Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed all those present and watching remotely.  Special welcome was paid to Chairman of Nettleham Parish Council, Councillor Angela White and Vice-Chairman of the Neighbourhood Planning Group John Evans who would later in the meeting present the reviewed Nettleham Neighbourhood Plan to Members.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 2 September 2024.

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

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 2 September be confirmed, approved and signed as a correct record.

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

Councillor Paul Key declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 9c (Statutory Review of Polling Districts, Polling Stations and Polling Places) given the reference to Gladstone House Social Club of which he was a Committee Member.

Councillor John Barrett declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 9a (Adoption of Neighbourhood Nettleham Plan Review) as he had been involved in the Review.

Councillor Tom Smith declared a personal interest in Motion 2 given its direct mention of Sir Edward Leigh MP, for whom Councillor Smith worked for as Director of Constituency Communications.

Setting out the current position of previously agreed actions as at 25 October 2024.

The Chairman introduced the report advising Members that it would be taken “as read” unless 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.

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 in which he had been involved and attended since Council last met, in what had been a busy period.

These had included attending Civic Services for Lincolnshire County Council and Kirton-in-Lindsey Town Council and the Lincoln College Higher Education Graduation Service.

It had been the Chairman’s privilege to attend three Heritage Art events, these being: the launch of Heritage England's New Beginning Community Scheme, which had been held in the magnificent surroundings of the 15th century Gainsborough Old Hall, held in conjunction with the Friends of Gainsborough Old Hall, who were celebrating their 75th anniversary.

The Council’s own Trinity Arts Centre had also celebrated its 40th anniversary. The Gainsborough Arts Society had held a celebratory lunch and lecture at which the Chairman had attended. Councillor Howitt-Cowan had supported the Chairman at the event and thanks were paid to him.

The Gainsborough Heritage Association had held an evening reception to celebrate their 30^th Anniversary. It had been a fabulous evening, attended by a number of Councillors and had served as a welcome opportunity to learn about the history of the town through the exhibits and shows.

2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the reorganisation of Local Government as laid out in the Local Government Act of 1972. West Lindsey District Council had been formed in 1974. In commemoration of this, the Chairman on behalf of the Authority had hosted a Golden Awards ceremony for the staff, a Civic service and a Reception. He considered all three events had been a great success providing current and past staff and members the opportunity to celebrate the successes of West Lindsey.   As part of the celebration, a competition was held to design a commemorative flag, which was on display in the Chamber for the meeting, along with a hanging display showing a timeline of some of the historical moments in the Council's history.

The Chairman further advised of an album being created of the Council’s history in more detail. The flag, book and other items would be placed in a special time-capsule to be incorporated in the new cinema complex. The hanging displays would form permanent displays in the Guildhall.

He paid tribute to all the staff involved making the events very successful and memorable and gave them all a round of applause.

Following the motion to Council the previous month regarding an extension to Household Support Fund, the Chairman spoke of his pleasure of learning that the Government had extended the Household Support Fund for a further six months, providing much needed support to those families facing hardship because of the cost of living.  The work of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and other organisations was praised, and it was hoped with continued pressure from such organisations and Councils, further extensions would be considered by the Government.

Bringing announcements to an end, congratulations were paid to Gainsborough Trinity on winning their first-round match in the FA Cup, the first occasion in  ...  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, if received, under this Scheme will be published by way of supplement following closure of the deadline.

The Chairman advised the meeting that no questions under Procedure Rule No.9 had been submitted by Members.

Motion 1  - The development and planning approval process in respect of Battery Electric Storage System (BESS) sites.

The need to switch to renewable energy is well established.  As a result, there is a need for large scale development of BESS sites in order to mitigate the fluctuation of renewable energy due to the lack of consistency with solar and wind systems.

A modern well designed and constructed BESS site is, in all probability of very little risk. Based on analysis of incidents involving BESS sites, the majority of incidents occur during the construction and commissioning phase of development.

Generally, the planning process is concerned about the impact of developments in an area when they have been completed.

As such it would seem that the potential risk area for a BESS site, (Construction & Commissioning phase) is currently given little consideration by the current statutory consultees.

The Government published a research briefing on 19 April 2024 https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7621/CBP-7621.pdf . 

However, it would appear this provides little clarity and raises further questions (See comments by Paul Christensen, Director Lithiumionsafety Ltd Consultancy in background information attached.

In August 2023 the Government updated its planning practice guidance to encourage developers and local planning authorities to consult their local Fire & Rescue Service on planning applications for BESS sites.

The National Fire Chiefs Council produce a guidance document in April 2023 which was reviewed in July 2024 and went through consultation which closed on 22 August 2024. The final version is yet to be published.  https://nfcc.org.uk/consultation/draft-grid-scale-energy-storage-system-planning-guidance/

However, the Local Fire Authority (LFA) is not a statutory consultee for planning applications and therefore they do not have to be consulted and even if they are consulted their feedback is only advisory.  Furthermore, they are not funded to respond to such consultations which can create capacity issues.

