Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly of Wixford Parish Council
Held on the 8th of April 2008 at 7.30 pm in Wixford Village Hall
Present:
Cllrs Matthew Smith, Jack Fryer and Jon Haworth
Cllr Colin Hales (Chair)
Clerk:
Karen Parnell
In attendance:
County Cllr Peter Barnes - District Cllrs Brian Slaughter, Kim James and
Daren Pemberton
Plus one member of the public
Apologies:
Cllr Chris Pierson
1) Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly on 3rd April 2007
Were duly signed off by the Chairman on 8th May 2007.
2) Matters arising therefrom
There were no matters arising, as all relevant information was contained within the Chairman's report, previously circulated to Councillors.
3) Chairman's report on the work of the Parish Council during the last twelve months
The Chairman outlined the report, which contained a summery of the accounts and a detailed report on many of the Council's activities, from Planning to village maintenance.
4) Statement of Accounts of the Wilcox and Allen Charity
Cllr Haworth as trustee provided a statement of accounts, which was signed off by himself and Cllr Colin Hales.
A summery follows (as dated 08/04/08):
Income: 14/11/06 -13/05/07 £ 7.28
Income: 14/05/07 - 13/11/07 £ 9.25
Net Interest: £ 16.53
Brought forward: £738.25
Balance as at 13/11/07 £754.78
As this cash is sitting dormant, the trustees will look at a suitable way of using this money, in line with what the charity was set up to facilitate.
5) Statement of Accounts of the Village Hall Committee
Cllr Smith presented the Village Hall Committee accounts, which have a balance of £ 7,767. Matthew reported that revenues from hires and events was down by around £ 2,000 and that insurance may be an issue leading to the village hall needing extensive repairs or rebuilding. Funding is being sought.
6) Statement of Accounts of the Parish Council
Karen has produced the end of year accounts, which she summarised, a copy was sent to all Councillors with the agenda and a condensed version appears in the Chairman?s report.
7) District Councillor's Report
Cllr Kim James explained the District Council had a difficult year taking into account the July floods, fire in Atherstone (claiming four firefighters) and Alcester Hospital. Campaigning for the doctors surgery relocating to Friday Furlong in Bidford also raises concerns regarding out-patient and ultrasound facilities. Kim spoke of a recent talk at SDC given by EON and was unimpressed by their lack of response to technology in rural areas. The new refuse collections and possible Eco town in Long Marston were also discussed, as was the gypsy camp by Shipston. Kim also stated that flood defence issues will now be addressed as he and his colleagues have intervened to enable SDC to progress enforcement.
8) County Councillor's Report
The community charge has increased (3.9%) and 13% to the police authority.
Peter reported there is a sand and gravel shortage locally. He also spoke about the Eco town, flooding at Wixford Bridge (which he will attempt to help with) and praised the fire brigade. Peter also mentioned the new working arrangements for councils, notably the new area committees.
9) Any Other Business None
10) Questions from the Public
One member of the public expressed concerns about the lack of urgency regarding SDC enforcing the removal of a platform outside the Fish Inn.
Kim explained the correct procedure must allow the landlord time to appeal against the decision, in the interests of fairness and explained that health and safety issues would be the responsibility of the landlord (brewery).
This is now a legal, not a planning issue. Kim advised the gentleman to keep a log of disturbances.
The Chairman thanked Cllr Matthew Smith for his work on this council, as he is not seeking re-election.
Signed: Chairman Colin Hales 13th May 2008
13th May, 2008