The Minutes of the meeting of Ashwell Parish Council held on Tuesday 5 December 2023 at 7.15pm in Ashwell Village Hall
Present were:- Val Harvey, Chair; Tony Graveling; Sue Ellis; Harry Smith; Ward Councillor Kiloran Heckels. Clerk was Sally Harnett,
There were 2 members of the public.
1 There no apologies for absence.
2 Declarations of Interest: Val Harvey as a member of Ashwell Village Hall Committee.
3 The Minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.
4 Co-option of a new parish councillor.
Ashwell Parish Council members welcomed unanimously Mr David Linnitt as a co-opted member of the council. Mr Linnitt stated that he had lived in Ashwell approximately 7 years. The appropriate forms for Rutland County Council and for Ashwell Parish Council were handed to Mr Linnitt to be filled in. Mr Linnitt then took his seat at the table.
5 Matters Arising from the last meeting will be recorded in the appropriate item numbers following. It was stated that the next local elections would be in 2027.
6 Finance report by Tony Graveling.
The present balance stands at £10,345.06.
A bank reconciliation was carried out on 29 September 2023.
There have been no requests for donations since the last meeting.
The Draft Ashwell Parish Council budget for 2023-2024 that has been circulated amongst parish councillors is open for discussion. An invoice for street lighting has been received for 2023-2024 for £587.38, an increase of over 37%. Are there any questions about the proposed budget? APC has to agree a figure for the Precept which has to be applied for in January 2024.
Resolution; to approve the Ashwell Parish Council budget for 2024-2025.
Proposed by Val Harvey, seconded by Harry Smith, passed unanimously.
Resolution: to approve the precept of £4500 (12% increase).
Proposed by Sue Ellis, seconded by Val Harvey, passed unanimously.
Val Harvey has been registered as a signatory to Ashwell Parish Council account. A third signatory is required before the two retired councillors are taken off the list. Sue Ellis was appointed the third signatory. 2 signatures are needed on cheques.
Elections charges were discussed. The cost of the General Election in 2024 will not be borne by Parish Councils.
6a Village hall report by Val Harvey.
Bookings are still increasing, with many regular long standing bookings.
There has been a complaint from a resident regarding the number and condition of roadside notices erected for a one-off booking. It was stated that Rutland County Council tend to only enforce removal if the signs are dangerous in any way.
Unfortunately, parking remains an issue, with roadside parking being the only alternative when the few spaces are taken up off the road. Verges can become a quagmire during wet spells. All booking confirmations contain a request to attempt to avoid blocking gateways in Brookdene. The committee are striving to prevent nuisance to nearby residents.
11 Defibrillator.
It was unanimously decided to bring forward item 11 as Finance was involved.
The current defibrillator in the telephone kiosk is now beyond repair, consequently a new defibrillator is urgently needed. It was decided to investigate what grants are available, with the warning that results of applications can take many months to come through.
There has been concern over the funding for the Replacement Defibrillator. As a Parish Council Ashwell could use the Section 137 agreement, as there are no other powers to donate for this purpose.
Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 gives Town, Parish and Community Councils in England and Wales the ability to spend a limited amount of money for purposes for which they have no other specific statutory power. It is essentially a “power of last resort” and allows Councils to spend money on projects they believe will benefit some or all of their residents.
The “Limited amount” for Ashwell is around £2000 should funds allow. No other donations have been requested in the year, so it is suggested that Ashwell Parish Council could fund the replacement if necessary. The precept is partly made up of Council Tax monies.
As the Zoll 3 model would not fit into the existing cabinet, an alternative would be Powerheart G5 defibrillator. Cost £1025 + VAT = £1230, Battery and adult pads included, 8 year warranty.
Spare battery : £289 + VAT, 4 year guarantee
Spare adult pads : £61 + VAT 2 year shelf life.
Dimensions – 30cmH x 23cmW x 9cmD, This fits easily into the present cabinet and the “ready” light is visible through the cabinet window.
Resolution: To agree the purchase of a replacement defibrillator at a cost of approximately £1230 including VAT. Proposed by Tony Graveling, seconded by Val Harvey, passed unanimously.
The training for Ashwell residents in the use of the new defibrillator could be completed in the village hall with the co-operation of the Village Hall committee.
Tony Graveling and Harry Smith will investigate this matter.
