2021 Annual Parish Meeting

Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard’s Leap Parish Council

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap Parish held at Cranwell Village Hall, Old School Lane, Cranwell Village, NG34 8DF on Monday 14 June 2021 at 7:00pm.

              Chairman:          Cllr Mr T R Batten

              Mr Eddie Findlay, Clerk to the Parish Council

There were 2 members of the public in attendance.and all seven other councillors.

The Chairman declared the meeting open at 7:00pm.

1.Notes of the Annual Parish Meeting held at Cranwell Village Hall on Tuesday 2 April 2019 to be approved as Minutes.

Action:  The Council RESOLVED to approve the notes of the Annual Parish Meeting held at Cranwell Village Hall on Tuesday 2 April 2019 as Minutes.

Proposed by Mr M Cassidy, seconded by Cllr Riley and approved unanimously.

2. Receive the Chairman’s report from April 2019 to April 2021 from Cllr Trevor Batten.

Welcome to the Cranwell Brauncewell and Byard’s leap Parish Councils, Annual Parish meeting 2021, this is the first meeting for 2 years due to the pandemic, thanks you all for coming

Over the last 2 year a lot has happened in relation to the Parish Council itself at one point we were down to only 4 Councillors then back up to 9 and currently at 8.  We are now on the third Chairman during this period, Councillor Helen Morris who had been Chairman for a number of years has now left the council and I would very much like to thank her, Helen worked very hard on the council for everyone’s benefit and saw many projects and tasks completed, to many to mention here, safe to say she is very much missed on the council.  Thanks Helen.  We then had Cllr Michael Cassidy as Chair for a few months, and I would like to thank Michael for all his hard work during this time.  This was no easy task as the Council had to learn new skills and conduct meetings over Zoom holding remote access meetings.

Over the last 2 years we have seen the Village Hall and Social Club Car Parks resurfaced, the Social Club roof replaced, and a great many smaller jobs completed including re-fencing the tennis Courts.  We also have installed power to the Village Green, not yet complete but just awaiting an electrical meter.

Councillor Michael Cassidy should be mentioned here as he has worked tirelessly keeping the recreational areas available for use and sorting the power on the green, it really does take a lot of work keeping on top of it all.

The Council is very aware of the issue of Speeding through the Village, made much worse by current works on the Holdingham roundabout with vehicles cutting through Cranwell to avoid it.  We have purchased 2 Speed indication device that will be sighted at 4 locations throughout the village the positions will be alternated.  We have also acquired some large 30 MPH reminder signs that will be posted along the main road which runs through the Village.  Cllr Mike Pears has worked hard on this and continues to do so, the holdup is getting Highway’s approval for everything and a shortage of microprocessors.

We have a brand new rather well-designed Parish Council Website, this is constantly updated with Village news, Advertisements, Council Business and just about any information that might be of use to the people of the Parish.  Again, this is the down to Cllr Mike Pears who has brought this through from scratch and is the person responsible for keeping it up to date, this he does very well and should be congratulated for a very useful appealing website.

We have moved forward with the aspiration to build a new Sports Pavilion; we have asked the parishioners if they want a Pavilion building and of what type.  The majority have said yes they do want a pavilion and would prefer a building of Brick construction.  We have had Plans drawn up and the approved plan has been submitted for planning permission.  We await the result.  The plans can be found on our wonderful parish website!

We have 3 main Volunteer Committees in the Village, PC, VHC and the Social Club Committee all having the Same aim, that aim,  is the Good and benefit of the Parishioners of Cranwell Brauncewell and Byard’s leap.  I am happy to say that working together we are achieving this aim.

Rod Morris and the Village Hall Committee are unsung heroes, working away in the background just making things happen doing all the administration and keeping the VH maintained and up to scratch, thank you.

I would like to thank the Parish Clerk Mr Eddie Findley.  Eddie has been the glue that has held the Parish Council together over this very difficult period.  Eddies tenacity, professionalism, knowledge of all things Council, calmness and reasoned approach has been invaluable.  Unfortunately, Eddie has decided to leave the position of Clerk after 10 years’ service (you get medals for less) Eddie is leaving due to the commitments of his full-time service in the RAF.

