Held on 24th November 2022 at 19.00 in the V.H.
- Present.
Russ Horne, Caroline Mattock, Stuart Mattock, Anthony George, Judith George, Hugh Talbot, Steph Talbot, Lynn Burdett, Geoff Willson, Anna Bussey, Sue Lee, David Lee, Di Morgan, Neil Johnson ,Amanda Johnson, Katie Lowe, Ian Balmer.
Cllr. Andrew Brown.
Alex Cross (Chairman of Village Hall )in attendance.
2.0 Apologies.
Jill Hole, Russell Hole, Shelia Rudge, Robbie Rudge, Andrew Wallace.
3.0 Welcome.
Ian Balmer welcomed everybody to the meeting which would be the second Parish Meeting since its rejuvenation.
A particular welcome was extended to Cllr Brown.
The Meeting had been widely published via the Gazette and a separate e-mail to the village which had included the agenda.
4.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting.
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 31st May 2022 were agreed as a correct record.
5.0 Matters Arising.
a) Update on Community Infrastructure Levy Projects.(CIL)
1) Relocation of the Defibrillator.
It was reported that the Defib had now been relocated to outside the pub, three training sessions had been held by Community Heartbeat Trust and it was hoped to establish a Volunteer Telephone Scheme which would require 10 volunteers (which were now trained).
Once further issues were dealt with it was planned to start this scheme in the early new year.
The meeting was reminded that the CIL monies had been used to fund five years training and maintenance.
2) Cleaning and Researching the Cart Wash.
At the last meeting of the Parish Meeting it was suggested that more should be done to explore the potential of the Cart Wash.
Much work had been undertaken by Russ Horne and Anthony George and the Chairman reported several discussions with Rutland County Council.
The upshot of these investigations can be summarised as follows,
-The Cart wash is a listed building.
-Despite significant effort no record of ownership can be found.
-It was likely built by local farmer/s or blacksmith.
-Public money can not be spent on this privately owned asset.
– No work can be carried out on the structure without listed building consent, which would need to be obtained by the owner.
It was concluded that the CIL monies could not be used for this purpose.
3) Mower for the Playpark.
It was suggested this matter should be discussed with item 4.00 later on the agenda.
b) Issues to be taken forward by the Parish Meeting.
1) Traffic calming measures.
Following discussions with Andrew Tatt the Principal Highways Manager the Chairman made the following points;
- The potential of a by-pass is a very long shot and wouldn’t provide a solution in the short to medium term.
- ‘ Our bit’ of the A47 was de-trunked in the 1990s and is now the responsibility of RCC.
- Funding for major works, such as the proposed upgrade of the A47 at Wansford are funded in part at least by national infrastructure funding.
- National funding tends to be available for schemes which are required for strategic development purposes.
- Any local traffic calming measures would start with the highways working group considering the issue based on information on such matters as average speeds through the area and also any history of accidents.
- The first stage is to log the problem with RCC (via website). This may result in a survey being undertaken.
- The existing speed indicator signs at either end of the village will be replaced in the next three years( Glaston in Yr2 or Yr3 ).The new signs( called SIDS )will record speeds and upload them to the cloud so allowing analysis of speed patterns at any time, and therefore removing the need for specific surveys.
- There is currently a back-log in dealing with the highways concerns that have been logged.
- RCC does not employ fixed speed cameras but uses mobile units instead.
- Average speed cameras work well but are only used on longer stretches of road.
- Physical barriers to slow traffic, although superficially attractive, can well make the situation worse in terms of traffic accidents.
- Following the recent maintenance to the A47 the red road markings will be replaced when weather conditions permit.
- Maintenance work on the footpaths in Church Lane will begin shortly.
The Chairman thanked Andrew Brown for his help in facilitating the discussions with the Highways Dept.
Following discussion around this subject it was agreed that the suggestion of exploring the possibility of erecting ‘ false gates’ either side of the road should be explored.
2) RCC Plans-Village implications.
At the last meeting it had been suggested that one item for future discussion should be the impact of RCC plans on the village.
It was reported that RCC continued to consult on the development of the County Plan and opportunities would arise to contribute at each stage. The chairman reported that the current consultation was regarding the Settlement Hierarchy Methodology. The chairman asked if anyone would be interested in keeping an eye on this subject on behalf of the Meeting.
3) Future of the Village Hall and Church.
The Chairman reminded the meeting that these issues were matters for the Church (PCC) but it was appropriate for the Parish Meeting to discuss them as both building were assets to the village, and Anna Bussey could feed back any views to the PCC.
Before getting into discussion the Chairman set out a few facts which would be important moving forward;
-The Village Hall ( legally known as Church Rooms) is ultimately the responsibility of the PCC.
-A management committee was established in 1999 to help fulfil the terms of the Trust.
-The hall was left to the village ( via the PCC ) by a previous Rector of the Parish.
-The very existence and continuance of the Village Hall has been achieved by a very small and dedicated group of people who have worked for decades to keep the facility open for the Village.
The Chairman set out a number of difficult questions that needed to be addressed;
- Can a village of this size maintain both the Church and a Village Hall?
