Draft notes of Annual Parish Meeting 7th May 2019
DRAFT Notes of the
Annual Parish Meeting
Minting & Gautby Parish Council
Tuesday May 7th, 2019
Minting Village Hall from 7pm
In the Chair: Cllr J. Heselwood
Present: 33 members of the public & Cllrs J. Heselwood, V. Brown, H. Padfield, J. Stuchfield & E. Clark.
- Welcome and Apologies (7.30pm)
Hello and thank you very much for coming – I am sure I speak on behalf of the whole council when I say it means a lot to all of us to see you here. Unfortunately, there are quite a few people who wanted to come but were on holiday, visiting sick relatives or otherwise engaged. I have apologies from 9 people.
With the increasingly dire news about the state of our environment in terms of loss of biodiversity, depletion of resources, climate change effects, pollution from various sources, including plastics, waste, chemicals, transport fumes, etc. and the very threat to our own existence, the Council decided that the theme of this year’s Annual Parish Meeting should be “A World which is Good for Wildlife is Good for People”.So, if we look after wildlife by actively encouraging and enhancing the habitat for all creatures and actively reduce the harm, we cause them, we will effectively start to look after our own futures too. The idea is that we should all start to be part of the solution and one way is to plant more trees, here.
And we have Victoria Bankes-Price currently of the Woodland Trust here to talk about the value of trees to us and to the rest of life on Earth.
As a local business and very active in the fight against pollution (fighting fatbergs etc) and in fighting climate change, while making the most of limited resources, we invited Anglian Water Group to tell us what they are doing specifically as a business and in their nature reserves.
You will see various display boards trying to capture the scale of the challenge facing us on so many fronts as well as some possible solutions.
Sometimes it is about looking at things from a different angle.I remember when Mrs Thatcher was first elected and council funding was cut back and suddenly the roadsides which had previously been cut back and all neat and tidy were now messy with unruly wildflowers.I had to change a switch in my perception to realise that actually this was now a good thing for wildlife.Neatness is one of the other enemies of wildlife.
When I sit in my garden listening to the birdsong and the sparrows fighting for space on my bird feeders and see the bees queuing up to stay at the bee hotel, it’s hard to imagine how dire the situation is.But I can remember as a child when we would go out in the car and come back the car would be covered in dead insects – now if you find the odd insect on your car it is a rarity.This is just anecdotal evidence but actually it’s backed up by the science too.
To really get us in the mood for being on the side of wildlife, we are showing an inspirational 5-minute film called how ‘Wolves Change Rivers’ which beautifully shows the interconnectedness of life.
We will then have presentations first by Vicki on Trees and then by Anglian Water’s Community Ambassador.
There will be the opportunity ask them questions and also about the Free Tree plan and suggest any ideas for doing more locally.
We will then have a short break when the free Raffle will be drawn, prizes and free plants can be collected followed by the rest of the Annual Parish Meeting.
- ‘How Wolves Changed Rivers’ video
- Presentation by V. Bankes-Price of Woodland Trust
- Presentation by Anglian Water Community Ambassador
- Question and Answer
A Q&A session was held with the presenters following their presentation.
- Break for Raffle Draw, Plants and Prize Collection
- Minutes of the last meeting (May 8th, 2018) to be Approved and Signed
Following a vote, it was unanimously resolved to approve the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Tuesday, May 8th 2018 as an accurate record and the Chairman duly signed them.
- Annual Report from the Parish Council Chairman
It was a very busy year for members of the Parish Council as we tried to work our way through the large backlog of tasks which had built up while we were occupied responding to various Freedom of Information requests and dealing with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The coming into force of the General Data Protection Regulations, last May, meant that we had to spend a lot of time and effort and money to ensure the Council met its legal obligations and we were fortunate to work with excellent temporary support staff and who helped us with bringing our procedures up to date so that we were finally able to employ a new Clerk, safe in the knowledge that our policies and processes were in line with Employment Law.
Of course, we continued to report potholes and responded to planning applications and produced newsletters and last year saw the introduction of superfast broadband to the centre of Minting – something we thought might never happen.
The Council also started working with Minting Village Hall to allow their Committee to use the Playing Field to host a Vintage Motor Show in September this year.
