Minutes

Langworth Group Parish Council   

 

Serving the grouped parishes of Barlings, Newball, Stainton by Langworth and Reasby

 

E:mail: langworthgroupparishcouncil@gmail.com

 

Minutes of the Langworth Group Annual Parish Meeting held at 7.00pm on Tuesday 3rd May 2022 in Langworth Memorial Hall

Present: Cllr M Herbert (Chairman); Mrs M Vail (Parish Clerk) and 7 members of the public

Meeting started at 7pm.

1. Notes from the Annual Parish Meeting held on 6 July 2021:

RESOLVED to sign these as a correct record.

Proposed by Cllr P Bowser, seconded by Cllr J Machin.  All in favour.    

 

2. Chairman’s Report:

Like any business or organisations their most important asset is the people within it.  So, most importantly, I would like to thank the Parish Councillors for the work that they do and their ongoing and unwavering commitment.  What we do is not always understood and the efforts that we make are rarely appreciated.  I admire and respect anyone who can give back to the communities that we within.  So, thank you everyone. Likewise, I would also like to express our thanks and appreciation to our District and County Councillors.  Each and every one of them provides us with excellent advice and keep us informed.

 

Michelle, our Clerk, has been with us now for a year and I feel that she has settled into her role very well.  Her experience and professionalism are worthy of note.  Thank you for your hard work and I hope that we don’t make your life too difficult.

 

Once again, like 2020/21, we have had to adapt our working methods because of the Covid 19 pandemic and I think we have done a remarkable job under difficult circumstances.  It has only been a few months now but I know that we all prefer to meet together under the same roof.

 

I am pleased to say that we are now back at full strength having filled the last vacancy quite recently.  Welcome to the new councillors.  We are also blessed in that other people are starting to express an interest I becoming Councillors if such vacancies occur in the future.

 

Last year I spoke about improving relationships with County Council, District Council and the Utilities.  I mentioned then that we often struggled to get things done or even sometimes a simple response.  I know that we have had difficulties with Covid etc in becoming as effective as we feel that we need to be.  I still believe that we need to continue to put effort into relationship building as we know from experience it can be effective in achieving our aims.

 

I also spoke last year about putting effort into improving our relationships and image within our own community.  I still feel that there is much work to be done here and I would be grateful to anyone who can bring back to the Council ideas and resolutions and how this can be achieved.

 

3. Clerk/RFO’s report:

I joined the Langworth Group Parish Council as Parish Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer at the start of May 2021 so have just completed my first year in post. Whilst there has been much to take on board and learn; I feel that I have settled in well; and I thank Members of the Parish Council for their welcome and support.

It has been another busy year for the Parish Council. We have recently welcomed one new Councillor, Cllr Hazel Stilgoe-McCombe.

 

The Parish Council has commented on several planning applications this year. 

 

The annual external play inspection by ROSPA has identified several matters requiring attention; with a works order having been issued to tackle remedial works in two phases: more urgent repairs first, followed by less urgent one.  We continue to use Welton PC’s Play Inspector to carry out our monthly internal inspections.

 

The Parish Council received £573.27 from Lincolnshire County Council towards grass cutting of the verges in the Group’s parishes.  This contributes towards the total costs of grass cutting, which came in at £4353.00 last year, and allows the Parish Council to undertake more cuts than the three that the County Council would offer us, helping to keep the village in a tidy condition. 

 

The PC has also received grants totalling £550 from our three District Cllrs which has allowed us to purchase a replacement noticeboard for Newball.  We thank D/Cllrs Welburn, Hill and Darcel for their generosity and support.

 

D/Cllr Welburn also arranged for the supply of a Whitebeam sapling tree; which has been planted behind the Memorial Hall to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee as part of the Queens Green Canopy initiative.

 

The Parish Council has purchased equipment to enable a Community Speed Watch scheme to be established; so you will see the team out and about monitoring traffic speeds.  We are also looking into speed indicator devices which flash the speed of traffic, similar to which can be seen in many nearby parishes.

 

Finances:  At year end, the current account balance stood at £2,538.40, and the deposit account stood at £36,449.80.

Spend Against Budget 2021 – 22:  Whilst there were some overspends within individual budget heads, due to unplanned for, but necessary expenditure, overall, the 2021 – 22 budget was underspent by £8620.43.

