MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 14 TH MARCH 2016, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, VICARAGE LANE, MEARS ASHBY, AT 7:30PM

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1 MEARS ASHBY PARISH COUNCIL Clerk: Mrs A Palmberg, 23 Old End, Piddington, Northants, NN7 2DF Tel: clerk@mearsashbyparishcouncil.com MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 14 TH MARCH 2016, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, VICARAGE LANE, MEARS ASHBY, AT 7:30PM Present: Cllrs K Payne (Chairman), N Wookey, C Stockdale, M O Halloran, T Graham, Cllr D Payne, Cllr V Smith and A Palmberg (Clerk). Also present were residents: Mr R Payne, Mr T Watts, Mrs C Watts, Mrs C Napier, Mr D Callis, Mrs J Callis, Mr N Frampton, Mr S Borrett (Wilby PC) 1. Apologies: Mr P Dunphy (Mears Ashby Village Hall) 2. Approval of the Minutes held on Monday 9 th March The minutes were duly approved and signed. 3. Chairman s Report Since the new Parish Council was formed following last May s elections, several changes have been implemented - we now hold meetings every month, which has proved to be very successful - shorter meetings and a quicker turnaround of information. It has also meant that special meetings to consider planning applications should no longer be needed. We have completed the Parish Council s part of the Village Design Statement and, although the Village Character Appraisal prepared by the then Conservation Officer has been approved by the Borough Council, a change in their officers has meant that to date nothing further has been done despite several requests from this Council. The Affordable Housing Scheme is progressing and the last information we had from the Housing Association was that a planning application along the lines of the scheme displayed at the open village meeting should be submitted to the Borough Council this month. We have met with County Highways and discussed several issues - renewing the white lines Wilby Road, Highfield Road/ North Street junction and outside the school; moving the 30mph sign further out towards Wilby past the new bungalow; all pot holes have been listed and reported to Street Doctor and it is hoped that some park sensibly signs will be erected in strategic places during the Summer. A defibrillator is to be acquired for village use and we are currently investigating suitable sites, the most central location would be at the Church and it is hoped that the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches will approve this. A new grass cutting contract has been made for 10 cuts per year, plus weed control, (the previous grass cutting contract was through the County Council and was for fewer cuts) which should mean that the grass verges and Village will be maintained to a higher standard than in the past. Some of our new Councillors have been able to attend training courses on what being a Councillor means, on planning and on the Code of Conduct and how it is implemented and those who have been unable to attend have had all the course notes and we have all been given a copy of the upto-date Good Councillors Guide - so we should all be up to speed. Our Clerk, Anna, has also attended the New Clerk s courses and is starting the Clerk s Cilca qualification course very shortly. 4. County Councillor Paul Bell No Report. 5. Borough Councillors Clive Hallam and Jennie Bone No Report. 6. Police Report No Report.

2 7. Mears Ashby Charities Reports and Charities Report from Town Estates for 2015 as written by Tony Watts The year 2015 was overshadowed by the illness suffered by Marian Barker culminating in her untimely death at Christmas closely following her eightieth birthday. Marian had combined the roles of secretary and treasurer for more than twenty years. She had worked for the charity unstintingly in what can only be described as the engine room of the whole operation. At our recent meeting on the 22 nd of February Tony Watts was re-elected, as Chairman and David Callis will take over the role of Secretary/Treasurer. We are very pleased to welcome Keith Barker as a trustee. We shall shortly ask the Parish Council to post on their noticeboard and website a full breakdown of our finances. We are reviewing the format to make it clearer. In the meantime, however, I can tell you that in 2015 our investment income was pounds The total value of our portfolio on 31 st December 2015 was pounds 96,082, which was a small increase of pounds 800 over the corresponding figure a year earlier. We are not immune from the volatility of investments in the current market climate. In 2015 our outgoings amounted to pounds1110. Which includes pounds 500 spent on a five-year maintenance contract for the church clock, hopefully to reduce unscheduled repair call outs. And pounds 400 to cover coach hire for a village outing to The National Arboretum in Staffordshire. Annually, we pay for a review of our investments which this year cost pounds 210. Regarding new or unfinished projects, this year we plan to complete the renovation of the Town Well. The underwater part of the structure remains to be done. Normally the process would be tanking which must be a dying art. After much investigation we could only find a single organization capable of the task, but who did not appear interested in our business. Thus, we have decided that tiling would be a suitable alternative. As previously mentioned the outing to the Arboretum was a success enjoyed by those who participated. So much so, that we shall be reviewing an outing this year, most probably in September. That concludes my report, but if anyone wishes to comment or ask any questions I shall be pleased to answer them. Tony Watts-Chairman.

3 Sarah Kinloch Charity No Annual report available. Poor s Close Charity 8. Village Hall Reports & Accounts as written by Paul Dunphy I very regrettably have to start this report advising of the sad loss of one of our committee members, Marian Barker, who passed away recently. Marion had served on the committee for many years representing numerous organisations. The committee and I wish to recognise all her time, dedication and efforts assisting the functioning of the Village Hall was, as planned, another quiet year for the Village Hall in terms of fund raising events. However, the next phases of capital improvements were carried out, namely electrical repairs and upgrades as well as work on the roof. In terms of personnel changes The Committee welcomes Mr Nick Wookey who replaces Marian as the Parish Council representative. Despite there being no fundraising events held during 2015 there has been continued support of the hall from its existing core users. Due to the extra capital spend on the roof and electrics the accounts show a net loss position for the year. Critically, the income is broadly in line with last year and adjusting for the exceptional capital spends the income would easily cover the normal running costs of the Hall. The outlook for 2016 is to continue to work with the core users of the Hall and where possible attract new, see to all routine maintenance and deliver an end of year Operating Surplus to further boost funds.

