2020 Meetings

NORTH SCARLE PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a remote meeting held on

11 November 2020 at 7.30pm via Zoom (we had some technical difficulties)

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting.  1 parishioner attended.

PRESENT

Cllr D Jennings - Chairperson                       Cllr S Walsh – Vice-Chairperson

Cllr R Cobb                                                    Cllr K Coram

Cllr D Russell                                                 Cllr A Walsh

Mrs H Broderick (Clerk)

Open session

No comments

299        APOLOGIES

None

300        TO RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None

301        MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2020

It was resolved to adopt the Minutes as a true record.  It was resolved that these would be signed by the Chairperson at the next physical meeting of the Council.

302        PLANNING having already been circulated to Cllrs

Chairperson read out the determinations for information only:

20/1074/FUL – White Hart Inn, 2 High Street – change of use of accommodation - determined and approved.

20/0983/HOUS – 40 South Scarle Lane – single storey extension - determined and approved.

20/1006/OUT – land adj to Sycamore Cottage, Chapel Lane – 5 bungalows, parking etc – determined and refused.

Applications for consideration and resolution:

Responses had been collated by email and forwarded to NKDC in line with our Covid-19 Policy, regarding the following applications:

20/1165/VARCON - Land adjacent to Sundara 43, South Scarle Lane – removal of footpath – all against (1 abstained), dangerous location due to agricultural vehicles. 

20/0855/RESM – Land adjacent to Sundara 43, South Scarle Lane – appearance and landscaping – majority in favour.  Subsequently determined and approved.

Applications - discussion and resolution required:

20/1212/FUL – Baxter Bridge Farm, Gainsborough Road – Proposed agricultural store.  Resolved that there were no objections (all in favour).

303        FINANCES

A schedule of payments made between 1 September and 31 October 2020 was circulated to the Parish Councillors.  It was proposed and resolved that invoices paid via BACS should be hand delivered to the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson to sign and countersign and returned to the Clerk.

Individual payments made in the period which exceeded £100:

For                                                                                                   Amount £

304        NKDC REPORT

Environment Scrutiny Board – approval to look again at planning re flooding and drainage.

Government small business grants re Covid losses can be claimed via NKDC website.

Tree policy – needs more thought especially re planting vs protection and planning applications.

305        SEWERAGE WORKING PARTY

Cllr Susan Walsh proposed the following action (emailed agreement had already been received):

Agree letters sent to Noble Foods, Severn Trent and NKDC.

Accept Cllr Cobb’s resignation from the Working Party

Agree to Cllr Jennings joining the Working Party

Agree to Cllr Susan Walsh’s appointment as Chairperson of the Working Party.

All resolved as agreed.

Cllr Walsh gave an update, attached.

306        CHURCH HEDGE REPLACEMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 25 METERS

Some of the hedge at the Church needs replacement.  Cllr Jennings to obtain quotes.  Clarification needed on PC responsibility.

307        MEMORIAL GARDEN AND PINFOLD IMPROVEMENT WORKS

Cllr Jennings has trimmed in the Memorial Garden and PC would encourage a volunteer group to help look after it.

Since the agenda was issued, Cllr Jennings had been approached by a group who may be willing to volunteer their time to keep the Pinfold tidy.  

308        DRAFT TREE STRATEGY

Cllr Jennings questioned whether funds would be put forward from NKDC.  Cllr S Walsh mentioned obtaining trees from Woodland Trust.  Needs consideration.

309        SPEEDING IN VILLAGE

An Archer Survey had taken placed on Swinderby Road.  Results have been published on social media.  Cllr Jennings proposed to write to local businesses/school asking for help to tackle the problem – resolved to agree.  Eagle PC had offered loan of their old speed indicator sign – Cllr Jennings proposed we accept – resolved to agree.

310        CORRESPONDENCE

Email from parishioner - suggested a mirror to assist drivers at Eagle Road junction

Discussed and resolved that this was not necessary.

311        LCC REPORT

LCC services for vulnerable people remain in operation.

Covid support line remains 01522 782189

312        DATE OF NEXT MEETING

It was resolved to agree the date of the next meeting 13th January 2021 at 7.30pm.

313        CLOSED SESSION

It was resolved to move into closed session.

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314        SALE OF SHED (and clearance of the Methodist Hall)

Cllr Jennings proposed to agree the sale of the shed (details had been emailed to Cllrs) at a price of £175.  Resolved to agree.  Chairperson thanked Cllrs Russell and A Walsh for helping to empty the shed and to Collen Vickers and Roger Honey for their help in clearing the Methodist Hall.

315        HANDYMAN

Cllr Coram proposed that the PC should ask both applicants to take on the position on an ad hoc basis and it was resolved to agree.

The Chairperson closed the meeting at 9.03pm

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Report by Working Party to North Scarle Parish Council.

The working Party have been busy continuing correspondence with Severn Trent, Nobles and NKDC.

A meeting was held between Adam Boucher from Severn Trent and four Working Party members on 29th October 2020.

The meeting was very productive and the following comments were noted.

