Parish of Gringley on the Hill
PARISH OF GRINGLEY ON THE HILL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL ON WEDNESDAY 18TH APRIL 2007
Present: Councillor J Hargreaves in the Chair.
Five members of the Parish Council and six members of the public were also present.
1.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillors Hargrave, Hilton and Taylor.
2.TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE 2006 ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
The minutes of the 2006 Annual Parish Meeting were taken as read and signed by the Chairman.
3.REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
Welcome to the 2007 Annual Parish Meeting. This is a village meeting, not a Parish Council meeting.
The format will be as in previous years, I will give my report as Chairman of the Parish Council. Peter Baines, our new Clerk, will give a financial report and then we will have presentations from various village organisations.
People.
The year started off with the Parish Council elections. Terry Way and Ian Tremelling stood down and at the election, Lynda Foster and Angela Chambers were elected.
It was with regret that Gordon Shepherd, who had been Chairman for the past four years, handed in his notice at the end of June. Gordon had done an excellent job as Chairman and will be missed. I took over as Chairman at the July meeting.
Mike Daniels was co-opted onto the Council at the October meeting.
I had only been Chairman for a short time when David Wright, who had been our Clerk for nearly 5 years, indicated that he planned to resign as Clerk to the Council as soon as a replacement could be found. David again had done an excellent job and the Council had made numerous achievements under his stewardship. David left us at the end of January and was replaced by Peter Baines. We welcome Peter and look forward to a long working relationship.
Sadly, Robin Shrimplin, who had been our village handyman for the past few months, has recently passed away.
Quality Accreditation.
On the 12th May, we were informed by the Nottinghamshire Association of Local Councils Accreditation Panel that we had been awarded Parish Council accreditation. We had been working on this since September 2003. We are still only one of eight in the County to have received this Quality Accreditation. A big thank you to David Wright and Gordon Shepherd for steering us through the accreditation process.
CPRE Nottinghamshire Best Kept Village Competition.
Unfortunately, after winning our category of the best Kept Village Competition in 2005, we did not progress beyond the first round of the 2006 competition. It was unfortunate that Gringley was judged on the very first day of judging. It was a wet day and the main highway verges had not had their first cut of the season.
We have decided to enter again this year. Entering gives us a lever with the authorities to get jobs done. Keeping the village litter and weed free gives us a more pleasant village to live in. If everyone spent 15 minutes a week tidying up outside their property, we would have a very good chance of regaining the award we won in 2005.
The village Spring Clean will take place this coming Sunday, 22nd April at 10.30am. Meeting outside the Blue Bell.
Detention Centre Site.
Much of the Parish Council’s time in the past 12 months has been taken up with the Home Office’s proposed development of the Detention Centre site.
The Parish Council’s approach to this development has been to implement the requirements of the 2004 Parish Plan. The Plan states “Treat the development of any eventual Community Centre on the former Detention Centre Site as a major priority for the village”.
In August last year the Home Office presented a proposal for the development of the site which included 45 houses and a Community Centre. The Planning Officers did not support this and subsequently an application was submitted for outline planning which included 46 houses but no Community Centre. The Planning Committee refused this application on the grounds that it did not include a Community Provision.
In December, the Home Office resubmitted the original outline application, but to include: 10% open space, 15% of total units to be affordable housing, £15K for off site highway and transportation works and a commuted sum of £46K towards the provision of ‘community facilities’ off site. The Parish Council was still opposed to this resubmission as it failed to meet the requirements of the Parish Plan to provide adequate funding for a Community Centre. This outline application has now been approved, without going to Committee.
In January, the Home Office submitted a pre-application document for the District Councils consideration. This document involved the development of the whole site and included: 20% affordable housing, 6% public open space, £30K integrated Transport Contribution and £450K commuted sum towards the cost of a Community Centre either on the open space within the site or off site. The majority of the Parish Council at its January meeting felt that this last document for the development of the whole site best met the aspirations of all parties and certainly satisfies the desire of the village as outlined in the Parish Plan. The Head of Planning Services wrote to the Home Office on the 21st February and concluded by saying that the proposal was worth testing by a planning application for consideration by the Council.
Gringley Wharf.
This project was first started in September 2004 when NCC were considering applications for development of sites under the Building Better Communities Scheme. Our application was successful and was given the go-ahead in March 2005. A grant of up to £30,000 was initially considered but this has been reduced to £20,000 as British Waterways would not give permission for a mooring at the site.