As such currently there is no defined safety regulator.

Even the statutory consultees who are consulted review the applications based on the final site, rather than the Health & Safety issues that could arise during construction and commissioning, the riskiest part of the development. Highways do not consider the implications of a major fire on the local highway network nor the risk of contaminated run-off water in the event of a fire, neither does The Environment Agency.

This technology is fairly new, and development is very fast moving (see background information for number of sites), so there is a lack of legislative control in place. too stricter regime risks tying up the developing industry.

Given the current situation Council resolves to :

• Lobby the Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to make Local Fire Authorities statutory consultees in respect of planning applications relating to Renewable Energy Sites and specifically Battery Electric Storage System sites.

• Writes to the Local Government Association and Greater Lincolnshire Local Authorities to highlight the current situation and lack of oversight on such developments and request that they too lobby the Government to bring about this national change.

I so move

Councillor Trevor Bridgwood

Motion 2  ...  view the full agenda text for item 43.

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

As the mover of the first motion, Councillor Bridgwood was invited to read aloud his motion to the meeting, as follows: -

“Motion 1  - The development and planning approval process in respect of Battery Electric Storage System (BESS) sites.

The need to switch to renewable energy is well established.  As a result, there is a need for large scale development of BESS sites in order to mitigate the fluctuation of renewable energy due to the lack of consistency with solar and wind systems.

A modern well designed and constructed BESS site is, in all probability of very little risk. Based on analysis of incidents involving BESS sites, the majority of incidents occur during the construction and commissioning phase of development.

Generally, the planning process is concerned about the impact of developments in an area when they have been completed.

As such it would seem that the potential risk area for a BESS site, (Construction & Commissioning phase) is currently given little consideration by the current statutory consultees.

The Government published a research briefing on 19 April 2024 https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7621/CBP-7621.pdf . 

However, it would appear this provides little clarity and raises further questions (See comments by Paul Christensen, Director Lithiumionsafety Ltd Consultancy in background information attached.

In August 2023 the Government updated its planning practice guidance to encourage developers and local planning authorities to consult their local Fire & Rescue Service on planning applications for BESS sites.

The National Fire Chiefs Council produced a guidance document in April 2023 which was reviewed in July 2024 and went through consultation which closed on 22 August 2024. The final version is yet to be published.  https://nfcc.org.uk/consultation/draft-grid-scale-energy-storage-system-planning-guidance/

However, the Local Fire Authority (LFA) is not a statutory consultee for planning applications and therefore they do not have to be consulted and even if they are consulted their feedback is only advisory.  Furthermore, they are not funded to respond to such consultations which can create capacity issues.

As such currently there is no defined safety regulator.

Even the statutory consultees who are consulted review the applications based on the final site, rather than the Health & Safety issues that could arise during construction and commissioning, the riskiest part of the development. Highways do not consider the implications of a major fire on the local highway network nor the risk of contaminated run-off water in the event of a fire, neither does The Environment Agency.

This technology is fairly new, and development is very fast moving (see background information for number of sites), so there is a lack of legislative control in place. too stricter a regime risks tying up the developing industry.

Given the current situation Council resolves to:

·       Lobby the Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to make Local Fire Authorities statutory consultees in respect of planning applications relating to Renewable Energy Sites and specifically Battery Electric  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Before introducing the report, the Chairman again welcomed Chairman of Nettleham Parish Council, Councillor Angela White and Vice-Chairman of the Neighbourhood Planning Group John Evans to the meeting.

Members gave consideration to a report which sought Members’ approval to adopt the review of the neighbourhood plan for the parish of Nettleham.

Members were advised this would be the second reviewed neighbourhood plan to be adopted within West Lindsey and would replace the original neighbourhood plan for Nettleham to form part of the development plan and thereby have a major influence on planning application decisions in the Nettleham parish.

The Nettleham Neighbourhood Plan Review involved two rounds of public consultation and had been successful at both examination and referendum. The referendum, held on Thursday 26 September, saw residents voting 94.56% in favour of the plan with a turnout of nearly 27%

The Chairman moved the recommendations before inviting local Ward Member comment.  Councillor Barrett commended the Group for their excellent Plan, spoke of their commitment to getting the task completed, which was no easy feat and required dedication and hard work.  He paid tribute to Parish Councillor Mrs White, Mr Evans and all those involved, particularly Chris Higham, before seconding the report.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Parish Councillor Mrs White and Mr Evans made a short address to Council, as follows: -

“Good evening, Chair, Councillors, Chief Executive and Officers of the Council. I am Angela White, Chair of Nettleham Parish Council and member of the working group. I am accompanied by John Evans, former Chair of Nettleham Parish Council and Vice-Chair of the working group.

Thank you for this opportunity to present the Council with our reviewed Nettleham Neighbourhood Plan.

