Minutes of a Parish Meeting

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of

the Mowsley Parish Meeting

held in the Mowsley Village Hall

on 9 May 2016 commencing at 7:30 p.m.

There were 15 Parishioners present being Ros Ousey, Tony Youngjohns, Paul Handford, Linda Scott, Jackie Haines, Margaret Morgan, Janet Skinner, John Lacey, Erica Hearnshaw, John Thorpe, John Flint, Lindsey Ashwin, Amy Bilson, Sheila Ball and Peter Jones.

Also in attendance was Cllr Lesley Bowles.

1.Apologies

Apologies were received from Andrew and Nasreen Wardlaw, Phil and Mandy Formoso, Andy and Lorna Wake, Kay Johnson, Caroline Mullins, Paul and Sonia Latham, Ba Stafford, Avril Thorpe and Vine Lacey.

Apologies were also received from Cllr Graham Hart and PC Andy Cooper.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the previous meetings having been made available by email and on request were unanimously approved.

3. Matters Arising

It was agreed that any matters arising from the previous AGM and the Parish Meeting dated 23 November 2015 would be covered in Any Other Business.

4. Chairman’s Report

The Chairman gave an overview of the Village’s Activities for the year.

A lot of time had been spent during the last year on Planning Issues due mainly to the reduction in resources at HDC. Particular attention had been paid to the dumping and burning of rubbish, a situation which may very well get worse due to restrictions in access to the local Tips. There were several on-going issues which involved Swift Stables, where the owners were still attempting to use the property for residential purposes, the illegal burning of rubbish during the dark hours on land off the Leicester Lane and trolleys being deposited in land off the Theddingworth Road.

The organisation of the Village Planning Committee was explained and the members of that committee thanked for their input.

The Chairman then outlined the various events organised by the Village Hall Committee and thanked them all for their collective effort. The events had also included the Summer Picnic held in July 2015. Unfortunately, it had not been possible to organise the popular Annual Christmas Party and Coffee Morning but it was to be hoped that the latter could be run again in this current year.

A World War memorial plaque had been affixed to the church wall during the year in memory of those who fell in the both World Wars.

In conclusion, the Chairman thanked members of The Heritage Society, the Gardening Club, the Church “Refresh” Breakfast sessions and all those others who help to make the village a Living Village. Mrs Ousey also thanked the distributors of the local free papers which helped to keep the community informed.

The Chairman thanked the Parish Clerk, Tony Youngjohns, for his work throughout the year as well as Linda Scott for her work on the Website and John Lacey as Heritage Warden and Roy Holyland as Tree Warden.

5. Annual Accounts 2013-14

Copies of the Annual Accounts, which had once more been audited by Simon Faire, had already been distributed by email and had been posted on the Village Notice Board for nearly a month.

The Income for the Year was £4,607 of which the Precept was £4,000. An amount of £400 was received by way of a grant for the WW1 War Memorial plague, an additional £162 as New Home Grants and the rest was Miscellaneous. There was a “surplus” of £229 associated with the Defibrillator. It was noted that over the last two years £2,384 had been raised and £2,155 spent on the defibrillator leaving the balance for repairs consumables etc.

The main items of Expenditure were Insurance at £261, the same as last year, Grass cutting £857 which was £120 less than last year and Parish Clerks costs of £1,494 which were up by £335.

The major reason for the increase in Clerks cost was the additional time taken in responding to various Planning Applications (Caravan Park, Swift Stables – again-, various applications involving other caravans and two untidy land issues). The clerk also organised the Bulk Purchase of over 60,000 litres of oil which on average saved the villagers who took part over £1,000 in total.

The cost of £400 for the WW1 memorial was totally offset by the grant.

At the end of the Financial Year the Parish had £8,138 in its various Bank Accounts. The Chairman noted though that £1,941 of that figure is ring-fenced for the Folly Field. It must also be remembered that at the November (2015) Meeting the Parish agreed to fund the Village Hall with a £2,000 precept and also agreed to contribute £800 to the grass cutting of the Cricket Field. With only a £5,000 precept this will mean having to draw down on some of this opening balance during this year.

The Chairman recorded the Parish’s thanks to Simon Faire for once again auditing the Annual Return.

There being no further questions Margaret Morgan proposed and Erica Hearnshaw seconded that the accounts be adopted. This was agreed unanimously.

6. Election of Officers

There were two posts to be confirmed, the Burial Clerk and the Parish Chairman.

The Chairman handed the meeting over to Cllr Lesley Bowles to undertake the election of Chairman. John Lacey proposed and John Thorpe seconded that Ros Ousey be re-elected Chairman of the Parish Meeting. There being no other nominations the proposal was put to a vote and was carried unanimously.

Mrs Ousey then called for nominations for the joint-post of Burial Clerks. Ros Ousey and Janet Skinner were proposed and, being willing to continue in their posts, were duly re-appointed.

7. Any Other Business

7.1 Website

Linda Scott gave an update on the background and progress with the Village Website. The current arrangements would end in September and a decision had to be made as to how to continue. It was hoped that the site would not only contain information about Mowsley but could also incorporate Advertisements and Supplier Recommendations.

John Lacey proposed that further work be undertaken in order that the Village maintained a presence in the outside world. It was agreed that a further meeting be arranged to confirm the way forward.

7.2. Connecting Mowsley

John Thorpe outlined the Connecting Mowsley initiative confirming that he had details for those who were interested in taking part.

7.3 Village Notice Board/Land next to the Folly Field

The chairman gave the background to the piece of land which adjoins The Folly House to the Folly Field. Ba Stafford had indicated that she was willing to buy the land from the Parish and it was suggested that the part of the proceeds could be used to replace the current Notice Board which is starting to fall into disrepair.

7.4 CCTV Installation

The Chairman confirmed that two CCTV cameras had been installed on the Village Hall to monitor activity both up and down Main Street. It was confirmed though that the recordings would only be used to follow up on reported incidents

7.5 Road Issues

It was noted that damage has been caused to the verges surrounding the Triangle and in other parts of Main Street. A suggestion to put stones on the verges was dismissed as any damage caused as a result involves Personal Liability. The provision of Double Yellow lines was also dismissed as not being in keeping with the village environment.

Some of the problem emanates from the popularity of the Staff of Life and it was suggested that this issue be discussed with the Landlord.

Tree issues along the Theddingworth Road were noted and these are being attended to by the Tree Warden, Roy Holyland.

John Thorpe raised the issue of a felled tree and poor hedge maintenance on the Laughton Lane being a safety hazard. Amy Bilson confirmed that the tree would be removed in the near future.

Peter Jones queried the purpose of the recent traffic survey. It was suggested that it was being done to monitor traffic volumes.

7.5 Parish Boundary Survey

John Lacey volunteered to undertake the Flora and Fauna Survey and asked that anyone interested in assisting email him.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9:15 p.m.

Chairman