Minutes of the Meeting 2 February

Minutes

Minutes of the last 3 Parish Council Meetings can be seen by clicking on the dates at the left of this page.

Chairman’s Annual Report, May 2009

It doesn’t seem possible that it is a year since I wrote the last report in which I was able to say that the Parish precept was being reduced by 5%. Fortunately, with careful monitoring of the budget, the Council has again reduced the precept by the same amount this year. This means in effect that your Parish rates will be reduced by 5%. A bigger reduction was considered but the Council felt it necessary to retain sufficient reserve funds to cover possible matters such as public enquiries concerning housing or roads.

It has been a busy year. The new playground equipment was successfully installed at Hollybush Field and appears to be popular. Work has continued on Walton Coppice to create a woodland and wild flower area. Our contractors have continued to maintain the grass verges and heather beds in excellent shape and this contributed to the success of Walton-on- the-Hill coming second in the Best Kept Village competition. A report on this appeared in the newsletter and all involved are to be congratulated. We also came second in the Calor Gas Staffordshire Village of the Year competition which involved completing an 18-page questionnaire, plus 1½ hour interview, and won us an award of £150.

The Parish Council manual was completed and, now that our Parish Clerk has settled in, the intention is to move towards obtaining Quality Parish Status, with the benefits that brings.

We have continued to take an interest in Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and joined in celebrating the 50^th anniversary of its creation. It is therefore of concern that an outbreak of plant disease could seriously threaten the area and we ask all of you to observe advice regarding access, control of dogs, and so on.

As reported in the last newsletter, proposals to build a large number of houses in Stafford could have a considerable effect on Berkswich. The Council is continuing to take an active interest in the matter and will keep you informed of any developments.

Having completed two years as Chairman and seven as Vice Chairman, I will not be standing for re-election this year. I wish to express my thanks to all Council members for their work during the year.

Ian Bearne

Report of the Finance Sub Committee, May 2009

I run a parallel set of accounts on my computer system, which I compare and agree with the Accounts Book on a six monthly interval. The accounts were agreed at the beginning of October 2008 and April 2009.

R Morton

Maintenance Working Group – Report for 2008/2009.

Following some concerns regarding the operation of the current maintenance schedule for the cutting of grass verges, etc, the Working Group reviewed the schedule and proposed a revision. After discussion within the Council, a final version was approved. This was sent to potential contractors to obtain quotations for the year 2009/2010.

The treatment of Walton Coppice for the removal of ragwort, dock and thistle has been successful and the coppice appearance has been greatly improved. The Working Group has now reviewed the future requirements of Walton Coppice, based on parts of it being treated as a wooded wildlife reserve, a woodland area and a wildflower meadow area. Meetings have taken place with Robert Keay, Penkridge Arboriculture, regarding working to the schedule, and a quotation requested for the consideration of the Council.

Roy Bennett

Planning Working Party, May 2009

All planning applications received during the year, with two exceptions, were considered by the Parish Council at its monthly meetings. The two exceptions required a reply before the next Parish meeting and responses were agreed by the Planning Working Party. These were subsequently discussed and agreed by the Council.

Ian Bearne

Public Footpaths & Bridleways, Spring 2009

All the footpaths and bridleways in the Parish have been walked regularly. The kissing gates installed last year are in good order and there are no obstructions on any path.

After several approaches from Cllr Holt and the Clerk, the occupier of Brocton Park Farm has agreed to allow the Parish Council to erect the two kissing gates on his land. Although the gates have been in his possession for over a year he has failed to install them as he originally agreed to do. This work should be completed shortly.

It is clear that the County Council have a very sketchy record of the route of all footpaths in the area. I would suggest that in the next year we complete a photographic record of our footpaths and kissing gates, deposit a copy in our records, and forward a copy to Staffordshire County Council.

Beryl Holt

Berkswich C of E Primary School, May 2009

There are many changes going on in the school. New systems are being thrust on the governors for them to implement and accept.

Finances are very constrained. Funding is being reduced drastically from further up the chain. Some children, for whom allocations have been made, have left or are leaving for the extended grammar school, and this loses approximately £4,000 per pupil and leaves a deficit difficult to fill.

There is much talk of the Nursery year providing after hours care, and details are currently being thrashed out. Plans will not be implemented this year, but careful thought is going into them. Other schools such as Leasowes are successfully creating this additional service. It is proving to be financially viable to the school, so we are concentrating on this facility. The Nursery class currently numbers only 13 and it is thought an extra teacher will be necessary soon, for whom costs are being weighed up.

It is noted that the Head teacher is the only male member of staff. There is no provision for boys sports, football, etc, although there has been no problem to date over this. Overall it is a competently run school, with all staff efficient from the Head teacher down. Ofsted reports have heaped praise on all areas, and the governing body is well run and organised.

J G Remon, Governor representing Berkswich Parish Council

Walton Village Hall, 2009

I have attended four meetings of Walton Village Hall Committee (Trustees) during the last year.

The Hall is used almost to 100% capacity and is therefore in a sound financial position. Thanks must be extended to Mr & Mrs R Jenkins, who spend many hours at the Hall doing routine maintenance and sometimes not so routine maintenance. (Dealing with blocked drains!) They also act as Booking Secretary, Treasurer and Hall Manager, jobs that can be a severe hindrance to any social life, as there is a need to be available when people come to collect and return the Hall keys.

Thanks must also be extended to the Cleaner, Mrs Marshall, who valiantly keeps the Hall clean and tidy, fitting in her cleaning at unsociable hours between bookings. She sometimes has only a very short time between afternoon and evening bookings. The Turtles Group, which uses the Hall during school holidays, is the group that perhaps causes her most grief.

The ultimate aim would be to have a new village hall but in the present economic climate, and with many grants being diverted towards the 2012 Olympics, it still remains a pipe dream.

Beryl Holt

Best Kept Village Competition, May 2009

Walton on the Hill came second in the competition for the second year running.

I would like to thank all members of the Parish Council, Bob Morton and Bert Martin and the Clerk especially, for their loyal support during the last few months of preparation. It has been hard work, no thanks to the leaves that do not seem to have stopped falling yet!

I hope everyone is fairly pleased with the Village. It is going to be important not to let our efforts drop, as there are three months now of proper competition. We have several more Clean Up Sundays, this week and the 10 May and 24 May particularly.

We have about 30 people at different times giving up their time to help in many different ways. It is lovely to hear of people who pass through Walton, saying how nice it looks – thanks everyone.

Lynne Sandy

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