May 2026 Minutes Annual Parish Assembly
Minutes of the 132nd Annual Assembly of the Parish Meeting Held on Monday 11th May 2026 at 6.30 pm, Community Room, Morton Trentside School
Present:
Cllr B Allison (Chair), Cllr Butroid (Vice-Chair), Cllr C Allison, Cllr King, Cllr Tinker, Cllr Purdy, Cllr Randle, Cllr Marsh, Cllr C Reeve, C. Graves (Clerk).
1. Apologies – Cllr Field, noted and accepted.
2. Minutes of the Meeting held on 12h May 2025 - Proposed as a true and accurate record at the meeting held on 9th June 2025.
3. Current Chairman Cllr B Allison welcomed all to the Annual Assembly of the Parish Council including Cllr C Reeve. He proceeded to read the Chairman’s annual report for 2025/26. A copy of which was circulated to all in attendance. In summary the past year had seen some challenges, but the council continue operate with increasing efficiency and resilience. The past year had seen the resignation of Cllr Tompkins and the co-option of Cllr Purdy and Cllr Randle, and the election of Cllr Marsh. The clerk was thanked for her contribution. Negotiations with LCC continued to amend the Shared Agreement but this reached an impasses over their proposals to fence off their portion of the field and cancel our lease agreement for use of the community room which was unacceptable to the council. The council will continue it seek to fund improvements to the field by other means as they become available, this will continue to be a challenge when the field is not widely accessible to the community. Council funds are well managed and some savings had been achieved in waste disposal, general grass cutting and pest control. We continue to work towards a more effective field booking system and protecting the field from vandalism and anti-social behaviour. Repairs have been completed on the hard court area. Revenue gained from organised sports is vital to help us look after the field. The main project of the year was the carriageway repairs in the cemetery and feedback has been positive. Communication with the community is steadily increasing, however, there is still some work to do inform the community that the Parish Council are only responsible for the playing field, grass cutting on Field Lane and cemetery. Other local authorities take care of highways and street cleaning. We can use our voice to support people when it comes to these issues and others such as planning or when they are unhappy with events such as the organisation of the 10k in November but our ability to alter decisions made by other Councils is negligible. The forthcoming year the council should focus on maintaining and protecting our assets and ensure that the policies contained within the Neighbourhood Plan are relevant. Cllr B Allison thanked everyone for their support.
4. Clerk's Summary – Summary circulated prior to meeting, which included highlights and challenges. A successful external audit confirmed that the council continue to strive to ensure that the precept we receive is spent wisely for the benefit of the parishioners and clerk is confident that this will continue. Further improvements to the cemetery are planned and bookings of the playing field for sports continue. However, these improvements would not be possible without the passion and dedication of councillors. We end the year with a full compliment of councillors and the clerk thanks them for their support and enthusiasm. Clerk will continue to work hard for Morton Parish Council and look forward to what can be achieved in 2026/27.
5. Any Other Business including reports from partners and village organisations.
a) Joshua Tyler Trust - Cllr Butroid informed the council that a meeting was to take place later in the month and an update would be given at the next meeting. The council will continue to promote the charity and how it can provide financial help to scholars.
b) Morton Seniors Football Club - Cllr Tinker was pleased to inform the council that the first team had been crowned champions following their cup match on the Northolme with the reserves finishing third in their league. An over 35’s team was being considered and a charity match for SANDS was planned in July.
Cllr B Allison thanked all concerned for their reports. No other reports received and the meeting closed at 6.50 pm.