- If the Church is to be remodelled to provide a more flexible and accessible place ( toilets etc ) will there be a separate role for the Village Hall?
- Could the Village Hall be made fit for purpose at reasonable expense and can it provide the necessary facilities to attract external users?
- Are there a group of people in the village who would be prepared to take on the work involved when the current individuals have had enough?
Anna Bussey reminded the meeting that this was a timely discussion as the PCC had just asked for comments on the future of the Church and indeed would like to understand people’s views on this and the Village Hall before formulating their plans for the future. She also reported that the cost of maintaining a functioning church in the village were considerable and this may be helped by improving accessibility to the Church in terms of toilets and coffee making facilities.
Discussion took place about the village Hall including a contribution from Alex Cross ( Chairman ,Village Hall ) who suggested that even before Covid the use of the Village Hall had been in decline as the traditional type of functions that were held that no longer seemed to be supported by the village. The current events that took place funded the upkeep of the Hall.
During discussion the following points were made;
-The Village isn’t large enough to support two buildings which if the PCC was to improve church facilities, would be potentially looking to house similar events.
-Both the Village Hall and Church suffer from a lack of adequate parking which was seen as essential if ‘outside’ groups were to be attracted to use the facilities.
-The Church buildings were a major historic asset to the village but wider use depended on the space being used by a range of external organisation as has been achieved in other parishes.
– Both require very significant effort in terms of management and maintenance and this may not be forthcoming for two buildings in the future.
-A village needs a ’hub’ and this was a crucial requirement moving forward.
Following discussion it was agreed that an attempt should be made to determine ‘what the village wanted ‘ and this could feed into the discussions at the PCC concerning the future of the two buildings.
4) Road Maintenance.
It was felt that some of this issue had been covered in item 3b) above. However additional comments were made about parking on grass verges and the damage this caused. It was suggested that some verges should be protected by the use of stakes.
5) Additional Parking in the Village.
Given that there was no real space to expand parking on the roads and that this had been identified as a major issue regarding the future of the Church and/or the Village Hall it was suggested that ideally a specific piece of land be identified for this use, was the way forward.
6) Improved internet connectivity and Digital Rutland.
Although a significant proportion of the village was now potentially covered by ’fibre to the door’ an agreement had been signed by the Village Hall committee to maintain at least a one year contract with a provider in order to use the equipment that had been installed by Digital Rutland (RCC).The Chairman had tried but failed to have this obligation removed by RCC. In the circumstances it was agreed that the Community Fund would cover this one year cost.
7) Embrace sensible places for development in the village.
It was suggested by the Chairman that it was important to recognise the need for some development in the village but this should be done in areas and in such away that was sympathetic to the character of the village. Development would likely be on the edge of existing housing and would be very dependent on adequate consideration being given to the traffic implications. This issue may arise from the County Plan development. This issue would be linked to item 2) with regard to RCC planning.
6.0 The Playpark-An Update.
It was noted that the Playpark was the subject of a long lease between Robert Boyle and the Parish Meeting, specifically to be used as a children’s Playpark.
The Community Fund Managers ,who effectively manage the playpark ,had undertaken a costing exercise to re-equip the space with robust park equipment and this came in at £38,000 plus vat.
It was currently proposed to establish a new charity to take responsibility for the playpark which would have the benefit of clarity and potential help in fundraising if that was seen to be the way forward.
During discussion it was apparent that many felt that there was very little use of this facility and the cost of re-equipping would not be value for money. It was also noted that the Community fund covered the cost of insurance of the facility but a budget would need to be created for ongoing maintenance. A clear set of ‘Rules of use’ would need to be developed.
It was also suggested that more volunteers would be required to maintain the space.
It was reported that it would be possible to employ a commercial fundraiser for this project ( as in other local villages) but the main issues was cost benefit to the village.
Following discussion it was agreed that a paper should be prepared for the next meeting focussing on the likely future need of such a facilities as well as the other issues raised in the discussion.
The Chairman reminded the meeting that some of the subjects just discussed were raised as a result of the survey he had undertaken after the last meeting. He thank those who had responded but suggested the overall response had been very poor which did not bode well for the future of this meeting.
7.0 Any other Business.
1) Recognising individuals contribution.
Cllr Brown reported that he could help with any issues surrounding honours ect. if that was appropriate in the future.
2) Village Web-site.
It was suggested that a link should be established with the person administering the Glaston Village web-site, so that the site could be used to best effect. Russ Horne agreed to make contact with the administrator.
3) 20 mile an hour speed limit.
It was suggested that a 20mph speed limit would be helpful in Church Lane and Spring Lane. This received a mixed reception from the meeting.
4) Street Lighting.
It was proposed that some of the CIL money could be used to improve street lighting in the village. The Chairman agreed to raise this issue with RCC.
5) Reporter for Local News.
Judith George kindly offered to act as the conduit for any local news that we would like to see in the local press.
8.0 Date of Next Meeting.
The next meeting would be in May 2023 unless there was a need to call one earlier.
The Chairman closed the meeting and thanked all those who attended.
I.A.J.B November 2022.