CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2014
Re reading last years Annual Report the village seemed to have been in a constant sate of flux and activity from the start of the Neighbourhood Planning process through the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations to the completion of the street lighting project. By comparison his last twelve months have been somewhat quieter but perhaps no less important for the community.
Church Fields seems to get fuller with the new housing and the density of the development is becoming clearer as more and more of the site gets built up yet there is still quite a along way to go. The extent of the green space is however also becoming clearer as more grass gets sown and more trees and shrubs get planted. All of this space, between the houses and the Church and the riverside footpath will ultimately be handed over to the Parish Council for the benefit of the village. The hedge along High Street will also be part of that space. It will come with an endowment to fund the future maintenance of the area but it will not be handed over until the last house is built and sold. The only exception will be the hard paved car parking which will be adopted and maintained by Leeds City Council,
From the centre pages of this Newsletter you will be able to see how far the new Neighbourhood Plan has progressed over the past year. This is being driven by a dedicated and enthusiastic Steering Group and once it gets past the examination and referendum stages will become a statutory planning and development document which will guide the future development of the village. There will be more public consultation on the plan proposals during the summer so keep an eye out for information on that.
Despite the claims from the government that local communities should be able to decide their own destiny, at least as far as new housing goes the reality is that the development industry seems to hold more sway and the fact that we are in the process of formulating a Neighbourhood Plan has little “weight” with the Planning Inspectorate which has been told to ignore that inconvenient fact at least until the plan has been though the public examination stage when “some weight” may be ascribed to it.
As before the village is under siege again from the developers as can be seen Miller Homes going to appeal over the Green Lane/ Grove Road site next to Martin House. This appeal is due to be heard in May but at least it will held locally in the Village Hall and we hope that as many of you as possible will go along and show your support for the opposition to the proposal for 104 additional houses.
There will also be a second Public Inquiry concerning the village when an appeal by Tesco against the refusal of a Certificate of Lawful Development will be heard.
This too will almost certainly be held in the Village Hall Leeds in August and the decision hinges on whether or not the use of the Crown Hotel for the provision of overnight accommodation was a significant part of the business. Whilst the Crown could not be considered to be a ‘hotel’ in the normal sense of the word if it can be demonstrated that the letting side was more than just a sideline there is a good reason to hope that the appeal can be dismissed. Whether or not that would stop Tesco in its unwanted attempt to open a convenience store in the village is another matter.
During the year the Council was successful in its attempt to create additional allotments when a small and underused corner of the Stables Lane playing field was converted into ten small plots which are all now occupied and productive. There is still a waiting list unfortunately there are no areas of the village where such allotments could be created without opposition from nearby residents.
The year also saw a new Dog Control Order brought into force to prohibit dogs on the playing field and also at Deepdale.
One of the BIG issues of the year was the potential closure of Primrose Hill and the debate was started at the Annual Parish Meeting in May. Despite enormous opposition locally and after a long, hard fought, campaign by the friends of the home, and without any real justification, Leeds decided that they would close the home. The only concession that they made was that it would not close immediately but would not accept any new residents. However simple economics show that once the number of residents begin to decline it will not be possible to maintain any sort of quality and competent service so it is regrettably inevitable that full closure will come sooner than hoped.
At the end of 2013 the Council applied for and received a grant from central government to investigate the feasibility of a small hydropower scheme at the weir. There are many potentially difficult issues to resolve but until we know the outcome of this feasibility study nothing much can progress.
Application has also been made for a grant to cover the cost of some outdoor exercise equipment which, if successful, is intended to go on Stables Lane playing field.
A ‘Welcome’ pack to be given to all new residents has been developed by the Council and will contain, inter alia, a brief history of the village, some walks around the area, copies of Newsletters and parish magazines, bus timetables etc etc all presented in a ‘Shop Local’ bag created by the West Oaks Foundation.
2013 saw the consultation by Leeds City Council into the possible housing sites in and around the village and both the Council and the Neighbourhood planning group submitted detailed responses. Unfortunately we will not know the outcome until much later this year.
Also during the year the Council facilitated the installation of the new lantern light over the old snooker room in the Village Hall. This was a replacement for the original lantern removed sometime in the 90’s and was very kindly funded by a local philanthropist and it really does make an enormous difference to the look and feel of the hall. The nighttime lighting added by the management committee gives the hall an interesting and unusual glow.
Towards the end of the year we were saddened to receive Vicky Thomas’s resignation so that she can concentrate on her family. Vicky has been a member for close on 15 years and in that time has quietly made an enormous contribution to the welfare of the community. Her deep knowledge of all matters relating to disability has been of enormous help and will be greatly missed, as will her dedication to and knowledge of the village, its residents and traditions.
There have been other changes in Council membership over the year when we were very pleased to be joined by Susan Williams and Hilary Shaw who are both getting involved In a range of issues especially environmental matters such as green space and the hydro power investigations.
On the subject of green space many residents are looking enviously at the swathes of grass, trees etc appearing on Church Fields. This will all become publicly accessible open space on completion of the housing development and will be handed over to the Parish Council, with a suitable endowment, so that it will always be available to the whole community.
As reported last year the volunteer Wednesday working party along the riverside etc is still active although the number of regular contributors has varied greatly. One or two do show exceedingly regular dedication above and beyond the call of duty and the whole community should be very grateful that there are such volunteers in the village.
As reported last year the volunteer Wednesday working party along the riverside etc is still active although the number of regular contributors has varied greatly. One in particular, Bill Harrington, is however extremely regular, shows dedication above and beyond the call of duty and the whole community should be very grateful that there are such volunteers in the village.
During the year the Council has been trying to get some new initiatives moving including the planting of some trees outside the former Royal Hotel and investigating the possibility of introducing a lower speed limit along some or all High Street. This work could be associated with the Church Fields development which is required to carry out some highways improvements as a consequence of the building works. If we can also improve facilities for cyclists that could be an added bonus but, as in all matters involving highways law and traffic regulations, progress can seem to be very slow. However we are nothing if not persistent so hopefully there may be more to show for the effort during the next twelve months or so.
The late night CHRISTMAS shopping event was again successful bringing out a good crowd into the village despite the not very good weather and as ever we are very grateful to the willing volunteers who each year turn out in early November to get the Christmas trees and their decorations put up along the High Street and then later safely remove them.
On FINANCE the emerging Neighbourhood Plan is beginning to identify some projects which could be implemented at relatively low cost so we have determined that a small fund should be created and to start this an additional £500 is being added to the precept which will therefore be £35,500 for the year 2014-15. In addition to this small increase we are also getting an additional grant of circa £2000 from central government under a complicated formula for Council Tax support. Whether or not this will continue in the future is not known.
The reduction in anti-social behaviour problems seem to be holding and the Council does provide some financial support for the youth club at Deepdale as well as supporting the summer fun day arranged by our local Community Support Officers. Although there has been a bit of a blip recently, overall crime levels in the village have continued to be low and for that we must thank the Police for their continued support for and interest in the village.
This year the deliverers of this Newsletter are still the scouts but from the Boston Spa Explorers group that has taken on the challenge of matching the excellent service provided over the last few years. If you are reading this it means that they have succeeded.
Once again we must thank Terry Sutton our ‘lengthman’ who despite having much less time allocated to him for the village does his very best to keep it clean and tidy. I must also thank our Ward Councillors, who are very supportive and helpful in our dealings with Leeds, and most importantly our new Clerk, Vivienne Skinner who has immersed herself into the role with great enthusiasm. And finally as always I must thank all my colleagues who take on many tasks on your behalf.