EVERLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting
held at Collingbourne Ducis Village Hall on Tuesday 13th May 2025
Chair: Cllr D Bottomley (Chair).
Present: Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows (Vice Chair), Cllr H Waight, Cllr P Evans; Cllr A Earle; and Cllr T Martin.
Apologies: Cllr L Wheeler-Mallows; PC J Kinge.
In Attendance: Ms H Boulton (Clerk/RFO), Wilts Cllr C Williams (Wiltshire Councillor),
PCSO R Kaur (Wiltshire Police)
- Chairman’s Report.
Our Everleigh Enhancement plans have progressed well over the past 12 months. The eight village planters are flourishing thanks to the continued enthusiasm of those residents who have adopted them, and a new park bench has been installed in the vicinity of the Crown bus shelter with a view of Sidbury Hill. A variety of street flags have been purchased to add colour to the village during national events and we procured a 2nd BBQ stand to increase our cooking capability, primarily for the Bonfire Night. With regard to our defibrillator, spare batteries have been purchased and defibrillator pads have been replaced at the 5 year point last September. Last December, we decorated The Street with small Christmas Trees, in addition to a traditional tree in front of The Crown bus shelter. In April, a flagpole has been purchased for the vicinity of the Crown bus shelter and a damaged football goal post has been replaced at the playground.
Other activities this year have included: liaison with HQ Salisbury Plain Training Area and Wilts Council on the sump pond at Lower Everleigh; proposals to enhance signs and road markings on the A342 and Marlborough Road; keeping residents informed on plans for digital voice and broadband; and supporting the village Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) Scheme with a donation for new NHW signs. We are also pleased to report that new gates and signs have been installed to open up Right of Way (RoW) Everleigh 8 to restore the footpath from the Netheravon Road to Weatherhill Firs. In addition, we continue to press for RoW 15 footpath to be cleared in the vicinity of the former Everleigh Household Recycle Centre.
Our village commemoration to mark the 80th Anniversary of the D Day landings took place on Thursday 6th June at the Jubilee field in line with national celebrations. The event was well attended by about 40 – 50 parishioners. This was a time for reflection and an opportunity to remember one of the most momentous events in the Second World War. The evening culminated with the lighting of a bonfire beacon at 9.15pm to coincide with others across the nation.
The village Summer Party took place on Saturday 13th July in Jubilee Field. Although the turnout was low, villagers enjoyed an excellent evening despite the inclement weather, with some light hearted games and utilising our new BBQ stand which proved to be extremely effective.
Team Everleigh enjoyed taking part in the village games at the St Andrew’s Church Fete on Saturday 7th September. The event was well organised and was a great way to develop community spirit with our neighbours from Collingbourne Kingston and Collingbourne Ducis.
A Harvest Festival service took place in St Peter’s Church on Saturday 5th October. The Church was decorated beautifully by the ‘Ladies of Everleigh’, who arranged a stunning floral display. Rev Jo Reid 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 2nd November at the Jubilee Field. The event was highly successful, with spectacular fireworks, excellent refreshments and a high turnout from both Everleigh and neighbouring communities. Many villagers pulled together to produce an excellent joint community affair, with the Collingbourne Cricket Club again providing drinks. We are also pleased to report that the event raised £600 for the Salisbury Hospice 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 14th December. The church was again superbly decorated by the ‘Ladies of Everleigh’, led by Elizabeth East. Our thanks also 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 19th October, with 15 volunteers collecting 12 bags of rubbish, and we conducted a Spring litter pick on Saturday 8th March; 12 volunteers collected 11 bags of rubbish. Everleigh certainly looked a lot cleaner as a result.
A village work party took place on Saturday 19th April to conduct general maintenance and tidying up at the playground. Many thanks go to the seven volunteers who cleaned and painted all the equipment, carried out repairs and strimmed the perimeter fence. This play area is now looking very smart!
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;
• Conduct several events per year to enhance village community spirit.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow parish councillors and the parish clerk, Ms Hazel Boulton, for all their support, enthusiasm and hard work during the past 12 months; Team Everleigh continues to thrive!
