February 2022 minutes
A meeting of the Recreation Advisory Forum was held on Monday 28th February 2022, in the Jubilee Hall, Heighington and commenced at 19.30hrs.
Present:
Councillor J Rushby - Forum Chairman
Councillor D Trafford
Councillor S Sockell
Councillor A Buckley-Jones
Councillor I George
Councillor T Pattle
Councillor J Grimshaw
Councillor A Sowerby
Clerk E Salter
Organisations:
Mrs J Dunning - Garretts Charity
Mr P Howden – Heighington Bowls Club
Councillor A Buckley-Jones - Heighington WI
Mrs J Burtenshaw – Guiding Movement
Mr K Salter - Parish Council Volunteer
The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming those present.
17/A/21 Apologies and Declarations of Interest.
Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Hemlin, Janet Wain (Friends of Garretts Charity) and Sandy Moore (Heighington Christmas Market Committee). Apologies had not been received from Councillor Dziadkiewicz.
There were no declarations of interest or dispensations sought.
18/A/21 To approve the draft notes from the last meeting of the Recreation Advisory Forum on Monday 25th October 2021.
The draft notes from the meeting of Monday 25th October 2021 were agreed and approved as minutes.
19/A/21 Officer’s Report & Parish Council update
a. Festive Tea
The festive tea took place at the Jubilee Hall on 15th December, more than 30 residents enjoyed a cup of tea and a slice of cake. The Parish Council would like to thank the Spar for their kind donation towards the refreshments, Heighington 2nd Brownies for the lovely table decorations, everyone who contributed towards the tombola and the volunteer’s that helped on the day.
b. Treescapes Scheme
Following Lincolnshire County Council’s Treescape Scheme, a resident has now taken ownership of over one hundred trees which have been planted to create a woodland area on their land.
c. 2022 Scarecrow Festival
The scarecrow festival will take place from 22nd – 29th August, it is hoped that Branston and Mere Parish Council will also participate this year along with Washingborough.
d. Walking in Lincolnshire
To note the updated Walking in England website, which now features walking in Lincolnshire. The website has hundreds of walks to download and print for free. There are walks ranging from half a mile to twelve miles plus, so everyone will be able to find a walk suitable for their needs. Details can be found by visiting https;//www.walkinginengland.co.uk/lincs.
20/A/21 To consider village participation in the Queens Platinum Jubilee.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will be celebrated throughout the weekend of the 2nd - 5th June. National celebrations will be taking place over the extended bank holiday these include the Queen’ Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) which has been moved forward to mark the Queen’s 70 years of service. A service of Thanksgiving at St. Pauls cathedral and a live concert that will be broadcast by the BBC from Buckingham Palace. Local communities are encouraged to come together to celebrate and take part in the “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee” under the Queens’ green canopy tree planting initiative.
The Clerk informed members that she had received a telephone call from Tom Cann from Tucann Community Publications informing her that they hope to hold a Royal Celebration duck and boat race on either the Friday 3rd June or Sunday 5th June and the possibility of a picnic, weather permitting.
The WI plan to hold a tea dance in the Jubilee Hall on Saturday 4th June and knit bomb the bus shelter and flagpole. A Good yarn will craft bunting which will be displayed on the railings at the Jubilee Hall and all residents are invited to decorate their properties to celebrate.
21/A/21 To discuss Council funded summer holiday activities for children.
Forum members were informed of the previous year’s council funded activities for children. It was suggested to hold a sporting fun day, a craft event in the Jubilee Hall, and the possibility of holding an archery session. It was agreed that the clerking team would make enquires regarding the activities.
22/A/21 To consider holding a coffee morning in Clarke Avenue Communal
Lounge.
Following an email from a member of the Housing Wellbeing Team at North
Kesteven District Council regarding the review of communal lounges within former sheltered housing schemes, the team are looking at how the lounges are currently being used and the opportunities for maximising their use in the future. The Clerk suggested holding a coffee morning at Clarke Avenue to involve the residents in the area a little more and to inform them of the many groups and clubs within the village. However, after contacting the housing team the clerk was informed that at the present time there is a restriction on the use of the buildings and that a member of the team would be in touch if the restrictions were to be lifted.
23/A/21 Reports from village organisations and clubs.
Heighington Bowls Club
Our 2022 outdoor bowls season is now just a few weeks away and preparations both on and off the bowling green continue at pace with our first match due to take place at the end of April.
The club has recently affiliated to the newly created Lincoln Area Bowls League which is a new administration responsible for organising competition between its thirty-one affiliated clubs and their members in the City of Lincoln and surrounding villages. The League held its inaugural meeting last week at which our Club Secretary was elected as its Chair, having played a central role in recent months working with colleagues from four other local bowls clubs to develop strategies and administrative systems and procedures for the new League.
