April 2024 DRAFT Minutes Annual Parish Meeting
BIGBY PARISH
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
HELD ON TUESDAY, 23rd APRIL 2024
PRESENT: Councillors – H. Aukland, C. Gandy, B. Orr, C. Wilson
Also in attendance: -
Mrs. A. Hannath – Clerk to the Council
Cllr. Tom Smith – LLC
Cllr. D. Cowling – had tendered her apologies
Cllr. Peter Morris – WLDC had tendered his apologies
There were 2 members of the public in attendance.
1. Welcome by the Chairman
Councillor C. Wilson opened the meeting and welcome the parishioners in attendance. Cllr. D. Cowling was unable to attend
2. To Receive the Minutes of the 2023 Annual Parish Meeting
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 25th April, 2023, having been circulated should be taken as read and approved.
Proposed: C. Gandy Seconded: Cllr. C. Wilson
3. Matters arising from the Minutes
To be covered in the Chairman’s report
4. District and County Councillor Reports
Councillor Smith advised that he continues to campaign remedial work to be taken on Smithy Lane, which is in a shocking state with many large potholes. Action is scheduled, but no specific date at present. He will talk to Richard Fenwick again about the underlying problem of a underground stream, which appears to be the cause of the problems.
5. Chair’s Report
Welcome: New Parish Councillor – Helen Aukland
Thanks to:
Parish Councillors and the Clerk
Brenda – upkeep of little library
Helen – production of the newsletter
Clive – all the work towards the sustainability project
Dave Servat – thanks for work done before resignation
Precept:
Increase of £500 from £6500 to £7000
WLDC + 2.99% and LCC + 4.99%
Donations:
Bigby Church Council – paid for grass cutting directly
Roads:
Drain survey conducted
Assessment by Highways regarding Smithy Lane conducted.
Environment:
New noticeboards
Little Library continues to be well used.
Planters – thank you to the villagers who have informally ‘adopted’ the planters. If anyone can help with maintenance, please get in touch. (see newsletter)
Continue to lobby for access to the Melton Ross Refuse facility.
The Parish Council has a meeting with Breedon Aggregates on 26th April to discuss their recent application to extend their operations with particular questions relating to their environmental impact. (see newsletter)
Church & Village Hall:
Ongoing challenges maintaining and repairing both buildings. Parish Council has funded repairs to the Village Hall roof which is in desperate need of replacement. Currently exploring ways of funding this work. (see newsletter)
The church needs extensive maintenance by professional restorers, if anyone can help/has any ideas for fundraising please contact us. (see newsletter)
Parish Council has taken on responsibility for cutting the grass in the cemetery.
Events 2023-2024
Coronation Picnic – well attended with approx. 30 participants
Christmas buffet
Christmas Carol Service – a wonderful evening was had by all. Lovely Christmas Service, followed by young Farmers Tractor Run, when 97 tractors with Christmas light went through the village, Father Christmas on Bigby Green and finally mulled wine and mince pies in the Village Hall.
Upcoming Events:
Thursday 6th June at 9.15pm (this year and thereafter), Bigby will light a ‘Lamp Light of Peace’ alongside flowers in the Church porch which will be open for several days. The ruby red colour of the lamp represents the sacrifice made by brave men and women across the globe. All are welcome to come to the church porch at any time, to take a moment and give thanks.
Friday 7th June at 7pm, an event at the Village Hall will be held with music, food and drink to mark the anniversary, with us coming together very informally in a relaxed setting (more information to follow). Your family and friends outside of the parish will be very welcome!
Christmas buffet
Sustainability Project:
An Update to be provide by Cllr. Clive Wilson under Agenda Item 8
6. Village Issues
The Clerk advised that most of these have been covered in the Chair’s Report. She also added that a general tidy up is needed around the village, eg remove the King’s Coronation plaques, take down the speed indicator device. She suggest a Working Bee in June.
7. Open Forum
Several issues / concerns were raised by residents.
a) Mud on Main Street and the A1084, particularly today on the approach to Strawberry Corner from Bigby.
Cllr. Smith informed the meeting that it is the farmer’s responsibility to sweep the road and failure to do so is a Police Matter.
b) Presence of raw sewage coming out of the ground next to the church.
Cllr. Smith said he would look at the problem after the meeting and contact, on behalf of the Parish Council, the Environmental Health Officer at WLDC. He thought it may also be a matter for the Internal Drainage Board
c) Unoccupied / Derelict House on Main Street, The White House.
Concern was expressed that this property has now been unoccupied for over 13 years and is in a poor state of repair. The Parish Council did speak to the Empty Homes Officer about 6 years ago about this problem and the owners did take some action to tidy up the garden. However, despite the garden being reasonably tidy, the house is in a state of disrepair and is an eyesore in a prominent part of the village.
Cllr. Smith said that he would take this up with the S151 officer at WLDC.
d) Replacement of the boundary at the bottom of the village orchard
The Clerk advised that she would take this up with the landowner.
8. Presentation – Update on the Bigby Community Sustainability Energy Project
Councillors Aukland, Cowling and Wilson were involved in putting together the latest bid for funding, which was to be submitted on 15th February 2024. After working hard in a short space of time, disappointingly, the submission had to be halted as several key pieces of information were missing. Therefore, the application for further funding has been put on hold.
However, Councillor Wilson advised that there is still opportunity for lots of things to happen around solar energy and that there are many independent companies looking for green investment. Watch this space!
The meeting closed at 7.20 pm