MINUTES OF THE PARISH PLAN ACTION GROUP HELD AT 7PM ON 16 JULY 2009 AT WEAVERTHORPE VILLAGE HALL
Present: Andy Macdonald (Chair), Julie Mason, Meg Medley, Marie Darby, David Armstrong, Caroline Bradshaw, Ollie Bradshaw
1. Welcome
Andy Macdonald welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. Apologies
Jenny Clarke, Martha Kember, Deborah Richardson, and Alan and Audrey Corbett. Karen Beresford has resigned from the group; in her absence Andy Macdonald thanked her for her contribution.
3. Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the last meeting had been circulated and were approved.
4. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
5. Progress reports on Projects
- Valley Website – Andy Macdonald read an update from Rachel Macdonald. A new events calendar has been launched and the Picture Gallery is increasing, with photos of Weaverthorpe Open Gardens & Luttons Flower Festival being added. The children from Luttons CP School were working on developing the junior section. It was noted that The Parish Councils needed to routinely forward the minutes of their meetings for inclusion on the website.
- Dog Mess Bins – Marie Darby updated us on the 2 remaining bins which were still to be put in place. It was agreed that one would be placed in the lane in East Lutton. Residents in Sheepwalk Lane had expressed concern about dogs fouling the area in front of their houses and it was discussed whether it would be appropriate to put a second bin further up the lane. After some discussion it was decided that the current bin at the bottom of the lane was sufficient and the remaining bin should be kept in reserve.
- Speed limits & traffic calming – Andy Macdonald had received an email from Ron Haigh to confirm that the funding bid for measures to lower traffic speeds in Helperthorpe & East Lutton had gone forward to the next round of the Malton & Norton District Strategy.
- Information & Notice Boards – Caroline Bradshaw presented a proposal based on feedback from the previous meeting to provide two large freestanding, double sided signs to be positioned on the areas of green in front of the pubs in West Lutton & Weaverthorpe and a wall mounted sign to be positioned (with permission) in the location of the existing Notice Board in Helperthorpe.
Location – further investigation regarding ownership of the land and planning would be needed & Caroline would approach Ryedale DC Planning Department regarding this.
Size – Information Boards would have to be sufficient for the amount of information & Notice Boards would have to be compatible with A4 and large enough to hold at least 10 A4 posters.
Materials – Caroline showed examples of signs made from a variety of materials including wood, cast iron & recycled plastic. Wood was considered to be too flimsy and requiring too much maintenance, cast iron was more suited to urban areas and recycled plastic was considered both suitable for rural areas and 100% maintenance free. Caroline agreed to investigate further companies manufacturing recycled plastic signs. Andy also mentioned that we should look into the possibility of having a polycarbonate front on the notice boards as glass was proving to be too susceptible to wind damage.
Content of Information Boards/ Costs & Funding – Andy Macdonald proposed applying for LEADER funding to commission specialists to undertake research into the geology & archeology, and heritage of the local area to provide material for the Information Boards.
Content of notice boards – It was agreed that the notice boards should remain as open access, but with someone responsible in each village to ensure that the content was reviewed on a regular basis and out of date items removed.
Wildlife Initiative – Andy Macdonald read a note from Martha Kember to say that the Second Edition of her ‘What’s in Your Garden?’ series had been published in and some photos of butterflies in Weaverthorpe posted on the website. The 3rd edition was on track for publication in October.
6. Recent Events
Andy Macdonald reported on the recent Conference on The Gypsey Race, which had been well attended and well received. Copies of the information presented by speakers are available from Andy. Natural England had expressed an interest in offering further access to information and further help.
Andy Macdonald talked about the stand he had presented at Luttons Flower Festival for The Parish Plan Action Group and showed pictures of his display.
7. Possible Additional Projects
Grass overgrowth on paths – Deborah Richardson has organized a Footpath Clearance Day in West Lutton on Saturday 25th July 10am outside St Mary’s Church with the aim of clearing the footpath on the Wintringham Road loop. Depending on the success of the day Andy Macdonald proposed contacting the Community Services team to continue the footpath clearance work between the villages. This was approved.
LEADER Bid – Andy Macdonald advocated putting in an ‘expression of interest’ for LEADER funding and proposed working with Carline Bradshaw to put together a bid for funding which would initially help with the Information Boards project and perhaps lead to further funding for other projects in the future.
8. Accounts
Following recent expenses of just under £200 incurred in organizing the Gypsey Race Conference and producing material for the stand at the Flower Festival the original fund from Rural Action Yorkshire for the Parish Plan now stands at approximately £2000. Andy Macdonald proposed contacting Maggie Farey to confirm the availability of these funds to the Parish Plan Action Group and what these funds could be used for.
9. Any Other Business
Marie Darby raised the issue of contacting people who had originally expressed an interest in helping the group. Andy proposed sending out a round robin email to Luttons residents regarding the path clearance.
Andy Macdonald had arranged a meeting with Chris Simms a LEADER consultant who is investigating waterways in the area and had expressed an interest in The Gypsey Race.
Jane Crossley a resident of Rudston and an active member of her local community had given Andy Macdonald some advice on organizations in the East Riding who are active in the Wolds area including ‘Bridlington Renaissance’ a project in Bridlington of which one aspect is the Gypsy Race.
Andy Macdonald had also arranged a meeting with Pauline Reeve of the Wolds Action Group to find out more about the work of their group.
Andy Macdonald also read out an invitation from the makers of a BBC television programme ‘Village SOS’ who were looking for villages to take part in a new documentary to develop rural businesses, but it was decided that this would not be an appropriate route to take.
10. Date of Next Meeting
This will take place on Thursday 17th September at 7pm at Weaverthorpe village Hall if available or alternatively in the annex at Holly House, West Lutton.
The meeting closed at 8.50pm
Recent Comments