Redlingfield Village Committee Meeting 8th February 2023 from 8-10 pm

Meeting Chair: Midge Gibbons, Parish Clerk: Janet Norman-Philips, Treasurer: Adrian Smith.

Village Committee Members: Andrew Abbott, Katie Abbott, Graham Abbott, Sue Chapman, Allan Chapman, Helen Cook, Will Edwards, Emma Hewitt, Pat Kelly, Manday Miller, Lesley Rose, Adrian Smith, plus Will Kerry is a part-time member.

Agenda and the Minutes (in blue)

  1. In attendance & Apologies for absence

In attendance: Chair: Midge Gibbons, Parish Clerk: Janet Norman-Philips, Treasurer: Adrian Smith. Committee members: Graham Abbott, Allan Chapman & Sue Chapman. Plus: Mike Ager.

Apologies: Andrew Abbott, Katie Abbott, Manday Miller & Lesley Rose.

Committee members no longer living in Redlingfield: Helen Cook & Pat Kelly.

 

  1. Minutes of previous (AGM) and matters arising.

Minutes of the 45th AGM held Wednesday 18th May 2022 were agreed. With matters arising being delt with in this agenda.

  1. Finance Update for April 2022-March 2203 Financial Year. Current balances, income/expenditure plus projected expenditure for next financial year. This item precedes events on the agenda so we know how much money we have to play with and how much fund raising/begging we are going to have to do….
  • Current bank balance at 27th January is £5,918 (at this time last year it was £4,236) This excludes the Earmarked Funds for the Defibrillator of £1,449.
  • Income from the Pub & Doorstep Green events was £2,826 against costs of £1,038 (including alcohol licences) providing a contribution to the Parish Meeting of £1,788.
  • Some £75 was received from individual donations.
  • Committed/expected expenditure for April 2022 to March 2023 is £1,400. Spend so far is £1,321.22:
    • £94.06    Contribution to the Tea on the Green
    • £114.00  Purchase of 30 Jubilee Mugs for village youngsters
    • £446.22  Insurance
    • £38.38    SALC membership
    • £193.20  SALC Audit costs
    • £118.80  Scribe accounting system
    • £125.00  Grass Cutting
    • £156.56  Dog Bins
    • £35.00    Data protection registration
  • Committed/expected expenditure for April 2023 to March 2024 is £1,300.

The financial position was noted. All the volunteers were thanked for their hard work which has enabled our reserves to be built back up to previous levels.

A new earmarked rolling fund will be created (currently empty) to provide funds towards future updates of the Doorstep Green and to contribute match funding for external grants. The amounts to be contributed to this fund each year to be decided by the Village Committee and Parish AGM.

  1. Update from 2022 Queen’s Jubilee and village events

4.1 Queen’s Canopy Trees – The Redlingfield Project to plant 10 trees for every household has been achieved – some 600 trees in total have been distributed/planted.  

Noted and welcomed.

4.2 Queen’s Jubilee events were well attended and enjoyed (see coverage of events in village magazine and website).

4.3 Queen’s Jubilee mugs for village youngsters. 30 Mugs were purchased.

Any youngsters without mugs should contact the Parish Clerk

4.4 Redlingfield PCC’s (Precocial Church Council) fundraising “Queens Jubilee Pedal to the Palace” was a great success raising over £5,000 for the PCC which will go towards updating St Andrews church and the Doorstep Green.  

Midge Gibbons congratulated the team on the wonderful success of the Pedal to the Palace. Adrian Smith said he had “enjoyed every minute of it”.

4.5 At our Jubilee Summer Fayre – Youngsters got a chance to what vote for the play equipment they most wanted to be installed on the Doorstep Green. They enthusiastically chose from a large selection with the favourite being a zip slide, closely followed by a giant basket swing, climbing frame/obstacle course and seesaw and roundabout. With mothers of very small people requesting play items for toddlers. In all the value of items chosen amounted to around £50,000 plus VAT. Also see item 9.4.

The meeting was not surprised that local youngsters wanted to see these improvements. Taken alongside the repairs needed to the paths and fencing as well as the need to provide toilet facilities, the total amount of funding needed is around £80,000-£90,000. It was going to take a lot of work to move the project forward. The next stage will involve questionnaires for villagers including youngsters – to find out what they want from the Doorstep Green and what facilities are needed in the village. It has been suggested to the  PCC that we could work together on this to include the future facilities needed at the church and how people might use an updated building.

4.6 The "Jubilee Jump & Jive" at the Red Feather Club – was well attended and raised around £900 for the Doorstep Green (Redlingfield Village Amenities Ltd). See item 9.4.

The committee thanked the Red Feather Club for hosting the Jubilee Jump & Jive and its volunteers for making the event such a wonderful success.

