Parish Council

Report of the Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 4 June 2013

Apologies were received from our two District Councillors and County Councillor.

Welcome
The Parish Council welcomed Graham Jones who had been elected (uncontested) to the vacancy on the Parish Council.  Graham has already agreed to investigate the possibility of establishing a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in the village!

Village Hall Management Committee
Councillor Summers, our representative on the Committee, gave his report on its May meeting.  If you want to see the minutes of this, or any other VHMC meeting, they are on the Parish Council’s website under Village Hall.  Remember it is up to you to let your Village Hall affiliated club member representative, or your village representative, know your views on any matter relating to the Hall, so that they can deal with it on your behalf.

Post Box
Some good news!  After much “badgering” of Royal Mail by the Clerk and Councillor Goldsworthy, at long last it is now likely that once Mr. Sowerby (as the land owner) has given his blessing, a post box will again be available in the Nocton Park area.  It is intended to place the box on the corner of Nocton Park Road and Woodlands Avenue.

SID
It appears that the Speed Indicator Device (SID) has now been located and should be deployed in Nocton soon.  Rather too late for the residents of Wellhead Lane during the recent B1202 road closure, but your Parish Council has put forward an official complaint that when most needed, SID was not available.  Spot checks with hand held speed guns will, however, continue in the area…… so beware and keep your speed down when driving through the village!

Parking on the Village Green
At the request of a local resident, the Parish Council reviewed its recent decision not to allow parking on the Village Green and is now looking at the feasibility of allowing up to two parking “slots” for disabled and/or elderly people visiting the Church or School.

Youth Group
A constructive meeting between two members of the original CLAN committee and the Chair and Vice-chair has resulted in the Parish Council seeking advice on how to get this much needed Youth Group off the ground.  A leader is now being sought!  There are plenty of young people and adults all wishing to get involved in this important venture, all that is required is someone to head up the group until it becomes self-sustaining.  Are you interested in helping?  If so, please contact one of your parish councillors who will pass your details on to the residents looking at the initiative so that they can give you more information on what’s involved.

Following completion of the works to the bridges on the B1202 and Wellhead Lane, the Parish Council has arranged for a representative of Network Rail to attend the next meeting to talk about the scheme to modernise the Great Northern/Great Eastern (GNGE) Joint railway line between Peterborough and Doncaster via Lincoln (of which works to these bridges are a part) and to explain any implications for the local community.   If you have any questions you would like to ask Network Rail let our Clerk, Steve Altridge, know at least a week before the meeting either by telephone (01526 321760) or email: noctonparishcouncil@hotmail.co.uk

Finally, a reminder.  If you would like to see a copy of the full Nocton Community Plan then go to either our website http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Nocton/ or contact the Clerk who has hard copies to loan.

“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.”

Next Meeting Tuesday 2 July 2013 at 7pm                  Councillor MaryAnn Williams

Village Hall Working Group

You may also like to see the outcome of my query on the progress of this group. This would appear to be a convenient location to publish it. My email was as follows:

Email to Clerk of Nocton Parish Council dated 31st May 2013

"Hi Steve,

I would like to enquire about the following in readiness for the Parish Council meeting on 4th June:

• I see from the published Terms of Reference for the Working Group that the Parish Council requested a report within 3 months of the first meeting date.
• I seem to remember the first meeting was held before the end of February.
• The Agenda for 4th June does not make any mention of a report to be considered from the Working Group, although one is due to be submitted.

I would like to know:

• When will the 3 month report be considered by the Parish Council?
• When will this be made available for local residents to study?
• If there is going to be a delay with the 3 month report, will there be an interim progress report from the Working Group for local residents to examine and if not, why not – it is after all a village asset?

Kind Regards,

Geoff "

 

The reply was as follows:
 

Email from Clerk of Nocton Parish Council dated 6th June 2013

 

"Hi Geoff

 

Thank you for your email of 31 May. Although the Parish Council has received brief reports at its meetings on the work of the VH Working Group from either myself or the PC's two representatives thereon, you are correct in that it has yet to consider the matter formally. Whilst it was hoped that the Working Group would have finished the first part of its work within three months, it has become clear that the issues are potentially more complex - and certainly more time-consuming - than was originally envisaged.

 

In the circumstances, it is intended that a report on progress will be considered at the Special Meeting to be held on 25th June which has been convened to consider the PC's Annual Accounts. I do not yet know what form this report will take as it may depend upon the outcome of discussions at the Working Group's next meeting.
 

