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Annual Parish Meeting 2024 Minutes

Minutes of Stoodleigh  Annual  Parish Meeting held on 29th May 2024, in the Parish Hall at 7.00pm.

 

Members present -: Chairman Cllr W Knowles  Cllr J Mansfield  Cllr G Parkman  Cllr C Payne

  1. Apologies for absence – these were received from Cllrs S Davey, J Widdowson and D Wotton

District Cllrs RC Adcock and R Gilmour also Shirley Cope

  1. Declarations of Interest – none declared
  2. The Public – there were 13 members present
  3. Minutes of the Meeting held May 31st2023 – these were approved and signed as a true record
  4. Chairman’s report – the summary of the last 12 months was given by Cllr W Knowles
  5. Reports

Cricket Club – there was no representative present and no written report had been received

Parish Hall – Linda Brice presented a report on behalf of the Chairman, Dick Sibley. Report attached

Garden Club – in absence of Shirley Cope the Chairman read out her forwarded report, copy attached

SWAP Box – after last year’s success with the exchange of a wide variety of items, not just produce, it is intended to reopen the facility again later this year

St Margaret’s Church - Penny Norman presented the report, copy attached. Yvonne Lang then explained the financial side of the costs involved. The annual running cost is approximately £9,000 and this is serviced by bequests and by fund raising events. The Common Fund  is a different entity which was temporarily suspended during Covid.  This annual figure fluctuates but this is where the clergy are paid from.

The Website – Geraldine Talbot presented the report along with an indication of the number of users of the different sections, copy attached.

The Stoodleigh Inn – Lizzie Issacs represented the trustees. The Inn is very reliant on local support and seems to attract a diverse age range of customers. She is always receptive of any suggestions to utilise or improve the facilities.  The music events have been particularly successful and Lizzie wished to thank the immediate neighbours for their tolerance. The electrical work has been finished and the next item to be addressed is maintenance work on the front of the building.

  1. Open Forum

The portrait of King Charles 3rd was shown to the assembly. The committee room seemed the most suitable place in which to hang it.

The Parish Plan is very much out of date and Cllr Mansfield raised the subject of an update. The results of such a plan contribute to the Neighbourhood Plan which covers Mid Devon and provides a framework for the next 20 years, covering housing, transport, leisure facilities and many aspects of daily living. The existing plan is available on the website. To encourage opinion and carry this idea forward a working group is needed to initially design an open questionnaire to determine what the residents consider most important and desirable in the future and then to analyse the results.  

The 100 club was promoted by Geraldine as both a bit of fun and a way of raising money.

Lizzie suggested, following recent events that perhaps there should be a second defibrillator at the other end of the village, possibly purchased through fund raising activities.

There is no Dog Show this year but this could return in 2025 if there are enough willing helpers and probably a new venue. This event does involve considerable work and although possible inclusion of the parish council this should not be their sole responsibility. After SWAG closed there was some money left over which could potentially be used towards a village fun day and perhaps incorporating the dog show.

The Chairman commented that members of the parish council already carried out work within the community which was not always fully recognised and that it was up to others to become actively involved, examples given were refilling of the grit boxes, snow clearance, removal of fallen trees restricting public access.

It was suggested that a community email was the most appropriate way of making parishioners aware of both ideas for the future, the Fun Day/Dog Show and the Parish Plan. Slightly different input necessary for each task but both involve considerable time and effort. Any comments or volunteers please respond to the Clerk.