Village Flood Mitigation Solution…. Work continues with the IDB to bring this to the village.

Community space / Play area….Councillors agreed a preferred supplier for the playground equipment and that it would be made from hardwood, not pine or steel and agreed a plan regarding fundraising. Working parties of volunteers will start work shortly on fundraising, developing plans for the play area and the community green space, and plans for community engagement.

Annual Parish Meeting….will be held at the Village Hall, to start at 6:30pm on Thursday 22^nd May. Whilst this meeting is organised by the Parish Council it is an opportunity for parishioners to bring their views and opinions to the community. I will arrange for a series of short presentations to be made, all relevant to the lives of Thurgarton parishioners. Light refreshments will be served and I hope to see you there.

Thurgarton Easter Breakfast….will be served at the Village Hall on Easter Saturday morning and a short resume of the plans for the Childrens’ Play area / Community Space will be shown there.

Date of Next Meeting.…the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be on the 24^th April, commencing at 7:30pm. This will be a public meeting at the Village Hall.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council

Precept…. It was agreed to increase the Parish Precept by 15%. This equates to an average of £11 per household per year, or 95p per month. The increase is needed to cover the increased costs that the Parish Council have budgeted for and also to have funds available for 2 significant projects that the Parish Council are working on in the financial year 2025/26 – Community space and playground and the Flood Mitigation scheme.

Financial Regulations….New financial regulations were voted upon and adopted by the PC.

Highways….Running water in the centre of the village on the A612 is being investigated by Seven Trent and Highways.

Village Flood Mitigation Solution…. Work continues with the IDB to bring this to the village.

Date of Next Meeting….the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be on the 27th February, commencing at 7:30pm. This will be a public meeting at the Village Hall.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council

Thurgarton Emergency Plan (TEP)….a new 4G datalogger for the Beck Monitor was installed in early April and is working well, showing the water level of the Beck on the village web site. This new kit, which was funded by Notts County Council Flood Risk Management, will provide greater functionality and lower on-going service costs for the community. The SMS alerting service is still in operation and welcomes new users. Any parishioners who would like to join the TEP as new volunteers or are interested in the SMS alerting service should make themselves known to the Clerk at clerk@thurgarton.org.uk

Glass recycling….following the delivery of household glass recycling bins the glass recycling facility has been removed from behind the Village Hall. Currently there is still a similar facility at Southwell Leisure Centre.

Governance Documents….an updated version of the Thurgarton Parish Council Equal Opportunities Policy was approved, a copy of this will be available on the village web site very soon.

Annual Parish Meeting 23^rd May….as usual all parishioners are invited to the Annual Parish meeting which is a time set aside for the Community to come together and discuss relevant matters. This meeting will be held at the Village Hall on Thursday 26^th May, to commence at 6:30pm. At this meeting speakers will talk about the village pub, the Red Lion, the extensive work on the village that is undertaken to keep the village looking great, the Community Speed Watch initiative and the results of the recent Parish Survey and how these have influenced the Parish Council’s stated objectives for 2024/25. Free refreshments will be served.

Date of Next Meeting.…the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be the Annual Parish Meeting, to be held on Thursday, 23^rd May, to commence at 7:30pm, this will be a public meeting at the Village Hall, this will follow the Annual Parish Meeting. The agenda for the Annual Parish Meeting is very similar to the monthly meetings except for the election of the Chair and the Deputy Chair.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council

 

Parish Survey….the latest Parish Survey is now complete. There were 80 responses providing excellent information for Thurgarton Parish Council (TPC) with which to plan their work. These responses are being utilised to form the PC objectives for 2024/25. This information allows us to know how the precept should be spent to match up with what parishioners would really like to happen in their village. In addition, new volunteers have offered their time for the Speedwatch team and the Thurgarton Emergency Plan (TEP). The analysis of the Parish Survey results will be published to the village shortly.

Parish Survey….35 completed surveys were entered into a prize draw. The winner of the £40 Red Lion voucher was drawn before the PC meeting and Lee Anne Green is the lucky winner.

