Stamford Mercury – Monthly Report from Ketton
The monthly Parish Council Meeting of Ketton Parish Council was held in the Congregational Hall on Wednesday, 20 October, and was attended by seven councillors, County Councillors Brown & Payne &
the Clerk.
There was one member of the public present. Alison Couzens has resigned as a Parish Councillor after ten years, serving on the Planning, and Highways and Open Spaces Committees, where her intimate knowledge of the village, its history and inhabitants, and incisive judgements were invaluable. We thank her for serving both the parish council & community . So, if you have time, energy and enthusiasm to spare please do consider putting yourself forward as a Parish Councillor – contact the parish clerk for more information (see contact details below).
Police report
PC Peter Icke sent an area crime report for the past month, dated 18 October. During the last month one burglary was reported, where persons unknown had forced entry to an outbuilding/cattle shed & a horse box type trailer was stolen; one Land Rover Defender was stolen & later found in a field stripped of parts; one theft was reported from a store; a motor vehicle was stolen & a caravan was stolen from a roadside – both in Ketton; one burglary – entry via smashing a glass panel in a back door; two reported assaults; two thefts from work vans parked in car park; three thefts of solar lamps from properties – lamps unscrewed; an attempted theft of a campervan; one attempted break into a business, & one theft reported of a motor vehicle, which was later found ½ a mile away.
The joint Rutland North and Rutland South priority will remain as rural crime in relation to nuisance motorbikes, road safety issues & rural crime/farming equipment. The police want to remind residents that the usual Modus Operandi is entry by forcing rear garden doors or windows, as these areas are isolated and out of sight.
They will also continue to run a vehicle enforcement campaign ‘Operation Enforce’ throughout Rutland for speed and anti-social driving/riding, including nuisance motorbikes, especially at weekends. The police will be out in villages and towns with the speed laser gun, and will update Twitter and
Facebook with the results. They will continue to work closely with the local residents and will alert residents as soon as a crime is reported. If anything suspicious is seen, please report it through either 999 or 101.
Neighbourhood Link is a free email messaging service from Leicestershire Police, Neighbourhood Watch and other partner organisations, providing news and updates on policing matters that are relevant to residents.
Residents can sign up and receive email alerts about policing activity and initiatives in our local area as well as crime prevention advice and information. They will also have the opportunity to reply directly to the neighbourhood team and provide feedback via surveys.
https://www.neighbourhoodlink.co.uk/#signup-section
The parish council chairman, Dr Sinclair Rogers recently wrote to Rupert Matthews, The Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland, to express the council’s concern regarding a recent spate of thefts from farms and houses in Ketton, Aldgate & Geeston, & that the police appear to have undertaken little effective investigation of these thefts. Although a response has been received, the parish council wish to note their disappointment with the continuing high level of rural crime & lack of forensic investigations by the police.
C.Cllr Karen Payne informed councillors that mesh has now been fitted to the new Empingham Road bridge, to ensure the safety of pedestrians, & updated cllrs on progress regarding the parking problems in Aldgate.
C.Cllr Karen Payne also updated cllrs on the progress of the proposed new Geeston Road footpath, & confirmed that further drainage work has been carried by RCC to alleviate flooding on Seadfold Lane & Stamford Road. The grips & ditch have been dug out, & a drainage pipe has been cleared.
C.Cllr Gordon Brown updated cllrs on the current progress of planning applications at The Crescent,
Chater Field, Home Farm, Luffenham Road & Wotton Close. John Ellis – owner of the land, north of Wotton Close, was present at the meeting & spoke briefly regarding Planning Application 2021/1101/MAF.
Geoff Armstrong from Armstrong Rigg Planning addressed the parish council’s Planning Committee meeting on 19 October, regarding a proposed residential development to the rear of Hunts Lane, Ketton. Manor Oak Homes are the promoters of the site and all the details of the proposals, plus the contact for comments can be found at http://www.manoroakhomes.co.uk/project/ket-037/
A public exhibition, isto be held at Ketton Sports & Community Centre on Wednesday 27th October, from 3.30pm to 7.30pm.
The parish council has formed a working group, led by Cllr Dave Phillips, which also includes residents & Cllr James Robinson, & reports monthly to the full council. Cllr Robinson updated cllrs on the project’s progress. The intention of this initiative and the Working Group is to bring the fastest broadband
speeds, best connections and best value available with Fibre to the premises (FTTP) to the entire village of Ketton; inclusive of every resident and every business. We commit to do everything possible to ensure people have the choice of as many internet service providers (ISPs) as possible. As of 18th October, we have reached voucher validations valued at £376k. The cost price is £460k and the target was £560k. There is approximately £38k in held vouchers in discussion with DCMS. The deadline for people to validate vouchers is looming with the majority expiring on 21st Oct – we really do need everyone to validate their vouchers ASAP.
The working group have spent many hours calling the few hundred people who had vouchers outstanding as of 8th October. By this past weekend about 40 remain to be contacted. Many people believed the emails were not legitimate & others had not looked into the information we provided regarding terms, costs etc. Overall, this has been a very involved campaign and educating/bringing the village along has been challenging. The working group will continue speaking to people who they didn’t get through to, left voice mails etc and now have to wait and see what level they get to and how commercially viable Openreach and DCMS deem the scheme to be. Cllrs thanked Dave Phillips, James Robinson, Mark Saker & Alison Lyons for their hard work on this project, to enable residents to access Full Fibre Broadband.
Following a spate of rural crimes in our area, Parish Councillors met with local police officers. As a result, KPC contacted the Police and Crime Commissioner concerning the routine lack of investigation into rural crimes.
Our local Rutland South Police officer is Pete Icke, and his contact details are 07967589225 peter.icke@leicestershire.pnn
‘Share the Road’ is a Leicestershire Police initiative, supported by RCC, offering advice to all road users (horse riders, runners, lorry drivers, tractor drivers etc) on how to share space on the highway and be considerate of others https://www.leics.police.uk/sharetheroad
And thinking forward to the winter,
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/weatherready posts weather-related advice covering the themes of getting out and about in winter, staying well in cold weather and taking care of your family and home. On social media, this campaign will be launched using the hashtag #WeatherReady.
The Whitebread Trust is a charity for the support of individuals and organisations within the parish of Ketton. Applications for support should be addressed to the Chairman of the trust, Glenis Southern, via the Parish Clerk kettonpc@btinternet.com
Useful contacts/information:
Ketton Good Neighbours Scheme: for help or support, call Rachael on 07517793397, between 9am and 6pm.
Ketton Library is open for collection of Covid 19 self-test kits (lateral flow) RCC’s Covid 19 Crisis helpline: 01572 722577, and information at https://www.rutland.gov.uk/coronavirus
The Hub meets every Thursday from 10am to 11.45am at KSCC. Come and have a coffee and a catch up with friends.
Dates for your diary:
Thurs 4th November, High Sheriff of Rutland will be visiting the coffee morning at the Hub, at Ketton Sports and Community Centre, at 10.30am.
Sat 6th November, 10.15 to 11.15am County Councillors’ Surgery to be held in Ketton Library.
Ketton Parish Councillor Sinclair Rogers will also attend.
Saturday Jan 22nd, 2022 Ketton Wassail returns, 4pm in Hall Close.