Lambley Parish Council
Contact the Clerk to the Parish Council,Ewa Strumnik at
<clerk@lambleyparishcouncil.org.uk>
Or call 07725834442
. Lambley Parish Council
Chair’s Annual Report 2022/2023
The past year has been unusual in that we had both the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and the sad death of Her Majesty the Queen. The book of condolence was available at the Village Show which was held on the Saturday following the death of the Queen, and was then made available in the Church. The Proclamation was read out by the Chair of the Parish Council announcing the death of the Queen and the accession of King Charles III as required by tradition. Thank you to Jane Williams, Frances Newsham and to Philip Cox for opening the church over the period of mourning to allow access to those who wished to reflect and pay their respects.
Thanks too to them for enabling a Midnight Mass in the Church on Christmas Eve for the first time in around 14 years.
Finances & Precept
You may be aware that a small proportion of the council tax which you pay to Gedling Borough Council is for Lambley Parish Council to be spent on necessary upkeep of the village, this is known as the Precept. Having considered our budget for the coming year and required expenditure, it was decided to raise this from £34 to £35.15 per household (based on Band D as the average) for this financial year. This represented a rise of 3.38%. We know that any uplift in precept, no matter how small will be unwelcome.
We have robust budgeting and forecasting within the Parish Council, and this rise will enable us to maintain the village and to do what we know are essential works, however it will not stretch further to projects such as Reed Pond, or resurfacing of the Playground which is why we will be fundraising and seeking grant monies for these items separately. We continue to seek ways to maximise value for expenditure, and examples of this can be seen from cost savings made through an alternative contractor for the Christmas Lights (thank you to Cllr Chris Starr for managing this), and to finding an alternative contractor to upkeep the cemetery and mowing in the millennium gardens which has represented cost savings on the year of more than £1,100.
Reed Pond
A great deal of work has been carried out on the Reed Pond including the planting of seed beds and renewal of some of the fencing. There are now zoned areas and there are clear views of the pond. The committee is run independently with quarterly updates to the Parish Council, and is Chaired by Pete Muir. The committee really have done an amazing job so far, and there are plans to raise funds to allow dredging (sympathetically) to the pond to encourage more wildlife. The paths have been laid with natural materials to allow more easy walking and enjoyment of the tranquility and two new benches will be being installed. Some of the trees have been crowned to allow in more light and the whole site is now looking cared for. Thank you to everyone involved (including the very many volunteers within the village), and to the Reed Pond Committee and to Cllr Andy Musson who continues to lend both his time and expertise where larger scale plant and equipment is needed.
Flooding
Lawrence Milbourn (Vice Chair of the Parish Council), has done a great job alongside the flood warden team, all of whom are volunteers, to keep the beck flowing during heavy rain. Flooding incidents have been few and far between this year as a result. A new grate was installed at the end of March (funded by Nottinghamshire County Council) at Park Lane to catch debris from the fast flowing water, and is designed to prevent blocking. It is early days however the design does seem much more suitable, and we will be lobbying Nottinghamshire County Council to do the same at Dam Yard.
Traffic movements and parking
Speeding is still an issue in the village, as is parking, especially at school drop off and pick up times. We have been liaising with Nottinghamshire Police who have been patrolling periodically, including issuing parking tickets/fines to those parked inappropriately. We are also able to request that they write to those who have parked where they are obstructing pedestrians passing on the pavement, and where they have been using excessive speed through the village; or where drivers are leaving their cars parked too close to a junction.
We do have our own speed gun and would welcome any volunteers who feel they would like to undertake a “speed watch”.
The barrier to the cemetery does seem to have acted as a deterrent with a reduction in anti-
Cemetery Project
Thanks to Cllr Kevin Stevenson, and to Kay Winfield who have been working over the last few months to digitise the cemetery records which is time consuming but a necessary project.
Village Maintenance
Tim Tritton was recruited last summer to work with us as the new village handy person since John Hutton retired, and he is doing a great job. He is also now strimming and mowing in the cemetery. Cllr Richard Vincent and Cllr Chris Starr work with Tim to identify areas in the village which need attention, and to find the best way of ensuring it stays smart and appealing for all.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s footpath team have recently resurfaced the path from Trinity Crescent to the Woodlark which has helped to ensure this is safe for wheelchair users. We have requested also that they look at the path to the Church from Trinity Crescent however at present they are telling us that they do not feel that for now this needs to be resurfaced. We will continue to monitor the situation.
On the first Saturday in each month, a group of volunteers tidy up the church yard (headed up by Cllr Julie Gregory). It really does make such a difference and we are grateful for the work that they do since the Church is the focal point to the village.
Play Park
We have infilled damaged areas to the children’s playpark surface this year, and replaced various old and damaged equipment, including the basket swing. We are conscious that the playpark is now coming to the end of it’s useful life, and we will be fundraising to help to raise monies to enable full resurfacing and renewal of equipment as this becomes necessary since it is vital we continue to have suitable play equipment for children in the village.
Multi Sports Area
The MUGA will now be open for all during school holidays (unless pre-
Tuesday Group & Day Trip Availability
Over the past year the “Tuesday Group” has been formed which is an opportunity for individuals to get together for coffee & cake at the Robin Hood pub at 10:30, kindly arranged by Margaret Meadows. In addition the Parish Council have now subscribed to CT4N, a community transport group whereby a range of day trips and visits to local attractions are scheduled each week. Individuals can book to be picked up at local points including Lambley by prior arrangement. These can be booked via Margaret who is liaising with CT4N.
Lambley Life Magazine
A new monthly magazine was launched last year and has gone from strength to strength. Thank you to all of you who are involved in this (Cllr Julie Gregory, and Cllr Jackie Loftus and Sophia Fullwood for her help in putting this together. This is now not only a fabulous way to keep everyone in the village up to date, but it is also now self funding from advertising space so is supplied free to every house in the village. Thanks too to those who help to distribute this.
Parish Plan
A project is currently underway to refresh and review the parish plan. This will be coming out to households for comment in the coming weeks and will crystalise the priorities for the village from traffic flows through to planning.
Elections
Nine individuals applied to be Parish Councillors in March this year and as there are 9 available spaces, they were all elected uncontested and will be officially installed on 4th May. The next elections will take place in 4 years time.
Finally a thank you. To each and every one of the Parish Councillors, various committee members and each and every volunteer who gives their time so generously to ensure our village and community is one to be proud of.
Dawn Edwards