Minutes
WILDMORE PARISH COUNCIL
CLERK: MRS ANGELA APPLEYARD
APPLEYARDS FARM, REEDHAM LANE, CONINGSBY, LINCOLN, LN4 4RX
TEL: 07879044667 EMAIL: angela.wildmorepc@outlook.com
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 15th May 2023 at 7pm in New York Lecture Hall
Cllr A Everard, Chairman of the Parish Council, welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Present: Cllr A Everard, Cllr R Kirk, Cllr A Harrison, Cllr M Jones, Cllr T Ashton (County Councillor) Mr B Farrington (Chair of New York Lecture Hall Managers) and Mrs A Appleyard.
Apologies: Cllr P Bargh, Cllr M Foster and Mrs M Casey (Churchwarden)
Minutes of the previous Annual Parish Meeting
The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 9th May 2022 were accepted as a true record. This was proposed by Cllr Harrison and seconded by Cllr Kirk.
To receive a report from the Chair of the Parish Council
Cllr Everard reported that since the last meeting celebrations had been held for the Queen’s Jubilee in conjunction with the Hall Managers. This had been a successful venture with a good number of Parishioners attending. The flag pole and hall sign had been erected in time for the Jubilee celebrations. Parish Councillors have listened to concerns raised by Parishioners about the speeding traffic through the village and are in the process of purchasing speed indicator signs which it is hoped will slow traffic down. Crime levels remain low in the Parish and it is hoped that this will continue. Although not able to attend meetings, the local police have kept the Parish Council informed of any problems through quarterly newsletters. The condition of the roads has been a regular item on all of our agendas. Whilst some work is being carried out to mend potholes a lot more needs to be done. The Fix My Street app appears to be working well and everyone was reminded to use this to report any highway faults. The Parish Council have taken over more responsibility for taking care of the churchyard and are responsible for the grass cutting and any work on the trees. They are also responsible for the maintenance and care of the War Memorial. This is beginning to show signs of decay so the Parish Council will look to see if there are any grants available for its repair. The Chairman laid a poppy wreath on behalf of the Parish Council at the Remembrance Sunday Service. It is hoped to soon get work carried out to the footpath which runs from the village hall to the school. Thanks were expressed to Cllr Ashton, Cllr Foster and retired Cllr Avison for attending meetings and giving help and advice when needed. Cllr Everard thanked the clerk for keeping the accounts and minutes etc up to date. He also thanked those Councillors who had served the Parish during the last term and thanked them for standing again. There are still some vacancies on the parish Council if anyone is interested in being co-opted on.
To receive a report from the Village Hall Committee
Mr Farrington reported. The flat roof has been refurbished, a new front door has been fitted, a new cooker purchased for the kitchen, new gates have been put up on the car parking area, flag pole erected and a new sign put on the outside of the building. A tea party was held for the Coronation. Mrs Harrison is always looking around to see what grants are available to the hall for maintenance or purchases. The accounts are looking quite healthy but the committee are looking to carry out work. Future projects include laying a concrete base for an outdoor storage shed. This will be used for storing furniture and signs etc, only leaving soft furnishings inside. The committee room is in need of a refurbishment. The bowls club have now got their own storage space in the cupboard in the main hall which makes it much easier for them to move their equipment about. Power has been put to the old tennis court and halogen lights fitted which means it can be used safely for outdoor events and car parking if needed. The bike/classic car nights continue to be well attended and Boston Classic Car Club now use the venue as on of their official meets. There are a lot of regular supporters who are loyal and keep coming back month after month. On average £300/320 is raised per night. Last month saw the raffle alone make £230.24. The quality of the raffle prizes has improved so more people are tending to buy tickets and actually stay until the raffle is drawn. A new addition to the night is an auction where people can put in items they no longer require. It costs £1 to enter an item and then the hall keep 10% of any money made from the sale of lots. Currently Mrs Harrison is looking to see if any grants are available to install a dropped kerb from the road into the grass area near to the tennis courts. The cost will be somewhere in the region of £3k but the work has to be done by a recognised LCC contractor. Prices for temporary ramps are currently being sourced so that vehicles can get into the grass area more easily. Cllr Everard thanked Mr Farrington for his report.