Finally, I note that your email was sent to my personal address rather than to that of the Parish Council. May I please ask that you refrain from using this to contact me in the future and to delete it from your address book. I have also copied this email to the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the PC for their information.

Many thanks and kind regards.
Steve"

Parish Council Report

Tuesday 7 May 2013
The Parish Council’s Annual General Meeting preceded its ordinary Meeting this month.

Councillors Kate Tyler and Ian Goldsworthy were unanimously re elected as Chair and Vice Chair respectively of the Parish Council for the coming year.

The Chair reported on the work of the Council over the previous twelve months and it was agreed that, as for last year, a summary of her report and the current year’s budget will be circulated to all households in the village.

TRAFFIC
Due to the serious problems arising from the increase in traffic along Wellhead Lane while the B1202 route through the village is closed, the Parish Council would continue to press the local police for SID (the Speed Indicator Device) to be erected on Wellhead Lane.  If possible, additional and better signage to limit both the size and speed of traffic along this lane whilst the bridge works are in progress would also be requested.

VILLAGE HALL
It is the intention of the Village Hall Management Committee to look at replacing the facial boards on the hall.  Parish Councillors also asked that the Committee consider painting the fascia boards and steel entrance doors in a colour more in keeping with the rest of the village and to replace the fence at the front; both actions would improve the street image of the Village Hall prior to the Best Kept Village judging in July.

VILLAGE ARCHIVE
A new cabinet is to be purchased for the permanent storage of the village archive in the Village Hall.

PARISH PLAN
The Parish Plan prepared by CLAN with the impressive support of Nocton village residents, was formerly adopted.  On behalf of the Council, the Chair expressed her appreciation of the efforts of the CLAN committee and the many participating residents in preparing such an important document.  The Plan would prove invaluable in helping the Parish Council determine future policies to improve the well-being of the village in the coming years.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS
It was decided to not have a meeting in August and to review the need for one in January 2014 at the December Meeting.

BEST KEPT VILLAGE
The application papers have arrived and Nocton has formally been entered in the Best Kept Village 2013.  The first round of judging will take place in July.
        
Date of next meeting: Tuesday, 4 June at 7pm

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow…..and summer hopefully!

Councillor MaryAnn Williams

Open Meeting

Parish Council

Report of the Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 2 April 2013

The main items of interest to be discussed were as follows:

Village Green

The Parish Council was pleased to clarify that it was not intended to alter significantly the layout of the stones around the village green and in response to comments from a local resident, they would probably now be left as they were.  However, subject to the costs not being excessive, it was intended to reproduce three or four of the stones to replace the existing traffic cones opposite the church.  Estimates for this work were now being obtained.

Road Closures

Further information was still being obtained from the County Council on the effect of the road closures and, in particular, the implications for bus services and the need to ensure the safety of pedestrians along Wellhead Lane when the B1202 is closed between 8.00 a.m. Saturday 13 April and 5.00 p.m. Saturday 25 May.  As soon as more information is available it will be posted on the village notice boards and the Parish Council website.

Dog “Poo Bag” Dispenser on The Bridlepath

Residents may have noticed that the Parish Council has now provided a dog “poo bag” dispenser by the Red Bin at the bottom of the Bridlepath near the junction with Main Street.  It is hoped that the provision of “free” bags will be of assistance to those dog owners who have forgotten to bring their own bags with them.  There has been a noticeable improvement in the incidence of dog fouling along this path in recent weeks and it is hoped that this initiative may be helping.  The Village Keeper will be responsible for keeping the dispenser topped up with bags but please contact the Parish Clerk if you notice that it needs replenishing.  The Parish Council will be monitoring the effectiveness of the dispenser over the coming months and if found to be successful and of value it will be replicated in other locations.

Post Box at Nocton Park

Last August, and in response to a request from a resident, the Parish Council met with a representative of Royal Mail to agree the provision of a post box for use by residents of Nocton Park.  It was provisionally agreed that it would be sited at the corner of Woodlands Avenue.  Unfortunately, since that meeting and despite the best efforts of our Parish Clerk, Royal Mail seems unwilling or unable to respond to numerous requests for information as to when the box might be provided.  In an attempt to move things forward, the Parish Clerk has now escalated the matter to Royal Mail’s General Manager and will be attempting to speak with him personally!

CLAN – Publication of the Nocton Parish Plan

The Parish Council was delighted to receive the draft version of the Nocton Parish Plan which had been prepared by CLAN in response to the very successful residents’ survey.  The Parish Council made a number of comments on the document which, it is hoped, will be taken into account by CLAN before the Plan is formally presented to Council for approval and then circulated to all households in the village.

