Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting.

A warm welcome was also extended to representatives from both Keelby Parish Council and Hemswell Cliff Parish Council, who would later in the meeting present their approved Neighbourhood Plans to Full Council.

Before commencement of the formal business, the Chairman took the opportunity to reference the recent flooding across the District and the fantastic response by the District Council’s staff when people were in need.  He considered this had been of great comfort to those effected, knowing they were being supported.  Whilst thanking those on the front-line, he also paid tribute to those other Council Officers working to keep the councils normal functions running, whilst resources were diverted, noting he had written to all staff to such effect.

On hearing the Chairman’s comments, Members across the Chamber, sought and were granted, the opportunity to express their gratitude too.

A Cherry Willingham Ward Member commented on having been very impressed with the co-ordination efforts between West Lindsey Officers and staff at other agencies involved, referencing how useful and beneficial the single point of contact approach had been.  There had been no “information vacuum” and with over 80 families effected in the Ward, being able to provide up to date and accurate information had been much appreciated by all.   Personal tribute was paid to the Director of Commercial and Operational Services.

The Ward Councillor for Bardney, expressed thanks for how staff and all agencies had acted in his Ward, speaking of his reassurance at seeing sandbags arriving throughout the night and well into the early hours.  He too spoke of co-ordinated efforts, agencies working together, commenting that residents did not want to be pushed between agencies, they simply wished to be helped, and this is what he had seen happening.  Concern was expressed that this was only the start of the storm season and with ground saturated, and water to flow off the land, further problems could be experienced over the coming days and longer winter period.

Councillors from across the Chamber were encouraged to feed through their individual experiences, thoughts and suggestions for improvements to the County Flood Management Group and West Lindsey’s own flooding working Group.  The Chairman further indicated he was minded to bring a motion to a future meeting in order that Members could debate the matters at greater length.

Ward Members for Welton, Scotter and Cherry Willingham shared similar experiences, thanked a number of officers personally for their work over the entire weekend and into the nights and of how quickly residents needs were addressed.

Bringing comments to an end, Members commented on how community spirit had shone through in effected areas and considered residents should be thanked too for the support and understanding they had shown one another.

A lessons learnt exercise would be undertaken and Members were again encouraged to feed into the relevant agencies. 

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 26 June 2023.

Having been proposed and seconded, it was: -

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 26 June 2023 be confirmed, approved and signed as a correct record.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of Full Council held on 12 September 2023.

Having been proposed and seconded, it was: -

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of Full Council held on 12 September, 2023 be confirmed, approved and signed as a correct record.

Note:   The Officer named within the following item of business left Chamber at this point in the meeting.

The Chairman presented the report which sought to appoint to the Statutory post of Monitoring Officer for West Lindsey District Council, following the successful recruitment to the permanent post of Assistant Director of People and Democratic.

The report included brief detail of the recruitment process, the statutory functions of the MO and Ms Langdon’s previous experience. Members involved in the recruitment process spoke of the candidate’s excellent nature, demonstrated in interview. 

The recommendations were proposed and seconded.On being put to the vote, it was unanimously

RESOLVEDthat

(a)    in accordance with the terms of Part I, 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended) and all subsequent related legislation, Ms Lisa Langdon be appointed and designated as the Council’s Monitoring Officer, with immediate effect; and

(b)    the Constitution be amended, as necessary, to reflect the revised appointment.

Following the decision, the appointed Officer returned to the Chamber.

The Chairman congratulated Ms Langdon on her appointment and Members associated themselves with the Chairman’s comments, concluding with a round of applause.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made at this point in the meeting. The Chairman reminded Members that they could make a declaration at any point in the meeting should they feel it necessary to do so.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 27 October 2023.

The Chairman introduced the report advising Members that it would taken “as read” unless any Members had any questions that they wished to raise.

With no comments or questions, and with no requirement to vote, the matters arising were DULY NOTED.

Having formally adopted the Plan at the Extraordinary Meeting of Full Council on 12 September 2023, representatives from the Parish Council/ Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group will be in attendance to address Council and formally present their Plan.

