ANNUAL PARISH MEETING: The annual parish meeting, chaired by Cllr Tony Wilkins, was held recently with all six parish councillors, district councillor Chris Saint and 30 parishioners present. The meeting heard a report on progress on the playing field drainage scheme from Mr Michael Dingley. He said that the number of children who used the field, including those from the school, was gratifying. The chairman said it was remarkable what Mr Dingley had achieved. Some of the pitches had been almost unplayable in winter, particularly the hockey pitch, but this winter no games had been cancelled.

Mr Greg Woodall said that there were three big issues in connection with the playing field. First, the money from taxpayers should be spent wisely. Second, all users of the playing field should have a say in what money was spent on, and thirdly, there should be a co-ordinated approach to the raising of additional funds. He proposed the creation of a new playing fields facilities committee to replace the development group, but with a broader remit, and the parish council would consider his proposals as soon as possible.

In Mr R Shurey's absence, the clerk read the latest report on the progress towards obtaining a defibrillator for the village. About £850 had been raised at a recent concert organised by Mr Shurey. An application had been finally approved by the Warwickshire and Coventry Ambulance NHS Trust, and now the expected go-ahead from the British Heart Foundation was awaited.

In the absence of Mrs Sheila Ribbans, chairman of the parish plan committee, Ms Susan Brock gave an account of the progress towards the production of the parish plan. She said 320 forms had been delivered to houses throughout the parish and 249 had been returned, a response of just under 80 per cent. There were also 35 youth surveys returned. The results had been analysed by the Warwick Association, and a working group had met to consider the results and to identify the main headings for the report. These were anticipated to be parking, street lights, traffic and essential services. There will be a public meeting in the village hall in the summer and the project should be completed in August/September.

The parish council accounts had been circulated and Mr Fred Edmunds asked why the precept had been reduced from £8,000 last year to £6,000 this year. The chairman said that this was because there was too much money in the bank.

Mr Rob Hawkins, chairman of the village hall, said that operating costs were again rising, but thanks to fund-raising at the summer fete and the Christmas bazaar, and donations from Burns Night and the Howard Arms, there was a healthy balance. They were slowly decorating the hall and refurbishing the kitchen. The next job was to paint the hall outside, and he stressed that more use should be made of the hall.

Mr Mike Tremellen, the treasurer, presented the accounts of the multi-sports club. He said that in addition to tennis and football coaching, they had started floorball for 9-12 year olds. There were about 370 members, and the club had a balance in the bank of £33,000 because they had to have enough funds to finance a new surface for the courts. They had had quotes for this varying from £22,000 to £27,000, and they would make a decision next year on whether the surface needed replacing.

The chairman reported on the sewage problems in Armscote Road, which had been ongoing for a long time. He had contacted John Maples MP, who was asking questions of Severn Trent. A survey was being carried out round the village, and some obstructions had been found in the sewer from the top of Armscote Road. An additional pipe was needed from there down to the sewer beds, the problems were caused by surface water going into the sewer, which was put in 50 years ago to cope with the number of houses existing then. Cllr David Sabin said that Severn Trent needed to solve the problem for the next 50 years, not just for the present, and that the system was totally overloaded with too many new houses.

The district council was reported to be withdrawing the repayments it makes for expenditure on mowing and repairs to children's play equipment. This would be most unfair because Ilmington provided sports facilities which were enjoyed by people from all over the Stratford district. Cllr Saint said that he thought there would be strong complaints from many parishes, and he hoped there might be some change of heart.

Mr Ken Hall was concerned about speeding vehicles along the Armscote Road and Front Street, particularly between 7am and 9am when children were going to school. The police should be asked to do something about this.

Mr Fred Edmunds asked when work would be carried out on the playing field car park, as there had been many complaints from sports club members about its unsatisfactory state. It was no good just patching it, it would have to be done properly with good foundations. Mr Dingley said that a new playing field facilities committee, when formed, could decide on this.

TENNIS CLUB: Organised by social secretary Richard Leadbitter, the annual draw for the Lawn Tennis Association's allocation of tickets to the club for the Wimbledon Championships in June took place at the Welford Hill Vineyard near Welford. Unfortunately none of the members attending were successful in the draw.

The evening at the vineyard included a meal then a tasting of the many white

and red wines produced at the vineyard.