Chairman's Report, 15th May 2019
Irnham Parish Council Review of 2018/19 – Chairman’s report
Thank you for your attendance to the Irnham Parish Meeting.
For those who do not know I would like to provide a little information about your Parish Councillors.
Firstly: Members of the council are unpaid volunteers and have accepted no payments for travelling or costs.
Jenny Crow – has been and is our Parish Council Clerk and also a Councillor:
Her work and dedication are very much appreciated by Parish Councillors. I would like to stress that parish clerks are normally paid but Jenny carries out this work without any remuneration and also she does not reclaim costs that she incurred although she is entitled to. [Note: Councilors with the role of Clerk are not permitted by law to be paid.] However, if her work was not carried out on a voluntary unpaid basis our precept would be greatly increased and disproportionate to the requirements of our small parish.
Amanda Ayre - Is our allocated highways Councillor who keeps pressure on Lincolnshire Council advising them of our requirements for “pot-hole” filling and road surface condition – regrettably facilities have been scarce. Amanda also sits on the Parochial Church Council and keeps us up to date on church matters that may affect us.
Lyn Hall – Is an avid litter picker with her husband David and last year managed to have a fly tipper prosecuted.
Jon Crooke - joined the council during 2018. He is instrumental in looking into village security (outside the scope of Neighbourhood Watch) helping to keep Irnham weed free, and we understand at the moment he is even keeping the pub lawn cut.
I try to keep Hawthorpe looking tidy. We all muck in and get on with things when needed. As Parish Councillors we all adopt the SKDC code of conduct when appointed.
Parish funds are paid to us direct from council taxes; which being a small parish we endeavour to keep to a reasonable level. The precept last year was £1,400 and we have £1,500.00 allocated to us this year. We have about 7 Parish Council Meetings per year, however, if a specific matter, say about planning, is required which we cannot attend to by the required date we use either email between us, or perhaps arrange a specific site meeting to evaluate the proposal, or a specific meeting is called.
Due to the Parish’s limited facilities Chris Overend, landlord of the Griffin Inn, provided us with a room in the Griffin for which he did not charge us and for this we thank him. After the Griffin closed Sir Jamie Benton Jones has been kind enough to let us use this Wedding Venue – for which we thank him.
What have we done in 2018/19?
As mentioned being a small Parish we have limited facilities however:
We arranged the 4th Irnham Christmas Singalong which was well attended. After costs we raised £66. The raffle prizes and food were jointly provided by all Parish Councillors. The accompaniment being provided by Martin Fuggle and Reverend Stephen Buckman and I would like to take this opportunity of thanking them and fellow Councillors for their help with this event.
For Irnham we again took advantage of the ‘Big Clean’ by SKDC which helps to create the pleasant atmosphere in the village. We have also agreed with the Irnham Estate that they will cut the Irnham Village verges to help maintain a cared for village. [SKDC only cut the verges three times per year which leaves a period where they can get out of hand].
Previously we have been in the background pressing for deer culling due to the dramatic rise in the deer population and the damage they do to gardens and woodland and of course crops – Grimsthorpe and Irnham Estates now have this in hand. We have been pressing for better broadband for the Parish – Irnham is getting this service this week, Bulby which is not on the Corby Glen exchange has had the ‘green box’ installed so that must be progress but HAWTHORPE is due “when it happens” perhaps in another 4 months.
The telephone kiosk in Bulby has been developing as a local historical centre, maintenance has been carried out on broken glass panels, lighting, etc. and information is being added. We thank Mrs Howat and villagers for their contributions to this project. Painting is a project for this year.
The “book exchange” telephone kiosk in Irnham is active and is maintained by Ian and Mandy Dawson and we thank them for this.
The old water pump, which was restored two years ago by David and Lyn Hall, has been repainted and they keep maintaining it and we thank them for this.
David also installs, and looks after, the yellow 30mph speed signs. If you wonder why they appear and disappear, they may only be in place for a specific time and then installed again.
As the Parish Council is the burial authority for the Parish we support the maintenance of the Churchyard by contributing towards cutting grass and tree maintenance. A well maintained area we hope gives greater solace to people with friends or relatives interred and this is why we as a Parish Council contribute. Charles Leggatt cuts the grass and donates his time to this project for which we thank him. The Church Wardens manage the Churchyard and if this facility was not available the Parish could be responsible to find a suitable area to use and manage as a cemetery which could be very costly. Any parishioner is entitled to be buried in the Churchyard if they so wish and this is why we contribute to its maintenance, we do not contribute to maintain the Church structure or gravestones.
As a Parish Council we are members of The Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils for an annual fee of £88. They provide us with legal and general advice – part of which has been that we were eligible to receive a grant of £600 to purchase a computer and printer specifically for council use. Consequently we have received the grant and with it purchased the equipment.
Last year we purchased a bench seat which has been installed on the river Glen bankside by the ford and footbridge in Bulby. The foundation for this was excellently installed by Emma and Andrew Swain of Hawthorpe. Andrew Crow, of Bulby, fitted the bench and the area has been planted with bulbs. Alan Luscombe, of Bulby, has kindly maintained the area and although a simple idea this seat coupled with the care by the community has improved the aspect and provides a place to ponder the wonderful vista of the parish we live in. As our communities representative I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this and all the other small things that make Irnham Parish a special Parish to live in. Not least I would like to thank Tom Bagge for his exceptional litter picking not only in our parish but the vast area he covers.
Thank you.