The Council was reminded that the Neighbourhood Plan for the parish of Keelby, had been adopted at the last meeting. Unfortunately, it had not been feasible for a Keelby Parish Council representative to be present, to take part in the “tradition” of formally handing over adopted plans, to celebrate the Parish’s success.

Representatives from Keelby Parish Council and its’ Neighbourhood Planning Group were in attendance, this evening. Councillor Sue Knight, Chairman of Keelby Parish Council (KPC), Councillor Trevor Wright (KPC) and Adrian Mitchell, lead volunteer on the Neighbourhood Planning Group were formally welcomed to the meeting.  The Chairman also advised the chamber that he had visited the Parish to see the sites referenced within the Plan.

The Local Ward Member was invited to address the Chamber and spoke of his delight at seeing this document reach its final stages and of the dedication needed to complete such Plans.

Following which, Councillor Trevor Wright of KPC made the following statement: -

“Thank you for the invitation this evening, and opportunity for us to present the Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish of Keelby.  My name is Councillor Trevor Wright, and with me today I have Councillor Sue Knight, Chair of Keelby Parish Council and Adrian Mitchell, a resident who had a large part in the development of our plan.

Keelby village is classed as a large village, is part of the Caistor and Yarborough Ward, it is located on the most northerly boarder of the West Lindsey District, neighbouring both North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire Districts.  We often feel very isolated, but I’m delighted to say that we have 2 very proactive and capable District Councillors living in or very close to our Parish, and we are very

grateful to Councillor Lawrence and Councillor Bierley for their continuous support and guidance.

With a current population of a little over 2,100, there are approximately 970 dwellings, 10 or so businesses and 2 pubs; but as is the case everywhere, local businesses are dealing with challenging times at the moment.

We pride ourselves on Keelby being a nice place to live, and we as a Parish Council are keen for the village to retain its charm and community spirit, which is important to our residents.  It was for this reason that we wanted to develop a Neighbourhood Plan, to give us some control of how the village might develop in the future.

Our neighbourhood Plan (presented to you today) focusses on 7 Planning Objectives that support our vision which reads:

“Our Community Vision for Keelby

Keelby will continue to be a thriving large village community with provision of key services, a good selection of local businesses / shops / amenities a broad range of locally accessible employment opportunities.

It will maintain and improve its overall sustainability, retain its village character and rural atmosphere while ensuring that it’s valued historic Listed Buildings, non-designated heritage assets, local environment, Open and Green spaces are not compromised or lost.”

In support of this we  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

Members are asked to adopt the Plan.

Having formally adopted the Plan, representatives from the Parish Council/ Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group will be in attendance to address Council and formally present their Plan.

Members gave consideration to a report to fully ‘make’ (adopt) the Hemswell Cliff Neighbourhood Plan following a successful referendum. Once adopted the plan would become part of the development plan for the District and would have major influence on planning application decisions in the parish.

The Chairman of Council introduced the report and advised Members the Neighbourhood Plan had been prepared by a residents’ steering group on behalf of the parish council; congratulating the Group for their time and effort in ensuring the Plan reached the final stage.

Members’ attention was drawn to the compliments of the Examiner on the Plan and its policies, as detailed in the report.

The Hemswell Cliff Neighbourhood Plan had involved two rounds of public consultation and had been successful at both examination and referendum. The referendum, held on 19 October, had seen residents voting 95% in favour of the Plan.

The Chairman formally welcomed the Chairman of the Hemswell Cliff Neighbourhood Plan Committee, Mrs Connie Hurd and Mr Mark Hurd, Committee Member to the meeting.  Prior to Members debating the matter, the Chairman invited both the Ward Councillor and Mrs Hurd to address Council and present the successful Neighbourhood Plan.

The Ward Member spoke of his delight at reaching this stage, the enormous amount of work and commitment shown by the residents, and of the nuances the area experienced, given its former RAF base status.

Mrs Connie Hurd made the following statement: -

“Councillor Howitt-Cowan, Councillor Bunney, Nev Brown, Officers and Members of West Lindsey District Council and guests,

This is a day some of us in Hemswell Cliff have been waiting for since February 2016, which was 7 years and 6 months ago. Tonight is the night that West Lindsey District Council adopts the Hemswell Cliff Neighbourhood Plan! (hopefully).

