2023 Meetings

NORTH SCARLE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Minutes of the Meeting held on

17 May 2023 at 7.00pm in the Village Hall

Cllr David Jennings welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 11 May 2022 were signed as a true record.

Councillor Jennings read out his Report for 2022/23

The perennial problems for Parish Councils have also been our concerns throughout the year. Speeding traffic, litter, planning, road conditions and dare I say dog poo have all taken our time. The ‘Speed Indicator Devices’ appear to be having some effect although there are still some of our residents who appear to ignore them and then there are the total idiots who travel at well above the speed limit.

Our litter picker’s area is the village covered by the 30mph speed limit and he finds it annoying that having cleared an area by the next morning fast food cartons etc have once more appeared. Is it too much to ask that people take their litter home?

There are still some inconsiderate, thoughtless dog walkers who do not clear up after their dogs. To try and remind them one of our Parish Councillors has made containers for bags and they are sited near footpaths.

There have been a few contentious planning applications and hopefully our reports to the District Council have been fair, considered and if necessary, reflected the view of residents. Any development will cause further strain on our sewerage system to the detriment of areas of the village. However, on the plus side plans and development of redundant agricultural buildings have shown imagination and ingenuity.

Work to improve the cemetery car park was carried out last summer resulting in the area being useable all year, improving the outlook and not overwhelming the area with tarmac or concrete. Its effectiveness has been proved over the winter and in particular with the recent very heavy rain.

The Village Hall, which is now being used more regularly, put on a ‘Hog Roast’ to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III and this was supported financially by the Parish Council from its own and unused Platinum Jubilee funds.

Lincolnshire County Council Highways have done a lot of excellent work in the parish but unfortunately potholes still keep appearing and I will ask that these are reported on ‘Fix my Street’ (you can find a link on the Parish Council website).

Due to various circumstances all tiers of our Councils have changed. I would however like to thank our retired County Councillor Mike Thompson for his hard work, advise and support. Peter Overton, our District Councillor, ran for County Council.  He was not elected but again I give thanks for his hard work, advice and support. Finally, one our Parish Councillors, David Russell, decided to retire after thirty years of dedicated service on the Parish Council, twenty years of which he was Chairman.

My thanks also to all residents who have supported the Parish Council in some way, to our handymen on their work in the village, to my fellow Councillors for their input and support and finally our Clerk, Hayley for her advice, support and on occasion putting me right…

Thank you.

David Jennings

17th May 2023

Parish Councillor Susan Walsh reported on the Banks Charity Trust which is registered with the Charity Commission

There are four trustees of the Banks Charity

Reverend Canon Andrew Vaughan, by virtue of office

Mrs Josie Worrell

Mrs Charlene Dixon

Mrs Susan Walsh appointed by the Parish Council

It is actually The Charity of Hirgo Badger and others:

In 1701, Hirgo Badger bequeathed one house and garden, a close of approximately 4 acres and one close of approximately 11 acres and five pounds ‘to the use of the poor of North Scarle forever.’

The house which became derelict was condemned by the District Council in 1936 and subsequently in 1967 was demolished. The land was sold in 1968 for £425 and the money received was invested in shares of the Charities Official Investment Fund for which investment dividends are received quarterly.

The Banks Charity still holds the assets of the land, which is in the form of two fields and these are rented out.

Joseph Banks donated £100 in 1827.

At one time the Charity Commissioners required the charity be distributed as gifts of coal or clothing.  It was then interpreted that gifts to the poor should be noted as gifts to persons who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress. The Charity is to help parishioners who have fallen on hard times due to, for example, illness or unemployment.

During 2022, the Banks Charity placed an article in North Scarle Matters to inform parishioners of the Charity and its purpose. Letters were also sent out to local primary schools to make them aware of the Charity.

Since our last report given by myself with a balance of £16,456.40 on 20 March 2022:

Income:

Rent in £1,650

Interest and dividends £277.08

Wayleave rental £28.54

Expenditure:

Bank charges £6.00

No monies requested.

Balance to 20 April 2023 is £18,406.02

Parish Councillor Karen Coram reported on the Playing Field

This year the Village Hall Committee has worked very hard to bring the hall up to a working standard, spending a lot of their own time and skill to achieve the required standard.

The Coffee mornings are well attended, and the Parish Council’s financial contribution helped make the Coronation hog roast a success for the village.

The AGM of the village hall and playing field Committee was held on Monday of this week. Only 8 members of the public attended.

The secretary and treasurer both relinquished their roles while Frank Lomas was elected to continue as Chairman for another year. Three new people joined the committee.

The Committee has received many negative comments on Facebook, particularly with regards to the park, yet none of the critics attended the AGM to personally voice their concerns or offer their support, help and fund-raising strengths.

All members of the Committee are volunteers and cannot possibly run all events or courses to provide, all ages of the village, leisure or sporting opportunities.  We need help!

Church matters

The Reverend Andrew Vaughn had been invited to attend but was not present at the meeting.

There were no questions regarding any of the reports.

Emergency Plan

Laura Edlington, Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Officer from Lincolnshire County Council provided information on setting up an Emergency Plan.

LCC work closely with all emergency services.  Their role is to prepare for, respond to and aid recovery from emergencies.

Each local authority has a Local Resilience Service which includes all members of blue light services, environment agencies, water, utility suppliers, transport, hospitals - anyone that might be able to come together to help communities prepare for emergencies.

They look at what risks there are to the area.  For us that would be East Coast floods, inland flooding, human health/disease, animal diseases, transport accident.

The website lincolnshireresilienceforum.org gives more detailed information about risks to the county.

When an emergency happens, the work required is split between "cells" to deal with each aspect, one of which is a community volunteer and coordination cell which coordinates the volunteer sector, such as the British Red Cross but also community groups.  We can have as much or little input as we want depending on how many volunteers get involved.  The group doesn't have to involve the Parish Council.  It would need a couple of people to set up the template provided by LCC.  The village hall could be used as a "place of safety" which could be opened up before the Resilience Service arrived to assist.  They would provide a "grab box" containing high viz vests, torches, wind up radio etc which the parish could add to.

There is a group called "Ready for Anything Volunteers" which anybody can sign up to for some training and the members can volunteer to help in the event of an emergency.

A local emergency plan means local knowledge of vulnerable, elderly and poorly people for instance, can be used in the event of an emergency.

A parishioner asked a question regarding flood risk due to the Trent.  Are there any examples of cross-boundary working because North Scarle is Lincolnshire, Girton is Nottinghamshire?  Forum is aware of things like that, they work closely with Environment Agency.

Councillor Jennings suggested that Lisa sends details to the Clerk and the subject can then be on a future Council meeting.

Lisa was thanked for her attendance.

Parishioner comments etc

1 parishioner attended the meeting.  No comments.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.29pm