2026 Parish Meeting Minutes
Minutes of Carlby Village Annual Parish Meeting held on 09 April 2026 at 19:00 in Carlby Village Hall.
In Attendance: Cllrs. John Bavister (who chaired the meeting), Steve Markham, Lesley Sweeting Karina and Kimberley Neal, Tony Roche 11 members of the community and Sarah Gresty(Clerk)
Agenda
Minutes from the meeting held on 21 May 2025 had previously been signed as true and accurate at the parish council meeting dated 09 July 2025 and were formally accepted at this meeting.
John Bavister’s Welcome
This is the Annual Parish Residents’ Meeting, not a Parish Council meeting. All attendees are present as members of the public. Thanks expressed to Sarah for organising the event and managing the associated arrangements. This has been a financially and practical busy year for those who have contributed their time.
UKSPF Grant Application The Parish Council submitted an £8,000 UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant request for improvements to the village and the playing field.
Public Open Space (POS) Maintenance
The parish council have an ongoing responsibility for village POS maintenance. For which we Purchased a mower last year and have now installed a storage unit funded from the grant: an 8’ x 8’ shipping container placed at the playing field entrance.
Ascot Fencing – Templeman Drive
Additional Ascot fencing installed on the Parish Council green at the end of Templeman Drive.
Paid labour was used for digging and concreting posts, supported by volunteer assistance.
Tree Planting Two additional beech trees have been planted.
Village Green Bench A new park bench has been installed on the Village Green.
Financial Report by the Clerk We have had another strong financial year, with our budgeting remaining accurate and well‑managed. We closed the year with a surplus of £1,028 against the predicted budget.
During the year, we were fortunate to receive a grant from the SKDC UK Prosperity Fund totalling £8,000. Of this amount, £6,000 has already been received, and we expect the remaining balance to follow in due course. This funding has gone a long way thanks to the outstanding efforts of Cllrs. Steve Markham and John Bavister, who have dedicated significant time and manual labour to delivering the projects supported by the grant. Their commitment has ensured excellent value for money, and I think we can all agree that the village has benefitted greatly once again this year.
We continue to build our financial reserves prudently to ensure we have a buffer for any unforeseen expenses, particularly those that may arise toward the end of the financial year. We have been advised that we should aim to hold reserves equivalent to at least half of our precept, and we are steadily working toward achieving this target. Our precept request this coming is £11,358
Mallard Pass – Community Benefit Fund (CBF)
Quinbrook, the developer, states the solar project will power 92,000 homes. Concerns were raised that this figure reflects maximum output rather than continuous generation. It was noted that the generated electricity has been commercially contracted to Tesco and Shell.
The Parish Council, alongside neighbouring councils, continues to negotiate for a significant share of the Community Benefit Fund, discussions with the developer have been challenging.
Next meeting scheduled for 15 May, with the local MP expected to attend to support negotiations.
Majority view among participating parishes: CBF funds should help offset electricity bills for households within the parish boundary.
Some parties have proposed allocating the entire fund to a flooding‑related project, though this issue is not currently linked to the development.
With eight parishes involved, reaching agreement is expected to be difficult.
Playing Field – Steve Markham
Playing fields continue to be very well used, lots of works have taken place this year including cutting down the trees between the fields and the bowls club, flattening the unused bmx track, mowing a trail for younger children in the longer grass, reseeding, tennis court restoration (still in progress), building a wigloo, installing new picnic bench and seating. All thanks to John Bavister, the Neal family, contractors, bowls club, Pete Holland and the clerk.
Bowls Club – George Barber
2027 will see the club being 40 years old, we hope have a celebration event.
We have been working on our club house and green and have a wonderful facility.
We currently have 24 members, but we need new and younger players, especially from Carlby. Discussion took a place on advertising and putting on events for younger members specifically a Youth Group.
Sycamore seedings continue to be a spring problem on the green.
Village Hall – Julie Roche
The Village Hall continues to thrive, with its newly launched professional website offering improved access, an events calendar, and online booking, plus links to the church and parish council—and potentially soon the bowls club. Pub nights remain a highlight, regularly drawing more than 50 people, and the committee is exploring fun themed dress‑up evenings. Bar prices have risen slightly but remain very reasonable. With Steve stepping down as quiz master, a rotating team of guest hosts will now lead the popular quizzes. Looking ahead. The village hall, built by participating residents, some of whom still reside in the village, will be celebrating its 40th anniversary on the 4th of July 2026.
hall will celebrate its 40th anniversary on 4 July 2026 with daytime and evening events, and residents are encouraged to purchase tickets. Regular group bookings and private parties continue to bring in steady income, supported by the first £600 payment from the solar panels. Planned improvements include new skirting boards, doors, handles, upgrades to the disabled toilet, and electrical compliance work estimated at around £2,250. Parking remains challenging—especially on Thursdays—so the committee will trial the use of road cones to ease congestion.
Other Items Raised :
Can the branched of the tree on the village green be raised
Lighting in the village – could any improvement be made to the lighting.
St Stephen’s Church – Pauline Crampin report and the WI report please click the links
The meeting ended with a social chat with tea and cake