Finally, I would like to dispel any myths about Parish councillors being paid.  Every single Councillor is an unpaid volunteer, who gives up their spare time for the good and benefit of the Parish and the people in it.  Thank you all.

 Receive the Chairman’s report from April 2019 to April 2021 from Cllr Trevor Batten.

Welcome to the Cranwell Brauncewell and Byard’s leap Parish Councils, Annual Parish meeting 2021, this is the first meeting for 2 years due to the pandemic, thanks you all for coming

Over the last 2 year a lot has happened in relation to the Parish Council itself at one point we were down to only 4 Councillors then back up to 9 and currently at 8.  We are now on the third Chairman during this period, Councillor Helen Morris who had been Chairman for a number of years has now left the council and I would very much like to thank her, Helen worked very hard on the council for everyone’s benefit and saw many projects and tasks completed, to many to mention here, safe to say she is very much missed on the council.  Thanks Helen.  We then had Cllr Michael Cassidy as Chair for a few months, and I would like to thank Michael for all his hard work during this time.  This was no easy task as the Council had to learn new skills and conduct meetings over Zoom holding remote access meetings.

Over the last 2 years we have seen the Village Hall and Social Club Car Parks resurfaced, the Social Club roof replaced, and a great many smaller jobs completed including re-fencing the tennis Courts.  We also have installed power to the Village Green, not yet complete but just awaiting an electrical meter.

Councillor Michael Cassidy should be mentioned here as he has worked tirelessly keeping the recreational areas available for use and sorting the power on the green, it really does take a lot of work keeping on top of it all.

The Council is very aware of the issue of Speeding through the Village, made much worse by current works on the Holdingham roundabout with vehicles cutting through Cranwell to avoid it.  We have purchased 2 Speed indication device that will be sighted at 4 locations throughout the village the positions will be alternated.  We have also acquired some large 30 MPH reminder signs that will be posted along the main road which runs through the Village.  Cllr Mike Pears has worked hard on this and continues to do so, the holdup is getting Highway’s approval for everything and a shortage of microprocessors.

We have a brand new rather well-designed Parish Council Website, this is constantly updated with Village news, Advertisements, Council Business and just about any information that might be of use to the people of the Parish.  Again, this is the down to Cllr Mike Pears who has brought this through from scratch and is the person responsible for keeping it up to date, this he does very well and should be congratulated for a very useful appealing website.

We have moved forward with the aspiration to build a new Sports Pavilion; we have asked the parishioners if they want a Pavilion building and of what type.  The majority have said yes they do want a pavilion and would prefer a building of Brick construction.  We have had Plans drawn up and the approved plan has been submitted for planning permission.  We await the result.  The plans can be found on our wonderful parish website!

We have 3 main Volunteer Committees in the Village, PC, VHC and the Social Club Committee all having the Same aim, that aim,  is the Good and benefit of the Parishioners of Cranwell Brauncewell and Byard’s leap.  I am happy to say that working together we are achieving this aim.

Rod Morris and the Village Hall Committee are unsung heroes, working away in the background just making things happen doing all the administration and keeping the VH maintained and up to scratch, thank you.

I would like to thank the Parish Clerk Mr Eddie Findley.  Eddie has been the glue that has held the Parish Council together over this very difficult period.  Eddies tenacity, professionalism, knowledge of all things Council, calmness and reasoned approach has been invaluable.  Unfortunately, Eddie has decided to leave the position of Clerk after 10 years’ service (you get medals for less) Eddie is leaving due to the commitments of his full-time service in the RAF.

Finally, I would like to dispel any myths about Parish councillors being paid.  Every single Councillor is an unpaid volunteer, who gives up their spare time for the good and benefit of the Parish and the people in it.  Thank you all. 

3. Receive a Financial Report from April 2019 to April 2021 from the Responsible Finance Officer, Mr Eddie Findlay.

Income

Due to the pandemic, Council was unable to hold an Annual Parish Meeting as previous.  Council started this two-year period with a carried forward amount of £79,553.

Whilst a number of the normal income streams were maintained, mainly from NKDC and LCC, for things such as litter picking and grass cutting, which the Parish Council undertake on behalf of these two authorities. 

Other incomes were diminished.  Council had budgeted for £600 in interest for the Fixed Terms Deposits, but the significantly lowered interest rates for the last 12 months only yielded less than £110.  Likewise with eth Romper Room and Brownies being closed for a majority of 2020, rent income also down.

Expenditure

Funds continued to be set aside Ring-fenced monies for projects, most of which have now been completed; £23,300 to re-surfacing of the car park in front of the Social Club and Village Hall

£7,500 to refurbish the tennis court fencing

£16,000 to replace the Social Club flat roof (part payment, balance to be paid on completion)

£2,500 to install electrical power to the Village Green, and

£3,100 to purchase 2 x post mounted Speed Indicator Devices

Other outgoings included ongoing maintenance for the Garden of Remembrance, the Village Hall, the Village Green, the Old School, litter picking and miscellaneous repairs.

Grounds maintenance has always been a significant area of expenditure at over £8,000, this is partially offset by receiving a small grant from LCC for grass cutting undertaken on behalf of the County.  As reported earlier, LCC only provide funding for two cuts of the grass verges within the 30mph zones.

The Sports Pavilion Fund falls under Parish Council control.  This is for financial administrative purposes only and money raised for the Pavilion will only ever be used for this project.  That fund currently stands at £15,368.

The Parish Council strive to use funds carefully to ensure the parish is maintained in a condition you, as residents expect.

The Parish Council will be planning their budget for Financial Year 2022/2023 in November 2021, so if you have any ideas for projects, please does pass them to us (costings etc. included) prior to this date to allow time for all project to be considered.

4. Receive reports from County and District Councillors.

Cty Cllr Richard Wright on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council.

No report had been received.

D/Cllr Jim Clarke and D/Cllr Steve Clegg on behalf of North Kesteven District Council.

The last 12+ months have been very challenging for everyone, and although much of our work has been conducted in a ‘virtual’ environment, we are pleased to report a number of important achievements for North Kesteven District Council.

The following items are far from comprehensive, but we believe it will give you a flavour for what has been done in addition to the regular Parish Council reports you have received from NKDC.

The Covid-19 Pandemic

The Council has actively engaged in and supported the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum and Public Health partnerships in relation to Covid.  The response by our local communities has been phenomenal. NKDC has forged even closer links with many community groups, which we hope to maintain hereafter.

We have actively helped more than 2,000 businesses and administered over £28m in Covid-support grants to date.

Our staff were promptly equipped to work agilely from home, delivering the majority of services provided by NKDC.  They also made over 15,000 phone calls to our most vulnerable residents throughout the year supporting their wellbeing.

Covid Ambassadors were deployed District-wide to support Covid-compliance and to bolster confidence within businesses, in public spaces and within local centres. 

We also co-funded with the Lincolnshire Community Foundation a £40,000 fund to support Covid-19 response and recovery initiatives.

We facilitated local provision of Covid-testing in Sleaford for key workers.

Key Projects

The £1.2m refurbishment and re-modelling of the National Centre for Craft & Design in Sleaford (now rebranded again as ‘The Hub’) is completed and is open from May 17th.  The improvements have given the facility a real vibrancy and we’re sure residents will appreciate these.

Our Economic Development team has lead the construction of an additional 15 business workshop units at Discovery Court, North Hykeham.   We have invested 2.2m in extending the Council’s estate of business units, stretching to 126 across 11 locations District-wide.  These are now being let out.

Whisby Natural World Centre has continued to welcome visitors to its outside attractions during the pandemic, and we have improved disable access to facilities here too.

NKDC Policy and Strategy

We have embraced the challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approving and progressing an ambitious action plan to achieve carbon neutrality for the Council by 2030.  We are also looking at ways to help residents and businesses to do the same.