This year Heighington Bowls Club will be participating in leagues on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening and a Wednesday afternoon. In addition, we will be running a number of social bowling events, bowls drives and club competitions again this summer.
Our pre-season Open Meeting will take place on Monday 21st March and will be held at the Jubilee Hall Heighington, commencing at 7.15pm. The meeting is open to existing members and to anyone who would like to find out more about our club. At the meeting all of the latest news and information relating to our forthcoming outdoor season will be discussed. Once again, the club will be hosting a number of open days in April and May with a view to introducing anyone interested in taking up the sport of lawn bowls to the game.
On 29th January, thirty-seven members and guests enjoyed our annual dinner held at the Butcher and Beast Heighington. Because of Covid this was the first time since 2019 that we had been able to hold this event. It was a very enjoyable evening and a raffle held on the night raised £81 for club funds.
On 10th March some of our members will be visiting our friends at Branston Short Mat Bowls. Over recent years both clubs have organised joint events twice a year, with our outdoor club visiting Branston in the spring with a return event at Heighington later in the summer.
The club has recently engaged with the Bowls Development Alliance which in association with the sport’s national governing body Bowls England, is responsible for developing the game of bowls at a local and national level. To this end, Heighington Bowls Club officials have already attended one meeting and will be attending a number of workshops and seminars in the coming months to identify how the club can best place itself to benefit from expertise provided by BDA partners and national organisations.
Anyone interested in obtaining more information about the club and the game of outdoor bowls can do so by contacting our Club Secretary using the following email address: heighington.bowls@btinternet.com
Heighington Christmas Market Committee
The following report was received prior to the meeting. The Heighington Christmas market took place on Sunday November 28th last year with over a hundred units. A new format was trailed, spreading out the stalls and utilising Mill Lane, the school and the school grounds.
Within the school, Santa was extremely busy, as was the face painter and the PTA provided hot and cold drinks. There was a good range of stalls and products, and our catering units were busy all day. Feedback from the day was very positive, with visitors and stallholders liking the new layout.
This year the market will take place on Sunday November 27th. We are already planning the event and bookings open on March 1st- there are a number of interested parties already!
The committee appreciate the support from local businesses and householders who kindly allow us to use their electricity to power lighting.
We are always looking for extra help, so if anyone is interested in joining the committee our next meeting will be held on Tuesday March 15 at 7pm in the Turks Head.
Heighington WI
The Heighington WI has increased membership since starting back after the pandemic. The Christmas lunch was postponed due the Omnicom variant of Covid, this has now been rescheduled for July. The group have enjoyed talks about bee keeping and the Lincon Bomber Command, they are struggling for speakers but do have a programme put together. This month sees the AGM which will be followed by a gin tasting session.
Guiding Movement
The Rainbows and Brownie group are both full and doing well. The Brownies are holding a Mother’s Day event and hope to go on holiday in July. The groups have applied for a grant from the Coop. Leaders would like to see more volunteers so that they could restart the Guides.
Garrett’s Charity
Christmas Market – Grand Prize Draw raised £1160 which was very pleasing. Plans are already in train for Christmas 2022 when the first prize will be a willow sculpture.
100 Club is running again in 2022. It generated a good income for the charity in 2021 and renewals have been strong. There are a few numbers left for those who wish to join.
The Trustees are working with an architect on outline plans for refurbishment of the premises. Meetings have been held with a building design expert to discuss heating, lighting and insulation. Thanks to the Parish council for the grants that have allowed us to commission the study.
Majority of groups have now resumed meeting in the Heritage Rooms follow the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. More are due to return in April all being well.
On a less positive note: there has been a large water leak from the pipe supplying the premises. Fortunately, the leak is external and there is no damage to the building. The bill received from Anglian Water is considerable. The Trustees hope to negotiate with Anglian Water, but in the meantime have engaged an approved company to install a new continuous pipe from the water meter to the stopcock inside the building.
The meeting closed at approximately 20:00. Attendees were reminded that the next meeting of this forum is set for Monday 20th June 2022, starting at 19:30 to be held in the Jubilee Hall.
Following the Recreation Advisory Forum meeting, Councillors stayed on to discuss the appointment of a new clerk following the current clerk’s resignation.
Members had access to job descriptions from other councils and discussed what points needed to be added to the job description.
The Chairman of the Parish Council made notes and agreed to put together a job description for approval. It was noted that this be done as soon as possible.
Signed: _______________________________ Date: ____________________