Minutes
Minutes of the annual parish meeting of Wildmore Parish Council held on Monday 12th May 2025 in New York Village Hall.
Present: Chairman Cllr A Everard
Cllr M A Jones Cllr J Lawes
Cllr A Harrison
County Councillor Cllr S Matthews
District Councillor Cllr M Foster
Clerk Mrs S Phillips
Members of public 7 members present
- Welcome from the Chairman of the Parish Council
The chairman welcomed all to the meeting.
- Apologies for absence
Cllr P Bargh.
- To approve minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 13th May 2024
The minutes of the annual parish meeting held on 13th May 2024 were approved and signed.
4. Parish Council, Village Organisations & Outside Bodies invited to attend:
- Chair of Parish Council
First let me just highlight some of the things that have been achieved over the past year
• Sarah Phillips, our Clerk has been in post for a year and has tackled a steep learning curve picking up the reigns from our former Clerk. Thank you for your work over the past year.
• The parish council raised the funds to purchase a Speed indicator Device and the results from that device highlights that over a year 1million vehicles pass through the parish on the B1192 going one way and another 1.2million vehicles going the other. The average speeds have been reduced by an average of 3-miles an hour due to the first SID so we plan to purchase and install another facing the other direction.
• The different speed limits from the Primary School up to and through the Village of New York continue to be a source of disquiet. The school has a brief 30mph speed limit. We think that the national speed limit from the Primary school to New York should be reduced to either 50 or 40 miles an hour. There are just too many speed limits going up and down for the average driver to cope with and is a distraction.
• There continue to be fatal and serious road traffic accidents along this B1192 main road between Langrick and Coningsby and at some point Lincolnshire County Council and the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership must take responsibility for fixing this.
• I would congratulate Lincolnshire County Council for the excellent repairs they have applied along the drain bank from Bunkers Hill towards Westville/Frithville. What I would not congratulate Lincolnshire County Council for is the state of the road surface for over 15 years along the C-road from Sandy Bank Chapel to the junction with the road to Tumby Woodside. Most of the year traffic has to travel along it in single file because the potholes in the outer third of the road each side are just impassable.
• The Parish Council carried out a review starting last year and finishing earlier this year as to whether it should continue to cover the cost of grass-cutting for the churchyard. While it has been done this way for decades and paid for through council tax and it will continue for this financial year there may come a point that it is no longer deemed sustainable or appropriate.
Compared to many parishes we have not received many planning applications this past year but we are likely to be affected by the large cable-laying projects and pylon proposals that are passing near to the edge or even through some parts of the parish.
The parish council have four vacant seats for parish councillors and as we are now mid-term now is the time to seek new Councillors to join the parish council.
Last year I mentioned that parish council records now resided in the Village Hall building and perhaps it is time to consider sorting them out and handing them over to Lincolnshire Archives for safekeeping and posterity. That should be a priority for the year ahead.
I encourage everyone to use FixMyStreet website and app to report any highway and footpath issues. It works and if you register on there you will get regular updates from LCC Highways on how they are dealing with the issue.
I would thank former County Cllr Tom Ashton for attending parish council meetings and updating us on some County Council business. I congratulate Sean Matthews on his recent election to Lincolnshire County Council for this division. I also wish to say thanks for District Cllr Knowles and Cllr Foster for their regular attendance at parish council meetings. It is appreciated.
Crime levels remain low in the parish. Vigilance is helpful.
The future of New York Primary School seems to be that Horncastle Education Trust don’t want to keep it as a primary school and want to use it for alternative provision.
I wish this was not a decision to be made. Keeping it as a primary school serving this rural community as it has done for well over 125 years seemed a better option for this parish.
Alongside the Church, Royal British Legion and local residents, I represented the Parish Council at the annual Remembrance Service at the Church and laid a wreath at the War Memorial on behalf of the Council and the parish.
I remain frustrated that we cannot get the footpath from New York to New York primary school improved. An issue we can continue to seek solutions for.
Finally I would like to record my thanks to councillors for their attendance, input to reaching decisions and please keep your eyes and ears open to fill the vacant seats by co-option. So if there are people willing to step forward to join us please bring them along to find out more.
