MAPLEBECK PARISH MEETING
held in
The Village Hall in Maplebeck
15th March 2016

MINUTES
Apologies: Mr Bruce Laughton County Councillor and seven Maplebeck residents.

1. Mr Brendan Carson (Chairman 2015/16) opened the meeting and thanked Councillor Sylvia Michael for her presence.

2. Mr Brendan Carson handed the Chair to Councillor Michael to oversee the election of the Chairman of Maplebeck Parish Meeting for the year 2016/17. There being no other candidates, Mr Brendan Carson agreed to stand for another year, he was duly elected with the agreement of those present.

3. The Chairman began with an appreciation of  the turnout of nine villagers at the meeting . The order of the meeting was changed to accommodate the Village Hall Treasurer's Report by Bob Gardner who was leaving earlier to fulfil another engagement.

4. The Village Hall Committee for 2016/17 was proposed by Canon Eddie Neale and seconded by Mr Patrick Andrew.  Ms Amy Thomson had declared that she would not to stand again due to work commitments.  Mr Allen Bladon had resigned last December and Mrs Jane Kinnear is standing down after twenty-plus years of service. (A note of thanks to Jane which will be more formally recognised at a public event in April).
Those elected are as follows : Derek Sayer, Jenny Bladon ( Kersall), Bob Gardner, Julie Grundy, DesCashell, Brendan and Sue Carson.

5. The Village Hall Treasurer's Report contained a very comprehensive and detailed account of the activity in bringing the Village Hall building project to a conclusion. The Hall was complete and solvent within a year of opening and honouring all commitments particularly in respect to the Big Lottery in agreement with their funding.  The Hall had a surplus of £1056.00 for every-day running which marries with the committee's plan to run a £500.00 contingency. There was also £778.00 left in the project fund which will be used for further equipment and/or a noticeboard for the hall. Mr Gardner was praised for his efforts by Canon Eddie Neale and it was noted that his conscientious work and professionalism was of great benefit in bringing this project to such a successful conclusion. The Treasurers Report was proposed by Mr Patrick Andrew, seconded by Canon Eddie Neale and accepted by those present.  

ADDENDUM The annual statement for the accounts for the Parish of Maplebeck arrived the day after the AGM.  i.e. 16th March 2016.  The statement was signed by the Chairman confirming nil expenditure and lodged with Grant Thornton Accountants. A copy is displayed in the bus shelter.

6. The Minutes of the Meeting May 19th 2015. These were challenged by Mrs Jo Atkinson as being an unfair representation during the A.O.B discussions. This was duly noted by the chairman, the minutes were subsequently accepted by the meeting.  A summarisation of matters arising from these minutes is as follows:

• The Appeal against the Refusal to grant planning for a wind turbine at Breck's Farm is still with the Inspectorate and confirmed with NSDC Planning Department that no date for the decision forthcoming.
• The proposed Gasification Plant at Bilsthorpe has been approved.
• The village telephone box is now the property of Maplebeck Parish.
• There being no further comment on the standards of the planning department at NSDC, two projects in the pipeline locally, Walnut Cottage and Clay Barn should highlight any issues.
• Fibre optic superfast broadband has been made available to the majority of the village. Phase two of the project commencing this month should include most but not all of the rest by 2017. If there is a requirement and or sufficient interest a Mr Tim Dring, Notts CC, one of a small team managing the roll out is available and willing to give a public talk on the issue.
• The poster campaign against a local family appears to have ceased as none have been recorded in the past year.
• There is still a problem with dog owners not controlling and/or not picking up the excrement. This is unsightly and messy underfoot, but more importantly a health hazard to children.

7. The Village Hall Chairman's Report for 2015.
Mr Derek Sayer produced a written report for the year 2015. The highlights included the official opening in September 2015 attended by 100 plus residents. At the end of 2015, the 12 month target of 1500 user visits had almost been reached (1340), since recommencing operations in May 2015.
The use of the hall has been increased since the opening, but based on the same pretext of self-financing that has operated for many years. The construction of a sustainable building allows the continuation of running a village hall at low running and maintenance cost. This has been reflected in the Treasurer's report.

8. Parish Chairman's Report.
The four areas concerning residents were as follows :
Highways:
It was proposed that traffic calming measures and limited access to Maplebeck be investigated. There was a consultation with County Council Highways as to the viability of these proposals.  In letters received from Highways explaining policy and implementation and on the experiences of our District Councillor there was unlikely to be any end result so therefore no further action will be taken on this matter.
Village Green Path: The need to improve access to the church has been muted by many with a hard-core pathway from the bus shelter to the church gate being the preferred option.  It is proposed to create a path of crushed stone with a wooden surround in keeping with the countryside environment.
Telephone Box. This is now in the ownership of the village and requires refurbishment. It has also been proposed that a defibrillator and/or emergency telephone be installed. Mrs Jane Kinnear had been investigating this with possible grants from the British Heart Foundation. The original grant was oversubscribed but hopefully more money will be available in April and we can apply again. We would have to make contribution. Mr Roger Bell is raising money through a charity ride of which we may be beneficiaries of any excess from the original project. There has also been an anonymous financial offer in support of the defibrillator.
Dog exercising. The issue with regard to dogs is one of expecting dog owners/walkers to be responsible. To that end it is proposed that two ‘dog fouling’ rubbish bins be purchased and a contract entered into with NSDC to empty them monthly.

Finally none of these projects will go forward without the physical and financial support of the community. There is no precept set for Maplebeck and that will continue to be the case. If any of the above is of interest to you please contact the Chairman with either financial or manpower assistance. This can be limited to a specific project that interests you. Skill and equipment would be appreciated. An approach will be made to Councillor Laughton for some financial assistance. Now that the Village Hall has been finished with amazing generosity from the community we can now concentrate on the small areas that will enhance our already lovely village.

9. District Councillor's Report.
Councillor Sylvia Michael outlined the bigger picture of activity in and around the Ward.
The Newark Sports and Fitness Centre on Bowerbridge Road in Newark is nearing completion. The Civil War Centre is a welcome addition for tourism and business in Newark. This also coincides with the result of a 2 million pound investment in the train service increasing the number of trains from Lincoln via Nottingham and vice versa by 25 per day. The NSDC will be moving from Kelham Hall to new offices near the cattle yard in Newark (Planning Approved) saving £500.000 per annum.

10. PARISH NOTICES.
The residents were reminded to register their private car (not just trailers and vans) with Notts CC should they wish to access the Nottinghamshire Recycling sites after 1 April. (NCC letter on the village website)

Mr Derek Sayer has published and distributed a comprehensive programme of events taking place in the village hall in the coming months, all of which can be viewed on the Events page.

The dates for the Harvest Thanksgiving and Christmas Carol service will be decided after the PCC AGM on 6th April 2016.

Date for your diary:
VILLAGE FETE Saturday 25th June @ 2.30PM.

The meeting was closed with the next annual meeting scheduled for March/April 2017
BRENDAN CARSON
CHAIR MAPLEBECK PARISH MEETING
brendan@carson41.orangehome.co.uk
TEL 01636 636185

Posted 23rd March 2016