Heighington Parish Council Newsletter

Letting You Know! ... April 2005 No 24

Mrs Sandra Rudolf, Clerk to the Council, Parish Council Office, Jubilee Hall, High Street,

Heighington, Lincoln LN4 1JS Tel: 01522 790846

You haven't heard from us in a while, so we have put together a bumper issue to bring the village up to date on what has been happening in the last few months.

THE FORWARD PLAN

The Parish Council has produced a Forward Plan to detail and, where possible, to cost the essential maintenance of Parish Council property as well as to identify necessary improvements in the facilities available in the village. During the last three years we have had to spend very large sums to ensure we comply with new government legislation on Health & Safety, Disability Discrimination and Playground Standards. This has entailed a rebuild of the toilet facilities at the Jubilee Hall, new lighting consumer units and safety devices, new emergency lighting, new equipment on children's playgrounds and a plethora of signs and notices. This is all very necessary in the litigation conscious society in which we now live. Routine maintenance such as the painting of the exterior of the Jubilee Hall has had to be done to preserve the woodwork. We have looked around and realised there is much more to be done. Some of the items we have identified are listed below:

• Fit Altro flooring in the Potterhanworth Road Pavilion;
• Risk assessment of all council owned trees and remedial works;
• Install non-slip flooring in bar and kitchen areas of Jubilee Hall;
• Repair the stone walls surrounding Jubilee Hall and Bowling Green;
• Resurface and mark out Jubilee Hall front and rear car parks.

These are in order of priority so as to be affordable in forthcoming budget years. We would welcome comments and additions, but please bear in mind that everything has to be paid for by the Council Tax Payer through the Parish Precept.

FINANCE

Your Council Tax bill for 2005/2006 will have recently dropped through the letterbox. One of several charges listed on that bill is an amount for Heighington Parish Council. This money is collected via your council tax and passed onto the Parish Council by North Kesteven District Council.

The Parish Council Precept for 2005/2006 is £61,470 which represents an 8% increase over the previous year; this reflects the average increase throughout the country. In Heighington the charge on a Band ‘D' property will increase from £56.46 to £59.03.

How do we spend your money?

In common with other organisations, we have running costs such as Wages & Salaries (Clerk, cleaners, caretakers, groundsmen etc); General Administration; National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) and Public Works Loan Repayments and these take up approximately two thirds of our budget.

The remaining third has to cover maintenance of our assets (£11,500) and fund new projects (£7200). The Parish Council, with the assistance of grant aid, has completed a number of major projects over recent years. New pavilion and play area on Station Road; complete refurbishment of Almond Avenue playground and resurfacing of the tennis courts, to list just a few. We have also awarded grants to groups within the community such as the Youth Club; Old Village Hall; Washingborough & Heighington Parochial Church Council.

The increase in Parish Council property also increases maintenance and running costs. Sadly, vandalism continues to plague us, resulting in unnecessary expenditure which prevents the Parish Council from spending on more worthy projects.

Nevertheless, as detailed elsewhere in this newsletter, the Parish Council has made plans for future projects and is working to achieve these goals.

I hope this explains a little about the Parish Council Precept and how your money is being spent, but if you have any comments or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact a Parish Councillor or the Clerk.

HEIGHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

There are eleven members on the Parish Council. The Parish Council welcomes views and comments from all parishioners. Public participation takes place at the beginning of Parish Council meetings: these take place on a monthly basis and are advertised in the Parish Council notice boards outside the Village Hall and at the foot of Canterbury Drive.

Councillor W.E. Bliss CBE (Chairman), Potterhanworth Road - Tel: 793843

Councillor Mrs E.G. Hutton (Vice-Chairman), Potterhanworth Road - Tel: 790291

Councillor R.S. Bushell, Garratt Close - Tel: 790639

Councillor H.S. Chahal, CostCutter Store - Tel: 790445

Councillor Mrs C.J.Dunning, High Street - Tel: 797298

Councillor J.R. Dziadkiewicz, Washingborough Road - Tel: 793451

Councillor C.M. Green, The Old Stackyard, Park Lane - Tel: 790756

Councillor D. Hopewell, Edward Barker Road - Tel: 794527

Councillor R.I. Hill, High Street - Tel: 791542

Councillor Mrs B. Webster, Fen Road - Tel: 790369

Councillor Mrs C.E. Walter, Washingborough Road - Tel: 790226

If you have an issue you would like to raise whether it is a faulty street light, pot holes or any other matter contact one of the Parish Councillors listed above or the Clerk to the Parish Council, Mrs Sandra Rudolf - Tel: 01522 790846.

DUCKS

In response to requests from a few parishioners that the Parish Council carry out a cull of ducks in the village, we took advice from the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The advice was the same from both. Ducks can only be culled under a licence from DEFRA. The only authorised method of culling is by shooting. Shooting is prohibited in an urban area. The recommended method of reducing the duck population is by restricting the food supply to what grows naturally in the area. In other words:

DO NOT FEED THE DUCKS!

DOG FOULING

Dog fouling of footways and grass verges still continues to be a problem in the village particularly along Mill Lane and the grass verge near to Millfield County Primary School. It creates an unpleasant task for teachers who frequently have to clean dog mess off children's shoes. Dog mess is dangerous to children if they touch it and accidentally transfer it to mouths or eyes: it can cause blindness.

The Dog Warden is patrolling this area at regular times in an attempt to catch any irresponsible person in charge of a dog who fails to clean up after the dog has fouled. The Dog Warden has already issued nine fixed penalty tickets in the Four Parishes area and she will not hesitate to issue further tickets to anyone she sees flouting the NKDC bylaw.

To report fouling incidents and for information on dealing with stray dogs call the Dog fouling HOTLINE: 0784 087 6054

VILLAGE IN BLOOM COMPETITION

The Parish Council will once again be holding its Village in Bloom competition when prizes will be awarded in the categories of:

Best Hanging Basket; Best Window Box, Container or Tub; Best overall Front Garden and Best Village Centre Display.

Every house in the village will be visited by the judges during late July or early August. Get planting now!

BEST KEPT VILLAGE COMPETITION

The Parish council has entered the village in the Community Council of Lincolnshire's Best Kept Village competition. Judging is in three rounds taking place in June, July and August. We do not know when the judging will take place, but we hear after each round whether we have progressed to the next or have been eliminated. Litter is the weakness in most villages and we are grateful to our litter picker for doing a sterling job, but this is something everyone can help with. A discarded cigarette packet, sweet wrapping, crisp packet, drinks can or bottle can be the difference between progression and early elimination.

VANDALISM and NUISANCE

The village is unfortunately suffering from a great deal of vandalism and nuisance caused by gangs of teenagers. Back Lane and Almond Crescent have experienced damage, verbal abuse of elderly residents and underage drinking. The Parish Council sports facilities have suffered from wanton vandalism with drain pipes broken and security lights twisted and torn down, bus shelters fouled with urine and human excreta and alcohol bottles broken onto footpaths and grass playing areas. The Parish Council is working with the police and the NKDC Anti Social Behaviour Officer to curb this problem. Where offenders are clearly identified, they will be made the subject of an Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) under new regulations brought in by the Home Office. We are encouraged to report all incidents by calling 01522 882222

Date for your diary: LINCOLNSHIRE POLICE MOBILE UNIT will be visiting Heighington on Tuesday 7 th June from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please take the opportunity to pop in and make your views and concerns known.

WALKS LEAFLET

Debby Braund, Access Promotion Officer for Lincolnshire County Council, has been developing a leaflet on one of Heighington's more popular walks. It is to include photographs and historical notes collated by our very own Mrs Brenda Webster and should be available very soon.

We will, of course, be holding our Annual Footpath Walk in the summer. The date has just been announced: Monday 18 th July 2005 starting from Jubilee Hall at 7 p.m. : do come and join us for a pleasant stroll through our lanes and byways.

SKATEPARK

Last August, in conjunction with Branston Parish Council, we hired NKDC's mobile skatepark. This was enthusiastically used by local skateboarders and the venture was considered highly successful. We are hoping to hire the skatepark again this summer, perhaps over a series of weekends and in a location nearer to home. Look out for further information.

JUBILEE HALL

The Jubilee Hall was built after the expanding village of Heighington outgrew the village hall. Following extensive fund-raising by dedicated villagers, led by Margaret Moran and Mary Round, grants from NKDC and various other organisations and a substantial loan obtained by the Parish Council, the new hall was completed in 1987.

