Search the Site
Create a Site
Read the News
Whats On

Parish Council Annual Report 2007

The last year, the fourth of the Parish Council cycle, has seen many of our plans come to fruition whilst many new challenges have presented themselves.
The Parish Council was awarded Quality Council status this year in recognition of its high quality of systems and service delivery. This has placed us in the best position to gain from the proposed local government reforms. We look to both District and County Councils to respond to this by offering to devolve service delivery, and the finance to provide it, where the Parish Council decides it is in the best interest of the parish. We hope we can then provide some of the services enjoyed by other District residents.
Wren’s Shop opened on 23rd June 2006, with the Post Office starting a few weeks later. It has proved a boon to the village on many levels. We congratulate all those involved in its development and thank the many volunteers who make it such a success. The shop is often visited by others wishing to develop or enhance their own community shop. The Parish Council has gained an asset in the form of the shop building and also rental income.
The Parish Council has purchased the woodland at Windmill Crossroads, securing parish ownership of the ridge from the top of Wise Lane to The Green. This will conserve it for future generations and it should be registered appropriately over the next few months. This was achieved through generous donations by many parishioners and Wren’s Shop, the use of our R2 recreational fund reserve and shop rental income. None of the purchase price was taken from precept money. Again, my thanks go to all those who contributed to the project.
We welcome the appointment by WCC Highways Department of our parish steward. His commitment and enthusiasm are already apparent in the way he is tackling long-standing problems. We are also pleased that the placing of hamlet signs at Turnpike will support the need for a 50 mph speed limit from Semley to the A303. We have pressed for ‘silent tarmac’ when they next resurface, as they already have at Semley. We have been told that the A350 south of A303 is not considered a major route, yet we have discovered that the A350 is a major part of the WCC Transport Plan, routing lorries from Poole to Bristol and beyond round the edge of the county.
Extremely unsatisfactory is the state of our roads. In the 2006-7 financial year WCC ceased all spending on roads of local classification, due to the budget being removed. We welcomed the re- surfacing of Wise Lane, which was achieved just before the spending moratorium, but the state of the roads, particularly from Windmill Crossroads to Gillingham, and Holloway Lane are a disgrace. We hope that the promised resurfacing of the former is delivered in 2007. (We now know this will not happen in 2007-8. Ed. ) We continue to request the repainting the A350 box lines at the northern entrance to the village, now almost invisible. Most of us have had near- misses at this junction. The Highways men DID turn up, but refused to do the work without having the traffic stopped, because it was too dangerous!! We will continue to lobby for this and other Highways issues.
We hoped we had succeeded in quashing the issue of the B3089 weight limit removal. Hence we were very concerned to find out that in January Wiltshire County Council had approved consultation on the order allowing this. This item did not appear on Cabinet agenda. The Clerk has written to Wiltshire County Council Chief Executive querying the legality of this decision as the parish was denied the opportunity to oppose it. The Parish Council believes that the correct and safest manner of dealing with the problem of the A303/A350 junction is slip roads on both sides of the A303 or traffic lights. If this is not to be the case, the removal of the weight restriction on the B3089 must be accompanied by carriageway reconstruction at both the A350 and A303 ends of the road as well as traffic management additions. The cheap fix by Wiltshire County Council will lead to the loss of even more lives. It will also create serious traffic problems at Willoughby Hedge and on the A350 between the A303 and B3089, with frequent long tailbacks.
Local government reforms are high on the agenda. Wiltshire County Council has been successful in passing the first hurdle in its bid for ‘One Council for Wiltshire’. Salisbury District Council appears to be spending a great deal of taxpayers’ money fighting the bid rather than in improving their services to us. Salisbury District Council said they had shelved their plans for a shiny new single office building, selling off the other offices, until the local government changes had taken place. However, the Cabinet has revived the plans and it is going ahead, despite the unlikelihood of the new building being the most suitable for the future, whatever shape local government takes. The Parish Council has pressed continuously for the District Council to change the imbalance in services and taxation, whereby we receive so few District services but are expected to pay for those enjoyed by the city. At the same time the disregard for our views shown by Wiltshire County Council in the issue of the B3089 does not bode well for their behaviour under unitary status. We are pleased that David Maynard is here to put the County’s point of view. We will continue to support what is best for this parish.
Under Paul Knocker’s chairmanship, a committee has commenced the research leading to the development of a Parish Plan and Village Design Statement . Over 20 parishioners are now involved in the project, and they would welcome more to help with parts or all of it. They have been awarded grants of £500 by Salisbury District Council and £3418 by Wiltshire Community First to fund the process which should lead to an agreed plan in late 2008.
A cricket net has been installed in Knoyle House Ground and a new oak enclosed noticeboard is being made for Milton. The noticeboard damaged in a storm will be returned to Park Houses. The shop has a new noticeboard and benches. A new bench is being donated for Knoyle House Ground. Our thanks go to Martin Snell, the noticeboard maker, and to the bench donors.
The Parish Council continues to be actively involved in regional projects and committees including Mere and District Safety Partnership, The Wigglybus and Link schemes and the Police Liaison Committee. It is also involved in parish projects including the Village Hall, Village Charity, shop and Newsletter. Your Chairman, many Councillors and the Clerk have attended numerous meetings and presentations on behalf of the parish.
Tom Couper is to retire in May as our District Councillor. He has worked tirelessly for this ward and we thank him for his efforts on our behalf. We are delighted that there is enthusiasm in this area for being both a district and parish councillor and that both councils are oversubscribed by candidates in the next election.
I will sadly be standing down both as Chairman and a Parish Councillor in May, due to the increasing pressures on my time of an expanding business and growing family. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as your Chairman and believe we have achieved a great deal in that time. I would like to thank all Parish Councillors for their support and hard work. I wish the new Chairman and Council the very best in the challenges ahead, during what will be a very interesting and exciting period for local government and East Knoyle Parish Council.
[i]Sabrina Sully (retiring Chairman)

  Receipts and Payments Account for the Period 1st April 2006 - 31st March 2007 (Unaudited) - Net of VAT  
2005- 6 Receipts 2006-7   2005-6 Payments 2006- 7
71.73 Wayleave 74.21   120.00 Audit Fee 120.00
7000.00 Precept 7200.00     General Administration  
2.81 Bank Interest Current Account 0.66   161.22      Subscriptions 173.73
100.46 Bank Interest Deposit Account 107.31   2032.13      Clerk's Salary 2140.49
nil store khg 32.73   372.00      Insurance 415.84
nil rent shop 1500.00   57.92      Telephone 61.01
21.22 Scottish and Southern Electric Goodwill Payment 21.94   18.30      Postage 11.35
198.00 Refund of R2 Funding  4507.50   Nil      Photocopying/lamination nil
nil donation fallen trees 40.00   138.42      Stationery 6.80
nil donation woodland throdmill 800.00   15.00      Travel 5.00
nil donation woodland purchase 5985.00   190.00 Rent of Village Hall 220.00
nil planning application shop 67.5   350.00  Grant Newsletter 350.00
140 donation woodland haddon hill nil   3261.43 Common Lands inc Knoyle House Ground 3715.94
        198.00 Store shed Knoyle House Ground nil
        400.00 Grant Village Hall 400.00
        350.00 Grant PCC for village burial ground 400.00
        nil purchase of woodlands 11394.75
        nil planning application 67.50
        nil quality council submission 25.00
        nil cricket net 687.50
        nil cricket surface 462.96
             
130.20 Excess of expenditure over income 321.02     Excess of Income over Expenditure 0.00
7,664.42   20657.87   7664.42   20657.87


Graphic version of this page