WADHURST
PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL
REPORT
2008/09
WADHURST PARISH COUNCIL
Wadhurst Parish Council is made up of 15
councillors. The current council was elected in May 2007 and will serve for a
four year term. The Chairman is elected in May each year by the councillors
present at the Annual Meeting.
CHAIRMAN Tom
Doyle 01892 782001
VICE CHAIRMAN Jan
Pearman 01892 782816
COUNCILLORS
Bernard
Berger 01892 783348
Daphne Colvin 01892 783001
Serena Gadd 01892 784383
Melissa
Gates 01892 785677
Michael
Kent 01892 782944
Julian
Mamlok 01892 783744
Anna
Monaghan 01892 782671
John
Phipson 01892 782244
Christopher
Price 01892 783106
Bob Standley 01892 783579
Hilary
Whatmore 01892 783508
Brian
Wheeler 01892 782566
District Councillors: Bob Standley 01892
783579
Graham
Wells 01892 783583
Wadhurst Parish Council
c/o 1 Rushlye Cottage
Bells Yew Green
Tunbridge Wells
TN3 9AP
Tel/fax: 01892
752111
Email:
Clerk: Philippa Hewes
REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Last
year we used the Annual Parish Meeting to discuss the Parish Plan, a document
to guide the development of our village over the next 20 years.
In it is set out a list of actions to be taken by the
Parish Council and other village organisations - some very simple and specific,
some more general and ambitious.
Elsewhere
in this report the work of the Parish Council’s committees is recorded and I
believe these make a good start.
However,
it will take years to solve many of the problems identified in the Plan. The
Parish Council has working parties looking at parking and recreation facilities.
I hope we can also begin to look more at the appearance of the village, and on
what we can do to protect the environment.
This
year there is another challenge for the parish which will dwarf the Parish Plan
in how it influences the future of our village.
The
Local Development Framework, a planning document being produced by Wealden District
Council will shortly be released for consultation.
It
may well set out, for example, how many new homes should be built here; how
land should be used – for example it may alter the village’s development
boundary - and how our infrastructure should be improved.
The
Parish Council is preparing to examine it in detail and of course to produce a
response, but more important than this is the response from the public. As many
individuals as possible should respond. This is an opportunity for us all to
influence what happens to our community in years to come.
Finally
I’d like to thank all of those who’ve volunteered their time to the community
over the last year: those who run the village societies and sports clubs, our
councillors, those who help elderly neighbours and everyone else who in
innumerable little ways help our village to thrive.
Tom Doyle
This popular
venue is owned by the parish council and run by a management committee
consisting of four members of the council and representatives from the tennis
and junior football clubs.
The four tennis courts continue to be
well used by Wadhurst Tennis Club and Pay & Play users. During the year,
the security system for the courts and the tennis club room was updated and
entry is now by a special key fob. Casual tennis can be arranged through the
Pay & Play system with bookings now being taken at the Sports Centre at
Wadhurst United
Junior Football Club, which is based at the recreation ground, continues to
grow and is very successful. The club has been looking for a more permanent arrangement
for providing much needed refreshments for the adult supports and helpers. It
was disappointing when grant applications for installing a kitchen area within
the referee’s room were turned down, but with some dedicated fund-raising and a
little help from the parish council, the alterations have taken place and have
proved to be very popular.
The new
caretaker, Bob Penny, joined the staff last May and has worked hard to keep the
site in good order for all to enjoy.
Play equipment
It is always
encouraging to see so many children enjoying the play equipment at the
recreation ground. It is an on-going task for the caretaker to maintain the
equipment, rake the bark and remove any graffiti. Some of the equipment is now
too old to be repaired and a working party was formed to look at updating the
area. Questionnaires were used to find out what the children wanted and a
well-supported consultation event was held at the pavilion. Plans were drawn up
and a grant application submitted. We have just heard that a grant of £30,000
is to be awarded from Play Pathfinder funding towards the play project!!