There are no imminent plans for any further updates to the pumping station at the moment. All issues have been noted and will all add towards an argument for strengthening the network, however Severn Trent (ST) have to prioritise flooded properties. Adam Boucher compared the North Scarle problems with a recent case in Derbyshire where 147 properties in the same street were flooded internally with sewage.  Severn Trent has many cases of internal sewage flooding to address before North Scarle.

Maintenance has been undertaken on the pipes and valves going out of the village which has cleaned and improved performance.

Additionally, following maintenance of the pumping station, the system is as good as it can be. It can be no better.

Severn Trent, will however, continue to monitor the situation.

As part of their mitigation, eight properties down School Lane, who agreed to it, have had non-return valves fitted; this includes the school and An Darach.

 We asked Mr Boucher about mitigation for other properties down School Lane and Chapel Lane for residents who may have changed their mind about wanting a non-return valve. He said that they/we would need to contact Karl Wilson, of any properties that believe they have had an impact of the sewers being full and backing up to cause limited use of toilets and other facilities. Karl Wilson will then check levels to see if they are in need of further mitigation. We were told that Chapel Lane should not suffer from flooding because of the sewer levels, but he is prepared to have them checked.

When asked if the system is still reliant on tanker support, Mr Boucher informed us that the wet well level is at 90% when problems start. The alarm is now set at 75% when tankers would be sent out. We were shown a graph of the Summer 16th August incident showing that the level normally runs around a constant 30% level. However, even though it was a low water table, the graph showed how a sharp influx, within a short period of time, raised the alarm to the 90%, which caused the incident.

ST are trying to improve their tanker resources to make availability more reliable and considering having their own so not having to rely on others.

We asked again about the likelihood of increasing the flow of sewerage to Anglian Water. We were told that the flow to Anglian Water is fixed to litres per second and we are at the maximum. This velocity is like a speed limit. New properties have a right to connect and are seen as negligible regarding the ‘speed limit.’  If reinforcement is needed it would be to reinforce the system for the new properties.

After querying the outcome of 16th August incident, which resulted in sewerage, all-be-it very diluted, to flow into Mill Dam Dyke, Mr Boucher said he was unaware that this had occurred and was going to investigate. He did say that if this happened on a regular basis that this would go towards a reason for extra storage.

Because of this the working party believe that we need to be persistent and note when this happens and should request that any residents inform us if that happens again.

It was stated that the waste is diluted and mainly surface water, but it does have to be reported by ST to the Environment Agency. It is not pumped.

Mr Boucher informed us that Nobles have a right to connection from Severn Trent; they cannot refuse them. The flow meter that ST had installed on School Lane had not given accurate measurements and they intend and will be having talks to fit a flow meter at Noble’s pumping station to check the velocity. It is believed that Nobles are in compliance with their Discharge Consent, but it is the ‘speed limit’ that they need to check. This is what the pumping station cannot handle if too much, too quick is being discharged. It was also commented that the Torksey Drain, where Nobles discharge their surface water, was full during the winter incident and so was questioned again where their rainwater is going.

Severn Trent have an intention to monitor outgoings from North Scarle pumping station, by means of installing a flow meter. This will record the outflow rate from North Scarle Pumping Station to check that the pumps are working efficiently and in accord with the discharge amount agreed with Anglian Water.

Mr Boucher has agreed to communicate with us again in January to give us an update on progress, however has stated that if anyone has any issues at any time before then that we are to contact him or Karl Wilson.

Additional actions and communication with others.

The Working Party has written to North Kesteven District Council Head of Planning requesting that Severn Trent and Anglian Water be statutory consultees for all planning applications. We have as yet had no response.

The Working Party has, on a number of occasions, sent out letters advising all residents of School Lane and Chapel Lane regarding the mitigation plans and included the contact details of Severn Trent and the company fitting the non-return valves. It is felt by working party members that any further correspondence to residents needs to come directly from the Parish Council with the explanation that the need for a non-return valve to any more properties will need to be justified on a case by case basis related to problems. In short Severn Trent are not now volunteering to fit non-return valves to properties on Chapel Lane unless residents bring their own problems forward either to the Working Group or direct to Severn Trent. Severn Trent has on more than one occasion mentioned the fact to the Working Group that only a few residents have brought to the attention the problems they are experiencing. The Working Group has spent many hours on behalf of all residents of both School Lane and Chapel Lane and indeed the wider village, but because residents have not brought forward problems by completing forms and highlighting problems, persuading Severn Trent to install further measures of mitigation is now all the more difficult.  Severn Trent will not spend money on upgrading the pumping station, if people do not report genuine problems that they are having, such as the limited use of toilets, toilets gurgling and raised water levels in toilets. The Working Party and Parish Council need the full support of all residents to persuade Severn Trent that an upgrade or additional storage is still needed, despite the mitigation being already in place protecting the properties on School Lane.

We are still awaiting a response to a letter that was sent via e-mail to Nobles on 24th September, regarding the destination of water from the lorry wash and surface water from rooves and if their pumping station is staggering the times that their waste water is being pumped into the system, as suggested by ST. Again it was suggested by Working Party members that this is chased up directly by the Parish Council.

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