4.7 Fundraising for the Jubilee Fund to help Redlingfield village youngsters with the expenses involved with starting college or their first job, has been put on hold due to the current cost of living crisis. Note: this includes the planned "Auction of Promises" and “nice/more valuable” donated items to raise funds for both the Jubilee Fund and Doorstep Green funds.

Given the current economic situation it was decided to wait until the AGM to decide on how to proceed with the Auction of Promises.

5. Dates for 2023 Pubs on the Green –

Notes:  

Doorstep Green Licenced Bar: We use Temporary Event Notices to provide the licence which allows us to sell alcohol at the Pubs of the Green and various village events. Each licence costs £21. We normally hold up to 10 such events each year.

Noted

Toilets on Doorstep Green. For the last few years we have used a construction site toilet – rented from April/May till October (6-7 months). The Owners of the firm we normally deal with have retired and sold their business to a new firm.

The lowest weekly cost of hiring a toilet for 26 weeks from the new firm has now gone up to £31.80 per week plus £50 to deliver/collect at the start and end of the hire period. Making a total of £876.80 - an increase of some 25%. on previous costs.

These hire costs have normally been covered by a donation, however, this year that donation is not available and the Doorstep Green account has insufficient funds to cover these costs.

Hiring toilets for specific events eg the Summer Fayre or Dog/Produce Show – will cost in the region of £180 per hire/event.

We can consider amalgamating events, to increase footfall and income (this has already been suggested by the PCC and RVA ltd members) and/or seeking further donations/fundraising...

Toilets: The price of portaloos has risen and that cost previously paid by anonymous donations would either have to be taken on by the parish or not have toilets. The committee considered it essential to provide toilets for all our major events – which would cost as much as having one for all our events from May till September. It was decided the parish would pay for the toilet from May till September providing funding of £636 plus £100 delivery/collection costs (Total £736).  JNP to book and arrange delivery.

A composting loo, like those at Thornham Walks, was agreed to be a long-term solution as part of any Doorstep Green upgrade. JNP to investigate options and costs.

Fund-raising ideas were sought.

It was decided to have a Village Cheese and Wine event on the 15th April at Horham Community Centre. Village Committee to organise and volunteer help welcomed with contributions of food etc and for a Raffle.

A race night was suggested (maybe for next year) as was an organised metal detecting event (JNP will get details and canvas landowners).

Dates for 2023 Pubs on the Green (First Saturday of the month from May till October)

  • May Saturday 6th May - King Charles Coronation Pub on the Green 4pm-midnight, Doorstep Green, BBQ, raffles etc.
  • June Saturday 3rd June 6pm-midnight, Doorstep Green
  • July Summer 1st July Summer Fayre & Dog Show (joint event with PCC)
  • August Saturday 5th August 6pm-midnight, Doorstep Green
  • September Saturday 2nd September 6pm-midnight, Doorstep Green
  • October Saturday 7th October 6pm-midnight, Doorstep Green

6.    Planned Church events for the year and Other Fundraising Ideas?

Church Produce Show 10th or 17th  September and a Christmas Windows in December. Church events dates are being set at PCC meeting on 3rd March. This year there will be a Joint Dog show with village Summer Fayre 1st July.

There will be a Village Cheese and Wine event on the 15th April at Horham Community Centre. Village Committee to organise and volunteer help welcomed with contributions of food etc and for a Raffle.

A race night was suggested (maybe for next year) as was an organised metal detecting event (JNP will get details and canvas landowners).

7. Dates for the village tidies and clean-ups – Churchyard/Village/Doorstep Green. Note: We have gloves, hi-vis waistcoats and litter picker tools, plus rubbish bags.

  • Churchyard Tidy – PCC to decide
  • Village Litter Pick – Weekend of 1st/2nd April
  • Doorstep Green Tidy – Wednesday April 26th 4pm onwards & Saturday & Sunday April 29th & 30th 10am onwards. Fence to be repaired with new posts, general trimming tidy, empty, clean & stocktake both container & shed.

8. Dates for other events including AGM and February 2023 Village Committee Meeting

8.1 Redlingfield Village AGM (Annual Parish Meeting) Wednesday 17th May 2023

8.2 Next Village Committee Meeting Wednesday 7th February 2024

8.3 Suffolk Day is Wednesday 21st June &  St Edmund's Day is Monday 20th November.

8.4. Wednesday 1st March Winter Coffee Morning 10am-12 noon Hidcote Lodge, Mill Rd.

8.5 Coffee Caravan restarts on 5th April 2022 – First Wednesday of the month from 10am till 12 noon on the village triangle from 5th April 2022 till 4th October 2022.

9. Other items

9.2 Update of Defibrillator (JNP to report).

Outstanding matters from the AGM (Item 12.b on AGM Minutes)

JNP reported with regard to ownership & insurance: That the Defibrillator is now back on the Parish Meetings insurance policy as it is still owned by the East of England Ambulance Service and could not be transferred to the ownership of the Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT). The  CHT insurance covers the cabinet and the telephone kiosk for accidental damage (there is no cover for fire/malicious damage and the glass is also not covered). The excess charge of £250 per claim still stands.

