March 2023
MINUTES of the Council Meeting held on Wednesday 8th March 2023 commencing at 7.00pm in the Committee Room of the Festival Hall, Caistor Road, Market Rasen.
Present: Councillor S. Bunney (Chairman/WLDC/LCC), Councillor M. Lakin - Whitworth (Vice-Chairman), , Councillor N. Taylor, Councillor C Turner, Councillor J. Pilley, Councillor A. Gray, Councillor J. Smith and Councillor A. Dale, Councillor M. Hassan
In attendance:
Lucy Waller – Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer
A representative of the press
2 Members of the public.
The Meeting opened at 19:00
1. Chairman’s welcome.
The Chairman welcomed all present and at the Chairman’s discretion Councillor N. Taylor gave a speech of thanks to Councillor Ken Bridger, who would not be standing for council again. Councillor Bridger’s service and devotion to the town at town, district and county levels was highlighted.
2. To NOTE apologies for absence and to RESOLVE to approve the reasons for absence.
Apologies were noted from Councillors Easters, Madhaven and Bridger.
It was RESOLVED to accept the reasons for absence. Apologies were also noted from Councillor J. McNeill of West Lindsey District Council.
3. Public Participation
A member of the public raised queries and received responses on the below:
- The number of planters in the Marketplace
- The results of any public vote on reduced parking in the Marketplace.
- Residents parking.
- The use of the George Street junction by busses.
- The closure of the access/egress from the Marketplace to George Street.
4. To RECEIVE any declarations of interest in accordance with the requirements of the localism Act 2011 and to consider any applications for dispensations in relation to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.
None.
5. To RESOLVE to approve the draft minutes of the last meeting, held on February the 8th, 2023.
It was RESOLVED to approve the draft minutes of the last meeting, held on February the 8th, 2023 as a correct record.
6. To NOTE any update on Action Points.
Members noted the report and requested further information on the progress of the agreement regarding the Church Mill Sluice.
7. To RECEIVE the report of the District & County Councillor including an update on CCTV.
Members noted the report from Councillor Bunney attached as Appendix A to these minutes.
8. Proposed by Councillor S. Bunney that Market Rasen Town Council RESOLVE to lobby Lincolnshire County Council Highways department to increase funding for pavement improvements and road traffic orders, without reducing roads maintenance projects.
The above RESOLUTION was passed.
Action point; Clerk to send request to LCC Highways via LCC Councillor.
9. To NOTE the Officers' reports
Members noted the reports, and the Clerk was thanked for her work for the council and wished all the best for the future.
10. Accounts for payment:
•To RESOLVE to approve the accounts for payment.
The below accounts were noted 
11. To RECEIVE a report on The Revitalisation and Refurbishment of Market Rasen’s Conservation Area Aims, including Market Place and to RESOLVE any action.
Members noted the report and queries were raised over previous resolutions of council. It was RESOLVEDthat the use of the term “Shoppers Carpark” be removed from any branding/signage related to the Marketplace and that the maximum parking stay be set at 1 hour between 8am and 6pm, with 2 hours for disabled parking - if this is achievable with any appointed enforcement company employed.
12. To NOTE any updates on events for 2023.
It was noted that the Jemima Puddleduck performance would take place on Sunday 27 August at the Leisure Centre alongside a family fun day.
13. Any items for the next agenda.
None
14. Risk Management.
It was noted that the lack of a Clerk from the 17/03/2023 posed a potential risk to the council.
Members noted the regular scheduled health and safety checks that had taken place since the last meeting.
15. To RESOLVE that under the public bodies (admission to meetings) act 1960, the public and representatives of the press and broadcast media be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business as publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest because of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.
The above RESOLUTION was passed.
The public and press left the meeting at this stage and the recording was stopped.
16. To RESOLVE any action in relation to the Festival Hall Roof Warranty.
It was RESOLVED to accept the contractor’s inability to provide the warranty and accept the offer of a reduction to the cost of any future repair materials from the materials producer.
Action Point: Clerk to contact contractor
17. Staffing Matters.
- To NOTE the draft minutes of the HR Committee held on the 7th March 2023 and to consider any recommendations of those minutes.
Members noted the draft minutes and RESOLVED the below:
The SCP for the Clerk recruitment be set at 29-32.
The shortlisting and interview panel be made up of the HR Committee Members with Cllr J. Smith as a substitute.
To invite the potential Locum Clerk to an interview with a view to negotiate a temporary contract based on a Month’s contract on a rolling basis, with a week’s notice period either way.
At least one day per week to be spent in the office but preferably two, and that day/s to coincide with other office staff being in the office.
20 hours per week, paid at £27 per hour (Including travel time, limited to one hour each way) and additional expenses to be claimed.
Employment to commence on the 17/03/2023 to allow for a day of handover with the current Clerk.
An additional SCP be awarded to the Assistant Clerk and Maintenance Operative roles from 01/04/2023.
that for a trial period of 6 months the Maintenance Operative claim paid overtime for any out of hours call outs as opposed to taking the time as TOIL as under the current system.
- Recruitment
There was no further discussion not covered in the above resolutions.
- Appointment of acting Responsible Financial Officer and acting Proper Officer from the 18thMarch 2023.
It was RESOLVED that for a temporary period until the appointment of a Locum or permanent Clerk, that Faye Lambkin-Smith be appointed as acting Responsible Financial Officer and acting Proper Officer.
- To consider a request from the West Lindsey District Council Towns Manager.
It was RESOLVED to agree to the request but ask that any implementation be delayed until a permanent Clerk has settled into their role.
The meeting closed at 20:54
Appendix A
Report to Market Rasen Town Council Wednesday March 8th 2025
County Council and District Council Funding
The Central Government Funding Grant for the County and District Councils was slightly better than expected. This has meant that not so much has been drawn from reserves. However, this ongoing situation remains a concern – particularly for the year 2025 – 2026.
The County Council have decided to put a further £7m from Reserves into the Highways pot to make a total of £17m. The extra money is to be spent on Pavement and Footpath improvements and the implementation of Road Traffic Orders – at the present there is a two year delay on some of these projects.
The County Council along with Lincolnshire’s MPs are lobbying Central Government and The Treasury for increased funding for Policing, Road Improvement, Internal Drainage Boards and Social Care. All of which are at dangerously low levels and are, if not already, likely to have a negative effect on our communities.
West Lindsey has received UK Prosperity Funding of between £1.24m to £1.9m for the rural areas of the District. This is part of the levelling up agenda. The money is to be spent on projects between 2023 and 2015. Exact details of how these funds can be accessed will be sent to parish councils in the next few weeks. The emphasis will be on community projects, rural connectivity including broadband and support for local rural industries. Parish Councils and other community groups are advised to be thinking of potential projects which may benefit from such funding. The total amount of money seems large but spread equally over the whole district is in reality much smaller. Projects should therefore be in the order of hundreds to a few thousand – although match funding is a possibility.
Pigeons
Andy Gray, WLDC’s Housing and Environmental Enforcement Manager reports :
“ Officers have now investigated this issue, thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Two visits have been undertaken and we have liaised with street cleansing in terms of their role also. As a result the overall impression is that there is not believed to be a public health issue that we could take forward in terms of formal action. The street cleaning schedule appears to be working and some businesses are also assisting when carrying out their own clean ups also.
More specifically, at McColls, there did not appear to be a problem, the street cleaners deal with this area and the owner does also. At Perkins, it looks to have been recently cleaned and cleared and minimal pigeons were present. The railway bridge appears to be cleaned on a regular basis and if this continues it should not be a problem. There are some minor issues in relation to the pigeon proofing, but overall it is adequate.
The Council will monitor this from time to time when on the district and we would encourage any businesses experiencing further problems to report these to us so we can investigate further.
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.”
Street Lights
Town and Parish Councils can request for streetlights to be turned on over a 24 hour period but at a cost of £150 to £300 per lamp. It is also a requirement that a complete street is turned on rather than odd lamps.
The criteria for used by LCC for retaining all night streetlights include roads with speed restriction installations [as is the case with Coronation Road] and the location of designated accommodation for the elderly and vulnerable. I have therefore asked LCC to consider all night lighting in parts of Churchill Avenue, Mill Road, Gordon Field and Lammas Leas due to the nature of the ACIS accommodation in the areas. Officers are currently undertaking the investigations and review.
