CHARSFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

 

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH

 

Minutes of Meeting Held on Tuesday, 22nd May 2018

 

Present:          Councillors Pedgrift (Chair), Moor, Owen Williams, Murray, Godwin, Laird and Pam Hembra (Parish Clerk)

           

            Attendees:      3 members of the public

                                                                                                                     

 

 

 

   Action
1. Update on the Parish Council’s achievements and activity over the year and on what is being proposed for 2018.

 

Chairman’s Report attached

 

  
2. To approve the Annual Parish Minutes of 30th May 2017

 

The minutes were approved and signed by the Chair.

 

  
3. To Receive Reports from Other Organisations.

Village Hall Report attached

Charsfield Recreation Ground Report attached

 

  
4. Open Forum for the Public to Raise Questions

There were no questions from the public.

  
     

 

 

Chair’s Report – Councillor Pedgrift

Last year our Chairman was able to report we had had a stable parish council for the first time in several years – unfortunately I can’t echo his words this year.

 

As you all know we lost our chairman of 16 years, Ed Winkworth and he is sorely missed.  During the course of the year Jo Newman and Graham Hedger resigned due to increased work commitments and they too are hard shoes to fill.

 

However, on the positive side we have gained two new councillors in Charlie Godwin and Cathy Laird and we are looking forward to an injection of new energy into the council.

 

Apart from the mundane but important matters like hedges and potholes we have had several big issues to deal with this year.

 

The planning application for St Peters Meadow has moved on a pace and the parish council has continued dialogue with SCDC to ensure the best interests of the village when the development goes ahead.

 

We made a major contribution to the SCDC core strategy document which will influence the next 35 years of the development of Suffolk.

 

At the request of the recreation ground committee and the parochial church council the parish council have asked SCDC to invoke public space protection orders for the churchyard and recreation ground to enforce dogs being kept on leads in those areas and ensure dog fouling is cleared up.

 

We are currently developing an Emergency Planning Policy for implementation in case of severe adverse weather conditions or major disaster within the village.

 

We have continued to support Speedwatch in their efforts to make the village a safer place and have secured a grant from our District Councillor Mark Amoss towards the provision of a portable flashing speed sign.

 

We have addressed numerous issues arising out of the Stakeholders Consultation relating to the proposal that Charsfield CEVC school become an academy within All Saints Church Trust and will be delivering our final input tomorrow.

 

We are working towards compliance with the new General Data Protection Regulations which come into force on 25th May.

 

This year has seen the installation of a new village notice board and renovation to the base of the village sign for safety reasons.  Thank you to Peter Holloway for all his hard work.

 

The parish council would like to thank Charsfield Village Hall Committee and Charsfield Recreation Ground Committee for donating so much time as volunteers to provide two fantastic amenities for the village, Mike Davy for police and crime bulletins (formerly Neighbour Watch) and all those weary souls who turn out at 6.30am in the freezing cold to volunteer for Speedwatch.

 

I would also especially like to thank our clerk, Pam Hembra – we have both been on a steep learning curve this year and the council couldn’t function without her – and all the parish councillors past and present for their support.

 

As we look forward to the next year the parish council will work with Speedwatch to make our roads safer.  Whatever the outcome of the St Peters Meadow development and the school’s future we will continue to monitor all developments to try to ensure that the best interests of the village are served.

 

And we must come to a final conclusion about the phone kiosk!

 

I personally would like to propose that we get on with the renovation and dedicate it to the memory of Edwin Winkworth.

 

 

 

 

Charsfield Village Hall Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, 24th October 2017

 

Present:           Steve Moor, Fran Moor, Richard Ford, Pam Hembra (PJH)

Peter Holloway (PH), Gerry Bird, Adam May, Chris Haird, David Wolfe

 

Members of the Public:

 

  1. Apologies for Absence

Pauline Llewellyn, John Phillips, Lynn Hinchliffe

 

  1. Minutes of Last Meeting dated 18th October 2016

Agreed and signed

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report (see below)

 

General Fund:                               £5,600     £50 petty cash

 

Building Fund:                               £7,085

 

Bar:                                                                           

Cash:                                               £207

Bar stock                                         £474

Float:                                               £122

 

Total bar value at 31/07/2017:

Bar monies banked in year:            £850

Monies donated to Rec Ground:     £180

 

  1. Chairman’s Report

Chairman’s Report Attached.

 

  1. Election of New Committee

The Committee stood down.

 

The following were elected to the Village Hall Committee.

 

Richard Ford                           Gerry Bird

Steve Moor                             Adam May

Fran Moor                               Rob Ford

Pam Hembra                           Terri King

Peter Holloway                       Chris Haird

Pauline Llewellyn                   David Wolfe

 

Treasurer’s Report

 

All our cash reserves are held in two bank accounts both with the NatWest.  One is our General Fund for all running costs and routine maintenance/replacement etc.  The income for this is derived from hire charges.  The other is the Building Fund and is financed by donations, bar monies and fund raising.  This money is used for improvements to the hall and special projects.

 

Apart from the bar, most transactions are now electronic with a few cheques and seldom cash.

 

Our income has remained very stable over the last few years and hire charges have been kept at the same level for about a decade.  This has been fine to date but as the hall renovations recede into the past we ought to be building up a bit of a sinking fund for major repairs.  The front door will require to be replaced at some stage and the ovens in the kitchen may not have too long left.  We do have £12,375 over the two accounts so there is a buffer but income levels can quickly change.  (Remember when the school and SCC stopped using the hall and the impact that had on our finances.  We have a few regular users and if one of them ceases our normal expenditure could exceed income).  I think we should be gently increasing our hire charges now so we do not have to make a huge percentage rise if the need arises in the future.

