Report from The Chair. Annual Parish Meeting 2019

The Annual Parish Meeting was scheduled for 16th May 2019 at 1930. Only Parish Councillors attended and despite prior notice on the village notice board and this website no other parishioners or members of the public attended.

The Chair presented a report to the meeting. A copy of that report is below.

Welcome to the Annual Parish Meeting. It is not a Parish Council meeting; it is one which I convene to report upon the PC activity over the past year. Residents of the Parish are encouraged to raise any matters of interest or concern that they would like the Parish Council to address in the coming year.

Although we have just had local elections there have been no changes to the Councillors serving on the PC.

We continue to meet on the 3rd Thursday of alternate months (May, July etc) at 1900 hours in the Popham Hall. Members of the public can attend but cannot speak at the meeting or debate matters with Councillors. The Chair can allow questions and limited presentations.

The key matters we have dealt with are:

1. The improvements to the playpark using some of our reserves and the Section 106 and CIL monies received as part of the development of Vale View and others. Our thanks to the small group of parishioners who led the project within a sub-committee of the PC.
2. We have considered 15 planning applications throughout the year and passed our comments onto the District Council Planning Dept. In accordance with our objective of ensuring the Parish preserves its position in an important Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty we have objected to a number of those applications.
3. We have placed both the Playpark and Cricket Ground into trust with the Fields in Trust Project. This will protect the grounds as areas for play, sport etc and mean that any future Council could only make changes with the agreement of Fields in Trust.
4. We are pursuing the provision of some off-road car parking space in the field below the Rising Sun. With the generous help of the landowner and a parishioner we hope to complete this during 2019. This should help with the parking problem in this part of the village.
5. We are working with the AONB to restore the Information Board for the Pound.

Parish Precept.

This is the money that the PC claims from your Council Tax bills. We have kept it at £3500 once again this year. The money is used to maintain areas like the playpark, Jubilee Walk and any limited emergency works to areas such as Stout Lane. Then there are insurances and the Clerks salary to pay. We have chosen not to make large increases as has happened in other parishes where they have taken on work that was previously done by the County and District Councils.

Thanks

Our thanks should go to the Councillors who all serve as volunteers and receive no remuneration for their efforts. Our Clerk continues to provide valuable support and guidance as he has done for the past 15 years and our thanks as a Parish Council go to him for all his work.

Chair. West Bagborough Parish Council. 16th May 2019