2019 Annual Parish Meeting

MINUTES OF THE SWINDERBY ANNUAL PARISH MEETING held at 7:00pm on 15 April 2019  at SWINDERBY VILLAGE HALL, Bulpit lane, Swinderby

APM1. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies have been received from: Cllr R Hodgson

Apologies noted

13 members of the public were in attendance

APM2. To receive and approve the minutes of the Parish Meeting 14 May 2018.

The minutes of the meeting were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and signed by the Parish Council Chairman.

APM3. Chairs Report on Parish Events.

The Chairman introduced the new Parish Council Clerk and reported that the election for Parish Councillors was uncontested.  Cllr Bruce Clark was leaving the Parish Council and the Chair thanked him for all his work and contributions to the Parish Council  All the other Parish Councillors were continuing and were to be joined by Gary Shelbourn, who had previously served on the Council.

The Chairman reported that:

•   A consultation was underway regarding proposed parking restrictions near the school
•   A representative from the Thomas White Charity had presented a draft plan for 3 irrigation ponds to a recent Parish Council meeting.  The Parish Council were awaiting the finalised plans to be submitted to LCC and would then be able to consult with residents and pass comments on the proposal.
•   First Aid Courses were due to be run in the village.
•   The Clerk was looking at funding opportunities for updating the play equipment. A consultation would take place to ensure proposals met the needs of the village.

The Chair then asked Cllr Geoff Lloyd, Vice-Chair to give updates on other areas. Cllr Lloyd reported that:

•   200 trees had been planted in the village over the last 2 years, the most recent planting had taken place at the school with the support of the children and local residents.. More trees were needed as an investment for the future and local residents were invited to give their views on suitable areas.
•   The grass cutting was being undertaken by a new contractor this year
•   Over 20 people took part in the recent litter picking day and some residents regular walk the village to collect litter. Cllr Lloyd commented on the huge difference made by all involved.
•   Wheelie bin stickers have been distributed to households and more are available in the phone box, should anyone like another for their other bin.
•   New war memorial has been installed near the church.
•   Many of the benches have been refurbished around the village and should look good for some time to come.
•   New village signs have recently been installed and some of the posts will shortly be replaced.
•   Grass cutting has been reviewed and continues to pose financial challenges.
•   The 3 yearly tree survey has been carried out again, with much work having been undertaken to keep them under control in the last 6 years.
•   A litter pick was held in April which was very successful and another one is being planned for the end of the summer.
•   The play area is now being inspected on a regular basis and minor works carried out as soon as identified.
•   The trees in the park have had a lot of work carried out on them to ensure the safety of all users.
•   More trees have been purchased and are due to be planted in the near future around the village.
•   A new history plaque is soon to be installed opposite the church. This has been purchased following a successful lottery grant application.
•   There has been an increase in the precept again this year, but this is due to legislative (insurance etc) matters and the need to carry out work to maintain the grass and the trees effectively.
•   The Parish Council has made a Section 137 grant available towards the cabinet for the school defibrillator.
•   Events are being planned for the 100 year commemorations for the end of WWI and the suffrage movement. Cllr Carter gave some information about the events planned for the weekend of the 11th November 2018. All local groups are currently working on a schedule of events, this will include an exhibition in the church, about both. It is hoped that there will be a concert on the Friday evening and a service in the church on the Sunday Morning. Please watch this space, and all ideas will be welcome, if individuals or groups would be interested, please contact Cllr Lloyd and/or Carter. Everything is currently tentative, but as details are firmed up they will be published on the Parish Council Website.
•   The refurbishment of the phone box, following its adoption by the Parish Council and the various displays that have been placed here. The roof inside is shortly to be repainted and there are lots of exciting plans for this year.

The Air Ambulance have an event in September, where up to 500 bikes will be coming through the village

There are some challenges coming in the near future, such as the Villa Farm rendering plant at Norton Disney, which has just been submitted for planning permission to Lincolnshire County Council.

Severn Trent Water continues to pump sewerage into tankers to transport this away from the village, but this is cheaper than carrying out the necessary work to avoid this being necessary.

The School Safety Zone is still ongoing and being pursued with the County Council Parking continues to be an issue and should be reported to the PCSO

Bulpit Lane continues to disintegrate due to the construction traffic which is currently using it, but this has been identified as a location which LCC highways will be maintaining in the future
 
APM4. Governance Statement & Financial Report 2017/18.

The accounts were presented and there were no comments raised

APM5. Open Forum for Parishioners comments and questions.

Query raised about the school defib and if there were plans in place for maintenance of the necessary parts? It is understood from the School that there are.

APM6. Invited Representatives from the Parish to report on progress and plans for the future (if they wish).

Julie Reid from Collingham Medical Centre is the non-medical director and was accompanied by Keith from the Patient Participation Group, who came to introduce themselves and  present information on the work currently being undertaken. In November 2016 the Care Quality Commission report on the Medical Centre identified a “requires improvement” to “responsive to service users”.  A number of areas have been addressed, including the introduction of the PPG. Active sign posting has started which aims to get patients to the right clinician as soon as practicable. Part of this is helped through the Patient Care Advisors collecting more information to ensure patients can access the correct clinician, this may not always be a doctor. The team has been increased at the medical centre to help with this.