Audit:  The 2021 – 22 accounts are still passing through the internal audit process.  Once this is complete, they will then be examined by an external auditor.  As the audit reports become signed off, they will be posted on to our website.

 

4. Reports by local County and District Councillors:

C/Cllr I Fleetwood – no report was available.

D/Cllr C Hill and D/Cllr C Darcel – no report was available.

D/Cllr A Welburn provided the following written report:

Covering the period May 2021 - April 2022

 www.facebook.com/cllrwelburn

It has been a busy year for West Lindsey and as Chairman of the Corporate Policy and Resource Committee I have been heavily involved in approving many of the funding streams that have been paid out to help with Covid support. Some of my work stream include being a member of the Grants Panel including the Platinum Jubilee Fund as well as the Tourism, History and Leisure Working Group and Police and Crime Panel. More recently I have joined the Lincoln Transport Board and at my first meeting I asked about the pedestrian crossing at Greetwell, so I expect an update at the next meeting. 

As part of a wider remit, I represent West Lindsey on the Local Government Association Culture, Tourism and Sport Board which lobbies the Government to improve this area which has suffered recently for many reasons. 

I also run the West Lindsey Members Forums which is a space to suggest/discuss future projects and improvements and I am the Chairman of the Standards Committee.

I report to the Parish Council on a monthly basis so below are just some of the highlights from the year.

Finance

West Lindsey District Council continued to support a number of community-led projects with grant funding throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 91 projects received grant funding of more than £92,000 from the Council’s Match Funding Grant and the Councillor Initiative Fund, to support communities where they need it most. Projects range from much-needed food banks, COVID 19 support, to longer term projects such as developing an under 5-year-old play area. 

In 2020-2021 the following grants were awarded:

* 15 Match Funding Grant awards totalling £67,396.97

* 76 Councillor Initiative Fund awards totalling £24,773.85 

 

For every £1 invested from all the schemes, the Council matched/levered in £6.98. This means our grant funding total of £92,170.82 matched or leverage into the district a staggering £643,921.05.

Full details for the year 2021/22 will not be available until after this fiscal year ends.

West Lindsey are still supporting the Councillor Initiative Fund for another year; and I have a small sum of money left which is available for any small local group to help with equipment.

 At the full Council meeting on 07/03/22, Councillors approved a balanced budget of £14.979 million for the 2022/23 fiscal year. They also approved a Council Tax rise of £5 - or 10p a week, for the 2022/23 fiscal year. 

The financial gains from the 2022/23 settlement have enabled the Council to build up its reserves to support delivery of its corporate strategies. It has been allocated as follows: 

£250,000 for Culture

£500,000 for Environmental and Climate Change

£250,000 for Communities at Risk

£6,000,000 for Investment for Growth

£250,000 for cost of change.

£250,000 has been allocated for investment in technology.

Audit of the council finances shows that West Lindsey District Council has “no significant weaknesses” with regards to its use of financial resources, according to an annual report produced by an independent Auditor and presented to Governance and Audit Committee on 8 March 2022.

Auditors checked the effectiveness of controls in place for the awarding of grants from the Councillor Initiative Fund, and the Match Funding scheme and found them to be in good order.

West Lindsey District Council has been successful in its bid for Levelling Up Fund (LUF) of £10 million. The Chancellor’s announcement included £203m of LUF for the East Midlands across 10 projects and the 'Thriving Gainsborough' proposal was one of the ten. 

The national scheme was created to support town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets.

It is hoped that this funding can fund local projects including improving Whitton’s Gardens, creating a new park at the Baltic Mill, building a new cinema, refurbishing the bus station, bringing an extension to our heritage led regeneration across the district.

 Mayflower 400

An Award for Excellence has been presented to West Lindsey District Council for its project 'Pilgrim Roots’ – Gainsborough’s cultural programme for Mayflower 400. 

The work led by historian Dr Anna Scott received the accolade from the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology (SLHA), which promotes Lincolnshire’s heritage.

The Award for Excellence was announced at the final commemorations of the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower story, which was held earlier this month in Gainsborough, after the SLHA gave the award during their annual meeting last month. However, whilst the vibrant spectacle of fire and light attracted more than 2,000 people to the event, a lot of work had taken place over the last five years, in the run up to the finale.

