The Annual Report of Colwall Parish Council
2006-2007
John Mills- Chairman,
Finance & General Purposes Committee.
2006/07 was
another financially satisfactory year with financial performance comfortably
ahead of Budget.
The Income and
Expenditure statement shows a surplus of £10,880. However capital repayments of £11,810 on the
Village Hall Loan must be financed from this thus giving a small working
deficit of £930. This was against a
deficit budget of £5,982. The reason
that we operated within a deficit budget was solely because of the one-off cost
of the renovations to the Clock Tower (Aunt Alice). This was financed from a specific reserve
already accumulated.
Notable
comparisons with last year show that:-
· This year the
Council entered the Lengthsman’s Scheme thus additional income and expense this
year where there was none before,
· The usual cost
of living increase was paid to the Clerk together with a small adjustment to
his working hours,
· Loan Interest
continues to decrease as we near the end the Village Hall Loan,
·
There was a considerable decrease in Village Amenities and
Countryside expense. This was due to
budgets being exceeded last year in carrying out the Council’s stewardship of
Village Amenities, the Nature Reserve and Public Footpaths prompted by the
acquisition of Grants which allowed this additional expenditure. This also accounts for a linked decrease in
miscellaneous income this year,
·
There was a one-off expense of renovations to the Clock
Tower as mentioned above.
Our allocated
reserve funds are comfortably how we would wish them to be and our General
Reserve, of £22,998, up £1,939 from last year, is still at the higher end of
the range that is statutorily advised.
In all, it was a
successful and satisfying year financially.
My thanks are
due to all my fellow Councillors for their keen financial awareness and
prudence this past year; to
Town and country planning, as a structured approach to
development control, began in the mid nineteenth century, when people started
to concern themselves with the problems of the working classes. Enlightened
Victorians came to the conclusion that, if the local surroundings were
improved, then productivity would increase and, as a result, their workers
health, cleanliness and morals would be improved. This attitude was the basis
of the Garden City movement which was the beginning of planning as we know it.
One of the forerunners of this type of development was
the Cadbury family who in 1878 founded the Bournville village in
Why start this annual report with a short history
lesson?
The history of Planning control is important to ensure
that an understanding of the need for such control and to not loose sight of
the reasons that the views of the local representatives and local residents are
fully integrated into the planning process. The Town Planning Act of 1909 was
designed to ensure that future developments would be carried out in a manner
sensitive to the needs of the people who lived in the area. The later Town
& Country Planning Act in 1947 affirmed that all development rights
belonged to the state. This act structured the planning system into the form
found today. It forced all local planning authorities to prepare plans for
their areas including their intentions for land use control. Agricultural
buildings, however, remained mainly permitted development.
One of the many disappointing aspects of planning
control in this area is the lack of direction by the parent authority,
Herefordshire Council, in the publication and adoption of the unitary
development plan, which must by now, be the longest running proposed plan in
history. The data collected and the consultations undertaken will soon be so
out of date to have no relevance to the needs of any of the local communities
that are to be served by this plan. I understand that the Plan was actually
adopted on the 23rd March 2007, and formal notice of adoption was
posted on the 4th April 2007. It would be extremely helpful, if our
elected representatives had informed us of this, maybe they didn’t know either.
We are still awaiting official notification from Herefordshire Council.
Another worrying proposal being put forward by the
authority is the idea of ‘planning gain’ where p
With regard to the work of your Planning &
Development Committee during the last fiscal year, they have met at least once
a month and also during full council meetings where in total some seventy
planning applications, ranging from new dwellings to tree works were discussed.
At many of these meetings, members of the public
attended either as applicants or concerned residents and these attendances are
very much encouraged.
If any member of the public has any questions
regarding planning issues within the Parish of Colwall, then either the Parish
Clerk or I would be willing to answer them as best we can.
I believe it has been another successful 12 months
for the Countryside Committee & I would like to thank those who have played
their part during the year.
Footpaths:
Again, the condition of the footpaths have generally
been excellent, with many positive comments received from walkers; both
parishioners & visitors. In fact I’m
told parishioners have been known to have moved to Colwall on the strength of
the marvellous network of footpaths we have in the village.
