Culworth Annual Parish Assembly 14th April 2014
CULWORTH ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY MINUTES
MONDAY APRIL 14TH 2014 AT 7.30PM IN CULWORTH VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT:Parish Councillors S. Rolt( Chairman),C. Buckley, M.Rowling,N. Guinness,A. Seeds, J. Stewart. S. Martin (8.15pm). Mrs J. Rowling Clerk in attendance.
Residents: Messrs P. Houghton Brown,S. Kerridge,S. Theobald,P. Williams,B. Whitford,M. Donati,G. Gross,IanMorris,J.Brereton,Ian Sanderson,Edward Guinness and others .Lady Gross,Mrs M. Grice, Mrs D. Langdale,Miss A. Wills,Mrs G. Nunn,Mrs K. Hudson,J. HowseMiss M. Watts,Mrs A. Crawford, Mrs D. Rolt Mrs J. Oxley, Mrs J. Tinn,and others.
District Councillor M. Sergison Brooke
County Councillor I Morris
The Chairman of Parish Council Stuart Rolt welcomed everyone
1.Policesent apologies. Your safer Community Team are:Inspector Andy Hall,SgtMickiSimons.PCSO Clive Ashmore
Crime Report for the 1st April 2013 – 31st March 2014
March, Theft from a motor vehicle, a catalytic converter was stolen, High Street, Culworth.
September, Theft of a motor vehicle, Trafford Bridge, Culworth.
August, Theft of a listed plant, Barley Hill, Culworth.
July, Theft from a motor vehicle, diesel stolen, High Street, Culworth.
June, Burglary of a shed, Nothing stolen, Banbury Lane, Culworth.
May, Theft of Batteries, Banbury Lane, Culworth.
May, Attempted theft of lead, Queens Street, Culworth.
April, Theft of two window boxes containing plants, High Street, Culworth.
April, Theft of a bottle of gas, Banbury Lane, Culworth.
April, Theft from a motor vehicle, Number plates stolen, Queens Street, Culworth.
Northamptonshire Police are looking for:Police Support Volunteers and Special Constables. If you are interested please contact Tel: 101 ext 341118 or email visit
2.Minutes of Annual Parish Assembly held on Monday 13th April 2013 were noted.
3.No matters arising
4.Chairman’s report
1. I would like to start by thanking Brian Whitford for all his hard work as a councillor and then as chairman. Brian stood downin May 2013We were sad to see Danielle Frewin also retire during the year,for family reasons, and thanks to her also for her commitment . James Stewart has replace Brian, and Nancy Guinness has replaced Danielle .We are delighted to have them on board.
2. The year has seen some very positive developments , including ;
A new website, which is the the Parish Council’s own website, run by us. As soon as James was appointed to the council , we asked him to get this up and running, and in Susan Sanderson he found exactly the right person to take on the responsibility, which she did brilliantly, so a massive vote of thank to her for producing the website we have now.
Last year the Parish Councilwas granted a fifty lease on the cricketfield, a wonderfully generous gesture from Shirley Trott . Many many thanks to her for this. The PC have in turn granted a lease to the Cricket Club . The Club now need to find a way to raise money for a new pavilion, the current building being completely unsuitable . Meanwhile the PC is responsible for the good upkeep of walls, trees etc. But most importantly thanks to Mrs Trott’s generosity a crucial and central part of ourvillage is safe for fifty years .
Additional planting in Jubilee wood, planted by many of the village and the school, on land generously donated by Charles Buckley , to whom many thanks.
Thanks also to Councillors Martin Rowling and Alan Seeds for hours of skilled work on bus shelters, tree maintenance, and verges, and to Dick Winter for another year keeping our accounts in proper order and of course to our tireless Clerk, Mrs Jose Rowling.
Other matters :
3. HS2 has been taken up a major part of the PC’s time this last year , and we must offer a very great vote of thanks to the tireless efforts of Alan Seeds , who has spent more hours than he or any of us would like to guess attending meetings, acquiring information, corresponding with HS2, Andrea Leadsom MP , South Northants, Northants CC , and many other, to keep us abreast of where things are and what we should be doing , and carrying out forensic analysis of the information with which we are provided. Thanks also to Charles Buckley for his work in support.
You will be aware from the meeting that has just finished that the Hybrid Bill that approved the land acquisitions for the line is about to go before Parliament, and that we are , along with many other local authorities, going to petition Parliament to seek mitigation of noise and visual impact. Cllr Seeds is right now up to his ears in other important work, and has passed the baton of putting our petition before Parliament to Cllr Guinness and myself.
4. Berry Hill Close, an ancient and important part of the village , is currently the responsibility of Northants CC. The PC think this responsibility should move from NCC to ourselves, because we will have a much more dedicated and active attitude towards its upkeep. Meanwhile the village school has taken a lease on part of the Close. We have had meetings with NCC, and we are seeking an outcome that works for them , for the village and for the school.
5. Broadband. We have not been selected by NCC as an area for high speed broadband. We are aware of, and have looked at, self funded high speed broadband, but there has so far been insufficient interest from the village for the PC to pursuethis line of thinking.
6. Our Finances remain stable, we have managed to maintain the tradition of keeping within our precept . Our accounts are available for all to see , and if interested please see the Clerk after the meeting, but of course we would welcome any questions.
5.Finance Report. Copies of accounts were distributed. These will appear on website and in newsletter. For confirmation at May Annual General Meeting of Parish Council.For external audit in June by BDO.
6.HS2 update. Cllr Rolt and Seeds reiterated much of earlier meeting
7.Village Hall Report Mrs Julie Tinn
At the Village Hall AGM in November, all the representatives and trustees agreed to stand again with Martin Rowling becoming the Parish Council representative, and the officers were re-elected.
During the year we have held regular well attended film and supper nights – Skyfall in April, Quartet in June, Life of Pi in September, In Love with Alma Cogan in November, Oceans Eleven in January and Saving Mr Banks most recently at the beginning of this month. There have also been two Flower Arranging Workshops , Martin’s Variety Show, a talk with photographs on birds by John Shepherd and a return by Ian Keeble and his Magic Show.
The Hall continues to be used for regular fixtures as well as being booked for children’s parties and other private social events.
In June we picked the worst day weather-wise for the Village Fete which had to be moved to the inside. However the dog show went ahead with a good crowd of participants and supporters, the children were entertained by SquirtyWirty in the Hall and the Church was full of chatter and lovely music from the band. The Flower and Produce Show in September was less well attended than past years but the entries were up. The winning entries for the photographic competition were included in a calendar designed by Joan Gottowik and Margaret Watts.
Tim and Suzannah Perutz generously gave the Village Hall three display boards which were christened at the Flower and Produce Show and will be a valuable addition to the Hall’s equipment.
We continue to maintain the Hall and have secured funding to refurbish the toilets, install a disabled toilet and provide baby changing facilities.
8.Culworth School Mrs Gill Nunn Chair of Culworth and Boddington Academies Federation
As reported in previous years, Mrs Sue Lawrence and her team at Culworth School continue to provide an excellent and varied education for the children of Culworth and surrounding villages, in a happy and relaxed environment. In April last year the school was given 24 hours’ notice of an Ofsted Inspection under the new framework, and I am very pleased to say that we were judged to be Good. We are now looking forward to our Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) which is carried out by The Dioceses of Peterborough, and as a church school, follows on from any Ofsted Inspection.
We are pleased to say that since our last report, whilst we have continued our successful federation with Boddington School, we have also become an Academy, along with nearly all the other schools in the Chenderit cluster. Culworth, Boddington, Chacombe and St. Loys CE Academies are members of the South Northants Church of England Multi Academy Trust and Middleton Cheney, Kings Sutton and Chipping Warden Academies are members of the South Northants Village Schools Multi Academy Trust. Both MAT’s together are in the process of forming a Local Collaborative Trust. It has been a very busy time for the staff and Governors of all the schools! However, the children who are at the heart of our “business” have hardly noticed any difference, other than the day of celebration they had directly after the conversion on 1st September, playing games and eating cake, which they very much enjoyed.
The Rev. Brian Fairbank continues to visit school regularly, taking assemblies, and the children attend church for all the Christian Festivals during the year. Our pupils are compassionate individuals and keen to raise money for many charities. They visit Culworth House Nursing Home during the year to entertain the residents with songs and music and have enjoyed helping to plant trees for the Jubilee Wood. Maypole dancing and Sports Day are very popular annual events at which members of our communities can, and do, join in.
As always, we are grateful to our PTA, Culworth Primary School Association, who have worked hard throughout the year to raise funds to help buy much needed extra resources for us. The school are also very grateful for the support we receive from people in our various village communities.
We are now looking forward to consolidating our new status, meeting the new challenges that this brings – it is an exciting time. We will continue to provide the very best education we can for the children in our care, helping them to achieve their best and turning them into rounded and confident individuals.
As we have an “Open Door” policy, we encourage visits from prospective parents and other interested parties. Please contact our Bursar, Mrs. Susan Watson on 01295 760610 in the first instance.
9.St Mary’s Church report written by Mrs Phillida Walker and read by Mrs J. Howse
During 2013 St Mary’s has managed to complete the repair of the roof, with slate tiles, which should be safe from thieves. This would not have been possible without the major fundraising work undertaken by so many people.
In the summer Mr and Mrs Gerald Cadogan moved from the village to Moreton Pinkney. Mr Cadogan has been invaluable to the work of the church as churchwarden, negotiating with diocesan and government authorities and as a wise leader of services. They will both be very much missed.
