|
|
|
ANNUAL
REPORT TO THE PARISH MEETING APRIL
2005 Introduction
and Membership This
report presents a summary of the activities of the Brent Knoll Parish Council
for the year 2004/5. The
Council year under review started in May 2004.
The Council wishes to take this opportunity to records its thanks to
former Councillors Lamb and Wright who retired in the course of the year. There
are 11 seats on the Council. Council
membership as at April 2005 was as follows: Cllr
Mrs J E Baker Wick Farm, Wick Lane, BS24 0HG Cllr
R D Filmer Wascelyn, 48 Brent Street, TA9
4DT Cllr
B D Freestone Bramcote, 135 Brent Street, TA9 4BB Cllr
Mrs E M House Laurel Farm, Burton Row, TA9 4BY Cllr
Mrs E Lamb Coppins, Burton Row, TA9 4BW Cllr
P T Osborn Underknoll, 142 Brent Street,
TA9 4BG Cllr
Miss J J M Owen Anvil Cottage, 86 Brent Street, TA9 4EQ Cllr
Miss S J Rich The Orchard, Burton Row, TA9 4BX Cllr
D R Wootton Chelsea Farm, Harp Road, TA9 4HQ Cllr
Mrs J E Wright Windyridge, Hill Lane, TA9 4DE There
was one vacancy at the start of the year which was filled by the co-option of: Cllr
G R Humphrey 8 Coombe Side, TA9 4ED Cllr
Mrs Lamb resigned on moving out of the area and the resulting vacancy was filled
by the co-option of: Cllr
M A Borland Flat 3, The Manor House, Manor Ride, TA9 4DY Subsequently
Cllr Mrs Wright resigned for personal reasons, leaving one vacancy at the close
of the year. At
the first meeting of the new Council year (the Annual Meeting) the Council
elected Cllr Filmer as Chairman and Cllr Owen as Vice-Chairman. Over
the course of the 2004/5 Council year the Council met on 11 occasions for main
meetings and on a further 6 occasions for short meetings restricted to planning
applications and any other urgent issues. The record of attendance of
Councillors is shown in Table 1 attached. At
the first Meeting the Council re-adopted resolutions acknowledging its duties
with regard to Race Relations and Equal Opportunities Policies. The Council
operates under the Model Code of Conduct and members have completed Registration
of Interests forms which are available for inspection if required.
The Council also adopted a Code of Practice for Handling Complaints. The
Village Green and Village Maintenance The
Parish Council maintains the Village Green, and the children’s play equipment
thereon, and also arranges for the cutting of various areas of grass verge in
the village. Councillors
take it in turns, a month at a time, to be responsible for keeping the Green
tidy and for checking the condition of the play equipment. This equipment is
also checked annually (each June) by RoSPA and any works recommended by the
Inspector are carried out. In the past year repairs have been carried out to the
surrounds to the areas of safety surfacing: the swing chains and seats have been
renewed and other minor repairs have been carried out as necessary.
A new fence was provided along one boundary of the Green and a gate has
been provided (as recommended by RoSPA) to divide the car park from the Green
proper. The
play equipment has been audited for compliance with the Disability
Discrimination Act. No changes are necessary to the play equipment itself but a
hard surfaced pathway is required between the car park and the play area.
Grant assistance totalling £2,000 has already been received or promised
in support of this. As
a long term project the Council hopes to identify a further area of land
suitable for open space/playing field use, particularly for older children and
teenagers. The
Council continues to employ a Contractor to trim the areas surrounding the
Green, and the various village verges. The
Parish Council has also assumed responsibility for the speedy removal of any
graffiti found in the public toilets. Highways The
Council put forward proposals for the establishment of one-way working over a
section of Church Lane with a view to improving safety along this narrow road.
A consultation exercise identified a majority of responses in favour of
the suggestion but a high level of opposition from residents with properties
along the length of road that would be affected. In the light of this opposition, Somerset County Council
declined to progress the scheme. The
Council also maintains a watching brief on the condition of all highways in the
Parish and reports any matters needing attention to the highway authority. The
Council has also been pleased to note that the Community Speedwatch initiative
is now up and running, although this group is totally independent of the Parish
Council even though some Councillors are members. Footpaths The
Parish Council also maintains a watching brief over the condition of footpaths
in the Parish and deals with issues such as obstructions etc either by direct
action or by contacting Sedgemoor District Council. During the past year the
Council funded several further minor repairs to stiles. Sedgemoor
District Council has now (from 1 April 2005)
relinquished the agency agreement under which it looked after footpath
maintenance on behalf of Somerset County Council.
