STOW PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
18th MAY 2015 STOW MINSTER CHURCH
Present: Cllr P Justham, Cllr T Waudby, Cllr A Taylor,
Cllr J Martinson,
Cllr Shore
Clerk to the Council Mrs L Gibbs
Four members of the public
1.Apologies for Absence
Cllr Hewitt
2.Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on the 19thMay 2014
These were amended to read that there were two members of the public.
It was proposed by Cllr Waudby and seconded by Mr Owen Miller to accept the minutes as a true copy of the meeting.
3.Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
4.Annual report from the Council
The work of a Parish Council is hard to define:
Stow PC comprises a small group of volunteers from the local community supported by a professional clerk trying to maintain and improve the facilities of the area with a very limited budget.
A small village with a Play park and a Cemetery both requiring regular
maintenance, also other areas of grass some maintained by a contractor and those needing more regular cutting by volunteers. The Parish lawnmower requires replacement, a grant helping towards the purchase has been promised. A herbaceous border is weeded and planted by volunteers. Cllr Justham thanked the volunteers.
An area of land out of the village is at present rented by a villager.
Stow Parish councillors have been renowned for practical support and this group of councillors are no different.
In recent years Stow Fun Raisers have worked with the Parish Council in providing improvements for the village and we hope that this will continue.
Most of the village developments have been funded by grants obtained through District Council monies or have been made available by application to other local funding bodies. Stow Fun Raisers have in some cases financially supportedprojects.
A replacement Noticeboard has been fitted to the Bus Shelter thanks to Stow Fun Raisers. Two new seats have been purchased, one for the junction of Ingham Road and South Drive to replace a damaged seat that has served the village for many years. A further seat has been fixed in the play park, these with the help of Stow Fun Raisers. Removal of old equipment and the fitting of the new have beencarried out by volunteers who are members of Stow Fun Raisers.
Trees have been a focus of this year and will continue to be over the next year.
The corner of Ingham road had been planted with conifers some years ago, these have been removed as it had become difficult to see clearly to exit from South Drive to travel in the Ingham direction.
Some trees in the Cemetery are to be removed; one also having fallen in the
whirlwind of January 2014 and kindly cleared by volunteers; two others have been investigated and are to be felled professionally. One further diseased tree also to be felled. Undergrowth is in the process of being removed, though this progress will take time.
The Cemetery gates are being refurbished and refitted thanks to volunteers.
The benches in the cemetery require attention probably replacing...... should the one to be removed from the end of South Drive be suitable for repair, this may be an option for one lot them.
A fresh draft plan of the newer plots of the cemetery has been produced by the
clerk, this will be checked over the next months and finalised for ease of allocation.
The Play park was assessed during the year and action has been taken to dealwith the points shown in the report. It may be that further funds will be made available to upgrade the area this year. A new Roundabout was installed; help towards the purchase and installation came from Councillor Shore’s allocation.
The boundary of the park that abuts the gardens of the houses facing onto Sturton Road requires attention and solutions are under discussion; the boundary next to the field entrance will be further planted to thicken the hedge in this year.
The village Whipping Post has been in need of refurbishment for a number of
years. A grade two listed building, the wooden post having been replaced at least once in the past, the Council have asked for advice from West Lindsey District Council Heritage officer. The Irons that have been removed are in the safekeeping of Owen Miller.
A pop up Post Office has been in place in the village for three sessions each week.
This began on the 5th of March after considerable discussions and preparation
with St Mary’s Church PCC and the Post Office.
The Stow Village Hall fund has been held within the Parish Council Banking system for a number of years. This year discussions are to take place with a view to removing the fund to its own account.
Owen Miller has served the Council both practically and with wisdom for manyyears . Thanks go to him for his long and valuable service.
Local village planning applications have been considered throughout the year,
most have been accepted positively.
The Parish Clerk has been working on a Parish Website which is hosted by
Lincolnshire County Council and is now up and running. All accepted Council
minutes and accounts are available for the public to view. It is intended that the site will be further developed over time. le who help keep the village neat and attractive including Janet Keown from Sturton, who tidies and plants the herbaceous border.
Thank you also to Owen Miller for his hard work on the Parish Council for many years.
5.Parish Council Accounts for the Financial Year 2014/2105
Balance B/F£7433
Income£8612
Expenditure£11325
Closing Balance£4721
Village Hall Account
Opening Balance£32460
Interest£ 88
Total£32548
6.Stow Neighbourhood Watch Report Margaret Vickers
Glen Patchett has now moved back to Saxilby.
There has been little crime only 4 incidents in the village.
A car parked in a field was reported to the police who investigated and found drums and pipes in the car which would have been used to steal fuel.
A shed had been broken into and a tractor stolen also a security light was broken a week before an attempted burglary.
Please make sure that keys are not left by doors.
If residents are going on holiday please inform the police or Margaret before they go.
Cllr Justham thanked Margaret for all her hard work.
7.Update on Village Hall Account
Cllr Justham informed the parishioners of the intention to pass back the fund to its own trustees in order for the Parish Council to adhere to the new small authorities’ transparency requirements.
8.Update on Stow Fun Raisers
'As a relatively new member of SFR, and the recently appointed treasurer, I have been very pleased at the continued co-operation between SFR and the PC this year, in connection with various community events and assets.
The village bike ride in June continues to grow in popularity, with families and friends making the most of the opportunity to cycle along public roads, bridleways and private roads, and then socialise on the village green enjoying food and drink provided by SFR.
The table top sale in October again used the green and welcomed people from a wider area to buy, sell and enjoy the BBQ.
The Christmas tree looked very welcoming in the centre of the village and provided a focal point for a very successful community singing of carols and Christmas songs.
The new benches are a particularly welcome joint venture. The bench in the play park has already been well used, and received a number of positive comments during the very well attended village treasure trail which saw 30 family/ friend groups follow clues around the village before returning to the play park to sit and eat, drink and watch their children play in a safe, contained area.
The play park is currently an under-used asset of the village and ihopefully, working together, we might make more use of it in the future.
As the PC is aware, the National Road Race comes through Stow on Sunday
28th June. SFR have already done alot to raise awareness of the resulting
rolling road closures that day, but the PC may also have plans to make sure
no-one is surprised at traffic restrictions on the day. SFR will be providing
refreshments for spectators in the morning, and then the usual village bike ride
and BBQ will take place in the afternoon. We have also been promised a Stow
banner from WLDC with the printed times that the race is coming through,
together with event specific bunting, which will supplement the SFR bunting.
There was also an offer of assistance with providing a generator and big screen
for the event, but SFR did not feel able to take on that organisational
responsibility. If the PC would like to make the most of this opportunity then
Clare Ella has the contact details of the WLDC liaison officer, and it is not too
late to seek funding to help with the costs.'
9.Report on Stow Pop up Post Office and Stow Minster
Update on implementation of a ‘pop-up’ Post Office for Stow and surroundingvillages.
Following an initial approach by the Post Office to Stow Parish Council in May 2014, theParochial Church Council was asked, and agreed to explore the possibility of hosting a‘pop-up’ Post Office within St Mary’s Church to replace the service provided following theclosure of the substantive Post Office on Ingham Road.
The first meeting between PCC representatives, the PO, and probable service
provider took place on 3rd July 2014 and it was agreed to pursue the
possibility of three-sessionper week service. To enable this to happen the PCC
had to apply to Royal Mail for StowMinster to be a registered postal address
and have a postcode assigned, and apply to theDiocesan Registrar for a
Faculty ( like planning permission) for the Bishop of Lincoln togrant a licence
to allow part of the church to be used as a Post Office. In addition the PCC
had to obtain permission under De Minimis (minor works granted by the
Archdeacon) toallow a telephone line and the associated works to be installed.
developing the licencetook time as the detail of the licence needed to be
agreed and there is a formal period ofconsultation required. Nevertheless all
necessary permissions and minor works weregranted and in place to allow
the Post Office to open on 5th March 2015.
The Post Office service is provided by the subpostmaster who operates the
one session-a-week post office in the Old School Room at Sturton.
The Post Office is now open for business at the following Opening times:
Monday 09.30 - 12.30
Tuesday 13.30 - 16.30 (1.30pm - 4.30pm)
Thursday 09.30 - 12.30
Location - The north transept, otherwise known as the Beckett Chapel, in Stow
Minster.
Teething issues: Some remedial work on external and internal signage is
required. Thereis a need to address some access issues, eg a door
bell/intercom on the South Door may be needed to alert the postmaster to
assist a disabled user’s access.
Initial reactions: Appreciated by users, though occasionally the opening is
delayed dueto delays in loading software. Non-post office provision for sale
of groceries andnewspapers is appreciated.
Subpostmaster is pleased with progress. The initial period has shown growth
Aboveaverage for a new ‘pop-up’ service. User numbers are increasing
though more footfallwould be welcome.
Stow Minster
The scaffolding work is nearing completion, the masonry work should be
completed by the end of the week then the scaffolding will start to come down
early June.
The insurers were not happy with the original tenders for the window and it
has gone back out to be re tendered.
Reece Prosser as not been well and will be leaving the area shortly to retire in
Bexhill on Sea then the formal process of finding a new priest will begin.
10.Report on Sturton School
We currently have 146 pupils on school roll.
Our current Year 6’s will move on to a range of secondary schools in September: William Farr, Lincoln Castle Academy, Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School, and Gainsborough Queen Elizabeth’s High School.
We have eighteen children ready to start Reception in September (possibly 21). Due to the overall increase of pupils attending the school we will be growing our number of classes from 5 to 6. There are also some changes ahead to the leadership of the school. Mrs Harrod, one of our Assistant Headteachers, is leaving at the end of the Summer Term to move back to Cardiff. Miss Smith, our other Assistant Headteacher, is returning to teach Reception after half term. We have therefore made three teaching appointments. Mrs Bole has now been made a permanent member of the staff team, and we have also appointed Miss Charlotte Evans. Miss Evans is concluding her teacher training with the University of York this term, and has just completed an outstanding placement at Eagle Primary School. The third vacancy has also been filled, and we will be able to inform parents & carers of the identity of this final appointment closer to half term. They were all exceptional candidates from a very large pool of applicants and will be a great asset to the teaching team.
The fabric of the building continues to improve, with a refurbishment plan now in place, and the essential larger projects complete - moving to gas heating and replacing the Hall roof and ceiling.
The children have had the opportunity to take part in a range of extra-curricular activities since September: Football for boys & girls, Gardening, Cookery Club, Choir, Recorders, and Seekers & Kingdom Kids, Bell Plates, Sewing, ICT & Art. We enjoyed a fabulous Musical Celebration Evening in April, and our Choir sang at Young Voices with 5,000 other children at Sheffield Arena in January.
We continue to have great participation and success in a range of sporting activities too:
The first week back after the Easter Holidays saw the cross country team run their last race of the season at Sir Francis Hill Primary School. The boys finished in 9th place, girls finished in 18th place. The year 5/6 boy’s football team played their final league match of the season against Lea School. They came away with an 8-2 victory which made us Small Schools Football League Champions. At the annual swimming gala which we have participated in for many years, four girls and four boys were selected to represent the school at the gala and the evening was a very exciting one. The children managed to reach 6 out of a potential 10 finals and they all swam their hearts out. After all the finals had been swum the boys lifted the Small Schools Swimming Trophy yet again and they finished 4th overall out of the 10 schools that took part. Unfortunately the girls were just pipped by Corringham School and finished a very solid 8th place out of 10 schools.
Pupil Council have shared their ideas for improvements to the school. Their most ambitious requests have been for some ‘large play’ equipment for the playground and an outdoor stage. Much of the financial support for this has been provided by FOSSA, our School Friends Association. We are also hoping to bid for some grant funding to implement all of the plans.
We are now delivering the new National Curriculum through a range of topics such as World War 1, Super Scientists, Buzz about Books and, during this term, Food and Farming. Our youngest children spent a day at Rand Farm, and our older children visited two local farms where they began to learn about the journey of our food ‘from farm to fork’. Our Buzz About Books week was also a great success, and attracted a great deal of support from the local community: parents, cares and local people came to read to and with the children, and a number of businesses sponsored our special selection of books for each class, providing each year group with their own ‘canon of literature’.
I shall be leaving Sturton by Stow Primary School at the end of the Summer Term, to move on to lead the Kyra Teaching School Alliance. It is with great sadness that I shall be leaving the team and the children, as the school is now growing, and going from strength to strength. We have made significant progress over the last four years, and I look forward to hearing more news of the school in years to come as this success is built upon even further. The support of staff, parents, cares and community has been exceptional, and I am incredibly proud of all that we have achieved. The governing body are now in the process of recruiting a new Headteacher, who will take on the baton for leading the aspirations for our school and children.
Whilst the governing body navigate the school through this period of change, we all remain ambitiously optimistic and continue to ‘Aim High’ for the future of our school.