- As reported in the last update, work has been underway to progress the three projects that the Parish meeting suggested at the meeting in May.
The following gives an overview of progress so far;
- Relocation and Training for the defibrillator.
The planning approval for the move of the machine and agreement for five years funding to be used from the Community Infrastructure Funds were agreed.
The planned launch event took place on the 4th Oct and over 30 people attended. I would like to thank Stephen and George at the pub who were kind enough to allow us to use their facilities. There was an impressive list of speakers and supporters to this event. Dr Judith George’s persuasive powers ensured we had an educational and entertaining evening.
A total of 17 people came forward to receive training which will take place on the 16th October.
Annual training will now be planned and group of volunteers will be established in order to ensure help will be available when needed.
B) Cleaning and researching the Cart-Wash.
I have been following up the work done by Russ Horne on this issue.
After quite a few discussions with Rutland County Council it is now clear that they would not approve use of CIL funds for this purpose even though it is accepted that this is a village amenity. There is no record of ownership of the Cart-wash and therefore public monies can not be used to improve it. We have done all we can to discover any record of ownership but with no success. Any further work would probably involve legal fees which again could not be covered by CIL monies.
As we know Russell did a great job in cleaning the area earlier in the year and although we don’t have the owner’s permission perhaps we should try and ensure this is undertaken more frequently to keep on top of the vegetation.
C) Potential funding for a mower for the Playpark.
This proposal has not been progressed and will be included in the wider discussion regarding the future of the Playpark.
- Issues to be taken forward by the Parish Meeting.
At the Parish meeting in May we agreed three issues that we wanted to discuss at our November meeting. These issues were,
- Bypass, speed cameras and traffic calming
- A review of RCC plans and Glaston.
- A greater understanding of issues surrounding the Village Hall and plans for the Church in the future.
In addition I agreed to ask others in the village what they thought were important issues via a questionnaire.
The number of responses to this questionnaire was very disappointing but those that did respond raised the following;
- Confirmation that traffic calming and parking in the village was a major issue.
- Maintenance of the roads by RCC.
- Additional parking for the village.
- Improving internet connectivity.
- Need to embrace sensible places for development in the village in order to maintain village character.
- Establish clear facts about some of these village issues.
I can update on some of these issues as follows;
- Traffic Calming.
I had a useful discussion with the head of Highways of RCC thanks to the help of Coun. Andrew Brown.
In summary the discussion is below.
The potential for a bypass is highly remote. The A47 through Glaston was de-trunked in the 1990s and the only funding for such a scheme would come from the national infrastructure fund as a consequence of a significant development in the area.
The existing speed cameras will be replaced in the next three years with cameras which upload all speeds to the cloud so allowing surveys to be undertaken very easily. Until then surveys in support of any further actions require a traditional survey.
In order to have our issues discussed by the Highways Dept. concerns have to be logged with them ( which I have done ).There then can be a discussion about if any additional measures could be considered in order to improve the situation.
- Road Maintenance.
Pot holes have recently been repaired on the A47.The red road markings will be replaced as soon as possible. Maintenance of the footpaths in Church Lane will begin shortly.
- Improving Internet Connectivity.
I have been asked to pursue the issue of the Digital Rutland Hub that was installed in the village Hall.
As many will know this happened at roughly the same time a fibre to the door being introduced to parts of the village, so reducing the need for the village hall hub.
I have been speaking to RCC about the issue and they currently expect the village to pay for at least a years contract with an internet provider for the village hall regardless of whether this is needed/required. I will continue to discuss this with them.
Those that haven’t yet received fibre to the door and wish to do so are advised to register their interest with their existing provider.
- Planning Issues.
One of the potential benefits of having a Parish Meeting is having an input to strategic planning issues. Rutland does not currently have a Local Plan but is in the process of consulting on various issues to develop one.
The aspect that will probably be of most interest to people is housing development. An interim statement on this issue has been published and can be found on the RCC website.
Other Issues.
The future of the playpark needs to be discussed and determined.
The community Fund Managers are looking at options for the future including whether they should become a charity and what would be needed in terms of equipment and at what cost. This will be discussed at the next meeting of the Parish meeting.
The next meeting of the Parish Meeting.
The next meeting of the Parish meeting will be in November and will be an opportunity to discuss some of the issues that the village has raised.
The agenda will include,
- Traffic Calming /Parking etc.
- Issues regarding the future of Church and village hall.
- Playpark.
I will try to ensure that we have clear information about these issues at the meeting so we can have an informed debate.
If you would like any other issues discussed please let me know.
The Agenda will be circulated shortly.
If the Parish meeting is to be worthwhile it is important that people attend ,please look out for the date and try to attend.
Ian Balmer.
Chair Parish Meeting ianbalmer@aol.com
07939543794