Annual Parish Meetings

Minutes of the Claxby ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Held on Tuesday 16th May 2023 at 7.00 p.m. Village Hall, Claxby.

Attendees: All members of the Council, plus 8 members of the public

1.   To approve and sign draft minutes of the previous meeting held 12th May 2022.

Minutes approved and duly signed.

2.   To receive the Chairman’s report on Parish Council Activities during the past year.

The chairman reported on the past year:

• On 2nd June a small group of residents from Claxby and Normanby organised celebrations for the Queens Platinum Jubilee, spread over 4 days.
• Three residents had died: Doug Elston, Mrs Agus and John Heald.
• On 15th July power was cut to allow essential works to be carried out.
• Together with Paul Strong, the chairman had installed a dog poo bin near the village notice board.
• A sign had been fitted on the playing field gate saying: “no camping, fires or BBQs without permission”.
• An emergency planning meeting was held in the village hall on 23rd August and this prompted the formation of the Emergency Planning Committee.
• On 2nd September a meeting was held in the playing field to discuss laying matting for the car park area. 
• On 28th September a meeting was held in the playing field to discuss overgrown trees and hedges around the perimeter that were causing problems with grass cutting. This was followed up on 13th November with a meeting with Matt Boulton and Chris Jackson who had offered to help with the task. The chairman and Cllr Pilbrow spent 8 days in January making a start on clearing the perimeter as it was too wet to use machinery at this time.
• On 21st October a Harvest Supper was held in the Viking Centre.
• On 29th October an afternoon tea fund-raising event was organised by Cllrs Lindley-Baker and Pilbrow, which raised over £280.
• On 27th November an oak tree was planted in the field to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee
• Ken Griffin and his helpers organised a poppy day collection and raised £544.25.
• On 11th January two poles supporting electricity cables were replaced on Mulberry Rd.
• 3 Councillors (Ian Cumber, Helen Wilson, Mark Reeves) resigned and were replaced by the co-option of David and Jenny Lofthouse and Colin Saywell at an extra-ordinary meeting on 8th March.
• PCSO Dawn Cowling has commenced regular surgeries in the Village Hall
• The village marquee was sent for repair to Beltec in Market Rasen.
• David Beer and the chairman met with a planning officer from WLDC to discuss problems with intruders at the Old Rectory.
• The internal light in the telephone kiosk was replaced by the chairman.
• There have been issues with the broadband to the village affecting at least 7 properties and this is still not resolved.
• Elections for District Councillor were held on May 4th.
• A questionnaire has been sent to all villagers to ask for their suggestions of improvements to the playing field.

3.   To receive a report on current Parish Council finances from the Responsible Finance Officer.

• The RFO reported that Grants for the refurbishment of the village hall totalling £23,000 were received and added to the £10,000 already ring-fenced for the project. The Council also agreed that a further £5000 should be allocated to bring the fire and safety provision up to standard.
• A dedicated bank account had been set up for the Village Hall.
• Total income for the year was £29773 of which £5407 was the precept. 
• A Councillor Initiative Grant of £586 held over from the previous year was used to provide supplies for the old defibrillator and fund the new defibrillator when it arrived.
• Other income included a VAT refund of £302.95 and a compensation payment from Lloyds bank for poor service. Also, a £700 grant was received for the Jubilee celebrations, all of which was spent.
• The Village Hall has started to generate its own income and by the end of March takings amounted to £195.43.
• Expenditure for 22/23 was £40510 much of which was on the village hall.
• The council’s total reserves stood at £11237 at the year end, which has been carried forward to 2023/24 financial year. There should be £5227.48 reclaimable VAT of which £4617.71 will go back into village hall funds.
• The Council decided that the precept should increase to from £5407 to £5675.

4.   Open meeting.

A member of the public raised the issue of the new playing field car park and the steps that had been built from the carpark down to Normanby Rise and noted there had been no consultation on the works. Cllrs Lindley-Baker and Saywell responded, saying that information was sent out on the Claxby Community WhatsApp, by email, and also posted in the minutes of the meetings both on the website and noticeboards. Members of the Council assured the complainant that better efforts would be made to improve communication, particularly when Council’s actions directly affected residents.

A resident asked why Cllr Saywell had approached him regarding the felling of two rotten trees at the Old Rectory. Cllr Saywell replied that another resident had complained to the Parish Council and that checks had been made as to whether permission had been granted for the felling of the trees; also, email exchanges had taken place with the tree preservation officer as to whether it was legal to cut down trees during bird nesting season. The resident at the meeting said that written permission from the landowner had been given. He said he had been made to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the village, after an exchange of messages on the Claxby Community WhatsApp group last year and then again after being approached by the second resident who has now contacted the police.

The clerk was asked to find out what the WLDC policy is on rotten trees along the highways in the area.

The meeting closed at 7.39.