BISHAMPTON ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 2009

Minutes of the Bishampton Annual Parish Meeting, held at on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at The Villages Hall, Bishampton

The meeting was chaired by Parish Council vice chairman Cllr Charles Tucker and attended by Cllr M Argyle, Cllr J Mills, Cllr D Baldwin, Cllr G Day.
One member of the public attended – Mr G Kingston, the new Parish Paths Warden.

1. Apologies
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs Cheetham and Morrison, who were abroad and Cllr Beever who was working.

2. To approve the minutes of last year’s Throckmorton Annual Parish Meeting
The minutes were signed as a true record of proceedings.

3. Annual report from the Chairman of the Parish Council
Cllr Tucker reviewed the chairman’s report for the year (attached) with emphasis on Throckmorton issues.
He also spoke about:

• A public consultation meeting planned by Qinetiq about the plans for new homes on the airfield.
• The Community First Responder scheme had been called to Willow Bank residential home on several occasions.
• The Throckmorton Village Charity, which had had a successful year with the parish hall making a small operating profit. There had been a successful concert organised in the chapel.

4. Report from the County and District Councillor
Cllr Liz Tucker spoke about the Qinetiq plans at the following parish council meeting.

5. Reports from Village Organisations

Open Session
Mr Kingston introduced himself as the new Parish Paths Warden and he was warmly welcomed by the council.

The meeting closed at 7.55pm.

C Morris
Mrs C. Morris. Clerk ……………….………………………… (chairman)

…………………………………..(date)

Chairman’s Report for 2009 Annual Parish Meeting
Playing Field: This year we have seen the playing field finished. That had been going on a long time and it’s now done and I believe very well received. It seems to be very well used and we are very pleased with about it. It was paid for with the help of substantial grants which has meant the village only had to pay about half of its cost.
Flooding: We have put a lot of pressure on the district and county councils to get the problems in Broad Lane solved and we are still fighting. We thought they would be doing it imminently but they still won’t give us a date. We have put money by but still nothing’s happening.
Village Clean-up: We had about 20 people helping us and I would like to thank all those who did it. Unfortunately, this year we don’t get any grant for doing it.
War Memorial: It has been cleaned and some of the trees have been cut away and that has made it a bit better and there is more work to be done.
Airfield: This remains one of the areas of greatest concern. An application may go in for 2,500 houses which is against general policy and we feel it should be strongly opposed.
Transport: During the year we have tried to ask if the bus service can be improved and have asked if the buses which stop at Tilesford could be extended into Bishampton and this is being investigated by the county officers.
Wind Turbines: This is on the agenda for this evening – it’s a major issue locally and there are some very strong feelings about it. The parish council is involved in talks with other neighbouring parishes and keeping up to date with the situation.
Dog Fouling: We have some problems with people allowing their dogs to foul the pavements and footpaths and have publicised the issue but generally the pavements are quite clear lately.
First Responder Scheme: This had been a great success, which has saved lives. It has been very effective and a really first-class operation and I thank all those involved on behalf of the parish.
Amenities: I am pleased to say we have a pub and still have a shop. It is still a very difficult thing commercially to run a village shop and it remains a concern. I think losing the shop will devalue the village. We hope people will support it.
Newsletters: We have published newsletters throughout the year and I would like to thank the clerk for her work on this. I think they have been well received.
Parish Council Chairman, Cllr Don Cheetham.

FINANCE
The council's accounts have been complicated with the junior play area project over the past two years.
The council started the year with (rounded) £43,800 in the bank.
Of this sum, £5,000 was the money earmarked by the PC to go towards drainage work in Broad Lane, £2,000 had been given by Wychavon DC as a grant for parish flood alleviation measures and £5,000 was the grant set aside in the previous year for the junior play area scheme - it was also planned to use up to £5,000 of the reserves to pay the play area balance. (This meant a real reserve of £26,800)
The council set a precept of £18,720 and, including that, its income for the year totalled £38,800 (£13,000 of which was grant money given to the PC towards purchase of the play equipment)
Payments totalled £45,600 (which included the £24,500 cheque to pay for the play equipment).
The council finished the year with c£37,000 in the bank.
Of this fund:-
£5,000 remains of the drainage money
£500 remains of the flood grant
The council also aims to keep in its reserves sums towards replacement of the play areas which have an approximate ten year lifespan. This fund contains £8,000 so far.
This leaves a £23,500 unallocated reserve, which councillors aimed to maintain at this time due to the possibility of planning battles ahead - ie the new town threat.

For the coming year, without a major project, the council has reduced the precept to £17,500.
It predicts an income of around £19,000 and spending of £17,000, which they hoped would allow for a little growth but in fact, with the national financial crisis, £500 of the council's income has been lost already from the withdrawal of the litter pick grant, virtually no interest is being earned from the reserve sum and costs are increasing for the parish.

The council's accounts are going through the internal and external audit process at present and anyone is welcome to view a copy if they ask the clerk.
Parish Clerk Mrs C Morris