2023 Annual Parish Meeting

SOUTH HYKEHAM ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 13th April 2022 6.30PM 

Minutes of the Annual Parish meeting of South Hykeham Parish Council on Wednesday 12th April 2023, at 6.30pm.

Notetaker in absence of the Parish Clerk: Cllr Pam Whittaker

 Chairman: Cllr Pam Whittaker Chair of South Hykeham Parish Council

 Present: Parish Councillors: Cllrs Mrs P Whittaker, D Rowson, P Driffill, S Roe and R Phillips, District and County Councillor M Overton, District Councillor Mary Green. Headteacher J Richardson South Hykeham Community Primary School. Bruce Wakeling of  South Hykeham Village Hall Committee 

1. Apologies for absence. Apologies had been received from the Local Police Beat Team, County Councillor  M Thompson, SHPC Cllrs Mrs L Graham and Mrs Dillon-Jones and Carolyn Wilkinson, Clerk SHPC. 

2. Annual presentation of Community Awards had been deferred until the meeting of Weds 10th May 2023. 

3. Clerk’s notes of the last Annual Parish meeting held on Weds 13th April 2022 to be adopted as the minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting.  Proposed Cllr Driffill seconded by Cllr Rowson that the clerk’s notes of the meeting held on Wed 13th April 2022 were a true record and should be adopted as the minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting.  Unanimously approved by those who had been present at that meeting.

4.  Police Report.  In the absence of the Police Beat Team it was noted that the written police report which had been circulated prior to the meeting listed the current priorities of tackling anti-social behaviour in towns and rural areas and speeding would remain.     Noted

5. Reports.

a) South Hykeham Parish Council Annual Report.  The Parish Council continues to carry out voluntary litterpicks every other month on the second Saturday and which go ahead subject to clement weather conditions. The next litterpick is scheduled to coincide with the Great Keep Britain Tidy Spring Clean and parishioners and and village organisations are invited to join with some of our councillors  and willing volunteers in keeping the Parish as litter free as possible. Further information on future dates is available on the website, in the Witham Herald and on the village noticeboards. Litterbin locations are reviewed annually and new locations are identified once permission has been granted by the landowner or LCC Highways.

There has been no further progress in gaining permission to complete the final stage between between Grandfield Way and Ascot Way and the matter currently rests with the Rights of Way Team as the path needs to be slightly rerouted and conversations are currently taking place to resolve this.  Due to the complexity of this matter the completion of the final section is likely to be a long-term project.  The Council is still waiting the installation of barriers at the Mill Lane end of the bridleway and has been chasing this up with AccessLincoln/LCC Highways. Once the barriers are installed it will provide a physical deterrent against cycling into the road and will also prevent motorised vehicles using the bridleway.  

At the Parish Council meeting of 11th January 2023 after setting the budget for 2023/2024 the Parish Council unanimously agreed to a 4.51% increase and set the precept at £18,900.00. This equates to £44.90 per annum on a band D property.

The Parish Council operates a grants and donations scheme to offer some financial support on application to community organisations within the village and other organisations that provide valuable advice and support to South Hykeham Parishioners.  For details of the Grants and Donations Policy and application forms/notes please contact the Clerk or the forms may be downloaded from the website.  

The Parish Council has purchased 2 memorial benches which are to be installed at locations yet to be decided and with the relevant permissions obtained.  The Elizabeth II bench will be installed in the old part of the village and the King Charles III bench will be installed somewhere along Newark Road in the vicinity of the brick built bus shelter.  Permission has been granted to demolish the bus shelter and replace it with a modern Perspex type of shelter in order to discourage the anti-social behaviour that takes place in it.    

The Parish Council looks forward to another busy year and invites Parishioners to approach them with suggestions for ideas for new initiatives or facilities that they would like to see in South Hykeham.  Suggestions can be put forward to the Parish Council for consideration by contacting the Clerk on 07762 318013 or by mail southhykehampc@gmail.com or in person at a Parish Council meeting or at one of the consultation events that members of the council attend.  They will be having a stand at the annual South Hykeham dog show and would welcome a visit by parishioners to put forward their suggestions or to sign up as a volunteer litterpicker.

b) District Councillors’ reports.  Cllr Mary Green advised that there are a number of election briefings taking place in the District for councillors and clerks prior to the elections due to take place on Thursday 4th May 2023.  

c) County Councillors’ reports.   Cllr Overton had supplied a written report which had been circulated prior to the meeting.  There were no questions. 

d) Village Organisations’ reports. 

