Catthorpe Village Meeting Minutes

Held: Monday 27 October 2025 | Attendance: 31 villagers | 7pm – 9:15pm

Next meeting: April / May 2026 (date to be confirmed)

Thank you for a well-attended and engaging meeting. Quintin H was in the Chair and Jacqui Day was Secretary. There were comprehensive discussions on many of the agenda items (thank you all) and only a brief summary of the decisions is captured here

1. Village Finance & Governance

Following the Village Meeting in May 2025, it was agreed to have a clear and simple way to apply for funds and decide how they are used.

For expenditure over £200

1.

Complete a Funding Request Form (FRF). These are available from the Chair

2.

Return it to the Chair, at least a month before the next Village Meeting

3.

It will be available via WhatsApp and the Village website

4.

Discussed and decided on at the Village Meeting

For expenditure under £200 (normally social events)

1.

These are agreed in principle at a Village meeting in advance, and then the details will be notified to the Village through the WhatsApp group

2.

Where there is a request that has not been agreed in principle at a Village Meeting, notice will be circulated by a leaflet, as well as WhatsApp and the Village website and feedback sought from the Village. These decisions will then be noted in the minutes of the next meeting.

2. Conduct at Meetings

It was agreed that…

It is important that all residents have an equal voice in decisions that affect the village, and that this should be reflected in the positive tone of discussion at the meeting and afterwards, including on the WhatsApp Group.

Our meetings and discussions will be fair and respectful, giving everyone the chance to speak and be heard; even when we disagree.

3. Administration of Village Meeting

•

The Chair and Secretary agreed to endeavour to circulate the minutes within one month of the meeting.

•

Village meetings will be held every six months (next one will be in April/ May 2026)

•

It was noted that notices of meetings and the minutes are circulated to all houses in the Village, including Catthorpe Manor (thank you Amanda and Blanche). Noted, need to ensure that the Jo & James G’s house is included.

•

Village receives around £1,500 from Lilbourne Windfarm( until 2035) and around £3,500 from Eight parishes Swinford windfarm (until 2037) each year.

4. Social & Community Events

a.

Halloween night – Friday 31st October. Agreed to spend £110 for food, Amy G is organising

b.

Bonfire Night – Friday 7th November. Agreed to spend £130 for food. Jen W is organising.

c.

Remembrance Sunday Service on Sunday 9th November. Mark B is lead, Post meeting note: this year this will be held jointly with Lilbourne.

d.

Christmas Tree: agreed to spend £200 to decorate one tree, Mark B is organising (likely making use of an existing tree). Additional funds for food to be notified later,

e.

Easter 2026 Social Event: noted – a proposal to be submitted for the AGM.

5. Improvement Projects

a.

Water Supply for the Allotment – Proposal (pre-circulated) by Dave Penny and agreed to spend £500. Note: since the meeting the allotment agents have agreed to the proposal.

b.

Renewal of defibrillator, agreed to spend up to £1,500 to replace. Jen will contact OurJay (a charity in Rugby, ourjay.org.uk) to see if they will provide one, which one would they recommend and how should it be maintained. Bob G offered to conduct maintenance checks.

c.

Planting on the allotment corner in Main Street.

There was a full discussion on the different options, with a desire to improve the area further. It was agreed that Jules F (assuming she’s happy to do so) will collate ideas from villagers and bring a proposal to the next Village Meeting. At the meeting there were three votes taken:

i.

It was agreed that the Village wanted some form of planting on the corner

ii.

The proposal to plant a hedge was defeated

iii.

The proposal to plant nothing was defeated

6. Charitable and Community Support

a.

Poor Plots Charity: Lisa N spoke about the Charity and will circulate a leaflet to clarify how villagers can apply for support.

b.

Donation to LOROS Hospice: it was agreed to donate £1,364 to LOROS to fund a syringe driver. This is a local charity, villagers have donated to them in the past, and they can provide services to the Village. Susan G’s pre-circulated proposal was presented by Matt G.

i.

The Chair will check if these funds can come from the Eight Parishes Fund

c.

Movember: It was agreed to make a £300 donation to Peckish Run Club, to support them in their fund raising for Movember, with a goal of raising over £500. Proposal was pre-circulated and proposed by George B

d.

Charitable giving: The idea of charitable donations is new, and it was agreed that at the AGM we would discuss in principle how we wish to structure these payments in the future

7. Continuing Projects

Fly-tipping – Quintin and Jen are arranging a meeting with Harborough District Council to discuss how we could reduce fly-tipping

Village & Church Noticeboard – Agreed at the last meeting and now under construction

Repair or replacement of the flower planter on the Rugby Road – a proposal from Jules F will come forward to the AGM.

