Grendon Parish Council

Annual Report

Nov 2020 – June 2021

Annual Parish Forum Wednesday 30th June 2021 Grendon Village Hall & Via zoom

Report from the council (Written by Cllr Martyn Smith unless stated otherwise).

It doesn’t seem long since our last Parish Forum, which was delayed until November 2020 due to the pandemic, so this report just covers the last 7 to 8 months Some of the matters the Parish Council have dealt with since the last Forum are as follows:

Playing field

The play equipment has now fully been brought back into use following easing of restrictions. A new picnic table was installed in May which will hopefully be a useful addition. The Annual safety inspection is being carried out this month.

Other Village facilities

The Half Moon Public House and Grendon Hall have been regular topics of conversation at Parish Council meetings, and we hope to work with the new owners of both premises to protect their future. Members of the Parish Council were instrumental in setting up the Friends of the Half Moon group which successfully applied for an Asset of Community Value listing for the Pub. The Parish Council continues to support the Village Hopper Bus service, organised by Cogenhoe & Whiston Parish Council which has continued to provide a valuable transport link for some members of our community during the pandemic.

Allotments - Cllr Herron

The weather has been very mixed for the allotment holders over the Spring period but hopefully now their plots are starting to flourish. The overgrown hedge at the Southern boundary has now been cut back which means that ongoing maintenance at that end will be much easier and cost effective going forward. It has allowed us to rethink the plot layout at that Southern end and over the next few weeks a number of new plots will become available which is great as we have a growing waiting list of green fingered enthusiasts. The rent for each plot will remain at £35 per year for the next financial year. The Councillors are also in discussion with NNC with a view to submitting a planning application shortly in relation to burial space at the front section of the allotments which is much needed for the village as the Church burial space will very soon be at capacity.

Speed signs – Cllr Howell

The new solar powered speed sign was finally installed in February 2021 in its permanent position between the brook and Blackmile lane, many thanks to Nick Blacklee for sorting this out. One feature of this unit is that it records statistics of the number, frequency, and speed of cards as they pass the sign, you can see from the chart below that the majority of cars drive at or below the speed limit but there is a small minority who still drive much too fast for this section of the road. We will be monitoring this situation and will now have some hard facts if we wish to push for some traffic calming measures.

The old speed sign is still in operation and is now being moved between its possible sites and having the battery changed by Steve Tilley, so our thanks go to him.

Planning

The Parish Council continue to be consulted on all planning applications in the village and each application is discussed in some detail before any comments are made. During the period, most applications considered have been for house extensions and alterations. There have also been planning applications for the Half Moon and Grendon Hall, both of which were withdrawn. There is we believe still a proposal for a solar farm to the North of the village, no planning application has yet been submitted for this, but a working party has been set up made up of residents of the village to formulate a response to this issue.

Unitary authority

Our County Councillor, Martin Griffiths attended our Parish Council meetings on a regular basis and kept us up to date with proposals for the new North Unitary Authority which came into being in April. Our 3 new Councillors for the Unitary authority (Martin Griffiths, Tom Partridge-Underwood and Jon-Paul Carr) have taken it in turns to attend our last 3 meetings.

Grants The Parish Council has a small budget available to make section 137 grants to village organisations who apply for funding. In the 2020/21 financial year we made grants to Grendon Sapphires and St Marys Church (for floodlighting).

Litter pick We organised another successful litter pick in March. This year it took place over the course of a week which enabled more people to take part. Thank you to all 47 adults and 12 children who joined in.

