2025 Annual Parish Meeting

 

These minutes are in draft form and may be altered

 

Present; Cllr. R Gore (Chair), G. Payne (Clerk) C. Cuckson, J. Scott, D. Strollo, K. Payne, C. Wells (Village Hall Committee), S. Fotheringham (Playing Field Committee)

Apologies; had been received from Cllr. Bailey, L. Hoggarth, D. Forrest, Mr. & Mrs. Dann

 

1. Chairman’s welcome – the Chairman welcomed those present and thanked them for their support, he expressed disappointment at such a poor turnout for such an important meeting.

 

2. Approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9th May 2024 – draft copies of the minutes had been available on the Parish Council website since the last meeting and a copy had been posted on the village notice board for ten days prior to the meeting. They were accepted as a true record, proposed by K. Payne, seconded by C. Cuckson and agreed unanimously. They were signed off by the Chairman.

 

3. Matters arising 

a) Scampton Airfield Asylum Seekers – the new government had cancelled plans to house asylum seekers at Scampton. It was unclear whether the plans for the heritage centre would still go ahead.

b) Seat on village green – Mrs Payne thanked the Parish Council for renewing the seat as she had requested at the last meeting.

c) Dogs on playing field – WLDC’s Community Safety Officer had addressed the Parish Council following the previous meeting and offered to support to prevent dog fouling where possible. C. Cuckson reported that she had found them very helpful in this regard.

 

4. Chairman’s Report – the Chairman thanked the parish councillors and the parish clerk for their work and support throughout the year. He also thanked the community for keeping the village clean and tidy, in particular Mr & Mrs Blow who could frequently be seen litter picking. He noted that a new 30mph speed limit had been secured for Upton Road and the speed indicator device would be adjusted to take account of this.

During the annual inspection it was agreed that the Parish cottage required the bathroom to be upgraded, estimates had been received and the work would be completed during the summer.

The Secretary of State had approved three large solar farms locally despite considerable local opposition and a fourth was currently going through the application process.

The problem with the drains on Glentworth Road appeared to have finally been resolved.

 

5. Financial Report – the balance sheet for 2024/25 was circulated, it had been approved by the internal auditor and formally accepted by the Parish Council at their earlier meeting. Finances remained healthy but the forthcoming work on the parish cottage would reduce the money in the savings account significantly. Full details of the accounts would be posted on the Parish Council website and they would be available for public scrutiny under the “Exercise of Public Rights” between 2nd June and 11th July by prior arrangement with the Clerk. There were no questions regarding the accounts.

 

6. Report by the Playing Field committee – copies of the accounts for the previous year were circulated. The new play park had been installed and had received very favourable comments, unfortunately it had suffered from graffiti within a few days of completion. Questions were raised about the need for safety rails on the steps up to the slide, these comments would be taken back to the playing field committee. The plan had been to have a slide down the bank onto the play park which would not have required steps but this had been misinterpreted. Both the children’s and adult equipment were now operational. The newly seeded grass areas were in need of rain and the fencing had been retained around the children’s play area to prevent mud been carried from these areas onto the play surface. The playing field committee were in dispute with the firm that had installed the playpark regarding excess payment which had been claimed.

 

7. Report by the village Hall Committee - the renovation work on the kitchen and toilets had been completed which had improved the hall considerably. Several of the lights required replacement tubes which required scaffolding, a source for this had now been established and the work would be completed shortly. There was discussion about the advantage of changing to LED lighting which would involve higher installation cost but significant saving in running costs. The village hall had been notified of a tripping hazard on the slope leading up to the committee room. This was being investigated with a view to either widening the slope or providing hand rails.

 

8. Environmental Smells – Cllr. Bailey had received several complaints from her constituents throughout her Ward and had shared the response she had received from WLDC’s Environmental Health Practitioner with the Parish Council. It was felt that this probably referred to a particular farm at Willingham and it was generally accepted that occasional odours from other farms was an accepted part of living in the countryside.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 8:30pm.