Thurlton Parish Council

Chairmans Report 2023

Chairmans Report 2022

Chairpersons Report for 2015/2016

 

Welcome to those members of the public present.

 

At the AGM held earlier Simon Hannant was elected to the Chair. Lindsey Chenery was elected Vice Chair and Chris Cook nominated as the responsible Financial Officer.

 

I would like to thank the Councillors for their support and contributions to the Parish Council over the last year and also thank Chris Cook our Parish Clerk . We should also thank Kate Cox, our Playing Field Warden

 

Financial report for 2015/16

General administration costs were around £1200 including phone and broadband, production of monthly newsletters and audit fees etc. Clerks wages were £2015. The ParishCouncil donated £400 to local organisations and charities. Council insurance was £1350 and maintenance of playing field and equipment was around £920. We allocated approxiamately £900 towards the Village car park upgrade. Thanks to John O’Leary and his group and a grant from the lottery fund, donations from local organisations and fund raising there are now sufficient funds to progress this project, hopefully this summer.

 

This year saw the achievement of the last phase of the play area renovation being the installation of gym equipment and access paths at a cost of approxiamatly £15,000. Our thanks to our previous chairperson Heather Longman who was prime mover in this achievement of this and all previous phases of renovation.

 

There is an ongoing maintenance requirement on the playing field, some of which results from an annual inspection of the playing field and equipment. To achieve this we have one or two working parties each year at which volunteers do their bit for the village. We always could do with more help so please keep your eye on our monthly newsletter or the notice board which advertises these events.

 

The Parish Council agreed to review and update the Parish Plan which was first prepared in 2006. To this end the Parish Council produced a questionnaire which was delivered to all households in Thurlton in November of 2015. The Parish Council were very disappointed that only 19 completed questionnaires were returned.

 

We participated again this year in the SNC Litter Pick and had a good turn out of volunteers who collected a significant amount of litter. Thanks to all who participated and organised the event.

 

The Community Composting group goes from strength to strength resulting in the need to extend the facility for this year. Thanks to Emma, Paul and their group of volunteers.

 

The Parish Council would like to wish Claire and Mark every success in their new venture at the Queens Head. They also support the recently formed Community Shop whose volunteers have kept the shop open and provide an important facility for the Village. Please support these local ventures.

 

In conclusion much of the work the Parish Council and other groups/organisations achieve for the benefit of the community relies on volunteers. Please get involved

Thurlton Chairpersons report to the
Parish Meeting

Welcome

At the AGM the following were
elected Chairperson Heather Longman & Vice Chairman Simon Hannant

Financial
Report 2011/2012

Administration
£3000 Including Clerks wages of £1850 and the production of 10 monthly
newsletters. Council insurance £1330. Maintenance of Playing Field etc £1300.
Expenditure on the Community Composting project approximately £3000 funded
separately from grant received (£3400)

Although
reported as an achievement in last years
annual report the purchase and installation of phase 4 play area
equipment £40000 and the funding for same (grant from Wren and donation from
Playing Field Assn) are shown in this years accounts.

The precept remains the same at
£6000 for 2012/2013

Achievements this year

Pride in Norfolk Competition

Thurlton  were Winners of ‘Communities under 1000’
category and ‘WI forward to the future’ award. This is a great accolade to the
community and is a recognition of how we work together to make our village a
wonderful place to live. The WI Forward to the future award was in recognition
of the work going on here for the young people of our village, the youth club
and the youth exchange and further projects to help in the training and
development of youth leaders and the guides and conservationists of the future.

Home insulation

Thanks to a successful entry into
the SNDC Greenest Community Competition Thurlton PC was awarded  £10000 to provide free roof and cavity wall
insulation to any resident who had a need. This scheme is now finished.

Winter Warmer Packs

Through
a SNC initiative we received a quantity of these packs. Unfortunately they were
too late for last winter’s cold spell. We will advertise their availability
later in the year

Newsletters

We have prepared and arranged, in
conjunction with Norton PC and the Raveningham Group Magazine, the issue of 10
newsletters to every household in the Villages

We have also supported

EU Youth in Action funded Youth Exchange which will take place at the Waveney River
Centre from 22nd June – 1st July this year, hosting six
youngsters and two leaders from Spain, Latvia and Slovenia.

Community Composting

There has been some delay
awaiting a container but it should be up and running in the near future

Thurlton ‘Good Neighbours project’

This project is now gathering pace thanks to the very positive attitude of all those
involved and it is now ready to progress further

Maintaining a display in the
planters

Thanks to Paul Arnold for
donating the entry fees from the Oskar Pool Competition in the Queens Head for
this purpose and the Horticultural Club for planting same

Frolic

We
have supported the resurrection of the Summer Holiday Frolic by publicity in
the newsletter and giving them a small donation towards expenses

Chairpersons report (continued)

Plans for the coming year

We will continue to support the above projects
and the Playing Field Assn. The current members of the Playing Field
Association will continue to raise funds to support maintenance, insurance etc
but after 10 years wish to take a back seat in any major fund raising for new
projects. If further items of equipment are wanted new people will have to come
forward to join the association. The PFA and the Queen’s Head will be holding a
‘Picnic in the Park’ on 4th June to celebrate the Queen’s
Jubilee. This will be on the area behind the pub with live music and a
barbecue.

We
will continue to review the Parish Plan and progress revisions to it
particularly in light of the upcoming Localism Act of Parliament

Thanks to

The Parish Councillors for their individual
contributions to the work of the Parish Council. I would also like to thank
Chris Cook, our hard working Parish Clerk, without whom the Parish Council
would achieve very little! Thanks to all the volunteers who join in the working
parties and steering groups etc for the projects we are involved in. To our
playing field warden, Kate Cox and to our street warden Martin Ball who both
work very hard keeping our playing field and streets clean and safe.

Special thanks are due to David Crisp who was
taken seriously ill suddenly. It made us all keenly aware of just how much time
he has put in to helping out over the years and especially his hard work on the
community composting project. We wish him well and our thoughts are with him
and his family.

 

 

 

 

 

Thurlton Parish Council AGM and Parish Meeting 9th May 2011

Chairperson’s Annual Report

Heather Longman welcomed all and introduced the new council, six of us remain in post, with one change as Mike Saunders has decided to stand down. We thank Mike for his contribution to the work of the Parish Council and welcome our new councilor, Martin Ball.

At our AGM the following were elected, (myself as Chair and Simon Hannant as Vice Chair). Jack Berry has served as Vice Chair for the last (4) years and is now standing down as he says, “I am nearly eighty years old, so perhaps it is time for someone younger to step in”. We thank him for his work as vice-chair  and look forward to his continuing contribution to the council.

 Financial Report 2010/2011: Administration £3000 including our Clerks wages (£1850) and the production of 10 monthly newsletters. Council Insurance was £1200. Maintenance of the Playing Field etc £1400. Capital Expenditure, £750. The precept for 2011/2012 remains the same at £6000.

 What we have achieved over the year

It has been a busy and successful year. The affordable local housing has been completed and is fully occupied. Phase 4 of the playing field renovation project, the long awaited children’s play area, has been installed. Our thanks go to the Playing Field Association and all those who have supported the project and worked towards this achievement. The benches outside the pub and opposite the shop and post office have been replaced, planters installed and paving laid and fencing replaced around the playing field. Our heartfelt thanks go to Paul Arnold for the supply of the equipment and materials for these areas, and to all those who worked so hard to install it. The total expenditure for all of these was £600. The rear boundary to the field was cleared of dead trees and scrub growth by a large team of volunteers, and we thank them for their hard work. Following requests from residents during the very icy winter months, we have also provided two further grit bins on College Road and Hampton Avenue.

 Other projects we have supported

Community Shop

Nicki wishes to remain in the Post Office but doesn’t want to run the shop any longer. The steering group are currently forming a community interest company and will be offering shares to those who wish to become a part of their community shop.

Community Composting Scheme

We applied successfully for a grant to develop our own community composting scheme in Thurlton

Allotments

We have transferred responsibility for the management of the allotments to those who use them. The Allotment Association will oversee the allotments and decide on future improvements.

Youth Exchange

An EU Youth in Action supported exchange is being arranged this year between four EU countries; Spain, Latvia, Slovenia and UK, the first being in Catalonia in Spain, from 26th June to 3rd July, flying from Norwich to Barcelona. Spain has successfully applied for funding for this project so we are still looking for up to six participants between 14-25 years old. The project will run for four years, (five if Moldova gains membership and can be involved), and one of the years we will be the host country. It is a great opportunity to make friends from other rural areas in Europe and over the years up to thirty young people from the Thurlton area could participate in the project.

 Plans for this coming year

We plan to finalise the playing field renovation project this year, install access paths, further fencing near the village hall, sign and notice boards and more benches. After ten years of involvement with this project, I now wish to take a back seat after the field is completed. It is a great facility in this small community and future generations will be able to enjoy it for many years to come. I think it would be good if those parents of the children who use the field, (and the children themselves), got involved in the Playing Field Association which was set up to raise funds for the installations and also continue to raise an annual sum to contribute

towards the funding needed for maintenance, insurance, repairs or replacement and future equipment that may be wanted, (adult outdoor gym?).

We will continue to support the steering groups for the Community Shop and the steering group looking at the future of the Church Room.

We will progress the Community Composting scheme, supporting the steering group who will be setting this up.

Parish Plan Update

We will re-visit the Parish Plan through small steering groups and ‘kitchen table’ discussions. The steering groups will be Parish Councillors and other interested residents and each group will look at different topics; Roads and road safety, Access to services, care and jobs, Leisure and recreation and Youth community engagement. The results of the discussions will be brought back to the Parish Council who will hold an open day so that all residents can come and view the proposals for the 2011/12 Parish Plan. If anyone has other ideas or wishes to become part of any of the steering groups please contact us.

 Finally I would like to thank all those who have helped the Parish Council over the past year. Kate Cox, our playing field warden, who works diligently to keep the playing field clean and safe, Paul Arnold, for the enormous amount of money he has saved us by supplying re-cycled goods such as fencing, planters and benches, Martin Ball, who patrols and keeps clean our streets and all the other people who regularly turn up at working parties and put in several hours of hard graft. Special thanks must go to our hard-working Clerk, Chris Cook, who, as well as the normal Parish Clerk duties, produces the monthly newsletter, makes grant applications, seeks out resources for the various projects that we are involved in and turns up at all the working parties. Without him, this Parish Council would not have been able to achieve all that it has done over the past year.