Minutes of the Maltby le Marsh Annual Parish Meeting held on
Tuesday, 11 April 2017 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall, Main Road
1] Only seven people in total attended the Annual Parish Meeting including 3 parish councillors and the clerk, a meeting which is required by statute. The Chairman, Cllr D Whitehouse, welcomed those present especially guest speaker Cllr Sandra Harrison.
2] Notes of the last meeting were thought a true record and resolved as the minutes, signed by the Chairman.
3] There were no reports on outstanding matters, although there was a query as to the availability of a defibrillator with LIVES Responders at Oham Lakes as stated in the minutes.
4] The Chairman of the Parish Council started his annual report by thanking his fellow Councillors for their support throughout the year, especially Brenda for her wise counsel and the Clerk for his sound advice on statutory matters. District Cllr Harrison was also thanked for her regular attendance, help with ELDC and the supply of daffodil bulbs which are now in full bloom.
Cllr Baildon had energetically pursued the broadband problem and was instrumental in MP Victoria Atkins holding an area forum on the matter in the Village Hall on 20 January. 140 people from the region attended to hear Steve Brookes promise a superfast broadband service for the village by Christmas, we will wait and see.
The Parish Council had organised the purchase of a defibrillator, which is sited at the Village Hall, after a demonstration by John Frank of EMAS at the coffee morning in June. The Chairman expressed thanks to those responsible for collecting donations to help towards the cost of purchase and fitting in September. In February, a training session on the use of a defibrillator was attended by 13 residents.
With the help of Graham Butler, LCC Highways, the Parish Council had been successful in getting adjustments to the local speed limits in an effort to address speeding through the village. This has been assisted by the regular presence of the police “smiley sign” and more recently by one which shows actual speeds. Hopefully Ray Abbott will continue to organise its availability for use in the village.
A decorative village sign is a step closer with the production of a modello by Scott Norwood-Witts which is to be displayed in the Village Hall. The funding was provided by Village SOS and Community Lincs, amounting to £1205, which covered the costs of production, Samantha Smith’s costs and the cost of the presentation evening on 17 December when some 40 residents enjoyed an excellent buffet after singing carols around the Christmas tree. Attracting funding of around £3000 will be necessary to move the project forward.
Highways have yet to unearth the footpath near the Willows although the sidings work is still in the programme. Despite dog fouling notices being displayed the problem still exists and dog owners are asked to act responsibly. The post box remains at the old post office despite its scheduled closure last May. The Chairman thanked Pearl and Susan for their periodic litter picks helping to keep the village tidy. The best kept garden competition for the Anne Graves Cup continues to be judged and sponsored by Woodthorpe Hall for which we are very grateful. This year the winners were John and Rosemary Clarke of Dovecote House with Sue and Philip of Moonraker runners up. We have also extended periodic grass cutting to the corner near the garage.
The Parish Council decided to express an interest in paying for the footway lighting despite some reservations, fortunately ELDC have decided to continue to fund them and update to LED lighting to help long term costs. Three councillors attended an ELDC area forum meeting in Alford which proved very informative and suggested the Village Hall might be a suitable venue for a future forum meeting.
A number of planning applications were considered throughout the year. We had reservations about Laburnam Cottage and ELDC were in agreement, however it has gone to the inspectorate for a second look. It is sad to lose the facilities of a pub but development at the Crown Inn seems inevitable.
We continue to look after the Anne Bolles Educational Foundation and accepted one grant application at the annual meeting in December. Since then the Clerk had found a bank account offering a better interest rate and the savings account has been transferred accordingly. In conclusion, the Chairman thanked John Alldridge for his excellent newsletters, Jane Grey for the internal audit of the accounts and Robert Aldrich for keeping the Village and the Churchyard tidy
5] The clerk reported the Parish Council had increased the 2016/17 precept by 21% to cover the removal of the council tax support grant, the possible future parish election costs after ELDC’s decision to stop funding them and an increase in general expenses. Generous donations totalling £690.88 towards the cost of the defibrillator allowed the Council to cover the shortfall just within the yearly budget. The precept for 2017/18 has increased but by less than 3%.
6] Guest Speaker Cllr Harrison gave a very informative talk about the subject of Waste. ELDC are responsible for the collection of all waste in the region while LCC are responsible for the disposal of that waste. Collections are centralised at Louth where the recycled waste is weighed and bulk delivered to a plant at Barkston where it is picked over on conveyors. Any wet or improper waste can result in the whole 6-ton load being classed as contaminated, losing valuable recycling credits and highlighting the importance of washing out containers to remove all traces of food residues.
The black bin waste is taken to Hykeham where it is burnt in furnaces to produce energy reducing costs involved with landfill. The increase in charge for green waste had been controversial but thought necessary as there was a large shortfall on covering costs last year. At the set price (£40) 26000 are required to sign up to break even, currently that number has just been exceeded. The green waste is taken to sites at either Elkington or Strubby, at the latter composted waste can be purchased.
There are also separate glass collections from central banks which seems to work well in this area although other councils collect glass with the recycling waste. The whole collection system requires careful management and there have been problems with absenteeism which can cause problems finding replacements at short notice due to the early start. A short question/answer session followed the presentation.
7] The poor attendance meant discussion about providing decorative village signs was of little value and was duly omitted.
8] No points were raised from the open floor but a vote of thanks was given to the Chairman for all his sterling efforts throughout the year.
With no further matters put forward the meeting closed at 8.08pm
Chairman; Cllr David Whitehouse 01507 450811 Clerk; Mr Graham Simpson 01754 880131
Ourholme, Dovecote Lane, Wainfleet, Skegness, Lincs, PE24 4AD