Annual Parish Meetings

The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Little Hale held at the Methodist Chapel, Chapel Lane, Little Hale, on Tuesday 16th May 2023 at 7.30 pm.

Present: Parish Cllrs S Poulton, P Ireland, A Lennox, J Stapleton, E Hill, NKDC Cllr S Tarry, three members of the public and Mrs D Scott (Clerk)

1. Councillor Poulton, as Chairman of the Parish Council, welcomed all to the Annual Parish Meeting. Apologies had been received from District Cllr S Ogden, LCC Cllr Andrew Key and Mr Rooke, Chairman of the Burial Board.

2. The minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting, held on 3rd May 2023. It was proposed by Cllr Ireland, seconded by Cllr Stapleton and agreed unanimously, that the minutes were an accurate record and were duly signed.

3. Poor Gardens and Land Charities Report

Mrs Nickols presented the report on behalf of the Charities.

LH Land Rents – Two rents of £215 had been received during the year as usual and donations made to the Chapel, Great Hale Church and Parva House. The bank balance in March 2023 was £1,066.82.

Poor Garden – Mrs Nickols explained that rental income of £3,148.28 had been received and distributions had been made in May 2022 to Sixth Form students for transport and to University students for books. In December, the annual distribution to pensioners included extra support for the cost of living for seven residents. The bank balance in March 2023 was £7,960.

She added that the Charities continued to meet twice a year.

4. Great Hale and Little Hale Joint Burial Committee

Mr Needham, as a Trustee of the Burial Board, presented the report. He thanked the Parish Council for its ongoing support towards the costs of grass cutting and explained that the Trustees had continued to carry out work in the Cemetery, including grass cutting to supplement Mr Hayne’s work. The Board had met twice. The hedge on the northern boundary had been removed during the year in accordance with the Hedgerow Removal Notice as it was found to have been harbouring rabbits which were damaging the grounds; its removal would also facilitate plots in that section in future. A selection of appropriate trees had been planted on the boundary. He confirmed that the War Memorial was in good order, as were the recently painted benches. It was noted that the Cemetery was generally in better order.

5. Parish Council Chairman’s Report.

Cllr Poulson presented his report, thanking the Clerk for her support.

During the year, the Parish Council had looked at planning applications which had mostly been uncontested. He noted that increasingly the area was being targeted for national infrastructure projects such as solar farms, grid connections and the proposed reservoir; he urged parishioners to respond as individuals, expressing any concerns. Flooding issues on the junction of Main Road and Fen Road seemed to have improved since the work on the culvert/lamppost; he thanked the riparian owners for their work in keeping the dyke clear and stressed the importance of this continuing. By reporting Highways issues, such as potholes, through FixMyStreet, residents were a great help in getting repairs achieved.

Cllr Poulson thanked the defib reporting team volunteers for their weekly and monthly checks, and reminded the meeting that there would be another First Aid and Defib training session shortly. Another litter picking event had been held in April and he commended residents including Mrs Strong and Mr and Mrs Bailey for their regular litter picking during the year. The work on getting Broadband to the village was coming to fruition, thanks especially to Cllr Ireland for his perseverance, and installation of the infrastructure was now underway. The Parish Council had been successful in obtaining funding from Lincolnshire Co-op’s Community Champions for the Pump Lane project and had also received its first Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payment, part of which would be fund new Noticeboards at the Bus Shelter to commemorate the Coronation.

The King’s Lunch at Parva House on 7th May had been very well received and Cllr Poulton was thanked for his efforts in organising the lunch.

6. Matters Raised.

Road Closures – a member of the public reported on conversations and correspondence he had had with Quickline, its contractors Opals and LCC. He felt that notices of road closures were sometimes confusing, referring to Great Hale instead of Little Hale. It was noted that Quickline had statutory rights as a utility but should adhere to road closure processes. It was understood that an FPN had been issued as a result of non-compliance. It was suggested that, as the work was part of bringing Broadband to the village, the short-term pain would be paid back by long-term gain.

Broadband – it was noted that the current phase would supply properties in the village and the company had explained that phase 2 would extend it to properties on the Fen.

Footpath to Helpringham – it was noted that several residents used the footpath across the fields, but some were nervous of the cattle so used the main road, especially those with buggies. It was suggested that the Parish Council could raise the matter with LCC Highways, to consider an alternative solution.

NKDC – Cllr Tarry explained that she was drafting a summary of NKDC news and would send a copy to the Clerk for sharing.

There were no other matters brought to the meeting.

The meeting closed at 7.53 pm.

The Annual Parish Meeting of Little Hale will be held at the Methodist Chapel, Chapel Lane, Little Hale, on Tuesday 16th May 2023 at 7.30 pm.

All Councillors and residents of the Parish are welcome to attend. Electors are eligible to vote on matters discussed.

Agenda

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

2. To approve the minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting, held on 3rd May 2022

3. To receive the Poor Gardens and Charities Report

4. To receive the Hale Magna and Hale Parva Joint Burial Committee Report

5. To receive the report of the Chairman of the Parish Council

6. To discuss any matters raised by Councillors or members of the public including proposals for projects during 2023-24

Steve Poulton

Councillor Steve Poulton, Chairman, Little Hale Parish Council

8th May 2023

ALL WELCOME