Thanks to Penny
and Leslie for their hard work on the working party, and to all who attended
the consultation evening.
The
Pavilion is available for casual bookings – enquiries to the Clerk 01892
752111.
SAVING THE RED TELEPHONE
When the parish
council heard that the red telephone kiosk at Durgates was scheduled to be
removed as part of a programme by BT to save costs, plans were immediately put
in place to try and save the kiosk. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott as part
of King George V’s Jubilee celebrations, the much loved red telephone kiosk has
historic value. Under a scheme available to parish councils, the telephone
kiosk was adopted earlier this year. The telephone equipment was removed but the
traditional red box will remain as an important visual feature for the village.
ENVIRONMENT
This Environment
Committee is made up of five councillors and is responsible for the appearance
of the village.
The area of
land in front of the Fire Station, which is known as the Jardin d’Aubers, is
leased to the parish council and kept as a quiet garden area for all to enjoy.
Whilst the main area is kept formal with regular grass cutting, the pond area
is only subjected to a bi-annual tidy-up and it is hoped that this will encourage
wildlife.
A splendid duck house was positioned on
the pond last autumn; it was funded from the profits of the sale of parish
maps. Two ducks were introduced to their new home but during the cold spell it
was feared that they had not survived. However, there have been sightings of a
pair of ducks in the fenced off pond area on the other side of the access road
– perhaps the ducks prefer a more woodland landscape. Two new ducks have now
been introduced and they seem to appreciate their duck house!
Grass cutting
It was decided to have a radical review
of grass cutting in order to try to reduce costs. Most of the grass that the
parish council had previously cut belongs to either East Sussex County Council
or Wealden District Council. These councils are responsible for cutting their
own grass, although their cutting schedule is not as frequent as the parish council.
We will await the results and review the changes after 1 year. The saving for
the parish in the first year is likely to be £5000.
Some areas, for
example the verge at The Walk and the exit from the station, will continue to
be cut by the parish.
Flowers
The hanging
baskets in the High Street have been a big success and compliment the existing flower
tubs. Additional sites have been chosen for the baskets along the High Street. The
hanging baskets are looked after under a contract and grey water is used for
maintenance.
We are grateful
to the Gardening Club for their hard work with the flower tubs and the shop
keepers for undertaking watering. Thanks also go to Magpie as the proceeds from
the sale of second hand books go towards the floral displays.
Allotments
The allotments
at Round Oak are owned by the parish council but managed very effectively by
the Round Oak Allotment Association. Further clearance work by members of the
association exposed some large trees for the first time in many years; these
trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order and after a visit by one of
the District Council’s arboriculturists, permission was given for emergency
work to be carried out.
The popularity
of allotments continues to rise; demand has been met by creating further plots
from land clearance and by some existing plot holders who have kindly given up
some of their land. Since 2006 17 new families have been given plots.
The parish
council is grateful to the committee members and plot-holders at Round Oak
Allotments for their continued hard work!
If
you are interested in becoming an allotment holder please contact the Chairman
of ROAA – Peter Aitchison 782324.
HOUSING
The 17 new affordable homes being built
off
The parish
council invited staff from Wealden Distract Council to explain in more detail
how the new homes would be allocated and in particular how having a local
connection to the village influenced the chances of getting a home.
PLANNING
The seven
members of the Planning Committee give up time on every other Saturday morning
to review planning applications for the parish. Over 100 planning applications were
considered by the committee during the year; comments are passed to Wealden District
Council, the Planning Authority which decides whether applications should be
approved or refused.
Details of
planning applications received are published on the parish council’s website www.wadhurstpc.info
and displayed on the council’s noticeboard by the Commemoration Hall.
HIGHWAYS, TRANSPORT
Highways
The Parish Council
continues to liaise with East Sussex County Council to try and keep the roads
and pavements in good order. Following complaints received from residents about
the difficulty in exiting
Speed awareness
campaigns have continued throughout the year with the parish council paying for
regular speed monitoring sessions – these aim to educate motorists on traffic
speed. The Police have also undertaken regular speed monitoring and some
speeding fines have been imposed.
