Brigg Town Annual Meeting

21 March 2005

Brigg's annual town meeting took place in the Angel ballroom with around forty people attending of which around fifteen were residents and the remainder either Brigg Town or North Lincolnshire councillors.

The meeting was a quiet affair consisting of statements from the Town Mayor - John Kitwood, North Lincolnshire Brigg Ward Councillor - Nigel Sherwood and representatives of the police, local groups and organisations. Prepared statements were followed by a short 'open forum' in which matters were raised by local residents and councillors.

Glebe Road traffic calming

There is some 'fine tuning to do in Glebe Road' according to Nigel Sherwood, who had 'serious reservations about those island bollards.' A member of the public thought that 'at least half the residents of Glebe Road hadn't received the (consultation) letter.' Councillor Glossop has been told by residents of Glebe Road who did receive the consultation letter, that they hadn't been able to understand the engineering diagrams which detailed the changes to the road surface.

Colton Street former school canteen

'It will be turned into residential housing. I see that as the only solution for that site' - Nigel Sherwood - 'It will be razed to the ground'. At the moment the former canteen buildings are being used for temporary storage.

Island Carr footpath

Footpath warden - Tony Parker - gave a summary of the state of local footpaths. The footpath heading south from the new river Ancholme bridge (on the opposite bank to the Leisure Centre) to the junction of the Old and New River Ancholme is not passable with much mud and many obstructions. Work has been promised to open this path up, but nothing appears yet to have been done.

Mr Parker said that 'I'd like to see a footpath right round the Island.' This would make it possible to walk from the leisure centre south, around the island, past the marina and back to Manley Gardens / Bridge Street.

Redcombe Lane

This lane - which is full of wildlife in the summer - has been used as a footpath for many years, and it has finally been made into an official Public footpath. Unfortunately some lazy, antisocial types have been dumping rubbish in the dykes, which is not only an eyesore but may also lead to flooding of the neighbouring houses.

To date it has not been possible for Brigg Town Council to ascertain who owns Redcombe Lane so it has not been possible to get a clean up underway. There have also been reports of people illegally driving vehicles down the lane. When asked by a resident if anything was being done to stop this practice, the mayor assured 'That is all in hand'.

Local policing

PC Walsh gave a positive and upbeat account of crime figures in and around Brigg. Soon, changes to the organisational structure of the police force shall mean that Brigg shall once again get two dedicated beat officers and a 'Local Intelligence Officer'.

Residents of Brigg were requested to call the police whenever they see an incident of antisocial behaviour. 'It may seem that nothing is done at the time, but the Local Intelligence Office collates all of the incidents, so we are better able to tackle trouble hot-spots.'

(Free) car park charges

When asked by Councillor Campion about the possibility of reinstating free long-term and short term parking in Brigg, Cllr Sherwood reassured that although no decision had been made, 'I am always ever hopeful that we'll get free car-parking'. A Brigg resident made clear concerns about streets around the town being used for parking to avoid charges in the town centre car parks.

Fishing rods

Several incidents of carbon-fibre fishing poles being broken by walkers using the Ancholme towpath footpaths have happened according to a resident dog-walker. 'Poles have been left at waist height (blocking the footpath) all day during matches'.

The clerk of Brigg Town Council advised that blocking the footpath with a fishing pole is an illegal obstruction, and that walkers should make a note of the peg number of the offending fisherman as well as the date and time and report it to Helena of Neighbourhood services - who will take the matter up with the angling club.

Brigg in Bloom

Brigg shall not be entered in the 'Yorkshire in Bloom' contest this year. The organisers of the Yorkshire event had stipulated that it was necessary for a committee to be formed in Brigg to organise this event. If volunteers come forward, Brigg Town Council shall be glad to help them form the committee.

Market Stalls - Market's future is safe

Workers from North Lincolnshire Council have been erecting the stalls and now a new contractor is being sought. The normal bidding process didn't yield any potential candidates after many months, but after advertisements were placed which stated how much the contract was worth, over 200 applicants came forward. One has been selected and was in the process of signing the contract today (21 March 2005) - thus ensuring that the future of the market is now safe.

Local Development Framework

North Lincolnshire Council is developing this framework which will direct the development of the North Lincolnshire authority area for the next ten years - and is in the process of consultation with Brigg Town Council and others on planning.

Brigg North Development

The mayor stated that it was the view of the council that 'a further exit road to Wrawby Road (from the Brigg North Development area at the end of Grammar school road) is essential'.

The editor would like to state that BriggLife has no connection with Brigg Town Council or North Lincolnshire Unitary Authority and that opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily represent those of either Brigg Town Council or North Lincolnshire Unitary Authority.