The Hall boasts a dance floor and bar area making it an ideal party venue for all manner of celebrations. With tables and chairs available it is also perfect for meetings, demonstrations and exhibitions. Recent refurbishment of the toilets has been completed to provide modern uni-sex disabled facilities and baby changing. There are car parks to front and rear.

The Jubilee Hall is home to several regular user groups. For pre-school children there is the village Playgroup, Toddler Group and Music & Movement. The Hall also accommodates two separate Brownie packs, Heighington WI, the Kesteven Blind Society, Gardening Club, Carpet Bowls Club and Heighington Wives, as well as lending itself to local GP practices for regular Baby Clinics.

Look out for events organised by the Jubilee Hall Committee to raise funds to further enhance the facilities offered. Check the village website for the latest details: www.heighington-lincs.org.uk

BRANSTON & HEIGHINGTON FAMILY PRACTICE

We are now well into the new year and if you are planning to head for sunnier climates this year please don't forget to arrange any necessary holiday vaccinations well in advance with one of our practice nurses.

Over the next ten months the practice will be sending out invitations to all patients over the age of 65 offering them the pneumonia vaccination. You only require one of these vaccinations to last a lifetime; however should you not have had one of these important injections then please arrange to have one undertaken.

During the year 2004 the Practice went through the following changes:

•  A new GP contract was introduced in April which has changed the way GPs are paid for providing services. From a patient perspective, it means that all patients are now registered with the practice and not a named doctor which means you can see any of our doctors, however if you wish you can always request to see the same doctor.

•  We employed a new GP, Dr Donna Lendon, who undertakes sessions every morning.

•  We employed an additional Practice Nurse, Angela, who holds clinics on Monday and Friday afternoons.

•  We further expanded the Nurse Practitioner clinics run by Karen. Please don't forget Karen can see patients with new problems and has the same diagnosis and treatment skills as a GP.

For 2005 the practice will be continuing to review the way we provide services to patients. We will also be continuing to crack down on patients who persistently fail to attend for appointments. A written warning will be sent out to persistent offenders and if that fails to improve their record they will be removed from the practice register. The same policy will be followed for any patients who are found to be continually abusing staff; if their behaviour fails to improve they will be removed from the register.

Please don't forget:

•  If you are over 45 please ensure that you have your Blood Pressure checked on an annual basis.

•  If you are on the contraceptive pill, you have your Blood Pressure checked every 6 months

•  If you are Asthmatic or Diabetic, you attend your annual review with the Practice Nurse.

If you do have any comments on the service we provide be they good or bad please write to me at the practice.

Ian Green, Practice Manager
www.branstonsurgery.co.uk

There is currently a vacancy on the Board of Trustees: any one interested in becoming a Trustee should contact Mrs S Smith.

THOMAS GARRETT ARTS, CRAFTS AND HERITAGE CENTRE

The Heritage Rooms are a unique facility situated within the village of Heighington. They are leased and maintained by North Kesteven District Council for the use of both villagers and the wider community for arts, crafts and heritage activities.

The groups that are presently using the Rooms on a regular basis include a stained glass group, a screen printing group, and several textile groups, some with artists working for a degree in either textiles or design.

We also have two Circle dance groups who specialise in Celtic, Mediaeval and Flemish dances, a Meditation group and an Earth Healing group which teaches how to harness our planet's energies to benefit our health and well-being.

The local Primary School stages an end of term exhibition in our hall, and the Amateur Dramatic Society holds rehearsals and makes their costumes there.

The Church of St Thomas, to which the Rooms are attached, holds monthly coffee mornings and the Sunday School holds their classes there.

The local branch of the University of the Third Age also holds several meetings in the Rooms.

We are also currently hosting an annual performance by the Rural and Touring Community Artists.

HAVE YOU VISITED OUR HEIGHINGTON VILLAGE WEBSITE?

It has been created with you in mind as a source of local information for past, present and future residents. Please help make this a successful venture by sending us information on the following:

•  Your organisation's events for this year, with full details for our diary;

•  A story about a past village event or any local history that you think will be of interest to village residents;

•  Advertisements promoting local services and businesses, with full details and contact numbers that can be easily updated at any time. There will be a small charge for adverts ;

•  General local information of interest to other residents.

Your positive ideas on how we can improve or develop the website will be greatly appreciated and considered.

Contact: Pat Hill, 66 High Street, Heighington. LN4 1JS - Tel: 01522 791542

E-mail: hillrip@ntlworld.com