The County Council is now directly responsible for such work and the
Parish Council will be closely monitoring the effectiveness of the new
arrangements. Finance The
precept for 2004/05 was £14,750, which meant that the approximate cost of the
Parish Council to a Band D household was slightly less than £27.50. A surplus
of £770 (which had arisen because not quite all anticipated expenditure on play
equipment maintenance and village maintenance had taken place) was carried
forward from 2003/4. The largest single item of expenditure in the year remains
the Clerk’s salary which accounts for about 30% of the budget: the salary is
based on 12 hours work per week at an hourly rate set annually following
negotiations between the National Association of Local Councils and the Society
of Local Council Clerks. Other
main items of expenditure in the year under review include Public Liability
Insurance at £633, (up by £83 on the previous year), Village Green and
Play Equipment Maintenance at £2990 (of which the new gate and the new fence
were the biggest elements), Village Maintenance (verge trimming, etc) at £670,
and various grants to local organisations.
These were largely at the same level as the previous year’s awards, and
included £1,000 to St Michael’s Church for churchyard grass cutting, £1,000
to Brent Knoll Parish Hall towards their rebuilding project, and £500 towards
the St Michael’s Church new boiler house/toilet project. It
has been necessary to increase the precept for 2004/5 to £15,500, but due to
changes in the tax base for the Village this is still only equivalent to about
£26.85 for a Band D dwelling. Planning The
Council is consulted by Sedgemoor District Council on all planning applications,
and applications for Listed Building Consent, falling within the Parish.
Special meetings are held if necessary
in order to enable the Council to respond before the Sedgemoor District Council
deadline. 37
planning applications were received for comment during the year, which is a
reduction on the figure of 51 for both 2003/4 and 2002/3.
The 2001/2 figure was 43 and that for 2000/1 was 25. The
Council devoted considerable time to considering the implications of the Sanders
Garden World expansion plans, and the Chairman and Clerk attended the inquiry
into the proposal organised by the Government Office for the South West
following their decision to “call in” the application.
The decision is still awaited. Village
Design Statement With
the active encouragement of the Council, a small group under the Chairmanship of
one Councillor has now started the drafting of a Village Design Statement
setting out the principles governing consideration of proposed developments in
the Village, which would then be taken into account by Sedgemoor District
Council in the consideration of planning applications.
The draft will of course be considered by the Parish Council prior to
adoption. Village
Website Matthew
Warnes has continued to maintain the Village Website on behalf of the Council,
who thank him, most warmly for all he has done. On
the way to Quality Council Status During
the year the Council’s Clerk gained a Distinction Award in the
newly-introduced Certificate in Local Council Administration, and the Council
extends its congratulations to him on this achievement.
As part of the process the Clerk was required to submit a substantial
portfolio of examples of all the various Council documents and procedures,
ranging from meeting Agendas and Minutes to the members’ Code of Conduct and
the Council’s Code of Practice for Handling Complaints.
The award of the Certificate therefore also demonstrates that the
Council’s methods and procedures are of a very high standard overall. TABLE
1: PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS - RECORD OF ATTENDANCE During
the year under review the Council met 11 times for main meetings and 6 times to
consider planning applications and any other urgent matters. The
record of attendance is as follows:
Notes:
(1)
out of 3 possible attendances (2)
out of 9 possible attendances (3)
out of 2 possible attendances (4)
out of 5 possible attendances (5)
out of 4 possible attendances
TABLE
2 - PLANNING APPLICATIONS Statistics
for the period April 2004 - March 2005 Total
number of applications received for comment
37 Applications
for new buildings, extensions, etc
Total received
29
Supported by Parish
Council
2
No observations from Parish
Council 21
Opposed by Parish
Council
6
Granted by Sedgemoor District
Council
18
Refused by Sedgemoor District
Council
4
Withdrawn
3
Decision pending
4 Applications
for outline consent
Total received
4
Supported by Parish
Council
0
No observations from Parish
Council 1
Opposed by Parish
Council
3
Granted by Sedgemoor District
Council
1
Refused by Sedgemoor District
Council
3
Withdrawn
0
Decision pending
0 Applications
for Listed Building Consent
Total received
2
Supported by Parish
Council
0
No observations from Parish
Council 2
Opposed by Parish
Council
0
Granted by Sedgemoor District
Council
2
Refused by Sedgemoor District
Council
0
Withdrawn
0
Decision pending
0 Applications
for consent for works to trees
Total received
2
Supported by Parish
Council
0
No observations from Parish
Council
2
Opposed by Parish
Council
0
Granted by Sedgemoor District
Council
2
Refused by Sedgemoor District
Council
0
Withdrawn 0 Decision pending 0 |
|
Home News & Events Clubs & Societies Amenities & Businesses Walks History Parish Council Useful Links This site is provided by the Brent Knoll Parish Council. Constructed and maintained by Matthew Warnes. Last updated 08-Apr-2008 All the information is presented in good faith and is believed to be correct but no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Information on local businesses is similarly given in good faith but without acceptance of any liability in regard to any transaction that may be entered into by viewers of this site. |
