May 2023 Minutes Annual Parish Meeting
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH
Venue : Stickford Community Centre, started at 7.30pm on 9th May 2023
THE MINUTES
No. of Residents present : 4 Official attendees read Y for attending N for non-attendance
Chairman Councillor Mrs Lesley Reeson Y
Councillor vacancy N
Councillor Mrs Pam Bryant Y
Councillor vacancy N
Councillor Mr Clive Kingswood Y
Councillor vacancy N
Councillor Mr John Howlett Y
Parish Clerk Mrs Nicki George Y
Lincs C C Councillor Mrs W Bowkett Y
ELDC Councillor Mr Terry Taylor Y
1. The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed all present.
2. Update and Matters Arising from last Annual Meeting of the Parish held 10th May 2022 :
1) Potholes: Many of the potholes around the village have been filled in but there are more to be done. The Clerk regularly walks around the village and photographs any bad areas and reports them on Fix My Street. Broken trees and overgrown hedges & trees have been reported and cut back accordingly. Broken bollard & railings around junction of Fen Road and A16 have been repaired. The bent Cul de Sac sign has been repaired.
2) Speeding: A Speed assessment of the A16 was requested and carried out in March 2022 looking to reduce the speed limit to 50mph. It was declined as the criteria was not met with regards to Density of Development and Accident Data.
3) Cleaning of dykes: Witham Fourth have kept their sections clean and the Environment Agency have done theirs too.
4) Bus Shelters: The Parish Council are currently gathering quotes to replace the existing wooden bus shelters with either metal or brick.
5) Dog Bins: All are emptied regularly. No complaints about dog bagged faeces being left on the ground at the Dog bins. The Dog Warden has provided some posters to be put up around the areas of persistent dog fouling ie. Catchwater Bank and the Cul de Sac, and Hagnaby Road.
6) War Memorial Clock: The Clock mechanism has been removed and is currently being repaired. It is hoped to be back in place and working by the end of May 2023. This has been funded entirely by a Grant and Donations. Nothing has been funded by the Parish Council.
7) Stickford Parish Council Website : it is regularly updated by the Clerk. A maintenance contract has been arranged via LALC to assist the Clerk.
8) Burglaries : no more burglaries have been reported. PCSO’s are aware of the man that was knocking on doors around the village.
9) Viking Link : work continues with no issues
10) Footpaths : no reports of any issues . Request submitted to ‘Pride of East Lindsey’ to have the footpaths cleaned. No response to date. Clerk will follow up.
11) Noise complaint : No complaints received to date re Coronation celebrations at The Red Lion.
12) Caravans on the Airfield : the occupants that live in the caravans do so with the permission of the land owner. Waste is removed. LCC Travellers Welfare Officer is in regular contact with them and they are given time limits to tidy the area up.
13) Strimmer & Mower : risk assessments have been prepared and they are in use keeping the church grounds tidy. Accident Book and First Aid kit are available. The Chairman stores it at her property when not in use.
14) Litter Bin at end of Church Road, by old recycling area : the clerk is to write to ELDC to see if this can be resited by the bus shelter by Peachwood Cars.
Approval of Minutes from 10th May 2022 : all agreed to approve the Minutes and the Chairman signed them.
3. Annual Reports :
1) Chairmans Report : See Appendix 1.
2) Community Centre : see Appendix 2.
3) Stickford Charities : see Appendix 3.
The free bus is not so well utilised. Its existence needs to continue to regularly be advertised in the Newsletter and by word of mouth. It is available to more people than many think.
4) Garden Allotments : see Appendix 4.
5) ELDC Report : see Appendix 5.
6) LCC Report : see Appendix 6.
4. Residents’ Open Forum :
1) Speed limit on Fen Road , from the bridge up to Poppypole Lane. One direction it shows as 60mph and the other direction it shows as 40mph. Can it be lowered to 30mph. Safety concerns raised from residents that live along Fen Road. Councillor Wendy Bowkett confirmed that this section of road is outside the village curtilage, and will therefore be 60mph. The 40mph will be an advisory limit for when the road was bumpy. Another Traffic Regulation Order will be requested but it is felt that it will not be upheld as nothing has changed since submitting the previous one.
2) New floppy bollards have been erected along the dyke of Hagnaby Lane. We presume that these have been put in place by Highways to protect vehicles going in to the dyke. Cllr Bowkett will clarify if highways installed the floppy bollards.
