The Minutes of the meeting of Ashwell Parish Council held on Tuesday 6 December 2022, at 7pm in Ashwell Village Hall.
Present were Chair: Sue Ellis; Tony Graveling; Stan Davey. Ward Councillor June Fox; Clerk was Sally Harnett.
1 Apologies for absence
An apology was received and accepted from Val Harvey – family commitments in Bristol.
An apology was received from Brian Farr – attending another meeting.
2 Declarations of Interest, there were none.
3 Minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.
4 Matters Arising from the last meeting.
The bench commemorating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11 has been restored and returned to its place on the corner of Croft Lane. Residents have remarked on its good appearance, and appreciated the efforts of the members of Ashwell Parish Council concerned, led by Sue Ellis and Stan Davey.
The application for a mobile post office to visit Ashwell has received support from 12 residents, June Fox will make further enquiries as to the opinion of the Post Office as to its feasibility. A publicity flier was included in the recent delivery of the Wellspring.
Amy Crawford of Healthwatch suggested she could give a talk on Healthwatch to Ashwell, it was decided to pass on her suggestion to the Village Hall committee.
There have been courses on the use of the village hall defibrillator it was decided to request another course in the spring of 2023, and a similar course for the telephone kiosk defibrillator. The village hall committee will be approached by SE.
Power has been restored to the telephone kiosk, and the defibrillator is now in working order after its destruction by a delivery lorry.
Tree-planting on the verges, further updates will be requested from RCC by JF.
The RCC Bus Users Group meeting was postponed.
The local bus timetables prevent sensible connections to local towns. The bus companies have stated that they are still in the experimental stages of the new contracts, and will attempt to improve sustainability for small villages in future timetables.
5 Public Forum notes to be included in these minutes.
Mr McNally from Exton made a presentation appealing to residents of Ashwell to oppose the intention of developers to install a solar farm on land on Exton Estates, close to Tunelly Wood and the heritage avenue of trees known as the Queen of Bohemia’s Drive, after Princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of James 1. He spoke of the possible impact on Ashwell for future applications within the parish if this precedent is set.
It was decided to await the application for planning permission, and to then make a comment.
6 Finance report by Tony Graveling.
The present balance stands at £9,469.59.
A bank reconciliation was carried out on 30th September 2022.
The sum of £582 was paid to Overwrought Ltd. for refurbishment of the Coronation seat near Croft Lane as agreed.
The sum of £2500 was paid to the Ashwell Village Hall to help with the cost of the new defibrillator and audio visual equipment. The remainder of the Community Infrastructure Levy can be attributed to this sum.
VAT has been reclaimed on Parish Council purchases.
There has been no request for donations since the last meeting.
APC has been advised that the External Auditor for 2023-2027 will be Moore, UK.
With regard to the power supply to the telephone kiosk, APC has been given a certificate of unmetered supply by the National Grid, formerly Western Power, with effect from 31st October 2022. An introductory letter from SSE, the chosen supplier to APC, is awaited.
The draft Parish Council budget for 2023-2024, seen by parish councillors, is open for discussion. An invoice for £370.92 for street lighting has been received, an increase of over 80%. The sum of £700 has been allocated for the local elections in May 2023 as the parish council is liable for costs.
6.1 Resolution: to approve the Ashwell Parish Council budget for 2023-2024. Proposed by Stan Davey, seconded by Sue Ellis, passed unanimously.
6.2 Resolution: to approve the precept of £4000. Proposed by Sue Ellis, seconded by Stan Davey, passed unanimously.
The clerk was thanked for her work and wages paid of £379.80 for 28.75hours work since 6 September 2022. A statutory pay rise with effect from 1 April 2022 amounted to a further £31.75.
Tony Graveling was warmly thanked for his work on finances for APC.
Some discussion took place regarding the high cost of replacement batteries for the kiosk defibrillator. If the defibrillator is used about 2-3 times the batteries need replacing, and if not used they need replacing every 4 years. They are not rechargeable. This needs to be taken into account in the future.
6a Village Hall updates provided by Val Harvey.
The Hall continues to be used on a regular basis. One issue that has arisen is the booming echoey state of the hall, and the Committee is exploring the addition of sound absorbing panels for walls and/or ceiling to reduce this effect. An occasional booking from a musical ensemble has been lost as a result of the poor acoustics in the hall.
The existing cleaner has left, another cleaner has been employed.
The next event will be the Village Christmas lunch on Thursday 8 December.
7 Planning.
The Local Plan. Parishes have been asked by RCC to contribute their comments for the new local plan. An email containing the explanation of “sustainability” was considered to be inadequate, the clerk will ask for a more concise explanation. The important point to be emphasised for Ashwell is the inclusion of a neighbouring area within Langham and Burley parishes which had been named as “Ashwell South” on the maps contained in the previous Local Plan, in spite of protests from Ashwell Parish Council. It was decided to re-emphasise this point in the new Local Plan.
Removal of hedges – regulations involved. Residents have expressed alarm at the work on hedges in Ashwell. The landowner has now laid hedges that are still living, removed dead growth and elderberry bushes, and is replacing the boundary of his land with new hedging. This will be a significant improvement to the health of the hedgerows in the future.
Land south of Langham Road – the application for a dwelling was refused. Much activity has been observed, large straw bales are now in place and cattle are living in small enclosures. The verges have been dug along the road, pipes lain, and earth replaced. RCC will be asked to monitor the situation. JF to make enquiries.
8 Highways.
Clerk reported that at the recent RCC Clerk’s Liaison Meeting RCC Highways made the comment that the work of Highways, due to the pandemic, was now so far behind that any new requests for work would have to be put forward onto next year’s work programme.
Road crossing at Langham Place. It was decided to contact PC Ben Orton, APC has repeatedly requested RCC to provide a safer crossing for users of the footway/cycle track from Ashwell to Oakham.
Faulty drainage in Cottesmore Road. A resident wished to record his gratitude for the persistent requests by Ashwell Parish Council to RCC Highways, which has eventually achieved success in Rutland County Council rectifying the drainage in Cottesmore Road. There was no flooding observed in the recent heavy downpours.
9 Meetings attended.
Rutland Festival of Remembrance by Rutland performers. Attended by Sally Harnett, an excellent event at Uppingham School, hosted by the Lord Lieutenant Sarah Furness. There was a high standard of performances of songs and music in the School chapel and memorial hall.
Clerk attended Rutland Parish Clerks’ Liaison meeting, notes from which have been circulated.
The Rutland Bus Users Group meeting was postponed.
10 Correspondence.
Police information on fraud has been passed to the editor of the Wellspring.
Alicia Kearns MP has announced her intention to convene a Parish Council Summit, details to follow.
Rutland Climate Action website is nearing completion.
CPRE Rutland to hold Parish Debate Meeting at Victoria Hall on 9 January 2023 at 7pm.
RCC Cost of living support booklet is available.
11 AOB. No items put forward.
12 Dates of future meetings.
Tues7Mar2023. (Election year for Local Elections 4May2023) Tues23May2023. Tues5Sep2023. Tues5Dec2023.
The meeting was declared closed at 20.10hrs.