Minutes of Meetings 2022

EAST KEAL PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL RESIDENTS MEETING
Minutes from the meeting held on Wednesday 20th April 2022 at 7pm in The Keals’ Village Hall.
Welcome  Cllr Grahame Smith welcomed everyone to this meeting that is required to be held annually.  He explained that unfortunately late this afternoon notification was received that our guest speaker, Roisin Mullee, was unable to attend as she had tested positive for covid.

Present and Apologies 38 residents of East Keal attended.  Apologies were received from Cllr Gray and three other residents.

Minutes of meeting held 19.5.2021.  These had been circulated and it was proposed by Cllr Kemp and seconded by a member of the public that these be accepted as a true record on the meeting.

Chair’s Annual Report 2021-2022
Due to covid crisis restrictions, last year's Annual Residents Meeting was held back from April to May 19th 2021. Details were posted online on the Parish Council website and noticeboards.
Councillors.  In May your councillors were Grahame Smith, Chair; Lynn Kemp, Deputy Chair; Geoff Boxer; Hannah McKinlay; Tim Wrisdale. Then Dennis Cooper joined the council in September.  In March 2022 Hannah McKinlay stepped down.
We had the usual wonderful support and hard work from Libby Martin, our Parish Clerk.
Regular attendance at our meetings and great support from your District Councillor, Jim Swanson ended in November 2021 when Jim sadly passed away. We shall miss him greatly. Cllr. Grahame Smith represented the PC at his service.
In the May 2021 election Cllr Bill Aaron was replaced as County Councillor by Cllr William Gray who has since attended our meetings and given us good support on many aspects.
We also thank Dawn Keal who has continued as our Internal Auditor.
Significant Events
1.  The speed limit on A16 though East Keal was reduced from 40 mph to 30 mph in August. Well done to all those that had pushed for this.
2.   In July 2021 a planning application was received to build six houses on the field between East Keal Manor and Church Lane, the one behind the re-cycling bins. There was much uproar and opposition to this as it would mean the removal or destruction of The Green by the shop where our bench and noticeboard are located, as well as the prospect of many more houses filling the field at a later date. This would change the character of that area and the nature of the village.
3.  Your Parish Council called a Public Meeting about this application at which over 50 people attended filling the village hall. Residents were encouraged to and advised on submitting objections to East Lindsey District Council.
4.  Eventually in March 2022, planning permission was rejected for these reasons: no archaeological survey; facing a listed building the Manor House; trees had preservation orders; not within ELDC's Local Plan.
We have considered 11 other planning applications during the year.
Cllr McKinlay represented the PC along with County Cllr Gray with the Area Manager of Highways on a walk though East Keal to assertion needs and work required.
Frequent accidents on the A16, particularly at the Hall Corner bend occurred during the last 12 months. We constantly requested action to improve the situation and Highways agreed to a survey. Once the results were known we called a Public Meeting, invited Cllr Gray and the Area Manager for Highways, Kyra Nettle to explain how serious the situation has become and for parishioners to express their views and ask questions. This was held on 31st March and we shall look forward to positive results.
War Memorial.  The grounds continue to be cared for by Jane and Helena who we thank as we do Clare Chapman who has helped with strimming the long grass. Your PC purchased the geraniums and begonias that brighten up the flower beds all Summer.
In November the Remembrance Service was conducted by Geoff Boxer and attended by over fifty people.
The 4 Year Plan.  Covering 2020-2024, the plan contains details of our survey and is regularly appraised each January. To comply, we started three new social groups in September that residents had indicated they were keen on. These were: Art & Painting; Local Wildlife & Birds; Local History.
To date we have not yet made progress on creating a community area in the village.
Important Work  Our 'Meet the Councillors' Garden Party was held in September at Quickthorn Hollow with tea, cakes etc. and over 40 people attending.
The new Parish Council Website is working well holding details for people to access e.g., minutes, agendas, meeting dates. See https://east-keal.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk
Over the year there has been much more use of the Parish Council Facebook Page with regular postings, news and residents’ questions. With around 300 regular followers, some items on the road accidents received over seventy thousand viewings.
A new East Keal Community Facebook page has complimented these and now has 184 members.
In addition to the above, we continue to post on our three noticeboards, we email parishioners and important notices are then leafleted to each house in the parish.
Village Volunteers.  We are extremely grateful to all people who help keep the village neat and tidy by cutting grass verges etc., thank you very much!
Litter picking sessions have been conducted regularly and co-ordinated by Cllr McKinlay. Thank you to all who have participated. We have just bought more sets of gloves, pickers, hoops and hi-vis vests to make it all safer.  Cllr Wrisdale made a generous personal donation to obtain these, we thank him very much.
Finances.  The annual finances are publicised and a copy is available at this meeting. This year some savings and under spending have enabled us to have no increase in council tax.
We have been able to support the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Events Committee with a grant of £120 to cover the cost of toilet hire at the June event. In addition, your Parish Council has bought commemorative mugs using some of the reserves, one will be gifted to each household in the parish.
Currently there are two vacancies on the parish council. So, if you can spare a little time to contribute more to your community, come and join us.
Contact Libby Martin, Clerk on 01790 752083 or ekparishclerk@btinternet.com
Cllr Kemp proposed that this report be adopted and it was seconded by D White.  All agreed.

Art Group.  This group meets every other Tuesday from 12.30pm to2.30pm.  Participants enjoy trying to use different mediums to paint with and there have been some great successes when paintings have been sold at local events.  Members of the group are always willing to help new/inexperienced members, and ideas, equipment and paints are often shared. Anyone is welcome to attend – just come along.  
Community Café.  In 2018 the Church had a meeting where residents were asked what they would like to see the Church used for.  From this discussion came the idea to have a Community Café.  A group of volunteers now organise drinks, cakes, sometimes soup for folk to share, on a regular basis. There are also books, magazines, jigsaws, reference books and leaflets for residents to borrow.  Unfortunately, the Church has no easy facilities for making drinks etc and it is hope that in the future the Church will be able to get funding for a servery and toilet.  The next event will be on 27.4.22 at 2.pm to 3.30pm.  All are welcome.
Gardening Club.  I am pleased to report that the Gardening Club is now getting back to normal and we have a full programme of events planned for the year.
We have several speakers booked, garden visits and a hog roast planned for July.
This April we have already had an Easter Quiz with fish and chips and a trip to Gunby Hall.  We were treated to a guided tour of the gardens at Gunby by one of the volunteers which was absolutely wonderful. The Spring flowers and bulbs were all in full bloom, what a picture.
Next month we have a talk on hardwood cuttings and also one on organic gardening.
If anyone would like any more information on the Gardening Club please contact me on 01790 753558.  Membership is £10.00 per year.

Jubilee Event.  In August 2021 a committee was formed to agree events to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee in 2022.  Members of the committee came from East Keal, West Keal and Keal Cotes so it was therefore agreed that a joint event be organised.  Fundraising would need to be undertaken and any surplus funds would be given to six local chosen charities.  Many fundraising events have already been held from the sale of Halloween Activity bags, Table Top Sales, Coffee mornings, Craft events, Raffles, Afternoon teas etc.
The main event is to be a ‘bring your own picnic’, to be held at Bush’s Farm.  This will take place on 5.6.22.   There will be a free barbeque, a DJ and dancing in the barn.  A Platinum Villager Award and a ‘Last Night of the Proms’.  Invitations will be going out shortly.  
The Parish Council was thanked for the generous donation towards the hire of the toilet. Also the committee were thanked for all their hard work.
Local History Group.  As Part of the Parish Council's 4 Year Plan, in September 2021 a new Local History Group was set up.  Meeting once a month there have been discussions on the history of East Keal with residents bringing in their old photos and memories. Several pictures have been posted on the PC website. We talk about our listed buildings and the folk who used to live in our village.
In February a slide show presentation was given by Geoff and Denise Wheatley.  Slides of 16-18C records held in Lincoln were shown of "inventories of households," written immediately after a death to declare residents' assets held.  It's a system in use prior to the establishments of wills.   Everyone found this very interesting and it is hoped that some research can be down to find out more about East Keal and the village in this era.
The group is very friendly and enjoys their tea and cake! Please do come along and join us and learn more about our local history.  Next meeting is Wednesday 4th May 2:00 pm.

PCC.  St Helen’s Church.  It has been another very busy year in the life of St Helen’s Church.   Several things have changed post covid.  During the time when we were not permitted to hold services, we opened the church daily for private prayer, and were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who just wanted to pop in for a moment of peace and so we have continued to ensure that the church is open every day.  Once the restrictions were lifted, we started to have services every Sunday, rather than twice monthly, and this has also continued and been positively received.
Together with all churches across the Diocese of Lincoln, we had to make a decision about the future status and direction of our church and collectively we agreed that we saw ourselves as a community church.  We await with interest to see how the Diocesan “Time to Change Together” strategy is implemented across Lincolnshire.
As well as the church being a religious place, we are endeavouring to develop the building so that it becomes a useful space which can serve the wider needs of the community in which we live.  The raised pews from the back of the church have been removed (with the required permissions), the floor where they were sited retiled and the walls made good.  We are already seeing how this new space enables us to do use the space for more community-based activities – a children’s craft activity morning recently saw 15 children and their families enjoying being together in the church and the regular community café demonstrates the advantage of having somewhere that local people can access with ease.
The plans to instal a toilet and servery continue and we are preparing a bid to the submit to National Heritage Lottery Fund.   Due to the state of the roof, the church is now on the heritage at risk list, and there is an urgent need to address this as part of our development plans for the building.  Our full project proposal should be submitted by the autumn.  
Villagers will also be aware of the various activities that take place to help support the church and we would like to thank you all for your generosity.  We have benefitted from the many and varied skills that people have – flower arranging, cake baking, bricklaying and plastering to name but a few.
A date for your diary is 10.9.22 when a fete and musical event is to be held at Bill & Cynthia Atkin’s.

Friends of St Helen’s.  Under the strapline “Everyone needs friends, even buildings”, the Friends of East Keal was launched last autumn and has already made good progress in raising funds for the maintenance and development of our village church building.
The Friends of St Helen’s East Keal is open to people of all faiths and of none, but who want to ensure that our village church remains a feature of our community.  We are not affiliated or connected with the church and our sole charitable purpose is to provide funds which the Church Council can only use for the maintenance and development of the building.
Our major initiative this year has been the launch of a 100 Club.  Towards two-thirds of the tickets for each draw are already subscribed.  This means that the 100 Club will raise over £2,000 this year for us to give to the Church Council.
As we recover from Covid, we are beginning to plan more events to raise funds.  A New Year party is a possibility we are exploring.  There is to be an evening of Pimms, Music and Canapés on the 21st May to which all are welcome.  Tickets are selling well, and are available on 01790 753558.

Local Wildlife & Birds Group.  As part of the Parish Council’s 4 Year Plan a new group was started in September 2021 and has met regularly each month.  The main purpose is to be aware of the mammals and birds that live wild in our area, the Keals. To do this we started recording our sightings of wildlife in November - December, then again in January - February. This gave us the types and the variety of wildlife but we also noted the numbers seen.  For example, we may have only seen one Jay or Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but hundreds of rooks. This is important to know.  We are now adding to the list those migrating birds joining us in the Spring.
Eventually, we hope to provide a long-term record, or even give a snap shot of what wildlife we have now, so that people in the future can compare and monitor any changes especially in relation to climate change.  Hopefully, it will also make a statement about how healthy nature is in East Keal.
If you see any wild animals or birds, please do note them and let us know. The more people doing this worthwhile recording is the better for our future.
Have you seen any swallows yet?  So join us!
Our next meeting is on Friday 27th May 11am in the village hall.

