Chairman's Annual Report
of Welton-by-Lincoln Parish Council 2009/2010
We have held 38 Council meetings during the financial year and in addition Councillors have attended meetings that include the dedication ceremony for the unveiling of the memorial window for RAF Dunholme Lodge at William Farr School, the village Remembrance Day service, during which I laid the Parish Council wreath at the foot of the war memorial alongside other commemorative wreaths and tributes. Cllr Greenway attended the annual Battle of Britain Memorial reception at RAF Scampton and we also attended the AGM of the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils, various training sessions, the local area forum, Police panel and West Lindsey District Council meetings. In addition, during late August and early September Cllr Mrs Marlene Chapman attended the Twinning visit to Moncé en Belin and experienced some entente cordial.
May 2009 saw the election of a new County Cllr Mrs Sue Rawlins and in October we learned of the sad death of Roger Hiscox a former County, District and Parish Councillor.
The activities of the Council and the Council’s committees during 2009/10 include the following:
Under the LCC Trees for Communities Scheme trees and hedging plants have been planted on both Ryland Road and Manor Park playing fields.
The Parish Council provided financial assistance to the May Day Event and also to Carols on the Green which alongside the hard work put in by their respective management committees resulted in both events proving once again to be a huge success.
This year we combined the switching on of the village Christmas tree lights with a nativity enactment by the churches, together with Santa travelling from his grotto with his procession of little followers to light the star on the church. The Black Bull kindly provided a welcome glass of mulled wine and a mince pie for everyone attending this popular event.
As in previous years the floral displays in the planters on the village signs attracted a large number of favourable comments.
Improvements to the village green are still ongoing with Groundworks Lincolnshire involved in a landscaping scheme. Once a scheme has been decided a consultation with village residents will take place.
Plans have been put in place to make the Pinfold more attractive. They will include placing a concrete cattle trough used as a planter in the area and attaching a decorative sign to it.
The Parish Council is still seeking to purchase land for use as allotments and a cemetery plus following the lack of funding for the proposed Tennis Buddies project, land may be purchased for further development of football, other sports and activities at Manor Park.
The Parish Council Saturday morning surgeries are now being held monthly as it was felt there was insufficient demand for them to be held weekly, however we are keeping the matter under review and as an experiment on one Saturday we had one Councillor in the office and one in the Co-op. The Councillors involved thought it had been quite successful and it may be repeated at some time in the future.
Unfortunately we did not get through to the second round of the Best Kept Village competition last year, but we have decided to enter the competition again this year. Hopefully we will go one better than our Runners Up position achieved in 2007.
The Public Open Space on the Ridge and Furrow off Beckhall has now been adopted by the Parish Council.
The West Lindsey District Council Benefit surgeries held every Tuesday morning in the Parish Office continue to be well attended and a monthly Housing Surgery is being held on a trial basis.
We are currently working on an Emergency Action Plan which will eventually involve a co-ordinated response between ourselves and surrounding villages in the event of a civil emergency. To this end, we have appointed our own Flood Warden Mr Phil Morris and have also purchased 250 Aqua Sacs for use in the event of flooding. The next phase will be to establish an effective means of distributing them when the situation arises.
A new Village Map and a Village Walks leaflet have been produced and are available from the Parish Office, also an update of the summary to the Parish Plan has been published this month and a copy will be distributed to every household.
The 2009 Community Award joint recipients were Eddie Reall (Village Hall Committee, Scouts Hut Committee and many others) and Linda McCree (activities for youth in the village and the Methodist Church). Certificates of Achievement were awarded to Mike Holdich (Environmental work in the village) and Alan Freeman and Philip Dawson (Church activities).
Finally, I wish to offer a sincere thank you to all Parish Councillors, Julie our Clerk, Sarah her assistant, Rob Lewis the Village Caretaker, Maurice Swinburn our Litter Collector, the staff at Manor Park, our County Councillor Sue Rawlins, our two District Councillors Di Rodgers and Malcolm Parish, PC Dave Oakes, PCSO’s Matt Trafford and Neil Harrison and others too numerous to mention for their efforts in making Welton a village we are proud to call our home.
