News from Easton on the Hill Parish Council

CCTV at the playing field

The Parish Council discussed this at their last two meetings, as previously mentioned, and agreed that a camera should be installed to monitor traffic using the car park with the new height barrier restrictions in place and also to capture any anti-social behaviour to prevent crime, protect their assets and protect the public.  There will be the required signage and policies in place. If anyone has any queries, please do get in touch

Waste bins

The Parish Council hears about more and more waste management issues, where bins are tagged, not emptied or not put back properly.  They would like to remind residents to report any issues to North Northants Council (NNC) but also send a copy to me, the Clerk to the Council, so we can see the extent of the issue and raise any overall service problem with NNC.

Speed limit along the A43

There have been representations about the speed of traffic along this road recently and for a while, off and on.  The response from the Highways Authority is still not favourable to reducing the speed limit for a few reasons eg feedback is that it does not change behaviour of the worst offenders, the numbers of accidents does not warrant it, the data of traffic going over the speed limit does not meet the criteria etc etc. With a new device installed recently, the Parish Council Traffic Working Group will be monitoring the data more carefully and is interested in hearing from residents of any near misses that have occurred.

Plus the cafe and nursery and possibly more development nearby, there could be a case for a reduction, or at least a review of the road layout from Highways.

Grit bins

Do not forget the Parish Council marked grit bins are for residents' use in icy weather - please help yourself for using on icy roads (not your own path or driveway though please). 

Chatty bus

Did you know there is a weekly "chatty bus" service to Stamford every Wednesday?  Check the notice in the recently renovated notice board in Millenium Garden if you are interested.

Notice board/collection

It was agreed that the £200 money collected in the Post Office last time was to be spent on a makeover of the old notice board at the Millenium Garden and so a big thanks to Martin Bates and Kevin Cox who have done this for materials cost only and any surplus monies will go on replacement post and rail fencing at Spring Close where needed.

Pavement/Cycleway to Stamford

We mentioned a few weeks ago that North Northants Highways has cut back the encroaching verge to widen the shared path alongside the A43 towards Wothorpe. It seems they has stopped short of the county boundary but, having been prompted by Cllr Woodman, they have now returned and finished the job, so we have a much more usable path into Stamford (and back again).

Next meeting is 13/1/25 at 7pm in the Village Hall. All are encouraged to attend and input to decisions and hear what your Councillors are doing for you! Parish Councillor elections are taking place in May 2025 and so a recruitment campaign will be underway shortly - watch this space....

Jenny Rice, Clerk/RFO tel 07889669550 or email clerk@eastononthehill-pc.gov.uk

New Year Resolutions?

If you are thinking that one of your resolutions might be to get more involved in the village and how it is run, then 2025 is the right year for you. The local government elections are in May and all 11 Parish Council positions are up for re-election. For any election to be meaningful, you need more candidates than posts, and about half of the current councillors are likely to stand down, so we need some more willing souls to step up and get involved. It doesn’t have to be onerous and the council is in good shape, so it’s by no means a "hospital pass”, but for the whole village to be adequately represented and for our local democracy to work, we need a wide range of candidates (at least 12).

You will hear more about this in the New Year and there will be an Annual Parish Meeting in March (12th) where we will present what we’ve achieved in the last 4 years (lots) and the financial status (healthy). So you don’t need to put your hand up just yet, but do bear it in mind and maybe talk to any councillor about the role in the meantime. 

Tim Nicol, Chair. (Until May)