Several archaeological surveys have been carried out and the Archaeological Department of NCC were keen to get the project started in the 2006 – 2007 financial year.
The development of the site has been reduced to avoid disruption of wildlife. There will be no car parking facilities and the developed site will have a circular picnic table and there will be two benches. Half the site will be left as scrub and a quarter will be sown as rough grassland with wild flowers that will only be mown once every two years.
Playing Fields.
Retford Football Club have been using the football pitch on a regular basis this winter.
Several of the outbuildings and the open stand had to be removed last autumn. They were being abused throughout the summer, with evidence of people staying over night. There was always a vast amount of litter left in the area. The removal of the sheds cost the Parish £980.
We are investigating the possibility of having allotments at the far end of the Playing Fields.
Cemetery.
North Notts Landscapes are maintaining the cemetery in good condition. During the past year, repairs have been done to the footpaths. The WI continues their excellent work on the Garden of Rest. Ultimately, the windows need replacing in the Chapel of Rest. £1,000 was put aside last year and we have included a further £1,000 this year to build up funds to replace the windows.
Christmas Illuminations.
We provided our own tree again on the Fairpiece. NCC required an excessive charge for connecting the electricity for the lights. Thanks to Dave Forman for connecting the supply and Trisha and Keith Hilton for allowing him to connect to their property the illuminations cost us a fraction of the price it had in previous years.
We have now planted a small Christmas tree, which hopefully will grow into a reasonable size tree in the next few years.
Continuing with the Fairpiece, the WI planted a thousand crocus bulbs to celebrate the 6oth anniversary of the Gringley WI. They looked good this year, but will be even better in future years.
Donations to Local Organisations.
In the next financial year, the Parish Council intend to make donations to the following organisations:- The Five Villages First Responders, Neighbourhood Watch, Gringley Toddlers Group, The Beacon Magazine and the Gringley Good Neighbour Scheme.
Parish Paths Partnership (P3).
Since coming onto the Council, Mike Daniels has joined Trisha Hilton on looking after our Parish paths. All the paths were walked in March and apart from a few stiles needing repair, they are in good condition. The local landowners require praise for the care they have taken in marking out the paths on their land.
Council Tax.
The Council decided that we would have separate fund raising for allotment provision and a new beacon. This enabled us to retain the precept at the same level as last year. Whereas Council Tax bills have gone up by 3.6% overall, the Parish Council contribution has been reduced by 3.1%.
Local Information.
Approved minutes, annual reports, information leaflets, and quarterly newsletters can be inspected at Gringley Post Office, the Blue bell Misterton, Retford and Worksop libraries and on the Web site.
Closing Remarks.
That about covers my report for the year. Just to remind you that the public are welcome at the Parish Council meetings and that all councillors are available at any time. Do not hesitate to contact them if you are aware of a problem in the village.
4.FINANCIAL REPORT BY THE CLERK TO THE COUNCIL
May I begin by saying that the figures that follow are provisional, as not all bank statements for March had arrived when this report was produced.
The Parish Council commenced the year with an opening balance of £9,654. Income during the year came to £27,426 and expenditure £24,894, leaving a closing balance of £12186.
The balance of £12,186 includes an earmarked reserve of £492 Parish Paths Partnership monies.
The precept is £20,963 for the new financial year.
5.PARISH PLAN
The Parish Plan completed in August 2004, is very much an ongoing working document, which will be referred back to on making decisions on village matters. It is the last time that the village as a whole was consulted on a range of issues.
Part of the Plan was to ensure survival and growth of the Local School. During the past year, a meeting has taken place with the head of the school to make him aware of the requirements of the Plan as it affects the school. Such items as pre-school provision, breakfast club, after school activities and encouraging children to walk to school with the support of a “Walking Bus” were brought to his attention.
A very high percentage of respondents to the Plan felt that a “Good Neighbour Scheme” would be beneficial to the village. Such a scheme has been set up, starting at the beginning of February this year. At the moment, a mobile phone is manned two mornings a week and details of the scheme have been circulated through out the village. It is intended to provide emergency help to village residents which cannot be obtained from family or social services. It covers such areas as transport to hospitals, collecting prescriptions, small household tasks, form filling and emergency gardening tasks. 23 members of the village have volunteered to take part in the scheme and their services have already been used on several occasions.