Finance – Cllr Herron The Parish continues to be in a very healthy financial position. The bank balances at the end of the financial year (31/3/21) stood at £30,269, slightly down from £32,117 the previous year. Included in these reserves is a Pathfinder grant that was obtained during the last financial year amounting to £3,000 that must be spent on an upcoming drainage project. In addition, there is an outstanding loan of £1,440 at 31/3/21 which is repayable to Salix Finance for street lighting expenditure. The accounts for the financial year 20/21 have been scrutinised by the external auditor without any issues raised, which is a credit to our Clerk who manages the finances of the Parish Council. The Councillors do acknowledge that the reserves continue to be at a high level but are taking a very cautious view on future expenditure given the current economic climate and any unplanned expenditure from the move to a Unitary Council. This ensures that the Parish has sufficient funds to allow for any one-off or emergency spending or any additional local service costs, such as weed killing/road sweeping with the move to unitary. The Councillors are also keen to improve many of the public amenities of the village and you may have seen the new fencing and seating area at the playing fields which was funded through our reserves. Any suggestions for other improvements around the village will be gratefully received and properly considered. The Councillors continue to be satisfied with the level of reserves held and the financial results for the 20/21 financial year. The end of year accounts for 2020/21 can be viewed in Appendix 1.

A few words of thanks

Thank you to Deborah for all the work she does for the village as Parish Clerk. Thank you also to my colleagues on the Parish Council, including those who stepped down from the Council in May (Chair Ian Denton, Vice-Chair Nick Blacklee and Sandra Bailey). At the elections in May the remaining 6 members of the Council stood for election and I am pleased that since then we have also been able to co-opt 2 new Councillors Katherine Crabtree and Jason Codner, leaving just one vacancy on the Council. Thanks also to our Flood Warden Tony Knuff and our Footpath Warden Trevor Higgs. Finally, thank you to everyone who does their bit for the village, including helping to run the various village organisations, supporting social and fund-raising events.

A HUGE THANK YOU ALSO TO CLLR SMITH WHO STEPPED DOWN AS CHAIRMAN LAST YEAR BUT WHO CONTINUES TO SERVE ON THE COUNCIL.

Meet our new parish councillors…..

Councillor Katherine Crabtree- Our family moved to the village in 2018 and I was co-opted to the council in June this year. Being part of a village community was a key reason for moving and we had long admired Grendon. As a family we're very aware of the importance of active involvement in order to maintain groups and services. My husband and I are members of various organisations including a local Primary PTA, RUFC and the Friends of the Half Moon. I feel very lucky to live in a village like Grendon and joined the Parish Council to both support and help shape village amenities.

Councillor Jason Codner - I moved to Grendon in 2017 with my wife, who works full time as a teacher and our three children who attend the village school. I was co-opted to the council in June this year (2021). I have worked for NHS teams in Blackpool, Yorkshire, Cambridge and London, before I returned to Northamptonshire where I was born. I still work for the NHS as Clinical Psychologist as well as running a small private psychology practice that assesses adults for neurodevelopmental conditions such ADHD and Autism. I really enjoy living in Grendon and it is exactly the type of community village we were looking to live in and have our family be a part of. I am looking forward to the chance as a Parish Councillor to help to preserve and enhance our environment and improve the quality of life for all who live in the Parish.

My interest including spending time with family and friends, rugby, watching films and increasing the number of books I have read!

From our unitary councillors

As your newly elected Councillors we are now only just 7 weeks into the Council term of office. We have undertaken lots of training and introductory sessions, there has been a few meetings and we are all slowly getting use to how the new council works. We have already had a highways representative out to look at issues across the whole area with us. Going forward as a way to connect with all the villages in our Ward (this include of course Grendon, , Wollaston, , , Easton Maudit, Irchester, Knuston and Little Irchester) we hope to organise for the Parish Councils that we represent some mini parish forum meetings so we can discuss ideas and issues with you all. We all look forward to trying our best to serve the community.

Cllr J-P. Carr, Cllr Martin Griffiths, Cllr Tom Partridge-Underwood

Reports from Village organisations – if a written report is not included below a representative from the organisation has been invited to give a report on the evening.

St Mary’s bellringers – Martin Howell tower captain There have been no Bells rung in the village since March 2020 due to the pandemic and we still await clearance to restart. We have lost a couple of experienced ringers during that period as they went off to university but on the plus, side have had a couple of villagers expressing an interest to learn, however always have room for a few more if anyone is interested, so please feel free to come up to the bell tower when you hear the bells ringing again.

Grendon Flower Show – no report or attendance

Grendon Church of primary school – no report or attendance

Grendon WI – Judith Dicks Since the last Parish Assembly in November 2020 not a lot has changed because of the Covid virus. Our monthly meetings have been held via zoom as has the book club until this month when we were able to meet in groups outside. The membership has decreased during the pandemic but at present we are trying to plan activities, if permitted, until 4th October when we hold our AGM.

Flood Warden – Tony Knuff

Following the flood of 2012 and the devastating effect it had on eight dwellings on Blackmile Lane and despite some heavy rainfall in the subsequent years we enjoyed a flood free period. This was primarily due to the regular dredging of the brook by the Environment Agency. That is until December 23rd 2020 when we experienced extreme precipitation. Again, as in 2012, on fairly saturated ground following a wet autumn and early winter. The brook broke its banks to the east of Main Road and quickly ran across and off the fields onto Main Road, heading north towards Blackmile Lane. In a matter of a couple of hours Blackmile Lane was flooded with the rain still falling. Floodline were notified and the emergency services called, although the fire tender would not risk proceeding down the lane for fear of being engulfed. Residents did whatever they could to protect their homes. Ultimately two houses were flooded, one of which was mainly caused by a heavy goods vehicle travelling too fast through the water thereby creating a bow wave. The rain eventually stopped and the water cleared by six am on Christmas Eve. Coincidentally in early January 2021 the Environment Agency sent a team to clear Gibbards Arm - at the Blackmile Lane junction off Main road - and surrounding culverts. Had this been carried out a couple of weeks earlier I am not sure it would have coped with the amount of water but it certainly may have helped? We still have some funds remaining from our grant, which we had earmarked to clear Gibbards Arm. With this work now having been done by the EA, I, in conjunction with the Parish Council will review where we can best use this money.

Grendon Village Hall – Paul Wiseman, Chairman

This year Grendon Village Hall has faced the same challenges as other local small businesses and community groups that come under the umbrella of the retail and leisure sector. The hall has been closed for extended periods over the last 18 months. We as a Committee have endeavored to keep the hall open for use when allowed under the lockdown measures at the time. We have made sure that the hall is Covid friendly and safe to use for hirers.

As Chairman I have applied for government grants that have provided a substantial income and ensured that the hall has not only been able to survive financially during the pandemic but is also well placed to open up for business when the lockdown measures end.

We faced a challenge in that the roles of Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary needed to be filled due to resignations. We have managed to get these positions filled but would like to increase the number of new members and volunteers.

We will also be increasing the use of social media to promote the use of the hall which will increase the income via hall hires. We feel that it is important to host local events for the residents of the village to help create a good community spirit and also generate support for the hall.

Our challenges/objectives for the current year once the lockdown measures have fully ceased, will be to make sure that Grendon Village Hall is a place that local and surrounding village residents want to use for various social, private functions and local events.

We have an ongoing maintenance plan. We intend to upgrade the heating system which will help reduce the running costs of the Hall. The Kitchen will also need to be upgraded which in turn will increase the bookings as the hirers will be able to prepare their own food.

In summary it has been a challenging year for the hall, but we are in good shape as we come out of lockdown for the hall to return to normal service and have hopes to increase the bookings by making the necessary improvements.

Grendon Footpaths Footpath Warden – Trevor Higgs Grendon has 8¼ miles of footpaths with 15 separate footpaths. Eight of the paths link the village with other local villages and the remaining 7 are paths linking differing parts of the village. All are coded with a TF prefix for Grendon. The paths are walked and checked at least 4 times per year by me. The distance to check the paths is approximately 13 miles of walking mainly because of the retracing of steps once the parish boundary is reached. I undertake minor maintenance e.g., stile repairs and way marker replacement etc. All major work is managed by the Rights of Way section who since the local council reorganisation now cover both the new North and West Northamptonshire Councils. Any work required is undertaken by them or the landowner. Comments or complaints on the parish paths may be either passed to the parish clerk or me. The status of the Rights of Way team that deal with the county’s footpath network has, to my knowledge, not changed and the section is still operating with drastically reduced staffing levels. Current Issues Flooding of Gateway at Junction of TF7/TF12 and TF11 - MapRef SP 88635 60902 The gateway at the junction of the bridleway TF12 and the footpaths TF7/TF12 (just off Blackmile Lane) continuously floods to a depth exceeding 50cm making access through the gate very difficult for walkers even after a relatively small amount of rain. This has been recently reported to the Rights of Way team and I await a response. It is unclear who is responsible for the rectification of this problem e.g., the Rights of Way team or the landowner. TF10 – Station Road Loop There has been no change to the status of this problem and this long-standing issue is a registered Definitive Map Anomaly and requires a legal order to bring the path into a usable state. The order will be completed by the NCC Definitive Map Team. However, the path is not walkable on the line shown on the map with buildings erected on the line of the path. It has been in this state for at least 15 years. With the current budget constraints this issue is very low in priority. The hedge has now completely overgrown the stile and the path is not walkable. In addition to these issues, we have had gates and stiles repaired and various paths/tracks cleared when blocked by fallen trees. Most of this work has been undertaken by the responsible landowner. As far as I am aware all the Grendon Footpaths (except TF10) are marked and walkable at the present time. If you have any queries or wish to report a problem, please contact me or the Parish Clerk. With the first Corvid - 19 lockdown in March 2020 and latest lockdowns earlier this year the use of our local footpaths grew greatly with many of the villagers exploring the countryside around the village. A selection of walks around the village has been published in the “Grendon Times”. These range from short walks in an around the village to longer walks to nearby villages. These walks are available to be downloaded or printed from The Grendon Walks Website: https://walksgrendon.wixsite.com/grendon

OUR GRATEFUL THANKS TO TREVOR FOR EVRYTHING HE DOES.

Grendon Walking Group In January 2015 we resurrected the Grendon Walking Group with the aim to limit the mileage to 5 miles or less and to encourage people to walk. Following the latest Covid - 19 lockdowns earlier this year we again stopped meeting to comply with the requirements of the lockdowns. In April we restarted the walks again. To ensure we are Covid - 19 secure we have re- undertaken/published the risk assessment and taken steps to ensure we comply with the current Covid 19 requirements. These include: 1) Managing the number of walkers attending by having the walks invitation only. 2) Ensuring the walks are suitable and the 2m Social Distancing rule can be applied at all times. 3) Carrying and using hand sanitiser during the walk 4) Ensure a record is kept of who attended the walk.

If all goes to plan and the government’s Covid - 19 Road Map remains on target we are looking forward to returning to our normal walk programme in June. Why not join us on our walks for exercise and good company? These are starting in June. On Sunday 13th June we will be walking a circular route of 4¾ Miles from Grendon to Easton Maudit and on Thursday 24th June we will be walking a circular walk of 5½ Miles from Grendon to Bozeat. Meet at Grendon School at 10.30am for both walks.

My contact details are: Phone - 01933 663706 Email – [email protected]

Grendon Sapphires – Colin Hodson Grendon Sapphires like every organisation struggled during the pandemic and are still feeling the knock on effects as we struggle to get through close season, we would like to say a big thank you to the parish council who supported us financially and especially Alison Parker & Kay and Bob Finch whose companies came forward to sponsor the club, the support is very much appreciated. We have been filling in forms, applying for grants and attending training courses, during the first lockdown we secured a £5000 pitch improvement grant which was designed to improve the playing surface, during the second lockdown we received an email stating we had been nominated and been successful in securing a place on the football foundation 6 year improvement scheme which would mean a £40,000 plan to bring the pitches up to a very high quality, however the first 2 years we would receive £7,500 each year, then years 3 and 4 we would receive £5,000 each year with the club contributing £2,500 for each year, and finally years 5 and 6 we would receive £2,500 for each year with ourselves contributing £5,000 each year, unfortunately we didn’t feel that we were in a financially secure enough position to commit to the plan. There was however an alternative plan that the football foundation offered us which was the purchase of equipment whereby they would supply 75 percent of the funding towards the purchase of a new mower grooming tool and tractor after some enquiries we were informed that we would be able to use our old machinery as the clubs 25% contribution in total we received £14,428 all had to be spent on equipment that the football foundation recommended, within less than a month the new tractor mowing deck and grooming tool were all purchased delivered and are already making a vast difference to the playing surface Jason Oyston and myself have attended an online ground management course which we have both successfully completed. The grooming tool enables us to aerate the pitch, scarify roll and brush all helping with drainage and grass growth , as a club we have had to think outside the box for ways to bring in money and when a group of Hackelton Harriers coaches asked if they could hire the area by the clubhouse to camp over the weekend we found ourselves agreeing ensuring that they followed covid guidelines, the ground has recently been used by a leading sports wear company to make a promotional video due to its location, once all the editing has been completed and it is ready to air we will be able to post the link on the village Facebook page but at the moment we are unable to say anymore. As a club we are planning to hold an open village picnic over the August bank holiday as a thank you to everyone who has supported us but most importantly we hope it will enable families ,friends ,relatives to meet up bring a picnic and enjoy the surroundings and views that we have at the club and have a much needed catch up, fly a kite, have a village game of rounders perhaps a treasure hunt for the youngsters, if anyone is interested in helping us please get in touch if anyone who is 16yrs or above and would like to join the club please message me on Facebook or the clubs Facebook page we are all hoping for a much better 2021/22 season with not breaks in play due to anymore lockdowns and some silverware.

