2021 Annual Parish Meeting

Minutes of the Annual Parish Mee1ng held on Wednesday 5th May 2021

The mee1ng was held remotely via Zoom

The mee&ng was presided over by Cllr Mar&n Davis – Chair to Stubton Parish Council The minutes were recorded by Bob Warren – Clerk to Stubton Parish Council

1.   Cllr Davis asked those in aCendance to approve the minutes of the previous mee&ng which was held on 15th May 2019. (Note there was no mee&ng held in 2020 due to Covid-19). The minutes were approved and noted as being final.

2.   An update on the finances of Stubton Parish Council was provided by the clerk. There had been significant expenditure during 2019 and 2020 due to the purchase and installa&on of the speed restric&on gates on all four entrances to the village. In addi&on the Parish Council con&nued to support the village plan&ng schemes run by volunteers through grants and the funding of a water buC to enable easier watering of flower beds.

The PC bank balance at 31st March 2021 was £2686

3.   Chairman’s Report 2019/20 and 2020/21

Cllr Davis provided the mee&ng with a report for 2019 and 2020 as follows.

Normally, my report would cover the last 12 months, but as there wasn’t a Chairman’s Report delivered last year, this report covers 24 months.

•   In 2019 we saw the stepping-down of Councillor Hugh Wilson, and later, the Parish Clerk Gilly Wilson; both following many years of service to the community through the PC. Hugh was on the Parish Council when the new Village Hall was built, back in 2000; and was on the steering group for the wri&ng and publishing of the Stubton Neighbourhood Plan, which Stubton may hold the award for one of the first small villages in the UK to have one. Hugh was also heavily involved, together with then- councillor Rob Thornton, in the baCle to prevent two large wind turbine farms being built on our doorstep; one at Temple Hill and the other on the old airfield behind Fenton, with the Neighbourhood Plan being pivotal in our success in gecng the planning applica&ons finally refused. Gilly was the Parish Clerk, with her unerring ability in tackling the daily du&es; using her accurate shorthand techniques for minute-taking; and normally wri&ng up the minutes the same evening…… but just giving the office of Clerk one hundred percent. We are s&ll awai&ng the lihing of Covid restric&ons, in order to make the outstanding re&rement presenta&on to Gilly, in the village hall. The Parish Council warmly welcome our new Clerk, Bob Warren, who I must say, is doing a really good job in difficult and challenging &mes here on the council, and in following in Gilly’s footsteps. 2019 welcomed new Parish Councillors Dave Butler, and Rick Crooks, with Andrew Smith being co-opted aher the resigna&on of Rob Thornton. In 2020 we welcomed Jackie Warren, when Anne Wise stepped-down, aher years of service as councillor.
•   Also in May of 2019, South Kesteven District Councillor Bob Sampson re&red, and Penny Milnes became our local councillor. Penny, as was with Bob, being very approachable and suppor&ve of our Parish Council, and always endeavours to aCend our mee&ngs, and like Bob we enjoy a good rela&onship with our representa&ve on the council.
•   The flying of flags at the village green has always been the cherished responsibility of John Rose, since the flagpole was erected in 2000. He has been there in all weathers, if there was a flag to be flown on that day. The Parish Council was saddened to hear of John’s recent fall, and we all wish him a speedy recovery, and send a big ‘thank you’ for his years of service. His second in command, (2 in C, as John puts it) Rob is there to keep up the tradi&on, and step in for John. Thanks Rob.
•   Since 2019 we have seen the idea of Village Speed Reduc&on Gates become a reality, aher the proposal was pushed through from procurement to installa&on, pain&ng and commissioning. The pain&ng was carried out by an enthusias&c group of village volunteers, with Rob offering his yard, in order for us to paint the posts. Since their installa&on, they have come in for praise; for their aesthe&cs; in defining our village and its boundaries; and most importantly, have had a no&ceable effect on the reduc&on of vehicles speeding into the village. They have also aCracted interest from a couple of local parish councils, who have enquired into where we got them from and who installed them. Thank you to all those involved, from the PC.
•   The village plan&ng has really taken off in the last 24 months, since Roy started plan&ng the horse trough at the bus shelter; followed by the construc&on of a small rockery. Now, ‘Stubton-in-Bloom' would be an appropriate name for our village… and, had the ‘Best Kept Village’ compe&&on con&nued to be run, we would be up there in the final; year aher year….. we could just have the plaque ‘Best Kept Village’, without reference to a year. The plan&ng and maintenance is now done by volunteers, sponsored by the PC, and Mar&n Stammers installed a water buC at the bus shelter, paid for by the PC. Many thanks to all those involved.
•   The Stubton Social Club and Village Hall Management CommiCee have come to the fore, aher elec&ons of both commiCees, resul&ng in a refurbishment makeover for the interior of the hall, and bar. Unfortunately, we were all forced to postpone social func&ons, due to the Covid restric&ons at the beginning of 2020, and there have been no social ac&vi&es there since. There are further plans afoot, regarding the future aesthe&cs of the interior and exterior of the hall, with a recent village- wide survey and consensus; to gauge the feeling of ideas and proposals.
•   The Coronavirus has had a huge impact on the parish and its residents, over the  last year or so. A Coronavirus Support Group was formed in the village, with liaison through the PC. Several residents volunteered their services and their &me; to assist others in the community that were either shielding, or self-isola&ng, for one reason or another, with help in their shopping and fetching of prescrip&ons, etc. Many thanks rom all on the PC, go out to those who volunteered. Rob Thornton kindly allowed walkers to divert through his private garden, due to the Public Footpath on Hargreaves Row being within feet of the front door of someone who was shielding. Thanks Rob, for this considerate offer. Claire Brainerd kindly organised a couple of bakery collec&on days at Stubton Hall, where residents could purchase locally baked bread; with the proceeds going to charity. Thank you Claire. The Parish Council have held their mee&ngs via Zoom, since 2020, this being the seventh, so far…and hopefully the last one, remotely! This has been an unprecedented &me; with all the new protocol and restric&ons of its use…a difficult medium to hold Parish Council mee&ngs under….as seen by many on the much publicised ‘Handforth PC’…at its worst.
•   Finally, we also said goodbye to one of our oldest residents this year; Hilda Housley who passed away at the end of February 2021. She lived in Stubton for many years, and always had &me to chat when she was in the front garden. She is sadly missed.
Mar&n Davis. Chairman of Stubton Parish Council.

4.   Open Forum - Parishioners in aCendance were offered the opportunity to par&cipate in the mee&ng. There were no contribu&ons made.

5.   Next Mee&ng - The next Stubton Annual Parish Mee&ng will be held in May 2022. The precise date will be advised nearer the &me.