Chairman's Annual Report 2020 - 2022 (Covid lockdown period)
Halton Holegate Parish Council
Chairman’s Report to the Annual Parish Meeting to be held on 12th May 2022.
1 Introduction
The following report covers a period of 36 months (3 Years) since the last Chairman’s report presented in May 2019.The reasons for this will become apparent as the report unfolds.
I start by sharing my opinion that the last 3 years have probably been the most challenging period for the Council since I was first elected in May 2011.
The period started with election of May 2019 which saw only 5 of the possible 7 councillors elected as there was at that time seemingly little desire within the community to get involved in parish business. This increased the pressure on the elected few to attend meetings to legally continue the business of the council.
The on-set of the Covid-19 Pandemic in late 2019 added further to the challenge as for a period between May 2020 and March 2021 inclusive the council was compelled to conduct the meetings virtually via zoom.
In late 2021/early 2022 we also received notification that the future of the Methodist Chapel, our meeting place was under threat due to falling congregations and membership. This would have significant impact not only on the Methodist community but also for the wider community as most of the village groups and organisations including the council hold their public meetings and social events at the venue. No other alternative venue exists within the village at present.
The final challenge resulted from the very sad and sudden death of our long serving and much valued Clerk Christine Newton which came as a shock to all. The Council was already mourning the loss of our respected and supportive District Councillor Jim Swanson in early January 2022.
All in all, a troubling and very challenging time for Halton Holegate Parish Councillors.
I will however now go on to describe how the Councillors have conducted the business of the Council admirably over the last three years. They, the Councillors have my utmost respect and gratitude for their exemplary service to the (your) community and the way in which they have supported me personally as Chairman.
2 Councillor’s and Clerk & Responsible Finance Officer (RFO)
As already reported, only 5 Councillors out of a possible 7 were elected in May 2019, they include Cllr. Steve Andrew, Cllr. James Grant, Cllr. Christina Holmes, Cllr. Rosemarie Oliver and myself.
In accepting office, they all committed to the task in front of them and made the required Declarations that the Council’s business would be conducted fully. This required significant dedication to the cause by them all that is illustrated by the attendance records which indicate that all councillors exceeded 75% attendance at meetings with two councillors achieving 100% attendance. This is a truly magnificent effort by all that should be commended.
All through 2019 2020 & 2021 the Council actively sought new members and in January 2022 we were delighted to welcome a sixth councillor Cllr. Tracey Robson.
I am also delighted to be able to inform the community that the first order of business of the Council AGM that follows this Parish Meeting will be to co-opt a seventh councillor Mr Chris Edwards from Halton Fenside bringing us up to full membership.
All through the three-year period we have been well supported by both our County and District Ward Councillors. Their advice, support and actions has been instrumental in achieving many successes on behalf of our community – this is greatly appreciated. Thanks to both of them.
Cllr. Wendy Bowkett our County Councillor has been of especial assistance in helping to resolve many Highways, Health matters and advice during the pandemic and in Emergency Planning matters. More on highways later in this report.
As I have already reported Cllr. Jim Swanson sadly passed away early in January. Jim had been an ever-present supporter over many years and is sadly missed. His sagely advice presented in his own unique style on planning matters and local finance has been much appreciated. I had the honour of representing out Council and Community at his Commemoration Service.
We have yet to meet formerly with our new Ward Councillor for ELDC Cllr. Terry Taylor of Spilsby but we look forward to striking up a positive working relationship with him in the coming months.
As previously stated, we lost our Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer in early February this year. Christine Newton was a very experienced and well-respected clerk by both the councillors she served and amongst her professional colleagues. A hard act to follow one might say but I am delighted to be able to introduce our new clerk Nathan Whiting from Spilsby whom we are sure will be a worthy and highly competent successor. Nathan only joined us on 1st May and is still settling in, tonight is his first public engagement. Full contact details for Nathan will appear on our Notice Boards and website over the next few days.
A new contact email address HHPCClerk@outlook.com has been set up so please use it if needing to contact the Council.
3 Meetings
Meetings have taken place on a bi-monthly basis mostly on the second Thursday of the months of January, March, May (AGM), July, September & November (Budget Setting). A number of extraordinary meetings have also been held to deal with important & urgent business.
In all during the last three years, 21 full council meetings (including extraordinary meetings) have been held.
2019/20 8 meetings
2020/21 6 meetings
2021/22 7 meetings
Note: During the period May 2020 to March 2021 inclusive, meetings were held virtually via Zoom.