For this I have to mention & thank the
‘invisible’ team who put in considerable time & effort:
·
Our
farmers & landowners who, by & large, keep their paths clear, which
allows the Parish Council to keep on top of the situation.
·
David
Togni, our Footpath Warden for walking the parish’s footpaths to check on the
state of the paths & stiles.
·
Sue
Scott-Wilson, who has re-joined the committee, now as a co-opted member, in
recognition of her continued work in the Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve.
·
The
team of other footpath checkers who patrol their patch, reporting in any
problems. Should anyone find a problem
with one our footpaths, please report it to the Parish Clerk, Charlie Walker on
541995.
·
·
Even
Network Rail gets a mention for keeping the areas where our footpaths cross the
railway.
Two ‘initiatives’ you may like to know of are:
·
The
Abberley & Malvern Hills Geopark Way (a long distance walk) will run
through the parish. It’s still a work in
progress & should be published in June 2008.
·
Discovering
I believe our parish footpaths are a valuable
facility for the village & recommend you take time to explore them.
Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve:
At this time of year, the reserve is starting to
spring back to life & within a few weeks the open spaces will be full of
plant life.
The fence on the western edge has been replaced &
we took the opportunity to thin out the parent alders a little more. The willow at the north end has been
pollarded. The hedges are doing
well. From a ‘management point of view,
all seems well. James Ferguson has
decided to stand down as the ‘warden’ but we have very recently been lucky to
find Stephen West as a replacement.
Stephen is now resident in Colwall on a ‘full-time’ basis; he has a background
in agriculture & more ‘countryside’ subjects than I could mention. It looks as if the Reserve will be in good
hands.
The Tuesday afternoon ‘crew’ & (daylight hours
permitting) Sue Scott Wilson’s group on Thursday evenings have put in sterling
efforts. Should you feel the need for a
little gardening exercise in the summer, I’m sure Sue will be very please to
hear from you.
We did have one disturbing incident involving the
duck population & one or two incidents of minor vandalism but overall
visitors seem to respect it.
Lime Trees:
As I mentioned last year, the future of the lime
trees which line the Walwyn road will need some consideration in the not too
distant future as more have needed to be taken down during the year.
And Finally:
A very big thanks to James Ferguson, who has decided
to withdraw from the Countryside activity (at least for a while). His contribution to this committee & its
activities over the last few years have been immense.
This would appear to have been the most appropriate
phrase for this last year. The year started off with the Contractor who was due to carry out the repairs to Aunt Alice’s roof,
advising that the scaffolding would finally be erected in May. Until this work was completed then projects
such as a shrub garden in front of the library, berberis bushes along the
southern boundary, a new gate at the south-eastern corner or the change to the
area at the foot of Aunt Alice had to go into abeyance. This then went further
behind schedule when Acre Associates couldn’t provide scaffolding until
the end of June. The trouble with a specialist company is that you can become a
little restricted by them in what can be done and when!
One positive point of note from the start of the year
was the culmination of the Litter
Project undertaken by Colwall C of E School. The Parish Council has had waste
bins installed at the locations identified in the project and the poster
competition judged and prizes awarded. The winning poster was enlarged,
laminated and placed on each of the village notice boards. Look out for its
reappearance soon!
The
Carrying on thru’ the year and we arrive at November, and back to Aunt Alice! By now the door at
the back of the tower had been replaced as the old one had finally, after many
years, reached a state where this was necessary. The Clerk had by now however
been advised to search for an alternative contractor for the repairs to Aunt
Alice’s roof.
The following month and the Christmas lights had been
erected again and with new bulbs I think they looked better than last year. If
anyone has any ideas for any other Christmas lights please let me or the Clerk
know and Amenities will consider it. Remember “tasteful” and try not to
imagine a flashing Santa climbing the Clock Tower. (I leave that to your
imaginations!)
January, and the repair work to Aunt Alice was finally
starting to move. A new contractor had been found and commissioned. I am sure
you are now aware that the work has been undertaken and completed. Aunt Alice
has had her roof repaired and the tower has also had a waterproofing treatment.