Mammoth….the statue of the mammoth, has been erected outside the industrial area towards Hoveringham. The refurbishment had been undertaken by Hoveringham Vintage Vehicle Society, including David Yates . It was agreed that the ongoing maintenance of the mammoth structure and surrounding area would be taken up by TPC from June 2024 and that all of the trust monies would be passed to TPC accordingly. It is not anticipated that this will financially onerous.

Glass collection….will be started, as part of the regular Council refuse collection, in 3 months or so.

Openreach….surveyors have been at work in the village and it is understood that we are still on track for the Openreach scheme to bring full fibre broadband to Bleasby, Thurgarton and the surrounding areas by the end of 2024.

Easter Breakfast….will be served once more at the Village Hall on Saturday, 30^th March.

Date of Next Meeting.…the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be on Thursday, 28^th March at 7:30pm, this will be a public meeting at the Village Hall.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council

 

Dear Parishioner

Following the Thurgarton Village Flooding Meeting, which was held at the Village Hall last Wednesday 7^th February, I promised to send out a note that described the meeting, the presentations and captured the essence of discussions that were had there.

The full set of presentation slides utilised at the meeting are now available for you to look at by clicking here Within the slides you will find the agenda, and the details of each speaker’s slides.

The presentations and speakers were as follows:-

• Introduction – Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council
• Thurgarton Emergency Plan (TEP) – Natalie Robinson, Councillor for Emergency Measures, Thurgarton Parish Council and Austin Brady, Base of the TEP
• Property Flood resilience – Ross Marshall and Josh Wells, Principal Officers, Flood Risk Management Team, Notts County Council
• Water safety – Frazer Cross, Notts Fire Service
• Flood Mitigation Solution – David Hickman, Executive Officer, Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board (IDB)

Main points to take away from the meeting were:-

• Thurgarton has been blighted by flooding for some time with major flood events in 2007, 2013 and 2023. The value of houses within the village are believed to be negatively affected by these flooding events, whether any particular house floods or not. Hence, this meeting was aimed to be informative for all Thurgarton residents.
• After 10 years of working with the IDB there is now a working project, with funding, to provide Thurgarton with a means of reducing flooding within the centre of the village. David Hickman, Executive Officer IDB, described this project which has a timetable of completion by the end of 2024. The project will involve building an embankment to hold back water running off the higher ground down to the village and draining into the Beck. This water will then take 24-48 hours to seep through the pipework within the embankment thus allowing the Beck and other drainage ditches to better cope with storms and flood water. Details of the timetable can be found in the slides.
• Property flood resilience is the responsibility of the householder. There are now many ways of protecting homes from flooding and of course this work should be done in preparation for a flood, rather than having to repair the house after a flood event. The slides show a variety of ways and means of property flood protection.
• The Thurgarton Emergency Plan (TEP) is fully operational and is there to assist in any type of emergency that Thurgarton may suffer. The TEP only works if volunteers from the parish make themselves available. The most common type of emergency within the village is flooding and the TEP successfully assists those residents who, in an emergency, are in danger of flooding. This is not a alternative to calling 999 in an emergency or to providing your home with flood resilience. The village can be subject to flash flooding where blue light services and local Councils and agencies are unable to attend in time and this is where the TEP can be of real assistance. What the TEP is and how it works is described in the slides.
• We need more volunteers and co-ordinators for The Park and the Main St areas for the TEP. Please see the slides for more details.
• In a flood event it is not wise to walk, bike or canoe in flood water. Flood water is dangerous, both because it contains a range of contaminants and because it conceals dangers to life such as open manholes and drains. DO NOT ENTER FLOOD WATER.

Severn Trent were also invited to present to the village but were not able to make it that night. However, it has been agreed that a Severn Trent representative will attend a separate meeting, possibly a Parish Council meeting, in the near future. This meeting with Severn Trent, will be a public meeting and will be advertised in the usual way.

If anyone would like more information on any of these topics please get in touch with me using the email below.

Thanks and regards, Tina

Tina Tsoukatos

Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council
tina.tsoukatos@thurgarton.org.uk

 

Precept for 2024/25….A full budget for the coming year was agreed. It was then agreed that the precept would be increased by around £10 per household per year, this makes a total of £ 15,266, which is the tax that the Parish Council will spend upon maintenance and improvements in the parish.

