2023 Annual Parish Meeting

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on18th May 2023

These minutes are in draft form and may be amended

Present; Cllr. D Strollo (Chair), G. Payne (Clerk)

S. Farrow, C. Cuckson, L. Hoggarth, D. Forrest

Cllr. Emma Bailey (WLDC), Cllr. Richard Butroid (LCC), Mr Toby Roberts (Playing Field Committee).

1. Apologies; were received from Cllr. R. Gore and Jack Bowles.

2. Minutes of meeting held on 19th May 2022 - these had been circulated to Parish Councillors, they had posted on the village website following the last meeting, and a copy had been posted on the village notice board for seven days prior to the meeting. Cllr. Cuckson proposed that they be accepted, seconded by Cllr. Farrow and passed unanimously. The chairman signed them off. 

3. Matters Arising

a) Energy Park/Solar Farm - a copy of the letter sent by the Chairman of the Parish Council to the Planning Inspectorate expressing total opposition to all of the proposed developments was circulated. The Parish Council had also recently signed up to a Statement of Common Ground instigated by the 7000 acre group. Consultation events hosted by the Parish Council had all found total opposition to the proposed developments by the residents. Cllr. Butroid informed the meeting that a third proposal had recently become “live”, the Chairman of the Parish Council was in constant contact with the 7000 group and would work with them to continue the council’s opposition.

b) Jubilee Festival – a highly successful event had been held, despite the cold weather, Sue Roberts and her team had organised a free event for residents within the budget provided by WLDC and both Upton and Kexby Parish Councills. She was to be congratulated on her sterling effort.

4. Chairman’s Report

The Chairman was unable to attend the meeting but had sent a written report which was circulated. He thanked the two retiring members, Claire Hunt who was still organising the facebook account for which the council were very grateful and David Edwardson. David had served on the council for many years before standing down at the recent elections and was thanked for his work over the years. There was a vacancy on the council which would be filled by co-option. 

He outlined the work of the Parish Council over the previous year which included achieving a speed restriction on Kexby Lane for which there had been undue delay in getting signs installed. Cllr. Butroid (LCC) promised to continue to chase this and said that he hoped to get the work done within the next eight weeks.

5. Finance Report

The accounts had been audited and passed by the internal auditor, because turnover was less than £25K the full accounts did not need to go to the external auditors provided a certificate of exemption was lodged. The Chairman signed this off and it would be sent to the auditors, details of the Annual Guidance and Accountability Report would be available on the Parish Council website.

A copy of the balance sheet had been posted on the village notice board for seven days prior to the meeting and copies were circulated to the meeting, no questions were raised. The accounts were required to be made available for public scrutiny for a period of 30 days. This was known as the Exercise of Public Rights and would run from 12th June until 21st July. They would be held by the Parish Clerk from 12th – 23rd June and by Cllr. Cuckson for the remainder of the period and could be inspected at any reasonable time by prior appointment.

6. Reports from village organisations

a) Village Hall – the committee had wanted to go ahead with a proposed extension to provide a new meeting room but had decided to prioritise upgrading existing facilities. The floor of the main hall had recently been refurbished and it was hoped to be able to update the kitchen and replace some of the double glazing.

The Parish Council acknowledged the work done by Ann Taylor who had died recently, she had done a great deal for the village hall over many years and had recently been Booking Clerk and Committee Chair. As an expression of their gratitude it was felt that a donation of £25 should be made to a charity chosen by the family, proposed by Cllr. Hoggarth, seconded by Cllr. Farrow

b) Burial Ground – an annual report had been provided to both Kexby and Upton Parish Councils and a copy posted on the notice board at the burial ground. Most of the plots for traditional burial on the east side had now been taken and a new plinth laid to begin interments on the west side of the cemetery.

c) Playing field – a copy of the latest audited accounts had been provided to the Parish Council, these showed a balance of £14K which had now risen to around £17K. They were continuing to save for the project to replace the playpark which was likely to cost over £50K, grants were being investigated. They were working with Gainsborough Town Football Club, who rent the pitch, to obtain funding from the FA of around £20K over five years to improve the pitch. They were also currently redecorating the changing rooms and clearing up the area around them.

The pitch was also used by the Rose and Crown football team on Sundays and by Broadway Sports to coach children. Several balls had been damaged by the hedge on the north side of the field and netting was to be installed to alleviate this problem. There had recently been problems with motor vehicles damaging the pitch once again, measures to prevent this vandalism were likely to be costly and it was quite a concern.

Whilst there was currently insufficient demand for cricket in the village the playing field committee worked actively with clubs in Gainsborough and could help anyone interested to become involved.

7. Jack Bowles Duke of Edinburgh Award

Jack was unable to attend the meeting but had supplied a written report. He had been organising litter picking as the voluntary element of his DofE Silver and Gold Awards and had now completed both awards and was waiting for an invitation to Buckingham Palace to collect his Gold Award. Along with other volunteers that he had inspired to get involved 981 bags of litter had been collected over 18 months in addition to having new litter and dog waste bins installed. The work gave Jack experience of working with village organisations, WLDC and the local police (to deal with drugs found when collecting). The Clerk was asked to write to congratulate Jack and to thank him for all his hard work in all weathers to improve the local environment.

8. Open Forum

a) Scampton Airfield – both WLDC and LCC, working with the local MP, were continuing to oppose the proposal to use the site for retaining people entering the country illegally. If it had to be used as a detention centre it should be time-limited and arrangements should be made to ensure that local residents were not disadvantaged by excessive demand on local infrastructure and facilities. Legal challenges were on-going.

b) Youth Council – Ellie Gregory had contacted the Parish Council to request facilities for exercising dogs off their leads.  The council were impressed by such initiative shown by an 11 year old and felt that it should be encouraged, at their earlier meeting they had agreed to invite her to their next meeting. Ways of encouraging engagement by youth of the village was discussed, members had heard of a Youth Council but were unsure of the details, Cllr. Bailey offered to look into this