Annual Report of Nash Parish Council 2010/11

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, street lights in the village, the two pumps, and the Village Green.

2      Council Membership:  The membership of the Council during 2010/11 has been Cllr Alan Taylor (Chairman), Cllr Geoff Culverhouse, Cllr Barbara Dewhurst, Cllr David Gillow, Cllr Sir John Southby, Bt, Cllr Eddie Watts and Cllr Barry Wyke (co-opted at the May meeting). The Clerk is Mrs Margaret Hedges.   Cllrs Gillow and Dewhurst did not stand for re-election in May.  The Council wishes to express its thanks to them for their service to Nash through their Council membership.

3      Localism: Following the elections in May 2010, the new coalition government has made substantial changes in respect of planning and local government with the Localism Bill being published in December 2010.  This envisages planning becoming much more “bottom up” than “top down” and is intended to give communities a greater involvement in how they develop.  As the planning targets for new houses contained in the former South East Plan have been revoked, AVDC has withdrawn its Core Strategy Documents and is now conducting a dialogue with all the towns and parishes within the Vale over the scale of any expansion of those communities.  AVDC expects parish councils to consult their electorates so that the Council’s response is representative.  

4      Planning:  NPC is invited to comment on all planning applications on land within Nash as well those in neighbouring parishes which have implications for Nash. During 2010/11 seventeen applications were submitted to Aylesbury Vale, including the two applications in respect of the Travellers site (see Para 5 below) and one for a solar farm at Potash Farm in Beachampton.  AVDC approved the application for the solar farm on 20 April 2011.

5      Land opposite Causter Farm: Just at the start of the year under review, some agricultural land opposite Causter Farm on the road out of Nash towards the roundabout on the A421 was converted into a Gypsy/Traveller site. Although the site is in the parish of Great Horwood, Nash is the village most affected. When a retrospective application was submitted for permission for this development, NPC submitted a robust statement of its objections, as did many residents of Nash.  After much delay, the application was refused by AVDC Development and Control Committee on 4 November 2010.  The Enforcement Notice in respect of the application was served on 3 February 2011.  In February 2011, a further application was submitted for this development, with the only significant changes relating to the landscaping and not addressing the fundamental objections submitted by NPC and agreed by AVDC.  NPC has again submitted a robust statement of its objection to this development and encouraged as many Nash residents as possible to do likewise.  This planning application will be considered by AVDC’s Development Control Committee in due course.  NPC is grateful to Matthew Collings for his help in preparing the Council’s submissions. In the meantime, appeals have been lodged against refusal of the first planning application and the enforcement Notice.  The Appeal will be dealt with by a Public Inquiry, the date for which is not yet known.  NPC will keep residents informed.

6      North Bucks Parishes Planning Consortium (NBPPC):  Cllr Culverhouse represents Nash on the NBPPC, which provides a co-ordinated response to proposals affecting North Buckinghamshire .  With the change in government and the planning framework, NBPPC has been less concerned with major developments – e.g. the application in respect of about 5,000 houses near Newton Longville has recently been withdrawn.  It has been keeping a watching brief on developments such as the proposed High Speed Rail link, BCC’s proposals for a waste incineration facility and proposals for wind farms.

7      Buckinghamshire County Council Matters: Cllr Culverhouse (with Cllr Gillow as an alternate) has represented Nash at the Buckingham Local Area Forum. The Forum has a small amount of money to allocate for projects put forward by parish councils.  Through this means Nash obtained two additional salt bins in autumn 2010 – for the south end of the High Street and for Thornborough Road – and we are pleased that they proved their usefulness in the bad weather in November and December.  The Council has bid for a further salt bin for the Whaddon Road and should know the outcome in July.

Area 14 Speed Review: The speed review for Area 14, which includes Nash, is under way.  Under the strict national guidelines covering speed limits NPC submitted its proposals in June 2010.   The recommendations are that a 30mph speed limit covers all of Nash within the current village signs.  NPC has welcomed these proposals.

8      Nash Environs

a)   Recreation Ground:  The Council continues to maintain the Recreation Ground and the Play Area. The annual inspection took place in May 2010.  Following this inspection the roundabout was repaired and some remedial work was carried out to the safety surfaces.  The cost of these two repairs was approximately £1,500 (ex VAT) and the Council is very grateful to AVDC for its grant of £800 towards this cost.  In recognition of Chris Tomkins long service on the Parish Council and his role in purchasing and equipping the current Recreation Ground the Council has installed a bench in the Recreation Ground with the help of donations from residents.  A number of other repairs have been carried out by a contractor but NPC thanks Cllrs Gillow and Southby for their work in doing many minor repairs in the Recreation Ground saving considerable expense.  It also thanks Councillors who take it in turns to empty the rubbish bin.  .

b)  Litter:  Dog litter remains a problem, particularly given the number of children in the village and the Council urges residents to ensure that all dog mess is picked up.

c)   Street Lights:  The Council continued its replacement programme and installed two new, more energy efficient light in the High Street.  The Council intends to continue its programme of installing such energy efficient street lights as funds permit.

9      Tree Warden:  Simon Green replaced John Hamilton as a voluntary Tree Warden for Nash. The Council is grateful to him for offering his services in this way.

10  Neighbourhood Action Group:  Mrs Gloria Chaplin, assisted by Mrs Sarah Thirtle, continues to represent Nash on the local Neighbourhood Action Group, which monitors road traffic and other problems in the villages in North Buckinghamshire .

11  Finance: Nash’s precept – the share of the Council Tax - was raised to £10k for 2010/11 to ensure that the Council’s was in a position to continue its programme of updating the street lights and maintain adequate reserves for work in the Recreation Ground and other areas. Bids to BCC for developments stand a greater chance of success if NPC offers to pay a proportion of the cost.  The total income for 2010/11 was £12,090 and included the £800 grant from AVDC mentioned above, £402 in donations towards the Tomkins bench, £882 repayment of VAT and £6 interest. The Council prepares its financial statements on a “receipts and payments” basis. The statements show that receipts exceeded payments by £2,285 in 2010/11.  However, some £1,000 of work was only partially completed (and therefore not invoiced) by 31 March, thus overstating the excess.  In addition, the Council has been able to transfer £1,000 to the Recreation Ground reserve, as experience shows that repairs to the play equipment are costly.

The expenditure for the year can be summarised as follows: