2024 Annual Parish Meeting

SKILLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Grantham, Lincolnshire
Chair:  Richard Wrigley  Vice-Chair:  Rory Grindey
Councillors: Adrian Clark,  Neville Clark,  Paul Elston,  Bronwyn Headley,  Roseanne McKee.
Parish Clerk:  Pamela Harrison (Mrs), 9 Telford Way, Colsterworth, Grantham, Lincs.  NG33 5GH   
Telephone:  07707 104187  e-mail: clerk.spc@gmail.com

Notes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 at 6.30pm.

Present:   Cllrs R. Wrigley (Chair), B. Hedley, N. Clark, A. Clark, C. Vernon (LCC), D. Bellamy and B. Green (arrived at 6.55pm) (SKDC) and Mrs P. Harrison (Parish Clerk).

Parishioners: Mr G. and Mrs V. Page, Mr D. Beecher.

The Meeting was chaired by Richard Wrigley, Chairman of Skillington Parish Council. 

1.    Apologies for absence:  received from Cllrs R. Grindey,  R. McKee and P. Elston. 
               
2.    Notes of the Annual Parish Meeting on 3rd April 2023 were agreed and signed by Cllr Wrigley.  The Chair asked for.any comments.  

3.    Report on the Parish Council:  The Chair addressed the meeting and reported on activities for the previous year:

3.1    What is the Parish Council? The lowest tier of local government with various Duties and Powers including litter collection, cemetery management, mowing verges and common grassed areas.  What the PC cannot do:  refuse or grant planning applications.  It is, however, informed of all applications and can make comments. It cannot mend potholes, but reports them to Highways.

3.2   Membership:  The Council has seven councillors: The Chair: Richard Wrigley; Vice-Chair: Rory Grindey;  Cllrs Adrian Clark, Neville Clark, Paul Elston, Bronwyn Hedley and Roseanne McKee. During the course of 2023-2024,  Cllrs A. Clark and Elston joined the PC. There are currently no vacancies.  The next Election is due in May 2027. Councillors serve a 4-year term. Cllrs David Bellamy, Ben Green and Charlotte Vernon were thanked for their continuing support, as was Stuart Millington, who had served on the PC for many years.   

3.3  The Chairman reported on matters of interest in the past year:  He first thanked the District and County Councillors for their work during the year.  

3.3.1    Mr P. Parris was thanked for his many years of contribution in maintaining the Skillington Life website.  This will shortly be transferred to another website with the help of LALC. 

3.3.2   Progress has been made on the cemetery extension.  The PC thanked Mr W. Murdoch for his generous donation of land for this valuable village resource. 

3.3.3     More bulbs were planted on The Square, partly in recognition of King Charles’s Coronation.

3.3.4    The Fish Well repair will be completed when the weather allows.

3.3.4    .Hedgehog signs have been put up in the village and have been well received.

3.3.5     Tree work has been done on the top green.

3.3.6     All the children of the Parish were given Coronation medals to commemorate the event.   

3.3.7     The Drift: A consultation process is in progress with the aim to introduce a Traffic Regulation Order, to enable the repair and future protection of The Drift.

3.3.8     Cllr Ben Green kindly donated an oak tree for the Churchyard.    

3.3.9     Highways (LCC) has painted white lines on the Cross Swords corner, to help pedestrian safety.

3.3.10    The PC will bid for funding to create a community orchard in the lower part of the paddock.

4  Planning Committee:  The Chair read through the Report of the Planning Committee to 31st March 2024: 

The Planning Committee usually consists of the Chair and two Councillors, currently the Chair Cllr Wrigley, with Cllrs Grindey and N Clark. The Parish Council monitors any applications from within the Parish or, in the case of large developments, in the vicinity of the Parish.  The Committee confers and prepares comments relevant to ‘material planning considerations’ on all planning applications relating to buildings and trees in Skillington, within the context of the Local Plan and the criteria for approving or otherwise, development as set out in Skillington’s Neighbourhood Plan.    Comments are normally collated and returned by the Parish Clerk.  Anything considered problematic can be referred to SKDC’s Planning Committee to be ‘called in’ for focussed consideration.  During the period 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 the applications (all of which were granted) were:     
    
•    Non-material amendments and variations to a pair of two storey semi-detached cottages.
•    To vary and remove condition 20 to remove stone under a weighbridge.
•     Eight applications for tree surgery or felling, all of which were granted.

4.    Parish Council Finances: The unaudited accounts of Skillington Parish Council for the year to 31st March 2024 were available for inspection; the Chair referred to the Income & Expenditure schedule comparing the year to 31st March 2024 with the previous year. 

4.1.    Income from the Precept of £5,150 was an increase of £100 on the previous year.  Parish Council budgets showed a surplus, due to cemetery income.

4.2.    Total income of approximately £9800 includes the ‘real’ income mostly from the Precept, paddock rent and cemetery income; all other income is reimbursement of work carried out on behalf of County or District Council. Income from the Cemetery was higher than usual. 

4.3.    Expenditure during the year was £8700; this includes employment of the Clerk, mowing, street cleaning and care of the churchyard and cemetery, in addition to some one-off costs.

4.4.    The surplus of around £1060 for the year was due to income from the cemetery.  

4.5.    Outlook for 2024/25:  The Precept is to increase by a small amount, which should cover general cost increases.  The LCC mowing reimbursement may not cover grass cutting costs every year, depending on the season. We expect to break even in 2024/25.

Thanks:  The Chair expressed his thanks to all the Parish Councillors; to Cllrs Bellamy, Green.(SKDC)  and Cllr Vernon (LCC) for their continued  support throughout the year, attending almost all the Councils’ meetings. Graham and Vicky Page were thanked for all their hard work for their past years as PC Chair and Secretary.  The Clerk was also thanked for her work throughout the year.

5.    Vacancies on the Parish Council: There are currently no vacancies.

6.    Matters Raised from the Floor: 

6.1.    Mrs V. Page brought up the Sewstern Biomass plant.  She asked if residents were aware of this.  Cllr Bellamy remarked that the plans had not yet been submitted, but there shouldn’t be any more traffic through Skillington. He reminded residents that they should comment, as an individual, as the number of objections is taken into account.

6.2.    Mrs V. Page also commented on the damage that large waste water tankers are having on the verges on Sproxton Road.  Cllr Vernon advised a letter from the PC to the company concerned would be a good first move.

6.3.    Mr G. Page thanked the Parish, District and County Councillors for their work during the year, which is appreciated.

The Chair thanked everyone for attending the meeting.

The meeting closed at 7.10 pm.

The next Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Monday, 7th April 202 at 6.30pm at Skillington Village Hall.