The Parish Council paid tribute to the hard work by the members of CLAN in producing what will be an extremely valuable document and which will help to inform the council’s decision making over the coming years.

There will be an opportunity for residents to discuss the Plan and the issues it has highlighted at the Annual Parish Meeting on 21st May (see separate article).

Trees

The Parish Council considered a number of applications from residents for the felling of trees in the village.  The applications had been referred to the Council by North Kesteven District Council who although responsible for taking the final decision on each request, will take into account the views of the Parish Council.

The Council was happy to support those applications where work was being carried out to improve the appearance of a tree by appropriate pruning, etc or where it was clear that a tree needed to be felled as it represented a danger to property or the public.  There were, however, a number of requests to fell trees where there was no apparent indication as to why the request was being made.  Since trees are such an integral and important part of the village, the Parish Council hoped that the felling of trees would only be carried out as matter of last resort and that wherever possible a suitable replacement would be planted.

Residents are reminded, of course, even if a tree is not subject to a Tree Preservation Order, no tree in the Nocton Conservation Area may be felled or pruned without the prior approval of the District Council.

The Beck

The Parish Council agreed that although properly the responsibility of the District Council, the Village Keeper would now carry out regular checks to ensure that the grating to the Beck by the bungalows in Wellhead Lane was kept free of debris, etc.  The Parish Council expressed its thanks to the resident in Wellhead Lane who had, to date, been doing this work on a voluntary basis.

Grants to Local Organisations

The Parish Council was delighted to be able to agree grants to a number of local groups from the £700 which had been raised from the Book Sale.  Details will be made available publically once applicants have been written to by the Clerk.

Resignation of Councillor

Whilst the Parish Council was disappointed to note the resignation of Councillor Geoff Hall, it agreed to place on record its appreciation of the work he had carried out on behalf of the Parish Council during his time as a councillor.

Next Meeting

Tuesday 7 May 2013 at 7.00pm (Annual General Meeting followed by ordinary monthly meeting)

Councillor Ian Goldsworthy

Youth Group / Craft Club

 

 

I have also been asked to advertise the following for Thursday too:



Forthcoming Events

Sunday 24 February

Representatives from Community Led Action for Nocton will be available in the Village Hall between 2pm and 4pm to give more information on how:

1. to create a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the village
2. to provide a better kept and more sustainable village

PCSO Flannighan and PC Corkin will be also available for help and advice on setting up and running the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. John Fisher (Village Keeper), Michael Cummins (Dog Warden), Ralph Timms and a representative from Dunston Hub will be attending regarding the better kept village aspect. Refreshments will be provided.

Tuesday 26 February

This meeting is to let residents have feedback on our previous entries to the Best Kept Village competition. The scrutineers have given advice for areas of improvement and you may be interested in finding out exactly what we need to concentrate on to become more successful. Please bring any ideas and thoughts you may have too, so that everything can be considered before we set out a plan of work to improve our chances of being placed this year.

Wednesday 20 March

Representatives from Community Led Action for Nocton will be available in the Social Club from 7pm to 9pm for young people to meet, discuss what interests them and perhaps form a club. Refreshments will be provided.

Sunday 2 June

Picnic in the Park - 1pm to 4pm (more details to follow)

Please try and support these initiatives - you are welcome to bring along friends and family too.

Community Led Action for Nocton

Latest News

"Hello to you all.

The work of CLAN is nearing completion.

The final draft of the Community Led Action Plan is being drawn up and will be published and circulated at the end of April. All of this is based upon what the the residents of the parish of Nocton have expressed they wish for the village in which they live. Some of the changes have already happened. Some will take longer and maybe dependent upon the future of Nocton Hall and the Hospital site.

However some changes could be started now and over the weekend you will be receiving an information leaflet about the open meetings planned by Clan.

Please attend if possible to find out how we can start to turn some of our wishes into reality.

This is our plan for our village and will only succeed with support from the people of Nocton.

Kind regards.

Jane Kania"

 

 

200 Club

Winners

This is the result of the draw on Friday evening, 25 January:

1st - John Kania (141)
2nd - Stuart Watson (152)
3rd Victoria Kear (142)

Congratulations to the first winners of 2013.

John Kania (Centre) receiving his prize from David Reay (L) and John Fisher (R)

200 Club

Winners for December

The final draw for 2012 produced the following winners:

1st - 206 - Tom Dawson
2nd - 173 - Kate Tyler
3rd - 195 - Lynn Corrigan

If you've not been successful this year, perhaps your lucky number will be drawn in 2013.