Green Habits

West Lindsey District Council is urging residents to start implementing small “Green” habits into their daily lifestyle during 2022 – to help play their part in tackling climate change.

In June last year, West Lindsey Councillors approved a Sustainability, Climate Change and Environment Strategy outlining just how, as a council, they intent to lower their carbon footprint to net-zero by 2050 at the latest, whilst also leading the way for our communities to do the same.

2022 is the first full year since the approval of the Climate strategy.

Over the next ten years (by 2032) – the Council hopes to see the following:

* That there is a better-quality environment which has made people healthier

* People are more aware of how important the environment is to our prosperity and where there are more ‘low carbon’ and environmental jobs

* We are more self-sufficient and use energy and our land resources better

* We are an important agricultural area that feeds the nation in the most carbon efficient environmentally friendly way possible

* The landscape and built and historic environment retain its unique character and has been protected and enhanced so that it benefits all – visitors, businesses, and residents

* Areas of high nature conservation quality have been preserved and the loss of plant and animal species has been reversed

* We are firmly on track to becoming a ‘low carbon’ district and are more adaptive to climate change

* People have become ‘greener’ in the way they live their lives

* Local businesses are seen to have the most environmentally friendly land use practices and are leaders in green technologies

* The environment lies at the heart of other strategies and plans for the district and the county and where we have worked together better to implement them

Habitual change does not have to be anything overwhelming or life-changing, it can simply be one small action which can have a significant impact. Changing just one small habit in your life, however, could be the momentum which encourages the changes of many more – this is called a Keystone Habit.

What could you do in West Lindsey to tackle Climate Change in 2022:

* Walk or cycle to work at least a few times a week.

* Join the Queen’s Green Canopy and help plant trees in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

* Try a “staycation” – enjoy one of Lincolnshire’s hidden treasures. Did you know – dotted around the county are a number of landmarks, heritage sites, family attractions and even an area of outstanding Natural Beauty. Find out more on Visit Lincolnshire- Opens in a new window

* Shop Local – Join in with our Business of the Week competitions by finding and supporting your favourite local businesses in West Lindsey! To find out what your local High Street looks like in 2022, use this live and interactive guide- Opens in a new window

* Re-use – and then recycle – Take your reusable cups to local coffee chains and make use of re-usable water bottles, reuse carrier bags over and over again where possible – the more you have an item you can reuse over and over again, the better!

* Carefully check what can or cannot be recycled locally. To learn more see our recycling and reducing waste pages

* Create a wildlife friendly garden – for more, visit the RSPB- Opens in a new window

* Budget

 

The Great British Spring Clean 

West Lindsey District Council encourage and support groups and individuals who want to ‘do their bit’ to help clear up the litter that blights our streets, parks, and countryside. After last year’s success, The Great British Spring Clean is once again supported by West Lindsey, helping to bring people together and clean up their area.

Litter remains a huge problem, causing harm to the environment and wildlife, with councils in England having to spend over £700 million on street cleaning services every year. If you would like some support from the council in terms of equipment or collection of litter, then please call 01427 676676 or email customer.services@west-lindsey.gov.uk

 

5. Local Organisations reports:

  Memorial Hall Report:

It has been another challenging year for the Memorial Hall due to Covid restrictions.  But now we have been able to restart events and have had been able to hold coffee mornings, Embrace craft meetings, jumble sales, private hirings and the Christmas tree light up event. The committee have also started new events including bingo nights and are working towards hosting other events including the Jubilee celebration in June. 

We have seen a change in the committee at the AGM in April 2022 with both the Chairman, Jacki Myers, and Treasurer, Nita Howard, stepping down after many successful years in post. There has also been the sad passing of Shelia Burnett who played a very active role on the committee over the years, who will be greatly missed. 

We now have a new chairman, Karen Waite, and a new treasurer, Simon Griffin as well as an Events Co-ordinator and other new members joining the committee.

We are looking forward to the future and hoping to build on the previous success of the Memorial Hall with new ideas and events in the coming year.

 

6. Parishioners Items

No matters were raised.

 

Meeting ended at 7.19pm

Mrs Michelle Vail

Parish Clerk/RFO 

Langworth Group Parish Council