Governance Documents….an updated version of the Thurgarton Parish Council Standing Orders was approved, a copy of this will be available on the village web site very soon.

A Third Defibrillator….is now installed outside the Village Hall, adding to one outside the Red Lion, which has recently been renewed, and another in Thurgarton Cricket ground. All are accessed via a 999 call.

Thurgarton Emergency Plan (TEP)….was again invoked on Jan 2nd because of flooding. Thanks are sent to all of the volunteers who turned out once again. 5 new volunteers have recently join the TEP team. Any parishioners who would like to join the TEP as new volunteers should make themselves known to the Clerk at clerk@thurgarton.org.uk

Village Meeting 7th February….following the recent flood events all parishioners are invited to a village meeting to be held at the Village Hall on Wednesday 7th February, to commence at 7:30pm. At this meeting guest speakers from Notts County Council (NCC) and the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board (TVIDB) will provide advice and information and an opportunity to ask questions. The TVIDB will outline the long term flood mitigation solution for the village, which is planned for installation in 2024, NCC will provide information about household flood resilience and the Parish Council will describe the Thurgarton Emergency Plan. Free refreshments will be served.

Parish Survey….the deadline for responses to the Parish Survey has been extended to 18th February. If you have not yet completed this short survey then please do so at https://forms.gle/KFGoFtX1MTHYcy9p6 which will take no more than 5 minutes. The Parish survey is undertaken every few years to ensure that the Parish Council is on-track and working towards objectives as stated by the local community. The survey seeks opinions and mandates from the Parish to gauge how the precept should be spent and what parishioners would really like to happen in their village. All participants will enter the draw for a £40 voucher at The Red Lion which will be drawn at the February Parish Council meeting

Date of Next Meeting….the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be on Thursday, 22nd February at 7:30pm, this will be a public meeting at the Village Hall.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council

Flood 20th Oct 2023….Cllr Natalie Robinson provided an update on how the Thurgarton Emergency Plan (TEP) had worked after many parts of the village were flooded. A debrief and lessons learnt meeting was held on 22nd Oct where most of the flood and road closure wardens attended. Actions were agreed in order to improve the TEP and many would only be possible if more volunteers were found. This is the first time that the TEP has been utilised in a real flood event and the results were so much better than without it. If you feel that you can volunteer in any way then please make this known to the Clerk at clerk@thurgarton.org.uk

Flood 20th Oct 2023….Cllr Tina Tsoukatos had met with the Internal Drainage Board (IDB) and Notts County Council Flood Risk Management team since the flood. Tina is now assisting the IDB to recalibrate their flood mitigation solution for the village with pictures and recordings from the flood and data from the Beck Monitor.

Flood 20th Oct 2023….there were 16 properties flooded inside their properties in the village. As there are more than 5 properties flooded then there are grants available from a variety of sources. If you would like more information please contact me via the Clerk at clerk@thurgarton.org.uk

Defibrillators….2 new defibrillators have been purchased for the village which will make a total of 3 in the village. One will replace the existing defibrillator, installed outside the Red Lion, which will be out of service from Jan 2024. The additional defibrillator will be installed outside the Village Hall, and there is a defibrillator installed within the cricket ground. Whilst funding is being sought for these 2 new defibrillators it was agreed that CIL should be utilised to pay for them if local funding was unsuccessful. The £250 donated from the Twelftree family will be utilised towards the cost of these defibrillators. If anyone else would like to donate towards these essential items please contact the Clerk at clerk@thurgarton.org.uk

Report from District and County Councillor….Roger Jackson reported that central government had redistributed £2bn from the recently cancelled HS2 project to be re-utilised for road repairs.

Remembrance Sunday Service….will be held at midday on Sunday 12th November at Corner Croft, all parishioners are invited to attend.

