November 2024 DRAFT Minutes
Tallington Parish Council
Minutes of Parish Council meeting held on 13th November 2024
(DRAFT)
Present: Chairman Cllr P Sagar, Vice Chairman Cllr J Smith, Cllr J Brocklebank, Cllr J Knox, Cllr R Sorrell and Parish Clerk N Smith, County Cllr A Baxter, District Cllr V Smith, District Cllr R Trollop-Bellew, Tom Amblin-Lightowler (SKDC officer), 10 members of the public were also in attendance.
Minutes
1. Public Forum: Nothing raised.
2. Opening of Meeting: Cllr Sagar welcomed everyone to the meeting.
3. Apologies for Absence: J. Atter and A. Knox.
4. Declaration of Interest: None.
5. To agree minutes of Parish Council Meeting 25th September 2024: A small amendment done to include D Cllr V Smith report as attachment. Cllr J Smith proposed, seconded Cllr Sorrel, all in agreement for minutes to be signed off.
6. Matters arising from above minutes: None
7. Update on Tallington Flooding of 3rd/4th January and 22nd February 2024: Cllr Sagar continues to produce regular updates on flooding issues and progress on agreed actions. These are circulated by email and included in the Towers and Spires magazine.
8. Multi-Agency Meetings (AW, EA, NR, LCC, SKDC): Tom Amblin-Lightowler from SKDC has been chairing the MAG meetings and gave an update to the Council meeting.
The MAG meeting of 4th Nov had identified 3 main projects
1) Highway surface water
2) Maxey Cut
3) Ditches and dykes.
1) a- A pipe that goes under the railway was jetted but was identified as blocked with clay. Initial solution is to install a surface pipe over 10m of railway ballast and pump surface water through this to a clear chamber.
b- A 2nd chamber near the Old Post Office has collapsed.
c- R Fenwick of Highways Dept provided a jetting report.
d- Plan is that in Spring 2025 LCC Highways will install large chambers and gullies along Main Road to collect the silt off the roads.
e- AW will continue to install plastic drainage pipes as and when they excavate and clear a section of the ancient surface water system.
f- a plan is needed to show when/where work being done.
g- the Long-Term solution to surface water problem needs a lot more work to decide the scope and budget needed.
2) Primary defences to prevent river water entering the village are: Maxey Cut, Heavy flap valve and maintenance to remove excess waterside/riverbank vegetation.
3) Surrounding water courses are responsibility of landowners. LCC Highways to clear under road culverts. Farmers have been cutting hedges from field side. Tarmac have been clearing ditches/culverts on their land. Ditch/culvert towards Mkt. Deeping is to be cleared by landowners but difficult due to traffic management requirements and proximity to rail crossing.
Next LCC Floods and Water Management Committee meeting on 20 Jan 2025. Cllr Baxter encouraged residents to attend to add weight to the urgency of action.
At next MAG meeting on the 11th December a spreadsheet of actions will be reviewed and updated to show progress and outstanding actions needed. Tom will own and maintain this spreadsheet.
Tom was able to share parts of the newly released Section 19 report with the meeting. 7 areas for concern had been identified and recommendations given. Cllr P Sagar will produce a report on these to be circulated and included in the next Towers and Spires magazine.
Any queries on Section 19 report should be addressed to LCC Flood and Water team as the lead authority, with copy also going to the Parish Clerk.
9. Finance: Authorisation of payments as presented by the Parish Clerk:
Glasdon – Community Cleaner bags £ 118.90
J Griffin – footpath spray £ 75
W Burdock – MG cut £ 62.50
N Smith – Clerk Salary/expenses £ 428.40
Above payments approved by Cllrs present.
Payment received from Village Hall Association for TPC invoices of £ 795.03.
Metro Bank Savings a/c matured in October – funds added to Instant Access a/c giving total of £ 29,239.34. Cllr Sagar felt that the best option is to deposit £25,000 into a 1Year Fixed Saving a/c (4.61%) with Allica Bank. Proposed by Cllr J Smith, seconded by Cllr J Brocklebank.
