Present: Marshall Ferguson - chair. Stan Heggs (CC), Phil Bromhall (BC), Tim Fox, Terri Meechan (BC), Matthew Moore, Andy Royle, Mark Thompson, Gary Williams (Police Borough Commander), Jake Vilette, Simon King (Junior Councillors) and Ailsa Dempster (Acting Clerk).

Apologies: John Hindle

The Chairman declared the meeting open to the public.

The Chairman reminded Councillors to declare an interest where appropriate.

The Minutes of the Meeting on 11 May were accepted as a true record and signed.

Matters Arising:

No further information available on repair of bus shelter - Clerk to be reminded.

Attention was again drawn to state of Corby Road. Road had been marked for repair but no date for work to start had been given. The Chairman said that the entry to the village by Harringworth Road was nearly as bad. The ditch on the Lyddington Road had been cleared and water was no longer flowing on to it but it needed to be piped. Police help was sought for getting a weight limit imposed for the village to deter heavy lorries using village as a short cut.

Report from County Councillor.

Stan Heggs was congratulated on his re-election and he expressed his pleasure at being able to continue his work as County Councillor. Mr Heggs said he had nothing to report with the new municipal year having just begun.

Report from Borough Councillors

Phil Bromhall said there had been no meetings for 6 weeks. Terri Meechan added she had nothing to report.

Police

Gary Williams, Borough Commander, explained he was responsible for the community side of policy for Corby Borough. Gretton's crime record continued low with 7 offences only having been reported since the beginning of April. There had been a break in at the Hatton and with a prompt call the offenders had been caught and arrested on the premises. They were Corby people. There had been a theft from a front garden and one vehicle stolen. Mark Thompson reported two lads with hoods had been seen in the early hours in the Arnhill Road area but nothing appeared to be missing or damaged. They had been recorded on film. He had also seen a black Saab Reg S613 WGF on his land but as he approached they drove off at speed.

Generally throughout the Borough reports of anti-social behaviour were reduced and there were 20% less reported incidents than a year ago. There was some increase in theft of metal items - grilles and pieces of metal fence. Scrap prices were again rising.

Mr Williams was reminded about the approaching Welland Valley Beer Festival. Only the Talbot and Sports Club were taking part this year with the Hatton and Bluebell doing their own thing.

Mr Williams added that there had been some increase in "door knockers", reputably from Nottingham. Residents should not open to them unless they were sure they were registered and could produce a Pedlar's certificate.

Some new grant money was becoming available for businesses who supported local youth projects.

The new 030 police number - 03000 111 222 should be used for non-emergency calls as much as possible. This service was cheaper for the police and more efficient.

In answer to a question about rumours of police stations closing, Mr Williams said nothing of this kind was planned for the next few years although there could be some consolidation in 10-20 years' time.

Correspondence & Circulation.

The acting clerk reported she had none.

Councillors' Attendance at Parish Council Meetings

Andy Royle said he had analysed attendances by Councillors over the past year - six Councillors had missed no more than one meeting in the last year, he had missed 3. Paul Seaton had only attended 5 of the last 12 meetings and Jeremy Sharman had attended 4 out of 7 meetings. It was emphasised that Councillors should make their apology to the Clerk and if possible indicate why. There was a list of individuals who had indicated they would like serve on the Council but there were no vacancies at present. If attendance was less than 75% it was difficult for Councillors to know what was happening. It was agreed a letter should be sent by the Clerk to the two Councillors concerned drawing attention to the concern of the Parish Council, asking if they wished to continue and if so could they improve their attendance record. There were still two years to go before the next election of Parish Councillors.

Remembrance Day Parade

The Chairman reported that he had spoken to Shirley Fursdon, Chairwoman of the Ladies Legion but she had said the ladies could not undertake the organisation of the Remembrance Day Parade following the winding up of the Men's Branch. The Council considered this was a long standing tradition and the numbers attending recent parades had been quite high and it was something they would like to see continue. It was agreed to ask the Clerk to arrange a meeting including representatives of both Churches, and T Alexander, Shirley Fursdon, Rob Clark, Ewen McKechnie, Brendon Smith, Rachel Gray and a representative of the Silver Band and any others who would like to be involved with a view to organising future parades, ordering wreaths, printing orders of service and arranging the marches and continuing the present practice of alternating the service between St James' Church and the Baptist Church. A paragraph should be included in the next Newsletter.

Village Plan

Continuing the Parish Council's review of the Village Plan, Tim Fox introduced the section on Services and Transport by saying that the improvements to roads and pavements was ongoing with the Highways Authority, action was urgently needed on resurfacing Corby Road and Harringworth Road. The PC were actively seeking to get a weight restriction for the village. Corby BC updating existing lights with the aim of making them more efficient and this was now nearing completion.