 

In the financial year in question the General Fund took quite a hit when the oil tank developed a leak and had to be replaced as an emergency.  There were no other extraordinary incomes or expenditures over the year.  We held one fund raising event and received one donation of £200 from CADS.

 

 

AGM 2017: Chairman’s Report

 

The Committee

This year the hall committee consisted of eight persons, namely: – Pauline Llewellyn, Pam

Hembra (Secretary), Fran Moor (Treasurer and bar), Steve Moor (Hall Bookings), Peter Holloway (Fundraising), Adam May (bar work), Jerry Bird and myself Richard Ford (Chairman and reactive repairs).

 

The committee has made major contribution to the running of the hall and what is often missed by the public is that we are a charity. The time given by the all the members is voluntary and some activities are very time consuming and unseen by the hirers.

 

The caretaker role has now been taken over from Elspeth Gilmour to Terry King, she has done a fantastic job and we cannot thank her enough for taking on the cleaning and bar work.

 

Fran has done a fantastic job on the stocking and running of the bar while also taking on the treasurer’s role. We now have a healthy bank balance and have tidied up of some of the outstanding debts and the bar is now making a substantial contribution the hall funds.

 

 

Other Thanks

Angela Farmer for the continued hard work she undertakes keeping the hedge trimmed and the shrubs pruned. One of the attractions of the hall is that it always looks so nice from the outside and receives a number of compliments.

 

The hall on-line booking system is working well and my thanks to Steve for the many hours answering various enquires, we now have a very full diary and I cannot thank him enough for all the hard work he has done.

 

Steve has also updated the stage lighting with LED lights including moving heads and the hall now has a professional lighting desk all programable by Steve.

 

Thanks go to everybody who helped out with these events, particularly Peter for organising the entertainment and Pauline for glass clearing and washing up.

 

The hall was totally redecorated this year and has made great improvement and has given a real lift to the overall feel of the hall.

 

Finally

Many thanks to Pam for all her hard work as secretary, working away in the background, chasing me up, minute taking, general administration and of late, barmaiding!   I could not have managed without her being in the chair.

 

Rob Ford has been assisting with the maintenance of the garden, erecting the stage and general caretaking.

 

The future is looking strong with a sound membership of the committee and with potential new members joining for 2018.

 

 

 

 

Chair’s Report 2017

 

The area remains popular with people visiting from other villages to use the facility.

Grass solutions continue to do a great job maintaining the grass.

 

During the summer months the following events were held

 

  • Charsfest 2017 went well with a good attendance. Luckily the weather was kind this year! We made £1186 for the recreation ground maintenance fund.  The Recreation Ground Committee would like to thank everyone who turned out on the Friday night Saturday morning and Sunday morning to help us set up and take down – many hands made (fairly) light work.  We are very grateful for all the people who regularly help us.

Next year Charsfest 2018 will be on 26th May.

  • There was a film night on the rec. A large screen was erected and the films were a great success!

Charsfield School still does not use this facility. We would like to encourage the school and clubs to use our facility. One way of achieving this may be to build a toilet block in the future.

The problem with dog fouling has improved but is still a problem and a small minority of people continue to walk their dogs off the lead and allowing them to foul. Suffolk Coastal DC are looking into amending existing dog controls in the area by replacing them with Public Space Protection Orders. These will introduce a more effective way of dealing with offences through the issue of Fixed Penalty Notices for dog fouling and failure to keep dogs on a lead  on the recreation ground. The committee were consulted and have voted to support the introduction of the orders and await the outcome.

Fundraisers and Grants

We have held a number of fundraising events over the year, the big breakfast, quizzes, a golf day, a wine tasting evening and we continue our 100 club. Collectively this has generated significant contributions to meet our objectives.

We were successful in the Tesco Bags for Life grant securing £8,000 for the provision of adult fitness equipment.

Progress

We had the adult fitness equipment installed in the spring 2017. There have been a few problems with the installation and workings of the equipment. I have been in negotiations with the company and they have replaced the cycle and have agreed to replace the rower (for the second time) with a better model. We will not pay for the rower until we are happy with its performance.

There have been some other developments on the recreation ground over the year:-

  • The equipment shed has undergone a major refurbishment. Thank you to Gerry, Greg and Andy for their hard work.
  • An ongoing maintenance programme including working parties to mend and treat the picnic benches, prune hedges etc.

Future

Work over the next 12 months and beyond includes:-

  • Replacing the bark in the children’s play area with a rubber bark which will last longer.
  • Reviewing the future of the wildflower area
  • Resurfacing the remaining paths
  • Review the future of the recreation committee with regard to becoming a sub committee of the Parish Council (still ongoing)
  • Recruit new members (in particular a treasurer).
  • Continuation of a maintenance programme and pest control
  • Continuation and review of our fundraising events
  • Continue to gauge the demand for a petanque pitch and if feasible secure a grant

Thank you

I would like to say thank you to:-

  • All the committee members who have worked hard over the year helping with arranging and running fund raising events, and ongoing maintenance at the rec.
  • The Parish Council for their help financially
  • CADs for their kind donation
  • The village for supporting our fundraising events
  • Larry and Val for hosting the quiz nights and golf day
  • Don Turner for cooking the big breakfast
  • The village hall committee for running the bar at our events.
  • Liz Wright for her help with the accounts
  • FROTH for their help with events, especially the set up at Charsfest.
  • Sharon and Jerry at the Three Horse Shoes for their support.
  • Jan for her endless enthusiasm and hard work
  • Thank you to Gary King for all of your hard work as treasurer.
  • Thank you to Sandy Hamilton for his contribution over the past year.

 

Jo Wyatt Chair, Charsfield  Recreation Ground  November 2017