Cllr Richard Pikett
Chairman, Welton-by-Lincoln Parish Council
Welton-by-Lincoln Parish Council - Financial Report 2009/2010
Total income for this year is £116,000 and expenditure of £105,000. The income includes £8,000 received for maintenance for the adoption of the POS area at the Ridge & Furrow off Beckhall. The Precept (the money allocated by WLDC) this year was £93,334, an increase of £2,075.00 on the previous year. Other income has been generated by the sale of the Welton books and village maps, the provision of laminating and photocopying services, allotment rents, and bank interest has decreased substantially this year and a contribution of £2,705 received from Lincolnshire County Council towards the cost of grass cutting the verges.
Manor Park Sports Club generated income of £18,733, from hire fees for the All Weather Surface, the field and Pavilion. The bar has been open for private bookings and generated income of £800. The Pavilion is available for private hire bookings.
The facility is operated from the Parish Office and this arrangement remains successful. Maintenance has been minimal again this year and in the main has been carried out by our Village Caretaker.
The Environment & Heritage Committee has spent £8,500 on a new slide for the Ryland Road playing field. The cost of the Christmas tree, purchase, erection and removal, the lights put up and taken down was £435. The floral displays cost in the region of £850 per year to put up and maintain. Maintenance costs to trees and public open spaces have been £5,000.
The Highways & Utilities Committee has overseen the grass cutting and grounds maintenance of the churchyard at a total cost of £8,500, the number of cuts has been increased and a selective weed killer included in the contract.
The Publications Committee have compiled and printed the new village map; this has cost just under £1,000, they are now on sale for £1.50 and available from the Parish Office and shops in the village. A Walks leaflet has been produced in conjunction with LCC at no cost to the Council and is also available from the Parish Office, local shops and the library. The costs attached to the Community Award were £65.00 and the Certificates have been printed at no cost. The updated summary of the Parish Plan has also been printed at a cost of £1,000, these are hot off the press and were only delivered to the office yesterday, and a copy will be delivered to every household in the village in the near future.
The Parish Council has awarded grants of £1,390 including £50.00 to Lives First Responders, £100 to the Disabled Craft Class, £140 to the War Memorial Flower Fund and £700 for the Public Liability insurance premiums and grants to the May Day Event and Carols on the Green.
The accounts for 2008/2009 were signed off by the Internal and External Auditors and the notice displayed for the required period on the Parish Council Notice Board.
The task the Parish Council faces each year in setting its budgets is considerable, as the nature of local government decrees that estimates have to be made well in advance of the financial year to come, with the precept demand being submitted at least four months in advance. Due to the current economic climate, the Council has been mindful in its decision to make an increase on the precept for this financial year to £103,364, an increase of just 11% on last year, in order to retain and improve the services we provide to the Parish. These include future land purchase to develop the facilities at Manor Park, the eventual replacement of the All Weather Surface which is nearing the end of its life, improvements to the Village Green and Pinfold areas in the centre of the village, the possible employment of a Dog Warden and an increase in the hours worked by the Village Caretaker and Clerk due to a continually increasing workload.
In response to letters in the Welton News querying the increase; the purpose of the Annual Parish Meeting is for residents who wish to query the Council’s actions throughout the year can then be given the answers directly without month on month letters going backwards and forwards. It would appear from the Council Tax bills sent out by WLDC that the increase is over 15%, but this is not the case, part of the difference is due to the gradual withdrawal and the initial reduction of the subsidy of £1.00 per elector (currently £2.00) for cemetery expenses with effect from the 2010/2011 financial year. If anyone has any queries regarding the amount charged on their bill then it is to WLDC that you should direct your enquiries.
The sum of £5,000 was budgeted for to go into the Land Purchase Fund as the Council is actively seeking land to purchase for allotments, there are now 18 on the waiting list and recreational/leisure use. At the year end our earmarked reserves to allow for the future long term maintenance of public open spaces, future land purchase, and provision of recreational and play areas, elections, twinning and service delivery amount to £135,000.00.
On behalf of the Council, I have attended a number of training courses and meetings including those held at Police HQ, LCC, WLDC, the SLCC (Society of Local Council Clerks) National Conference in Daventry last October and their Practitioner’s Conference in Stoke-on-Trent in February.
I would like to thank the Chairman and all Councillors for their continued support and would also like to take this opportunity of thanking Sarah Flintham, for all her hard work and assistance.
Julie Murray
Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer
Welton-by-Lincoln Parish Council
Annual Accounts Public Notice - Click on this link to view