- Chair of New York Village Hall Management Committee
The vice chair reported that the village hall and committee is in a good position and has raised a lot funds. More members are needed for the committee, but we do have a lot of helpers. A lot of expenditure has been used for the refurbishment of the village hall.
- Churchwarden of Wildmore Church
Firstly, on behalf of St. Peter’s Church, I would like to thank the Parish Council for sourcing the bench, which was placed at the bottom of the churchyard, in line with the War Memorial. We were also grateful to Mr Chris Hackett for siting it securely for us. He also built a better shelter, protecting the tap from frost etc.
The Church has also greatly appreciated the continued mowing of the grass in the churchyard by the Parish Council. It is important to those attending and visiting the churchyard that it looks cared for, especially if burying loved ones or visiting the graves of family members. We have had 1 burial and 2 burial of ashes in the past year.
Services have continued in the same pattern during the past year. Since the departure of Reverend Jon Spiers-Davies, services have been arranged and we have been supported by Reverend Andrew Higginson from Butterwick. We continue to have a regular attendance.
Throughout the year, we have held fund raising events which provide 3 social opportunities for local people to engage in. This is of particular importance to rural communities such as Wildmore. We have been helped by donations from parishioners and also their help.
St. Peter’s has maintained its bank balance at a similar level to last year. The Annual request from the Diocese has been met. The income just covering outgoings for the year but 2025is a Quinquennial review year which cost us £1500 five years ago. It is a legal obligation, so must be done. Any external repairs to the building will paid for by the Church Commissioners but any internal repairs will have to be met ay our expense.
The Remembrance Day service was well attended and supported by the branch of the Coningsby and Tattersall Royal British Legion.
We have 3 fund raising events planned for the year, listed below. Your support would be most welcome.
Sunday 20th July at 4pm. ‘Strawberries and Pimms’ with the Swineshead Silver Band at Willow Farm.
Saturday 26th July at 2pm. A ‘Garden Fete’ at Willow Farm. Cream teas available,
Friday 26th September at 6.30pm. A traditional ‘Harvest Supper’ in New York Village Hall, with auction of goods afterwards.
- Executive Headteacher of New York Primary School
Not present.
- Report from County Councillor
Cllr Matthews has been elected as leader of the council. Very aware of the problems with the road and also the fact that roads are reclaimed from fen land. A meeting has been arranged with the executive head of the council tomorrow to discuss a number of areas one of which being New York. Speed limits have been mentioned already and pleased to hear that residents feel the same way about the different speed limits and would argue it should be 40mph all the way through. Speed cameras would have made a difference but there are people that if there are no enforcements they will ignore all speed limited.
It was pointed out to Cllr Matthews that there are two sunken drains with a lot of articulated lorries going through early hours in the morning. Contact was made in November with the council and was told that they did not intend to take immediate action, contacted them again in May, it was on FixMyStreet but stated they were not aware of it being as bad as it was and would send an engineer. There are lots of problems with lorries, houses are shaking and cracks are appearing in the plaster. The roads are not built for these lorries.
Cllr Matthews confirmed that a plan was needed for the roads, but it is not an easy fix and would not be able to get a weight restriction for the road.
It was also highlighted the number of injuries and deaths along the road. It was noted that we could use a speed radar with a number of volunteers but there is only one trainer in Lincolnshire. The parish council would need to purchase the equipment.
Footpath is also a problem with the path being overgrown and uneven, this is in the area were the speed goes up to 60mph. It was reported that community payback did visit but were unable to do anything because they were working next to the road. East Lindsey did also look into it for the pride team but and again was a safety issue with the road.
- Report from District Councillors
There are a lot of long term projects following a scrutiny report on public facilities. We have a commitment to refurbish every toilet but may be the end of April 2026 before the work starts.
Environment Act 2021 provide food waste collection on a weekly basis and have just ordered 75,000 caddies for every house. There will be an indoor caddy and outdoor bin for food waste which will be collected weekly. A refuge collection vehicle has been purchased with an extra pod so all waste can be collected together. Every 7 years refuge vehicles are replaced so this will be brought forward a year and will also receive revenue for food waste. We are also working towards zero carbon.
- Questions and Comments from Members of the Public
There were no further questions of comments from members of the public.
Meeting ended at 8.18pm.