June 2021 Minutes - Annual Parish Meeting
Minutes of Cherry Willingham’s Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 21st June 2021 in the Main Hall of the Priory Pembroke Academy.
Present: Cllr Jenny Robinson, Gill Shaw (Clerk), Mrs Christine Hodgson (RFO) and 10 residents.
Meeting started at 6.30pm.
1. Welcomes, introductions and apologies: All were welcomed, and introductions were made. The purpose of the meeting was explained as being to update residents on the work of the parish council over the past two years.
2. To receive the notes of the last Parish Meeting and sign as a true record.
It was RESOLVED to accept the notes as a true record; and they were duly signed.
3. To receive a brief report from the Chairman on the work of the Parish Council during the last year.
Due to the Covid pandemic, the meeting had been delayed. Thanks were given to Cllr Sharron Brylewski for all her hard work in the last 3 years as Chairman. During the pandemic, there had been a positive community spirit and thanks were given to the Coronavirus ‘help group’ which was set up in a matter of days. They had received 389 requests for help and 130 residents had received help. Special thanks given to the Rev. Penny Green and Mr and Mrs Pepper and their team at The Vine. The Cherry News magazine in April showed how much the Parish Council had achieved in the last year: speed watch, zig zag girls (who are councillors who regularly help with parking at the primary school) and the litter pickers are all examples. At Cherry Fields there has been continuing maintenance and repairs, including extending the car park, opening/closing of the gates, grass cutting, and 2 planting days in which families participated. The top field had also been ploughed and sown by hand with a mix of grass and meadow seed. A castle had been built and there was a second one in production. A scramble trail had been created for children to enjoy and currently steps and a ramp to the River Witham were being constructed.
Where possible the Parish Council used volunteers and grants but there had been some expenditure on such things as the maintenance of the play equipment, grass cutting on verges and fields, planters purchased, new flag pole with a village flag and the Christmas lights. There had been Christmas gift boxes distributed, with the help of donations from councillors and local shops. A feasibility group had been set up to look at providing allotments.
The Parish Council tries to spend public money with care.
4. Finance: To receive a summary of the accounts for the financial year 2020/21
A summary of the accounts for the last 2 years had been made available prior to the meeting.
a) Running Costs
The RFO explained that Governance and Admin includes salaries and expenses eg. insurance, audit fees and loan repayments.
Some of the other bigger expenses for Village Amenities included:
- Grass cutting which in 2019/20 was £9,000 and £11,000 in 2020/2021 but Lincolnshire County Council contributed approximately £2,000.
- A new gate was installed at Laburnum Playing Field at a cost of £1,000.
- Play equipment and rumble path at St Pauls was professionally cleaned at a cost of £2,270.
- 3 new benches for the village cost £1,000.
- Urgent repairs to the fence at the Burial Ground and a new gate cost £1,900.
b) Projects undertaken included:
- Playing Field/Play area £7270 for 4 Springer rides and a wet pour safety surface.
- Environment Agency fee £849 for permissions relating to access to the River Witham and the purchase of stone for the construction.
- Project spending at Cherry Fields included completion of the car park, gate height limiter, fencing, equipping the dog exercise area, creation of a wildflower area and the erection of a model castle.
- The Millennium Hall had been refurbished with a lot of work done by volunteers for which the council were very grateful.
c) Balances were in a good position.
The RFO explained that income received from the sale of burial plots was put in the earmarked Burial Ground fund as a matter of course. However there would be a need in the future for another burial ground and the Parish Council had taken the opportunity of using some of the surplus from 2020/2021 by adding a further £5,000 to enhance the fund for this future project.
It was RESOLVED to accept the accounts for 2019/21
5. To receive questions and comments from residents concerning the work of the Parish Council.
Members of the public raised their concerns over the following matters:
- Rudgard Avenue development by Taylor Lindsey: access to the development was unsuitable and not wide enough, too much traffic already, construction traffic, children on bikes, only one access road, 144 houses was too many for the site with only 40 houses mentioned on the neighbourhood plan.
- No facilities in the village, no doctors at the surgery, no post office.
- Large lorries doing deliveries to the shops were damaging fencing.
- Poor state of the pavements and road in the village.
- Double gates/barriers needed on the level crossing.
- Improvement and provision of cycle paths particularly along Fiskerton Road
Thanks were given to the Parish Council for all the work done in the village and Cherry Fields was a great asset to the village.
6. Vote of thanks and close.
The meeting finished at 7.16pm
Cllr Jenny Robinson (Chair of Cherry Willingham Parish Council)