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News from Middle Rasen Parish Council

The work of your Parish Council

MIDDLE RASEN PARISH COUNCIL   PLEASE PICK UP AFTER YOUR PET    It doesn't take much to remember that we have pets in our community. In fact, if you don't watch your step, you're liable to step in one such reminder! Besides being unsightly and smelly, animal waste can be hazardous to the health of our children who play in the community and other pets. One of the most common forms of disease transmission between dogs is through faecal matter. When walking your dog in our community, remember that it should be leashed. Also, it is important to remember to immediately clean up after your pet. Take a bag with you to pick up waste and then dispose of it in a designated dog waste bin. By taking a few simple steps to clean up after your pet, you can contribute not only to the beautification of our community, but also towards the elimination of one of the most irritating nuisances in our community. Thank you for your cooperation.   Allison Harrison (Clerk to Middle Rasen Parish Council) COST OF LIVING SUPPORT As energy, fuel, inflation, and food prices continue to rise, it's important everyone knows how to access the benefits, payments, and support options available to them.   You can find a full list of support available on West Lindsey District Council's Webpage :   Cost of living support | West Lindsey District Council (west-lindsey.gov.uk) REPORT ALL CRIMES We need to make sure all crime is reported so statistics are correct and policing figures are true.  I know it can be frustrating and time consuming, especially on the telephone but it can be a quicker option to use the online reporting system using the following link:   Report a crime | Lincolnshire Police (lincs.police.uk) Allison Harrison (Clerk to Middle Rasen Parish Council)   The Parish Council for Middle Rasen met at the Church Hall in April and most of the Council were in attendance for the meeting.  Back in the December meeting, the Parish Councillors agreed to grant £10,000.00 towards the costs of a new playground for the village and are happy to see that work is about to start on the project.  £500.00 was also Granted to the Middle Rasen Bowling Club to assist with the cost of a new irrigation tank. The Council decided in the February Meeting to empty the old groundkeepers shed in the graveyard had been unused for 10 years and as a result donated some smaller gardening tools to De Aston School for their new school allotment project and a litter picking trolley to Market Rasen Litter Picking Team. As we have just come to the end of the financial year all the Parish accounts will shortly be available on our website. The next meeting will be held in the Church Hall in Middle Rasen on Tuesday 17 th at 7:20, all parishioners are welcome. Allison Harrison Clerk to Middle Rasen Parish Council Email Back in May 2021 the Parish Council decided to fit a sign to Parry's Bridge as a tribute to the Parry Family and what they have done for the village.  The Council asked local blacksmith, Mr Andrew Gibson, to make and fit the sign.  The sign was fitted over the Christmas period and what a fantastic job Andrew has done.  Not only did Andrew make and fit the sign but he did all the work free of charge and the Council would like to thank Andrew for the generosity.     In 2021 when the steps and gate to God's Acre were tidied up by Clive Robinson, the plan was to re-site the bench from the wildlife area to the roadside. That work has now been completed and, like other parts with seating, it offers an invitation to stop and enjoy our lovely village. Bench at God's Acre Other work seen around the village in spring of 2022 includes refurbishment our benches and stocks as well as tidying up the bus stop on the main road.

The parish council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of the people in the parish and has an overall responsibility for the well-being of the local community.  It is the level government closest to the community, with the district authority above it in the hierarchy. As it is the authority closest to the people, parish councils are invariably the first place people will go with concerns or ideas.  For this reason, they are a vital part of any community. Its work falls into three main categories: representing the local community delivering services to meet local needs striving to improve quality of life in the parish Parish councils make all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the local community.  Probably the most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), crime prevention, helping local groups, managing open spaces and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities. It's true to say that on their own, parish councils have limited powers to make decisions.  But they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions (such as District and County Councils, health authorities, police etc). In this respect parish councils are extremely powerful.  The organisations that make the final decisions know that a parish council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something, and its views will be taken seriously. The Parish Council for Middle Rasen meets on the third Tuesday of each month, to which members of the public are also invited.  The agenda is published on the Parish Council Website ( https://middle-rasen.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk ) and on the various notice boards around the village. Meetings usually last one or two hours, depending on  the agenda set for the meeting to discuss.  In addition to the regular meetings, councillors are required to attend other meetings representing the council, for example acting as a representative on an outside body, community activities or helping develop a new project for the community.  Parish councils have elections for all their councillors every four years. This is typically combined with the Borough Council's election year and elections are typically held on the same day as the ordinary local government election. The last Parish Council elections took place in May 2019 and the next scheduled elections will be in May 2023.   ~ The two Annual Meetings ~     .................................... Complaints Policy Information on Charges Middle Rasen Cemetery Letter re Poling Changes Review of Poling Districts N.B. Documents may require Adobe Reader (or a similar product) to view.

