WADHURST PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07

WADHURST PARISH COUNCIL

REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Wadhurst Parish Council is on the bottom rung of Government and not to be confused with The Parochial Church Council responsible for the Church of St Peter & St Paul or The Parish Council of The Sacred Heart Church.

We have however assumed a responsibility for ensuring space for burial for local residents.

We are wondering if we should amend our name to Wadhurst Council or similar to make the issue clearer.

 On 3rd May, we had our first election for over 10 years as 16 persons put forward their names for 15 seats on the Council. This is a very encouraging development and an injection of new blood which is very healthy for us.

One issue that was voiced by electors was the fact that many of us were unknown to them. Party politics does not really arise at our level and thus we had no organisation to canvass for us or distribute leaflets. We did put details on our web site and on our village notice board. We therefore decided, following the election, to raise the profile of our Annual Parish Meeting by distributing notices and talking to shoppers in the High Street. The meeting was held on 30th May and 74 residents came along in addition to Councillors and Police, which is probably a record and gave to many the opportunity to raise issues.

All our meetings are open to the public and notice is given on our notice board and web site. You are most welcome to attend and we have an item allotting time for you to make a point.

In 2003 the Government set up Quality Council status to encourage local government in quality assessment and higher standards of performance which we have recently acquired and are among a small number to have achieved this to date.

Our primary concerns remain the interconnected issues of planning, traffic and car parking. Our view is that the resources of the village are very stretched. We may not stop all new building as some growth is healthy but we are anxious to avoid high volume development. These will stretch our limited resources as schools and doctors do not provide unlimited capacity nor is there much room for more station parking let alone in the village.

We are trying to find more space for village parking. We have some discussions on-going regarding the Fire Station which may have surplus land.

East Sussex County Council invited us to agree to inclusion in a proposal to provide new library facilities for Wadhurst and Ringmer. The proposal is competing for a grant from National Lottery. The only feasible location would be on ground owned by Wadhurst Institute Hall & Field. The Trust has agreed in principle to joining us in accepting the County Council’s proposal. The Trust’s property would benefit considerably from some restructure, while preserving and improving the facilities they already offer to the village. Clearly the proposal is complex and will require careful planning by all three interested parties if the grant is awarded.

We are updating the Parish Plan to allow for developments since the project was initiated. This is to be a policy document reflecting the communities’ needs and wishes and we are hoping to extend our team of volunteers to work with us to complete this before we hold a public consultation meeting. If interested please contact us.

Finally, I wish to thank the other Councillors who have valiantly worked and supported me during the last 12months, County Councillor Bob Tidy who has attended almost every meeting of the Parish Council, plus a special thanks to Philippa Hewes, the Clerk, without whose involvement we could not function especially at a Quality Council level.

SPARROWS GREEN RECREATION GROUND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The recreation ground continues to be a very popular venue providing tennis, play equipment, football pitches and a tarmac area for youth play. Wadhurst Junior Football Club has signed an Agreement for use of the pitches and it is good to see so many young people benefiting from the site. The Junior Football Club has raised money themselves and has also been helped by grants from the Parish Council and Wealden District Council for the purchase of goal posts.

The pavilion is used on a regular basis by a number of clubs including Pilates, Yoga, bridge and art. The main hall was repainted last winter and now looks very smart.

Maintaining the play equipment is an on-going process and is inspected and looked after by the caretaker. Unfortunately there have been some instances of graffiti on the recreation ground site.

The four tennis courts are well used. Wadhurst Tennis Club is open to all and new members are encouraged. Casual play is available by purchasing Pay & Play time from the Pharmacy. Throughout the year there has been much discussion about the possibility of floodlighting the courts although a formal application has yet to be submitted. Landscaping has been undertaken to soften the effect of the pavilion, screen the courts and reduce the impact of any future lighting project.

The pavilion is available for casual bookings – enquiries to the Clerk 01892 752111.

ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

This committee is responsible for the appearance of the village with the main expenditure being amenity grass cutting. A big thank you to the volunteers who planted a further 6000 bulbs around the village which provided such a wonderful display in the Spring. The Parish Council has also been involved with the planting of a number of trees in the highway verges and paid for the floral displays in the High Street.
The area of land in front of the Fire Station, known as the Jardin d’Aubers, is leased to the Parish Council and is kept as a garden area for residents to enjoy. We are grateful to the British Legion for the replanting of heather and roses in the war memorial garden and for keeping the area tidy.
There has been a disturbing rise of graffiti in the parish and the Parish Council has worked with the Police to try and control the issue.

PLANNING COMMITTEE

The Planning Committee met 25 times in the last year and considered 165 applications. Details of applications received are published on the website and the Parish Council noticeboard. The Planning Committee meets fortnightly to consider planning applications – the public are welcome to attend.

HIGHWAYS, TRANSPORT AND LIGHTING COMMITTEE

Traffic speed awareness campaigns have continued throughout the year and the Parish Council has paid for regular speed monitoring sessions to assess the traffic speed and to act as a warning for drivers. A detailed traffic survey was undertaken on the Sparrows Green Road near the junction with Gloucester Road – this highlighted that there is a problem with speeding vehicles at this location and arrangements are now in hand for the installation of a permanent vehicle activated sign to be funded by the Parish Council. Yellow ‘Speed Kills’ posters have been used with some success in many rural areas.

There was a public consultation following complaints of road safety at the railway station, especially the exit which is on a dangerous bend. Network Rail has refused to move the exit but the Parish Council has arranged for the grass to be cut which will improve visibility.

White fingerpost signs are an important part of our rural environment and the Parish Council has continued a programme of refurbishment. The bus shelter opposite the station has also been repaired.

Reducing Light Pollution
Following a survey of the community, most residents were in favour of turning street lights off between midnight and 5am – this will help reduce light pollution and save energy costs. The lights on the main roads will remain on all night.

There are 159 street lights in the parish. A number of the lights are old and are expensive to maintain. The Parish Council is working with the lighting contractor to produce a Lighting Policy which will set the standard for lighting in the parish in future.

FINANCE COMMITTEE
A precept of £105,000 was raised which was an increase of 7.9% and the first rise for three years. Expenditure was within budgeted expectations and there is now £30,000 in earmarked Reserves.

A revised Grants Policy was agreed and applications are now considered annually at the November council meeting.

WEBSITE
Visit the new website at www.wadhurstpc.info for council information, contact details, minutes, agendas, planning information and much more.

DATES FOR FULL COUNCIL MEETINGS

Meetings are held at the David James Building, Uplands Community College at 7.30pm  All welcome to attend

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2007