Parish Council

Report of Nocton Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday, 4th December.

Nocton Hall: Outline Development Options:  The December meeting offered rather a different format with the meeting being preceded by a display from NKDC of the preferred option for developing Nocton Hall and the associated former RAF Hospital site.  Residents were able to have a good look at the work carried out by English Heritage on behalf of NKDC, together with the various options and costings that went to the District Council for its consideration.  If you have not had a chance to fill in a feedback form with your views on the future of the Hall, then a copy can be obtained by emailing planning@n-kesteven.gov.uk direct.

CLAN (Community Action Plan for Nocton: The CLAN Chair, Chris Tyler, gave an initial presentation on the important and headline findings which arose from the CLAN survey carried out over the summer.  The information was compiled from the fantastic 73% response rate to the survey – a truly remarkable achievement and evidence as to how involved residents wish to be in framing the future of their village. In a nutshell, the survey demonstrated how important it is to ALL of us that Nocton retains its village and rural feel.  As Nocton Hall and the hospital grounds are such an integral part of this, it was an ideal opportunity to present the survey findings to both residents and the NKDC representatives.

Nocton Hall: An update on the current position regarding the development of the Hall and grounds was given by Karen Bradford (Corporate Director – NKDC). Unfortunately and not unsurprisingly, there is no quick fix to resolving the future of this whole site.  The immediate possibility of NKDC compulsorily purchasing was discounted on financial grounds and it was noted that the best chance of success lay in working with LEDA Properties (the site owners) and other potential developers.  Karen Bradford outlined the steps which NKDC were taking, in consultation with the Parish Council, to help bring this about.

Prior to the start of the formal business of the Parish Council, councillors shared a glass of wine and mince pie with those residents who attended the meeting.

Several issues arose during the course of the meeting which require your help or involvement:

War Memorial: The “lenticular” war memorial that was commissioned to honour the fallen of Nocton cannot be displayed as a permanent feature in our Parish Church.  Suggestions as to where best to site this important memorial are, therefore, being sought.  It does, however, need a power supply and cannot stand out in the open with no protection.  Please let the Parish Clerk know if you have any ideas.

Books: The sale of the books kindly donated to the parish raised in excess of £500.  The money is to be used for the community, so if you or your group wishes to apply for some or all of it please let the Parish Clerk know (please see separate item for further information).

Potholes: Potholes are beginning to appear again in our roads, particularly in Main Street and Wellhead Lane.  If you see any problems then please report the matter direct to Lincolnshire County Council on-line or phone on 01522 552222.

Rubbish Bins: As reported last month, there has been a change of contractor for this service.  If you have experienced, or are continuing to experience, a bad service please let the Parish Clerk or one of your Councillors know as they will happily take the matter up with NKDC on your behalf.

Nocton Village Hall: A working party comprising representatives of the Parish Council, Village Hall Management Committee and Social Club is to be set up in the New Year to consider ways of updating and improving our Village Hall in order that it can continue to meet the needs of the village for the next 30 years.

The Village Hall Management Committee is looking for nominations to serve on the Committee for the coming year prior to its AGM on 30th January 30 2013.  So if you, or anyone you know, might be interested in being a member of this important village committee, please inform Doreen Green, the Secretary.  Additionally, there are still places available on the Social Club’s Management Committee.  Please contact the Chair, Chris Hewitt, for details.

And finally, remember “The beginning is half the action …….”

Date of next meeting: Tuesday, 8th January 2013                                    

Councillor MaryAnn Williams

Nocton Hall

Progress

The public engagement event by North Kesteven District Council (NKDC) in the Village Hall was well attended and very informative. There was a good turnout for the display on Tuesday afternoon and a few more visitors on Wednesday morning. This continues to demonstrate how much local interest there is in finding a solution for the dilapidated Grade 2 Listed building and site, situated at the heart of our village.

To complement the public engagement event, just prior to the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, Dr Chris Tyler from the local community liaison team presented some interesting headline issues arising from a recent village survey. Karen Bradford of North Kesteven followed with a short presentation on their progress with the Nocton Hall site. The meeting was well attended and a more detailed Parish Council report will follow in due course.

What with the expansion of the Conservation Area to incorporate the Hall and pleasure gardens, the immense amount of work in contracting, preparing and publishing of a detailed Options Appraisal, the presentation of the preferred option to the Executive Board of NKDC and ongoing negotiations with the various heritage bodies over funding and with the owners (Leda Properties), things are moving apace. The next major task is to prepare a new development brief for the Nocton Hall site, as the obsolete 1999 version has now been redacted... and of course we need developers who are sympathetic to the site with the necessary funds (and vision) to see this through to a satisfactory conclusion.