Little did my husband and I know that when we went along to learn about the neighbourhood plan for Hemswell Cliff, seven and a half years ago, that it would take so long to bring to completion, and a whole lot more work than we realised in the beginning.

Our Hemswell Cliff Neighbourhood Plan Committee was really pleased (and I was relieved) that when our referendum took place, the plan passed. It has been a long journey for a small group of people who knew little or nothing about planning and for some people at West Lindsey District Council as well as people from a myriad of organisations.

As most of you know, a lot of work goes into the preparation of these plans, with consulting the residents and local businesses about their thoughts and ideas, and in writing the plans to legal and acceptable standards. Then comes the scrutinizing and questioning of the plans by various agencies with resulting changes to be made. We want to thank many different people for making this happen: our parish clerk, Helen Reek; Hemswell Cliff parish council chairman, Graham Prestwood; Hemswell Cliff Primary School; Nev Brown of WLDC; the planners without whom we could not have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

i)               Chairman of Council

ii)              Leader of the Council

iii)            Head of Paid Service

Chairman

The Chairman addressed the Council, referencing briefly some of the events with which he had been involved and attended since Council last met.

It had been a privilege to represent the Council at the Memorial Service for former District Councillor, Alf Frith, it was a sad occasion for the family, but to hear of how Mr Frith had advocated for residents through his years of service was both positive and heartwarming. 

The Chairman had raised the Flag for Emergency Services Day, outside of the Guildhall, thanking those who had attended. A worthy cause to be supported given the communities reliance on emergency services.

Other events attended included, Civic Services held by both North Lincolnshire Council and Lincolnshire County Council; a tour of Grimsby Docks, the Award Evening for the Lincolnshire College, where it had been a pleasure to see the students receive their qualifications and awards.

It had been an honour to attend the Destination Lincolnshire Awards Ceremony in October at the University of Lincoln.  A handful of businesses from across the District were nominated for awards, with the Chairman delighted to advise that three businesses from West Lindsey had won an award and had now progressed to the National finals. Prior to the event the Chairman had spent time visiting all of those nominated and indicated his visits had been informative,

The Chairman had also commenced a round of industry visits, with the Leader and Deputy Leader, also taking part, and Ward Members.  Again the visits had provided a lot of learning. 

The Chairman had also offered his support to a number of Community and Family Days including, horse racing at the Market Rasen Community Day, a performance of Wind in the Willows at the Market Rasen Leisure Centre and a number of performances at the Trintiy Arts Centre in Gainsborough.

Bringing his announcements to an end, the Chairman spoke of visiting the depot to mark the retirement of a Council employee, who had worked for the Council for 44 years.  It had been a privilege to mark the occasion and the Chairman wished to formally acknowledge and recognise the service and dedication of the employee, Mr Tony Stocks’, in Full Council.

Finally, the Chairman invited fellow Councillors to attend his Civic Community Christmas Carol Concert, at the Methodist Church in Market Rasen, on 8 December. The Claxby Community Choir would be performing and there would be light refreshments following the Service – all were welcome. 

Leader

The Leader made the following address to Council: -

“Chairman, welcome to tonight's meeting, it's been several months since the last full Council meeting with lots to report, I will try and keep my announcements brief, I have the following items to report: -

The Scampton Asylum Centre proposal: -

Over the course of the last week, the High Court heard the substantive case of Judicial Review, this Council's challenge of the Home Office decision, to use RAF Scampton as a site for asylum accommodation. Our case, presented by our appointed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Questions, if received, under this Scheme will be published by way of supplement following closure of the deadline.

The Chairman advised the meeting that no public questions had been received.

Questions submitted by Members under Procedure Rule No.9 will be published by way of supplement following closure of the deadline.

Questions submitted and which will be put to the meeting now attached.

The Chairman advised the meeting that two questions pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No.9 had been submitted to the meeting. These had been circulated to all Members, separately to the agenda, and published on the website.

The Chairman invited, Councillor Chris Darcel Local Ward Member for Cherry Willingham, to put his question to the Leader as follows:-

“A Cherry Willingham resident has requested I ask the Council to join and support the “Planning for the Planet” organisation, www.foodfortheplanet.org.uk/councillors . I know the Council is rightly concerned about our environment and that the District Council has limited power to influence matters, but in supporting Planning for the Planet, I believe the Council will be making one further step to help preserve a viable planet for our grandchildren.

Personally, I believe this action should have been taken as a result of the Kyoto Agreement 32 years ago, but better late than never.

Will the Leader of the Council commit to asking the Environment and Sustainability Member Working Group to explore the feasibility of joining Planning for the Planet, if we do not already belong, as a matter of urgency, and can he confirm that our Environmental Protection Officers are currently enforcing the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone legislation and the General Binding Rules for small sewage discharge to the ground that were brought in a few years ago?

Thank you.”

The Leader of the Council responded as follows : -

Thank you, Councillor Darcel and please pass on my thanks to the Cherry Willingham resident for their important enquiry into what this Council is doing to play its part in tackling climate change.

Through its ambitious Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, this Council has made tackling climate change a key priority and we are committed to our target of becoming a carbon net zero Council and district by 2050.

Planning for the Planet is a network of places using local planning policy to support good food and farming, and to save rivers.

57 local authorities are currently signed up to Planning for the Planet. Currently, West Lindsey, nor any other Lincolnshire Council with the exception of City of Lincoln, is signed up to Planning for the Planet.

However, through our Corporate Plan, the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, and our Environment and Sustainability Action Plan, the Council is already delivering, or planning to deliver many of the actions that Planning for the Planet encourages. On that basis, I will write to the Chair of the Council’s Environment and Sustainability Member Working Group to ask that the group investigates the feasibility of this Council formally signing up to Planning for the Planet, including any financial implications, and that an update on the group’s findings are reported back to their Parent Committee – Prosperous Communities Cttee

In the meantime, the meeting of Prosperous Communities Committee on 26^th October received the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change annual progress report, which set out in detail the actions this Council has taken over the last 12 months to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Motion 1

“Many members of this Council will have in recent weeks been walking round their local communities. Some will have met other people walking for health benefits or exercising their dogs, which many people have added to their households in the last couple of years.

During April, it was brought to my attention that some litter and dog bins were filling up very rapidly and that some were very full. While it might appear very easy to request that any particular bin is emptied, this can become a lot more cumbersome and complicated when trying to explain the location of that bin to the District Council who own and look after so many across the District. After a little research I discovered that some other Councils put an asset number onto each bin and this seems a good idea to me, if for no other reason than trying to manage any particular bin that might need a repair or replacement.

But with a little more thought, if a bin had an asset number on it, say DB1 or LB1, then a further two stickers could be added. The first would be to put a simple notice on saying ‘if this bin is full or in need of repair, please ring the District Council with the phone number for the right department’ to enable it to be actioned quickly, and the second would be to put a QR code (quick response digital image) on the relevant bin so in these times of digital technology the entire process could become automated and offer a 24/7 service to the residents.

Environmentally this would help to keep the area more beautiful, from a health perspective it would keep the area cleaner and from a management angle the entire system would become easier to maintain.

As Opposition Group Leader, I therefore call on this Council to support me in requesting that the Prosperous Communities Committee explores the feasibility and financial implications of introducing asset numbers on all District Council litter bins; plus an information sticker detailing how to report a full or damaged bin to the Council for collection, and a QR code on each bin as an automated alternative for contacting the Council to report a full or damaged bin.

I so move

Councillor Ian Fleetwood”

Motion 2

“Leader, the current side waste (Refuse) Policy adopted, I believe, in 2009, should be reviewed because it does not, in my view, comply with the Council’s commitment to becoming carbon net zero.

As it stands under the current policy, (refuse) side waste is not collected. After about 2 days, this refuse becomes fly-tipping and is collected by a caged van, then tipped at the waste transfer station, the weight then being recorded as street cleansing.

