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STOKE GOLDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting: held on Monday 10th June 2013 at the Reading Room Stoke Goldington at 7pm.
Attendees: Cllr Trett (Chair) Cllr Warren Cllr Geliher Cllr Allen Cllr Foxley
1. Apologies: None
2. To approve the Minutes of the 2012 Meeting:
These were circulated for reference, but were approved by the Parish Council at the meeting held on Monday 11th June 2012. Minutes were proposed by Cllr Geliher and seconded by Cllr Allen
3. Parish Council/Chairman’s Report
Chairman’s Report
As with the previous two years, the agenda of the Parish Council meetings have been dominated by a short list of topics – flood defences, the proposed wind farm and speeding. You might reasonably think that not much has changed, although that would be an incorrect assumption because thanks to the efforts of councillors, residents and our contractors quite a lot has actually been achieved, even if it is not everything that we might have wished for.
I have reported several times that the flood defence work is nearing completion but we are still waiting on the final pieces of the jigsaw that the consulting engineers devised. Given that this is the flooding season I hope I am not tempting fate by saying that so far the defences that have been completed have worked well. Although we have not experienced the kind of rain that we had in 2007/2008 we have had enough to be able to observe the defences working, and working well. Just in the past few weeks some additional work has improved a known problem in the Ram Alley area and the planned permanent works should provide a complete cure. It is perhaps worth stating that we cannot guarantee that there will be no repeat of past floods, especially given the trend towards more severe weather, but we are certainly much better equipped to deal with it in the future. Once work at Ram Alley and Old Park Farm track off Dag Lane is complete the major works will be at an end but constant vigilance will be required to keep the drainage system in good order, much of which is very old. Private landowners have a significant role (indeed a duty) to play here by keeping the ditches and culverts free of obstruction. It is plainly obvious that lack of maintenance has been a frequent source of problems and we all have a role to play here, either by maintaining the things that are our responsibility or by reporting problems so that landowners and other agencies can play their part. Sometimes the biggest problem has been establishing exactly who is responsible and over the past few years councillors and clerks have spent quite a bit of time tracking down the relevant person, who is not always local.
It is sad to note that bad weather has forced the cancellation of the Stoke Goldington Steam Rally for the past two years and now that stalwart of the village calendar is finally at an end. There is no doubt that the Steam Rally put our small village firmly on the map and visitors from far and wide have returned year on year. I do hope that it can be revived at some point in the future.
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The planning application for the wind farm at the north end of the village rumbles on with little progress towards a decision in the past year due to Ecotricity’s inability to submit an environmental impact statement that complies with the statutory requirements for such things. The Parish Council has continued to voice its opposition to the scheme, reflecting the views of the significant majority of residents. The additional levy on the precept of ten pounds per household was not spent as soon as we expected, but the money has been needed and is now being spent on preparing evidence for the opposition. Meanwhile we have continued to scrutinise and critique the environmental impact statement and to pressurise Natural England to do their duty of ensuring compliance. By this time next year it is very likely that at least an initial decision on the application will have been taken. However, I am confident that if that decision goes against the application an appeal will be lodged. Ecotricity know that such applications are frequently refused by a local authority fearing voters will seek revenge at the next election, but that appeals to the Planning Inspectorate are much more likely to be successful.
Trees have been a frequent agenda item in the past year, especially the care of the ones for which the Parish Council is responsible. Each year there is always work to be done and the past year was no different. We have just completed a survey of all the trees that are our responsibility, partly to ensure than any necessary work was done, and partly to be sure about the safe condition of the trees. Unfortunately the survey revealed that a prominent tree in front of the Recreation Ground was rotten and this had to be removed. On the plus side we did plant an oak tree as part of the Jubilee Celebrations and an elm will be added shortly. Let’s hope they both prove resistant to the recent outbreak of diseases that threaten these species.
The Reading Room has also required attention this year and after much discussion with Milton Keynes Council and its Heritage Officer about the windows it was decided to go ahead with repairs rather than replacement. This work should be completed soon, weather permitting.
Throughout the past year the Neighbourhood Action Group has sought to find a resolution to the problem of how to make use of the Speed Indicating Devices that languish unused in a Milton Keynes Council warehouse for lack of the budget to provide staff to set them up and operate them. Not that much operation is actually required, which is why several parishes have offered to take over the running of these devices from MKC at their own expense or by using unpaid volunteers. However, nothing is that simple in local government and a year has passed by without a resolution and much talk of software upgrades and other impediments. Surprisingly it does not seem obvious to MKC that software upgrades or not the SIDs actually work and have no value stuck in a warehouse. Even if they do break down at some point in the future we will have lost nothing and we are wasting an opportunity to do something constructive. On a related topic there have been quite a few complaints about pavement parking, but a campaign of awareness about the problem seems to have worked without getting overly heavy handed about it. Although not eliminated the problem has reduced.