3) Request to control the traffic that park on the bend of Hagnaby Road – Cllr Bowkett suggested that a meeting be arranged with the Council and Highways to discuss the possibility of putting double yellow lines down.
4) It has been noted that a vehicle is often seen parked at the top of Hagnaby Road. Its activities will be monitored and reported to the PCSO if warranted.
5) A defibrillator has been requested to be positioned within the village. More information needs to be gathered as to the cost and responsibilities that go with it. It is suggested that an article is put in the newsletter to gauge the interest and support, and to get a team of volunteers to fundraise towards the ongoing costs.
6) Residents along Catchwater Bank request that the current process for their rubbish collection be looked at. The lorries will not drive up to their houses so the rubbish has to be taken down to the junction with Fen Road. ELDC are aware of the situation.
7) A resident of Catchwater Bank has raised the topic of the name sign that was erected last year at the entrance of Catchwater Bank. This bank was locally known as Fen Road , when it was known to Lincolnshire County Council as Catchwater Bank.
The meeting was closed by the Chairman at 8.38pm
Date of the next Annual Meeting of the Parish to be 14th May 2024.
Date of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council is 16th May 2023. 7.30pm
Appendix 1
Stickford Parish Council
Chairman’s Yearly Report
The Parish Council has continued to provide support to residents, village groups and assets. We have continued to report issues from trees to potholes and everything in between to the relevant authorities. We continue to provide grants to village groups and we have had significant discussions regarding updating the village assets with hopefully new installations taking place this coming year. The War Memorial Clock is now with the repairers and shall be returned in a few months. This couldn’t have been achieved without the grant received and donations.
The Parish mower and strimmer were put to use last year and have now come back out the shed for another year of keeping the churchyard tidy and other areas that could do with a tidy up.
The Queens Jubilee was a magnificent day and a big thank you to all that helped arrange, on the day and the clean up. I hope it was a good day for all residents as I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sadly that reign was not to last much longer after the jubilee and as I write we are preparing for the Kings Coronation with again another village celebration being organised for May 6th. Hopefully the weather will hold out and another great event is celebrated in the village.
We will always discuss any issues/ideas in the village and encourage residents to either attend the Parish meetings or contact the Parish Clerk.
Finally I thank the other councillors for their hard work this last year and of course the clerk for ensuring we continue to fulfil our duties as a council which is no easy task when you have paperwork coming from all directions.
Regards
Lesley Reeson
Chairman
Stickford Parish Council
Appendix 2
Stickford Community Centre Report 2022/2023
Stickford Community Centre continues to be well used by local groups – Keals Club, Stickford Ladies Social Circle, Stickford Local History Group, Stickford Parish Council, Stickford Charites and St Helen’s Church. Monthly coffee mornings are held here and bingo in the winter months. Training agencies continue to use the Community Centre regularly.
Our running costs have increased significantly with the cost of electricity and oil going up. In October 2021 we paid £31 for electricity and in February 2023 £116 – the price has nearly quadrupled.
In July 2022 the drainage in the playground/car park was finally sorted out. Drainpipes were cleared of jackdaw nests and so far, all is well!
We applied for and received a grant from Awards for All towards the cost of a new central heating boiler, to be fitted in July this year.
Stickford Community Centre joined the South and East Lincolnshire Community Partnership Lottery in October 2023.This has raised £402 for Community Centre funds so far (7 months). It costs £1 per week to play and tickets can be bought online.
A second clothing bank has been installed in the car park, which yields an income direct to the Community Centre based on the mass of clothing collected on a regular basis. The existing clothing bank for the Lincs Notts Air Ambulance is well used and is often full.
In January the charges for hiring the Centre were reviewed and were applied from 1st April 2023. They will be reviewed again in the Autumn so that any new charges can start from 1st January 2024.
Policies are being reviewed regularly by the management committee.
Our plan for next year is to replace the suspended ceiling and instal LED lighting to help with running costs. Also, we are looking into installing a play area on the grassed area, following a request made at the recent parish council meeting. Both these projects will require significant grant funding.
Cheryl Steele
Chairman of Stickford Community Centre management committee
Appendix 3
STICKFORD CHARITIES
9TH MAY 2023
THERE ARE TWO CHARITIES
The Relief in Need Charity. Provides financial help for those in need living in the Parish of Stickford. It provides School Clothing Vouchers, Birth Grants and Christmas money to Pensioners, single mothers, and others in need at Christmas.
