Notes of the remote Annual Parish Meeting
held on Thursday 5 May at 7:00 pm
PRESENT
Cllr S Godly (Chair), Cllr B Batty, Cllr D Cockram, Cllr J Flavin,
IN ATTENDANCE
Parish Clerk: Rob Martin
Cllr C Eginton (Mid Devon District Council)
Members of the public:
| 1. NOTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON 9 MAY 2019 | |
| APM 21.01 | The notes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 9 May 2019 were accepted as a correct record. Proposed by Cllr Cockram, seconded by Cllr Martin, carried unanimously. |
| 2. CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT 2020/21 | |
| APM 21.02 | Cllr Godly gave a report on the key areas of work undertaken by the Council. There was not a lot to report from 2020/21 as it was taken over by the effects of COVID, and the parish council did everything it could to help people through. This included supporting the CCT and EoPPS to achieve their ends during a difficult year. In addition, the ongoing matter of the clerk position was, at least temporarily, being sorted by Rob Martin, the Locum Clerk. |
| 3. FINANCIAL REPORT 2020/21 | |
| APM 21.03 | The Clerk provided an overview of the accounts for 2020/21. Opening Reserves Balance at 1 April 2020 was £27,258Closing Balance at 31 March 2021 £31,687Receipts, including grants and shop rent, £15,784, of which £12,790 was precept.Payments £11,435This resulted in an increase of available funds of £4,349 which is reflected in the General Reserve which stands at £18,372.The Earmarked Reserves are unchanged and will be subject to review during 2021/22 financial year. The precept for 2021/22 has been set at £13,000. |
| 5. REPORTS FROM COMMUNITY GROUPS | |
| APM 21.04 | Members of the following local groups were asked to give short presentations on the achievements and activities of their organisation. The following list shows who read the report and the group or organisation: Steve Godly, – Chawleigh Community Trust (CCT)Steve Godly, Playing Fields CommitteeSteve Godly, Chawleigh WIHedley Lower, St James Parochial Church Council. I am representing Parochial Church Council of St James where I have served as Treasurer for 5 years. As we all know it has been a very challenging 12 months for the World, this Country the village and the Christian Church in general and that’s been no different for St James. However, we are very grateful for all the support given at this time from within the local community and in particular: George Wood who, has on his ownmaintained the bell tower and rung when the Church has been opened, going beyond the call of duty when confronted with a blocked spiral stairway with crow nesting material (he cleared two sacks) as he sought to muffle the bell to ring for Prince Philips funeral. He called me and following week I with the Rector made our way to top of Tower moving nesting debris to fill 1.5 Builders Jumbo bags. Also two abandoned nests each with 4 eggs! Poll/David Parish for his dedicationin cutting the majority of grass over the year in the Churchyard and this is really appreciated for the benefit of all the village. Brian Meekin who twice a week climbs the tower just below the belfry to wind the clock and ensure Chawleigh knows the time. Parish Council we thank them for their continued financial support through a donation towards the upkeep of Churchyard. A real help for as of January had to pay an Invoice of £800 to fell 2 trees that were diagnosed as a potential safety risk. As previously I indicated the Church in Chawleigh is not really “the building” but is a collection of people who believe in Christ’s teaching consider it still very relevant in this day an age “as a way of life” and in normal circumstances about 22 people would have attend regularly on a Sunday at 10.30amSt James in normal times would be open to you all as often or as infrequently as you like and; all would be most welcome. We are not perfect and that is why Christ came to this earth and are happy to talk individually or collectively at any time as to how our faith helps us in life and that is your call.However, due to Covid 19 over the last 12 months plus, the church has been closed for that time; being partially open in November through to February and for a few weeks of 2021 when second lock down kicked in.In many ways the changes made using Technology during latter part of 2019 with use of overhead projector linking to PA sound system, Laptop phased PowerPoint words to Worship songs & licenced Video clips prepared us for Zoom Services each Sunday. We could not livestream from the Church due to no broadband but now last month record and send MP4 video file to those isolating. Zoom calls usually had 22 connection several with more than 1 participant.Therefore in many ways this has been a positive