St Mary’s Church – Revd Morna Simpson In March 2020, the Benefice went into interregnum following my predecessor’s departure, I arrived in October 2020. Please note that our national situation has involved being in a national lockdown throughout November 2020, and with social restrictions in place for all of that time. In-person services were taking place on a reduced schedule across the benefice in October, then again during Advent, with a service in each church either on Christmas Night or Christmas Day. This has meant that, aside from services to welcome me, we have had one service in each village each month, apart from November when we entered a further lockdown. Further worship provision has continued to be offered with a weekly Zoom Church.

There was an online All Souls service which those who had been bereaved within the last two years were invited to, or offered a candle and a prayer to light at the same time as the service for those who were unable to access the online service, in order that we be united in prayer with one another.

Remembrance Sunday was commemorated completely online, largely due to official guidance not being available soon enough for us to be able to communicate within each of our respective villages, and we were invited to observe the two minute silence on our doorsteps, which was being encouraged nationally. St Mary’s, Grendon offered an afternoon tea to the older people in their village for Remembrance Sunday, and offered a few gifts out around Christmas. During the Advent season we had two Zoom Christingle services, a Blue Christmas Zoom on 19th December, and an online Carol Service on the Sunday before Christmas which we were able to watch and enjoy together. I have managed to visit each class at Grendon Primary School, and was able to be part of their open air carol service which was lovely and a privilege to witness. I look forward to getting to know more people in the village and to welcoming you into church and being part of village activities.

Grendon Brownies – Deborah Rush The brownies have continued to meet virtually via zoom fortnightly throughout the pandemic but have just returned to fortnightly outdoor face to face guiding. The girls have taken part in virtual meetings enthusiastically and have enjoyed games, craft, and challenges. A lengthy risk assessment has been completed and signed off by the district commissioner to all of us to return to face-to-face meetings with 4 meetings planned for this term. It is hoped that if all restrictions are lifted, we will return to indoor meetings in September. Finances have been challenging throughout the pandemic as although we have not been paying rent the £32 per person (including leaders) census monies were still payable to Girlguiding UK. We had to reduce our subscription to parents as we were only meeting fortnightly but preparing packs for the girls has been costly. We did apply for a Youth Covid-19 support grant and received £100 which helped to meet the census cost.

Grendon Rainbows – no report or attendance

Poor’s Land Charity – Deborah Rush, Secretary

The Poor’s Land Charity has continued to meet the statutory meeting requirements via zoom. In an attempt to support the 6 village organisations - WI, Brownies, Rainbows, Sapphires, Friends of Grendon School & St Mary’s Church during these difficult times the trustees agreed to make a £100 donation to each. Unfortunately, this has been delayed due to problems with Nationwide Building Society closing charity accounts and the challenges of opening a new bank account, hopefully this will shortly be resolved. The current trustees appointed by the Parish Council are Ian Denton, Tony Knuff & Jason Ross. The trustees’ welcome applications for support from individuals or village organisations.

Appendix 1