Parish Council Report for 2005 Annual Parish Meeting

Council Membership
Since our last annual meeting we have had one change to the Parish Council in that Mrs Annette Bufton resigned due to work commitments. In response to an advertisement for co-option the council was fortunate to receive applications from two very suitable candidates and had the onerous task of deciding which one to pick. In the end Mrs Mandy Hall was selected.

The Parish Council now comprises of Mr Eric Carter (Chairman), Mr Rupert Segar (Vice Chairman), Mr Malcolm Argyle, Mr Ed Beever, Mr Edward Chadwick, Ms Toni Gilligan, Mrs Mandy Hall, Mrs Beryl Lammas and Mr Charles Tucker. The Clerk to the Parish is Mrs Anne Boocock to whom I would like to record my thanks for managing the affairs of the council over the past year.

Parish Plan
This has taken rather longer than was hoped but as you will all have noticed we recently conducted the final survey for the plan and the Parish Plan Steering Group will be compiling the plan shortly. The Parish Council would particularly like to thank Mr Eric Charlwood for his expertise in constructing the database and analysis of the survey.

Play Area Refurbishment
The steering group which comprises of members of the Villages Hall Management Committee together with District and Parish councillors has now completed proposals for improving the play area for older children and these are currently with Wychavon Planning Department. The sum required is well beyond what could be reasonably raised within the village but there are indications that grants should be available and as soon as the planning issue is dealt with these will be sought. The Parish Council would like to thank both members of the Play Area Steering Committee who have worked on this proposal and particularly Mr Roger Ockenden and Mr Roger Wood for their considerable efforts in obtaining quotes and prospective grants.

Village Amenities
During the year we have managed to acquire a grit box for the crossroads at the village stores and we should be taking delivery of some dog bins to locate next to the grit box, at the north entry to Badgers Walk and at the Throckmorton exit from the village. Refurbishment of the village seat near the war memorial is to take place shortly and the council is hoping to be able to repair the seat outside the Dolphin pending a suitable quote.

Footpaths
After many years of dedicated service Mr Peter Jesson has resigned from the chairmanship of the Rights of Way Action Group (ROWAG) and the Parish Council would like to thank him for his considerable efforts in maintaining the footpath network. We are now fortunate in that Councillor Edward Chadwick has taken on the role of leading the group and has held a couple of meetings and a “mass tramp” already this year. Currently the ROWAG are attempting to compile a record of land ownership where rights of way are present to make the issue of contacting landowners prior to repair work somewhat easier.

The ROWAG does need support if it is to maintain clear passage over the footpaths and bridleways. If anyone feels they could lend a little support in doing this they would be more than welcome to the group.

Throckmorton Parish Room
The Throckmorton Charity has made considerable progress in gaining agreement to purchase the old scout hut and obtaining monies for the project. The project has proved infinitely more complex than was originally envisaged and the Parish Council is indebted to the efforts of Mr Peter Chatterton, Mr Eric Charlwood, Councillor Charles Tucker, Mrs Ann Belcher and Mr Bill Dalrymple for ensuring the project has kept moving despite the considerable hurdles.

Once the purchase has been made by the charity the Parish Council will cease to rent the building or have direct responsibility for its upkeep. There is still a long way to go before the new building can be erected and at present an archaeological dig is in progress to establish if there are any issues in using the area proposed for the car park when a new building is sited.

Council Tax Precept
For the second year running the Parish Council has agreed to hold the precept at £14,000. At this time we also hold a reserve of £14,000 for unforeseen contingencies. The decision to hold the precept is contrary to advice received from advisory bodies such as CALC who recommend that the council should make an increase year on year to cover rising costs and ensure that reserves are not depleted. Whilst we have no plans to use the reserve during this financial year, it seems very likely that we will need to make an increase next year in order to cover rising costs.

During the year we have opened a deposit account for holding the reserve and we are now getting a much better rate of interest on our monies.

The end of year expanditure and budget for 2005/6 is as follows

Please note accounts for 2004/5 have not yet been audited

End of year Current Account is £8,206 which becomes part of the council's reserves

End of year Deposit Account contains £14,092 which includes £92 accrued interest

Total Reserves at 31st March 2005 is £22,298

Eric Carter
Chairman Bishampton & Throckmorton Parish Counci

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