Parish Survey….please look out for this latest Parish survey which will be distributed within the next edition of Thurgarton People and also on the village email service. The Parish survey is undertaken every few years to ensure that the Parish Council is on-track and working towards objectives as stated by the local community. The survey will seek opinions and mandates from the Parish to gauge how the precept should be spent and what parishioners would really like to happen in their village.

Date of Next Meeting….the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be on Thursday, 23rd November at 7:30pm, this will be a public meeting at the Village Hall.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council

Emergency Plan….the database update of parishioners, which is utilised as part of the Thurgarton Emergency Plan, is now almost complete, so thanks are sent to all those who have responded. If you have not yet completed this short survey then please do so at https://www.thurgarton.org.uk/tep-registration-form/ which will take no more than 5 minutes. Please be assured that we adhere to GDPR guidelines; storing your data safely and ensuring it is only used for the purposes of the Emergency Plan.

Litter bins….7 new larger, smarter looking litter bins have now been installed in the village. The bins were funded by Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which is paid to the Parish Council by the District Council as a consequence of housing development in the village. CIL is intended to be spent on the infrastructure of the village, as has happened in this instance.

Defibrillators….it was agreed to purchase 2 new defibrillators for the village. One will replace the existing defibrillator, installed outside the Red Lion, which will be out of service from Jan 2024. The additional defibrillator will be installed outside the Village Hall. Whilst funding is being sought for these 2 new defibrillators it was agreed that CIL should be utilised to pay for them if local funding was unsuccessful. The £250 donated from the Twelftree family will be utilised towards the cost of these defibrillators. If anyone else would like to donate towards these essential items please contact the Clerk at clerk@thurgarton.org.uk

Ukraine Flag….it was agreed to purchase a Ukraine Flag and fly this underneath the Union Jack flag in the village as a sign of our solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

Parish Survey….is undertaken every few years to ensure that the Parish Council is on-track and working towards objectives as stated by the local community. The survey will seek opinions and mandates from the Parish to gauge how the precept should be spent and what parishioners would really like to happen in their village. Please look out for this latest Parish survey which will be distributed within the next edition of Thurgarton People and also on the village email service.

Date of Next Meeting.…the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be on Thursday, 26^th October at 7:30pm, this will be a public meeting at the Village Hall.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council

New Clerk….welcome to our new Parish Clerk, Lynda Ogilvie, she can be reached at clerk@thurgarton.org.uk

Emergency Plan….as recently published Thurgarton Parish Council are updating the database of parishioners which is utilised as part of the Thurgarton Emergency Plan. All parishioners are requested to complete the short survey at https://www.thurgarton.org.uk/tep-registration-form/ which will take no more than 5 minutes. Please be assured that we adhere to GDPR guidelines; storing your data safely and ensuring it is only used for the purposes of the Emergency Plan.

Cemetery….the cemetery grounds have traditionally been trimmed by volunteers. However, as volunteers have recently stopped this work the grounds have become very overgrown. To assist the Church and the Parish, Thurgarton Parish Council have agreed to pay 50% of the cost of the upkeep of the cemetery grounds for 1 year, some £553. It is hoped that volunteers will become available or parishioners will donate funds towards the future upkeep of the cemetery grounds.

Litter bins….it was agreed to replace the 7 litter bins in the village with larger, smarter bins. Community Infrastructure Funds (CIL), which are paid to the Parish Council by the District Council as a consequence of housing development in the village, will be utilised to cover the cost of £2,000 excl VAT. Generally, CIL is intended to be spent on the infrastructure of the village, as is happening in this example.

Charitable donations….2 charitable donations have been received recently – £1,000 was received from the Poysner family for the Village Hall Charity and £250 was received from the Twelftree family, these monies had been donated towards the cost of a 2nd defibrillator for the village.

Village Hall….the Village Hall Charity Management Committee now have a full complement of members, finances are good and a lot of events are planned over the next couple of months.

Village Fete 2023….the rearranged Village Fete is now planned for 9th September, please save this date.

Date of Next Meeting….the next meeting of Thurgarton Parish Council will be on Thursday, 27th July at 7:30pm, this will be a public meeting at the Village Hall.

Tina Tsoukatos, Chair, Thurgarton Parish Council