Pot holes have been a major topic throughout the borough for the past few years as road maintenance has declined. Maybe, finally, we have turned a corner on this as there has been a major repair campaign on-going and a promise from MKC that
Regular resurfacing will start again once the pot hole gangs have done their work, although currently there is still much to be done around Stoke.
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The Guntrip Trust has continued with its sterling work providing a little extra income for residents of the parish over 70 years of age. Despite the turmoil in the financial markets the investment income has held up surprisingly well and the Secretary, Gillian Rose, has done an excellent job in keeping the records straight and coping with the changing regulations and reporting requirements for charities. Trust records are now fully computerised which makes it much easier to keep track of eligible residents and calculate how much is paid to each, based on a long standing formula which relates the payment to the number of years of residence.
As I write we are still awaiting the outcome of a review of the ward boundaries and a decision on which ward we will be part of in future. Unfortunately it looks inevitable that the decision will take no notice whatsoever of local opinion and we will be bundled into Newport Pagnell North. So much for “localism”.
In January we lost our long serving Clerk, Jenny Sharp. Jenny had been battling illness for some time although she had been quite good at hiding it. However, the end came quite suddenly and left us struggling for a while to pick up the tasks that normally go on unseen. Fortunately we were able to obtain several good candidates for a replacement and after an interview process Sue Grant took over the reins. The change of Clerk has also coincided with quite a few changes in the regulations under which we operate and there has been a lot of work to adapt. This was not anticipated when Sue accepted the job and it has been a steep learning curve for all of us. I thank her for dealing with this unexpected workload.
Financially the Parish Council has fared reasonably well and continues to manage its finances prudently. With no special levy needed this year we were able to return the precept to the same level as in 2010/2011, which was very pleasing. We have adequate reserves to deal with any minor crises that might befall us. Rent from the Reading Room has held up quite well given the overall economic climate and it is good to see it in regular use.
During the past year each of our councillors has played an active role in the activities of the Council, indeed some have more than one responsibility. Email means that the work of the council is mostly done outside of our formal meetings, sometimes from thousands of miles away from Stoke, but the monthly meetings are still an essential forum for communicating with the public and long may it remain that way. The meetings also help to ensure transparency, as does the website where all of our minutes are available to whoever cares to look.
In addition many small jobs are taken care of by councillors themselves without recourse to paid contractors or compensation of any kind for themselves. This is as it should be, but none the less I would like to thank them all for their efforts which contribute in no small way to the health and vibrancy of our community.
Roger Trett
Chairman, Stoke Goldington Parish Council
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- Reports from Village Groups & Organisations:
Stoke Goldington Association
Mr Armstrong reported on the challenges the association face to attract both new speakers and new members. Sadly some of the longstanding members of the association have for various reasons had to relinquish their membership this year.
With external speakers charging around £50:00 per time it is pleasing to report that there have been some very enjoyable talks from local residents who do not charge for their services: Ron Groom was as always in fabulous form this year and provided another interesting talk. Kerrigan Pring has provided entertainment for two meetings the first talking about his early life in Cardiff and the second talk focussing on his life as a Parish Priest. Talks cover a diverse range of subjects such as Northampton Witches: Magistrates in the local communities: Going for a spin – a history of motoring and Coast-to-Coast across Canada and the story of a £10 Pom!
Mr Armstrong expressed his sadness that it is difficult to attract new members to this very friendly village group. New and past members are always welcome at the association meeting, which meets on the third Wednesday of each month in the Reading Rooms.
The Stoke Goldington Association are famous for putting on a Christmas Concert in the Village Hall, it is hoped this year that some new volunteers can be encouraged to work with the committee to ensure that the concert can continue.
Mr Armstrong also commented that in the past the Parish Council have contacted village groups direct and asked them to provide updates on their activities at the Annual Parish Meeting. The Parish Council will take this on board for future meetings.
Stoke Goldington Village Hall:
Cllr Geliher presented the Village Hall Chairman’s Report to the Parish Council in April 2013. The Village Hall running costs continue to increase and with the demise of the Steam Rally 2013/14 will be a challenging year. Opportunities to attract new income streams to support the Village Hall are currently being explored.
- Residents Questions: None