Annual Meeting of the Council v Annual Parish Meeting

There are two quite different meetings that must be held in Spring each year. Firstly, like any other organisation or company, the Council needs to hold an annual meeting to carry out those things that only need doing once a year. These include:

· Electing a Chairman
· Electing a Vice-Chairman
· Appointing committees
· Appointing representatives to other bodies (e.g. the Village Hall Committee, or School Governing Body)
· Agreeing to subscribe to such bodies as the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils
· Reviewing policy documents such as risk assessment, Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, etc.

Companies, and organisations, usually call their Annual Meeting “the Annual General Meeting”. Some councils do, but this can cause confusion with the second meeting, described next

The Association, and this Guidance Note, refer to this Annual Meeting as “The Annual Meeting of the Council”.

Secondly, there is the Annual Parish Meeting.

· This is, in legal terms, a quite separate body from the Council, but it is invariably the Council that arranges it. Its decisions are not binding on the Council, though a wise Council will normally want to take heed of what is said at the meeting.
· It may help you to remember the difference between the two meetings if I explain that the Annual Parish Meeting is a legacy from the Middle Ages, when Local Councils did not exist, and all local decision making was carried out by meetings of the whole community, taking place in the church vestry.
· The Annual Parish Meeting is open to all electors of your Parish, who have the right not only to attend but also to speak on any matter of local interest. This is in contrast to a Council meeting, where electors who are not Councillors have no automatic right to speak (though many councils do, of course, have a set time before or after the Council meeting when electors can raise matters of concern to them).
· This meeting of all the electors is sometimes called locally “the Annual General
Meeting” but this causes confusion with the Annual Meeting of the Council, described above. Some communities refer to it as the “local assembly” or by other titles. The Association, and this Guidance Note, will refer to this meeting of all the electors as “the Annual Parish Meeting” though in Towns, of course, the meeting will normally be called “the Annual Town Meeting”.
· This meeting has its own minutes, which should be kept separately from the Council minutes, and these minutes can only be approved by the next Annual Parish Meeting which will, of course, not be held until the following year. It is, however, good practice to bring the draft minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting to the next convenient meeting of the Local Council, since otherwise matters are unlikely to get progressed. But it is important that the Council does not actually approve these minutes, as they do not belong to the Council.

There are over 8,700 parish and town councils representing around 16 million people across England and are the most local part of our democratic system. The only difference between a town and parish council is the size and name, and towns have their own mayor. Although they have the same powers and can provide the same services, parish councils don't usually have the same level of facilities to look after. The size of the council depends on the size of the village or 'ward'. Here in Middle Rasen there are nine voluntary representatives, known as Parish Councillors, who are elected every four years. Some go on serving for many years. The election is an annual event, so if you are over 18, meet the criteria and you can find two people to nominate you, your name can be put forward.

Serving as a parish councillor is a responsible position, as the parish council has a responsibility for the well being of the local community it serves. Their remit has three main strands - representing the local community, delivering services to meet local needs, and striving to improve the quality of life in the parish. As such they are allocated a certain amount of money from council tax revenues to improve services and facilities in the following areas: burial grounds, bus shelters, open spaces, village green, cutting the grass on the playing field, and planning.

With regard to planning, the council is consulted by West Lindsey District Council on all applications, but the final decision rests with the planning department and Planning Committee at WLDC. The council also acts as a representative voice for the community, communicating with councillors and officers at district and county level. All this makes for quite a few hours spent in meetings, discussing and deciding which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered, and what policies should be implemented. They also liaise with the local Police over crime reduction measures.

Parish councils do a vital job and deserve our thanks for the improvements they try and bring to our communities. So thank you all for your time and effort on our behalf.

For more information about the work of this parish council, please go to http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/MiddleRasen