North Kesteven District Council information boards

Rescue package for derelict country hall

'A DERELICT manor that was all but destroyed by a major fire could be preserved in a bid being put together by North Kesteven District Council.'

http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/environment/rescue-package-for-derelict-country-hall-1-4358798

Moves to preserve historic hall

'The future of the derelict, fire-ravaged historic Nocton Hall is to be mapped out through a development brief drawn up between the owners, local community and North Kesteven District Council.'

http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/environment/moves-to-preserve-historic-hall-1-4428455

Social Club & 200 Club

Social Club

At the Annual General Meeting on Thursday 22 November, there were not enough candidates to form a full Committee.

Please see the enclosed notification of an Extraordinary Meeting due to be held on 10 January 2013 at 8.00pm - there are still six vacancies to be filled on the Committee (Treasurer and five Committee members). Nominations will close at 11.00pm, 21 December 2012.

200 Club

Congratulations to all the November 200 Club winners
1st (156) Ann Jones
2nd (204) Ionna Platt-Mills
3rd (151) Robin Camargo

4 Christmas bonus prize winners
(121) Sheila Redshaw
(145) Jane Kania
(155) Michael Williams
(163) David Reay

CLAN

Nocton's Community Led Plan

Come and hear about the community plan at the next Parish Council meeting on 4th December - and join in the discussion too.

Going for Gold

Community Led Action for Nocton

The Big Lottery has awarded us a grant of £1,100 to support community engagement in planning ahead for Nocton's future.

You can read more about 'Going for Gold' in the news update.

Extremely well done to our Community Led Action team for being successful with the bid.

200 Club

Draw - Friday 31st August

The winners were:

1st (No 136): Pat Hughes
2nd (No 175): Joan and Philip Franklin
3rd (No 157): Susan Taylor

Congratulations one and all.

200 Club

July 2012 Winners

The draw took place in the Nocton Social Club on 27 July 2012.

1st (162) Jo Green £65
2nd(192) Sue Morris £25
3rd (170) Bernard Hunter £10

Congratulations.
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200 Club News and Update

200 Club

Hello to all our Members

The fifth Nocton 200 Club draw takes place this week on
Friday 25th May at Nocton Club, Main Street at a new time of 8.15 for 8.30pm.

We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

From 1st June 2012, we will have available Nocton 200 Club 6 month memberships
(running from July – December inc).

We will also be holding our AGM on Wednesday 6th June, 7pm at the Village Hall.  Everyone is welcome to attend – if you’re curious about the work of CLAN or indeed wish to be further involved, then please come along.  The details for both of these things are on our website www.clanocton.co.uk

Good luck everyone!

Bench and Noticeboard

The old dilapidated bench that used to be situated at the Main Street bus stop has been refurbished and relocated to The Green... to be enjoyed by all.

Elizabeth R. Coronation 1953

There is also a new notice board for Nocton Parish Council which will be in full use shortly.

Forthcoming Events

The fourth Nocton 200 Club draw takes place tonight Friday 27th April at Nocton Club, Main Street from 8.00pm.

We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

Good luck everyone!



200 Club

Elsie Horton - Winner

The following text was gratefully received for publication from Jilly Burr:

"The Nocton 200 Club's third draw took place at Nocton Club on Friday 30th March. Drawn by Jim Eagle, last month's 1st prize winner.

CLAN was joined by many 200 Club members this month, to make the draw evening a great success yet again! Thank you for coming along if you did.

The winners this time were ....
1st 125 Mrs E Horton £65
2nd 118 Dr and Mrs Travers £25
3rd 188 Mr D Browne £10

Picture is David Reay presenting Mrs Horton with her 1st prize of £65 in cash
______________________________________

200 Club

Nocton 200 Club's news

I have received an email dated 25th March at 22:07hrs and think it sufficiently important to publish it via this blog:

"Hello to all our members.

Firstly we have been made aware that an incorrect date was published for this month's draw. This was not submitted by CLAN. Please be assured that the Nocton 200 Club draws take place on the LAST Friday of each month, unless you are notified otherwise via this monthly email.

So with this in mind, the third Nocton 200 Club draw takes place this week on Friday 30th March at Nocton Club, Main Street at 8.00pm.

We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

Good luck everyone!"
_____________________________________