Chair’s Report for the Annual Parish Meeting 16th April 2024
- With the exception of August 2023 (when no meeting took place), there have been monthly meetings of the Parish Council since the last Annual Parish Meeting in April 2023.
- In March 2024, the Parish Council accepted the resignation of Anne Addison as our Parish Clerk. Ann has given many years of exemplary service to Kislingbury and will continue supporting the village as one of three WNC councillors until her retirement in 2025.
- A high priority for the council is to find a new Parish Clerk as quickly as possible. The Parish Council that follows the Annual Parish Meeting is due to agree terms of reference for a Staffing Committee which will be responsible for the recruitment of a new Clerk.
- Since the 2023 Annual Parish Meeting, the Parish Council has accepted the resignation of councillors, Miriam Harris and Peter Billingham. Miriam had been a parish councillor for 17 years and continues to work on behalf of the village running the food parcel service. The Parish Council was pleased to be able to provide some financial support for Miriam to enable two reindeers at Christmas We benefited greatly from Peter’s commitment to providing monthly summaries about planning applications in advance of parish council meetings.
- These resignations mean that the Parish Council is looking to find people who are prepared to come forward and give their time and expertise to make Kislingbury a better place to live. We recognise that not everyone wishes to be a parish councillor and it was for that reason that I asked, in the February/March 2024 Kislingbury News, for offers of help.
- During the year the Parish Council welcomed two new Councillors, Andrew Ayers and Richard Harvey. We are fortunate to be able to draw on their expertise in finance and in IT.
- Last year the Parish Council welcomed Chris Payne as the new Flood Warden. Chris has been diligent on behalf of the village throughout a year which has been marked by flooring events most obviously in December 2023 when Beech Lane, Hodges Lane and the High Street were flooded. Chris has been attempting to work with Kier/WNC, the Environmental Agency and Anglia Water to ensure that flood risk is minimised. In January 2024 the Parish Council organised a well-attended village meeting to discuss the flooding issues the village faces.At that meeting Chris presented a comprehensive report. Since then the Parish Council has drafted a flood plan. In addition, Cllr Adam Brown attended the March 2024 Parish Council Meeting to update us on the progress Kier is making in terms of identifying blocked drains working down from Bugbrook to Kislingbury. Cllr Brown indicated that Keir might reach Kislinhgbury in April 2024.
- Zoe Kemp continues as the village’s tree warden. Having encouraged people to register their trees with the Woodland Trust, Zoe has, over the last 12 months, organised a comprehensive tree survey. This has been the basis of the Parish Council agreement to work to make sure that the trees on parish Council Land are in good heart.
- Phil Beeston has combined his work as Chair of KPFA with being the Footpath Warden. He has kept an eye on the footpaths around the Village and reported work to WNC as necessary. I know that his most recent challenge (April 2024) has been to address the issue of the flood damage to the path in the Upton Country Park that runs from Beech Lane.
- Our fourth ‘warden’ is Deni Topliss who is the Neighbourhood Watch and Speedwatch Coordinator. Deni is working on updating how Neighbourhood Watch is organised. In addition, the Parish Council is looking forward to coordinating speed related activity once our new signs are installed.
- Over the last 12 months the Parish Council has called 3 public meetings. One of these has been in relation to flooding issues and the other two about the proposed 58 home development on Beech Lane/Camp Lane. The most recent of these was in February 2024 when the developer, Colin Clayson, came to the Parish Council Meeting to try and convince us all that his experts would be sure to deal with the flooding issues that we have raised.The turnout from villagers has ben superb on each occasion and reflects the fact that there are over 200 objections to this development on the WNC Planning Portal.
- Such support from the village is important as a measure of the sense that the Parish Council is doing a ‘good enough’ job. I would also like to think that this is reflected in the relationships which are developing with village organisations and groups, many of whom are represented in the room tonight. The Parish Council is pleased to have been able to make grants to the Village Hall, the KPFA, the Football Club, Kislingbury News and the Church (for mowing the churchyard).
