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Sue Parker
I took over as Chairman a year ago, at around the same time that other new councillors joined the Parish Council. We have had an interesting year continuing the work started by the previous Council and implementing a few changes. The meetings have been good natured and constructive and I would like to start by thanking all the Councillors for their help and contributions.
Dean Fonge decided to not to stand for re-election this year due to his business and family commitments. This is entirely understandable and again, I thank him for his help over the past year.
A few new developments this year have been as follows:
We decided to take membership of the OALC for the first time – strongly advised by our contact at SODC. We are monitoring how much we use their services and will review our membership annually before renewal.
We also agree that the Clerk should take a nominal salary and made an allowance of £250.00 to cover his time in handling PC matters.
In view of these added expenses, we requested an increase in the Precept, for the first time in 3 years, which was subsequently agreed by SODC.
Among the duties that our Clerk carries out for us are arranging insurance, reconciling the bank accounts and reclaiming VAT. In the past year Adrian advised us on changing our insurance provider, with a saving of £95.00 at a rate fixed for 3 years. He also obtained a refund from our previous insurer in respect of a premium we had paid unnecessarily, a rebate of £73.50. He also reclaimed £147.52 VAT on time.
The Firework display in November broke even for the first time in several years, even though expenditure on fireworks & food increased by over 20%. Money collected at the gate and donated from the Harvest Supper raffle covered all costs.
We purchased an extension to the Marquee at a cost of £240.00. So far we have already recovered approx a third of this in hire fees. It was also used for Village events such as the midsummer BBQ and this April’s Royal Wedding.
On-going issues remain as follows:
- The parking problems caused by Brookes Campus at Holton. I continue to attend meetings and monitor this situation as it develops.
- The Recreation Ground fund. Adrian Peake has worked closely on this during the year and we hope to resolve outstanding problems in order to release some funds for improvements this year.
- The Village Plan. This will be looked at again with a view to progressing it this summer
- Potholes in the road and wear and tear to public footpaths continue to crop up – not helped by the last particularly hard winter. We are monitoring these and will continue to liaise with SODC and with Waterperry House to make improvements.
- A couple of Planning applications in the village and its environs were considered carefully and we contacted SODC to clarify items of concern. We identified a real need to understand and carefully watch the nature of developments, especially with agricultural properties.
I feel this has been a productive and constructive year and hope that the existing Council can continue the good work. On that note – we are under ‘staffed’ and would welcome one or two enthusiastic new members! Please put the word out and encourage anyone interested to put themselves forward.
Again – a big thanks to Adrian, Rob, Dean and Adrian Cave for all their efforts and support.
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