2023 Annual Parish Meeting

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE SWINDERBY ANNUAL PARISH MEETING held at 7pm on 15 May 2023 at SWINDERBY VILLAGE HALL, Bulpit lane, Swinderby

Present: Cllr G Lloyd (Chair SPC), Cllr. L Carter (Vice Chair) SPC, Cllrs. N Marris, R Hodgson, and S Longson.  

Clerk: S Aikman

Also in attendance:  1 member of the public

APM1.   Apologies for Absence.

None

APM2.   To receive and approve the minutes of the Parish Meeting 16th May 2022.

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

Chairs Report on Parish Events.

Chair’s Report Annual Parish Meeting 22nd May 2023. 

Preparation for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was a significant agenda item of our meetings in April and May. The preparations involved installing new play equipment, renaming the Play Area the Jubilee Park, planting the Queen’s canopy, decorating the village, and organising an opening ceremony. Unfortunately, the weather was against us on the day, but the turnout was excellent. All this was only possible because of the excellent support provided for the Parish Council by the children of our local primary school.  We are hoping to build upon the success of our Jubilee celebrations with a Swinderby Summer Spectacular this year on June 4th. To this end an organising committee comprising of the different groups within the Parish have been meeting and planning the day. Let us hope the weather is kinder this year.

We continued to work with Peter Sowerby regarding the development of the brown field site. There was a detailed response on the planning portal by the Parish Council to the plans submitted in November 2022 and further community consultations took place in November and December. Following these consultations several pragmatic and productive meetings occurred between the councillors and Peter Sowerby. These meetings resulted in a number of changes to the plans that addressed many of the concerns raised by the community in our surveys and the promises made to the community in 2017. Hence the Parish Council was able to submit, in January 2023 a supportive statement regarding this development. Our understanding at the time being that amended plans would be submitted and be ready for the February planning committee meeting. they have not yet reached this stage because further discussions have been taking place between planning officers at NKDC and Peter Sowerby’s team.  We have not yet been informed of the outcomes of these discussions. 

We successfully applied to participate in the Treescape project supported by LCC. It was agreed that trees could be planted on Moor Lane and on the bend at Station Road. It was a challenging summer in terms of establishing these trees and they needed watering regularly.  As a result, 60% of the trees survived and a replanting in spring has ensured that we now have a full complement yet again. 

We worked with Kisimul School on staging an Arts and Autism exhibition in the village hall as a contribution to Autism week. The exhibition raised over a £1000 for a local charity supporting families dealing with autism.  

The Playing Field was developed with a games area and the final planting in the orchard took place in early spring. A map and tree labels will soon be in place to allow residents to identify the trees. 

Finally, a Neighbourhood steering group was formed, and the first steps have been taken to produce the plan. a housing needs assessment was undertaken by a national organisation and the feedback we have received from our many surveys have allowed draft objectives to be written. The next steps will involve further public consultations and a character assessment of the parish. 

Finally, I would wish to thank all the councillors and particularly the clerk for ensuring the smooth running of Swinderby Parish Council. The accounts are updated monthly, the grass is cut, agendas and minutes are produced on time and council is compliant in all areas. A big thank you to the team.  

Geoff Lloyd 

APM3.   Financial Report 2022/23.

The Clerk reported that the end of year accounts for 2022/23 had been completed  The Internal Audit had been undertaken, with excellent feedback, and paperwork would Annual Parish Council meeting that was to follow.  Paperwork would then be ready to send to the external auditor. The Annual Governance and Accountability Return would be available for all to see on the Parish Council website.  The Clerk can be contacted to answer any questions about Parish Council finance.

APM4.   Open Forum for Parishioners comments and questions.

A parishioner asked the Council how they were managing to water the orchard.  A discussion was held about the current approach and the possibility of obtaining a water IBC.

The meeting was closed at 7.30pm.