Holdingham Ward Report: Sleaford Town Council 1st November 2017

Every month or so Councillors are asked to put in Ward Reports of anything happening within their Ward. This was my input on November 1st.

Holdingham Ward Report November 1^st 2017

Some increased activity on the Woodside Open Space Play Area.

During visits in the half-tem “Football” Games were being played in the middle of the 4-5 acre field. Youngsters (about 6 to 12) playing impromptu team games.

Increase usage of the play equipment.

A Fun day event (Harvest Fun-day” was organised on Tuesday 24^th between 11.00 and 13.00. Posters were displayed and placed on Facebook.

Lincoln Road Play Area/Open Space was also well attended in the generally mild Autumnal day.

Litter: some increase in litter during the half-term and at times in the evening at other times. This includes rubbish being thrown into the Becs on Lincoln Road. The extra bin leading to into Peterborough Way was often full of cartons so use of these bins by the Public is welcome.  Similarly: dog fouling.  The new developments mentioned below, and adjacent roads, appear to have litter problems.

Holdingham Grange: Although it has made news in the local paper after publicity nd comment at our STC Planning meeting the issue of the intersection with the Sustrans/ Connect 2 cycle track has not yet been addressed although work has been completed by BT which meant road signs had to  placed adjacent to Holdingham Mead and Holdingham Lane. Hope fully the next work will be the make this access to Holdingham Grange safe.

Still no temporary signs though to warn pedestrians and vehicles of potential dangers.

Social Services/Family Problems:  As a Ward Councillor I did receive (through the STC link) a letter of concern about a family within Holdingham. I cannot go into detail for obvious reasons but I passed the message on to Heidi Ryder at NKDC. The isssue was: if beyond say the remit of Social Services who's responsibilty is it?  It left me concerned that as a Town Councillor I could not get involved directly. Was this an NK issue to be dealt with or the PCSO’s or what?

Just a note: I am intrigued by these storage  devices at the entrance tio the Woodsise area off Beech-Rise. Any ideas anyone? 

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Sleaford Town Council October 18th 2017

Not all plain sailing! 

The link below is to Youtube and a video collection of some of the Agenda Items at Wednesday's meeting this week. Filmed by Susan Charlesworth (as allowed under law). 

18th October STC Video

The backdrop to the Allowance Panels (and leading on to who gets it) is copied below (a brief extract)

COUNCILLORS’ ALLOWANCES 

Introduction 1. The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 (SI.2003/1021) came into force on 1st May 2003. The regulations apply to local authorities in England only and substantially change the system that previously existed.

2. When the regulations were first introduced they applied to elected members only and not to those who were co-opted onto committees. However, the regulations were amended in 2004 (by virtue of The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) (Amendments) Regulations 2004 (SI.2004/2596) so that some of the provisions relate to co-opted members. However, the only practical consequence of the amendments related to a period ending on the 2 November 2004 and, consequently, the amendments are not discussed further in this Note. Background

3. Previously, sections 173 to 178 of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended, and the regulations made thereunder, set out the rules for the payment of allowances to members of parish and town councils. These broadly dealt with attendance allowance and financial loss allowance (s.173), travelling allowance and subsistence allowance (s.174), allowances for attending conferences and meetings (s.175), the payment of expenses of official and courtesy visits (s.176) and supplementary provisions (s.177 and s.178).

4. S.173 to s.175 and s.176(1)(a) and (2) ceased to apply on 31 December 2003 and hence the supplementary provisions relevant to those sections also fell. S.176(1)(b) remains in force. This provides for a council to defray any expenses incurred in the LTN 33 November 2007 LTN 33 National Association of Local Councils Tel: 020 7637 1865  Fax: 020 7436 7451  e-mail: nalc@nalc.gov.uk  website: www.nalc.gov.uk reception and entertainment by way of official courtesy of distinguished persons visiting the area of the authority.

5. Under this system, allowances were paid to councillors for performing an approved duty outside the parish or town. No allowances were paid for attendance at a meeting of the council, its committees or sub committees or for any other approved duty within the parish or town. Travel and subsistence under the new regulations can be paid for travel and subsistence within the parish as well as outside of it. The New System 6. The new regulations are split into 6 Parts. Part 5 deals specifically with parish (and town) councils. Part 4 deals with Independent Remuneration Panels and Part

6 with transitional provisions and it is these 3 Parts with which we are chiefly concerned and upon which this Legal Topic Note will concentrate. Part 4 – Independent Remuneration Panels

7. An independent remuneration panel has to be established by each authority and for the purposes of Part 4, unless otherwise specified, an authority means a district council, a county council and a London borough council. The panel consists of at least 3 members, none of whom is also a member of an authority in respect of which it makes recommendations or a member of a committee or sub committee of such an authority or is disqualified from being or becoming a member of an authority.

8. The parish or town council has to make reference, as will be explained, to a parish remuneration panel. A parish remuneration panel will consist of those persons who are also members of the independent remuneration panel but cannot consist of parish or town councillors of councils in respect of which recommendations are to be made. Part 5 – Parish Councils Parish Basic Allowance – Regulation 25

9. A parish or town council is able to pay a parish basic allowance for each year to its chairman only or to each of its elected members.

