The Parish Council regrets that again members of the public were misled by social media, this time in respect of attendance at yesterday’s evening’s extraordinary Council meeting. The Council encourages everyone to check with its own website, noticeboards and its Facebook page for information on Council matters.
Yesterday evening’s Council meeting followed a meeting earlier in the month (where members of the public were able to attend and speak). At that earlier meeting Council members held a substantial discussion about the issues arising from the problem of too many visitors to Pickmere and the lake. Reference was made to the many discussions about the problems that councillors have had with the Police, other agencies and members of the public over recent weeks (and indeed over the last three years). The Council concluded at that meeting, reluctantly, that the erection of a fence at the IROS/lakeside open space was the only measure that it had power to take to try to mitigate the problems the village is suffering. Accordingly it decided on 2nd August that it would erect a fence.
Last night’s meeting (16th August) was simply to decide which of the price quotations for the erection of the fence would be chosen. Financial quotations are always considered on the Council’s private agenda because of their commercial sensitivity.
One of the quotations was accepted at the meeting, and the Clerk will proceed to commission the work.
It is pointed out – again principally to correct the false impression given out on local social media – that the Council is very conscious that many people, both residents of Pickmere and of other communities close-by, use the IROS land on a daily basis throughout the year. Whilst a formal decision has yet to be made on how the opening/closing of gates in the proposed fences will be organised, it is considered most unlikely that the land will be closed on a permanent basis.