7 Planning.
A list of recent applications was circulated and attached to these minutes.
8 Rutland Local Plan.
The Local Plan does affect Ashwell, but the plan is so large that there is now too much information on line for parish councillors, unpaid volunteers, to be able to sift out the information needed. Other parish councils have reported to Leicestershire and Rutland Association of Local Councils that there is difficulty in giving enough time to get through it.
In the new plan draft, closing on 8 Jan 2024, it is stated that Small Villages are not suitable for development, but does not specify which villages.
Resolution:- to pay costs to copy and print a Local Plan draft to circulate amongst Ashwell Parish Councillors, Proposed by Val Harvey, seconded by Tony Graveling and passed unanimously.
The briefing note on the Rutland Local Plan sent to Parish councils from Roger Ranson at RCC is attached to these minutes.
9 Highways
Work has been carried out on the surface of Cottesmore Road, but it has not shown much improvement. The area from the bridge to Woodside is still bad. Potholes can be reported on FixMyStreet by any resident.
The bad surface damage caused on the greens by the grass cutters has recovered, a request will be made for care to be taken in future.
The new access to the pavement on Oakham Road opposite Langham Road has not proved useful to users of prams and mobility scooters, being so close to the bulging wall adjacent that a turn cannot be made to progress along the path. It is also too far away from the sharp turn for pedestrians to be able to see both ways before crossing the busy road. Another report will be made on FixMyStreet.
Community Speedwatch. 18 volunteers are now working on recording speeding drivers. On the recent watch, 44 drivers were exceeding 36 miles per hour. Of these, 3 were incorrectly recorded back to base, 30 drivers were from outside the area, and consequently received no letters. The group were not allowed to measure the speed of the drivers on the opposite side of the road.
A most disappointing letter was received from Leicestershire Police stating the Ashwell was obviously a very quiet village with no speeding problems.
Councillor Kiloran Heckels informed that speed indicators are being upgraded to record numbers of speeding drivers, this will assist in planning highway restrictions in future.
Although there has been no notification from RCC, digging to lay internet cables has been observed in Cottesmore Road, but there has been no notification from RCC.
After some years of APC attempting to get the footpath near Ashwell Hall Stables it has now been cleared and tidied, but is still not wide enough to be used by prams and mobility scooters. FixMyStreet will be informed.
10 Public Forum.
A resident commented on the nuisance of the dog mess in the village. The editor of the newsletter, The Wellspring, will be asked to insert a note that dog owners and walkers should clear up after their dogs and use the bins provided around the village.
Application for a mobile post office for Ashwell. The post office has so far refused this application, but efforts will continue. Councillor Heckels will continue to press for success for Ashwell. The MP will again be approached.
The government address to send scam emails is report@phishing.gov.uk , the address will be forwarded to the editor of the Wellspring.
11 Defibrillator.
This item has been dealt with and recorded following the end of the finance report.
12 Correspondence received and not yet circulated.
The manager of Burley on the Hill has asked if he could attend a parish council meeting to explain ideas to develop a tourist attraction at Burley. As the request was made only 1 day before the meeting it was decided to add this to the next agenda.
A firm called Silver Pair had asked for the addresses of all parish councillors, but APC had replied that all correspondence could be through the clerk to the parish council.
RCC has informed that all local bus journeys would be free during December, and there would be free car parking for the late night shopping in Oakham and Uppingham.
The Village Hall committee informed that the 7 December would be “What’s Love Got to do With It?”, and the 4 January film night would be “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”. The film nights have been well supported. The Village Hall committee informed that the next film event would be the family Christmas film “Elf”, on Friday 22 Dec, and then the following film event will be on 12 Jan 2024, “The Great Escaper”.
Police report has been circulated, there were no reported crimes in Ashwell recently. Notice has been given of a North Beat Surgery at Stretton at 11 – 12 mid-day on 9 December.
There will be a public meeting to discuss Crime and Policing Questions at Greetham Community Centre from 6.50 till 8pm on
The Citizen’s Advice Centre sent leaflets informing help during the current Cost of Living Crisis.
13 Any Other Business.
Items put forward for discussion at the next meeting. These have been listed in the items above.
14 Date of the next meeting is 5 March 2024 at 7.15pm. The meeting was declared closed at 20.55 hrs.