Chairman’s report – March 2008

Early last year the sad news reached us that our Vicar, Rev Dr David Ottewell, had died suddenly. This came as a great shock to the parish council and to the community. In commemoration and, after liaising with the Trustees, the parish council is purchasing a seat which is to be erected in the very near future on the area fronting the parish centre.

Last May we were able to increase the number of councillors from 7 to 9 and were pleased to welcome Geoff Payne and Gary Warrender onto the parish council. Previously they had attended most meetings as members of the public. During the year Marilyn Cockett left the parish council, owing to her other many commitments, and Lynn Allwood was co-opted in her place. Marilyn however is still a familiar face in the village, being involved with the football club and being the guiding light in organising the annual Christmas Market. A thank you to her and all the residents who give their time to arrange such an event. The Christmas carol service, held on the same evening, raised c£150 for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.

The parish council conducted its budget exercise in December 2007 when it was decided to increase the precept slightly from £22k to £23k to take account of projects in the pipeline. The play equipment on Ravenswood Park was removed some time ago because of its poor condition and also to comply with health and safety requirements. The parish council has engaged Messrs Hawley and Partners to progress bids for funding from various agencies in order that the equipment can be replaced as soon as possible. Replacement costs will be in the region of £100k so this is no easy task.

We spend quite a substantial sum maintaining the areas we own, e.g. Riverside Park and the copse off Eastfield Lane. Grass cutting costs, maintenance and tree and hedge trimming form a large part of our budget.

To try and prevent further vandalism we had to take the step of protecting the pavilion as it was continually being broken into – thus palisade fencing was erected and this does appear to have done the trick.

The parish council has, over the past few years, continually lobbied the Highway Authority in an effort to improve safety for school pupils on all the roads leading to and outside all three schools in the village. In the past we have conducted our own survey of pedestrian numbers crossing Main Street at Lidgett crossroads and also at the crossroads on Hurst Lane, and have forwarded details to the Highway Authority. Our part has been to provide impetus and table practical ideas in an effort to ensure that appropriate measures are taken before a very serious incident occurs. We are pleased that local schools also became involved. Currently we are awaiting a response from Mayor Winter have recently written to him on these issues.

Anti-social behaviour has been a cause of concern during the year and we have been liaising closely with Police representatives. Residents adjacent to the car park at Riverside Park had been suffering nuisance and, as a result, the parish council provided a gate to prohibit vehicular access after dusk and the residents take turns in locking and unlocking this gate. We are pleased to welcome PC Brian Pyle, stationed at Robin Hood Airport, who attends out meetings and is very pro-active.

As many will know there have been problems during the year with severe ponding, flooding and sewage issues. We have for some time been in communication with DMBC Environmental Services and the Water Authority and hopefully the serious problems which existed previously will now have been resolved.

We comment and make observations on planning applications but we cannot formally approve or reject, this responsibility lies with the Planning Authority. However, we do try to make constructive and practical comments so that our views can be taken seriously by Planning Officers and the Planning Committee at DMBC.

We communicate with the public in various ways. Residents can raise issues at all our meetings prior to commencement of formal business, our minutes are displayed on notice boards, our website has been updated and we include parish council articles in the Arrow which is delivered to each household on a regular basis.

Our meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month in the Parish Centre commencing at 7 pm (except August). Everyone is welcome to come along to listen to our discussions and see how parish council business is conducted.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all my colleagues for their attendance and the work they do at, and away from, meetings. They are all unpaid and so much of what they do goes unnoticed but greatly benefits the community. Thank you too to Ward Cllr Patricia Schofield who attends our monthly meetings, we are grateful for the interest she takes.

Thank you to our handyman, Mr Baker, who gets on with the job in an efficient and capable manner.

A thank you to the Garden and Allotments Association who have planted bulbs on our behalf in the village and also for their hard work in organising the Gala each year which is a community event enjoyed by everyone.

Finally, without a professional and competent Clerk, which we are very fortunate to have, the parish council could not function properly. So a big thank you to Marjorie!

Jennifer Worthington

Chair