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Parish Council - Chairman's Report
Holt Parish Council - Chairman's Annual Report 28th March 2007 I am pleased to present my seventh annual report as Chairman of Holt Parish Council.
In March 2006, I reported that we had identified a need for affordable housing in the Village and that progress was being made to identify possible sites and developers. Since then, we have decided to seek further evidence of need and, at our request, the District Council has produced a report which we will consider shortly. We also decided that, should a need be established, we support the site in Station Road. I also reported that our new electoral ward would comprise villages only. Sadly, I was misinformed. We are now grouped with Staverton and Paxcroft, an urban area, and this may affect the future representation of our interests on the District and County Councils. We have prepared the ground for a Parish Plan and, after taking breath, I hope that we can complete this process over the coming months. The dispute over the routing of the footpath by Holt Manor was, eventually, resolved thanks to the persistence of Councillor Jim Gooding.
On behalf of the County Council, and following full consultation with the Village, Mouchel Parkman presented proposals for improved traffic control. High priority is to be given to a pedestrian crossing near the Village Shop and to improvements to the junction of the Gravel with the Common. Medium priority to be given to improvements to the Bradford/Staverton Road junction and to the Little Parks/Common junction. Subsequently, the proposed pedestrian crossing near the Shop proved controversial because of its potential impact on passing trade, and the viability of the business. However, given that none of these proposals will proceed without a full formal public consultation and the fact that the County Council has deferred the pedestrian crossing until 2008/9 at the earliest, we decided not to challenge the recommendations and see what proposals the National Trust makes for parking before deciding on the best location of the crossing.
Although we opposed it, the expansion of production by Cereal Partners at Staverton, and the opening of a distribution centre in Bowerhill has gone ahead with implications for yet greater traffic, noise and smell pollution. Following planning permission for housing, the construction of the Hilperton Gap relief road now looks likely - which will greatly reduce traffic through the Village and virtually remove traffic related to the Cereal Partners operations. We have an undertaking from the County Council that Holt will then be considered for a weight restriction on traffic.
The National Trust applied for a year-long entertainments licence for The Courts. This proved highly controversial and led to an extraordinary meeting of this Council. Because of concerns over increased parking and nuisance, we opposed the granting of this licence - to no avail. The National Trust, on this occasion, should have consulted with us well in advance of its application - a point acknowledged by the Trust in written apologies to this Council and the magazine.
Controversy over the exacerbation of parking problems by the greatly increased popularity of The Courts has been an issue in its own right. A specific proposal from the National Trust to build a car park on land to the rear of the play area prompted a second extraordinary meeting. Opinions varied. The National Trust has taken considerable care to consult with us over this proposal and other options and invited us to explore them with them. However, we decided that a joint approach would compromise our position when it comes to a subsequent planning application and we have asked the National trust to make its own proposals, to which we will respond in the usual way.
Planning matters have included challenging the District Council to improve its consultation and communication processes. The provision of on-site residential facilities in The Midlands have gone ahead without opposition by the District Council - despite our concerns expressed over many months that this had happened without planning approval. Contravention of planning regulations on other occasions have also not been challenged. Informal consultation by this Council on a possible second sports court, adjacent to the current facility, received a mixed reception and was not pursued further. We tried to drum up support for a skateboarding amenity, at the request of members of the Youth Club, but got no response from the Community. We have committed to the development of a cycle track to Staverton, with the financial support of Cereal Partners.
The Council has addressed a number of other issues during the year. We have installed new goal posts on the football pitch. Grant-aided, the cost was only £400 - half of which will be met by the Football Club. Signs displaying the byelaw controlling misuse of the playing fields have been erected at the pedestrian entrances. Following persistent parking on the playing fields, the gates are now chained. Repairs have been made to the Shelter on Ham Green and to the water supply to the pavilion. Last year saw the start of fortnightly collection of household rubbish (with the recycling collection in the alternate weeks). In the summer this caused hygiene problems. Later in the year, industrial action exacerbated the situation. The annual Village Clean Up went ahead in May but we could only muster third place in the Best Kept Village competition! Dawes Pond has been maintained and a Clean-Up session took place. We have provided for tree planting and replacement. We have opposed the closure of rural post offices. We continue financially to support the Youth Club, of which I am an ex officio trustee. Finally, we investigated the increase in emergency vehicles driving at speed through the Village. The problem appears to be caused by vehicle satellite navigation devices flagging Holt as a rat run.
The footpath network has again been walked by councillors. However, it is dispiriting that the County Council will not commit to making the necessary repairs and improvements. Once again, Garry Aland has given excellent service as our Village caretaker and in cutting the grass. He also now cleans the pavilion. We commissioned the annual safety inspection of the playing field and play areas and the report has been responded to. Following an accident caused by a broken bottle, the Caretaker now carries out weekly safety inspections of the play areas. The County Council Parish Stewards have carried out various repairs and improvements around the Village.
Our district councillor, Duncan Hames, attended many of our meetings and gave us good support - following up on local issues. Our County Councillor, Sarah Content, has also actively supported us and attended several meetings. For a short time we enjoyed excellent support from PC Ian McGrath as our new community policemen, aided by Laura Dickenson as our community support officer. With the departure of PC McGrath, we no longer enjoy meaningful engagement with the Police. We have had speakers from the District Council on affordable housing and on planning matters, from Mouchel Parkman on proposals for traffic control, from the National Trust on parking matters and from Cereal Partners on their expansion proposals.
For the Village magazine, Marsha Nicholson has reported on our meetings and so provided a much-appreciated service to the community. We have, once again, backed this up with occasional articles to explain, for example, the finances and powers of the Parish Council and the election system. The Village Website has been used to post minutes and agendas. We are currently reviewing our web site arrangements and are considering changing providers.
Thanks to our clerk, Jennie Beale, for supporting me and for her dedication in preparing for, and following up, our meetings. In this my last report to the current Council before the elections in May, I should also like to thank my vice-chairman, Councillor Jane Grant, for chairing meetings in my absence and to our committee chairmen - councillors Rodney Moody (planning), Martin Moyes (traffic), David Hogg (finance) and Steve Siddall (Village facilities) - and the other members of this active Council for ensuring that the work gets done. If the next Council is as committed and hard-working as the present one, I believe that our Village will be very well served. I sincerely hope that our efforts to whip up a contested election are successful and that the current councillors will stand.
John Palmer Chairman, Holt Parish Council 28 March 2007
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