Chairman’s Annual Report 2009/2010

The Council has met eleven times during the last twelve months and has endeavoured to respond to the wishes and concerns of the residents. Matters of general concern have been antisocial behaviour, policing, traffic, parking, and housing. 

Antisocial behaviour has occurred at the Holly Bush Field, where gatherings of youths have taken place at weekends, and the consumption of alcohol has resulted in noisy and disruptive behaviour. A great deal of litter has also been discarded. The Police have been able to deal with the problem on occasions, but have advised the Council to lock the field at the weekends. A security contractor has now been employed to do this, at an annual rate of £1,500. Antisocial behaviour has also occurred on Milford Common, where

joy-riders have been disturbing the peace on the car park, late into the night. The Council has worked with the residents, police and the Staffordshire County Council, the owners of the land, to resolve the matter. This has been achieved by the County Council cooperating with a team of local residents, led by David Lawford, who now lock the car park at dusk. 

In recent years, the Council has financially supported a Police Community Support Officer to be involved in the parish. However, it is no longer possible for the Police to operate on this basis. However, the police do attend Council meetings and matters of concern are discussed. The Council was honoured by a visit in February, by Mike Cunningham, Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police, and David Pearsall, Chair of Staffordshire Police Authority, who talked on policing methods. 

Traffic and parking concerns occur principally at school starting and finishing times, when congestion arises. The Council has considered means of alleviating this, but it has no powers to implement possible solutions without the cooperation of other authorities, and the situation remains the same. The speed of traffic is another concern, and the police routinely use the mobile camera car in the area to deter excessive speeds. 

The possible building of 13,000 houses in the Stafford Borough is well known, but the details of where these might be built, and the effects on the infrastructure and environment are not yet available. The Council is keeping alert to be ready to comment, once the plans are known. 

The concerns represent a great deal of the Council’s activities, but do not represent the bulk of the expenditure. The biggest items of expenditure are on administration and maintenance. About a quarter of the budget is spent on administration, covering the services of the Clerk and associated expenses. The Council owns two areas of land, Holly Bush Field and Walton Coppice and these have to be maintained to keep them in appropriate order. The Council also carries out general maintenance in the parish, in order to keep it pleasant and free of hazards and employs contractors to do this work. This accounts for about a third of the budget. Having reviewed the expenditure for 2010/2011, the Council have again reduced the precept by 5%. 

An achievement of note in 2009 was the parish winning the Best Kept Village Competition. However, the Council cannot take much credit for this, as the work was done by a team of volunteers, led by Lynne Sandy, with the Council providing financial support. Congratulations to all the team. It is pleasing to note that another team of volunteers has been formed to develop Walton Coppice, and the work done will supplement and enhance that done by the contractor. 

The Council trusts that its activities meet with the general approval of residents, bearing in mind the powers granted to it. Parishioners are welcome to attend all Council meetings, and can have their say at the start of the meeting, so if you wish to raise any points, please come along. 

R.B.Bennett.