30/10/2024 – Thornby Parish Meeting minutes

Thornby Parish Meeting

Date: 30th October 2024
Time: 19:30
Location: Village Hall
Attendees:

Peter Moyes (Chair)	G Goodladd
P Gates (Treasurer)	R Carr
A Pallister (Minute taker)	Liyu Jin
M Burdett
J Sherlock
R Sherlock
M Kingston
A Bennett
G Bennett

Apologies:

Apologies:	Guest attendees:
Miss Barlow	C Irving-Swift WNC
Lucy Owens
Kevin Parker WNC
Jonathan Harris WNC
Bernie Brooks

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1. Welcome and Apologies

The chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everyone, noting the apologies received. 

2. Minutes of the prior meeting 10th June 2024

The Chair summarised key points discussed at the prior meeting; there were no questions and PM asked if  attendees agreed these were a true and accurate record. J Sherlock proposed the minutes be approved and  this was seconded by G Bennett. 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 explained that the new solar SIDs had been purchased and paid for; all other expenses are paid up to date  and the bank account balance is currently standing at £5,620.39. PM recorded thanks on behalf of the  meeting to PG, for all his work as treasurer on behalf of the village. 

5. Traffic Working Party

PM updated on behalf of Lucy Owens. The new solar SIDs are currently in storage until the installation can be  arranged. There has been some consideration as to where they should be sited, these SIDs are not moveable  once installed. The most appropriate place on the south side of the village is the triangle near Thornby House,  with the second on the north side of the village. The two existing SIDs may then be moved about as required.

A representative of Keir has visited Thornby to assess what is required to install them; they will send a report  to PM detailing what is needed. A quote is due and an installation will then be agreed. There has been some  delay in obtaining this information and PM has chased for progress and contacted three different people to try  and obtain the required details. 

These SIDs require a larger diameter pole to support the solar panel on the top and the poles must be installed  by an approved contractor. The quote received for two poles to be installed is £1576.45, including materials.  There was some discussion about the cost and whether cheaper alternatives could be found. Cllr Irving-Swift  confirmed that all contractors approved to carry out work for the Council must go through a rigorous process.  PM advised there is a lead time of 4-6 weeks, from acceptance of the quote. Following a discussion about the  costs and whether others should be sought, PM asked if the meeting would agree to spend the proposed  amount. A number of attendees felt that it would be better to go ahead and get the signs installed and  working as they have been in storage for several months and need to be in place and helping with the  speeding issues the village faces. PM asked for a vote on the proposal to accept the quote of £1576.45; there  was a show of hands, with nine in favour, and one abstention.  

The proposal to accept the quotation of £1576.45 was agreed. 

The Dragon’s teeth road markings due to be installed at the south side of the village are still not in place and  this is being chased to ensure the installation is completed. 

The original battery operated SIDs were under warranty and this is about to expire. There is an opportunity to  renew the warranty for £200 per unit per year; this is considered too expensive, so has been declined and the  two units are now out of warranty. 

PM thanked everyone who help to change the batteries, as this is undertaken weekly. It was noted that the solar SIDs take similar batteries to the existing SIDs, should the solar panel fail. 

6. 59/60 Bus Service

Thornby has paid the village share as agreed. It was noted that there are currently no printed timetables. Cllr  Irving-Swift explained there is a bigger piece of work between now and March 2025, looking at greater  connectivity for bus routes, as well as looking at all possibilities regarding the routes.  

7. Village WhatsApp group

Russell Carr provided an update on this initiative. It is a good secure way of communicating useful information  to help residents and provide awareness of village and local matters. Cllr Irving-Swift agreed this is a very  immediate way of notifying residents about matters affecting them and her home village, Arthingworth find it very useful and to date nobody has abused the system.  

RC gave an example of how this may be used and how useful it can be; recently there was a road closure that  had not been advertised and a number of people had been affected by it. The WhatsApp group could be used  to notify things like this. 

GG raised concerns about WhatsApp and data security. RC acknowledged that all apps carry a degree of risk  but WhatsApp uses end to end encryption, meaning that messages can only be read by the sender and  recipient(s), which is a key reason to select WhatsApp over other similar apps; as well as the fact that many  people use it already. However, it is for individuals to choose if they wish to use it or not. 

Cllr Irving-Swift added that WhatsApp can be kept smaller and more specific to village matters, unlike  Facebook which has so many more people. AP raised a point about Facebook in Thornby, there are a  significant number of people who do not live in or near Thornby and there is a lot of commercial activity and  advertising on the page. It is hoped the WhatsApp group will be managed differently and remain a closed  village group and just for the communication of messages relevant to residents. Cllr Irving-Swift agreed, many  village sites have Facebook pages that contain a lot of irrelevant information and advertising.

Several people agreed that WhatsApp was a good idea, as long as it was properly managed and didn’t become  like the village Facebook page. 

PM reminded everyone about the village website where information is also posted for residents to view. Cllr  Irving-Swift complimented the Thornby site for its ease of use. 

8. Correspondence

PM drew attention to recent correspondence received, which included a letter from the new Member of  Parliament, Stuart Andrew, who has said he is intending to support villages in his constituency and to attend  meetings where possible. 

Homestart has written asking for volunteers and donations. 

Northamptonshire Talking Update: the police have alerted about a Mercedes car that has been seen around  the county and is possibly linked to thefts around farms and the general area and asked anyone who might see  a silver Mercedes that looks suspicious, to report it.  

Bernie Brooks has written to express thanks to all villagers who helped make the village look so attractive for  her daughter’s wedding in the summer. 

There is going to be proposed devolution throughout the South Midlands, including Milton Keynes, Bedford  and Luton. Cllr Irving-Swift advised that the Government wants devolution but it has been very rushed; the  Council has looked at where there are shared interests and doesn’t want to go with the North; this issue is not  imminent but is for awareness. There will eventually be a consultation. JS asked if there would be a vote, or  mini referendum. The Councillor was not sure at this stage if this would go to a vote. The meeting generally  felt that this would be a terrible proposal and not of any benefit to rural areas. 

PM referenced new signage that has been produced by the Council regarding littering and read out the  wording, which was thought to be ironic given the complaints received about the wording used on the SIDs. 

There was some discussion about the wording to use on the SIDs and it was felt that it was more appropriate  to praise the positive as people notice these words. 

PM advised that a new civic protocol has been launched by the Lord Lieutenant, and read out the aims of the  protocol, listing the priorities in order. 

A new fire safety circular is available if anyone is interested to view it. 

PM has, on behalf of the village, requested a copy of the Daventry District Plan. This is now held at the council  offices in Towcester and needs to be collected. AP advised she can arrange for it to be collected to save PM  making a special journey. 

There is now an integrated care board, bringing people together that support the local community. This is a  community forum that anyone can join. 

PM provided a brief update on the Police and Fire Commission. 

There is to be a consultation on social prescribing, which is looking at ways of improving peoples’ well being  without the need to prescribe medication. PM will complete this on behalf of the village. 

AP suggested that it would be appropriate to include the negative effect the road noise has on residents,  particularly since the re-surfacing of the A5199, which did not use noise reducing tarmac, which had been in  place previously. In addition the sheer volume of traffic and heavy goods vehicles through the village  compound the issue. The increased noise certainly affects peoples’ ability to sleep which is detrimental to well  being.

9. Any Other Business

Ann Bennett advised she has three points to raise: 

i) Fixed Speed Cameras – AB asked if the Council is going to reintroduce these? Cllr Irving-Swift  advised that decisions about speed cameras is a police matter, and advised AB to write to the  Police Commissioner. 

ii) A road sign has been installed at the new road between the Windhover pub and Chapel  Brampton golf club directing traffic to the M1, along the A5199. This new sign is causing  some confusion and directing traffic through the villages.  

There was some discussion about this, as the road had been de-classified some years ago and this has not  helped in terms of traffic volume. The councillor asked if it would be possible to take a photograph of the sign  in question and send to her; AB agreed to do this. Cllr Irving- Swift advised that if all the villages along the  A5199 collaborated to write a letter, and in addition, created a petition, this is likely to get more traction and  would help support the objective. 

JS added that many years ago when the A14 was built, the village had been given the option to downgrade the  road (which was the A50) to a B road, but unfortunately the decision made was to retain an A road which has  since proved to be the wrong decision because it is harder to implement traffic calming measures. 

iii) AB asked if the village seat has been secured with new bolts to prevent it from being stolen.  PM confirmed that this has been done. 

PM advised that the Community Responder team who delivered the training on the defibrillator will be coming  back to Thornby to run a training session on how to use the new Bleed Kit and whilst this course will be  focussed on how to help stop a serious bleed, they may have time to do a quick refresher on the defibrillator.  

At the moment a date is being sought, with Tuesdays as the preferred day and it is possible that the training  will be undertaken during half term week in February 2025. 

There being no other business submitted the meeting closed at 8.50pm.