The Unapproved Minutes of the Ashwell Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 4 March 2025 starting at 19.15hrs in Ashwell Village Hall.
Present were Val Harvey, Chair; Tony Graveling; Sue Ellis; David Linnitt; Ward Councillor Kiloran Heckels. Clerk was Sally Harnett.
There were 2 members of the public.
1 Apologies received.
Harry Smith, attending another meeting.
2 Declarations of Interest.
There were no Declarations of Interest.
3 The Minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.
4 Matters Arising from the last meeting.
On 4 February 2025 a letter was sent to the Cottesmore Hunt Secretary and to the Master of Fox Hounds regarding the lack of cleaning up the faeces left after the hounds have been exercised in the village. No reply has been received.
5 Public Forum.
Representatives of Ashwell Village Hall Committee discussed the centenary of the village hall, with preliminary ideas for events in May 2025. It is hoped that Ashwell residents will support the occasion, and there have been several suggestions for marking the event.
The tidying of the Ashwell Holy Well, a listed building, has been proposed, it was decided to find out who owned the land where it is situated (SE). The area does get flooded, being low lying. Another bench on site has been proposed, possibly a wooden bench to join the stone one already on site.
Fund raising for an Ashwell Village Sign, and an organised litter pick were other suggestions from the Committee.
The annual litter pick in the past had been suspended due to the illness of the usual organiser. Rutland County Council will be contacted by APC re the litter picking equipment which can be borrowed from RCC. (VH)
The committee intends to gather more ideas from residents.
6 Reorganisation of Councils.
Central Government aims to form 25 Unitary Areas to pass decisions regarding Highways, Planning, etc, to Mayors. Rutland is in danger of being swallowed into a distant Area with no common ground. This is unacceptable in that the new areas are supposed to be grouped “like with like”, and Rutland is an isolated district unlike its neighbours. It is strongly believed that Rutland should have a sensible choice of which district to join, at present the proposed system is proving unsatisfactory, so should be still under discussion with interested parties before any agreement to reorganisation. Rutland County has always balanced its financial books, unlike the surrounding counties. The last merge with Leicestershire did not work successfully, Rutland is reluctant to merge again. Special meetings have been arranged, but not so far with voting rights for county councillors. Many parish councils in Rutland stated their wish to stay as Rutland, to maintain the Constitutional Status with a Lord Lieutenant . It was felt that the community as a whole was unaware of the consequences of the Central Government’s plans for devolution across the country. A banner was accepted from Ward Councillor Heckels, a suitable display site will be chosen. (VH)
Pressure continues.
7 Finance report by Tony Graveling.
The present balance stands at £10,719.
A bank reconciliation was carried out on 31December2024.
There have been no requests for donations since the last meeting. The application for the 2025/2026 precept of £5000 was sent to RCC on 16January2025.
Following a request for a new street light in Brookdene a quote from RCC for an approximate cost has been received by APC of £820 + VAT, with a requirement that it would first need approval from the National Grid.
7.1 Resolution: To proceed with the request for a new street light.
It was decided to seek the opinions of residents. (VH)
The clerk was thanked for for all her work, and wages of £259.70 for 17.5 hours work since 3 December2024 paid.
It was decided to seek the opinions of residents in the vicinity. (VH)
The Chairman reported that he had spoken with a parish councillor from Lyddington at a recent council meeting and said that he was exploring a possible candidate to replace Sally Harnett as Clerk to the Parish Council on her retirement. Tony Graveling was thanked for his report.
8 Planning.
Work has been observed in the land in Water Lane to provide alternative setts for badgers.
The list for planning applications and results in Ashwell was discussed.
A meeting is to be arranged for Ashwell Parish Councillors to be advised by a local planning officer regarding the current guidelines for comments by parish council on planning considerations in a Conservation area.
9 Highways.
There is a new Flood Officer for Rutland. Notes about the recent severe flooding in Ashwell will be sent to that person, pictures were taken. It is suggested that the flooding in Water Lane was worsened by an obstruction under the bridge over the stream. A post has been left leaning over after the flood, it was decided to use Fix My Street to report this.(SE)
It was decided to attempt to find out who owns the sheep dip area in Teigh Road, there is old brickwork in place which could have worsened the flooding there. (SE)
The bright light at the garden centre boundary is causing danger to drivers driving north who are being blinded by it. It was decided to approach the resident traders once again to correct this. (KH)
There have been sightings of more pot holes, Fix My Street will be informed.
10 Correspondence.
Severn Trent Water has provided a dedicated email address for parish council enquires.
The NHS survey is online to be filled in before 16March2025.
Support for a bill going through Parliament regarding the safety of Lithium ion batteries used on small electric vehicles has been requested. It was decided to write to confirm the support of Ashwell Parish Council.
An Invitation to the Annual Meeting and Lunch of the CPRE has been received, a form will be filled in and returned to the secretary.
11 Police.
Speeding remains the main issue.
New signs mean speeds could be recorded and stored, these should be installed on all roads. Statistics would then be readily available to enable speed restrictions to be put in place. A monthly news letter on local activities is received from Rutland North beat policeman, Jake Spruce, and his team.
12 AOB for the next meeting.
There were no new suggestions to be researched.
13 Date of the next meeting.
20 May 2025 will be the Annual Parish Meeting, a less formal meeting, where reports from as many of the village activities as possible will be recorded, and residents are to be encouraged to attend.
This will be followed by the AGM of Ashwell Parish Council, with the required formal programme.