10. Planning: None.
Council Notice Board near Reading Room development needs to be moved further onto grass verge to allow householder to maintain hedge.
Thanks to Cllr Sorrell for the varnishing of the VH and St Lawrence way notice Boards. Reading room board yet to be restored.
11. Millennium Green path works/Footpath No. 4: MG Grass has now been fully cut.
Original Path Contractor still being asked by the TPC to complete path work to agreed spec. Money still retained.
12. Trees/flowers: 2nd stage of 12 trees, to be planted before Christmas, will be a mix of pink and white cherries. Also, a new tree to replace the QEII tree that died after moving. Reading Room developer will pay for the latter.
3rd stage next year, will be planting of Lime trees at the side of path in old canal basin.
The Wild flower meadow has been cut down to a 12inch stubble to encourage seed germination next year.
Cllr J Smith asked for volunteers to clear the undergrowth along the MG side of walls at rear of Main Road gardens. Hopefully work will start over Xmas/New Year break.
Commemorative plaque ref Wally Knox and Alan Thurlby for MG. S Olver would like to make a donation. Wording to be agreed.
13. Reports from Councilors:
D Cllr V Smith - SKDC battery collection going very well.
- Cattle Market car park expansion approved.
- SKDC offering a Tree Planting Guide.
- Further Community Funding workshop on 23 Jan 2025
- Tulip bulbs being offered for planting to honour airborne forces.
Cllr J Knox to follow this up.
For further details see full report from D Cllr V Smith attached below.
C Cllr A Baxter - SKDC have won a court ruling against Tallington lakes which will enable the council to visit the site to enforce Residential License regulations. Costs awarded against Tallington Lakes. MP A Kearns aware of the situation. Previous complaint letters are probably with MP G Davies. EA also have a case being reviewed. Caravans sited illegally on land belonging to Tarmac.
- Roadworks recently completed in Uffington will shortly be affecting Tallington.
- Recent Traffic Management reviews have concluded that there will be no weight limit or 20
mph speed limit imposed in Tallington.
14. Village Hall and Playing Field reports: Defibrillator mounted on VH is now operational with new pads. New guardians are P Sagar and K Sagar, who will do regular checks to maintain functionality. East Mids Ambulance service will advise when unit has been used and requires new pads.
2 events planned: 1st on 20th Nov is a craft fair, 2nd on 13th Dec is a Christmas social.
Issue raised of noisy band practice lasting 5 hrs every Sunday. VH windows are open which allows noise to escape. This will be investigated.
15. SK UK Shared prosperity fund: D Cllr A Baxter confirmed that applications below a fixed amount are agreed by a Council Officer. Above this amount the application is considered by a committee. The next meeting of the committee is Monday 18th November. Cllr Baxter confirmed that the Church funding application and playground wall repairs are on the agenda.
TPC and VHA to forward their application responses to D Cllr V Smith who will chase the status of them.
Cllr J Smith to also chase the application for funding of trees for the MG.
All funds will need to be spent by end March 2025. It is hoped the scheme will be renewed in the next financial year.
16. Public Forum: The Bainton Road surface between river bridge and next small bridge is very broken and uneven. After Cllr J Smith raised the issue on Fix-My-Street a small section of the road was resurfaced. However, the more concerning issue of the dip at the end of the bridge was not dealt with and deemed unnecessary by LCC Highways.
Village footpath changes, in relation to crossing the railway, that were enacted many years ago have at last been confirmed by the Secretary of State. The full details are displayed on the village Notice Boards and website.
The state of the lock gate area in Heron’s Close has been raised. It is very over grown and no maintenance has been done for some time. Cllr P Sagar said he would discuss this with Chris Shilling who cleared it some years ago.
17. Dates of Next TPC Meetings: Wednesday 15th January 2025, Wednesday 12th March 2025.
Meeting closed at 9.36 p.m.