Work Starts on Holdingham Grange (Sleaford) junctions.

Update: The work being done at present relates to BTLines and not addressing the cross-over with the Sustrans Cycle Track. That comes after this phase apparently.

At last some work in underway to make safer (I hope) the  cross-over point between Holdingham Lane: Holdingham Mead, The Sustrans Cycle Track (Connect2) and the new developments of Holdingham Grange and Care Home. 

 It has taken time but hopefully will improve matters - although I have no further details. The Care Home looks as though it will be finished next year (early)  and a planning applications is going through Outline Planning to add another 200 dwellings to those already being constructed.


Here are some photos of the work being done.  View from Holdingham Lane and below the new Care Home. Taken October 6th 2017.

From Furlong Way

From Holdingham Lane

Entrance viewed from near Bus
stop.

Care Home

LCC Approval of Commercial Waste at Anaerobic Digestor Plant Holdingham

The text of the LCC response to the use of Commercial Waste and the Anaerobic site is as follows:

2. The development hereby permitted shall be retained and operated in accordance with the following documents and plans unless otherwise modified by the conditions attached to this planning permission.  The approved are as follows: 

 

Documents 

 

 Application Form date stamped received 10 May 2017; 

 Report No: 13-003/R020 v1 – 'Planning Application Supporting Information' date stamped received 10 May 2017; and as amended by 

 'Further information supplemental to Report No: 13/003/R020 v1' date stamped received 6 July 2017; 

 Report No: 13-003/R021 – 'Odour Management Plan' date stamped received  6 July 2017;

  Report No: 13-003/R022 – 'Summary of Planning Information by Email' date stamped received 30 August 2017;

  Report No: 13-003/R012 – 'Pest Management Plan' date stamped received  8 June 2017; 

 Project No: 009502 – 'Outdoor Lighting Report' date stamped received 8 June 2017; 

 Job No: 5355 Issue 03 – 'Drainage Strategy Proposed Biogas Plant' date stamped received 8 June 2017; 

 Application 14/0080/FUL – 'Condition 16 (Bat and Bird Boxes)' date stamped received 8 June 2017; 

 Application 14/0080/FUL – 'Condition 17 (Landscape Planting)' date stamped received 8 June 2017;  

 Application 14/0080/FUL – 'Condition 19 (Perimeter Security Fencing)'; and

  Report No: 13-003/R002 – 'Anaerobic Digestion Facility Noise Impact Assessment' date stamped received 19 September 2017. 

 

Drawings 

 

 No: 13-003-P-020 – 'Location Plan' date stamped received 10 May 2017; 

 No: 1.1 – 'Site Plan' date stamped received 10 May 2017;  No: JN1808-LDS-SK007-A – 'Sustrans Crossing General Details' date stamp received 8 June 2017; 

 No: JN1808-LDS-SK008-B – 'Sustrans Crossing Signs and Road Markings' date stamp received 8 June 2017; 

 No: JN1808-LDS-SK007-A – 'Sustrans Crossing General Details' date stamp received 8 June 2017; 

 No: 14/0080/FUL – 'Lighting column layout drawing' date stamped received  8 June 2017; and 

 No: 2054-D-01 RevD – 'Proposed lighting and luminance layout' date stamped received 8 June 2017. 

 

3. The site is permitted to receive the following feedstocks only: 

 

Waste 

 Wheat Syrup; 

 Glycerol; 

 Poultry Litter;  Waste Vegetables; and 

 

Crops 

 Maize silage;  Grass silage; and  Sugar Beet. 

 

4. All waste listed in condition 3 shall be incorporated into the Anaerobic Digester Vessel on the day of delivery and no waste shall be stored on site. 

 

5. The total tonnage of feedstock processed at the application site shall not exceed 70,000 tonnes per annum.  The waste feedstock shall not exceed 34,300 tonnes per annum.  All feedstock brought to the site shall be weighed at the site’s weighbridge.  The weighbridge records shall be retained for at least two years and be available for inspection by the Waste Planning Authority upon request. 

 

6. All crops stored in the silage clamps shall not exceed 4 metres in height. 

 

7. No crops shall be stored outside at any time other than within the silage clamps. 

 

8. Notwithstanding the detail contained in the approved Report No: 13-003/R021 – 'Odour Management Plan' date stamped received 6 July 2017.  The Odour Management Plan shall be implemented in full and maintained for the duration of the development.  The Odour Monitoring Reports and Odour Complaints Reports shall be retained for two years and shall be available for inspection at the request of the Waste Planning Authority. 

 

9. The digestate lagoon cover shall be retained and maintained for the duration of the development. 

 

10. Any trees, plants or grassed areas planted in accordance with the approved scheme Application 14/0080/FUL – 'Condition 17 (Landscape Planting)' date stamped received 8 June 2017, which within a period of seven years from the date of planting die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of similar size, and species and quality, unless the local planning authority gives written consent to any variation. 

