Parish Assembly Introduction / Notes from Tony Prior (Baydon Parish Council Chair)
Good evening, welcome to the 2009 Parish Assembly. For those who don’t know me, my name is Tony Prior. I was elected chairman in August last year and one of my few duties is to chair this meeting.
Eighteen organisation/clubs or groups have been invited to describe their year so we have quite a full evening. I’ll kick off with a few words about the year in the Parish Council since the last Assembly.
We met 13 times making it a busy period. The normal number is 8. 4 councillors resigned during the year. We operated with an average of 4 councillors per meeting although on occasions we were down to the minimum of 3. We now have 5, but by saying this, it is a cue to say we look forward to a full Council of 7. Come and join us.
As you must know we have been bedevilled by a lack of a quorum to progress the allotments project. Fortunately this changed recently and significant formalities were agreed on Monday.
A lot of work has been done, and is still in progress, establishing and updating policies in order that the Council can run smoothly within the today’s law and local guidelines.
The number of planning applications considered reduced from 19 to 12, not surprising in these times.
Regarding community events the school auction and fete, bonfire night and the carol singing were all well attended again. I must say I thought the fireworks were spectacular. Thanks are due to those who made donations and those who gave their time to make them a success. The same thanks must go to those residents who organise the groups who will report later.
One other thing, the Beating of the Bounds walk is usually held next weekend. The day for this is not absolutely fixed, being either the Sunday or the Monday. Last year I believe Kevin Barnes led it. I have to hold my hands up and say I did not think about it, though nor did anyone else, until recently. This is an example where a calendar diary of events for the Council and village would be useful. We will look at this. Unfortunately I cannot participate this year so if there is anyone who would like to volunteer to lead, even at this short notice, and advertise it, people can then join in.
I have heard comments that it would be nice to develop the community feeling. This is a difficult challenge given the limited facilities in the village and the need for volunteers to drive it forward but it is well worth thinking about. Ideas would be welcome.
Before moving on to the reports, I would like to describe the current position regarding the children’s playground project.
The PC made a request to KDC for the £5000, lodged with them by the Fiveways developer under the so-called s106 ruling, for recreational facilities at the beginning of the year. A project plan was written and, on the strength of it, agreement for transfer into our bank account was given. When this arrives the PC will hold a total of approx. £8300 ring fenced for such facilities.
I obtained three quotations, namely £11007, £21165 and £33302 incl VAT, for the purchase and installation of 6 typical items of equipment plus suitable flooring. Fencing will also be required.
Obviously, the first issue to determine is its location so that applications for grants can be made.
This could be a major challenge in itself. So I am using this meeting to gauge opinion as part of the consultation process. Everyone would dearly like a central location. Consultation is also important because a playground may involve the use of village funds.
There are a limited number of what I would call the obvious opportunities, but none are exactly ideal. So these options are:-
The cricket field owned by Jonathan Smith. I have seen him to discuss the possibility. He was warm to the idea and I asked him to offer a tenure/rent proposal. I still await this.
The option of asking local land-owners to donate or lease land.
Other locations have been mentioned to me but they have more complications or are unlikely venues.
Land behind the BYPA hall – this is a sloping site and belongs to the Lloyds of Baydon House. When the Crowns owned the farmland an area was fenced off but the legal arrangements were not completed. The PC wrote a letter to the Crowns with the purpose of resurrecting the negotiations but no reply has been received.
The pond area - this is common land which would require a legal process to obtain permission to use it. The there would also be more site clearance required.
The triangle of land opposite the stud - the owners have previously said they are not prepared to sell it.
The school paddock has been mentioned to me several times by residents but the land is owned by WC and the school. A meeting has taken place with Peter Chambers and a governor at which it was explained that the whole area is required for school use from time to time.
A playground area did exist at the Red Lion but with the planning approval for building etc this is a real unknown.
Are there any questions before I ask for a show of hands to see support for the choices.
So I’ll run through the main contenders ie Cricket, Parish, BYPA, Landowner .
Is there any interest or comments about the others I mentioned. If there is then we can at least confirm the current status.
Now for the club/group reports. Questions can follow these but it might be better to have a general interactive question time at the end of them. Let’s see how it goes.