Unfortunately, we had some very sad news about the longest serving member of our Council, Miss Gwenda Bell, who was forced last year to give up being a Councillor due to ill health, and who sadly passed away last week at the age of 90 and 1/2.In reference to her health problems I recall she once said to me “Old age is not for the faint-hearted”.
We don’t exactly know how long Gwenda had served on the council but it may be close to 70 years (we will have to visit the Lincolnshire Archives to find out).
Funnily enough, when I visited Gwenda a few days before she left to go to Italy and I was talking about the workload and responsibility of being Chairman of the Parish Council, she reminded me that it was her fault as it had been her who had first nominated me for the position of Chairman.
During our many chats it was clear that Gwenda cared passionately about the Parish Council and about village life and farming and wildlife and gardening and music and so many other interests.She really was a remarkable woman.
She read “the Times” every day and would often save cuttings to show me or ambush me with some new ideas or initiatives she had.She had so much energy and zest for life.She was always on the ball and kept up to date with technology, scientific matters and world and local politics and her mind was razor sharp. She mastered email on her i-pad which enabled her to keep in contact with family members.
In her role on the Council, she supported and saw the vision behind the initial Heritage Project when I proposed it to the Parish Council and when others were less enthusiastic. When the original project was finished, Gwenda was very keen to see The Heritage Society continue and she spent some time recording a few of her early memories in Minting with me and donating memorabilia of her time in Minting.She hoped that St. Andrew’s Church could somehow be used to display and store heritage documents and artefacts and this remained her desire until she passed away.
She completely supported all of the Parish Council’s actions to save the Sebastapol Inn and other actions we had to take over the past few years and early last year and she instinctively understood the correct thing to do in any situation.
She was a great supporter of renewable energy and it was her gift which has enabled Minting Village Hall to recently install photo voltaic solar panels.
She cared passionately about the environment and was involved in Minting’s conservation group many years ago.She was a lover of wildlife and her magnificent wildflower meadow full of knapweed, ox-eye daisies, primulas and orchids was a sight to behold which she loved to share with others.She loved trees and always felt very keenly the loss of mature trees wherever they were lost in our villages, either when struck by lightning in her own garden or deliberately felled.
When I told her about the idea for the Annual Parish Meeting, she dug up a news report of tree-planting in Minting from 1970-80’s which she had been involved in and was pleased to hear of this initiative.Many of the trees around Minting today come from that previous initiative.
She wanted to have more bird boxes around the villages, so we had several installed last year and she was thrilled to hear that some blue tits were already nesting in one of the them.
She always wanted a small-leaved lime planted to commemorate our links with the Limewoods.We never did achieve that so perhaps one fitting memorial to such a wonderful country woman would be to plant a native small-leaved lime in Minting in her memory.
I am sure the Heritage Society and the Parish Council would welcome ideas of how else we could celebrate this wonderful, amazing, passionate, thoroughly decent, inspirational and caring woman who will be so sorely missed and whose passing represents the end of an era in our villages.
- Reports from Local Organisations/Clubs
Heritage Society Report May 2019
The Society continued to fundraise with Raffles, Calendar Sales and through using EasyFundraising for purchases where retailers make a donation for each sale.Since we started using Easyfundraising we have raised £359.00.
We held the photo competition again last year and had lots of entries and sold 45 calendars!
Due to individual committee members’ workloads we decided to have a rest this year and revisit the photo calendar again next year with a different style!
Since 2008 the village hall at Gautby has been the HQ of the Heritage Society but following the election of a new committee, the Heritage Society moved out and currently the records are housed at Birchwood House.
We were very grateful to receive a grant from ELDC via the Councillor’s Grant Scheme from Cllr W Gray which we used to purchase a new projector.This projector is available for use to other community groups as well as the Parish Council.
Following several years of successful running of the Live and Local/Rural Touring scheme which we undertook when Minting Village Hall Committee was unable to, with a newly-energised committee, the Heritage Society has given Minting Village Hall the original seed-funding of £400 which we received from ELDC via the Councillor’s Grant Scheme from Cllr W Gray to Minting Village Hall to continue to hire professional performers.
With the passing of Miss Gwenda Bell, the Society has lost a staunch supporter and keen member and she will be greatly missed by us all.
It is still the Society’s goal to produce a second volume of Glimpses and Gleanings when time allows.
We had an AGM in April 2019 and at the time our audited accounts showed we had a balance of £3129.