 

11. The development hereby permitted shall be retained in accordance with the following construction materials details which are shown on the approved plans, which in the case of the primary and secondary digester tanks shall be RAL 9006 (white aluminium) for the tank sides and RAL 7005 (mouse grey) for the roof. 

 

12. The means of connection from the AD plant to the National Grid shall be by underground cable. 

 

13. Notwithstanding the detail contained in the approved Report No: 13-003/R002 'Anaerobic Digestion Facility Noise Impact Assessment' date stamp received 19 September 2017, the level of noise arising from the operations on the site at the locations identified in Table 21 shall not exceed a rating level of Average Background Noise Level (dB LA90) +5 dB as identified in Table 21. 

  

The reasons for the conditions are:- 

 

1. To comply with Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. 

 

2. To ensure that the development is carried out in an acceptable manner and for avoidance of doubt as to the development that is permitted. 

 

3 – 5 To correspond with the source and volume of waste feedstock materials for which planning permission was applied and to limit the scale of the operations in the interest of the amenity of the area. 

 

6 – 13 In the interests of general and visual amenity. 

 

 

Informative 

 

Attention is drawn to: 

 

(i) Environment Agency - Environmental Permitting – Letter Reference AN/2017/125777/02-L01 dated 24 July 2017, attached to the Decision Notice; and 

 

(ii) In dealing with this application the Waste Planning Authority has worked with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner by processing the application efficiently so as to prevent any unnecessary delay.  This approach ensures the application is handled in a positive way to foster the delivery of sustainable development and is consistent with the requirements of paragraphs 186 and 187 of the National Planning Policy Framework. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is action being taken: Holdingham Grange/Holdingham Mead junction?

The Sleaford Town Council (STC) debated an Outline Plan for another two hundred houses at Holdingham Grange. 

Post Note 26/9: Councillor Kate Cook has asked for some signs to be placed near the entrance to  warn pedestrians, motorists, cyclists etc to be warned when approaching this junction.
No positive action so far by the Builder. On October 4th this article has appeared in the Standard

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The debate concentrated on the mismatch of Cycle Track/Roadway onto the site and Holdingham Lane. The view below is of the development of the Care Home and an image of a car having to cross over into Holdingham Lane. 

The debate is at: STC Agenda Item 7.2. 

Holdingham Grange Ins and Outs

The new Estate has had coverage of late due to Planning Changes which will affect both the overall number of houses but also the number of "Affordable" houses.  

However the way into the new development is an issue (from the Holdingham Mini-Roundabout) and a potential exit off Jacob(s) Close is unclear. (Is there mean't to be one)The latter has partial pathways but a potential exit onto Holdingham Lane, near the entrance to Winchester Way(pedestrian), is unclear.  There are several issues to resolve here. 

I took a few photographs the other day. Here they are: 

 View Towards Exit to Holdingham Lane and (right) adjacent Open Space.

 Holdingham Lane view to Holdingham Grange and entry to Winchester Way and (below) down Holdingham Lane from the same spot. And extreme bottom (below) is an "old" photo (but still relevant) of the entrance to Holdingham Grange (which has still not been addressed)

Reviving our Assets: in Holdingham & Sleaford

Sleaford Town Council has several groups (called Panels) looking after Services and the Assets it has. But the Assets need renewal and looking after. All play areas are annually inspected and defects are addressed. Clearly there is a cost to all this - costs which compete against other Town Priorities. 

Over the last week: and reported back to Council on Wednesday, several Councillors have visited the Cemetery and our 3 largest Open Spaces/Play Areas. The Open Spaces were Woodside; George Street and Boston Road.

Maintaining and renewing fencing is one issue: providing equipment that residents want is another: making them secure and vandal free is another: and accessible is another. Obvious really but it is not necessarily so.

But all the facilities mentioned above have possible shortcomings. Access to the Cemetery at the times of day (including school start and leave times near the Cemetery) can be impaired by Cars parked in the Cemetery.

Secure fencing at our Open Spaces! George Street (for instance): the new Housing development near the Castle Causeway means Children wanting to use the Play Area. So an access point that is not misused by motor-bikers etc.

Woodside has poor access and is potentially open to illegal entry across the property of others.

So investment is needed to meet these shortcomings.

Here are some Photographs.

George Street entrance near the new houses. Needs upgrading and issues to be resolved.


Fencing on the George Street boundary.

At Woodside the ad-hoc entrance from Summerfield Drive is not secure.

Access from Beech Rise (see below)  is a long way from other residential areas in Holdingham and other gates are needed for Children. Entry at the end of Summerfield Drive is misused as it is not an official entry point as it crosses the land of others: the legit entry point is the narrow/muddy path off Summerfield Court.

The Summerfield Drive entrance is used and misused because of lack of fencing in one key part.

 All areas need to be secure from Vandalism and anti- social behaviour 24 hours. That potentially is a costly exercise with apparently rising A.S.B. So there is much to do and much to spend money on.

Our largest area

is of course Boston Road and the largest recent investment is the Skate Park. The phioto is from March 20117 when the new facility was being constructed. It is now ready for its Official Opening.  It needs looking after and protecting from Vandalism. But, and a repeat from above, it costs and there are other needs in the Town.