Chairman's Report

Thimbleby Parish Council - Chairman’s report May 2020

(This report provided in written form as C19 restrictions have precluded holding the parish meeting.)

With one exception, the members of the present council are inexperienced in terms of the role of Councillor; all have spent their own time attending training courses & reading various material in order that we might discharge our responsibilities in an efficient and lawful fashion. We have been ably supported by our experienced Clerk, Chris, who has demonstrated patience with “the newbies”, and a willingness to herself do things differently in accordance with the wishes of the new council. As a very small council we agreed to adopt the principle of “portfolio holders”. Two of these, a) Finance and b) Footpaths, Trees and Environment, are in-post, others to follow.

As a group we have determined the key policies we require in order to operate, and have commenced the creation of these, with some already published. We are not re-inventing the wheel with these and are grateful to Chris in seeking permission from some of her other councils to re-use their policies.

Whilst not a “council” activity, it is heartening to see that the previously funded speed watch equipment is being utilised.

We are mindful that we need to encourage a greater level of engagement with village residents; the council therefore encourages input from residents, in order that we create a portfolio of activity that means something to all of us who live here.

The council is aware of certain issues that various residents experience; blocked highways drains, flooded footpath, overgrown hedgerows perhaps being the most obvious. We are at the mercy of County Council and landowners to address these, and we will continue to build relationships to give us the best chance of positive outcomes, holding organisations to account on behalf of the village.

The council has taken the decision to allocate funding in 2020 / 21 to the maintenance of those assets it is responsible for, specifically Benches, Noticeboards and Bus Shelters. This has meant that for the first time for many years the council is not donating any funding to the maintenance of the Churchyard, the upkeep of which remains the responsibility of the Church. Personally, I feel this provides us with a golden opportunity to hold periodic churchyard community gardening sessions (mindful of course of the constraints that Covid- 19 puts us all under), but of course any such decision rests with Church management.

The council is aware that the creation of a formally recognised “Neighborhood Plan” will enable us to have a greater say in the future of our village, specifically with regards to planning applications and the built environment. This would be a significant undertaking, potentially in terms of finance, certainly in terms of manpower. The council would not be able to create this without additional volunteers; if you feel this is something you could contribute to, even better if you have relevant experience, we’d be delighted to discuss.

Finally, I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to my fellow Councillors for giving freely of their time, to help make Thimbleby a great place to live, and to Chris our clerk, who has to put up with my enquiring mind. As I’m often reminded, Rome was not built in a day; we’re on a journey, we’d love all residents to attend our meetings and to have your say.

Councillor Mark Jamieson