The Stansted Millers who look after the village landmark are exploring several avenues to keep repairs to the mill on track.

An estimate to fix the mill’s stock clamp has gone up from £8,500 to £12,200. The extra money will cover the cost of a cherry picker and the fees of an engineer. The Parish Council has been asked to use the Windmill Capital Account to pay for the work carried out so far. This amounts to £1,059.22. Money left in the capital account could also be put towards the rest of the work needed.

Maintenance

Meanwhile an application by the Millers will be put in to the Lottery Heritage Fund for the £40-£50k. This money is needed to cover the cost of repointing the mill’s brickwork.

Quotes have come in to replace the Mill’s errant fire alarm. A new system is needed as the existing fire alarm is sounding frequent false alarms. A quote received for £1500 for a replacement cable system does not include installation costs. But the Millers wish to keep costs down by installing a new system themselves.

The Millers are also going to trial 3 or 4 sensors before purchasing a new alarm. The sensitivity of the sensor has been a source of false alarms with the old alarm.

Accounts

It was a tale of two halves for the Miller’s own fundraising events and activities in 2021.

On the plus side the Miller’s Fete in September and the Christmas Santa fundraisers proved a welcome boost to their coffers – better publicity saw over 104 children visiting Father Christmas, with parents, grandparents and carers dipping into pockets to pay for festive treats! 

But last year’s pandemic lockdown affected visitor numbers as the Mill was shut for Easter and the May bank holidays. This is in turn impacted on a traditional revenue stream for the Millers.

This year the Parish Council will be underwriting the Summer Fete should it make a loss or have to be cancelled.

The Millers are also hopeful district councillors will step forward to match the £450 grant provided by fellow District Councillor Geoffrey Sell. 

Jubilee Opening

The Millers are looking into whether they can muster enough volunteers to open the Mill for the Queen’s community picnic on June 4, as well as run their usual Sunday opening.

Head to the Meetings menu to read the full minutes of the WINDMILL SUB-COMMITTEE (30-3-22).