outcome (by training some to use new technologies!). A Community Nativity walk arranged by Curate Janet and some members around the village with donkey and gift bags for children being appreciated There are some downsides such as the Church Lunch club and Children’s Sunday club being suspended together with a number of Weddings & Christenings being postponed, rearranged and postponed again!Finance has also been hit hard due to no fundraising activities to which most of the village have previously generously supported. Despite this God through his people have met our financial needs. Whilst weekly offerings have been reduced Stewardship giving has continued allowing only a slightly reduced claim from Inland Revenue. The bottom line at December year end income was £2,000 down on 2019 so it was necessary to transfer £4,000 from our contingency reserves to cover this and projected shortfall into Qtr 1 & Qtr 2 2021.So whilst I know there is financial pressure on many of us I would just ask you (if you can) support fund raising when we start maybe 3 events August to November?Full Audited accounts for 2020 are available on requestTurning to the Church building itself and possible roof repair and facility improvement.Unfortunately due to a year in limbo due to lock down I cannot report any real progress from that presented to you in 2019It is a real source of disappointment despite all of the presented detailed plans and follow up discussion grant applications judged to be good no grants have been forthcoming due to lack of funds.The main issues is that the Church is Grade 1 listed and require Faculty permission to do major works under Ecclesiastical law & basically require work to be directed by an Architect which substantially increases costs. In addition to this Historic England insist on Delebol slates which are 4 times the cost used on Village hall!The situation has been referred to the Rector Tony Rockey now who will now follow up as to a way forward. Thank you for your time. Hedley Lower Treasurer PCC St James The Clerk, Jubilee Hall Committee The Jubilee hall is our village hall used by the local community. 2020/2021 has been a challenging year for many due to the restrictions levied on us to try and stop the spread of the Corona Virus and the Jubilee Hall is no exception. Obviously we have been hit financially as the hall has been closed since March last year and our revenue from bookings has been affected, luckily we were able to obtain a grant from the government to cover some of the running costs. Many local residents have missed out on being able to attend the many activities that are available at the hall, We have short mat bowls, an art class, sewing classes, a weekly drop in coffee morning plus the monthly Saturday market and Wednesday hot lunch club. In addition to this the hall is also used by the WI and the hall is also available for private hire for parties and functions etc. We have many new residents in Chawleigh and I’m sure that over the last 12 months many of them have missed out on meeting other local residents and being able to become part of our community. We hope that with lockdown easing and the support of the village we will be able to get the hall up and running again and be able to operate within the guidelines of the next phase of restrictions. We hope to once again make the village hall a thriving part of our local community and look forward to welcoming back residents old and new. The Clerk, Ladies Who Paint Have you ever thought about joining a friendly Art Group? We are a small group (10 ladies) and we all help each other in any way we can. Tea, Coffee & cake is a must!! We meet on Tuesdays from 2 ’til 4-30 in the Jubilee Hall My name is Jenny Warman and for any further enquiries about the group, my number is 01769 581029 The Clerk, Needlework Group Every fortnight on a Thursday afternoon 2 – 4 we meet in the village hall to knit, sew, crochet, chat & tea. Every one most welcome, come & join us. Watch this space. Many thanks, Liz Haselden. The Clerk, Hot Lunch I would like to report to the Parish Council that hopefully the Hot Lunch will continue, we have lost 3 maybe 4 of our helpers and I have had a look at how many guests we have, we have 16 at the moment but I don’t know if everyone will feel comfortable enough to return, I plan to put flyers through peoples’ doors to gauge how they feel about getting together again. Jan Turpin Daphne Cockram, The Craft GroupJan Flavin, Tuesday Coffee MorningJan Flavin, Chawleigh Market Henry Martin, Chawleigh Friendly SocietyHenry Martin, Bowls Club |
| 6. PARISH QUESTION TIME | |
| APM 18.06 | |
| APM 18.07 | |
| 7. CLOSE OF MEETING | |
| APM 18.08 | The meeting closed at 7:40 pm. |
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