Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting for the Village of Great Gonerby
held on Wednesday 11th May 2023 at 19:15
Present: B. Hutchinson Chairman, Cllr. H Fletcher Vice Chairman, Cllr G Beckett, Cllr. T Bridle, Cllr. T Critchley, Cllr. C Cundall, , Cllr. K Davey, Cllr. A Mavros, Cllr. M Selby, Cllr. K White and J Walker Clerk
I Skellern, Chairman Memorial Hall, G Saward - Memorial Hall Committee
3 members of the public.
The Chairman opened the meeting welcoming everyone to his 12th Annual Parish Meeting.
1. Apologies: Cllr. E Austen
Cllr M Neal
Cllr. A Maughan (LCC)
Cllr. K Rice –Oxley (SKDC)
2. Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 1h May 2022 were signed as a true record.
3. Chairman’s - Annual Report 2022/23:
As usual, I will break down my report into the various areas of activity -
The Memorial Hall / Recreation Ground – The hall, field and its management committee have continued their great work in managing the hall and field. It is pleasing to see the field being fully utilised which ensures a healthy annual surplus. We must thank them for their work and continue to offer support to the memorial Hall Committee as required.
Gonerby, Hill Top Cemetery – The cemetery continues to provide a first-class amenity for the village and provide additional car parking capacity for the recreation ground and Memorial Hall. We introduced an agreement where plot owners can take over the maintenance of the plot and plant some flowers which has been taken up by a few plot owners. The additional lighting and extended CCTV system has reduced the reports of anti-social behavior and damage.
High Street – The hanging baskets continue to improve and softened the look of the high street and with the addition of more baskets this year they are truly a great display. I must mention and thank Jeff Thompson and his helpers for planting up the baskets each year and for the watering and feeding of the baskets during the dry spells.
We now have the new village signs which are due to be erected at all three village entrances and I look forward to seeing them within the next few weeks.
Pond Area – The pond area continues to provide a pleasing focal point of the village and the long awaited friendship/rockdown bench is now installed and has been well received in the village. Charlie has also returned after repair and the whole area is a lovely focal point for the village.
The village continues to be maintained to a high standard and our ongoing decision to take over and increase the LCC verge grass cutting ensures that the village continues to be a pleasant and well-maintained place to live. We have also taken over the maintenance of the footpath on Grantham Hill and the planned maintenance programme of regular hedge trimming is ensuring it continues to provide a safe and pleasant footpath. We, together with the residents of Great Gonerby should be proud to live in such a pleasant and desirable parish.
We continue to find a balance between representing the views of our residents and the longer term development of the village. It is important that the village retains it character, history and identity, but also evolves to meet the needs of both existing and new residents. The village will continue to expand and we must reiterate our absolute resolve to ensure that no development applications breach the clear separation between Great Gonerby and Gonerby Hill Foot/Grantham and I know there are plans to develop a local plan to ensure the village expands in a way that the majority of residents approve of.
Our financial position is very good, having managed our budgets diligently and with good sense. The balance at the end of the last financial year (31st March 2022) was £48,178 and we have once again budget for a “no increase” precept which remains at £28,836.
I must thank Janet, our clerk for all her help throughout the year. She continues to provide me with great support and the odd prompt!
I also need to record our thanks to Pat Eland for her invaluable work in keeping the village in such a clean condition. Although Janet and Pat are paid employees, I know that they regularly go over and beyond their duties to ensure their respective roles are fulfilled. I must also like to thank all councillors their hard work, support, and dedication during this last year.
I must also thank the members and volunteers of the social committee for their excellent work in organising the party in the park for the Queens Platinum Jubilee and the coronation of king Charles. It was great to see the village coming together to celebrate the days. I also thank James Brearley for flying the various flags and the agreed times.
I have enjoyed my time as Chairman and feel very proud of what we collectively achieve. We have over the past years added to the facilities and aesthetics’ of the village. We must now ensure that we continue to maintain the good work we have achieved thus far and look for opportunities for further improvement.
On a personal level I am pleased with how the Parish Council continues to work for the good of the village and I am confident that we have a good mix of councillors to drive the village forward as I step down as Chairman after 12 years.
As this is my last annual report I’d like to reflect on the achievements the Parish Council has achieved during my tenure as Chairman.
I no particular order I am and we should be proud of the following -
Providing a the Hill Top Cemetery
Replacing the old Memorial Hall with this great new facility
Formation of one committee to manage the recreation ground and all the facilities
Installing and maintaining the High street planters
The new Rockdown/Friendship bench
Charlie, the clock pelter statue
The flag pole Christmas tree
Taking over the LCC Verge cutting and increasing the frequency
Taking over the Grantham Road footpath maintenance
Contributing to the replacement toucan crossing on the high street
Implementing and funding a Community Speed Watch
Various new benches around the village and commemorative trees
That is the end to my twelfth and final Parish Council report . It’s been a real honour to serve the village. I again thank you for your time, commitment, support and wish you all well in the future.
4. Poor Land Report
The poor land committee remains unchanged with the trustees being
Secretary/Trustee - Karri Davey
Trustee - Jenny Critchley
Trustee - Blake Hutchinson
Both rents which are currently set at £70 have been paid and are up to date and the bank balance is currently at £2295.86.
Allington Lane
The tenant has indicated that he would like to explore the possibility of buying the land. We are in the process of agreeing a fair market price which is acceptable with the charity commission.
Gonerby Moor
The tenant has been served an lease termination notice which requires her to vacate the land by 31st December 2023. The land will then be marketed and put up for general auction.
It is important to reiterate that although both pieces of land may be sold, the resulting funds cannot be used and must be held in trust. The committee can then use the interest on the funds to further the intentions of the Poor Land and this will be decided in agreement with the Charity Commission.
5. Memorial Hall Report
Ian Skellern presented the following report prior to the meeting
Activity in the Hall has now settled down with classes each weekday evening and a busy programme of parties for Saturday and Sunday. The weekend events require a Trustee to open and close the Hall and check that the facility is left in pristine condition. Clearly, this weekend commitment puts a strain on the Trustees leisure time and we would welcome any additional volunteers.
The bookings clerk, Annette and Glenda have trialled a module which has been successful and has reduced the work load considerably.
The 3G pitch is still very popular but suffers from misuse from time to time.
We have been approached by the Lincolnshire Football Association to carry out d detailed surgery of the grassed pitches. This would be a sensible action for us to take, particularly with the increased use of the facility.
At the end of February 2023 income for the year was £40K and expenditure was £35K.
6. Matters Arising by Parishioners
The Clerk was requested to write to John Brown to enquire if he would be willing to look after “Charlie’s plants during the summer months.
There being no further business the Annual Village Meeting closed at 19:30