Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of the Helmdon
Parish Council
Held on Wednesday 28th April 2004
In the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon at 7.30pm
Present: Councillors Burns, Brookhouse, Moody, Smith,
Bearman, Gittens, Spendlove, Earl, England and Parish Clerk, Sarah
Smith
There were 3 members of the public present
1. Apologies:
There were no apologies received.
2. Minutes:
All councillors agreed that the minutes for the meeting held on
23rd April 2003 should be adopted as a true record.
3. Matters Arising:
There were no matters arising.
4. Committee Reports:
i) Planning:
There have been 30 applications overall of which 26 have been
supported and 4 objected
ii) Finance:
There has been an increase in this year's precept of around 5%,
which is in line with similar villages in the area.
Two bills for Powergen are outstanding for December and March
at £99.51 each. Councillor Earl proposed the payment of
both and was seconded by Councillor England.
iii) Rights for way:
Councillor Gittens feels that there should be more notices to
explain where paths are. Also that people should be made more
aware of who to contact if they have an issue with any local footpaths.
A method of communicating this information will be looked at.
iv) War Memorial:
Councillor Earl explained that the area is very mossy, this should
be fixed shortly and the grass is being tended. Councillor Brookhouse
thanked Councillor Earl for the upkeep of the ground.
v) Trees:
Councillor Spendlove explained that the Tree Committee is no longer
running as it was concluded that there were no other prominent
places that we could plant trees were they could be seen.
vi) School Governors:
Councillor Brookhouse noted that the work on the School extension
has currently ground to a halt due to some incorrect paperwork.
Once this matter has been resolved, work will continue as soon
as possible.
vii) Reading Room:
Councillor England remarked that there had been no quotations
received for the restoration of the Reading Room. There have been
two quotations for Electrical work and one of those will be confirmed
for £2500. Thanks were extended for the work that both Councillor
England and the committee have carried out to date.
viii) Neighbourhood Watch:
Councillor Brookhouse explained that Yvonne Harland has replaced
Alan Tinker as Community Beat Officer. PC Gemma Simkins however,
might not be replaced.
Overall the scheme is working well and there have been a number
of calls from the public. In the event that anyone wishes to report
an incident, they should contact Councillor Brookhouse or their
area contact person. Both have a designated number to the police
and in the event of a serious matter 999 or 01327 300300 can be
used.
Councillor Brookhouse receives regular e-mails regarding crimes
in the Brackley district and Helmdon is not often reported on
these!
ix) Allotments:
Councillor Gittens reported that the demands have been sent out
and that he has received at least one new enquiry. We currently
have no other areas, which can be used, however, there is a rough
area of land, which could be cultivated if tied up first. This
would require spraying and ploughing to bring it back into use
and he suggests that we could offer this with the first year free
of charge. The Chairman will ask Richard Watson to plough the
area.
x) Playground Committee:
Councillor Smith wishes to put forward plans for improvement,
which included;
§ Filling in potholes
§ New Bins
§ New Gateway leading to new path for swings
§ Improvement of steps near slide
§ Renewal of lease
§ Removal of fallen tree and repair of fence
5. South Northamptonshire District Councillor Report:
Due to current council meeting obligations, Councillor Digby was
unable to attend this meeting, however, he will be happy to submit
a report at another meeting if required.
6. County Council Report:
Councillor James Shepherd Cross was unable to attend this evenings
meeting and had nothing to report.
7. Police Report:
Please see Neighbourhood watch report.
8. Open Forum:
i) Summer Ball - The Chairman has written to Peter Fisher and
Sue Blackburn pointing out possible problems relating to public
liability etc. There have been similar events held on the school
playground before and the existing insurance covers these events.
The chairman wished the event well but pointed out that the Parish
Council cannot be held responsible for an event held by the school,
LEA or HYHO.
ii) The junction of Grange Lane leading onto Station Road is
becoming worse and is prone to flooding. The Northamptonshire
County Council have been informed but they currently are low on
funds and this is low on their priority list.
9. Date of Annual General Meeting:
26th May 2004 - 7.30pm
10. Date of next Parish Council Meeting
28th July 2004 - 7.30pm
Meeting closed at 8.00pm