Grass cutting was still a problem. The Council questioned whether all the cuts promised were being delivered. It was requested that a copy of the current contract together with a note setting our how many cuts/spraying had so far been delivered in 2009 should be circulated with the next Agenda for the July meeting so that members could study it before the meeting. A resident had offered to help with some additional cuts using his own equipment if this would help.

Bus timetables had improved but the delivery of service by the present contractor was not as good as hoped for particularly on time keeping and helpfulness. There had been little support for a car sharing scheme. More information was needed on the experience of other villages both nearby and further afield.

A request had been put to the Health Authority as to whether more use could be made of the surgery facilities, but the reply had been negative.

A speedwatch campaign has been established to check speeding in the village but this was ongoing.

Since the plan had been published in 2005 Community Special Police Officers had been introduced to make regular patrols of the village. They had been active in making people aware of measures they should take to safeguard themselves and their property. Liaison between police and residents was easier and the CSPOs were making themselves known to people.

The junior Councillors confirmed that the Youth Club was continuing well with more young people attending every fortnightly meeting..

A meeting had been held to try and re-establish the Neighbourhood Watch but volunteers had not been forthcoming to organise and implement this.

The Parish Council had assisted the Post Office with the cost of having a CCTV camera at the Post Office.

The results of the Village Plan survey had been passed to the Churches.

Democracy and the Village Community

A need to improve communications in the village had been identified. The Newsletter has been expanded to three issues per year with increased content. The website is actively supported by the Parish Council with all minutes published online. A new PC noticeboard has been established at the Post Office. Welcome Packs are kept up to date and issued to new residents. Mr Naylor is Gretton's Village Correspondent but he needs to be informed of items and events to report by village Organisations and individuals. Tel: 01536 770752 Email royterz@aol.com. He provides information about the village to The Rutland Times, Rutland Mercury and Evening Telegraph Down your Way, Saturday centre pages. It was suggested Mr Naylor be invited to attend a Parish Council meeting to discuss how best we can use his services.

It was suggested that the Noticeboard on the Green should be used for Tourist information only displaying a copy of the Local History Society's "A Walk through Time" and perhaps a short history of the village. A new notice board at the Village Hall should also be considered preferably on the outside fence. It would also be useful if a copy of the bus timetable could be displayed in the bus shelter.

The use of the Telephone Box for advertising village organisations possibly using the information supplied for the welcome pack. The should also be a facility for more permanent advertising for village businesses for which there would be an annual charge and the notices would have to be provided in a standard format to fit the window size and non-fade lettering of an easily readable style. Notices of events would not be considered for the Box.

Our County and Borough Councillors regularly attend meetings of the County and contribute usefully to discussions and provide information of various kinds on developments and proposed developments.

The Council also discussed having a Facebook entry for Gretton and this would be looked at further.

Planning

Extension at 36 High Street.. The Council had no observations to make on this application.

It was also reported that Elisabeth Jordan an appeal against the planning permission for a new house on her site being turned down.

Finance

Current Balance:		£12,495.64
Amounts due:
	Gretton Baptist Church	475.00
	Tim Shepherd (Tree Surgeon)	1,500.00

The Council agreed to pay Gretton Village Hall a grant for the year 2009/10 of £850.

Highways - faults

Street light not working outside The Old School House at the Green

Drain blocked outside 46-48 Arnhill Road

Any Other Business

Clinkers footpath - area at top appeared to be shrinking. Chairman proposed that the Council should consider installing a 5-bar gate and kissing gate at the entrance to the path from Arnhill Road. This used to be there. The path was maintained by the NCC and the ownership of the land needed to be established

It was agreed the Parish Council should register this land with the Land Registry and also other areas which it owns such as the Pick Playing Field, The Green, Church gap, field on Harringworth Road, Stonepit Close.

Hedge needs cutting in Arnhill Road below numbers 5A, 7 and 7A.

Ivy around Green - Matthew Moore asked how this clearance was progressing. The Chairman reported he with Phil Bromhall had cleared part of this but agreed the job needed to be finished.

Weeds along road to Recreation Ground needed to be sprayed. Chairman said he had suitable spray.

The jitty to the Recreation Ground and also Bird Cage Walk needed cutting. The Clerk was asked to ring Ian Smith at Corby BC to arrange for Bob Rutt to get it cut.

It was agreed that the new Headmistress should be invited to attend a meeting of the Parish Council on a suitable date.

Southfield Road sign has still not been replaced. It is unreadable at present.

The drain at the Sports Club had again become blocked. The Chairman said it had been cleared but the underlying problem remained.

A question was asked about the Pick Playing Field and whether it could be used for allotments.