2024 Annual Parish Meeting

NOTES OF ANNUAL PARISH COMMUNITY MEETING
HELD ON THURSDAY 9th MAY 2024

Present: Cllrs. C Rolph, E Smith, M Banks and K Hayes (Clerk)
        LCC Cllr Colin Davie, Dist Cllr Roger Dawson
        YMCA Representative Sandra Smith
        15 members of the public

Cllr Chris Rolph gave his report from the Parish Council – copy enclosed.

Cllr Smith reported on the Hogsthorpe Memorial Recreation and Playing Field that meetings were now being held, car boots were doing well and that a grant had been obtained for the installation of a Monkey Wall.

Sandra Smith gave her presentation on the YMCA survey results.  Although responses had been very small at 42 participants, some useful information had been gleaned from those who had responded.   Of particular note were that the village facilities were good but there was very little knowledge of what was happening.  It was noted that the village hall was underused mainly due to the cost of hiring and there were very little or no organised events.  General discussion then took place of what can be done about it.  Mention was made of the Age Concern group which has now started.  Unfortunately at the last meeting the organiser was ill and they were not able to access the hall.  It would appear that the problem is the lack of people to organise anything.  The village was desperate for people coming forward to volunteer to run anything.   There had been various events run in the village hall in the past but there was no core of people to run these events any more.  The way forward must be for members of the community to come forward to be prepared to join committees to make things happen.  The Parish Council, the Village Hall and the Playpark were all short of members of the public prepared to join to help make things happen.

Tea, coffee and cakes were served at this juncture.

LCC Cllr Colin Davie then informed the meeting that the County Council had £1billion to spend throughout the county of which a quarter is spent on social care.  There were plans for the council to clear every gulley before the end of the year.  Highways work was carried out by contractors and should any shoddy road repairs be noticed, it should be reported to Highways to who will take it up with the contractor.  Approximately a quarter of the food grown in Lincolnshire goes into the British food chain, but whilst small farms continue to be attractive to buyers, 12 large farms have closed in this year.  There were many good things happening in the farming industry in Lincolnshire but overall it is in a precarious state.  There were numerous plans for wind farms, cable and pylon routes, and sub-station infrastructure being applied for throughout the Lincolnshire countryside which would industrialise the whole of Lincolnshire.  The County Council is very opposed to these plans and he urged all residents to have their say in objecting to these plans which would impact on village life and price of properties.

East Lindsey Dist Cllr Roger Dawson then noted what was happening with regard to a Neighbourhood Plan being put together between various villages with Addlethorpe taking the lead.  Two Hogsthorpe Councillors have joined the group.  If the Neighbourhood Plan was formulated and lodged with ELDC it should carry more weight with regard to any future planning applications.  He asked that anyone interested in joining the group, put their name on the form he provided. 

Cllr Rolph thanked the two councillors for giving up their time to attend.  He also thanked Sandra from YMCA for producing a very informative piece of work.  It is hoped that we can work closely together moving forward.  

More discussion took place before the meeting closed at 8.55 p.m.

Kmh:13/05/2024 

Report by Parish Council for presentation to Annual Parish Community Meeting 9th May 2024.

This has been a difficult year especially with the unexpected death of our Chairman, Les Wildman.  He was a great councillor and always had the village wellbeing at the heart during his terms in office.  His enthusiasm for getting stuck in and getting things done were exceptional and he is greatly missed.

The main difficulty now is that there are only three councillor members left out of a possible eight.  Three people cannot carry the burden without other help.  They are now only just quorate and should one be on holiday or sick, it will mean cancelling meetings at short notice.  An appeal has been put out for council members but, although there have been three enquiries, none of them have come to fruition.

Should this position continue, it is likely that the Parish Council will be disbanded and, in this situation, the District Council will take charge.  This, of course, could impact on the finances of the parish as charges will be made by the District Council to the Parish.

The interim clerk is still in place as there has been much to do, not least of which is the bureaucracy in dealing with banks, HMRC and others. In addition, there has been the need to resurrect some documents which would appear to have been lost and this is still causing difficulty in some areas.   It is likely that she will continue to be in place until the end of the year after which the position will be advertised.

We are pleased to report that the issues with banks have now been cleared up after 4-6 months of wrangling.  The closed Playpark account with HSBC of £1637 has been re-claimed and this has made a difference to the financial situation of the playpark.

Grant applications have been put in for £8400 for a ‘Monkey Wall’ for the Playing Field, £5750 for the picnic area, and District Councillor grants of £1200 for village seating and allotment fencing.  These have all now been granted and we await their final completion.

The necessary audit documents for the year end have been posted on the web site and notice board which includes elector’s rights under that legislation.

I am pleased to report that the allotment lease has been renewed for a further 15 years.

There continues to be issues with potholes and uneven paths and, although these are constantly being reported, the Highways budget does not always cover all of the repairs required.

One of the major issues for the village has been the number of caravans which are being allowed by the Planning Department.  Our District Councillor, Roger Dawson is taking this seriously and doing as much as he is able.

In relation to complaints regarding speeding in the village, the speed cameras are picking up the data and this is being passed on to the police.

We have confirmed with the church that the Parish Council is responsible for the maintenance of the churchyard.  However, as the funds required for the replacement of the wall which had blown down in February 2023 were too astronomical for the parish council to contemplate, the church arranged for the wall to be taken down. The churchyard still needs a general tidy-up and this is in hand.  There have been a number of burials during the year, for which fees are received by the Parish Council.

Also in hand is the re-making of the village sign and this will be installed as soon as it is finished.

On a county-wide scale, there have been three issues: Devolution, the Outer-Dowsing wind farm and the National Grid Pylons debates.  We would ask that all the village community take an interest in these issues as it may well impact on village life in the future.

We were hoping to take part in the 80th D-Day celebrations or a summer village history event together with the church and village hall.  However, this has stalled for the present time due to lack of time.

On one final note, we must thank Fran Wilson who has put in a great deal of work to make the Heritage Garden at the corner of High Street and Thames Street look amazing.  Thank you Fran.

If there are any questions, perhaps you can bring them up in the second half when it is your opportunity to have your voice.