Parish Council Annual Open Evening 2023
The parish councillors held their Annual Open Evening on Wednesday 20th September where they displayed the activities being undertaken on their parishioner’s behalf. Incorporated into this is the presentation of the Best Kept Gardens Competition and the Tom Childs Award.
The displays included reports from the Community Speedwatch team, some of the results from this are quite startling with vehicles travelling through the village of Londonthorpe at speeds of over 40mph. one of the most recent offenders was a School Bus at 38mph! On Belton Lane we have had traffic passing at up to 43 mph, these speeds also apply to vehicles on Harrowby Lane approaching Alma Park Road. (This with the school less than 100mts down the road) All those recorded above the threshold are reported to the LCC team and letters of warning are sent out, get two of these and you are reported to the police!
New members are always being sought for this team; we do have two people awaiting training but would love more to enable us to operate more events.
Another display showed the plans for the Bridge End Grove Play Area, here we have obtained a £6000 grant from the SKDC share of the UKSPF, this is be matched by council funds to replace the old wooden equipment. This is a delayed project due to the uncertainty of what would happen with the Grantham Parish Council vote. Now we know that this area is to stay with us we can spend the monies on it.
Other displays informed of the different projects ongoing where volunteer working parties are involved. These include Blessed Hugh More site, Jubilee Mount, the Hills and Hollows and the play areas at Londonthorpe & Withambrook. The council also run a joint working party with the Woodland Trust and the Reconnecting Grantham Project.
The winner of this year’s Tom Childs Award is Annette Doran a parishioner who has shown great fortitude in her charity fund raising efforts. Having just run the Great North Run and raising well over £1000 for the St Barnabas Hospice in Grantham. Annette has nominated St Barnabas Hospice as her charity the £250 donation. One of The Tom Childs Award remits is that parishioners must be able to access assistance at a local level and this surely covers that.
Best Kept Garden Winners were as follows:
Sunningdale West, Mrs J Warren; Sunningdale East, Mr & Mrs Storey; Harrowby West, Mr & Mrs E Lane; Harrowby East, Mrs J Clarke; The Villages, Mr & Mrs B Bradley; Somerby Hill this was a tie between Mr & Mrs D Baker and Mr W Atkinson; Hard Landscape Garden, Mr & Mrs J Corcoran.
The winner of the Past Winners Section was Mrs & Mr A Parker a garden described by some as the best in the district.