Community Transport
We have
continued to fund the popular community bus service as a joint venture with East
Sussex County Council and Mayfield & Five Ashes Parish Council. The bus
operates three times a week between
Lighting
Maintenance of
the 159 street lights in the parish continues. The Highways, Transport &
Lighting Committee undertakes regular daylight and night-time lighting
inspections which are in addition to monthly monitoring by the contractor. With
rising energy costs, it was pleasing to note a reduction in costs for street
lighting following the council’s decision to install part-night cells to turn off
many street lights in the early hours of the morning.
Report street lighting faults on 0845
6080193 or to the Clerk on 01892 752111 – please quote the number which is
located on the column.
PARKING
Parking in the
village continues to be a major problem. The parish council has set up a
working party to explore new sites for parking in the village and review how
existing parking might be better managed.
COMMUNITY GRANTS
We recognise
the important work of local groups and organisations in providing services to
the community. Applications for grants must be received by September with
decisions being made at the November council meeting. The following grants were
made last year:
Organisation Amount
(£) Project
Wealden
Citizens Advice 1000.00 Advice for Wadhurst residents
Wadhurst Parochial
Church Council 1500.00 churchyard
maintenance
Wadhurst
Institute Hall & Field 1500.00 hall improvements
Rotary Club 500.00 village
Christmas event
COMMUNICATION
Details
of all council activities plus information, contact details, minutes, agendas,
planning information and much more available at www.wadhurstpc.info.
The parish
council issues four newsletters per year. These are also available on the
website.
There is a
monthly report of parish council meetings in the Focus magazine.
DATES FOR
June 11 July 9 September 10
October 8 November
12 December 10
Meetings are held at the Pavilion, Sparrows Green
Recreation Ground at
Members of the public are welcome to attend full
council and committee meetings and will be given an opportunity to address
councillors.
INCOME
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007/08 |
|
INCOME |
|
2008/09 |
|
£ |
|
|
|
£ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
105000.00 |
|
Precept |
|
105500.00 |
|
5358.28 |
|
Interest |
|
3179.61 |
|
200.00 |
|
Allotments |
|
200.00 |
|
2492.00 |
|
Grants/donations
|
|
360.00 |
|
17905.53 |
|
Recreation
Ground |
|
18440.11 |
|
138.00 |
|
Parish/footpath
maps |
|
127.50 |
|
143.64 |
|
Office
equipment |
|
149.77 |
|
250.04 131487.49 |
|
Other
Total Income
|
|
225.00 128181.99 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXPENDITURE |
|
|
|
37913.66 |
|
Administration/central
costs |
|
39473.56 |
|
3680.00 |
|
S137 |
|
460.05 |
|
2100.00 |
|
Other grants |
|
4500.00 |
|
9185.59 |
|
Lighting |
|
13917.77 |
|
15531.63 |
|
Environment |
|
18797.79 |
|
1713.00 |
|
Highways |
|
6190.11 |
|
6390.40 30000.00 |
|
PWLB loan repayment PWLB capital
repayment & penalty |
|
3127.75 Nil |
|
29179.53 |
|
Recreation
Ground |
|
28824.67 |
|
5412.70 Nil |
|
Insurance Legal advice |
|
5235.71 2950.00 |
|
141097.51 |
|
Total Expenditure |
|
123477.41 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GENERAL FUND |
|
|
|
95214.20 |
|
Balance B/F 1st
April |
|
85604.18 |
|
131487.49 |
|
Add income |
|
128181.99 |
|
(141097.51) |
|
Minus
expenditure |
|
(123477.41) |
|
85604.18 |
|
Balance C/F 31st March |
|
90308.76 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The final balance includes £50,497 which is earmarked for future projects.