Bulwick Parish Council Newsletter - May 2024
Dear Bulwick Parish Residents
The past 12 months have brought many exciting updates and new equipment to our village. It has been a very busy and productive year for us and we hope you are happy with the results.
Meetings:
There were six meetings held over the year. It was really great to see so many residents attending the meeting in February. The feedback and discussion during the ‘open’ session was very rewarding from both sides and we look forword to village residents continuing to engage more with their Parish Council.
A representative from Kingscliffe Emergency and Flood planning team attended a meeting and it was agreed that Bulwick PC would support a larger group of local villages to enhance the plan. Mr S Hedderly (our Police Liaison Representative) agreed to act as the link, with Cllr Lashmar supporting.
Notifications of the meetings are on the notice board outside the Village Shop. This information is also posted on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/bulwickparishcouncil so please do ‘follow us’ to be kept in the loop. Meetings dates, agendas and minutes are all available on the Parish Council website: https://www.bulwickpc.org.uk
A hearty welcome to Ian and Anne!
Joanna Doel sadly had to stand down from her role as Parish Councillor and as we thanked her and wished her all the best for the future, Councillor Ian Martin was co-opted to fill the vacancy and has since boldly taken on the role of Vice Chair.
Our previous Vice Chair, Hayleigh Fisher, also resigned from office after three years in the role as she has moved away from Bulwick. Hayleigh made many positive contributions to improve Bulwick and we all miss her and her passion for our village and its residents but we’re delighted that Anne Lashmar has been co-opted to become our new councillor.
Village Maintenance:
We have worked hard to make sure village maintenance has remained on track:
Drains have been routinely cleared and the Highways team at Kier have identified drains in the village that need to be repaired and/or replaced in 2024; grass cut and hedges trimmed back on village greens and verges (with borders kept for bees and other beneficial wildlife); more broken fencing by Brook House has been replaced; the Parish Notice Board has been refurbished by local resident Tim Disney; fly tipping reported and dealt with promptly; highways sign on the Deene Road has been reinstated after it fell down and we have a new bin on the Church Lane /Main Street junction. Litter picking equipment has been purchased and on the 24th of March a number of residents turned out for a team-Bulwick litter picking expedition. Thanks to all those who took part.
Many more items have been scheduled for repair via the Fix my Street website. To see these and/or report any more items head to: https://www.fixmystreet.com
Street Lighting refurbishment:
We have now had one of Bulwick’s four heritage-style lamps refurbished and the fitting repaired which has brought light to the top of Main Street! The remaining three lamps will be repaired and refurbished over the coming years to spread costs - heritage lamp refurbs are very expensive!
Mobile Speed Sign:
There is a routine in place for charging the batteries in the mobile speed sign. There is also a plan for 2024 to purchase a second set of batteries to avoid ‘down time’. A match-funding grant has already been approved for a new solar-powered speen sign which will be installed later on this year.
Defibrillator & Phone Box:
When we started the project to purchase the telephone box and place a defibrillator in it, we assumed that this would be a simple task… well it has been a big learning curve to all in the Parish Council! The telephone box is a grade II listed building - a K6 telephone box designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935 - to be precise! This meant that planning permission had to be granted before any restoration could take place. It is worth noting not all K6 telephone boxes are listed but ours is! After discussion with planning and Historic England, permission was finally granted. We then discovered that there are very few companies that undertake restorations of this kind. By the perseverance and doggedness of the Councillors and the Parish Clerk we were able to deliver the project, although it took much longer than expected. The defibrillator is now in place and training was given in April to village residents in the Village Centre. For those that missed the training session, operating instructions can be found by the defibrillator in the phone box.
Other news:
New Bench: A new platform & bench have been placed at the bottom of Red Lodge Road to replace the old bench that was damaged a few years ago and beyond repair. We have received positive feedback from residents on having this bench back in place as it gives a lovely view down to the church from this special spot.
Cherry Tree: Hopefully you will have noticed the flowering cherry tree by the new bench which has been planted and a plaque erected in honor of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Website: It is now a requirement that all Parish Councils must have a website that complies with Website Content Accessibility Guidelines and we now have just that! https://www.bulwickpc.org.uk
20 is Plenty: After requests from residents for further action to calm speeds in the village we have put in place ‘20 is plenty’ advisory signs.
Making Bulwick Safe: Stephen Hedderly, our Police Liaison Representative has been receiving police reports and attending various crime prevention meetings and will keep us all posted with any matters relating to our community and thus helping us all to keep each other and our village safe. His contact details are at the bottom of this newsletter and you can see the latest Police Liaison Reports on our website: https://www.bulwickpc.org.uk/plr
Accounting Statement 23/24:
Investing in the village continues with street lighting refurbishment; Phone Box restoration & defibrillator installation ; a new bench (and base); commmorative tree planting and purchasing litter picking equipment
The Parish Council website was also migrated to a newer platform providing better access to all our users. This was a large task with many of the older documents having to be reformatted to allow them to transfer.
The Parish Council also increased the Clerk’s hours from 22 to 30/month.
As many of our residents are finding increases in their domestic bills, the Parish Council have also seen some increases theirs such as the unmetered electricity supply to our street lights. We are working to ensure that the residents are getting value for money wherever possible
As we look to the year ahead, the focus is on maintaining the village assets, providing a solar- powered speed sign and potentially refurbishing another heritage street light.
Chairman’s Message:
Firstly I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Ann Disney, our wonderful clerk without whose steadfast support, guidance and diligence we could not have functioned let alone achieve anything - thank you Ann.
It has been a very active year for the council with our planned activities gathering pace as you will see from our report in this news letter. We continue to search for new projects that will improve our local services and environment.
I would like to thank my fellow councillors for their unstinting commitment to their roles, thank councillor Hayleigh King for her service and welcome Anne Lashmar and Ian Martin to the council.
I would also like to thank Stephen Hedderley for his continued liaison with our local police force.
I am delighted that attendance has improved at council meetings and that a number of parishioners are taking a genuine interest in what the council does. I would ask those of you who have not yet attended to please find the time to come along to one or two meetings so that you can participate more directly in local governance and development. We are here to serve you as best as we can within the remit of our powers and welcome as much feedback and engagement as possible. Please do join us.
Lastly, a special thanks to all who support the village by organising activities and keeping the local environment clean and safe.
Wishing you all good health, happiness and success in the coming twelve months - Malcolm Beaton
