Annual Meeting of the Parish Council
In May, the Parish Council holds its Annual Meeting, when Officers and Lead Councillors are elected. After returning to the rôle of Parish Chair last year, Cllr Phil King stepped down, although he remains a councillor. We thanked him for his untiring and excellent work in his latest spell as Chair. He, in turn, thanked the office staff for their expert support and all councillors for their valuable contributions. Cllr Dave Carlton is the new Chair for the coming year and Cllr Derek Law is Vice Chair, both were elected unanimously. All Lead Councillors remain the same and are listed below.
Annual Report
The Willingham Parish Council Annual Report for 2018-2019 has been published and copies are available in the Library, at the Surgery, at the Primary School and from the Parish Office. It can also be downloaded from the website (look under Documents > Annual Reports > Parish Council). It was presented along with reports from many village organisations at the Annual Parish Meeting.
Parish Clock
The Parish Clock on St Mary and All Saints Church has had its mechanism repaired and the face repainted. Sadly, when it was restarted after the initial repair work, it only ran for about a day. The clock-mending company are still investigating and it seems to be working a little better now.
A14 Legacy Funding
The A14 Integrated Delivery Team have a £1 million fund to spend on highways projects for Parish Councils affected by the A14 construction works. We have proposed three items which match their criteria and will be putting them forward for consideration. In priority order these are (1) a footpath to the Community Orchard, (2) speed reduction measures on West Fen Road between the Rec and QEII field, and (3) a footpath to Highgate Stores. We expect a decision by the end of June.
Recreation Ground Stump Fire
Persons unknown set fire to the large tree stump on the recreation ground and the Fire Brigade attended to extinguish it. Unfortunately, the appliance caused some damage to the adjoining football pitches when it drove onto the Rec. This has occurred before and the police are looking into ways of finding those responsible. The Council is making arrangements to have the remains of the tree stump removed.
Station Road Speed Limit
After many, many years of campaigning and hectoring of the County Council Highways Department and the Police, and with financial assistance from the Lindum Group who are building the affordable houses there, the 30 mph speed limit on Station Road has finally been extended south past the sharp bend and beyond Westfield.
Dog Walking Field
The Council considered several options for provision of a replacement dog walking area after the loss of the set-aside field but concluded that there is no obvious solution. Dogs remain prohibited on the Recreation Ground for health reasons.