2. Finance Report.
The finances remain in a healthy condition with the cash balance in all accounts at £2728.62
at year end. This is £259.63 less than last years closing balance but still more than the reserve amount of £2100.00. I would recommend that the reserve for FY 2025-26 be increased by 5% to £2205.00 to stay in line with inflation.
The Council raised the Precept for FY 2025-26 to £4 220.84 which is an increase of £217.60
This equates to an average Band D increase of £1.83 which represents a 4.21% 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 FY 2024-25 was £6926: £546 VAT; £4003 precept; £100 marquee hire;
£2277 bonfire night which included a £150 donation from CD Cricket Club
Expenditure for FY 2024-25 was £7186: £427.49 Vat which was refunded in April 25; £600 fireworks; £600 donation to Salisbury Hospice; £366 insurance; £420 grass cutting; £288 village events; £2224 cost of the clerk and the remaining £2260 on general maintenance and other such routine costs needed to run the Parish Council.
- Wiltshire Councillor Report. Wilts Cllr Williams reported the following annual summary:
- Tidworth Area Board Funding
- Community Area Grants. 5 projects were supported for a total of £15,095 invested from Area Board funding. Including the project match funding levered in by this funding, a total of £53,055 has been invested into community projects:
- Castledown FM – £1,595 for studio equipment
- Ludgershall St James Church Bellringers – £5,000 towards bell repair
- Ludgershall Boys Youth Club – £1,000 for equipment
- Collingbourne Cricket Club – £2,500 towards cricket net refurbishment
- Ludgershall Scouts Hall – £5,000 towards LED lighting and black mould work
- Local Youth Network Funding. 5 projects were supported for a total of £16,202 invested from Area Board Local Youth Network Funding. Including the project match funding levered in by this funding, a total of £41,000 has been invested into community proects:
- Dolly Carers Café – £843 towards Dollys Carers Café
- Member Led initiative for £5,000 towards the detached youth work project
- Ludgershall Town Council – £5,000 towards Ludgershall Youth Club
- Tidworth Brownies and Guides – £354 towards new hi-vis jackets
- Army Welfare Service – £5,000 towards summer residential event.
- Older and Vulnerable Adults Funding. 4 projects were supported for a total of £7,700 invested from Area Board Local Youth Network Funding. Including the project match funding levered in by this funding, a total of £19,156 invested into community proects:
- Carer Support Wiltshire – £1,278 towards a Military Carers Café
- Armed Forces Equine Charity – £3,965 towards activity sessions for the lonely and isolated
- Castledown Bowls Club – £1,200 towards bowls green maintenance
- Dolly Carers Café – £1,257 towards Dollys Carers Café.
- Tidworth Area Board Priorities.
- Re-election of the Area Board Committee: Tue 20 May at 11am at the County Hall, Trowbridge.
- Induction Training: New Wiltshire Councillors.
- Health and Wellbeing. The Health and Wellbeing Group continues to meet regularly, creating a network of organisations who are able to work together where possible and reduce duplication of effort. The group is in the early stages of creating a sub-group working on reducing isolation and loneliness in the area. This is reflected in the funding awards made from the Older and Vulnerable Adults fund in 2024/25.
- Youth Engagement. The focus for this year has been getting the detached youth work project off the ground. We have finally agreed a way forward with a provider and we are hopeful that we will see this project on the ground in the coming months. The Area Board is also supportive of local youth groups and organisations and is particularly interested in supporting Ludgershall Town Council’s aim to have youth provision – youth club or similar – within the youth centre.
- Local Environment Action. Tidworth, Ludgershall and Villages Environment Group is in the process of re-launching, with a meeting arranged for Monday 24th March to discuss a possible cross-community-area pollinator friendly corridor project. Other projects being run by Wiltshire Council that the group are engaging with are the air quality monitoring project and the electric vehicle public charging points project.
4. Wiltshire Police Report. PCSO Kaur reported that priorities for our area remain to police:
- Hare Coursing.
- Bikers on Salisbury Plain.
- Dogs off leads.
5. 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:
