Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting
held on Thursday 13 May 2021in
Bayford Mission Hall at 7.00 pm
Present: Mrs N Linsley, Mrs J Garrett, Mrs A Diggle Perry, Mrs Laura Rose-Walker, Mr M Grant, Mr R Webb-Bowen
Clerk in attendance: Mrs P Gillman
Public: 3 members of the public.
1. Apologies for Absence
C/Councillor A Groskop and D/Councillor R Bastable
2. Minutes of the last meeting.
There were no Annual Parish Meeting minutes in 2020 due to Covid 19 restrictions.
3.Matters Arising from the Minutes
There were no matters to report.
4. Chairman’s Report
Stoke Trister with Bayford Parish Council Chairman’s Report 2019 – 2021
The current Chairman was appointed in May 2019 as the previous incumbent retired after many years of dedicated service to the Parish. We wish him well for the future.
A new panel of Councillors were appointed including a new Vice Chairman as the previous appointee also retired. Since then, there have been movement in and out as Councillors resigned and new ones joined. We thank those who have left the Council for their hard work and welcome the new members.
Details of the new panel (updated in May 2021) can be obtained from the Parish Clerk.
Whilst the current Chairman has found the role challenging mainly due to the massive learning experience of Local Government, we believe the Parish Council has achieved some beneficial projects.
These are:
Road Traffic Speeding reduction through Bayford & Riding Gate
Following discussion and advice from Highways England it was decided the best way to try and achieve this would be to install Gateway Signs and each end of Bayford and Riding Gate bearing in mind the latter is in a National Speed Limit of 60mph area. Unfortunately, one Gateway has been installed in a different position to what we would have liked. We are in the process of getting Highways to move it to an appropriate location.
Whether these Gateways actually reduce speeding motorists is unclear but feedback from residents has been that they give Bayford & Riding Gate identity.
We thank the councillors who had input into moving this forward although they are not in the Council anymore.
Defibrillator
A Defibrillator has been installed in the Telephone Box outside the Unicorn Inn in Bayford. This was after many years of discussion about the necessity for one. We have ‘Guardians’ monitoring the integrity and functionality of the device. We need ‘First Responders’ for the area and if anyone is interested, please contact Councillor Jo Garrett via email. Full training is available.
We thank Councillor Garrett for her dedicated work in getting this project to fruition.
Planning has been challenging during this time, but the Council perseveres.
Unfortunately, early in 2020 Covid 19 pandemic hit which put a lot of pressure on getting any more projects started.
We were hoping to have the Annual Parish Meeting in 2020 in a slightly more dynamic way, but this had to be cancelled.
All our meetings have had to be via Zoom which was challenging in its own way.
Crime
According to PCSO Tim Russell, crime levels are low to nil. Rural crimes and opportunistic burglaries are the most common. As always, he and his team urge all residents to be vigilante and report any suspicious behaviour to him or via the online Incident Reporting system.
Finances
At present, the Parish Council’s financial status is comfortable. The Council urges anyone who may have suggestions to improve the Parish life and experience, to contact the Parish Clerk or one of the Councillors, to be considered.
Good News!
We can now conduct face-to-face meetings observing the current Covid Rules. This was a short notice change made by the District Council. We look forward to July when all restrictions will be lifted hopefully.
We thank the Bayford Mission Hall Society for maintaining the Village Hall during these challenging times and making it available for everyone to use whilst ensuring Covid 19 rules are observed.
Thank you to all the residents, especially Reverend Rosie Ashley, for organising various events, and looking after each other during these very difficult times whilst observing the Pandemic rules.
I thank the Parish Councillors, District and County Councillors for their unwavering support during the pandemic.
Let us put our best foot forward and look forward to better times!
Niru Linsley
Chairman
5. PSCO Tim Russell’s Report .
Report passed to all to read.
6. Neighbourhood Watch Report
There was no attendance from Andy Chesterman or Peter Munro – therefore no reports on the Neighbourhood Watch in the villages.
7. Public Question Forum
One member of the public suggested that a flashing 30mph sign would be more effective in slowing down the traffic in Bayford. He also asked what happened to the Unicorn Inn. The Chairman explained and said that it is now registered on the Assets of the Community Register.
8. Date of next meeting
To be advised
There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 7.35pm.
Chairman………………………………………………………….Date………………………………….