We have already mentioned the Detention Centre Site development. The Plan specifically states “Treat the development of any eventual Community Centre on the site as a major priority for the village”, whilst continuing to maintain the existing Village Hall to an adequate standard. We shall hear from the Village Hall Chairman that the Hall is being maintained.
6. GOVERNORS OF ST. PETER’S C.E. PRIMARY SCHOOL
Councillor Dunkley delivered the following report:
Pupils:
As I have said in previous reports, maintaining satisfactory numbers on the school roll is a bit of a juggling trick, with significant, for a school the size of ours, ups and downs. This time last year the number was 59, but after the summer departures the number reduced to 48. The current level is 49.
Staff:
Lyn Vlacho retired from the school after more years than we all care to remember, 34 actually, and this event was celebrated on more than one occasion, including an evening farewell party to which many former pupils and staff came. During her time at Gringley, Lyn taught over 500 pupils, and it was a testament to the affection in which she was held that so many people attended her retirement parties – including, I believe, three former head teachers! Lyn has been replaced by Miss Emma Rodgers in Key Stage 1, and she has settled extremely well into the roll.
The school benefits from a large number of people who spend time in school, on a voluntary basis, providing assistance and support to the teaching staff. The governing body really appreciates this, and recognises the benefit to the pupils of having this kind of committed support.
Curriculum:
The school has introduced the Somerset Planning Document to assist in creating cross-curricular themes, and this and the greater emphasis on excellence and enjoyment is clearly beneficial. Governors continue to monitor the delivery of the curriculum through a planned programme of monitoring visits. The school is now connected to Broadband and all classrooms have interactive white boards, all part of the planned improvement to ICT facilities, which is ongoing. The current method of measuring teaching/pupil performance is the CVA or Contextual Value Added – this measures improvements in pupils’ ability based on their levels when they enter the school. It is pleasing to see that over the last 3 years there has been a steady improvement in this figure.
School buildings:
The new building works were completed during the year, adding much needed extra space and facilities, and it is hoped to arrange a formal opening during the summer term.
Web-site:
During the latter part of the year work started on the creating of a website for the school, and content is now being finalised. A former pupil of the school will be doing the actual physical creation on the web.
Governing Body:
A new Instrument of Government for the school came into effect on 31st August 2006. This details the numbers of governors and which bodies appoint them. The total number of governors remained the same, the key change being that the governor previously appointed by the Local Authority (in our case the Parish Council), was replaced by a second parent governor. John Gallagher was welcomed as a new governor following this change, and as the new Priest in Charge, the Rev. Jonathan Smithurst took up his (ex officio) position as a governor in April.
7.PARENT TEACHER AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION
Mrs. P. Foreman submitted a report on behalf of the Association.
The PTFA continues to raise funds through a variety of school based and external activities. We try to achieve a balance between much-needed fundraising and the social elements when planning events. The committee benefits from excellent support for all its efforts from the head teacher, staff, parents, children and the wider community. Since September 2006 the PTFA has raised funds from:
- Children’s Halloween Disco
- Race Night
- Garden Produce Sales
- Gringley Gringo Sponsorship
- Yellow Moon Catalogue Commission
- 2007 School Calendar Sales
- Family Snowman Drive
- Family Bingo
The bulk of these years’ funds have been invested towards an updated computer system with wireless links, broadband access and laptops along with some increased security to protect the equipment. The PTFA also funded Christmas gifts of books for children at school parties.
The PTFA is planning a summer fund raising event on Sunday July 15th within the school grounds. This will replace the traditional sports day held on the village playing fields which the school and the PTFA have organised in recent years. Communication about the plan is to appear in the Beacon and further detail will be publicised nearer the time. It is very much hoped that the village will continue to support and join us at school for this event, which hopefully will retain some of the popular elements of the old format whilst introducing new themes. One advantage of the current plan is that bulk of the event can be moved indoors if the unthinkable (but not unlikely) happens and the heavens open.
8.ST. PETER’S COMMUNITY PLAYGROUP
Mrs. P. Foreman submitted a report on behalf of the Playgroup.
St Peter’s playgroup is held weekly on Friday afternoons from 1.30 to 3.30 in the school hall. The group was started after the demise of the larger playgroup which used to be held in the village hall several times a week. The idea was and still is to provide a safe place for pre-school age children and babies to play and a place for mums, dads and carers to meet , make friends, quite often to give and receive advice on parenting issues and just enjoy each others company. As you may be aware, a new group has begun in the village hall and this can only be beneficial for families in the area.