The PCC were also saddened by the resignation of Mrs Rosemary Courtney. She has quietly supported the church over many years, as PCC member and sidesman. The kneelers in the Lady Chapel were one of her projects and for several years she organised memorial candles at Christmas and Easter to fund new church linen.
We are very grateful that Mrs Jenny Howse agreed to take over as churchwarden. She has already made her mark by setting aside part of the churchyard as a conservation area. She also continues to present the monthly Family Service and organises other church events.
Rev’d Brian Fairbank has introduced new, modern versions of services and has used part of a legacy from Mr Cyril Aston to buy new hymn books. These have both been well received.
Having completed the roof we now find that, 40 years after its last service, the organ needs extensive repairs. It is hoped that these can be done in situ as the alternative will be very expensive.
Lastly, we could not operate without the core of people who maintain the fabric of our church. The sidesmen, flower arrangers, (organised by Mrs Langdale), cleaners, organists and those who maintain the churchyard.
10.Charity Report Martin Rowling Chair of Trustees
At Christmas 2013, 22 households within the Parish received a cash benefit from the Culworth Charity.After deduction of agent’s charges the net rental income amounted to £1720. An additional sum of £25.80 was received as wayleave.
A broadband cable being laid across the Charity Land at Wappenham will attract additional small income in the future.The Trustees welcomed Mrs J. Howse as a replacement for Mr Gerald Cadogan.
11.District Councillor Mrs M. A. Sergison Brooke is Vice Chair of Planning subcommittee.Fellow Councillor Rosie Herring is in the Cabinet and deputy Leader of Council.Our local MP Andrea Leadsom with the Jobs Club has reduced unemployment to 2%.Many changes in SNC to combine services with Cherwell DC has resulted in financial savings. SNC continue to petition against HS2.The local plan is being reviewed by the Inspector before communities are involved in relooking at the local area.Developers are, in absence of local plan, able to build in many places.
Waste recycling is a success.Food waste is going to renewable energy.
12.County Councillor Ian Morris
Highways Maintenance Initiative.Our Northamptonshire Highways Maintenance Initiative has been hailed as a success and gained national recognition for its approach. Over fifteen authorities have adopted our approach. Pothole related claims against the Council have seen a decrease over thissame period and the amount of ‘right first time’ permanent repairs has improveddramatically by over 50% (from 45% to 97%).
In addition, in the first two years of this initiative efficiency savings of £126k through reduced fuel usage were reinvested into the Service and on average over 30% increase in preventative road treatments were carried out. NHMI has proven that the ‘right first time’ and
Preventative approach makes good use of resources directed at highway maintenance.
March 2014 saw Northamptonshire County Council being allocated an extra £1.5 million from a national pot of £140 million to repair our roads and party due to the persistent efforts and campaign of Northampton North MP, Michael Ellis, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a further £200 million fund for local authorities to bid from. Our County Council will be bidding strongly from this fund.
New Generation Superfast Broadband
At the beginning of February, Culture, Media and Sport Minister, Ed Vaisey came to Towcester to officially launch our County’s New Generation Superfast Broadband Project. We are the first in the Country to begin works on this type of project. Families and businesses in and around Towcester can now avail of broadband speeds of up to 30mbs. This development represents a key technological and infrastructural foundation for the future economical wellbeing of our county where 90% of our county, especially rural areas, will feel the benefits of this exciting infrastructural programme by the end of next year. We have already secured £300,000 from Broadband Delivery UK in support of superfast broadband deployment in the Northampton Waterside Enterprise Zone and the indicative allocation of £3.4 million from the BDU Superfast Extension programme from 2015.
Libraries
The County Council has launched a new free Wi-Fi service across all 36 libraries. As well as libraries, it is also available at Brixworth Country Park and the Record Office in Northampton. Getting our libraries connected is particularly useful during our Job Clubs, Enterprise Hubs events and other careers and business start-up activities.
Library Enterprise Hubs
In April 2012, in association with Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership, we launched a number of enterprise hubs in our libraries to help people who were thinking about taking the plunge and setting up their own business.
Since then we have helped over 700 new entrepreneurs on their way to starting a business. Over 70 are already up and officially trading. That’s more than one new business launched from our libraries in the order of one every two weeks.
In the same period, we’ve helped 10,000 people with advice, organised 3,400 activities under our Families & Futures programme, reaching out and engaging with 84,000 children and young people. 600 volunteers have contributed more than 23,000 hours of their time and 20 people have found paid jobs, directly as a result of volunteering in libraries.
Our Economy
Economic recovery has really taken hold both nationally and regionally. Northamptonshire businesses continue to show confidence in both turnover and profitability over the next 12 months, with strong performances from those in the service sector. The survey shows 98% (up from 95% previous quarter) of respondents expect turnover to improve or stay the same over the next 12 months and 74% (up from 62%) expect profitability to improve over the same period. Within the service sector, 95% of respondents expect turnover and 90% expect profitability to improve or remain the same in 2014 (a respective one point and three point