The proposals discussed at the meeting are available at Catthorpe.uk or from the Chair.

Catthorpe Village Meeting Minutes 21stMay 2025

There were 21 villagers present, Quintin Heath chaired the meeting.

1. Election of Chair & Secretary:  Quintin Heath and Jacqui Day appointed for a further year.

In Jaqui’s absence, Jules Franks kindly offered to take notes of this meeting.

2. Accounts

Income was £1515.00 from Lillbourne windfarm and we spent £690, so an excess on the year of £846. We have cash in bank account of £3,077.

Costs still to be paid include defibrillator. web site and tree plaque (in total £373)

In answer to a question; defibrillator replacement battery (and pads) is every 2 years battery pack, which we would need to replace for every use Villagers were asked to please let Quintin know if it is used. The code for the defib is C159X.

The accounts were approved. 

The Swinford windfarm money is held by a Community Interest Company (Eight Parishes CIC) and may be used for longer term projects, we have circa £20k in reserve and an income of 3k for the next 10 years. 

It was noted that the requirement to get access to the Swinford windfarm is to adhere to the governance of the spend via form filling which is approved by the CIC and demonstrate that the money is for the community.

Action: Quintin will seek advice on whether the money may be used for local charities. 

3. Harborough 

It was noted that there is a national government consultation underway about the structure of local government in Leicestershire and whether there is a need for both the County and District council levels. 

4. Ideas for Improvements Projects

Idea 1. pipes for water supply for the allotments. It was noted that there may be considerable obstacles (need for a digger, road closure, connection to the mains, who would pay for water usage), there was support from the floor to develop this idea. Action:  Dave Penny to investigate 

Issue: Jean raised the issue with her fence panel was being overtaken by unmanaged growth on the allotment. Action: Dave Penny has kindly offered to cut down Jean’s overgrowth.

Idea 2: Matt Grindall proposed that a village & church notice board be installed to publish both church and village news at the church gate. It was noted that St Thomas’s is a village asset and that it does not have sufficient cash to run monthly, so is not able to not contribute. 

Approved: the spending of £600 by the Village Meeting on the noticeboard was approved

Idea 3: Proposed by Paul Bowen on behalf of Rebecca Bowen: to install a cyclist repair station as Catthorpe is on a national cycle route. Cost is about £1500; the stand can be logo-ed to say we supported it. Need a location. There was uncertainty about whether it would attract cyclists, who are normally self-sufficient in repairing their bikes. Action Paul Bowen to develop the idea further (including photos) and suggest a location. 

Idea 4: It was proposed; to replace the Catthorpe sign on the Swinford Road with one with a wooden frame, possibly on the planter. Action Jules Franks to develop a proposal. 

Idea 5: Proposed to replace the planter box for the bottom (Rugby Road) planter. Action Jules Franks to produce a proposal to repair or replace the planter.

Idea 6: Allotment fence the hedge line has become overgrown and this year a group of volunteers (GOGs) have tidied it up. The proposal is to replace all 23 panels of estate fencing to have a secure boundary, at a cost of about £1526. Designed by Bryn It would be painted black   Action: Josh Letten to circulate the final version of the proposal for any further feedback and final approval.

In addition, Jen Wyke offered to create an expenditure request form for future projects (completed). 

Idea 7: Suggestion of a native hedge along allotment fence line. Either side; hedge maintenance verses visibility of the road. Action: Need all cost options for fence and hedging in the allotment side: Quintin to get a quote. James Grindal has kindly offered to maintain if planted. It was noted idea 6 & 7 could work together.

Idea 8: Propose: Chris jones. put up a mirror at the junction from Lillbourne to Main St. Action Quintin will ask the council for any suggestions. 

Idea 9: Proposal: create a project group to generate ideas to reduce speeding in the village. Want to see data from the current camera. Action: Andy N will be asked if he can share data from the camera, Jen W offered to assess it. Quintin to ask council what information and ideas are available for the village to consider. Working group on speeding, volunteers were Amy Grindal, Jo Grewer, Jen W. & Chris.

Idea 10: Fly tipping: Action: Jenny W to investigate putting in cameras and other ideas to deter tippers.

Idea 11 History of the village. Action: Quintin to circulate and get specific project aims. Need volunteers. Collate all information first. Mel was interested in being involved.

5. Social activities for 2025/26

Social 1 Remembrance service: was approved in principle, Action Mark to be contact for the event. Matt G asked that Mark has talks to him about logistics of the event. 

