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Annual Parish Assembly reports

April 2010 to March 2011

The Annual Parish Assembly was held on Tuesday 3^rd May 2011 - This is the meeting at which electors' views, comments and ideas concerning the Parish can be expressed. For further information please contact the Parish Clerk: Derek Kane 01264 738039 - email: clerk@stmarybourne-pc.gov.uk

Summary Report

Twenty-nine people attended the Annual Parish Assembly in May, including the full Parish Council and Parish Clerk, representatives of county and parish organisations and 11 members of the public. The Chairman’s annual report had previously been circulated to every parish household.

Police Report: PC Paula Deery reported that local priorities for policing were 1) Speeding 2) Anti-Social behaviour from young people and 3) burglaries from outbuildings and sheds. There had been 23 crimes reported in St Mary Bourne parish (35 in previous year). Neighbourhood Watch was working well. Questions from the floor included the use of Speed Guns (Inspector Payne outlined various criteria for these to be introduced on routes) and speeding up to dangerous footpath crossing at Bourne House.

Finance: The Clerk outlined the finances. In answer to a question about whether the reserves were earmarked for specific projects, he felt that the soon-to-be formed Long Term Planning Group may come up with ideas.

County Councillor’s Report: Tom Thacker reported that complaints about Highways formed the largest content of his parish mailbox. He was involved with Chapmansford road repairs, ongoing discussions about travel tokens and ways to help rural transport difficulties. Hampshire County Council was looking to make savings of £55million but he had lent his support for funding to Valley Music, Youth Development teams and Overton Rugby Club. He answered questions about the salaries of Borough Councillors, the possibility of road repairs being done by HCC direct (not through contractors) and blocked drains at Church Cottages and Denham Terrace.

There was no report from the Borough Councillor.

St Mary Bourne School Report: Dodie Marsden reported on a very successful year. The school was full. Attendance was 95.4% and there had been no exclusions. The school had been assessed as “above average” nationally. She outlined the various activities and clubs available, and trips and outings taken during the year.

Testbourne School: Hilary Jackson also reported on a good year. Testbourne was 3^rd in Hampshire for “Value Added” criteria. The curriculum had expanded to include a Land Application course and lunchtime Latin tuition. Despite saving cuts, the school was committed to continue outside links and partnerships including Mityana, Icknield School and with the police. 10 pupils from St Mary Bourne parish would join the school in autumn 2011. The November 2010 Ofsted report was Outstanding.

Holdway Cottages: The cottages were in full occupation. Lyn North had retired as a Trustee and been replaced by Penny Wood.

Surgery Report: Dr Jim Rose reported that the practice had grown 40% in seven years and staff had expanded to include a full-time practice manager and extra admin staff. The medical practice was closely monitored and had scored highly in anonymous patients’ surveys and other assessments. The current surgery accommodation was outgrown and the practice was looking to move in the short to medium term.

Vitacress Planning Application Report: Peter Evans had lodged a claim for a judicial review and was waiting for B&DBC to take action over a dispute about “agricultural” or “industrial” use at the site.

Questions from the Parish: included a report from Dodie Marsden thanking the parish for money raised for Mityana and accounting for its use. Mark Maclay commended the parish on the proposed formation of a Long Term Planning Group which should include the needs of a new Medical Centre. There were also comments with reference to earlier parish assessments - 1981 Village Assessment and 2005 Parish Plan - Built Environment sections - and the need to address new challenges. The meeting was reminded of the existence of the parish clerk’s office in the Club Room and his contact details and hours of availability. The Chairman ended the evening by thanking Gordon Barton on his retirement after many years as Parish Groundsman. She also thanked the Clerk and her fellow councillors for their work during the year.

Ruth Widén - Village Correspondent

Chairman's Report

The newly elected Council started its term of office in May 2010 and we welcomed two new members, Councillors Katie Dixon and Trevor Cousins.

The year in summary: All of the items below and others raised at the meeting may be discussed more fully at the Annual Parish Assembly to be held on 3 May 2011.

Waste water issues - At the time of writing 4D has almost completed the work to relieve the households which have been suffering sewage inundation over the past few years. We continue to meet with Southern Water’s Sewage Strategy Manager and others in an attempt to resolve the problems that remain as regards ground water infiltration to the sewage system.
Village 30 scheme - This is now in place but there are still problems with speeding.
CCTV - This has been installed to cover the play areas and hard-standing and is being monitored on a regular basis.
Affordable Housing Subcommittee (AHS) - Drop-in Consultation and Communication meetings took place on 1 & 2 April 2011. The AHS will read and analyse all comments and report back to the Parish Council, who will then hold a public meeting where parishioners can comment formally and present material objections or support for the possible sites or for the project as a whole. If a suitable site or sites are found, that satisfy the criteria, and there is sufficient local community support and sufficient families and individuals in ‘Housing Need’ then the Parish Council will start to work with the planning authority to understand whether an application has a reasonable possibility of meeting all the relevant planning criteria. If a possible site or sites are found that have a reasonable chance of meeting the relevant planning criteria then the process will proceed through stages 5 to 10 in the HARAH guidelines.

Travel Tokens - Following the withdrawal of the travel tokens, Councillor Dixon, on behalf of the Council, is liaising with Eve Lind-Smith of Neighbourcare to investigate any resulting problems and looking for solutions. With the passing of responsibility for Concessionary Travel from Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council to Hampshire County Council the Parish Council has advertised the new arrangements for bus passes. Consideration is also being given as to how to continue to provide adequate transportation for those in the parish without access to cars.

Stopping-up of the Smannell Road - We attended the enquiry which was held in August and handed in the petition and gave our evidence but, as you are now aware, to no avail.

Resurfacing of the Chapmansford Road - This has made this bit of road much safer but it was not the solution which we wanted.

Finance - For 2010-11 the Parish Council ended the year with reserves of £23,170. Looking ahead for 2011-12 the Parish Council has requested a Precept for £19,950 with grants from BDBC remaining frozen at £11,080 and other income such as Fishing Licence meeting the PC’s expenditure. The reduction in SMB’s 2011-12 Precept demand vs 2010-11 is set against a national average increase of 2.1% for parish/town councils with borough/unitary/county council poll tax frozen.

Bridget Culley - Chairman, St Mary Bourne Parish Council - April 2011

This page was last edited on 19 Aug 2011