Annual Report of Nash Parish Council 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009
1 Introduction: Much of the work of Nash Parish Council (NPC) consists of speaking on behalf of Nash residents to Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) or Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) about maintenance, planning and other issues. NPC is responsible for the Recreation Ground and the Village Green.
2 Council Membership: Councillor Mrs Thelma Shadbolt resigned for personal reasons. Mrs Barbara Dewhurst was co-opted to fill the vacancy at the meeting in March 2009. The continuing members are Cllr Chris Tompkins (Chair), Cllr Alan Taylor (Vice-Chair and Responsible Financial Officer), Cllr Geoff Culverhouse, Cllr David Gillow, Cllr Sir John Southby, Bt, and Cllr Eddie Watts. The Clerk is Mrs Margaret Hedges.
3 North Bucks Parishes Planning Consortium: Councillor Culverhouse represents Nash on the NBPPC, which provides a co-ordinated response from a group of parishes to any proposals affecting North Buckinghamshire. In the current year that has involved responding to the Government’s proposals on the South East Plan which includes the proposals for development around Milton Keynes and the proposal from a developer for a new small town, Winslow Green, of 3,300 houses close to Winslow, and Great and Little Horwood (which AVDC refused).
4 Buckinghamshire County Council Local Area Forums: Councillors Gillow and Culverhouse represent Nash at these meetings, which have now been restructured to ensure that they are more locally focussed. The Forum has a small amount of money to allocate for projects put forward by parish councils. NPC bid for a pavement at the North end of the high street for safety reasons because of the danger of walking in the road where visibility is obscured by the bend. BCC has now allocated £19k towards this project. Because of uncertainty over whether such a pavement was technically feasible and possible effects on residents NPC asked for a two stage process involving a further consultation with residents before agreeing to accept the money. Representatives of the Council are meeting BCC officials on 13 May to ascertain what would be involved in having a pavement.
5 Planning: NPC is invited to comment on all planning applications on land within Nash. During the twelve months there were fifteen applications, the most significant of which was the application for 10 houses on the Church Farm site. NPC put the plans on public display and held a public meeting both to brief residents on what was happening and to ensure that the Council’s objections to this development represented the views of the village. The outcome is awaited.
6 Nash Environs
a) The Pond: The Council has continued to monitor the position with regard to the Pond, particularly in relation to the water level and the risk of flooding. The Council received a grant from AVDC to remove many of the reeds from the Pond and clear the ditch from the Pond to the Winslow Road.
b) Recreation Ground: The Council continues to maintain the Recreation Ground and the Play Area. The annual inspection took place in May. A contract was placed for some repair work to the safety surfaces in the Play Area and the work was carried out in April 2009. The bench donated by Graham White in memory of his daughter was installed in the Recreation Ground. The Council would welcome further donations of benches. A diseased tree was taken down in July.
c) Litter: The litter collection round the hedgerows and pavements has become an annual event and smartens the village for the spring – NPC appreciates the ongoing collection that many residents do for the rest of the year. Dog litter remains a problem, particularly given the number of small children in the village and the Council urges residents to ensure that all dog mess is picked up.
d) Street Lights: The Council replaced four street lights. To conserve energy, the new lamps are controlled by timers and sensors so that they are not lit between midnight and 6am.
7 Emergency Planning: Mrs Hedges and Mrs Davies have agreed to be joint Emergency Planning Officers, in place of Sarah Astley who no longer lives in Nash.
8 Neighbourhood Action Group: Mrs Gloria Chaplin has replaced Cllr Shadbolt on the local Neighbourhood Action Group, which monitors road traffic and other problems in the villages in North Buckinghamshire.
9 Whaddon Chase Green Infrastructure Plan: NPC was told that BCC had agreed that Whaddon Chase would be the subject of a green infrastructure plan, more details of which are becoming available.
10 Freedom of Information Act: As required by the Government, the Council approved the new model publication scheme for information about Council activities. In practice, it will mean little change as Council minutes are already put on the web after they have been approved.
11 Finance: Nash’s precept – the share of the Council Tax - was increased to £9k for 2008/09 in recognition of increased costs and the need to ensure that the Council’s reserves are not run down too far after the installation of the new play equipment in the Recreation Ground and the work on the street lights. NPC was pleased to hold the precept at the same level for 2009/10. The total income in 2008/09 of £10,549 included a small donation and some bank interest as well as a VAT repayment of £851 and a grant of £500 from AVDC to cover the cost of removing the reeds from the Pond. The breakdown of the expenditure of £10,432 is shown in the diagram.