Annual Report 2020-21
2020-21 has been the first full year that the WTC has included residents of the villages who are not Parish Councillors: initially Carol Carter, Carol Davies and Sue Hebden. This meant a 5:3 ratio between PC and non-PC.
Prior to the August meeting, Carol Carter left the committee, meaning that there were 7 remaining committee members for this meeting.
In August 2020, the following grants were awarded:
• Parish Woodland, Vicarage Road
• Supplementary hedging for St Edith’s
• Carltons’ History Project
• Great Carlton War Memorial – updated September 2020
In September 2020, there was a dedicated informal meeting focussed on investment of funds with guest speaker, Carl Richardson, Chair of Theddlethorpe Parish Council.
John Smith replaced Carol Carter as a non-Parish Council member of the committee before the February 2021 meeting. This meeting was preceded by a presentation looking at a possible long term investment opportunity for the WTC to consider.
The February virtual meeting was very full with 11 applications to consider. The meeting lasted for almost 3 hours. The following 10 grants were awarded:
• St Edith’s Churchyard Mowing for 2021
• Village Green Mowing for 2021
• Carltons easy access footpath grass cutting 2021
• Carltons easy access footpath chemical spraying 2021
• St John the Baptist church gate
• St John the Baptist church drive
• Sir Edward Smith Trust
• Social Club garden
• Solar PV for Village Hall roof - subject to a satisfactory roof survey
• Village Hall fence
Some of these grants were contentious and it was felt that there had not been enough time to properly discuss each one. There was also not sufficient time to look again at the committee structure or the governance document.
An additional informal virtual meeting on 8th April 2021 led to the following revised committee structure:
‘The Committee will consist of:
• 2 current Great Carlton Parish Councillors
• 2 current Little Carlton Parish Councillors
• 4 residents of the villages, ideally 2 from each.’
Emphasis was put on attracting residents who did not belong to other village committees, to widen participation and diversity and minimise members having to declare an interest in future grant applications.
John Smith chose to step down as he was already a member of 2 other village committees. Carol Davies also stepped down. Peter Hill stepped down as GC PC representative and Chair, on the understanding that he would step back up if a GC PC vacancy arose.
The remaining committee members elected Angela Arden to act as interim Chair with Sue Hebden in support as Vice Chair. 3 vacancies were advertised and 4 residents expressed an interest. A fair and democratic ballot was held and the committee welcomed Kate Berridge (LC), Peter Dedman (GC) and Roz Ward (GC) to the committee. The PC non-PC ratio was now 4:4.
The remaining committee also finally agreed on the governance document and new application forms/ guidance notes. Thanks must go to Sue Hebden for all her hard work to get these off the ground. One major change is that there will in future be extra informal meetings in August and February to enable members to look at and discuss new applications prior to the formal bi-annual public meetings to avoid a repeat of the situation which occurred at the February 2021 meeting.
An informal meeting was held on 10th June 2021 to elect Chair (Angela Arden) and Vice Chair (Sue Hebden). The committee voted also to increase to 9 members and Brenda Hanvy was invited to join the committee. The PC non-PC ratio was now 4:5.
A sub-committee led by Sue Hebden with Carole Lazell, Roz Ward and John Hodge met on 6th July to discuss investment opportunities with Carl Richardson, Chair of Theddlethorpe Parish Council
A notice was published in the Carltons noticeboards on 8th July 2021 including an updated list of the WTC and list of existing grants. This supplemented information on our parish website and Facebook.
In February, the committee attached a condition to the grant award for the solar PV, namely that a subcommittee of the Chair (then Peter Hill, now Angela Arden), Carole Lazell (GC PC) and Sue Hebden would work with David Reetham Chair of VHT with regards to the roof survey.
This subcommittee finally met on 9th August with David Reetham and John Smith from the VHT to agree a way forward after the survey showed that only the newer section of the roof would be suitable for solar PV. This has proven to be a challenging situation, given that the grant was awarded under the old committee, prior to the new committee and new procedures being in place. Carole Lazell was unhappy with the outcome of this and resigned with immediate effect at the informal meeting of the WTC on 12th August. Currently the committee is back to 8 members with a 3:5 ratio. Details of all members can be found on the Parish website.
Thanks to all the members of the WTC in 2020-21, past and present, for all they have done over the last year. It has been a very challenging year with many changes both within the committee and with the documentation. There has been a much heavier workload than normal. We have had some ups and downs. We have learned a lot. We are human. Some of our current documentation will need amending as it is confusing, for example two non sequitur points in the governance documentation regarding what to do in the event of the resignation of a PC member. Procedures should be followed, but common sense and good communication should prevail, to enable the diverse members of the WTC to work together both as a team and in partnership with other village committees for the benefit of our community. We are very fortunate to have this money and with it the opportunity to plough it back into the villages for the benefit of our current and future residents.
Angela Arden
Chair of WTC
August 2021