Leaving the side waste next to the bin to me is very counterproductive as collecting at source, means another team does not have to duplicate the task using more fuel and carbon emissions.

I urge members to support me in  ...  view the full agenda text for item 43.

The Chairman advised the meeting that three Motions had been submitted pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No. 10 and these were set out on the agenda.

Councillor Fleetwood was invited to put his Motion to the meeting as follows:-

“Many members of this Council will have in recent weeks been walking round their local communities. Some will have met other people walking for health benefits or exercising their dogs, which many people have added to their households in the last couple of years.

During April, it was brought to my attention that some litter and dog bins were filling up very rapidly and that some were very full. While it might appear very easy to request that any particular bin is emptied, this can become a lot more cumbersome and complicated when trying to explain the location of that bin to the District Council who own and look after so many across the District. After a little research I discovered that some other Councils put an asset number onto each bin and this seems a good idea to me, if for no other reason than trying to manage any particular bin that might need a repair or replacement.

But with a little more thought, if a bin had an asset number on it, say DB1 or LB1, then a further two stickers could be added. The first would be to put a simple notice on saying ‘if this bin is full or in need of repair, please ring the District Council with the phone number for the right department’ to enable it to be actioned quickly, and the second would be to put a QR code (quick response digital image) on the relevant bin so in these times of digital technology the entire process could become automated and offer a 24/7 service to the residents.

Environmentally this would help to keep the area more beautiful, from a health perspective it would keep the area cleaner and from a management angle the entire system would become easier to maintain.

As Opposition Group Leader, I therefore call on this Council to support me in requesting that the Prosperous Communities Committee explores the feasibility and financial implications of introducing asset numbers on all District Council litter bins; plus an information sticker detailing how to report a full or damaged bin to the Council for collection, and a QR code on each bin as an automated alternative for contacting the Council to report a full or damaged bin.

I so move

Councillor Ian Fleetwood”

The Chairman thanked Councillor Fleetwood and drew Members attention to Council Procedure Rule 10.4 “ if the subject of a motion comes within the remit of any committee(s), it shall, upon being moved and seconded, stand referred without discussion to such committee(s) for consideration and determination.

The Chairman indicated, whilst he had some discretion, he would on this occasion be applying Rule 10.4.  As such a seconder for the motion was sought and received and on that basis the Chairman  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

The Chairman introduced the report which sought to make amendments to Committee Memberships following a request from the Opposition Group.

Having been proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED that:

(a)    Councillor John Barrett be appointed to the Licensing Committee and Regulatory Committee, for the remainder of the current civic year, replacing Councillor Roger Pilgrim: and

(b)    Councillor Roger Pilgrim be appointed to Governance and Audit Committee, for the remainder of the current civic year, replacing Councillor John Barrett.

The Chairman introduced the report which sought to appoint a Member to the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board, a new Outside Body. The report also dealt with making and amending appointments, previously made, to Outside Bodies, Internal Working Groups, Boards and Panels, having received requests from Members to do so.

Whilst nominations were included in the published report, for the majority of the positions being appointed to, nominations for the seat on the Environment and Sustainability Working Group were sought, with Councillor Swift being proposed and seconded.

With no further nominations made for any of the positions available the recommendations were put to the vote en-bloc.  With no votes against it was

RESOLVED that:

(a)    Councillor David Dobbie be appointed to the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board until Annual Council 2027 and the Body be added to the list of approved duties in the Members Allowances Scheme;

(b)    Councillor Stephen Bunney be appointed to the Funding Consultative Panel until Annual Council May 2027, replacing Councillor Paul Key;

(c)    Councillor Lynda Mullally be appointed to the Community Grants Panel, until Annual Council 2027 replacing Councillor Mrs Diana Rodgers;

(d)    Councillor Paul Swift be appointed to the Environment and Sustainability Working Group until Annual Council May 2027, replacing Councillor Eve Bennett; and

(e)    Councillor Paul Key be appointed to the Lincolnshire Pensions Committee, on behalf of West Lindsey District Council, until Annual Council May 2027, replacing Councillor Trevor Young.