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Chairman’s Annual Report 2005-6
It has been a busy year for Councillors and the Clerk. We have been involved in consultation on major District and County plans as well as more detailed issues in the District. Joining other parishes and rural District Councillors, we were successful in resisting the threat to rural services and in drawing attention to the need for savings within the city before more of our services were attacked. Councillors are also involved as members of a number of committees and community groups. The Planning Committee met 14 times and considered 32 applications. We participated in Trafalgar Day celebrations by lighting a huge beacon on Windmill Hill.
The dreadful state of our roads has resulted in a continuous dialogue with Wiltshire Highways. The Parish has also been pressing for an extension of the 50mph speed limit on the A350 from Semley to the A303. Our work has paid off in part, with resurfacing of Wise Lane through to Upton. Many other roads including Holloway Lane, Friars Hayes Lane and Underhill, as well as Sheepwash Lane, still need work.
Over £600 was spent on supplementing the bark under the children’s play equipment in Knoyle House Ground, a necessary action for safety reasons. The trees beside the equipment have been removed as the roots were bursting the retaining wall of the driveway of an adjoining house. A replanting scheme will take place once the wall is rebuilt. Councillors and the Clerk have cleared back the overgrown areas to the side of the football pitch and on top of the wall. Consideration is being given to placing a cricket net alongside the pitch. Work has been necessary on a fallen tree in the wood on Haddon Hill. A chain and padlock had been unlawfully removed from the access to the Windmill by persons unknown and it has been replaced. Work has continued on opening up the views at Windmill Hill.
The finances of the Council were well managed, with a small expenditure in excess of income balanced against a surplus in the preceding year.Cllr Swain has attended a number of meetings relating to the Wigglybus, the Link Scheme and changes to the management of our ambulances. The Link Scheme is now running, though we need more volunteer drivers. The Wigglybus team is planning to increase the services for East Knoyle, including Wren‘s Shop. Salisbury District Council originally intended the pensioners’ concessionary bus scheme to start after 9.30am on weekdays but, following pressure from across the whole District, including the Parish Council and especially Cllr Tom Couper, they have relented. Pensioners in possession of a concessionary bus pass can travel free at any time within the District.
We are delighted to see the progress being made on building the shop and look forward to its opening in the summer.
We will now turn our attention to creating a parish plan and design statement. This is an important way of focussing the attention of other authorities on how we want our parish to develop and, equally important, how we don’t want it to develop. It feeds into planning guidelines from regional Government, through County to District level, and also into grant availability. Without it, we will have less and less say in what happens in the Parish.
A Government White Paper on the future of local government is expected later this year . Most observers expect to see District and County Councils merged into unitary authorities. It is expected some functions will pass to Parish Councils, particularly those with Quality Status. We hope to apply for Quality Parish Status in the next few months. This may give us access to government grants and may give us more control over how our local services are delivered. Most of the requirements for achieving Quality Status are already in place, but one necessary step in this has been the qualification of our Clerk in Local Council Administration. He has been working at that for the last two years in his own time and we congratulate him on passing the assessment.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the councillors for their hard work, and in some instances, hard labour, as well as their time over the past year, and to thank the Clerk for his considerable efforts on our behalf. Cllr Sabrina Sully, Chairman
Parish Councillors for East Knoyle are: S. Sully (Chairman), D. Haworth- Booth (Vice-Chairman), S. Dawson (Chairman, Finance Committee), S. Wilson (Chairman, Planning Committee), A. Campbell (Chairman, Highways, Common Lands and Rights of Way Committee), S. Garrett, D. Williams, L. Coffin, P. Wharton, S. Swain, T. Hyde. Contact may be made through the Parish Clerk: Keith Shipman, Ivy Cottage, Shaftesbury Road, East Knoyle SP3 6AR Tel: 01747 830886, Email k.shipman@btopenworld.com.
Accounts to 31st March 2006
Opening Balances all accounts £8233.34
Income
Wayleave & SSE Payment £92.95
Precept £7000.00
Interest £106.30
R2 fund payment £198.00
Donation re tree work £140.00
Total £7540.06
VAT repayment re 2004-5 £2.68 Total £7542.74
Expenditure
Audit £120.00
Subscription WALC/NALC £161.22
Clerk’s Salary £2032.13
Insurance £372.00
Telephone £57.92
Postage £18.30
Stationery £138.42
Travel £15.00
Rent £190.00
Newsletter Grant £350.00
Common lands and KHG £3261.43
Store shed KHG £198.00
Village Hall Grant £400.00
PCC Grant for burial ground £350.00
Total £7664.42
Bank Balances at 31.3.06
Current Account £1279.73
Deposit Account £5675.64
KHG Account (ring-fenced)£1156.29
Total £8111.66
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