Draft Minutes of Langham Annual Parish Meeting held on 26 ^th May 2026 7.30pm Langham Village Hall

1. Attendance

Cllr. S Catlin – Chairman

Cllr. M Appleby

Cllr. A Marshall

Cllr. S Pickering

Cllr. J Taylor

Cllr. A Tilbrook

Cllr. P Viner

C. Cllr O Hemsley

Terry Manning

Nigel Coomber

Debbie Sowter

Mr & Mrs Braithwaite

2. Apologies

Cllr. R Besant

Jonathan Peacock

3. To approve the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting 27 ^th May 2025

These were approved by the meeting.

Proposed Cllr. Viner

Seconded Cllr. Tilbrook

4. Annual report from the Chairman of Langham Parish Council

Cllr. Catlin read a report – Appendix 1.

5. Parish Council finances

A summary of the previous year’s income and expenditure was circulated. Appendix 2.

6. Flooding – progress on development of flood plan

Cllr. Catlin briefly reported on the completion of the Langham Flood Plan, creation of a flood refuge at the village hall and continued attempts to engage with Rutland County Council (RCC) Flood Officer and Highways. RCC are expected to complete some clearance work to the brook under bridges. Fortunately, Langham has not experienced a flood this year, but some run off which RCC are investigating.

7. Ward Member

C. Cllr. Hemsley confirmed his appointment as Portfolio Holder for Environment and Transport. He confirmed that he will complete an inspection of the brook and flood points around the village with the RCC Flood Officer. He encouraged residents to advise him directly of any areas of concern for inclusion on the inspection.

Local Government Reorganisation is currently under consideration with any changes to be implemented in 2 years’ time. The responsibility for the maintenance of the closed churchyard would be passed to the new unitary authority.

8. Report from the Trustee of the Charity – Langham Parochial Charities

Terry Manning gave a short report on the Charity and its accounts. Appendix 3.

The process to identify widows and widowers to receive a gift from the charity was discussed. This is achieved by discussion with the church and residents are encouraged to make the trustees aware of any residents who should be included.

The re-election of the existing trustees, Jonathan Peacock and Terry Manning was unanimously agreed.

9. Reports from Village Groups

i. Langham Gardeners Association – Nigel Coomber gave a report. Appendix 4.

The Chairman thanked Oliver Hemsley for repairing the allotment gate.

ii. St Peter & St Paul Church, Langham – Debbie Sowter Churchwarden.

The meeting was directed to the Parochial Church Council’s annual report and the following was briefly summarised:

The church boiler broke down shortly before Christmas. The PCC is currently applying to the Faculty and obtaining quotations for repairs or replacement. Quotations are c. £30,000. The proposed project to instal a toilet in the church is currently on hold due to escalating costs and prioritising of the boiler repair. The bell hammer has been repaired at a cost of £576.

10. Any other business

It was reported that the 30mph sign entering Langham is only partially visible and requires cleaning. Subsequent to the meeting, Cllr. Tilbrook cut back the overhanging tree and cleaned the sign.

The meeting closed at 8.05pm

Appendix 1.

Chairman’s Annual Report

Thank you everybody for coming along to the meeting this evening. The aim of the meeting is to inform you about what the Parish Council has been doing over the last 12 months and also for you to inform the PC about things we should be doing and any feedback on what we have done.

Flooding is yet again the main focus for the past year. We have now set up the Village Hall as a refuge with stocks of emergency supplies and blankets should any future flood be bad enough to require evacuation. RCC issued their Section 19 Report last year and considering the almost 18 months it took to prepare told us nothing new or went into the causes of the flooding. We have had more engagement with the RCC Flood Officer over the last few months and it looks like some things may be progressing. We hope they will clear the silt from under all of our bridges during the summer.

Several residents have identified blockages downstream from the village, mostly fallen trees, they have identified the landowners and spoken to them and it looks like the landowners will be taking action to clear the trees.

RCC will be writing to all Riparian Owners and asking them to inspect and clear their sections of the brook. They have suggested supplying skips so that debris and excessive vegetation can be disposed of.

We have successfully planted some test beds to find the best method of rewilding the verges. We tried 5 different methods from seeds to matting pre-planted with wild flowers. It would seems that the most successful was the matting and the bulbs. We will review it after the summer so that all methods have a chance to show what is possible.

We installed a new climbing net in the Community Park which was chosen by the children at the Primary School.

There has been a lot of damage caused to the hedge along Burley Road, People seem to use this as a short cut rather than using the official entrances. The existing fence has been knocked down and the laid hedge damaged. It has been pointed out that small children could run straight out onto Burley Road which at that point has a 60mph speed limit. We will be looking to fence off the whole length of the park along Burley Road with wire V link fencing (as used around the allotments opposite Lidl)

The verge opposite The Range has been cleared and planted with grass and daffodils and now looks far tidier and we hope to plant more bulbs in the autumn.

We held a very successful Community Speedwatch last autumn which was organised by Cllr Cunningham with a total of 361 vehicles exceeding 36mph through the village, the vast majority on the A606.

We have been working on a village sign to be installed on the grassed area opposite the Burley Road / A606 junction. This should be installed within the next 6-8 weeks, and we will have a grand unveiling.

We also asked RCC Highways for a flood depth gauge to be placed on the lowest point of the A606 to deter vehicles trying to drive through floods. We have had no response from Highways and have decided to go ahead and install our own which should appear within the next few weeks.

We have also installed a street name sign at Mickley Lane, purchased a new defibrillator for Ranksborough as the existing one was faulty. We have purchased a number of poppies to be placed on the street furniture around the village in November.

We have said goodbye to Cllr Cunningham and welcome to Cllr Pickering.

I would also like to thank all the village groups and individuals who do so much to make life in Langham so pleasant.

As always, a very special thanks to our Parish Clerk, Helen Duckering, who goes far beyond her remit to help and advise us. We simply couldn’t function without her – Thank You.

Cllr. Stephen Catlin

Chairman, Langham Parish Council

Appendix 2

Appendix 3.

Langham Parochial Charities

Trustees: Mr T.R. Manning & Mr J.R. Peacock

Registered Charity No. 217550

Statement of Accounts 1 ^st April 2025 – 31 ^st March 2026

Funds held at bank (Lloyds) on 31 ^st March 2026: £1,128.00

Funds held in petty cash on 31 ^st March 2026: £9.76

* Distributions paid on behalf of charity: £648.00 (owing to Trustee)

Report From the Trustees of Langham Parochial Charities for year 2025

In December 2025, 54 gifts of £12 were delivered to widows and widowers in accordance with tradition. Four fewer gifts than last year.

Due to difficulties withdrawing cash from the charity’s account, cash was withdrawn from a Trustee’s Account and that used for the distribution. This amount is now to be refunded.

Five messages of thanks were received.

Terrence R Manning

Jonathan R Peacock

Trustees

Registered Charity No. 217550

Appendix 4.

Langham Gardeners Association (Allotments)

Report to Langham Annual Parish Meeting – May 2026

The Langham Gardeners Association (LGA) continues to be well supported within the village. We have had a relatively stable membership over the past twelve months, with only two plots changing hands since our last annual report. Our membership has increased very slightly to 44 individuals, and we remain fully let, with 35 plots of varying sizes currently being cultivated.

In 2025 our use of water increased significantly due to the very dry weather conditions. As a result of this, and of the continued rise in prices by Severn Trent Water, we took the decision to propose an increase to allotment rents for 2026 onwards. The change to rents was agreed unanimously at our well attended AGM in March. Rents now range from £14 to £33 per year, depending on the size of plot.

These new rents still represent excellent value for money, and compare favourably to those charged by other allotment associations. We remain grateful to the Parish Council for leasing the land to us at a peppercorn rent, and for recently agreeing to a further 5 year extension to our lease. We would also wish to acknowledge with thanks the contribution towards our water bill made in respect of the Wildlife Area.

Over the last year several of our members have made improvements to the paths around and between their allotment plots. We are aiming to continue with this work during 2026, as and when materials (e.g. wood chippings) become available.

Our committee meets regularly to consider ideas for further improvements to the overall management of the allotments site. As ever, we are very happy to receive feedback and suggestions from the Parish Council, and from parishioners about this.

Nigel Coomber

On behalf of the LGA.