Joanna Heselwood
May 2019
Minting Village Hall Report May 2019
Chairman Ken Smith gave a report on Minting Village Hall:
The village are now advertising the venue which started with the development of the website where you can now make direct contact, advertise events and be introduced to the committee.
There are new signs for the noticeboard which now incorporate other the names of all 4 villages and the internal noticeboard has been moved outside the building.
The Chairman thanked all of those committee members and volunteers that supported the Maintenance Day in 2018 and supported the cleaning of the block paving, hedge trimming and weeding of the village hall carpark.
The solar panels were installed in March 2019 which is phase one of the village hall committee’s energy saving scheme.
Four broken windows have been replaced as well as the UPVC Panels. The store room door has been replaced and the external Emergency Exit doors are being replaced imminently.
There have been a lot of successful, well-attended events over the past 12 months including the recent Schmoozenbergs’ Rural Touring/Live and Local event. In addition, there was a very successful Christmas Fayre, wreath-making class and the hall made the best of the no-show car show by holding a cake stall at the Sebastopol pub.
The regular events that have taken place at the hall over the last 12 months include:
-coffee mornings
-gardening club
-Witham Third Drainage Board meetings
-cash bingo
-private hire
-Horncastle Astronomy weekend
The village hall will hold the Annual General Meeting on 14 May.
Thank you.
Gautby Village Hall Report May 2019
Committee Member for Gautby Village Hall, Louise Sutton reported that the village hall now has 6 new committee members who are undertaking ongoing work to enable it to be hired out again.The village hall is holding a harvest supper in collaboration with the church and an event where 2 singers will perform in All Saints Church, followed by cheese & wine at Gautby Village Hall.
All Saints Church, Gautby Report May 2019
A Congregation member gave a brief report:
-Open Churches took place and was well attended
-12 services planned for the year
-The carol service was the highlight of the year
Gardening Report May 2019
Given by Mrs A. Clark
Mrs Clark reported that not much has changed. The club is held on 3 Wednesday of each month excluding July and August. The club are always looking for new members and it is not a requirement to be good at gardening! It costs £5.00 per household and £1.00 per night when meeting in the village hall.
The club noted the sad loss of member Gwenda Bell, who will be greatly missed.
No report was received from St Andrews Church, Minting.
Minting Community Choir Report, May 2019
The choir was very busy in 2018, performing at Open Churches events, Choir festivals, Arts festivals and the 1940s weekend in Woodhall Spa.
Our repertoire continued to grow taking in a range of musical styles and genres to suit all tastes. We gained two new choir members last year who will be performing with us for the first time in the Spring with their first performance being at The Horncastle St Mary’s Arts and Music festival on 18 May followed by a performance at St Andrew’s on 19 May as part of Open Churches.
The choir continue to go from strength to strength and already have a packed program ahead of them booked in for the year. Our new programme contains a medley from Les Misérables, Down by the Riverside, Hallelujah, and Vaughan-Williams’ Linden Lea amongst others.
Future engagements already include a Marie Curie choir festival in October and a wedding in the village!
New members are always welcome to join us. Just turn up at a rehearsal on a Friday evening at 6:00 in the church or contact David on allsop484@btinternet.com.
- Questions from Electors
A resident highlighted that they had started using the mobile library which is sited on Minting Green at 12:15pm on every 4th Thursday of the month. It was reported that the resident is concerned that if it is not used, the service will be withdrawn. It is also listed on Lincolnshire County Council’s website and the noticeboard on The Green when it will be attending. The Heritage society has agreed to also share the information on Facebook to encourage more attendance.
- Budget-setting ideas from Electors for 2020/21
Following the theme of this meeting, a resident has requested that the Parish Council consider the woodland in the area and queried whether the Council could divert either the attention of LCC/Highways or the funds to clear the public footpath along Red Lane. Cllr Heselwood explained that the public footpath used to be maintained by LCC and that the Parish Council will look into the land ownership and maintenance responsibilities.
- Reports from District and County Councillors and Police
None in attendance
- Summing Up and Close of Meeting
Cllr Heselwood summed up the meeting and thanked the guest presenters for their input, thanked the Heritage Society for providing the refreshments and the free trees promises, thanked the representatives of the local groups for providing reports on their activities over the past 12 months and thanked all residents for attending.
The meeting closed at 9.40pm.