Residents Car Parking Survey
As reported last meeting the overwhelming response from the residents of Dear Street and Mill Street is that they would like to see some form of resident permit parking scheme. However, they have reservations about the charges, times and number of permits per household. Indeed a few residents openly saying that they were in favour of a scheme but not the one proposed.
In the roads surveyed away from Dear Street, far fewer residents responded – with the numbers responding far less favourable.
In all approximately 70% of the 32 respondents were in favour. The information obtained has been passed on to LCC Highways for their consideration on whether to take the proposal further forward.
Link – Bank hub
Our application to Link for a banking hub in Market Rasen has got through the initial desk top approval stages. Two Inspectors visited the town on Monday March 3rd to undertake an in-person site visit. In addition to a visual inspection, they spoke to several businesses and residents about their banking needs and experiences. It is anticipated that they will report back with their findings and recommendations in the next few weeks. There may well be further assessments required.
AntiSocial Behaviour
After a relatively quiet period there has been a noticeable increase in incidents of antisocial behaviour in the town. This has resulted in petty damage, broken windows, and the closure of John Street Toilets. There have also been incidents around The Festival Hall and Rase Park.
I had a meeting with Inspector Head to discuss the situation last Friday, March 3rd. During which we reviewed the crimes and incidents that had been reported to the Police – which unsurprisingly were not as high as the ones highlighted by myself and on social Media. Since the meeting he has asked the neighbourhood team to increase the level of priority on antisocial behaviour. We also looked at the means of increasing the flow of information and intelligence.
Insp Head also indicated that as well as antisocial behaviour the amount of intelligence being put forward on drug related incidents was well below what they would expect for a community of our size.
Flooding
As with Highways matters progress is very slow. The reluctance and inertia around agencies working together does not help. Rather than pooling ideas and thoughts to get the job at hand done ‘passing the buck’ appears to be the default.
Nevertheless, discussions are taking place on all the major incident sites including Dear Street, Gordon Field, Horseshoe Way/Legsby Road, Linwood Road, Oxford Street, Ridings, Waterloo Street. Remedial action has been carried out in parts but there is still more to carry out.
After last year’s August Floods LCC initiated a town wide Section 19 Inquiry. Work has started on this. The following statement issued on behalf of LCC Executive Portfolio Holder for Environmental Matters, Cllr. Colin Davie, summarises the current position.
“August 2022 flooding event update – Following the severe storms in August 2022, which caused significant and widespread disruption across the county, a large number of Section 19 investigations were commenced. It is pleasing to report that good progress has been made with these reports with many now concluded in a timely manner so that recommendations coming out of the reports can be acted upon.
The storm event last August saw an exceptional amount of rainfall in a very short space of time that, in several areas, overwhelmed and exceeded modern design standards for drainage systems. As we are aware Market Rasen was one of the areas badly affected which resulted in a significant number of properties experiencing internal flooding. Following a townwide Section 19 Investigation this determined that further information would be required in regard to the current capacity and conditions of the drainage assets within Market Rasen, and that the best approach would be to undertake a feasibility study and hydraulic flood risk modelling across the town to understand the flood risk to the properties.
Over the coming weeks surveying will be undertaken as well as other data gathering activities across the town which will all feed into the overall feasibility and modelling works. This work will help assess the current condition, capacity and effectiveness of assets and structures in differing rainfall return periods across the whole of Market Rasen to help us understand the flood risk to properties. Following this we will then be able to highlight potential areas with minor capacity issues or required maintenance works, or suggest possible recommendations for improvements to the systems. This work will provide a robust evidence base to support any future funding requests for more significant drainage improvement works if deemed necessary. Whilst led through the Floods and Water Team this will also involve working with colleagues in the Highways Department at Lincolnshire County Council, Anglian Water and other Risk Management authorities to understand what possible mitigation measures may be required.
It should also be noted that a similar approach is also being explored for the town of Spalding and surrounding areas which were also badly affected by the same storm event, with discussions taking place between officers at LCC and Anglian Water to map out what will be required.”
Emergency Plan
The joint working group with Middle Rasen Parish Council have produced a working draft which is currently with the relevant authorities. Further work will be taking place over the next 2 months or so with the intention of full implementation in June 2023.
Economic Recovery Plan
WLDC have produced the following infotec pages summarising the work they have undertaken so far as part of the Post Covid Economic Recovery Plan 2021 - 2024