EVERLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting
held at Collingbourne Ducis Village Hall on Monday 20th May 2024
Chairman: Cllr D Bottomley (Chair).
Present: Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows, Cllr H Waight, Cllr P Evans Cllr A Earle and Cllr L Wheeler-Mallows
Apologies: PC J Kinge and PCSO R Kaur
In Attendance: Mr P Gill (Clerk), Wilts Cllr C Williams (Wiltshire County Councillor),
- Chairman’s Report. Our Everleigh Enhancement plans have progressed well. The eight village planters are flourishing thanks to the continued enthusiasm of those residents who have adopted them. A replacement picnic bench is now in the playground and a new park bench will be positioned shortly in Everleigh Centre. We purchased radios and music equipment in the Autumn, utilising funding from marquee hire, and Cllr Henry Waight established a fine Christmas tree in December in front of the Crown bus shelter. In 2024, our focus will be on maintaining the planters and replacing batteries and pads for our defibrillator.
Our village celebration of the King’s Coronation took place on Saturday 6th May at the playground/Jubilee field. About 50 villagers braved the damp conditions. Spirits were lifted by complimentary sparkling wine on arrival and to toast our new King, courtesy of the Ducis Beerfest Committee whose donation was greatly appreciated. Raffle prizes were generously donated by one of our villagers; this raffle was well organised by Cllr Lucinda Wheeler-Mallows. Festivities culminated with the lighting of a superb bonfire beacon at 8.30pm, thanks to Cllr Henry Waight. We are grateful to the many volunteers who helped set up and take down such a memorable occasion. This event was a real village effort.
The Beating of the Parish Boundary walk, conducted on Sunday 16th July, was very successful. Although turnout was low, a group of 7 walkers enjoyed a leisurely and very enjoyable 8 mile+ hike around most of our scenic parish boundary over a period of just over 3 hours. The amended route, using the playground as the start/finish point, worked well. Well done to all walkers and congratulations to Cllr Peter Evans for organising an excellent event.
Team Everleigh enjoyed taking part in the village games at the St Andrew’s Church Fete on Saturday 2nd September. The event was well organised and was a great way to develop community spirit with our neighbours from Kingston and Ducis. Congratulations to Ducis for their victory.
A Harvest Festival service took place in St Peter’s Church on Saturday 7th October. The Church was decorated beautifully by the ‘Ladies of Everleigh’, who arranged a stunning floral display. Rev Michael McHugh conducted an excellent service. Harvest gifts were gratefully received and donated to the Trussel Trust food bank in Andover.
Our village bonfire night took place on Saturday 4th November at the Jubilee Field. The event had all the ingredients for a great evening: spectacular fireworks; excellent refreshments; and a high turnout from both Everleigh and neighbouring communities. Many villagers pulled together to produce an excellent joint community event, with the Collingbourne Cricket Club providing drinks. This was again one of our most successful bonfire nights, requiring much preparation, enthusiasm and hard work. We are also pleased to report that the event raised £500 for the Naomi House and Jackspiece charity. It was a strong Team Everleigh effort, with close support from Collingbourne cricketers!
Our Christmas Carol Service took place at St Peter’s Church on Saturday 9th December. This was a great opportunity for the village to get together, to hear the Christmas story and to sing traditional carols. The church was again superbly decorated by the ‘Ladies of Everleigh’, led by Elizabeth East, with candles and flowers beautifully arranged. Cllr Kim Wheeler-Mallows produced excellent light effects both inside and outside the church. Finally, our thanks go to Gail Barkes and Alice Adams for organising absolutely delicious mulled wine, hot chocolate and mince pies after the service.
We have also organised two village litter picks over the past year. An Autumn gathering took place on Saturday 21st October, with 11 volunteers collecting 6 bags of rubbish, and we conducted a Spring litter pick on Saturday 9th March; 8 volunteers collected 9 bags of rubbish. Everleigh certainly looked a lot cleaner as a result.
A village work party took place on Saturday 20th April to conduct general maintenance and tidying up at the playground. Many thanks go to the eight volunteers who cleaned and painted all the equipment, carried out repairs and strimmed the perimeter fence. This play area is now looking very smart!
In September last year it was with great regret that we announced the resignation of our Parish Clerk, Mr Phil Gill, after 18 years of loyal, dedicated and enthusiastic support for the Parish Council and the people of Everleigh. We are most grateful for all his efforts on our behalf. In his place, we welcome and congratulate Ms Hazel Boulton on her appointment as our new Parish Clerk.
The Parish is fortunate to receive excellent support from other directions. Our Wiltshire Councillor, Chris Williams, has provided close support for the Parish Council over the past year. On the policing front, Wilts Police Community Policing Team continue to provide security for the village within limited resources.
