The Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Ashwell Parish Council held in Ashwell Village Hall on 23rd May 2023 starting at 1935hrs.
Present were Sue Ellis, Chair; Tony Graveling, Val Harvey, Harry Smith, Ward Councillor Kiloran Heckels.
Clerk was Sally Harnett.
There was 1 member of the public.
1 Election of Chair.
Sue Ellis proposed Val Harvey, he accepted the nomination, Tony Graveling seconded, and it was passed unanimously.
2 The newly elected Parish Councillor, Harry Smith, was welcomed, and he expressed his great pleasure in joining the council.
2a Thanks were expressed for the long service given by Brian Farr during 20 years. He was a leader in the preparation of the Ashwell Parish Plan, he was very active in the acquiring of the first defibrillator and its replacement after damage, and organiser of the Village Safety Walk with Police and Rutland Safety Officer. He has offered to continue inspecting the defibrillator in the telephone kiosk.
Sue Ellis will get a card, and it is hoped to have an informal gathering with retired councillors.
Stan Davey has also retired, due to family commitments, he was a keen councillor during his service. He will continue to take an interest in the parish council.
2b The newly elected Exton Ward Councillor, Kiloran Heckels, was welcomed to Ashwell. Her mission is to achieve more integration between the villages of the Exton ward, especially in regard to important major planning applications. Councillor Heckels was informed that Ashwell has always made comments and observations to Rutland County Council on applications outside Ashwell. As a cyclist, her concerns were the danger of potholes in roads, and FixMyStreet seems to result in only temporary repairs.
3 Apologies for absence:
PC Ben Orton.
4 Declarations of Interest:
Val Harvey, as a member of the Ashwell Village Hall committee.
5 The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.
6 Matters Arising from the last minutes.
A donation was requested from the parish church towards a Community Area in the churchyard. Leicestershire and Rutland Association of Local Councils had been consulted, their advice was that the current law does not allow a donation for this purpose, they had further consulted the National Association, who verified that statement. Some councils do over-ride that law, but there is risk of court action.
7 Finance report given by Tony Graveling.
The Balance stands at £8853.00. Receipt of the precept of £4000 for the year is imminent. A Bank Reconciliation of the Ashwell Parish Council account was carried out on 31 March 2023.
Memberships of LRALC and CPRE for 2022/2023 were renewed as agreed.
After the retirement of 2 councillors, APC needs to appoint 2 councillors as signatories to the Parish Council account.
Resolution to appoint signatories to the Barclays Parish Council Account: Sue Ellis was proposed by Val Harvey, seconded by Harry Smith, and passed unanimously; Val Harvey was proposed by Sue Ellis, seconded by Harry Smith and passed unanimously. The current signatories can continue until formalities for the change have been completed.
The Citizen’s Advice Bureau has requested a donation to help with serving the most vulnerable who are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
Resolution: to approve a donation of £300 to Rutland CAB. Proposed by Sue Ellis, seconded by Val Harvey and passed unanimously.
Ashwell Parish Council insurance needs to be renewed wef 1June2023. A quotation of £344.82 for renewal from our present insurers, Zurich, has been received. An excess of £100 applies. The telephone kiosk has been added to the insured items, and the Queen Elizabeth 11 Coronation bench will be added.
Resolution: to renew Ashwell Parish Council with Zurich at a cost of £344.82. Proposed by Val Harvey, seconded by Tony Graveling and passed unanimously.
Annual Return 2022/2023
Mrs Fiona Tylecote has completed the Internal Audit of Ashwell Parish Council accounts, and a review sent to the Chair. All councillors have seen a copy of the accounts for the year ending 31March2023.
Resolution: to approve the accounts for the year ending 31March2023.
Proposed by Sue Ellis, seconded by Val Harvey, passed unanimously.
Signed by the Chair.
7.1 As Ashwell Parish Council does not have income or expenditure above £25000 it declares itself exempt from an External Audit by the Chair and RFO signing the necessary form. The Annual Return forms will be published on Ashwell Parish Council website as required. Any queries regarding the Annual Return from members of the public should be directed to Moore UK, appointed External Auditor.
7.2 The Annual Governance Statement for 2022/2023.
Resolution: to approve the Governance Statement for 2022/2023. Proposed by Harry Smith, seconded by Val Harvey, passed unanimously.
Chair and Clerk signed the form.
7.3 The Accounting Statement 2022/2023.
Resolution: to approve the Accounting Statement for 2022/2023.
Proposed by Sue Ellis, seconded by Val Harvey, passed unanimously.
Chair signed the form.
All the legally required reading out of the questions on the forms was carried out at the meeting.
The Clerk was thanked for her dedicated work and wages of £299.34 for 22.66 hours work were paid.
Tony Graveling was thanked for his excellent maintenance and presentation of the Ashwell Parish Council finances.
8 Village Hall.
Val Harvey gave a short update report, a fuller report has been presented at the Ashwell Annual Parish Meeting, held earlier the same evening. The table tennis table has been purchased. The large TV screen has been raised higher on the wall to allow better viewing from viewers further back in the hall.
9 Planning.
The year’s list of applications in Ashwell was discussed. There was much discussion on some outstanding applications. Observations and Responses have been sent to Rutland County Council. These responses are always detailed on the Planning page of Rutland County Council’s website. Points were raised on the application for a dwelling in Langham Road on a site now named as The Stockyard in applications. Several residents have approached Ashwell Parish Council with their concerns of the present use of the land, a bull and cows have been seen on site in small enclosures. It was stated that the application for a dwelling has gone to Appeal after a refusal by RCC.
10. Highways.
Speedwatch, more than 12 volunteers have come forward, and the wheels are turning to form a group.
Bus shelters maintenance – RCC is responsible, the shelters need repainting. RCC will be informed by KH. RCC installed the shelters with maintenance.
Cottesmore Road has a poor surface along the whole road. It has been reported on Fix My Street.
Details of FixMyStreet will be sent to the Wellspring editor, to inform residents that they can use it.
Travellers parked in Green Lane. It is an official Bridleway, so owned by RCC. The vegetation in the hedgerow appears to be gradually disappearing and the number of vehicles has increased from 3 to between 12 and 15.
11 Public Forum
Some discussion took place regarding the further progress in new equipment for the village hall, and the Chairman of the village hall committee described the use of the hall, and the healthy state of bookings, there being at least one for every day of the week.
There were comments about speeding drivers in the village, especially in the evenings.
12 Correspondence: Notices have been received about the Adult Learning Skills programme, residents have shown an interest in these. RCC have offered to discuss bus services in Ashwell, it was decided to forward this to the Village Hall committee. A new support group has started in Oakham, “Caring for Carers”, this has been forwarded to the Wellspring.
13 Police. It was stated that there should be a poster detailing the team covering the north beat of Rutland, new posters are in production.
14 Any Other Business to be put forward for the next meeting.
The ownership of the notice board in Cottesmore Road was questioned. A new village notice board will be discussed after consideration about sites and cost.
15 The next meeting will be on 5 September, with a new start time of 7.15pm, to accommodate the group meeting before the parish council meeting. The chair of the village hall committee will inform the booking clerk of this.
16 The meeting closed at 8.45.
Signed…………………………..Dated…………………