Our original Nettleham Neighbourhood Plan was presented to the Council and adopted in March 2016. It was the first in West Lindsey to be completed with development site allocations. It has been used many times to influence planning decisions for our Parish.

In view of the numerous changes to the NPPF and the CLLP review it was decided that our NP needed to be reviewed to ensure that the policies were not out of date.”

Mr Evans continued the address: -

“Our review which commenced in 2019 was funded mainly by Government grants of £18,000 through Locality.  It was originally intended to be a light touch modification, but in view of all the changes in planning law and the evolving CLLP a more detailed change was deemed necessary.  Of course Covid 19 played its part in slowing down the consultation process and we also wanted to pace our review with the details emerging in the CLLP review so we were consistent with that plan.

The review group comprised a total of 9, residents and parish councillors, approximately half had worked on the original plan, but new people were welcomed for their fresh ideas.  This work was preceded by a detailed Character Assessment of the village.  We have taken that information to identify green (biodiversity) corridors and design guides  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Councillor Mrs Snee, in her capacity as Vice Chairman of the Licensing Committee presented the report which sought approval of the Gambling Act 2005 – Statement of Principles, following on from public consultation and having been considered and recommended for adoption from the Licensing Committee.

Members were advised as a licensing authority, West Lindsey District Council were required to publish a statement of principles in relation to gambling licensing. These principles were intended to guide decision makers, applicants, objectors and others regarding the decision-making process in relation to applications.

The statement of principles set out how the Authority would work to fulfil its licensing objectives and determine applications it received.

The functions which the Council exercised within its statutory role as the Licensing Authority played a key role in ensuring that residents, businesses and visitors could enjoy a variety of activities within the District in a safe and regulated manner. The statement of principles helped to ensure that this could continue with the Authority being required to review the Statement every three years, ensuring it was up-to-date and effective.

With the recommendation having been moved and duly seconded debate ensued.

Members commented on the need to protect and regulate wherever possible.  Councillors where keen to understand particularly how children were protected.

Pages 62 to 63 of the policy referenced measures establishments must take to protect children from those activities categorised highest risk.

Exchanges made between Councillors highlighted both the fun side and the devastating impact gambling addictions could have.  All concurred on-line gambling caused some of the most significant risk with children exposed to a greater degree than they ever had been. On-line gambling was not regulated by District Council Policies as it fell outside of their jurisdiction.

Members considered the Policy took a proportionate approach to issues and establishments the District Council could influence via legislation and enforcement.

RESOLVED that the recommendation from the Licensing Committee be accepted and in doing so the Gambling Act 2005 – Statement of Principles 2025-2027 be approved for adoption.

Members considered a report which set out details of the statutory requirement to review Polling Stations, Places, and Districts.  Members noted that compulsory reviews must be held once every five years with the last statutory review having been reported to Council in November 2019.

The process undertaken was set out in Section 3 of the report and a summary of the responses received was set out in Section 4 and Appendix 1.

Arising recommendations for each polling place were contained in Appendix 2. With the vast majority remaining unchanged, where a change was proposed these were summarised at Section 5.4 of the report. 

Finally, Members were advised that proposed changes would become effective for the next scheduled polls in May 2025.

Debate ensued and local Ward Member for Scampton welcomed the move back to the Community Centre, agreeing that schools were not the best place for polling stations, moving the paper.

Local Ward Member for Saxilby expressed concerns at the proposal to move the Polling Station for residents of North and South Carlton, suggesting the alternative would pose difficulties and inconvenience for residents and that the Parish Chairman had been unaware.  

Officers acknowledged that the comments, a full equality impact assessment had been undertaken, the facilities were below standard, and the Council had a duty to its staff too.  All key holders and venues had been contacted as part of the review.  The polling station remained within the accepted distance of travel and residents could chose to move to an alternative voting method.  Accepting it could be viewed as not ideal, with no other facilities in the village residents already needed to travel for basic services, it really was a difficult balancing act and residents could raise their concerns post the decision.

Concern was expressed regarding the use of Gladstone House, with some Members feeling, given a Member of Council’s association with the establishment there was potential for undue influence.   Another venue in the area had not been used historically for that reason.  Concerns were also expressed that venue had a liquor licence that ran over polling hours.   For these reasons it was requested that the word permanent be removed from the report and an alternative found, one suggestion being the Hastings Centre on North Warren Road.

Officers responded, giving assurance that the polling station had worked well, there had been no complaints regarding its use or petitions and its was the duty of staff to ensure it was free from influence on the day.

The Leader of Council voiced his objection, advising he had complained previously but no amendments had been made and he was of the view it was the only licensed polling station.

In response Officers acknowledged there had been a previous complaint from elected Members, the earlier reference meaning public complaints. A number of licensed premises were used for polling stations; however, none were permitted to serve alcohol on the day of polling unless there was a totally separate room away from the polling station.

In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.