BRACEBOROUGH & WILSTHORPE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING-Serial No. 102/09

BRACEBOROUGH & WILSTHORPE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING-Serial No. 006/14

Minutes of the meeting of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 7th April 2014 at Braceborough & Wilsthorpe Village Hall at 19:00hrs

Present- Barry Odell, Dave Kentish, Susan Burgoin, James Shorrock, Paul Morriss, Clerk-Ms R H Woolley, D. Cllr. Miss E Channell, C.Cllr Martin Trollope-Bellew, Malcolm Ravilious (Braceborough Church), Jason Morten (Braceborough Village Hall), Liz Kentish, Barry Morris, David King, Tom Mackinnon, John Ward.

Meeting Commenced 19:00hrs 1. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS- Dave Kentish welcomed everyone to the meeting. 2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE - None 3. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING-It was proposed by Susan Burgoin & seconded by James Shorrock that the minutes of the last meeting held on Monday 7th May 2013 be received. It was resolved that the minutes of the last meeting be confirmed as a true record & signed by Dave Kentish. All agreed. 4. CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT-Report attached. 5. FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 st March 2013- Report attached. 6. REPORTS FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR/DISTRICT COUNCILLOR- a) C.Cllrs Trollope-Bellew apologised to those who attended the Parish Councils as most of the report will have been heard before. I. The Council elections last year did not produce a clear victory for any one party, so a Administration was formed which consisted of 35 Conservatives, 4 Liberal/Democrats and 3 Independents. The other 35 seats consist of 12 Labour, 10 UKIP, 7 Lincolnshire Independents & 6 Lincolnshire Freedom from Europe (a breakaway group from UKIP). II. In February the Health Scrutiny Committee had a presentation from EMAS. They have improved but still have not hit Government targets. The area with the slowest response time is in the south/west – us. III. The MOD has closed their unit based at Peterborough Hospital and the impact is unknown at this time. IV. The £3.8million improvement to Stamford Hospital has been approved by the Trust Board. V. Network Rail is doing a feasibility study in regard to Tallington Crossing. VI. LCC are looking to achieve the £148million savings required by March next year. VII. The Council has frozen their part of the council tax for the fourth year. VIII. The Council voted to ratify the Independent Remuneration Panel recommendations on Councillors allowances. IX. There was a lot of interest in the Library consultation with some communities willing to run their own. X. The first applications for Shale Gas Fracking will be in the North West of the County around Gainsborough.

b) D.Cllrs Miss Channell reported:- I. New Council Houses are being built in the District. II. Measures are being put in place to improve waste collection & distribution. III. Boundary changes have been agreed, Braceborough & Wilsthorpe, Thurlby, Obthorpe & Northorpe will be called Dole Wood Ward. IV. The District is getting more Solar Panel Applications. V. The council tax has been frozen for another year.

1 BRACEBOROUGH & WILSTHORPE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING-Serial No. 006/14

VI. Defibrillators have been placed in Council Offices.

7. REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER BODIES:-, a) Braceborough Village Hall Committee – Report attached. b) St Margaret’s Parochial Church Council – Malcolm Ravilious reported that there had been various changes at within the Church of England which has an impact on Braceborough financially. He said that without the help and support of the Village Hall Committee and Parish Council it would be extremely difficult. He reported that new doors had been placed at the Porch, the building was in reasonable order but damp patches had appeared in the Porch which needed investigating. He would like to thank all in the community who help. The Chairman said that without Malcolm to drive it forward it would be difficult. c) St Faith’s Parochial Church Council – Susan Burgoin reported similar problems and that it was more difficult as Wilsthorpe was a much smaller village. She reported that the Afternoon Tea had been well supported. They would be holding another coffee morning in the Village Hall. In the first week of August they would be celebrating the First World War with various displays, all welcome to come along. She also thanked the Parish Council for their continued support. d) Baston C of E Primary School – No report. e) Neighbourhood Watch Scheme (NWS) Wilsthorpe – Report attached. f) NWS Braceborough – Dave Kentish reported that it had been reasonable quiet. All the village was covered with co-ordinators even Spa Road.

8. TO RECEIVE CONCERNS & CONSIDER RESOLUTIONS OF ELECTORS CONCERNS – 1. A resident asked if the dyke along Wilsthorpe village could have the ‘bottom’ taken out, as silt had gathered. Action D.Cllr 2. It was felt that extra street lights were required in Braceborough in Main Street and Spa Road. It was suggested that SKDC does an inspection. It was also suggested that this be included in the Parish Plan. Action Clerk. 3. Concern was expressed about the number of potholes, poor repair & time taken to deal with them. The meeting was informed that a Highways walkabout was arranged with LCC & this could be discussed. Action PC. 4. Concern about speeding traffic especially commercial vans. The meeting was informed that this was a police matter but the Parish Council has looked into the purchase of signs. It was also suggested that this be mentioned in the Annual Newsletter. Action Clerk/PC

9. ANNUAL PARISH MEETING CLOSED 20.00Hrs.

Item 4 Chairman’s Report

As ever, the past year has been busy and on occasions challenging for the Parish Council.

I stated in my last report that I was hopeful that the action of the council and of parishioners would see a resolution to the flooding in Braceborough.

New drainage has now been installed in the field off Quincey’s Lane and this coupled with other works by Ashtons Estate, Anglian Water and Highways has resulted in the major problems being solved.

There is still the ongoing discussion/argument with Highways regarding the state of the verges and potholes in the roads and although some progress has been made there is still a long way to go.

The new sewerage scheme for Wilsthorpe has been put back until the next financial year, although the pumping station will still go ahead at a date to be confirmed.

There has also been a great deal of discussion recently regarding a solar panel farm sited on the edge of Wilsthorpe.

There have been presentations to Parish Council meetings all around the area from the parties involved in drawing up the scheme, however a planning application has yet to be submitted and until such time as it is, it remains just a proposal.

In my last report I talked about producing a Parish Plan, I can confirm that a questionnaire is being printed and will be with all parishioners in the coming weeks. I urge you to fill this in, it is only short and will be relevant to the Parish once the responses have been gathered and a final Parish Plan will be printed outlining the way the Parish wishes to look and develop in the future.

My thanks go to Susan Burgoin, Janet Trestrail, Cheryl Buckley, Dave King and Linda Brookes for all their work co-ordinating the neighbourhood watch scheme and keeping parishioners up to date on any criminal activity in the area.

To my fellow Councillors, Barry Odell, Susan Burgoin, Paul Morriss and James Shorrock and to Rosemary Woolley our parish clerk for their sterling work throughout the year. And for the support we receive from outside bodies. From County Councillor Martin Trollope-Bellew and District Councillor Ibis Channell.

I welcome everyone’s input on all matters concerning the Parish and I look forward to the coming year and hope for your continued support.

David Kentish – Chairman – Parish Council.

Item 5 Parish Council’s Financial Report . The clerk gave a breakdown between the two financial years 2012/13 and 2013/14. She reported that the biggest expense was the Clerks salary; the Parish Council received a grant towards the cost of the Community Cleaner. She reported that the Council had received £100 from LCC for the damage of shrubs at the pumping station and £500 from Anglianwater towards the refurbishment of St. Faith’s Church, Wilsthorpe. She then gave a breakdown of the reserves held by the Council which included £700 towards Election Costs, £400 - BT Kiosk at Wilsthorpe, £550 – Replace computer and printer, £600 – Parish Plan. It was also hoped that the Parish Council would contribute towards a defibrillator in the future when further details were provided.

Item 7 (a) Braceborough & Wilsthorpe Village Hall Report – read by Jason Morten.

Since last May the Village Hall Committee had run the following events:

 Choir Concert & Teas (18th May 2013)  Sausage Extravaganza (29th June 2013)  Bracefest (20th July 2013)  Concert: Barbershopera – The Three Musketeers (20th September 2013)  Race Night (26th October 2013)  Pot Luck Supper (St Andrews Night - 30th November 2013)  Christmas Eve

Our next event will be a concert through the Rural Touring Scheme: the Hot Potato Syncopators on 26 th April 2014. It should be excellent fun. Following on from that we are starting the organisation of a music festival on 26th July which we hope will be as successful Bracefest last year. We anticipate submitting a bid for two shows from the Rural Touring Scheme at the end of April – one before Christmas and the other in the spring.

The Village Hall financial year runs from September to August – for the last full year to August 2013, income for the year was £15,396 and expenditure £16,174, a los of £778. This is because we made major investments in two marquees, 80 new comfortable chairs and 20 aluminium tables. This was funded by a grant of £7,500 from the National Lottery, £500 from the Parish Council and match funding from the Village Hall reserves of just under £1,000.

For the current financial year (since 1st September 2013) as of 6th April 2014 the Village Hall has £5557.35 in a Virgin Money Charity Account (which pays 2.6%), £337.70 in a current account and £421.20 in bar stock.

There have been extensive works in the Village Hall Garden over the past few months, with a huge amount of help from many people in the community we have transformed this space to refurbish the fence line, and to reclaim overgrown land and make it more useful for the community. We have also created a soak-away at the front of the building for one of the drains that was not working properly and planted a hedge adjacent to the adjoining property. Grateful thanks to all who have contributed. There is more to do to finish off the fence line, remove some outstanding stumps, and re-establish the grass, but progress is excellent. We are also thinking about putting a storage shed in the reclaimed area to provide us with more space for items that are used infrequently.

Last year we were fundraising specifically for defibrillators for both villages. We have raised sufficient to be able to purchase our first, and are currently arranging dates for training with the Community Heartbeat Trust. Unfortunately we have recently learnt that it may not be appropriate to use the defibrillator unit that was donated by a local firm after Bracefest last year, we are currently trying to resolve this and work out what further fundraising may be necessary.

Item 7(e) Neighbourhood Watch Scheme (NWS) Wilsthorpe

The NHW membership continues to be very well supported, now with 31 members. I have attended three Neighbourhood Watch meetings in Bourne, including the AGM, over the last year. All members are very welcome at the meetings and if you are interested, please let me know. The Chairman of the Bourne & District NHW is Philip Knowles, there is usually a speaker, round the table discussion and various PCSO’s from the area attend to answer any questions in an open forum. There is a vacancy for a

4 BRACEBOROUGH & WILSTHORPE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING-Serial No. 006/14 secretary, to take minutes and assist Philip at the 4 meetings during the year. If anybody is interested, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will pass the details onto Philip.

The main concerns are still speeding through the village and lack of consideration from some drivers on the narrow roads in and out of Wilsthorpe. We are fortunate to live in a relatively safe area, but we must always be on our guard! The new Police Non-Emergency telephone number is 101. This is the number to be used to contact the Police on any query or report anything that is not an emergency.

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Alan Payne for his continued support as Vice Co- ordinator.

If any resident is not a member and would like to join the NHW [it’s free!!!], please contact Susan at Corner Cottage Wilsthorpe, 01778 560720 or [email protected]

Susan Burgoin Co-Ordinator, Wilsthorpe