For the future, the Parish Council has 3 main objectives:
- Maintain the village’s infrastructure, particularly the playground;
- Develop Everleigh Enhancement projects in accordance with a four year plan;
- Conduct several events per year to enhance village community spirit.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow parish councillors and the parish clerk, Mr Phil Gill, for all their support, enthusiasm and hard work during the past 12 months; Team Everleigh continues to thrive!
No questions were asked of the Chairman
2. Finance Report. The Clerk reported that finances remain in a healthy condition with the cash balance in all accounts being £2988.25 at year end which is £216.77 more than FY 22/23 and reflects the funds earmarked for future projects and events and includes the Council’s reserves policy of £2100 minimum. As a result, the Council raised the Precept for FY 24/25 to £4003.24 = increase of £30.34 which for Band D = £0.95/2.24% increase The accounts have been prepared by the Clerk, audited by the Internal Auditor and on the recommendation of the Internal Auditor the Council intends to exempt itself from a Limited Assurance Review which negates the need to send the accounts to the External Auditor. Income for 23/24 was approximately £7296, namely £3973.Precept, £300Insurance Claim, £70.00 donation the Coronation Raffle, £500 Marquee Hire & donation, £75.00 reimbursement for transferred IT Eqpt, £1953 Bonfire donations & BBQ income, and £425 VAT refund. Outgoings were approximately £6345, namely, £375 (Planters & Plants,) £800. Xmas Tree, £850. New Benches, £125 Hand Radios, £270 Speakers, Extension Leads, £139, Flags £179, £50 Marquee Maintenance £600 Fireworks, £500 Naomia House donation, £200 Village events , £292insurance, £650 grass cutting, and the balance of the spend was on the Clerk’s salary, general maintenance, and other such routine costs needed to run the Parish Council. No questions were asked of the Clerk.
- Wiltshire County Council Report. Wilts Cllr Williams reported the following: Wiltshire Council’s Annual Report for Town and Parish Councils can be found at Resources for Town and Parish Councils – Democratic Services – Wiltshire Council– here are some highlights.
Secure Finances – Investing in Key Services: Despite the ongoing budget pressures arising from increasing demand for services and inflationary costs, the Council has been able to effectively manage these challenges to ensure a firm financial footing. Key to this sustainable approach to delivering for Wiltshire, is to invest in services, especially those which tackle issues in a proactive way. The Council receives nearly 83% of its funding from local taxes, Business Rates and Council Tax, so we take delivering on our promises to local people very seriously.
Children’s Services – Outstanding Ofsted: We want to give Wiltshire’s children the best start in life as it is fundamental in improving their long-term life chances and gives them the best opportunity to live full and healthy lives. We have worked relentlessly to improve our services and now deliver consistently Outstanding services that ensure the needs of families and children are met at the right time by the right people. This is reflected in the Ofsted inspection report from November 2023 that rated us Outstanding across the board.
Additional Funding for Highways & Flood Prevention: Heat, flooding and severe winter weather has caused significant damage to some of Wiltshire’s roads in 2023. Whilst the overall condition of Wiltshire’s classified road network is better than the national average this continues to be a priority. We are investing an additional £10m in Highways maintenance, which together with increased Department for Transport (DfT) funding, will enable an extensive programme of road surfacing and treatment in 2024/25. We are also investing an additional £1m to support preventative drainage programmes and have confirmed additional £1.5m funding from 25/26 onwards to help with gully cleaning and potholes.
£179m for Adult Services, which includes over £9m of efficiency savings: Adult Social Care accounts for the highest percentage spend of Wiltshire Council’s budget and continues to see significant demographic and cost pressures. The Transforming Adult Social Care programme ensures that the Council is proactive in ensuring services meet need. Continued investment is being made in preventative, enablement and reablement services that support people to stay in their own homes and take full part in their communities. The Shared Lives Scheme, which offers a fostering style model of care and support continues to grow, and the use of Technology Enabled Care (TEC) is a key priority. Moving from children to adult services is one of the most critical times for anyone’s life, this is even more important for young adults who have Special Education Needs and Disabilities.
I have continued to support Parish and Town Councils and residents with specific local matters, and it has been a pleasure to attend Parish Council meetings across the area. I have also continued to chair Tidworth Area Board meetings, working with my fellow councillors on the priorities for our community area, Youth, Health and Wellbeing and Environment. Wiltshire Council devolves significant funding to the Area Boards for them to invest in local community projects and initiatives that meet local priorities and deliver exceptional outcomes for residents, please contact me if your organisation wishes to apply for a grant in the future.
I have now been a Wiltshire Councillor for 15 years and am still very much enjoying working on your behalf and happy to assist and hopefully resolve issues with local government. For Wiltshire Council this particularly means planning concerns, highway issues, waste and lots of other services provided by the Council.
Wilts Cllr C Williams then answered questions from those present and The Chairman then thanked Wilts Cllr C Williams for his report.
4. Questions. There being no written questions or other business the Chairman thanked all who attend and closed the Annual Parish Meeting at 7.25pm.
Signed: Date:
