minutes APM 2023
Minutes of the Maltby le Marsh Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday, 13 March 2023 at 7.00pm in the Village Hall.
1] The Chairman, Cllr D Whitehouse, welcomed Cllrs B Williams, A White, S Hill-Andrews, County Cllr N Sear, District Cllr S Harrison, and the Parish Clerk to the Annual Parish Meeting. No members of the electorate were present. Apologies were received from Cllr J Gray.
2] Notes of the last meeting were resolved as the minutes, signed by the Chairman.
3] There were no reports on outstanding matters.
4] Annual report from the Chairman of the Parish Council;
The last year has to me been one of a degree of sadness and frustration. Sadness of Philip’s funeral on 25 March, the loss of someone who worked hard for the Community following his mantra of making the most of today because tomorrow it will pour down. His plaque in the Village Hall is well deserved
The frustration is with the attitude of ELDC, especially the planning department. Having attended one of their meetings and viewed others on You Tube, it is patently clear that our comments on planning applications are ignored. The committee discussions are brief in the extreme, Members regularly just accepting Officer recommendations. Thus, the caravan site at Rose Marie was promptly passed in December despite numerous written objections. The committee seemed impressed by the provision of tactile paving enabling partially sighted people to cross the road safely! I would thank Helen Cooksey for her efforts. The council meeting in July saw some 46 residents raise their concerns, all to no avail. We were asked to comment on a hedge removal in September, but several months later we were told ELDC could do nothing because it was not protected. One wonders why we were asked.
The saga of footway light 20 is further evidence. It was clearly beyond the powers that be to arrange connection of the new light when the new column was erected. Thus, well over 2 years since the original was knocked down, we still do not have a working replacement.
We have held 5 meetings during the year. The Clerk has again been very efficient in promptly pursuing matters despite meeting several brick walls, our sincere thanks for his efforts and patience. I also thank my fellow Councillors for their help and support, in particular Brenda my Vice-Chairman. Thanks also to Cllr Sandra Harrison and Cllr Noi Sear for their regular attendance, we do appreciate hearing from them and following up our concerns at County and District.
Sadly, the Garden Competition was cancelled because the judge was unable to come until it was too late. He promises to ensure it is carried out in good time this year. It was also sad to lose the Post Office facility at Oham lakes and perhaps with more impact the newspaper service. The brick building near the Crown was demolished in August and it is unlikely the post box located in it will be replaced. Despite losing these facilities ELDC still classify our village as medium sized and will continue to do so until a revue is carried out in the distant future, perhaps! At least we now have a farm shop, with Pipa and Ben Williams selling fresh vegetables and plants at Eastfield Farm.
The long running confusion about the ownership of the structure on the bus shelter at Hodgetoft Lane was finally solved by an eagle-eyed resident in December. Anglian Water accepted it was theirs and compensation for the 14 months it was there has been agreed.
The Police camera van has continued to appear on a regular basis. I am pursuing funding for the village sign project that we launched in 2016 with the GDF Community Partnership, but, at the moment, it is very early stages. We continue to administer the Anne Bolles Educational Foundation, but there were no grant applications last year.
I thank John Alldridge for continuing to produce his excellent newsletters and the helpers who deliver them. Thanks also to Anthony for his regular column giving a clear insight into farming life.
In conclusion thanks to John Clark for auditing our accounts and to Robert Aldrich for his work in the village in keeping the grass tidy and footpaths clear.
5] The clerk reported the Parish Council continue to keep spending to a minimum which has allowed the reserve to build to a more acceptable level, although it has still not reached twice the amount of the annual precept. A contested election would significantly reduce these levels.
6] There were no questions from the floor.
With no further matters put forward the meeting closed at 7.10pm.