We recently set out and approved a Community Strategy which aligns the Council’s established Priorities alongside the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in pursuit of a net-zero carbon future with better levels of health and a more vibrant economy.

We are working positively with partner organisations to review the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, seeking to set out a roadmap to carbon neutrality for the area by 2030.

We now have a Tree Strategy which includes provision to increase tree cover including on our own land.

Our Council

We have developed a 10-year capital programme of £230m in investments in housing, infrastructure, economic growth potential and resources whilst maintaining a low rate of Council Tax at £174.90 for a Band D property.

The Council secured the prestigious Investors in People gold standard in recognition of his high level of colleague welfare, engagement and empowerment.

We put in place measures to ensure safe Covid-compliant elections on May 6.

Our Communities

Despite the trying circumstances, we still managed to hold the annual Community Champion Awards celebration honouring the best in community endeavour – widening to 12 the categories to reflect amazing Covid responses.

In partnership with the owners of the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant, we have established a five-year community fund of £125,000 into which 28 parish areas can bid within a five mile radius of the plant.

We completed a successful trial of paper and card separation across 1,700 NK properties to enhance recycling quality, value and sustainability; informing the county-wide rollout of purple-lidded bins in all of North Kesteven from this September.

Our waste team maintained the efficient delivery of our waste collection services - emptying 3.7m bins across four waste streams.

We actively enhanced how we tackled anti-social behaviour issues, littering and nuisance; dealing with 460 noise complaints, 107 fly-tipping complaints and 160 smoke complaints.

The Council’s Stepping Out Walks supported increased access to the countryside, with usage increasing 25% to 251,330 users in 2020/21 .

Our Environment

As mentioned earlier in this report, we have pursued the Council’s Climate Emergency declaration by planting trees, enhancing carbon storage, further reducing carbon outputs.

We completed a project in partnership with Sleaford Town Council and Historic England to restore heritage shop fronts in Sleaford.

We are working on a project with South Kesteven District Council, Natural England and other partners to enhance the river environment of the River Slea for wildlife and access.

We have allocated a £50k-plus budget for the restoration and improved interpretation and accessibility of Cogglesford Watermill in Sleaford.

Our Economy

We have started to roll out a masterplan for a £56m eco-conscious business expansion programme at Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park.

We have contributed to the delivery of highway improvements at Sleaford, on the A17, at Holdingham Roundabout and the Rugby Club junction of the A153, opening up opportunities further investment, jobs growth and housing.

As we emerge from the impact of Covid on our tourism sector, we have supported activities to increase its value – which  currently generates £162m to the local economy and supports almost 4,000 jobs at a summer peak.

Our Homes

NKDC is leading by example, with new principles for carbon-neutral house building within the NK council stock, including highly efficient Passivhaus standards.

We have started work on 33 additional homes at Welchman Way Heckington (an investment of £4.68m), completed four flats in Heckington and started eight more Passivhaus homes a Potterhanworth, plus the commissioning of 19 in Navenby where the eco-credentials are being raised before being transferred as NK housing stock.

We are partnering with Lincolnshire County Council to develop a scheme of extra-care and specialist housing in Sleaford to meet the District’s needs.

We are on track to deliver 42 new properties at Station Road Waddington under the Council’s private rental arm Lafford Homes, which has 72 homes already within its portfolio and 128 more at various stages from concept to near-completion.

Our annual benchmarking exercise with Council tenants showed particular excellence for high levels of satisfaction, property quality and value-for-money.

5. Public Discussion and Questioning.  Members of the public may comment on any Parish issues and direct their comments to the Parish Council or any of the visiting representatives.

A concern was again raised about youths riding scooters through the car park outside the Social Club.  Litter is also a growing worry.  The Clerk would contact NKDC Anti-Social Behaviour Team.

6. Closure of the Meeting.

The Chairman closed the Annual Parish Meeting at 7:25 pm. in preparation for the ordinary meeting.