The Minutes of The Annual General Meeting of Ashwell Parish Council held on Tuesday 14 May 2024 at 20.15hrs, following the Annual Parish Meeting.
Present were Val Harvey; Tony Graveling; Sue Ellis; Harry Smith.
Ward Councillor Kiloran Heckels.
Clerk was Sally Harnett.
There were no members of the public.
1 Election of Chair of Ashwell Parish Council.
Sue Ellis proposed Val Harvey, seconded by Harry Smith, voting was unanimous. Mr Val Harvey took the Chair of Ashwell Parish Council 2024-2025.
2 There were no Declarations of Interest.
3 Apologies for Absence.
An apology was received and accepted from David Linnitt.
4 The Minutes of the last meeting 5 March 2024 were agreed and signed.
5 Matters Arising from the last meeting.
David Linnitt attended the Summit meeting held by MP Alicia Kearns, he will provide a report in due course.
The red telephone kiosk. The replacement for the defibrillator declared as beyond repair has been returned and a refund of £750 issued. Efforts are being made to find a replacement with the correct specifications, it may be necessary to spend more money up to the maximum of £1250.
Proposal to set aside £500 to cover any extra cost involved in replacement. Proposed by Val Harvey, seconded by Sue Ellis and passed unanimously.
Green verges in Ashwell. RCC Highways has provided a map of the Adopted roads in Ashwell. As owners of the green verges it was stated that Highways should be prepared to look after the verges better than they have done, there are deep ruts and holes filled with rainwater, especially in Brookdene. Ashwell Parish Council will continue to press for improvements and repairs by RCC.
Hedge in Teigh Road, Highways will be asked to trim this as soon as possible.
Hare Coursing. Although in the past the police have asked for reports of any suspicious activity in the area surrounding Ashwell, residents have claimed that no actual response had happened, and that there have been local “shoots” of hares hosted by local landowners.
Burley on the Hill proposals for a wildlife park. The news that Tim Appleton has joined the Burley team was greeted with approval. He has a good reputation as the original warden of Rutland Water Nature Reserve. It was regretted that publicity had not been sent to Ashwell regarding the large display mounted in Victoria Hall in Oakham.
6 Finance report by Tony Graveling.
The balance stands at £9184.09. The precept of £4500 as requested will be added to this total when receipt is confirmed.
A bank reconciliation of the Parish Council account was carried out on 31 March 2024.
Membership of CPRE for 2024/2025 was renewed as agreed.
The 58% increase in LRALC fees for 2024/2025 was queried.
A Mindray CIA defibrillator and cabinet was received from London Hearts, but only then did they declare that the unit could not be mounted in a telephone box. The unit was returned to London Hearts and a refund is awaited.
Sue Ellis and Val Harvey have been confirmed by Barclays as signatories to the Parish Council account.
The Citizens Advice Rutland requested a donation but members decided to not contribute at this time.
The Parish Council Insurance needs to be renewed WEF 1June2024. A quotation of £387.21 for renewal from our present insurers, Zurich has been received, An excess of £100 applies.
Resolution: To renew the Parish Council Insurance with Zurich at a cost of £387.21. Proposed by Sue Ellis, seconded by Harry Smith, passed unanimously.
The Coronation bench, recently restored, will be added to the Ashwell Parish Council assets on the policy.
Annual Return 2023/2024
Mrs Fiona Tylecote has completed the Internal Audit of the Parish Council accounts and a review sent to the Chair. Councillors have all seen a copy of the accounts.
6.1 Resolution: To approve the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024
Proposed by Val Harvey, seconded by Harry Smith, passed unanimously.
The form was signed by Chairman Val Harvey.
As Ashwell Parish Council does not have income or expenditure above £25000 it declares itself exempt from the External Audit by the signing by the Chair and R.F.O of the necessary form. The Annual Return forms will be published on the Parish Council website as required. Any queries regarding the Annual Return from members of the public should be directed to Moore UK, our appointed External Auditor.
6.2 The Annual Governance Statement for 2023/2024 needs to be approved.
Resolution: to approve the Governance Statement for 2023/24.
Proposed by Harry Smith, seconded by Sue Ellis, passed unanimously.
Chair Val Harvey and Clerk Sally Harnett signed the form.
6.3 The Accounting Statement needs to be approved.
Resolution: to approve the Accounting Statement for 2023/24
Proposed by Harry Smith, seconded by Sue Ellis, passed unanimously.
Chair Val Harvey signed the form.
The Clerk was thanked for her dedicated work and her wages paid of £277.09 for 19.5 hours work.
Tony Graveling was warmly thanked for all his work on finance and accounts.
7 Planning
Most applications for year 2023-2024 have been decided by RCC. Ashwell Parish Council now has a planning meeting to discuss its response to applications. All applications are given careful observation and relevant responses and comments are sent to RCC.
The list is attached to these minutes.
8 Highways.
A report by Sue Ellis was discussed. After constant pressure from APC during past years RCC has at last agreed to put Cottesmore Road onto its current schedule, parish councillors were thanked for keeping up the pressure, which paid out in the end. Ward CouncilIor Heckels was thanked for her support. It is expected to be a major refurbishment of Cottesmore Road.
The Brookdene verges are still in a bad state of repair. Highways will be again requested to make repairs here.
The hedge in Whissendine Road will be trimmed back after the bird-nesting period.
The ruts in Teigh Road have been reported on FixMyStreet.
Residents who have used FixMyStreet reported some inadequacies in the system, with some items being closed by RCC after unsatisfactory results.
9 Public Forum.
There had been public participation at the Annual Parish Meeting earlier. There were no further subjects for discussion at this meeting.
10 Police
In future Police reports will only be available on Neighbourhood Link, it was decided to circulate this point so that residents could register if they wished.
10a Correspondence.
Information about LRALC instructional courses is forwarded to all by the clerk.
Fox Cottage garden is open on 19May2024, proceeds will be divided between The National Gardens Scheme, St Mary’s Church Ashwell, and Ashwell Village Hall.
A resident informed that the Skin Cancer Clinic at Oakham Hospital had closed without publicity. Correspondence with Leicestershire NHS revealed that lack of staff forced the closure. This now results in Rutland patients needing to find transport to Melton Hospital as an alternative to Leicester Infirmary. Ward Councillor will inform MP Alicia Kearns, who will be conducting a surgery in Oakham on Saturday 18th May.
No news has been heard about the plan to install a scanner at Oakham Hospital.
A new nature strategy for Leicestershire and Rutland is underway. 2 surveys have been launched online, end date is 26 May 2024.
CPRE sent an invitation to buy tickets for the annual AGM followed by a lunch at the Falcon Uppingham. It was noted that CPRE put in much effort over the Local Plan. Val Harvey expressed an interest in attending.
The Rutland Community Council sends regular news online magazines, clerk will continue to forward these to councillors.
Road closure notices are sent to Wellspring, it would be useful if a short notice could be prepared for insertion into the Wellspring. Some notices from Highways are necessarily long.
11 Any Other Business to be put forward for the next meeting.
The Manor Farm development appears to be active again. The plans are available to check on conditions applied to the permission to develop.
12 Dates of the next meetings.
2024 = 3 September,
3 December.
2025 = 4 March
20 May
2 September
2 December.
The meeting was declared closed at 21.07hrs.