4 Finally, my thanks go to ALL committee members and helpers who gave their valuable time in aid of The Village Hall whether that is general maintenance, cleaning, bookings, opening and closing the hall for each event. 9. Mears Ashby Society Report & Accounts Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Friday March 11th March 2016 at the Village Hall Apologies: Anna Palmberg sent her apologies Approximately 55 members were in attendance Membership Committee The committee membership remains the same. Minutes of AGM 6th March 2015 Matters arising: The Chairman read the minutes outlining the main points for discussion. Only one matter was raised and that was (Item7 - the Well in North Street). Angela Parker who raised the concern of the water level in the well last summer said that the problem seems to have been solved by the recent heavy rain. No other matters were raised. The minutes were approved and signed. Chairman s Report for 2015 Mike Chamberlain reported another productive year for the Society. Garden Weekend: The open garden weekend was a success despite the weather. 525 was donated to the NGS and 100 to the Village Hall Funds. The Chairman wanted to formally minute the Committee s gratitude to all the gardeners who opened their garden that weekend. He is very aware of all the hard work and the great effort that it entailed. He also said that there would be a rest period of 3 years when the Committee may organise another similar event. Bulb Planting: Over 2000 bulbs were planted in and around the village during the autumn. The Chairman wanted to thank the Committee and helpers, as it wasn t an easy task this year due to the fact that it basically did not stop raining! However, there should be a great display this Spring!

5 Flag Poles: No 1, flagpole is installed in the North Street Garden and the two purchased flags have been erected on various significant days. Flag Pole No 2, has been restored by our master restorer, Rob Page, and will soon be installed in the field opposite the Griffins Head. Our thanks go to Charles Stockdale for his permission. Flags have also been purchased. Special mention of appreciation and gratitude: The Chairman would like it minuted, that the Committee is most grateful for all the support and help the following village residents have so willingly given during the year. Ernest Potter (for his many skills) Britton s Nursery (plants) Perky Plant (plants), John Kelly (Treasurer), Joanne Jeffery (auditor), David Callis (general gardening maintenance), The MAS Committee, Ute and Tim Graham (organising the Litter Picks), the Mears Ashby Ladies (for all the food contributions during the year and especially for this evening), Monika Spademan (maintaining the North Street Garden, organising the raffle hampers and her secretarial skills), and the MAS members for their continuing support. Sid Brown gave a special vote of thanks to Michael Chamberlain for his work as the Chairman of the committee. Correspondence was read out from Amanda Dunphy on behalf of the Hannah Payne Trust apologising for the absence of a representative (due to other commitments) as the MAS have agreed to donate part of the evening s raffle proceeds to the Trust. 220 was raised that evening on the raffle, which is an excellent and very generous effort. Treasurer s Report and Accounts for the period 1 st January to 31 st December 2015 The income for the year can be split into: Subscriptions Raffle 180 Open gardens 626 On the expenditure side, we spent 170 on bulbs, 114 on repairs to the planter at the junction of Glebe Road and North Street, 298 on flags and flagpole now erected in the North Street garden, 154 on hall rental and donation, sundry expenses relating to teas and raffles etc As a result of the money raised in the Open Garden weekend, we were able to donate 525 to the National Garden Scheme. At the end of the year we had a credit balance of 688. The new subscription year started on 1 st January and so far we have received 500. We are most grateful to Joanne Jeffery for checking the accounts and reconciling them with the bank statements. David Callis and Joanne Jeffery each received a 25 honorarium. Programme for the year 2016 The Bulb planting will be repeated again in the Autumn. Ongoing maintenance to North Street Garden, Gravel Lane, filling planters and sign cleaning. Open Forum (Comments and Ideas) Flag Poles: Angela Parker suggested to the committee the idea of purchasing flags for various nationalities. Birds of Prey were suggested for displaying on possibly the Queen s Birthday weekend or any other suggested event. Angela would organise a Mears Ashby Bake-off with a Royal theme! This could be done and judged on the Queen s Birthday weekend, possibly at the time around the village street parties. 10. Neighborhood Watch No report available 11. Parish Council Accounts (Please see attached) 12. Open Forum Mr Watts enquired whether the Parish Council had received any updates with respect to the developments at Prologis/Appleby Lodge. The Chairman responded that to date this year, there were no new updates. Mr Watts also asked about Sywell Aerodrome and its ongoing discussions. The Chairman advised the meeting that there were no further developments.

6 13. Chairman s Closing Statement The Chairman thanked the residents for attending the meeting and expressed disappointment at the lack of County Council and Borough Council representation. She also thanked the Parish Council for the continuous work they do in enhancing aspects of the Parish. Date of next Annual Parish Meeting - Monday 3 rd April 2017 in the Village Hall, Vicarage Lane, Mears Ashby. There being no further business, the meeting finished at 8:08pm...Signature Chairman..Date LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 Please note, this is a public meeting and you may be filmed, recorded and published. Copies of all council papers are available at: Please note that these minutes are in draft format until formally approved and signed by the Chairman.