Minutes 2022-23

SWINSTEAD PARISH COUNCIL

Draft Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting

 6pm on Thursday 12thMay 2022 in the Village Hall.

Present Cllr B Lynch, Cllr C Lunn, Cllr L Underhill, Cllr A Whitworth, Cllr D Plowright

 & C Hatch (Clerk)

The Meeting began at 6:00pm. Present were the members of the Parish Council the Parish Clerk, visiting SKDC Cllr N Robins and one resident.

1.0   To agree the Minutes of the 2021 Annual Parish Meeting. Having been previously circulated by the Clerk the minutes were approved, (Prop Cllr Underhill and Sec Cllr Lunn), they were agreed unanimously.

2.0   Chairmans Annual Report of the Parish Council. The Chairman presented his annual report, which can be viewed at the foot of these minutes.

3.0   District and County Councillors' Reports. None at this stage of the meeting.

4.0   Financial report for year ending 31st March 2022. The Clerk presented the Financial Statement for the Year End, there being no question they were accepted unanimously.

5.0   Electors’ concerns. None.

The next meeting will be held in May 2023, date to be confirmed.

Chairmans Annual Report May 2022 – Swinstead Parish Council

I would like to begin by thanking the members of the Parish Council for all their efforts this year. We have welcomed Annette Whitworth on to the parish council in the last few months and it is good to hear new ideas to add to the wealth of experience of our present councillors – Clive Lunn, Liz Underhill and David Plowright, between us we have upheld the best interests of the village as our main focus.

Also, I am very grateful to our Parish Clerk Chris Hatch who has guided us through zoom meetings until we are now able to meet face to face once again in our lovely village hall, Chris is very efficient and is also very proactive in the village and involves himself to great effect in the Parish, he is a great asset to the village.

During the year we were sad to hear of the death of Councillor Bob Adams, Bob always attended every Swinstead Parish Council in his role as a County Councillor and we sorely miss his input on all things county wide. We now welcome Charlotte Vernon in his place and look forward to working with her over the coming years.

During our meetings we have also been grateful for the input of District Councillor Nick Robins who keeps us informed and all matters regarding South Kesteven District Council.

Issues we have dealt with this year have been

Pavement parking – this was an issue raised on more than one occasion by people in the parish and I am pleased to say that we were successful and that most pavement parking has ended and we thank Parishioners for their understanding in this manner.

Speeding – the Parish Council continues to monitor this but it is still an ongoing problem, we believe the speed sign continues to make some difference but without even occasional police presence it is difficult to see how this can be eradicated altogether.

Highways – we have reported on regular occasions all manner of problems with potholes in and around the village and it is pleasing to see on Creeton Road recently at least that Highways have actually repaired some of the defects to a high standard. We encourage people in the village to report any concerns they have on the “Fix my Street” website or report their concerns directly to the Parish Council.

Planning Applications – any applications brought forward were considered by Parish Council and any valid comments or concerns were passed on to the District Council.

Best kept village – we were delighted when the village was judged second in the “Best kept Village” competition, the approaches to the village with their flower boxes undoubtedly made a difference and with many of the plants being donated it was a real village success. Many thanks to Janet Andrews, Jenny Cowan and Chris Hatch for all their work towards this success and thankyou to the Hawkins family for keeping the grass mown on the Bourne Road approach to the village.

Parish Cleaners – the Parish Council is very grateful for the efforts of Parish Litter picker Gail Clarke who along with her husband Steve do such a good job in keeping the Parish tidy and litter free

Swinstead Allotments – these go from strength to strength and the Parish Council were pleased to assist the Allotment Society in ordering 80 trees free of charge from the LCC Treescape scheme

Jubilee Orchard – the orchard continues to be maintained to a high standard and produced a bumper crop of Apples, Pears and Plums for everyone in the village to enjoy.

Village events – it is pleasing to see Swinstead once again becoming a vibrant village with a thriving social club ably run by George Brown and the village hall committee. The Swinstead Platinum Jubilee Committee has also been formed to great effect and events to date have been very successful in raising funds for the Big Lunch to be held on the 5th of June – many thanks to all concerned.

Parish Council Website – the website is available for everyone to view and is maintained in compliance with the Transparency Code by the Parish Clerk.

Finances – financial statements are produced by the Parish Clerk on a regular basis and are now in the process of being audited a copy of which will be placed on the village notice board and on the website for everyone to view. Income from the village precept was £3363.00 and this will remain the same in the coming year.

Bryan Lynch,                                                                                                                                               

Chairman, Swinstead Parish Council

13 May 2022