June 2025

Wainfleet All Saints Town Council Annual Parish Meeting

 

Notes from the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 11th June 2025 at 6.00pm in the Methodist Chapel.

 

1. Mayor’s introduction and report

Mayor Steve Mitchell welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked all councillors past and present for their valued service to the town. He reported as follows:

* Council always strives to deliver best value services under sometimes challenging circumstances.

* The precept increased by 4.7% this year with tree maintenance and grass cutting being the largest budget item.

* Marketplace is the key focal point for town events with the Bike meet entering its 6th year. Markets will be held on the last Saturday of the month and need support from the community to be a success. The Christmas market will be held on 25th November and hopefully the weather will be more favourable than last year.

* The Marketplace had a major facelift in the last year, with the parking area resurfaced, the Buttercross restored and the clocktower given a facelift. There are still further minor repairs to be done to the Buttercross and Clocktower.

* The War Memorial has suffered weather related damages and council are investigating repair options.

* The council organised a sell-out 80th anniversary D-Day themed dance.

* The council will again organise a children’s Christmas party on 14th December, further details to follow.

*  Dog fouling is still an issue in the town. The council has installed dog poop bag stations throughout the town and there are now regular patrols from the dog warden. 

* Illegal parking, particularly outside the chemists is a major issue for residents and we have arranged for more frequent visits by enforcement officers.

* The council has now relocated to its new office which has already received many visitors.

* The whole town council will continue to do their best for the town.

 

2. District & County Councillors report

District Councillor and outgoing County Councillor Wendy Bowkett gave the following report:

* Last year’s District Councillor grant was given to the Town Council, the Theatre Club and Wainfleet St. Mary PC. This year the grant has doubled to £4000 so please contact her for details.

* Local government reform will lead to some election areas being realigned. The process is expected to take 2 years.

* The dog warden and traffic warden are making visits on a regular basis and tickets have been issued to offenders.

* The fishing platforms on the Steeping are complete and the fishing club is looking to set up a children’s angling group.

* The Sect.19 from the storms of the past few years continue to be worked on by the LCC flood teams. Bank works on the relief channel; the culvert and bank surveys have been completed by the Environment Agency. Funding will be required for bank strengthening works. Grass cutting on the banks of the relief channel and Steeping has had its second cut, with weed cutting through the channel scheduled for September.

* Repair work to the riverbank and footpath on Low Road are still being costed and the Highways dept. is waiting on quotes from the Drainage Board.

* Major road repairs will be taking place in the town at the end of July.

* Issue of speeding on the A52 have been investigated by the road safety team, highways and LCC councillors with recommendations for extra signage, road markings and average speed cameras. News is awaited from the Road Safety team to see if the plan can be approved and financed, as finance was unavailable prior to the election.

* Wainfleet Weekend will be happening again on 18-10 July. Volunteers would be welcomed by the committee.   

 

3. Report from new LCC councillor Maria Hume

Cllr. Hume introduced herself and explained her background. Although inexperienced in council matters, she will “hit the ground running” and promised to attend as many meetings as possible. A parishioner asked Cllr. Hume to look into an historical issue which she agreed to do. A parishioner asked why the new administration at LCC had removed the important flood committee. Cllr Hume stated that the administration was determined to save money and this was one way, and the Environment committee was now meeting more. Residents came back and said with the issues of Wainfleet this wasn't good enough. Cllr Hume said she would look into it and ask why it had been done and report back.

 

4. Presentation from Parish Nurses

Representatives from The Parish nurses gave a presentation on the history of the nurses and their works through local churches. They are a voluntary organisation and the only one in Lincolnshire. Amongst the good work they do is to give help and advice to anyone, help to arrange volunteers to take residents to hospital, blood pressure checks, etc.

 

5. Presentation from Wainfleet United Junior Football Club

* A representative from WUJFC gave the following news :

* There will be 3 teams this year, under 12’s, under 8’s and an under 7’s. Good progress and development has been made thanks to excellent managers and coaches.

* The football club is proposing to introduce a Mini Kicks club for the 4 – 6 years old, this would then feed into the under 7’s going forward, hopefully bringing a new team every year to the club. The club will be called Wainfleet united Little Leaguers and will run hopefully on a Friday 4-5pm, this is to be confirmed.

* The club is also hoping to run a summer camp, they are just working through details and will be advertising very soon.

* All the club officers and coaches complete their training and DBS checks this does take a little time so shows the commitment from them all.

* Going forward more pitches will be needed and changing facilities are now urgently required, hopefully a small committee of interested parties can be formed to move this forward.

* The club are planning a fun day to raise funds on the 17th August so please put the date in your diary.

 

6. Presentation from Wainfleet Theatre Club

The Chairman of the Theatre Club gave a short talk on the history of the club now in its 75th year, which originally performed at the Arcadia Theatre Skegness. The club room was originally donated by a builder and a land owner. The club is open to anyone to join over 13 years. The running costs before anything is £2500, they continue to raise funds.

 

7. Presentation from Wainfleet Young Farmers

A representative of WYF gave a short talk on the history of young farmers, and there are currently 11 members in Wainfleet. Open to anyone 10 - 28 years and a farming background is not a prerequisite. They hold varied activities each week and enter regular county events.

 

8. Presentation from Lincs. YMCA

YMCA - Sally Varley explained what YMCA do, they can help local community groups, village halls with funding. Run a youth club at old leave, provide emergency housing to those in need. They will give advice to community groups.

 

 

9. Presentation from Royal British Legion

Representatives from the RBLI gave a short report on Wainfleet RBLI, which was formed in 1921. They are a small but dynamic branch, raising funds, poppy appeal £8500 so far. They meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month and on the 2nd Saturday there is a veteran’s breakfast. Anyone over 18 can join the RBLI.

 

10. Questions from the floor

There were no further questions from the public.

 

Mayor S.Mitchell thanked all the presenters and the public for their contributions.