Social 2: Christmas lights and an event to switch them on were approved in principle. There may be a requirement to purchase more lights. Need more lights. It was noted that start time of 6 pm would be better for children. Mark to be lead contact, it was requested that we coordinate the Christmas tree light switch on with the church tree and carol service. Action. Blanche & Mark. 

Social 3: Bonfire night was approved in principle (Village to pay for food as last year), and a request to consider the start and finish to be kind to animals. Action Jen to be lead contact.

Social 4: Halloween. The Village needs a new organiser for the Halloween kids’ party. ActionAmy (lead contact) to propose a plan. 

Social 5: Village Social, following a discussion it was believed an afternoon event would be best. Action:  Jules Franks is lead contact and will develop (with others) a proposal.

Present

27 Villagers were present

Quintin Heath opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and setting out the agenda for the meeting

Quintin Heath advised all present that he was happy to continue as Chair, although he is having knee surgery in July and will be out for a bit Nominated by : Matt Grindall Seconded by : Joy Murray

Jacqui Day advised that she was happy to continue as Secretary Nominated by :Lisa Netherwood Seconded by : Matt Grindall

Quintin Heath outlined the finances for the village for the year 2022/23 itemising the income and expenditure for this period, these were itemised in the meeting agenda. Quintin Heath advised that he would post the income and expenditure information with the minutes on the village noticeboard and website. There were no objections or questions with regard to the financial information 

There was a general discussion around the village website and whether it was value for money and whether many people accessed it . The current annual cost for this is £165 and the village has recently renewed the annual subscription.

It was realised that few villagers accessed the website and that there were a range of other options to considered for example WhatsApp and Facebook which did not carry an annual cost. It was agreed to investigate alternative options .

Neighbourhood Plan

Leo Austin prepared and presented a Power Point on this . Leo Austin explained that it was a National process for community planning and would enable the village to access funding in the form of a grant of 18k . Leo Austin advised that in order to move forward with this there would need to be 21 signatures in order to create a forum. This would then enable a framework for Catthorpe to be developed and the priorities for the village to be identified

Leo Austin agreed to send out the information around this but also directed everyone to website neighbourhoodplanning.org to access further information around this .

Lisa Netherwood felt that this was an interesting proposal,and would enable a collective understanding and focus for the village. Julie Franks advised that she had met with Leo Austin to look at this and that the forum would be custodians for village and support future planning. The neighbourhood plan would allow the village to agree on how best to use monies in support of the village and the local community.

Leo Austin advised that 21 signatures are needed to create the forum but that once the forum has been created it did not need to have 21 representatives .

There were no objections to this proposal and so it was agreed to draw up a consultation document.

Lisa Netherwood presented this item and advised all present that it was developed in 1651 to support the poor of Catthorpe by offering financial support for a range of things. Lisa Netherwood advised that we needed to find a way to use the funds which will benefit those in the village who met the criteria . Lisa Netherwood agreed to forward more detailed information on the Poor Plots with the minutes from the AGM.

Quintin Heath asked if any funds had been released and was advised that in the past the Poor Plots money had been used to provide a head stone and to support an educational visit.

Quintin Heath asked all present for suggestions for future social events for the village . Julie Franks suggested an Autumn Dinner/ Harvest Festival activity. Julie Franks suggested that this could be done in collaboration with Catthorpe Manor to further involve the manor with the village .

Judith Smith suggested a Bonfire Night event with those attending bringing their own fireworks to. the event .

Julie Franks reminded all present that the village had planned previously to plant a tree as part of

the Queens Platinum Jubilee but that this had not yet been done . There was a discussion around where the tree should be sited with suggestions of either at the entrance to the village , towards Catthorpe Manor or in place of the Christmas Tree. No definite decision was made but there was some concern over tree management . Lisa Netherwood agreed to provide a map of the village so that a suitable site could be agreed upon.

Village Fete

Lisa Netherwood suggested a Village Fete in the next year .

Rebecca Bowen suggested that Catthorpe consider entering for The Best Kept Village. It was agreed that this item could be part of the village plan in the future.

Jean Byer raised a safety issue in the village . She advised all present that motorists were using her drive to turn their cars around and on occasions driving access her driveway which was a safety concern for her. Jean also raised the issue of bonfires on the allotments and the effect the smoke from the bonfires were having on the air quality in the village.

Quintin Heath advised all present that there were rules and guidance around bonfires and that he would circulate this information..

Jean Byer also mentioned the safety issue around the trees and hedges which obscure the view of traffic passing through the village via the corner of Swinford Road and asked if anything could be done to reduce this area of concern.

Quintin Heath thanked everyone for attending and Chris Horton and Amy White for hosting the meeting.

The meeting closed at 8.25pm.