10/06/2024 – Thornby Parish Meeting minutes
Thornby Parish Meeting
Date: 10th June 2024
Time: 19:30
Location: Village Hall
Attendees:
| Peter Moyes (Chair) | P Straiton |
| P Gates (Treasurer) | S Straiton |
| A Pallister (Minute taker) | A Bennett |
| M Hall | G Bennett |
| J Sherlock | G Goodladd |
| R Sherlock | R Carr |
| M Kingston | B Brooks |
| L Owens | Amanda Day |
| J Norris | Andy Day |
Apologies:
| Apologies: | Guest attendees: |
| Miss Barlow | Kevin Parker WNC |
| C Irving-Swift WNC | Jonathan Harris WNC |
| Liyu Jin | |
| R Musson | |
| J Musson | |
| M Burdett | |
1. Welcome and Apologies
The chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everyone, noting the apologies received.
2. Minutes of the prior meeting 15th January 2024
The Chair summarised key points discussed at the prior meeting and asked if attendees agreed these were a true and accurate record. Ann Bennett proposed the minutes be approved and this was seconded by Amanda Day. PM duly signed the minutes and these will be posted on the village website and placed on the notice board.
3. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising that are not already on the agenda for discussion.
4. Finance
PG advised that he will cover financial matters in detail at the AGM following this meeting. PG added that the money from the Police Commissioner grant has been received into the Parish bank account.
5. Traffic Working Party
LO reported that almost all agreed works have been carried out by the Council; the 30mph signs have been moved further out. A grant of £2500 has been received to go towards the purchase of two additional SIDs and it has been proposed that two solar devices will be purchased to avoid the need to more battery management. It is also proposed that the two solar powered SIDs in the village will be fixed and two battery powered SIDs will be moved around periodically.
Analysis of the speeding continues and it was noted that the wording that we were using on the signs, warning drivers, had been changed back to the original wording following a complaint from WNC Highways/Kier. Our choice of words was apparently inappropriate for the public highway! It was noted that vehicle speed from the north is excessive and there was some discussion around wording on the signs and if that makes a difference.
(19.40 R Carr joined the meeting).
The dragon’s teeth road markings are now in place, at the north end of the village. They are designed to give the illusion that the road is narrowing to slow vehicles down. It was noted that these had been agreed to be installed at the South end of the village as well and PM will contact WNC Highways to ensure that they are done.
RC suggested it would be helpful to measure the speeds from the Guilsborough end of the village with the SID at a different angle to make sure speeds are being correctly registered.
PM asked if the proposal to use the grant money of £2500 to purchase additional SIDs is approved and asked for a show of hands; the proposal was approved. PM recorded thanks to the traffic working party and those who help with battery changes and related tasks.
6. 59/60 Bus Service
Brixworth Parish Council now deals with the administration of the village contributions to this service and Thornby will be asked for the agreed contribution in due course. Cold Ashby has elected to go back into the group and will begin contributing to this service again. Councillor Harris reported that Stagecoach will now be taking a slightly different route, to avoid reversing on the corner in Cold Ashby and will instead do a loop using Stanford road, this will only add a short distance to the route. The focus now is on getting timetables out and promoting the service to increase the number of users.
7. Village WhatsApp group
Thornby now has a village website which is being used and this will evolve as things are added. Additional content is being considered and PM invited people to suggest what might be added or to submit items for inclusion. The website address is: www.thornby.org.uk.
PM explained that there had been some discussion previously, about potentially creating a WhatsApp group for the village and asked everyone to consider if this would be useful and is required. RC commented that there is a community app called Nextdoor but that has had problems with spamming and other issues and Whats App is more secure.
If there was a Whats App group set up, it would need an administrator and there would be a set of criteria agreed as to how it should be used; for instance like a neighbourhood watch to report anything villagers should be aware of etc. It was agreed that this would be a useful thing to have as long as it was used properly and for a specific purpose.
PM asked everyone to have a think about it and revert to him with any suggestion or to volunteer to be the administrator, should it go ahead.
8. WNC Open Space Assessment Consultation
The Parish has been asked to respond to a stakeholder consultation on use of, and demand for, open space in the area. Open space includes things like country parks, allotments, churchyards. There are 12 pages of questions in the survey and people may respond individually in their own right, as well as the Parish responding collectively. PM invited views from the Parish residents about the response and invited people to contact him directly.
Councillor Parker advised registering and listing the open space that currently exists in the village, which would be the Churchyard. Whilst discussing the Churchyard, AB asked for volunteers to help maintain it and look after it, as the more that can assist the better.
PM took an action to list the Churchyard as green space.
BB noted that the parking charges at Brixworth Country Park have been increased. LO pointed out that Councils need to work together to avoid people requiring different types of parking permits at parks around the County.
Councillor Parker gave a summary about Brixworth ward and his involvement and responsibilities. Finance takes up the majority of his time. This is the third year in succession that the Council has achieved budget. There have been demand led pressures on child services and adult social care. The budget for 2024/2025 is £419million but it will be a struggle to fulfil everything the Council needs to do because of the requirements on adult social care and child services. The meeting was advised that this year, there has been an overspend of £31million for the Northamptonshire area, just on child services.
AP asked how the over spend had occurred, was it poor management and administration, cost rises or increased demand with more children moving to the area requiring support? Councillor Parker explained that these services are outsourced to a Trust run by private organisations who set the costs and the Council has to pay for these services. Councillor Harris added that the pressures in this area are huge and increasing financially.
AP suggested that greater oversight was required by the Council to ensure the organisations being paid to provide these services are properly managed and not making excessive charges, as this is public money.
9. Correspondence
PM advised that South Northants Volunteer Bureau have supplied figures about helping in rural communities, through community connect. This information will be added to the website.
NAB have moved premises from Kingsthorpe to Moulton and sent out updated information. Village events – there is a BBQ at the Manor House on Sunday 16th of June in aid of the Village Hall.
The Red Lion has made the decision not to hold the annual Beer Festival this year but will instead be holding a series of smaller events throughout the year.
BB advised that her daughter Cara is getting married at Thornby Church on 29th of June and there will be more vehicles in the village for that occasion.
10. Any Other Business
PM raised the issue of the burglary at the Buddhist Centre recently; two men accessed the first floor residents’ rooms and carried out a theft of cash and credit cards. Amanda Day reported that the Police have been extremely helpful and are pursuing the matter.
AB recorded thanks on behalf of the village to Amy Carr, for checking the defibrillator on a weekly basis. There being no other business submitted, the meeting closed at 8.30pm.
59/60 minutes parish meeting road markings speed signs traffic WhatsApp WNC Highways WNC Open Space