Minutes of Honington Parish Meeting AGM on 31st May 2023, held at Honington Grange at 7:30pm.
Present: Mrs. D. Parker (Chair); Mr. B. Hope (Clerk); Mr. T. Carter (Webmaster); Mrs. N. Carter; Mr. R. Coney; Mr. R. Coney Jr; Mrs. W. Coney; Mrs. H. Dyson; Mr. U. Heindl; Mrs. K. Madden; Mr. S. Madden; Ms. C. Macauley; Ms. M. Parker; Dr. C. Paske; Mr. M. Paske; Mr. A. Rattey;
Apologies for Absence: Mrs. R. Ambrose; Mrs. J. Gardiner; Mrs. J. Griffin;
Mrs. K. Holley; Mrs. S. Hope.
Before the Meeting proper started, Mrs. Parker presented the intending retiring Clerk with an envelope containing a Thank You card and gift vouchers as thanks for his efforts during his period of office.
Mr. Hope expressed not just his thanks but total surprise that such a thing should happen. He pointed out that it was probably the most difficult time for all Clerks in such roles, in having to deal with the enormous amount of correspondence received regarding COVID, then to sort and decide which to circulate to residents. Nevertheless, it had been a privilege to carry out the work and he much enjoyed the duty. He pointed out of course that it could not compare with the two World Wars, details of which were, strangely, entirely absent from the Minutes of the time.
1: Minutes of EGM dated 23rd October 2022 and AGM dated 20th July 2022
1.1: These had been circulated to all attendees following the meeting and were available for all attendees at this meeting. They were accepted as a true record of the Meetings and signed by The Chair, Mrs. D Parker
2: Matter arising
2.1: There were no matters arising
3: Nominations for Chair and Clerk
3.1: Mrs. Parker had indicted her willingness to continue as Chair and so offered herself for re-election. The Clerk, Mr. Hope had indicated his intention to step down but would continue for a further month if needed.
3.2: Mrs. Coney asked if it would be possible to combine the two roles but after debate it was agreed that there should be both a Chair and a Clerk to ensure some level of corroboration of approach on Parish Meeting matters.
3.3: Mr. Paske proposed that Mrs. Parker continue as Chair and with no other proposals, Mrs. Parker was seconded by Mr. Hope and elected by a unanimous show of hands.
3.4: Ms. M. Parker was proposed as Clerk by Mrs. D. Parker, seconded by Mrs. W. Coney, and with no other proposals, was elected as Clerk with a unanimous show of hands. Mr. Hope offered to continue to write the current Minutes and this was agreed. It was agreed that the list of email contacts would be provided to the new Clerk for future communications.
3.5; It was further agreed that it would help if a door-to-door circular could be delivered asking residents for their preferred means of contact and whilst email was thought to be the most efficient of reaching larger numbers, posters on the Notice Board and occasionally on lampposts around the village should continue, the Notice Board being essential for matters of greater significance of public display.
4: Review of 2022/2023
4.1: The Chair advised the Meeting of the main features of the past year.
September 2022; New reservoir plan revealed by Anglian water, close by Heckington. The main purpose was to increase water supply levels but the reservoir and surrounding area would also become a major attraction for leisure activities and wildlife.
October 2022; The Platinum Jubilee book was printed and available for purchase. Thanks were recorded to Mr. C. Hainstock who had put the book together so effectively. A copy was retained for Parish records, to be held by successive Chairs/Clerks for safekeeping.
November 2022; Completion of the planting of 1500 daffodil bulbs equally at each of the 3 main village entrances, the initiative of Mrs. Madden. It was agreed that the village was greatly enhanced but Mrs. Madden expressed disappointment that the Council mowed down the daffodils before they had completely gone over. It was hoped that this would not affect future years. Grateful thanks were offered to all volunteers who planted the bulbs.
A Games Club had been proposed by Mrs. Coney and Mrs. Parker as a place for residents to attend during the cold winter months. Whilst commendable, suitable dates and timings could not be found.
December 2022: The Pottery Group decorated a Christmas tree for display at St. Vincent’s Church in Caythorpe and the Meeting commended the Group for their efforts.
March 2023: There were reports of suspicious characters in the village offering their services for tree surgery. Whilst the name on the cards was genuine, the quality of the work, the prices and attitude of the characters indicated otherwise. Mr. Hope indicated that over the year he had circulated a significant number of emails warning residents of the dangers of scams which were becoming increasingly authentic-looking in their presentation or approach.
May 2023: The Street Party in celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III went ahead, but, despite a lovely day, the turnout was disappointing with only about 25 people attending.
General: The retiring Clerk advised that a lot of information was received from many quarters, including LCC, SKDC, NHS, FixmyStreet, Education and Volunteer support groups, Citizens Advice. Many, including the Town and Parish News bulletins were circulated by email, with the more important ones being posted on the village website by Mr. T. Carter, the Webmaster for Honington.
5: Financial Report
5.1: The Clerk (BH) advised the meeting that although the Village continued to have no funds, it was still necessary to submit an AGAR Form (Annual Governance and Accountability Return) to the official Auditors, PKF Littlejohn, to declare that the Parish Meeting had had no revenues, and no expenses or retained any funds during the past year. The Meeting agreed that this was so and it was agreed that The Chair would complete the AGAR Form and return it to the Auditors. A copy would be displayed on the Notice Board, as required for public information.
5.2: The Clerk (BH) advised the Meeting that having received no objections to the proposal for a zero Precept, the Form had been returned to SKDC in November 2022 for the year of 2023/2024.
6: Activities to consider for 2023/2024
6.1 The Chair welcomed suggestions for activities to be considered. Among those proposed:
A Book Club; Gardens Open Day; Harvest Supper; Village Fête with games; Car Treasure Hunt; another attempt at the Winter Games Club. More suggestions would be welcomed.
It was suggested that one problem was the location for some events, as there was no suitable place in the village other than individuals’ homes. Honington Grange was often used, but for some residents was inconvenient to reach. Whilst the Church would be convenient for location, the option was considered not feasible. Location needed careful consideration for any proposals, and preferably without the need for a street closure. However, Mrs. Dyson very kindly said her garden at The Old Vicarage would always be available for outdoor activities, although any work involved would need to be done by the Organisers.
7: Village Website
7.1: The Clerk (BH) yet again commended Mr. Carter, Webmaster, for his efforts in maintaining the website. Mr. Carter commented that the arrangement for flow of information between himself and BH had worked very well and ensured a speedy posting of the information. Unfortunately, the hit-count was still very low but it was agreed that the website should continue to provide valuable information. It was said that a link to the website on any email circulars could help the hit-rate, although this was already done on occasions when thought appropriate.
8: Any Other Business
8.1 There was no other business and the Meeting was closed. The Chair thanked everyone for attending.
Date of next meeting: To be advised
Signed:
Mrs. D. Parker, Chair, Honington Parish Meeting