The request for a free 999 phone in the kiosk was not an option as the mobile phone service in the village is considered to be adequate. One could be purchased for around £500.

It has been concluded that the VETS system in not suitable due to various factors:-

1. The East of England Ambulance Service are unable to integrate their computer call system with VETS, they use the Circuit (set up by the British Heart Foundation), their call handling system automatically alerts volunteer helpers/users of the GoodSAM system to go to assist a cardiac arrest – providing name, address and location of the nearest defibrillator and cabinet unlock code, if needed.

2. The VETS system has a list of volunteers and when someone who needs help with a cardiac arrest phones the special VETS phone number – the VETS system calls all the volunteers phones at the same time. When the first phone is answered, that volunteer has the option of accepting the call – in which case they are able to speak directly to the person who needs help, if they reject the call – because they are away from the village or at work, the VETS system begins the process again and calls all the other volunteers phones – this chain continues until a volunteer answers who is able to accept the call and help the person with the cardiac arrest or the system runs out of volunteers to phone. This process can take some time.

3. The other downside is that the person needing help with the cardiac arrest needs to be talking to the 999 operator at the same time that they are trying to contact our local volunteers via VETS – so really they need two phones.

4. GoodSAM volunteers need to have formal CPR First Aid training (a one day course). The system does allow them to sign on when they are available to be called and also to decide the location where they are prepared to accept calls. The Parish Meeting has agreed to pay for this training, if any of the current volunteers wish to become volunteers on the GoodSAM system.

Other Defibrillator news:

The Defibrillator has recently been checked over by the manufacturers and had its software updated and is fully operational.

The Committee wished to thank all the Defibrillator volunteers and checkers for their ongoing  commitment and hard work

 

9.3 Update on Household Support Grant. (JNP to report).

Round 2 (£3,000) In January 2022-March 2022 Suffolk Community Foundation awarded Redlingfield a grant of £3,000 to assist households in need. (Assistance was provided to six households comprising 13 individuals).

Round 3 (7,000) In September 2022 – October 2022 Suffolk Community Foundation awarded Redlingfield a grant of £7,000 to assist households in need. (Assistance was provided to fourteen households comprising 34 individuals).

Both sets of grants were distributed by Janet Norman-Philips & Alison Smith with oversight provided by Midge Gibbons.

9.4 Update from the Doorstep Green Company on the Doorstep Green car parking progress plus brief on future plans (which remain unchanged).

Noted

Background: Redlingfield Village Amenities Ltd (RVA ltd) and Redlingfield PCC are working together to install the car parking and roadway for the Doorstep Green.

RVA ltd have spent £12,726 purchasing the under grass grids for the access road and car parking – (made up from a Localities Grant of £1,500 from Cllr Peter Gould, a grant of £7,226 from Redlingfield PCC and £4,000 from the Doorstep Green (Redlingfield Village Amenities ltd) bank account). RVA ltd planned to spend £2,064 on installation costs for the grids – to be paid for by a grant from the PCC. This has now increased to £2,352. Overall costs have increased by £900 for the original quotes – mainly due to delays in funding and then needing to wait for the right weather and soil conditions.

Currently installation of the parking grids is due to start on Monday 27th February and take around a week. At that time, the field will not be available for parking.

Redlingfield Village Amenities Ltd currently has some £2,800 in the bank. This needs to be built up to around £8,000-£12,000 in the next couple of year to enable us to attract grants and donations and provide a minimum of 10% of match funding for those grants.

Immediate future plans relate to buying and installing the new fencing and installing the gates that have been donated (when we can afford it). The wildlife are also needs work.

Longer term we need to get back on track for completely updating and expanding the play area, improving amenities, facilities and pathways as well as obtaining the substantial grants needed to achieve this. Projected costs are in the region of £80,000-£90,000.

We will be conducting further surveys etc to ascertain people’s needs and requirements. RVA ltd hopes to carry out these surveys in conjunction with the PCC and the requirements to upgrade the church to provide for community use alongside its spiritual role.

Noted and welcomed see also new Doorstep Green Earmarked fund (see item 3 Finance Update above).

Additional note. The current plan is to begin installing the parking grids Roger Gladwell’s firm (from Dennington) is doing the installation – starting Monday 27th  February and aiming to finish that week. Volunteer helpers, to move the grids around and keep the workers supplied, would be welcome on the Thursday and Friday to speed up installation (and keep costs down).

9.5 Reminder Village Magazine Spring 2023 - last date for inclusion in issue is 14th February 2023. Noted

9.6. AOB – MSDC Elections 4th May. Voters MUST take photo ID with them to vote. Noted - Committee was concerned that it would discourage voting... JNP and Mike to ensure publicity for this in the village emails/noticeboard, website and magazine.