was unlikely some of the suggested actions would be approved. But options such as increased signage and carrying out a traffic survey on Sea Lane were possible and he would look into them. It was strongly recommended to Councillors that all road traffic concerns were logged on ‘FixMyStreet’ so LCC would be made aware.
Kim Pickett (OPCC) stated that she would speak with Lincolnshire Police about concerns of anti-social behaviour at the Car Terrace and also recommended that all concerns were logged either with Lincolnshire Police or through the “Street Safe” app.
The Chair thanked Kim and Jack for attending the meeting.
4766. FINANCIAL MATTERS:
(a) Payments for Approval:
Village Hall Hire (April – September) - £60.00
Clerks Printing Costs - £5.49
SCIS Ltd Gov.uk email subscription - £7.92
SCIS Ltd Annual Domain Renewal - £84.00
CR Home & Garden Services (Grass cutting Contract - July) - £450.00
Clerks Half-year Salary (April – September) - £1,371.30
Matthew Hodson – Hedge trimmer replacement - £339.60
CR Home & Garden Services (Grass cutting Contract - August) - £424.27
C Meaker (Grass cutting Huttoft Playing Field) - £275.00
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve payment.
(b) Finance Reports & Bank Reconciliation – noted by Councillors
4767. PLANNING MATTERS:
N/089/01141/24 The Green Workshops, Sutton Road – Supported, no comments
4768. NATIONAL GRID: GREAT GRID UPGRADE:
Cllr Lapczuk advised that the Parish Council has objected to both proposed schemes (i) Grimsby to Walpole and (ii) Eastern Green Link 3 & 4, and most other local councils had done the same. Cllr Lapczuk advised that Bilsby Parish Council were holding a meeting to discuss these projects in detail on 17th September at 6:45pm and advised that residents concerned by the proposals should attend.
4769. TO RECEIVE REPORTS FROM REPRESENATIVE BODIES:
(a) East Lindsey District Council – none
(b) Lincolnshire County Council – Cllr Matthews briefly discussed the upcoming road improvement works on Old Roman Bank and asked the Clerk to publish the contact details of the Public Liaison Officer, who will handle any residents’ concerns during the works, on the village Facebook pages.
4770. EAST LINDSEY COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS AWARD:
The Clerk updated Councillors and residents that the new scheme run by ELDC to recognise individuals within the community was now live and nominations were required by 4th October. A resident confirmed that they had already nominated one local resident for the award.
4771. CHURCH LANE, HUTTOFT:
Cllr Lapczuk noted a number of concerns on Church Lane due to increased traffic on the lane heading to the Donkey Sanctuary, large vehicles cutting through the lane to avoid the weight limits on Alford Road and the narrowing of the lane opposite the Church with no warning signs for drivers. Cllr Matthews (LCC) asked that the concerns were sent to him and he would discuss with LCC Highways Manager.
4772. HUTTOFT PLAYING FIELD ASSOCIATION:
Item moved to next Parish Council meeting due to absence.
4773. HUTTOFT CAR TERRACE REPORT:
Cllr Walker took Councillors through his latest report.
Numerous comments had been received from residents and visitors about the state of the terrace, not only the issue of blown sand but overgrown foliage which narrows the terrace in a few places. Cyclists, mobility scooters and wheelchair users couldn’t access the terrace at the left-hand side of the barrier due to sand off the car park piled up at the northern end of the terrace. LCC are arranging for the sand to be cleared.
The issue of human waste in the dunes has increased this year in line with increased visitors and is becoming a major health concern. There have been many incidents of dogs coming off the dunes covered in human faeces. This problem is linked to motorhomes staying overnight. To reduce the issue, additional parking patrols including out of hours patrols will be undertaken and fines issued to motorhome users.
Two complaints were received from dog walkers regarding cooked chicken bones thrown on the sand by wild campers. One of the complainants stated they saw a woman using the dunes to toilet. The Parking Enforcement team will undertake further planned out of hours patrols to clamp down on wild camping. On this particular weekend 6 PCNs were issued by Parking Enforcement. The following weekend a further 5 PCNs were issued
Barbecue and fire pit usage on the terrace remain a major concern. Since the hut at the top of the terrace ramp has been re-clad, the warnings signs have not been replaced. The “No Overnight Parking” requires updating. Included on the new signage needs to reference to “No Fire Pits or Barbecues on the beach, dunes or car park”. This will be reviewed by LCC after the summer holidays.
National Trust has now commenced work on the new wetlands. Fencing has been erected around the wetlands (golf course) leaving access to the public footpath.
Road closures and diversions are now in place for the road improvement works between Sandilands and Chapel St Leonards. Cllr Walker has spoken with Sophie Ward-Owen regarding extra traffic diverted down Sea Lane and potential use by contractors. The maintenance team to review usage and implement a slower road speed if required.
4774. HUTTOFT VILLAGE HALL REPORT:
Cllr Meaker advised Councillors that the AGM of the Village Hall Committee will take place on Friday 20th September and all residents are welcome. “Warm Spaces" events continue to be well supported. Bingo and Race Night scheduled in October.
Cllr Meaker noted that the Village Hall had been selected as a “Community Champion” by the Co-op from 8th September through to 1st March 2025 which will hopefully raise additional valuable funds to support the hall.
4775. FRIENDS OF ST MARGARETS CHURCH:
Item moved to next Parish Council meeting due to absence.
4776. ANY OTHER MATTERS:
None.
4777. DATE OF NEXT MEETING:
Monday 11th November 2024 at 7pm in the Village Hall.
4778. THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING CLOSED AT 8:37pm