The early months of 2022 saw two special meetings held;
The first on 16th February 2022 was not a full council meeting but was hosted and sponsored by the council. This meeting was a Public Open Meeting to discuss the implications of closure of the Methodist Chapel and Meeting Rooms and to investigate how the community could help to secure the future of the building as a place of worship and as a meeting place. It was gratifying and indicative of the role the building plays in community life that representatives of all the interest (users) groups along with a goodly number of interested individuals were present. It was agreed that fundamental to securing the future was the enrolment of additional members to the Methodist family.
It is with great pleasure therefore that I can formally report that a very successful recruitment process has ensued, and the Chapel’s continued existence is secured for the foreseeable future. The Parish Council congratulates all who worked to achieve this ambition and especially to those who have pledged their support / membership.
The second, an extraordinary meeting on 24th February was held to agree the emergency procedures that would need to be put in place to continue the council’s essential business until a new appointment was made. Arrangements were made for members of the Council to take on added responsibility with myself assuming the role of Responsible Finance Officer and the Vice-Chair leading on meeting administration. Several other councillors also took elevated roles in their specific areas of expertise. An appointment committee was formed with delegated powers to select and appoint a new clerk. This process was concluded in mid-April and the appointment took effect on 1st May 2022.
4 Finances
The main source of income for the Council is the Parish Precept which is levied on all properties within the parish and is collected via Council Tax to off-set the costs of delivering council services.
In 2019/20 a precept of £3780 was levied which was a very small (less than 2%) increase over the previous year precept. The Council was delighted to hold that level of precept in 2020/21 however after three years inflation and against a rapidly increasing inflation environment which had seen costs rise significantly a precept of £4185 was required for Year 2022/23.
The Council is subject to formal annual audit arrangements although as a small authority (Income less than £25,000) a limited audit Arrangement is in pace. This requires half and full year Internal Audit and publication/submission of an Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) in May/June each year. This requirement was successfully achieved in 2019/20 and 2020/21 and the Council will complete the 2021/22 procedures during the meeting that will follow this meeting.
The main change to the Council’s budget during the three years has seen the introduction of grass/verge cutting in the centre of the village in the summer of 2020.
This year the Council has approved a one-off capital contribution towards the cost of provision of a community defibrillator available to all 24/7 and to be sited at the village primary school.
5 Planning Applications and Development Controls
Councillors continue to view, discuss, and comment on planning applications referred to them by ELDC and LCC Planning Departments.
A total of 17 Applications have been scrutinised in the last three years as follows.
2019/20 3 applications
2020/21 9 applications
2012/22 5 Applications
All applications have been supported except for three; namely The Old Butchers Shop (4 No. properties), at the former Forge (2nd New Build Application, 1 new build already benefitting from Planning Permission) and on land at the Rear of the Bell Inn. In all these cases Parish Councillors were seriously concerned about the adverse impacts that would result from development on road safety, of overcrowding of relatively small plots and in the case of The Forge the loss of Biodiversity. Unfortunately, except for The Forge Full Planning Permission was granted by ELDC.
The Council has also been consulted on two enforcement actions initiated by ELDC on Planning Grounds. Comments where appropriate have been submitted.
6 Highways, Footpaths and Waste Disposal.
Supported by our County Councillor the Council has been successful in achieving resolution of several matters affecting the safety of road users and pedestrians. These include the following, it is not an exclusive list;
- Filling of numerous potholes,
- Replacement of signage at the Eastern end of the village and chevrons at the western end,
- Introduction of a 30-mph speed limit in the centre of the village and through the Hole Gate,
- Drain cleansing and pipe repairs to cure flooding on the B1195 at Station Road junction.
- New white lining on the B1195 from Spilsby through to Halton Bridge,
- Clearing of the footpaths along B1195 linking the village to Spilsby,
- Reconstruction of damaged white rails on Northorpe Road / B1195 junction and
- Provision of a new Litter bin adjacent to the memorial seat opposite Station Road end.
7 Policies
The council has a number of Polices in place and continues a process of review, updating as necessary and periodic re-adoption.
The full list of current Policies can be found on our website.
8 Other Matters
The Council is pleased to be supporting the picnic being held on Cloughs Field (corner of Station Road and Spilsby Road (B1195) on 3rd June 2022 to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen and congratulates and wishes the organising committee well for the staging of the event.
9 Access / Communications with Council
All meetings of the Council are open to the public. Notices of meetings including venue, dates and times are published on the three council’s notice boards and website. A public participation item is included on all agendas which is available for members of the community to bring any matters of concern to the attention of councillors.
For 2022 proposed meeting dates are.
July 12th, September 8th, and November 10th
And in 2023
January 12th, March 11th (including annual Parish meeting) and May 11th.
Finally, I can advise that a copy of this report is available on request from the clerk or it can be read on the Council’s website.
David Sisson
Chairman
Halton Holegate Parish Council.