April 2019 Minutes Annual Parish Meeting
Belchford and Fulletby Parish Council
Minutes from Belchford and Fulletby Annual Parish Meeting
11am Saturday 27th April 2019
Held at Belchford Church
Present at the meeting: John Smith, Chairman of the Parish Council and 11 residents.
The meeting started at 11.15 am
1. Minutes of the last Annual Parish meeting (10th May 2018) were proposed, seconded and RESOLVED with no changes.
2. Annual Report from J Smith, Chairman gave a verbal report which included the condition of many roads within the parish which have not improved in the last 12 months. The traffic levels have also increased in this time. More daffodils are to be planted and the recreation areas were also mentioned plus the slow progress on the community woodland project. The parish council is in a good financial position however there will be election costs to be paid. We must continue to report road concerns especially with regard to passing places and weight restrictions. The triangle at Narrow Lane is being used for turning large vehicles and it may be required to round off the corners of the triangle at Fulletby Road, Narrow Lane and Furlongs Lane junction. With respect to speeding vehicles this should be reported to the Police.
Mr Morris provided a background to the community woodland which is an area of 4.6 acres owned by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and is located at the border of our two parishes. It is planned for it to be a self-sown natural environment with a walk to and from Belchford. This parish asset is planned to be a low cost low maintenance which will not be highly used. A hedge will be planted on the southern boundary.
3. Annual Reports from local groups have been given/received earlier in the meeting.
a. Belchford Brownies: The Brownies might close as there are no young Brownies coming forward.
b. Village Hall: The hall is financially viable, the AGM was poorly attended but it is a good building with good regular lettings and is a huge asset to the village. P Proctor.
c. Parent and Toddlers Group: The Toddler group is still busy with between 10 and 17 children per session. Children come from Horncastle, Hemingby, Tetford, Scamblesby, Mareham le Fen and even as far away as Fulstow, coming along to meet with friends. The age range being from just a few weeks old to 3-4 years, many attending before going on to private nursery when parents re-join the work force or to a school based nursery. A wide variety of activities are available which include painting, drawing, play dough, sand play, construction toys, ride on toys and books. We still invite Mrs Abbott across to help where she can despite her not being as active, she is now 104 years old (or should that be young). Mrs Diane Marshall also comes along to help. This year I have purchased powder paint and brushes, paper and some new story books with the Belchford Public Purposes Charity money. Sue Murfin.
d. St Andrews Church: Church Use - This year there have been 3 Holy Communion services, 3 morning praises (one incorporating the Rogation Service), 1 carol service and the Harvest Festival. A baptism was held in August and a special Armistice service was held on 11th November to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Great War. One meeting of the parish council was held in the Church. A third Henry Winn walk was held on May 20th 2018 and a Churches Trust hike was hosted on 26th February 2019. Church Building – Overall, the Church remains in good condition, thanks to the ongoing maintenance and care it has received over the years. The programme of works drawn up from the Quinquennial inspection is being worked through, with all the major Cat B completed. A defibrillator for the village was installed in the porch, on behalf of the parish council. Plans for the “rambler’s booth” have been drawn up, prior to being submitted through the faculty system. The wildflower areas in the churchyard will continue to be maintained. Churchyard – A work party was held on 23rd April 2018 to spring clean the church and surrounding area and also in the late summer to clear the long grass in the churchyard. The event was well supported by the village. Looking forward – There will be a village social in early summer, in the form of a hog roast. We hope to complete the rambler’s booth in the church. Jean Shaftoe’s biography of Henry Winn, Fulletby Poet and historian is due to be published this year. St Andrews will take part in the 2019 open Churches festival.
e. St Peter & St Pauls Church: No report has been received. The clerk will make a further request.
f. Village Green Management Committee: No report has been received. The clerk will make a further request.
g. Metafit: This fitness group which has a core of 13 members, with an age range from 20 yrs. to early 70’s enjoys a HIIT session of structured exercise each week lead by a qualified motivating instructor. The group is hoping to expand to include other exercise classes and would welcome the thoughts of villagers as to what sort of things they would enjoy. G Hodgson.
h. Belchford Public Purposes Charity: No report has been received. The clerk will make a further request.
i. Wolds Table Tennis Club: As this is our first opportunity to submit a report to the parish, I will give a brief history of the club before moving on to summarise where we are now. Having been involved in the Table Tennis played in Belchford since it started in around 2006 with help from outside funding. I have always played an active role in promoting table tennis within our village. Following the flooding of the village hall in 2010 the club, as was, had to use Tetford Village Hall. Some of the founder members wanted to continue at Tetford and kept the equipment purchased following our initial funding. Together with Mr R Kirby, I set about reinstating the club in Belchford. We purchased some equipment and recruited players from far and wide to kick start our venture. Over the years we have had various fund raising events and have replaced all the outdated lighting in the village hall at our expense. For several years we were hiring the hall 3 nights a week which helped boost hall funds to a new level. We have raised money for various charities, even once having a marathon 24hr TT event. Moving on to our current set up, we now tend to have players of a reasonable ability only, and several players who are very successful at league level. We are always looking for new experienced players to come along and join us. Our club has social events during the year, which are always very popular and we tend to support the Blue Bell in the village whenever possible. Our current nights are Tuesday and Thursday, subject to availability of the hall. D Baker.
The Chairman thanked all groups for submitting reports.
4. Lane Letting –
- Retreat to Kennels N Brigginshaw £5
- Kennels to West Ashby P Hughes £5
- Kennels to Scamblesby J Newby £5
- Beck to Heath Road J Smith £5
- Limepits to Tetford P Proctor £5
- Limepits to Scamblesby P Proctor £5
- Sycamore to Fulletby Dick Black £5
- Ings Lane L Thompson £5
- Fulletby to Greetham P Morris £5
- Fulletby to Main Road P Thompson £5
- Fulletby to Low Toynton I Goodall £5
Raising a total of £55
It was proposed to ring fence these funds (£55) to be used for the community woodland expenses.
5. Open forum for residents to put forward ideas for improvements for the village and discuss issues important to residents: Those present discussed the village signs and posts which are experiencing some corrosion. The footpath signs Viking Way Bridge at Damms Farm over the Waring is in disrepair. This will be reported to LCC Footpaths Officer. The condition of the footpaths in general was also discussed and a footpath walking report should be included in the next meeting.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 12.30pm and was followed by refreshments.