- The Parish Council has also agreed a £20,000 matched funding amount towards the renovation of the children’s play area.
- I have already touched on some of the challenges the village faces in terms of the planning applications for Beech Lane/Camp Lane, and, at a smaller scale, the application for 2 houses behind the Cromwell Cottage. These planning applications both raise issues about flooding. During the year the Parish Council submitted comprehensive objections to the Beech Lane application which were shared with villagers to help them make their own objections.The Parish Council is updated on a regular basis about planning by WNC and we will make sure that concerns are communicated to WNC councillors and planning officers.
- In recent months the Parish Council has moved to online banking. Wherever possible we try to use local businesses for services such as grass cutting and being able to use online banking means that we can make payments more speedily once they are agreed by the council.
- Our move to online banking has also meant that we have been able to offer payment by Bank transfer rather than cheques to allotment holders.
- The Parish Council Meeting that follows the APM tonight will consider the use of a financial software package to ensure that our use of public money is both transparent and well managed.
- Our Vice Chair, Cllr Janet Mallett, has been working with our External Auditor to ensure that our Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) for 2022-2023 will be certificated shortly. In relation to the AGAR for the financial year just ended (2023-2024) the Parish Council’s intention is to be fully compliant and to have the audits completed and up on the Parish Council website by the end of June 2024, as we are required to do.
- The Parish Council ensures that all street lights are working properly. During the previous year, the Parish Council agreed to take on responsibility for additional lighting associated with the Pembleton development on Rothersthorpe Road. These lights are now operational, and mean the village has a total of 73 street lights. Our street lights are maintained by E.on while Npower is our electricity provider.
- The Parish Council has been wanting to have new speed warning signs for some time now and I am pleased to be able to say that the Parish Council is close to agreeing to pay for 3 new signs. There will be one on the Rothersthorpe Road, one the Bugbrooke Road (High Street) – both coming into the village – and one near the zebra crossing outside the school. The current one will be moved to between the Dovecote Bend and Riverside Court. The new lights will be wired into the street lights.
- The speed warning signs are a key aspect of a focus on health and safety. This concern is also demonstrated by the decision to acquire ‘speed advisory’ signs to encourage all drivers to take care when they come through Kislingbury.
- We are also working with WNC Highways to deal with the muddy bend outside the Cromwell Cottage by installing a concrete over-run. We have also been in negotiations with WNC Highways in order to deal with the Church Drive which leads to the ‘new’ old rectory.
- The Parish Council will continue its efforts to improve the quality of the village green areas. Our mowing contract with All Seasons is working well and the mowed greens and verges help make the village a pleasant place. The mowing includes the Pocket Park (down Camp Lane) and the Childrens Play area.
- The Parish Council organises regular litter picks.
- The single most important decision taken this year by the Parish Council was to increase our precept and budget for the third year running. As in previous years, his intention was communicated to the village but again no responses were received in advance of the decision in December 2023. This year’s increase means that for a Band D house the annual parish council element is £119.35
- I would like to thank all Parish Councillors for their support and hard work during the last 12 months. In particular, the Parish Council has had to manage for the last two months without a Parish Clerk. I would like to thank those councillors who have enabled the Parish Council to continue working on behalf of the village.
- In addition to expressing my appreciation of the work of Parish Councillors, I would like to add that there are many others who make significant contributions to the life of the village. It would be invidious to name names but I would include here those who are involved with the Village Hall, the Community Pantry, the Playing Fields Association, the Village Facebook page, KIslingbury News, the Kisle Amblers, KOFS, Neighbourhood Watch, the Friendship Group and St Luke’s Church, as well as local charities, many of whom are present tonight. My apologies for any I may have omitted.
- To conclude, this report shows that the Parish Council has been proactive on behalf of the village. I am sure that the Council will approach the next 12 months in the same positive way.
Dr Jonathan Hughes 15/4/24