Annual Parish Meeting 2008
Littlethorpe Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Thursday 29th May 2008 at 7.30pm
Location: Littlethorpe Village Hall
Present:
Roly Curtis (Chair)
John Edmonstone
Chris Laker
Chris Winterburn
Emma Charlesworth (Clerk)
25 parishioners
1) Apologies
Mo Fleming & Iris Alderson
2) Adoption of Minutes from last Meeting - 23rd May 2006
It was agreed that the minutes from the previous years APM were accurate and the minutes were formally adopted by the Parish Council, proposed by John Little and seconded by Johnny Wardle.
3) Chairman's Address
Roly Curtis, Parish Council Chairman welcomed all new Parish Councilors and parish clerk.
It was announced, as agreed at last years APM, that a new and more relaxed format would be adopted for all future meetings. This will ensure that parishioners get the opportunity to discuss any relevant affairs that affect the village and the surrounding areas and foster greater involvement.
4) Presentation by the Primary Care Trust (PCT)
Brigadier Johnny Wardle gave a talk on the work of the PCT, explaining what action the trust is taking to overcome to reduce the deficit, which they inherited.
He explained that the PCT is responsible for taking the funds from government for the 780,000 population, giving them around £1,300 per head, Examples of a straight forward child birth costing between £2,000-£3,000, a hip operation in the region of £10,000 and for anyone unfortunate enough to suffer with severe disabilities a figure of £150,000 would be the average cost that the PCT would face. Even tourists coming into the area are the responsibility of the Trust, making the task of distributing funds fairly throughout the largest county with 8 parliamentary constituencies, extremely difficult.
Brigadier Wardle concluded the talk by explaining that the PCT need to concentrate on keeping people healthy rather than healing them once ill.
5) Presentation by the Parish Plan Committee
Richard Sutcliffe and Alison Bishop presented an update on the Parish Plan. They talked about the recent questionnaire that was distributed throughout Littlethorpe and stated that the information gathered from the questionnaire would be pooled and presented to the village along with the full Parish Plan which is almost ready to go to print, they hope to get this out to all parishioners by the end of June.
The committee advised that the Ripon Archeological Society has shown an interest in the village and that they hope to produce a booklet on the village.
It was announced that it is the wish of the Parish Plan Committee that the Parish Council adopt the plan, to ensure it is pushed forward. The committee is also hoping for volunteers from the village to offer assistance in taking the plan forward.
6) Presentation by other village groups
Christin Thackray spoke about St Michael’s Church, giving an overview on Church affairs, she described the Church as very friendly and welcoming and spoke of how everyone linked to the Church all work so well together. She talked about the renovation that the Church has undergone due to its 5year inspection, which was passed with flying colours.
St Michael’s is now offering country wedding packages in the hope that this will bring in extra funds needed to offer as a contribution to the Ripon/Leeds diocese to enable the church to stay independent. Richard Tite was thanked for the wonderful job he has made designing the Garden of Rest and an announcement was made regarding a forthcoming recital at the church.
Christine Winterburn gave an update on the Entertainment Committee. She spoke of the importance of the Village Hall and commented on how great the hall is now looking after its much needed improvements. Forthcoming events were discussed including the summer hog roast and family day being held at the Village Hall on 16th July, which will conclude in a 60’s disco in the evening. She did point out that tickets were limited and advised for everyone to book early to avoid disappointment! Chris also whet our appetites with the promise of the best event to date, the details of the event are being kept a secret for now, all we know is that it’s due to be held at the village hall on 27th September.
District Councillor Ian Galloway of Harrogate Borough Council and County Councillor Heather Garnett of North Yorkshire County Council both said a few words, giving a brief description of their responsibilities as councilors.
Cllr Galloway requested a future opportunity to present to the Parish Council regarding funding for Harrogate District Transport. He advised that the Ripon Independent Traders Association are holding events on 5th & 6th July and 22nd August and subsequently all parking charges would be suspended in Ripon on these dates. The possibility of the reopening of the railway line through Littlethorpe was discussed and Cllr Galloway confirmed that it was highly unlikely that anything would be happening on the issue, certainly not within the next 25 years.
Cllr Garnett offered the possibility of funding for the village, and requested anyone with ideas to contact her to discuss further.
A lively discussion took place regarding the temporary road diversions within Ripon and the impact this is having on local businesses and traffic flow. The issue was discussed between councilors and parishioners at length, however no conclusion was made. Both councilors offered assurance that the project was being well handled and monitored.
Georgina Bullman, President of Littlethorpe WI gave an account of the past year in the WI, including involvement in important local issues and fun trips out, she spoke of what the WI stands for and finished by offering their assistance in helping to resolve the current issues within Ripon.
The final speaker was acting Vice Commodore Slater of the Ripon Motor Boat Club, he gave an update on the club commenting on how popular the club is despite the rising DEFRA/British Waterways costs and of course the rising cost of fuel, they also faced various restrictions due to the past years record breaking bad weather. He spoke of the respect all members wish to show towards the village and its residents and hoped that this was the case.
7) Questions from the floor
It was agreed that as questions had been asked throughout the various presentations that no more question time was necessary. Thanks were made to both Mo Fleming for her hard work on the village website and also to Liz Tite for her sterling if work on ‘Roundabout’ the village magazine.
The meeting closed at 9.40pm.