SPIXWORTH
PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 28 APRIL 2009
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT OF THE COUNCIL'S WORK DURING THE YEAR 2008/09
Councillors' attendances at Council meetings were as follows:
Mr Barrell 12/12
Ms Cullum 11/12 Mrs Doy 11/12
Mr Fitt
11/12 Mrs Holdroyd 11/12 Mr Manning 11/12
Mr Mills
9/12 Mr Potter 12/12 Mr Sadler 12/12
Mr Thompson 6/12
Mr Ward 11/12 Mr Watson 12/12
This year has been very much 'business as usual'. My colleague Peter Ward and myself were again elected as Vice Chairman and Chairman respectively, and the personnel on the Councils committees remained as in the previous year.
The Council's work is wide-ranging, stretching from liaison with officers and members of the principal authorities on shared responsibilities (as a result of our Quality Council Status) to dealing with dog fouling. The Council's aim in all these activities is to achieve the best outcome for its parishioners, whether it be in monitoring the services provided by other authorities or maintenance of a clean and enjoyable local environment.
Unitary status for Norfolk is still on the agenda, as it was at this time last year, but at least we now have a definitive choice between an all-Norfolk Council or a Greater Norwich / Norfolk split. If the latter is the successful option, Spixworth would be part of Greater Norwich. Following meetings which Councillors, the Clerk and I have attended, the Council will debate its preference and its response to the consultation at the next Council meeting. We welcome the views of the public in the Open Forum session.
Regrettably the number of accidents on Church Lane and at the junction with Buxton Road has not lessened, and the area was recently designated an accident blackspot.
Signage around the junction has
been enhanced, and temporary speed monitoring equipment was installed to gauge
vehicle speeds. The Council maintains its pressure on the County Council
to achieve improvements, but high spending is unlikely while the
The 7.5 tonne weight limit continues to be flouted especially during the season when lorries are transporting beet to Cantley. County Councillor Williams contacted Trading Standards Officers on our behalf, and they are willing to monitor the situation. They need the co-operation of parishioners in identifying persistent offenders, and would like information on vehicles and contractors. It must be proved that the driver did not have a satisfactory reason to be within the weight limit zone before action could be taken.
At long last, some (at least) of the footways on Lilian Road were resurfaced last summer; the remainder will be resurfaced this July during the school summer holidays.
By far the largest expense that the Parish Council meets is the cost of street lighting. We are now nearing the end of the programme to replace the old concrete columns with the safer steel ones, but is has been discovered that, on Buxton and Rosetta Roads, some of the lanterns are now obsolete and will need replacing as they fail. As several lights suffered impact recently and the Council was unable to recover the costs, it has been decided to insure the lighting stock. This has added another £2,000 to costs and contributed to the increase in the precept.
One of the successes of the year has been progress in the project to achieve some recreational equipment at the Village Hall for the teen age group. Funding has been achieved from the Big Lottery via Broadland District Council's Play Strategy, and from Broadland District Council itself. The youth shelter was installed just before Christmas and the remainder is scheduled for installation before the summer holidays. Included in the scheme is the completion of the upgrading of the younger childrens play equipment project.
A debate was held at last years Annual Parish Meeting to gauge parishioners' opinion on whether the Parish Council should become the sole trustee of the Village Hall charity. The proposal was supported, and a Parish Poll was held in June which also bore this out. We are on the last stage, and the Village Hall Management Committee is in the process of informing the Charity Commission of the change.
The Committee will continue with the day-to-day running of the Hall as at present, but the more onerous responsibility of trusteeship will have been removed from its members.
The Council continues to be active in the wider community, and debates and responds to consultation from the principal authorities. This year it has considered 29 planning applications, as well as responding to consultation on the Greater Norwich Development Partnership Joint Core Strategy, and the District Council Site Allocations and Area Action Plan Development Plan Documents.
An excellent relationship has been maintained with the local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team, in the shape of PC Keith Lambert and PCSO Sarah Watts. We are grateful that there is a Police presence at all Council meetings where officers can expand on the incidents recorded in the monthly statistics It is now much easier to contact our local officers and either ask them investigate a problem or to pass on information. We have a presence on the Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel, which meets quarterly in the three parishes of Spixworth, Sprowston and Old Catton in rotation. This considers the policing priorities for the next three months, based on problems raised by members of the public, and reviews the previous quarters results of action taken.
I would like to remind parishioners that Councillors give of their time voluntarily and are expected to make decisions on behalf of the whole parish, which is a huge responsibility for which they are not paid. The commitment involved is more than the two hours spent once a month at a Council meeting - it is an ongoing concern for the parish and its welfare. I would like to thank all the Councillors, at parish, district and county level, for this commitment. Finally, my thanks to the Clerk for her help and support throughout the year.
Ian
Fitt
Chairman, Spixworth Parish
Council
28 April 2009