Minutes of Leven annual parish meeting held on Tuesday, 1 May 2018 at 7.15pm in the
Sports Hall.
Present: Mrs. Ablett, D Gillyon-Powell, S Nicholson, K Macklin, M Hilton, R Gibson, R Southwell,
Mrs. Ellerington-Jennings, Residents – Kathy Noble, Sara Towne
Apologies: M Gillyon-Powell, J Bird, S Mathison
Approval of the minutes:
The minutes of the last meeting held on 2 May 2017 were approved, D Gillyon-Powell proposed, S Nicholson seconded and all were in favour of them being signed as a true record.
Kathy Noble – Leven playpark fundraising:
Kathy had been invited to the meeting to make a presentation regarding the play park funding. Kathy had approached the playing fields association in 2015 and got approval from the committee to start fund raising in March 2017. £50,000 has been raised so far with more grant funding applied for. The original cost of the replacement play equipment had been £56,000 hover this has now increased to £77,000. Some of the equipment is adapted for disabled children. Kathy is astounded at how the community has come together to raise the funds. A detailed drawing of the proposed playpark layout was shown to the councillors. The equipment will be regularly maintained at a cost of £195 pa and this will be covered by the playing fields association. Mrs. Ablett thanked Kathy for attending the meeting.
Chairman’s report:
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Councillors, as the Chairman of the Parish Council it is a privilege to be able to present the annual report for Leven Parish Council 2017/18. Whilst doing so, I will endeavour to highlight some of work that we have dealt with over the last twelve months.
Since the last AGM we have co-opted a new member onto the council, Bridget Ellerington-Jennings. I hope you enjoy your time on the Council and find the work both informative and interesting. I am quite sure by now that all the new members will be finding out that it is not just about the monthly meetings but that it is much more besides and that is what makes being a councillor so fascinating.
Over the last twelve months there have been many challenges for the PC especially with the changes to legislation and it is important that we keep up to date with all the new regulations. With them comes additional work for our clerk and myself to make sure that we adhere to them.
Representatives - Many of our councillors act as our representatives on village organisations such as the Playfield Association, In Bloom, Leven Festival, Youth Club etc. in an endeavour to forge stronger ties with the community.
I thank the various representatives for their efforts and keeping us informed as to how the PC might be able to help.
It is the many and varied village groups that help to make Leven such a vibrant and interesting place to live. There is lots going on for all age groups, thank you to all the many residents who give up their time to run these groups.
Leven in Bloom - Sadly, I must report that this group has folded due to lack of support within the community. The PC have agreed to take over the planters in the village and will be responsible for planting them up with summer colour. The headteacher, Andy Dolman has agreed to plant up the lamp post baskets with the children from the school Gardening Club and the PC have agreed to assist with the cost of plants.
Development - This has been a major issue on the agenda, we have seen quite a few applications coming through for consideration. We are consulted by the ERYC Planning Dept. but only in an advisory way as we are not a statutory consultee, which means they are not obliged to listen to or taken on board any issues or concerns we might have. As you can imagine we find this very difficult, we know the planning issues, but we are not always listened to.
Dog fouling - continues to be a problem around the village and we have tried to be vigilant in the way that it is tackled, encouraging residents to report repeat offenders to the Dog Warden or Sally our clerk. There are adequate bins provided around the village in which to deposit the spoils yet the few insist upon throwing the bags of poo into the bottom hedges where it causes additional problems for residents, farmers and livestock. This gets dog owners a bad name and we urge residents and visitors alike to take responsibility for their pets.
Litter -l would like to convey the Council's grateful thanks to Hannah Watson for her valiant efforts litter picking recently. It certainly made a difference to the appearance to the entrances to the village. The litter problem has been highlighted several times in the Leven Life. Not only does it undo all the good work we are doing to improve the overall appearance of the village, but it is unnecessary. Our message is "Take it home with you" do not throw it out of the car window etc.
Parish paths partnership scheme - This has been the last year of the Parish Paths Partnership Scheme with the ERYC. The PC have always funded additional cuts depending upon the growing season to make sure that residents can make full use of our Bridleways and Footpaths. The ERYC have informed us that they will be doing the works "In House" in the future, they will only be doing three cuts a year. Leven PC will continue to do additional cuts on certain footpaths to maintain access for walkers. This additional cost will come out of our precept.
Christmas tree lights switch on - We had a good attendance for the light switch on. It is an opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the start of the festive season. Thank you to the scouts for providing the refreshment on this occasion.
Jubilee Garden - Thank you to Garry Lee for all his hard work maintain the grass in this area, keeping it neat and tidy.
Allan Dawson handyman - Who does a sterling job around the village, planting bulbs, gathering up litter in the residential areas etc. Both Garry and Allan take a pride in the work they do because it is their village too.
Ward Councillors - I would like to record our thanks to Cllr. Pollard who has attended several of our meetings throughout the year. We appreciate the time that you give and for keeping us informed regarding ERYC matters.
Sally Woolfitt, Parish Clerk - With all the new legislation, GDPR etc. her roles and responsibilities are expanding. She often goes beyond her working hours to get the job done. We are fortunate to have someone who is committed to the community she lives in.
It is not possible to mention everything that has happened that we have had to deal with over the last twelve months, but I would hope that our minutes reflect some of the work we have undertaken upon behalf of the residents we represent.
We are a responsible PC working within our Code of Conduct, striving to be open, efficient, progressive and inclusive. We endeavour to act in a professional manner on behalf of the community we represent.
It has been both a privilege and a challenge being your chairman for the last twelve months. Thank you for the opportunity.
ERYC: no report received
Any other business:
PCSO Sarah Freer and PC Chris Matthews from Humberside Police attended the meeting to talk with the councillors. PCSO Freer is already known to the parish council so no introduction was needed however PC Matthews explained about his role in the Humberside Police. PC Matthews commented that there is now a new Chief Constable recently appointed and he will bring new ideas to the force. At present there are 1400 officers, and this is to increase to 1900 and this figure will not drop below 1850. There will always be 36 officers per shift working out of Beverley police station. Mrs. Ablett thanked the officers for attending.
The meeting closed at 8.15pm.