Chairman's Annual Report March 2008

I present my eight annual report as Chairman of Holt Parish Council.

In March 2007, I reported on the proposed improvements to traffic calming in the Village.  Since then no work has been done, although a roundabout at the western end of the Village is on the list.  Following opposition, the proposals for a pedestrian crossing outside the Village shop and a build-out at the Gravel have been dropped. Cllr Jane Grant attended a presentation by children at Holt Primary School on their concerns over the difficulties in travelling to school caused by traffic.  A number of helpful suggestions are being taken forward by the traffic committee.  In my previous report I noted that we no longer enjoyed meaningful engagement with the Police.  I am delighted to now say that since PC Martin Barrett became our community policeman in April he has not missed a meeting.  I am particularly grateful to PC Barrett for his commitment to a monthly dialogue with us.  We have liaised with him over many issues of concern, including a reoccurrence of problems of destructive vandalism, and some more serious incidents of theft. 

Parking continues to be a fraught issue and one which is exacerbated by the popularity of The Courts.  We have looked at, and decided not to support, three suggestions; one for a car park behind Dawes Pond, a car park replacing Dawes Pond and a car park on the Courts' own land bordering The Green.  As things stand, we await a definite proposal from the National Trust.

The proposed cycleway to Staverton has become a realistic proposition following committed work from Cllr Martin Moyes and his working group.

Planning matters have included the billeting of workers in the Midlands, the naming of new developments and various proposals to change the use of agricultural buildings.  We continue to push for the restoration of the Village Pump - by the developers who are obliged to pay for this.  The issue of flooding became prominent in the winter.  This is an issue that we are currently addressing with the County Council. New and restored signage for The Courts proved controversial - and we supported the Village Hall Committee in successfully opposing the installation of an additional sign.

The chains and posts around The Green have been nicely renovated by the Parish Stewards.  However, a traffic accident earlier this year demolished some posts alongside the main road.  Repairs should be covered by the insurance of the driver of the car that wrecked them.

The issue of affordable housing has fallen into abeyance following a confusing report from the District Council which served to fan the flames of controversy rather than snuffing them.  We have asked Holt Ahead to progress the debate.  This is an matter to which we will need to return in the future, and resolve.

Following clear support from the Village we have decided properly to restore and repair The Hatch which feeds water to the Dawes Pond and to repair and upgrade the pond itself.  This is after a long and losing battle to do this on the cheap.  We have committed the community, through the precept, to the professional upkeep of the pond from the 2009/10 financial year.

The footpaths have been walked and Cllr Jimmy Gooding has been effective in maintaining the proper siting of footpaths, steps and signs.  A number of councillors have rolled their sleeves up to make improvements.  Holt came second in the whole-Wiltshire ‘Best Kept Village' competition, having won the competition in West Wiltshire.  We have the certificate to prove it - and £75 for our coffers.  Well done everybody!

The Village Facilities committee has overseen the upkeep of the pavilion, the recreation field and the play area - and has gone to war with the moles. In last year's report I commented on the installation of new goal posts.  Unfortunately these posts proved to be defective and we are currently pursuing the company concerned to put them right.  Benches have been repainted and gates have been replaced or repaired.  We have tackled issues of fly tipping.  We have continued to benefit from the services of Gary Aland both as the Village caretaker and as the mower of our grass.  I thank him.  We have opposed the closure of the train service from Bradford to Waterloo and the Village post office.  We have challenged changes to the recycling service. Cllr Barbara Tucker has taken on the roll of our emergency planning representative.  We have purchased new flags and Steve Siddall has kindly taken on the job of flag keeper.  We have had to replace the clerk's computer, the old one having failed after many year's service.

We have had speakers on affordable housing and speakers from both the County and District councils arguing the case for and against a unitary authority for Wiltshire - eventually supporting the proposal.  The new unitary authority for Wiltshire will be launched next year.  Following several years of excellent work as our district councillor, Duncan Hames stood down at the May elections in order to pursue his parliamentary ambitions.  Following the elections we had three district councillors two of whom regularly attend our meetings - Cllr Ernie Clark and Cllr Trevor Carbin.  Since then, Ernie has also been elected as our new County Councillor and continues to attend our meetings.  I thank both of them for their commitment and support - as I do Sarah Content who previously gave us good support as County Councillor.

For the Village magazine, Marsha Nicholson has once again been our reporter and, at times, constructive critic.  Cllr David Hogg reviewed our web site provider and we decided to stay with the devil we know.

In May 2007 we enjoyed our first contested parish council election in 20 years, following a successful campaign to whip up interest. Cllr Andy Beck decided to stand down and, sadly, Meg Slade and Steve Siddall lost their seats.  They were particularly active and effective councillors and I repeat my thanks to them for their years of service.  However, we have gained new blood in councillors Basil Ash, Helen Rabaiotti and Barbara Tucker.  Over the summer, Councillor Rodney Moody retired from the Parish Council after forty years continuous service.  His achievements and contributions to our Village are too numerous to list in this report, and include many years as chairman and vice-chairman and, latterly, the knowledgeable and authoritative leadership of the planning committee.  I hope this most modest of men will forgive me for thanking him publicly for his enormous contribution to the work of this Council, a contribution we have marked with a stone trough on the public grass verge outside Huckshards.  We decided to co-opt, as his replacement, Becky Stephens, who missed out in the May elections by the slenderest margin of all the unlucky candidates. 

Thanks to our clerk, Jennie Beale, for keeping the affairs of the council in order so efficiently.  Thank you to my vice-chairman, Councillor Jane Grant, for chairing meetings in my absence and to our committee chairmen - councillors Jimmy Gooding (planning), Martin Moyes (traffic), David Hogg (finance) and Bob Mizen (village facilities) - and the other members of our Council for another busy year on behalf of our community.  From our next meeting in April we move to our new regular venue, the URC Hall, on a new day; the last Thursday of the month.  This move is no reflection on the Village Hall Committee, with whom we enjoy an excellent relationship.  We move solely to allow wheelchair access to our meetings - the ground floor of the Village Hall being unavailable.  Thanks to the Elders of the URC for hosting us.

Cllr. Bob Mizen expressed the Council's appreciation of Cllr. John Palmer's work as Chairman.