Hopefully she will now remain in a state of good repair for many years to come.
One unfortunate side effect of the work however was the upsetting of the
delicate mechanism of the clock – some of the hands have, for want of a better
term, “gone out of kilter”. This will soon be remedied. She is not in too bad a
condition for a lady of such advanced years.
Staying with Walwyn Meadow I have to mention a rather
disgraceful episode that took place around this time. The gates at the library
and an area of Walwyn Meadow were damaged by a 4x4 vehicle at around 10.15 p.m.
one Saturday night. The Police investigated the matter and due to them having
insufficient evidence the driver of this vehicle was not identified nor could
any action be taken. Although this was not, I believe, to be solely a pure act
of vandalism the person responsible has not, despite an article in the local
paper and one in the Colwall Clock, made any effort to contact this Council in
person or even anonymously. There has been no offer to recompense the Council
(and therefore Council Tax payers) in any way or even offer any form of
apology. The gates have been repaired and the meadow has recovered with no
thanks to this so-called “mature” adult driver.
One of the usual things that have happened in past
reports has been the pointing ahead to the coming year and where we need to be
directing our efforts. As this is an “election year” this is not that easy to
do. The committee could be very different in its membership or even its chair.
I very much hope that whoever is on the committee in the coming year continues
with, for instance, the plans that we have made in the past for the development
and improvement of Walwyn Meadow; that they keep to the ethos of being active
and continue to strive to improve the amenities of Colwall.
I want, of course, to conclude my report with a
series of thanks. Firstly to
Colwall Parish Council meets monthly usually on the
last Wednesday, to receive reports from its committees and discuss issues that
require the attention of Full Council. During the last year the Council have had many speakers to these meetings.
Early in the year Ruth Lovelace from Herefordshire
Council came to explain to the Council the process involved in the conducting a
Housing Needs Survey within the village and to ask for the Council’s support in
this process. The Council received the results of this survey in January 2007.
Her talk was followed by an address from Mike Shaw
from Elgar Housing and Jamie Burns from Homepoint, who explained to the Council
the processes involved in applying for housing and current stresses that are
put on the system.
The Council continues to receive updates on Police
activity within the village when either Sergeant Russ Winfield or more recently
PC Debbie Huggins attends our meetings. Speed enforcement has been a main issue
raised with these Officers and we discuss how motorists, mainly residents, should
respect the speed limits within the village by either enforcement or physical
structures. The Council has taken this issue further and has recently agreed to
investigate the possibility of purchasing a Speed Indicator Device with
neighbouring villages. It is hoped that this Device would remind motorists of
the speed limits and so address this continuing problem.
The Council was very pleased that as a result of
continuing pressure on Herefordshire Council kerbside re-cycling has been
introduced to the majority of householders in the village. This service has
been complimented by the installation of a bottle bank in the car park of the
Beau Thai restaurant. The Council would like to thank the proprietor of the
Beau Thai for supporting the village in this incentive.
The Council have over the year have supported many
incentives such as the Community First Responder Scheme, the new Bus pass
scheme for pensioners, as well as supporting Colwall Rotary Club in its efforts
in organising the Fun Day at the
Once again the Council has continued to support Youth
activities within the village, which included organising a trip to the Solihull
Ice Rink last November. However, we are currently working with Ledbury Youth
First in looking to address Youth issues within the village and I sure this
will be one of the challenges facing Council and its community over the coming
months.
As you have read earlier in this report this is the
last year of the term of office of the current Council and we thought this is
best time to re-evaluate at our processes including our committee structure in
order to make the workings of the Council more efficient.
I personally would like to recognise the following
Councillors who have decided not to stand for re-election Linda Smith, Andrew
Fraser, Paul Butler, James Ferguson and Roy Stockton. These Councillors have
voluntarily served this village, some for a number of years – thank you.
I would also like to thank to our Parish Clerk,
Charlie Walker. He supports the Council in an efficient and effective way
always with a smile on his face! Thank you
My final thanks goes to my fellow Councillors for
their support in making Colwall Parish Council a leading Parish Council in
Herefordshire, and my best wishes goes to the new Council and their Chairmen.