Annual Parish Meetings

Annual Parish Meeting for Helpringham 26th May 2021

Held at Helpringham Memorial Hall at 7:30pm

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting

Present: Cllr Mr G. Hotchkin – Chairman, Cllrs J Frizzell, G Frizzell, Cllr M Ternouth, Cllr W Watts and the Clerk – Julie Dixon. Also joining the meeting were Cllr Sally Tarry and Cllr Andrew Key.

Cllr Mr G. Hotchkin opened the meeting at 7:30pm.

There was one member of the public present.

1. Welcome

The Chairman welcomed all present and thanked them for their attendance, also welcoming and Congratulating our newly elected County Councillor Andrew Key

2. Apologies.

Apologies received from Cllrs M Robinson, S. Ogden and R. Spencer. Reasons for absence noted and accepted by members present

3. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting 2019

Due to the Covid Pandemic, a Parish Meeting was omitted in 2020, therefore the minutes of the meeting held 8 May 2019 were accepted as a true record. Proposed by Cllr J Frizzell and seconded by Cllr G Frizzell. All members in favour. Minutes signed by the Chairman.

4. Chairman’s Report

Chairman Cllr G Hotchkin reported that back in 2019 the state of the roads was very much on the agenda, as it is today. During 2019/20 members of the Parish Council met with the County Council and the surveyor for roads. This is still an ongoing problem, especially in the Burton Road area.  Our MP has been approached on several occasions, being invited to come an take a look but unfortunately this invitation never came to fruition. The latest reports are that the required work is earmarked for 2022/23; this is unacceptable as far as the Parish Council are concerned and we will continue to push for this to be completed earlier.

The Grass Cutting in 2019 did not go to plan, resulting in the departure of the then contractor. Thanks were given to Councillors G Frizzell, R Spencer, M Robinson and M Ternouth for taking over the duties and carrying out a fine job in keeping the village tidy in the interim until a new contractor was appointed. Thanks were extended to the CJP Garden Services, who is now doing a splendid job.

Towards the end of 2019, suspicions were being raised regarding the then Clerk - Adrian Illingworth, and the Parish finances. Cllrs J Frizzell and W Watts began to investigate and eventually discovered that monies had been misappropriated, resulting in a police investigation where it came to light that there were four other Parish Councils who had also been deceived by Mr Illingworth.

The Clerk was eventually charged and sentenced. Thanks go to Cllrs J Frizzell and W Watts for their persistence in recouping the lost funds from the CPS, and Lloyds bank.

The church clock stopped and the experts called in to repair it. Cllr G Frizzell now looks after it and does an outstanding job in keeping it to time.

With the onset of Covid-19, Cllr M Ternouth took over the litter picking duties alone as groups were unable to convene. Sincere thanks were expressed for this dedication.

To conclude, the chairman collectively thanked all members of the Parish Council for the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

5. Presentation of reports by Village Organisations

None present

6. Comments from members of the public.

Mr Terry Cooling presented a case about the tree in the cemetery. Despite emails in 2020 from the Parish Council to Mr Cooling, advising the Parish Council does not own , nor have authority over the trees, Mr Cooling restated his concerns.

The Parish Council provided him with a copy of the August 2020 email, which detailed how he could address the matter, through NKDC, the Diocese and the PCC for St Andrews; Mr Cooling expressed his thanks for the information, which had been researched and provided by the Parish Council and the Church Warden as a matter of courtesy.

Cllr G Frizzell made comment that while on the subject of the cemetery, there has been incidences of fly-tipping of garden waste which as a Parish Council we will investigate.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.55pm.