The PPG is trying to improve communication with the 7000 patients of the medical centre.   To date they have re-established links with 8 local newsletters and are using noticeboards to communicate information to as many people as possible. There is a feedback form in the surgery – which is named the “Friends and Family Test” which is used across the whole of the NHS. The PPG and Medical Centre are keen that patients complete these to help inform improvements which could be considered.  The CQC report is now good in all areas. One of the weaknesses identified previously was the time taken to get an appointment, this has now been addressed and appointments can be obtained in a more timely manner as not all appointments are released into the system at the same time. A new PPG (Patient Participation Group) has been formed and Keith, who is the treasurer of the group, spoke about why he has joined the group. The PPG was started in October 2017 and is being strongly supported by the medical centre. This is about people helping themselves, understanding how the health service works etc. This has helped inform others as being done by people who have not necessarily been involved with the health industry in the past. Articles have been put into all the local parish magazines, newsletters are produced and distributed, notices put on notice boards. This is very difficult as there are 7000 patients in 33 villages.

The President of Good Companions spoke about the club which is mainly for the residents of Swinderby with a few members from other local villages. There is no upper age limit, but you need to be 60 to join, with an annual fee of £5.  Meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of the month, with entertainment and refreshments at a cost of £1. There are 3 party afternoons  per year including a birthday party to which non-members are invited. This year the birthday party is to be on Thursday 14th June at 2pm at a cost of £4 per person.  A bus trip is organised once a year (if funds allow) and the main income for the group comes from an annual garden party. All raffle prizes will be gratefully received, with the garden party this year being held on Saturday 5th August at 2:30pm. New members are welcome at any meeting. There are several wheelchairs which are available to borrow if anyone needs these for short periods, for any reason.

The secretary of the bowling club spoke about the club which was formed in 1931. The club is currently very short of members and therefore anyone who may be interested would be welcome. The club are in need of a green keeper and are continuing to try and recruit someone for this purpose. The club are hoping to develop the site and add a petanque pitch.
 
District Cllr Rothwell, reported on Bulpit Lane following a response received from LCC highways. This is now scheduled to be resurfaced, although it is unclear when this may be done. The planning application for the rendering plant at Villa Farm is now valid and both LCC and residents were encouraged to comment, both on line and in writing.  An application has been submitted by the owners of the site at Skellingthorpe to redevelop the current site. A meeting has been held with both of the local MPs, who will refer the Villa Farm application to the Secretary of State, should LCC be minded to approve the application. The Witham Valley Preservation Group is currently planning a letter drop to all local villages.  It was suggested that the information on the events being organised could be posted to the Parish Council Website.

A local resident has been down Bulpit Lane, which they felt should be closed to motorcars as it is not possible to drive a car down it with 2 wheels on a road surface at all times.  Is it possible to put this to LCC highways?  This request will be raised with County Councillor Thompson.

Additional trial holes and sampling is taking place on a number of fields, where it is believed minerals have been discovered. What size of drainage pit is required?  Is this now going to be mineral extraction? It would appear to be encroaching on the new Produce World development. What impact will this have on local facilities? The farmer of the land said that he would benefit from additional irrigation on the farm, but the work currently ongoing is archaeology.

Lost Village Festival is having a meeting at Witham St Hughs to discuss plans for this year. Wi-Fi has been improved for this year’s event and therefore monitoring of the noise should be improved along with a hotline for people to ring with any issues.  Traffic Management will be improved with the central reserve of the A46 (Wood Lane/Newark Road) being closed on safety grounds for the weekend of the event. There will also be traffic restrictions on Wood Lane to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely between the main site and the car park.

Bomber County Gateway Trust have a turf cutting ceremony taking place tomorrow, which is by invitation only due to limited numbers – George "Johnny" Johnson will be attending along with other veterans. Lots of pledges are being made by individuals and local companies.

Artefacts from local bases (Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire) are being sought for inclusion in the sculpture and the base. This site will be included in the Lincolnshire Aviation Trail.

There is lots of publicity now appearing both locally and nationally about this installation.

Richard Parker (can be found on twitter) is organising a meeting on 23rd May with the intention of forming a local archaeological society. Anyone interested should contact him for more details.

Cllr Sally Appleby, having sent her apologies also sent a short report

•   NK retains its title as the safest place to live for a fourth year running (July 2017), having the lowest rates of crime per 1,000 population anywhere in the country.
•   The Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, covering the North Kesteven, City of Lincoln and West Lindsey areas, was adopted (April 2017)
•   NKDC approved the purchase (£1.7m) of employment land at Sleaford
•   Moor Enterprise Park to support businesses and jobs creation in the District (April 2017)
•   Work began on the new depot and seven new business units in Metheringham (July 2017) a £4m investment.
•   14 veteran’s badges were awarded as part of the Armed Forces Week celebrations (June 2017)
•   Children in North Kesteven have a better start in life than other areas of the county after a survey ranked the area the best in the East Midlands and 29th in the country for children's potential to do well and move beyond any social disadvantage. The survey recognised that NK is one of the ‘pockets of good performers’ in the Midlands – with above- average outcomes at Key Stages 2 and 4 and excellent access to quality schools. (November 2017)
•   North Kesteven District Council was again identified as one of the best local authorities in the country for meeting the housing needs of its local area. Building on previous recognition and acknowledgement for the excellence of its services as a landlord and for developing additional affordable housing, the Council was shortlisted for a UK Housing Award in the category for Strategic Local Authority of the Year. (January 2018)

APM7. Close of the Annual Parish Meeting.

The meeting was closed at 8:20pm.