To receive a report from the Headmaster of the School
Unfortunately no report was available for Cllr Bargh, School Head, as he had sent his apologies due to the school having an Ofsted inspection the next two days.
To receive a report from the Churchwarden of St Peter’s Church Wildmore
Unfortunately Mrs Casey was unable to attend but had sent through her report. In the past year the main challenge for all churches has been “Resourcing Sustainable Churches” and what impact it might have on us. There were a lot of meetings, but there is strength for St Peter’s Church in being part of the Brothertoft group of churches, which was always well represented. I feel that we have secured a good outcome for our group of churches and for our churches we should see little change in the near future. We must acknowledge the support and guidance Rev. Clive gave us through this process, sadly though he decided to take early retirement when these changes took place. We do wish him well. Since October 2022 we have been served by a team of Clergy and Lay people from Holy Trinity Church in Boston. Services have largely remained unchanged. In mid April 2023, Reverend Jon Spiers-Davies was appointed to the Sibsey and Brothertoft Group of Churches for the foreseeable future, he had been Curate at Holy Trinity. We have held our usual fund raising events in the local community and have been able to raise enough money to pay our increased insurance and utility bills and also our contribution to quota. This is a relief. We have been grateful to the Parish Council for helping to maintain the churchyard, both by cutting the grass and doing tree maintenance. The trees always concern me greatly though when we have strong winds. The churchyard is visited very regularly, witnessed by the number of flowers placed on graves. Regarding the Alternative Animal Sanctuary, nothing changes. Nothing seems to be done. It is disappointing that the District Council seem unable to apply any sanctions. Issues regarding the north and south dykes are still causes for concern, both bordering the churchyard. The north one because it is frequently full of water and the south dyke because it would appear that the drainage board is unable to clean the dyke because of access and there are now several tree saplings growing in it. The stable is in dis-repair and unusable. There are no funds to repair it.
Cllr Harrison will speak with the drainage board to see if they are able to sort out the dyke, using manual labour. It was also reported that someone has driven down to the War Memorial area when this isn’t allowed. The situation will be monitored.
To receive a report from the County Councillor
Cllr Ashton that since our last Annual Parish Meeting we have seen no less than three Prime Ministers and numerous changes of Ministers/Secretaries in Parliament which hasn’t helped local government. Luckily the local government in Lincolnshire has been much more stable. Extra money is always being sought for Highways to help with the huge amount of highway issues in need of repair. The speeding policy is due for review but Cllr Ashton will keep chasing for the speed limits between the school and the village to be re-assessed. The B1192 is due to have rebuilding works carried out on it sometime in the near future.
To receive a report from the District Councillor
Unfortunately none of the District Councillors were able to attend, however Cllr Foster had sent through a short report.
It’s been a busy year for District Authorities having to balance the books with more national government demands and local budgets coming under pressure with some of these demands.
The Environmental Act 2021 will bring additional pressures with the way in which we have to collect waste and improve recycling rates and more green initiatives are introduced. It is likely that separate food waste will be an additional service we have to deliver by the end of 2025. Once again this will bring additional pressures to local budgets, and we continue to fight to ensure that this is introduced with government funding to ensure local burdens are not increased.
During the latter part of last year, the purple bins were introduced, and this went reasonably well considering the size of the District. It is now showing that the quality of our recycling has improved tremendously, and we are on course to reach government targets in this area.
Some areas of the ward have seen increased building development over the last 12 months, some in line with the local plan and some slightly more controversial. These have been dealt with by calling in plans to ensure that all observations are considered before the planning committee before any decision is made.
ELDC HQ also moved out of Tedder Hall to the new Hub at Horncastle. This will provide substantial savings in moving out of a larger and older building to a new smaller building with green credentials and energy savings considered throughout its design. A part of the building will also be shared with Boston College offering more learning opportunities for local people to attend further education without the need to travel to Boston or Lincoln.
ELDC has also been successful in obtaining funding for the District through Towns Fund levelling up grants and this is now starting to bring forward new projects on the coast and in Boston with our partners at Boston Borough Council. Other successful bids have also been granted to improve market town and inland facilities.
As said at the beginning of the report, a busy but successful year.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8pm. The next Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Monday 13th May 2024.