It also provides assistance for residents, for example with repair bills, funeral expenses, aids for disabled people etc.
It also provides a bus service twice a month. Boston on the second Wednesday, and Horncastle on the fourth Thursday. It is free for those residents without transport. And those who can show a genuine need to use the service, even if they have their own transport as well.
Please contact any of the trustees if you are interested in using the service.
Pam Bryant 01205 480410
Dave Bursnell 01205 480053
Wendy Morley 01205 480474
Helen Edwards 07932 717553
Rev Fran Jeffries 01790 752526
Stickford Education Charity.
The object of the charity is to support by financial grants, any educational objectives, including for equipment, books, courses and experiences, for people of any age resident in the Parish of Stickford (including those normally resident but attending university or college elsewhere) and means tested if the Trustees in their discretion so require.
All application for anything other than the School Clothing Vouchers should be made in writing to the Clerk of the Trustees, Mrs Katherine Bunting, at the Old Vicarage, Church Road, Stickford, Boston PE22 8EP or by email to Katherine, Bunting@chattertons.com
Appendix 4
Report for Annual Meeting of the Parish 9th May 2023
Stickford Allotments, Main Road
In 2014, a portion of land was offered to the village as allotments and an allotment association was formed. Interest has waned in the last few years to the extent that there have been too few allotment holders to make the association viable. Additionally the land has been difficult to cultivate because of the number of rabbits.
The decision was taken this year to dissolve the association and the formal process is almost complete. The current owner of the land, Mr Graham Howsam, has kindly allowed the last two allotment holders to continue with their plots on an informal basis.
Julie Bedford
Appendix 5
ELDC REPORT
Being informed that I was unopposed at the recent elections was brilliant news for me. It means that I can continue working with the seven parishes, that I represent, to assist residents with their concerns, make representations to improve the areas where they live and strive to ensure they receive the best services possible.
Since the previous election, district councillors have worked with and supported officers to make positive and constructive decisions, this has enabled much improved services and a healthy surplus which I am confident will provide even better services in the forthcoming year.
Now that I have been appointed for a full term, I want to explore ways to reach out to residents across the ward and make it as easy as possible for them to contact me. I am also hopeful that the seven parish councils will be willing to assist me in conducting a survey, where residents can share their views on the services that ELDC deliver and which are the most important to them, and also, what improvements they would like to see in the parishes where they live.
I am proud and honoured to have the opportunity to serve the Halton Holegate Ward and I can’t wait to get started.
Terry
Cllr Terry Taylor JP
ELDC representative for Halton Holegate Ward
Appendix 6
Lincolnshire County Councillor Wendy Bowkett Annual Report
It has been a pleasure to work with you over the past year, as always your support is greatly received and working together we can get things done.
I am pleased to tell you the Cul de sac / Fen Road to the A 16 has been included in the Carriageway resurfacing programme for 23/24. I know this has been an issue since I was elected having secured the Fen Road section in the last program, I’m pleased the second section has now been funded and included.
I know speeding along the A16 continues to be an issue, I will keep raising the issue with highways officers.
In our budget this year a total of £93 million has been put into highways, which includes an extra £7 million which LCC have added through the budget. This will help, in improving unclassified roads, which we know is well needed in some places.
21,387 reports in the last week on fix my street, 28,629 fixed in the last month.
Any issues you see around the community, with potholes, drainage, street lightening to name a few please report in fix my street or call highways on 01522 552222 or myself on 07917494478.
Coastal car parks now have the new payment system, it runs from Easter to 31st October. Anderby Creek, Chapel six marshes, Huttoft, Marsh Yard and Wolla Bank you can now pay by card and the ticket as long as in time, can be used in the different car parks.
As my role in Adult Care and Public Health Exec Member, we have secured £4 million pounds to further the work with Alcohol and drug treatment across the county. This is very important work and am sad to say since Covid there is a real problem with excessive alcohol consumption, so hopefully this can reach even more people than before.
The adult care budget for 23/24 is £169 million and the budget for children’s services is £98 million, these are statuary services but just shows you how much money is needed to run our county services.
The latest Covid booster vaccine is now available for the over 75s and anyone with a weakened immune system, you should be contacted to book by the NHS app or a phone call or you can go on the NHS.gov site or call 119 free of charge.
Please as always contact me with any issues.
Wendy
Cllr Wendy Bowkett
Wainfleet and Spilsby Ward
cllrw.Bowkett@lincolnshire.gov.uk
07927494478