South Hykeham Community Primary School – the Headteacher John Richardson gave a report on the school’s activities during the year.  The children have worked very hard throughout the year and are a credit to the school.  The School Council is democratically elected and represents the school at events such as the Annual Remembrance Service at the Memorial Bench.  The school has also taken part in a competition to design litterpicking posters which will be used by the Parish Council to encourage new people to volunteer to join the litterpicking team.

South Hykeham Village Hall reported that for the period April 2022 to March 2023 had been a very busy period for the hall with the number of enquiries and bookings continuing to grow. With the rising cost of running the hall facility it has been necessary to increase the hire charges for the first time in 4 years.  The cost has been kept as low as possible in order to encourage its continued use.
The hall has been maintained as required with new fencing being installed on the private lane up to the gate and work has also been carried out to improve the access to the site and improve the general appearance as well as upgrading the fire extinguishers and lighting and other improvements or upgrades being carried out.

A major improvement that will be needed at some point is the resurfacing and lining of the car park which will be an expensive operation.  

A major concern, as with most voluntary organisations, is continuity planning for when the current serving trustees are no longer able to carry on.  It is relatively easy to get trustees to attend meetings but more difficult to find those willing to give 10 hour or more per week to help run the hall. 

6.  South Hykeham Parish Council’s 10 Year Strategy update. The 10 Year Strategy Working Party continues to meet at 6.30pm before each Parish Council meeting so that any suggestions for activities or initiatives can be reported back to the Parish Council meeting for consideration and funding.  The Working Party has no spending powers as only the Parish Council can authorise expenditure but the Working Party endeavours to come up with ideas to celebrate the heritage and to mark occasions that are of interest to parishioners.  Rev Collins, John Richardson and Pilot Officer Kris Mc Mullen from RAF Waddington are members of the Working Party and are instrumental in working with the Parish Council to find ways of supporting the community and to find out what amenities or events they would like to see in the Parish.  The Parish Council has agreed it would like to host or be involved in more community events in order to engage and consult with parishioners in order to bring forward new ideas and initiatives to enhance the local area and to improve social cohesion. 

7.  Parish Council Grants and Donations 2022/23. The Parish Council has set aside £600 in the budget for awarding grants or donations to financially support community organisations within the village and other organisations that provide valuable advice and life changing support to South Hykeham Parishioners. 

This year the Council has awarded a grant of £100 to St Michaels and All Angels Church towards the maintenance of the burial ground.  A further £100 was awarded to CAB Mid Lincs in support of the advice and assistance they give to people who are suffering some form of hardship. 
 
8. Finance Report 2022/23. In the absence of the Clerk the finance report had been deferred to the May meeting of the Parish Council.  There have been some issues with the current banking provider which is fairly widespread across the country due to the bank not recognizing that Parish and Town Councils are local government and not businesses. The National Association for Local Councils has taken the matter up with the bank as they are threatening to freeze Parish and Town Council accounts because they seem unable to recognise that councils are governed by statute but won’t accept the standing orders of councils as evidence of what they are.  This side of the business is outsourced out of this country so the people dealing with our accounts have no concept of Local Government in this country which is resulting in these problems.  The Clerk is currently authorised by Council to look into opening an account with an alternative provider who understands the governance of local authorities in the UK.

The Parish Council is carrying some earmarked reserves for completion of the bridleway project, removal and replacement of the brick built bus shelter on Newark Road and the installation plinths for the new village seats.  

The external auditor has set the date for the completion and submission of the Council’s Annual Return for 2022/23.

9. Parishioner’s Open Forum and Questions. As there were no members of the Public present there were no matters to be discussed.

The meeting closed at 6.58pm.