January 2022

1. Present: 18 residents present, including, Parish Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Parish Clerk and RFO. Guests, Cllr Sandra Harrison (ELDC) & Cllr Daniel McNally (LCC).

Welcome: Rick (Parish Chairman) welcomed all those present to the Parish Meeting, along with Cllr Harrison and Cllr McNally.

Apologies: Gill, Andrew and Colette.

2. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the previous Parish Meeting, held on 8th December 2021. Approved, by those present.

3. Parish Precept: The Chairman informed those present at the meeting that the Precept for 2022-2023, needed to be set. The current Precept was £700.00. The Chairman put it to the meeting that the forthcoming Precept should remain at £700.00. This was approved.

4. Election of Officials by Parish: Sallie HOLLINGSWORTH was proposed to become a member of the Windfarm Fund Committee. Proposed By Keith ROBINSON and seconded by, Joan MITCHELL. Approved.

5. LCC Highways: The Chairman gave an update on his recent meeting with officials from LCC (19/01/2022). This was concerning the state of the road into the Village at Gayton Top, by Chapel corner and other areas in the Village, including potholes. LCC officials state that the repair of the potholes would be within 80 days/3 month time frame. Parish Clerk updated the meeting regarding Grit boxes and LCC state they will be dealt with when Highways get round to doing same.

Parish Clerk stated this was not satisfactory, Cllr McNally to chase this up. The Chairman did mention that a 1 tonne bag of grit would be made available next year, 2023. Several residents present, voiced their concerns at the state of the roads, that HGV’s are the primary cause of damage to parts of the main road in the Village. There was a suggestion that perhaps the current speed limit be reduced to 20 MPH. A resident mentioned that you can report the potholes using ‘Fix my Street’ via the internet. Parish Clerk suggested that those residents present should use this to report matters. The Chairman informed the Meeting that he had spoken to the Straw contractor, who asked the HGV drivers to be considerate when driving through the Village.

The Chairman informed the Meeting that the road at Gayton Top (A157) into the Village requires widening and the Passing Places require surfacing, and that a revised quote had been received from Spences (who had carried out previous work on Passing Places). The quote for widening the road at Gayton Top would be approximately £5,492.00. This excluded any traffic management system (TMS). The Chairman again referred to the 2019 Parish Meeting and stated that the total cost of further work on the road, including both the widening and the Passing Places would be approximately £16,500.00. Again, this excluded any TMS.

The Chairman reminded the Meeting about the previous proposal at the 2019 Parish Meeting, and that this was proposed and approved at that meeting but that the repairs weren’t carried out due to lack of Village funds. A resident listed the previous repairs within the Village.

The Chairman again proposed that the further work be carried out. Sixteen residents approved, one against and one abstained. Approved.

6. Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: The Chairman informed the Meeting that there should be a community event to mark the occasion. It was suggested that a Committee be formed, to organise an event for the occasion.

7. AOB: A resident informed the Meeting concerning the Defib in the Village. That Defib pads need replacing every 3 years and that the Defib itself requires servicing. The resident and Parish Clerk to make enquires concerning this. Parish Clerk reminded those present that Dog Litter bins from ELDC is an ongoing matter. A resident had informed the Chairman of instances of dog litter in the Village.

The Parish Chairman and Clerk thanked those who attended the Parish Meeting.

The Meeting was closed at 8.20pm.