Village Hall Report.  The two years of the COVID crisis has hit the village hall hard as there were times when it was closed and there was no regular income.  Fortunately, government grants were applied for and provided via ELDC to both cover basic running costs and to assist recovery of social activities and community groups.  This meant that during last Autumn when groups were considering being active again, we were able to help financially. Hire costs were discounted massively to around 50% of previous rates. We also introduced a policy of free hire for six months to any new group starting up. This has enabled the new Keal Krafters group to establish a regular monthly session, as well as the Art & Painting Group the Local History Group and the Wildlife & Birds Group.
Previously existing groups have benefited from discounts and flourished; like the Bridge Club on a Monday evening, the Yoga Club on a Tuesday morning, as well as the Quilting Group, Womens Institute and the Parish Councils of both West Keal and East Keal.
The grant support enabled us to help the community in two other significant ways.
1.  We have installed and do provide free of charge Super Fast Broadband. The W.I. were able to live stream their meetings to those members at home who could not attend. Having the quick internet service has benefited all groups and users.
2.  We purchased and provided a large solid shed in the grounds to enable social groups to store and use their equipment at one central place in the community.
Both these were obtained due to requests from our users and groups, we listened and provided.
The hall has also been hired for local elections; birthday parties and training organisations during the last year. The hall committee provide a Fun Community Quiz Night each month which anyone is welcome to participate in.  The next one is on 13.5.22.
We have been proud to provide the village hall free for the many meetings and fundraising events for the Queen' Platinum Jubilee Events Committee, as we shall on that coming weekend in June.  Our policy has been to provide our hirers the hall in the best condition possible with regular professional grounds care and cleaning services. The temporary issues with the remote heating controls have now been sorted. With the recent repainting, inside and outside, it is a nice place to meet. There are several facilities including fridge, cooker and kitchen equipment along with toilets and car parking. The hall is available for hire for as little as £10 per session, despite the recent rapid increases in the cost of electricity etc. we shall continue to be available to the community and provide the service required.
The Keals' Village Hall is a Charitable Trust which is run by volunteers. We need more volunteers!  Can you help? Please do come and join us if you can give a couple of hours of your time every so often? Contact Rod Pike 01790 753546.

WI Report.  The committee are happy to report on another successful year and the membership stands at 20.
Our WI year has been a game of two halves.  The first part of the year still being governed by covid restrictions.  This meant that the annual meeting was held virtually, this was a challenge but all members did have the opportunity to nominate and vote for both the new committee and president for the oncoming year.  Thanks go to Jennie Hamer who took on the role of overseeing this.
We had some wonderful speakers and because we used Zoom were able to go further afield to find them.  They included Mark Francis from the Great British Sewing Bee and Jennifer Rigby.  
August saw us all enjoying a picnic, socially distanced, at a member’s garden.  This was enjoyed by all and thanks go to our host and the committee for organising the refreshments.
Face to face meetings resumed in September and included, ‘Me, Myself and Mindfulness’, Astrid Gatenby from Gunby, and making table decorations with Jenni Kirkby.  Our programme secretary, Sandra Adams, is planning another year of exciting speakers but has decided to step down from this role at the end of the year.  Thanks were expressed to her for all her hard work.
Fundraising efforts resumed with catering at a couple of open garden events in the village.  Visitors were delighted to be able to stroll around a garden, have a cup of tea and slice of cake and do something normal.  These and other events enable us to raise over £586.  Thanks were expressed to Susie MacDonald and Ruth Ward for the use of their gardens, to members and husbands who helped on the days and all those who made cakes etc.  We have given donations of £50 to the Royal British Legion with the purchase of two wreaths which were laid at East and West Keal.  We also donated £38 to LIVES and Lincolnshire Air Ambulance, instead of sending Christmas Cards.
Other events have included a New Year Meal at the Windmill in Burgh.  The book club continues to meet regularly at Ruth’s, with Gill Taplin as head librarian.  Some members continue to attend meetings via Zoom sessions organised by the Federation.  Other courses attended include paper craft stars, handmade wreaths and a ghost walk in Lincoln.

Yoga Report.  This group has been running in the Village Hall for over 20 years.  The group meet on a Tuesday, term time only, from 10am to 11.30am.  The cost is £8 a session and new members are always welcome.

Keal Krafters.  This group meet monthly in the Village Hall.

Spilsby Bridge Group.  This group meet every Monday starting at 7pm.  New members are always welcome.  Contact Christine Isles if interested on 01790 753146.  At present the fees are £1 a session.

News Items.  The Parish Council has purchased Jubilee commemorative mugs which will be delivered to East Keal residents shortly.
Litter Pick.  This is being organised for 14.5.22 at 10am.  Please met on the Green.
Councillor Vacancies.  There are two vacancies on the Council if anyone is interested contact the Clerk.
Date of next Parish Council Meeting.  This will be on 18th May at 7pm in the Village Hall.  All welcome.