Annual Parish Meeting

MINUTES OF THE HUNDLEBY ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON 11TH MAY 2022 AT 6.30PM IN THE PARISH ROOMS

Present :  Cllr Lynette Corten-Miller (Chair)      

11 Members of the Public

Also in attendance: Jane Slaymaker Parish Clerk

1.Cllr Corten-Miller welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2.There were no apologies

3. The minutes of the last meeting held on 5th May 2022 were accepted as a true record.

4. Cllr Corten-Miller gave her report (copy attached) which highlighted the progress made by the Council over the past year and thanked all Cllrs, employees, contractors and volunteers that keep the village looking well maintained and helped with the Jubilee celebrations in 2022 and the Coronation celebrations this year.

5. The public were invited to raise any matters of interest. No comments were made.

6. A vote of thanks was given to all the participants.

7. The meeting closed at 6.40pm.

Chair’s Report

Annual Parish Meeting 2023

I would like to start my report, by thanking all members of Hundleby Parish Council for their efforts and hard work, carrying out their duties on behalf of all the residents of Hundleby.  All members give their time freely and are volunteers.  This past year has been extremely busy, and Councillors have found themselves seeking advice and support from outside agencies, and questioning why they take on the role of being a Parish Councillor. 

I want to thank past members of the Council.   Andy Foster, David Cartwright and Jeanette Amaral for all the work they put in, during their time in office last year and who decided to resign.  They all contributed and helped this Council to move forward, bringing in new policies, updating policies, setting new goals for the future and seeking to support the community.  I also wish to thank Stephanie Foster who organises the bookings for the Parish Rooms.  Stephanie carries out this duty as a volunteer and works tirelessly for the community.  Andy and Stephanie also decorate the Parish Rooms for Christmas.  My thanks go to both of them.

Mick Holmes, our grounds contractor, continues to maintain our grounds and benches, painting where necessary.  I do have to add that we were very disappointed to discover that our bench on Raithby Hill was stolen a few days ago and the police have been informed.     We appreciate the work that Mick carries out on our behalf.

It is with sadness that I have to report that Jane Slaymaker our Clerk has offered her resignation due to personal commitments.  Jane has been a pillar of support to the Council, especially in the last six months, when her workload increased and extra meetings were held.  Jane we wish you well for the future.  Jane also currently cleans the hall and what a splendid job she does.  Thank you, Jane.

During the year we have been advised of several issues relating to Highways.  Local residents have been using the App “Fix My Street” to report their concerns and this has proved very effective.  The items that I personally know have been reported have all been dealt with satisfactorily.  We have an inspection cover near the Old Chapel, Main Road that is damaged and sinking.  This has been identified as requiring repairs by the Council but has still not been fixed yet.  The sign at the top of North Beck Lane is also being repaired and is on the ELDC list.

We carried out a Litter Pick last October, refreshments were served and although numbers were low we still managed to collect several bags of rubbish.  This activity will continue to be organised by the Council.

What else have we done this year?

A decision was made to offer allotments to the public again, this had ceased due to a lack of interest.  Following lockdown we received a small number of requests for an allotment.  The Council currently have three allotments, 3.5m x12m plots.  Only one allotment has been let and we hope that the other two will soon be taken.  The plots cost £5.00 per annum; we currently do not have a water supply on site.  Councillor Maddison and Councillor Dales have been instrumental in organising this and my thanks go to them.

We replaced the lights inside the Parish Rooms with LED lights in an attempt to reduce running costs and meet environmental targets.  We also replaced the facia boards and guttering at a cost of £1260.00.  Wi-Fi has been installed and Councillor Grover assisted us by getting a £200 grant from ELDC towards the purchase.  We will have a monthly charge to pay, but I am confident it will be an asset to all users of the hall.  We hope it will attract new users too.

A feasibility study was carried out following the survey in the Parish for improvements to the Parish Rooms.  This study had been held up because of lockdown.  Following the feasibility study, the Working Party for the Parish Rooms Improvements, advised the Council that their recommendation was to seek further advice on Option 4.  This Option is to work with the Tennis Club Committee, to look at the possibly of a new Community Building on the Spilsby Tennis Club site, that is situated in Hundleby. Further information and advice is being sought.

The Platinum Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth ll, was a joyous occasion.  We organised events over three days.  Local businesses supported our events with donations, and we were very grateful.  The Parish Council held an afternoon tea on the first day.   Spilsby Tennis Club held a joint event on their site on the Sunday.  The Hundleby Inn joined in on the final day and even though it poured with rain those that could, joined in to make it a fun afternoon.

It was with sadness we heard that the W.I. took the decision to cease to operate and will no longer be meeting at the Parish Rooms.  This will be reviewed in three years, to see if anyone wants to start it up again.  The W.I. decorated the green for the Jubilee and recently the Coronation last week.   We are sad to see such a long running group disappear.  They will be missed.

The Coronation Celebrations for Charles III, in Hundleby, was a huge success.  Councillor Caitlin chaired the working party and also decided to start up a Hundleby Choir for the event.   I thank all those involved who donated, worked, and came on the day and  showed how the community can pull together to make something special work.  We also had a clean up on the Saturday before the Coronation, washing signs, sweeping up, litter picking and making the village tidy.  I thank the Hundleby Inn for providing free refreshments to the tired helpers in the morning.   Councillor Tilsley was seen racing round the village, taking photos of all the lovely decorations that the residents of the village had made, and then putting them on our social media websites.

I want to thank our District and our County Councillor, Will Grover and Will Gray for supporting the council over the last twelve months.  Their input has been invaluable and their support gratefully appreciated.  We look forward to continuing to work with both of them in the coming months and congratulate them on their re-election to their perspective Councils.

We are exploring the idea of producing a Village Newsletter; at this stage I cannot say how often it would be produced if it comes to fruition.  Councillor Caitlin had the idea to produce a newsletter for the Coronation and it proved very successful.  I know she was thrilled when the offer of photographs came from Councillor Parker, who has an amazing talent for photographing local wildlife.  The printing was done by Andy Foster, Andy has produced many posters and brochures for all our events and we are very grateful for his generosity.   Councillor Caitlin has a report on this event at the Hundleby Parish AGM meeting tonight, following this meeting.

To everyone who has attended this meeting, that concludes my report for 2022-2023.  I want to once again, thank you all for coming and to all the members of the Council past and present who have been part of Hundleby Parish Council.

Thank you

Lynette Corten-Miller

Chair of Hundleby Parish Council