From the Chair...
 
 
Barwick-in Elmet & Scholes Parish Council Report from the Chairman for the Year 2007 / 2008 Ladies and Gentlemen of the Parish and Fellow Councillors. This is my summary of the Parish Council activities over the last year. The Council started the new term with several new faces, one in Barwick, Councillor Claire Hassell and for the first time in a number of years an election took place in Scholes which produced three new appointments, Councillors Desma Thompson, Norma Fletcher and George Hall. So a third of the Council were new members and also myself as a new Chairman, one could only wonder how we would all settle down. I feel that I can report that the high standards previously set by this Council have been maintained. I thank all Councillors for their support and confidence shown throughout the year and I would pay particular thanks to retiring Chairman Councillor John Tinker for his year of office and his support as Vice Chairman. We have two Councillors who are retiring this year and not seeking re-election. I wish to thank both of them for their support and hard work during their time on the Council. Councillor Colin Bond has served for many years one as Chairman and one as Vice Chairman. He has overseen the publication and printing of the Parish Newsletter and he has worked on many committees. Councillor Geoff Holmes has also served the Parish for a few years, spending time on various committees, planning, playing fields and parish paths and was also a member of the Parish Plan steering committee. The retirement previously announced of Parish Clerk Mrs. Mary Teal took place in September after ten outstanding years of service to the Parish and the whole Council express their sincere thanks for all the help and guidance over that period. Mary was succeeded by new Clerk Chris Hassell. Chris has settled in extremely well and with great enthusiasm, he is eager to learn and has attended many training sessions and is ever helpful and supportive. We hope he will be with us for many years to come. Planning issues and planning applications continue to take up much of the Council’s time. We have dealt with 91 applications throughout the year and the Planning Committee met every two weeks to consider these. We constantly have to deal with over development of sites which seems to be happening too often in most villages and the Council is committed to resist and fight this issue when ever it happens. We are extremely lucky on this Council to have the expertise of two very knowledgeable Councillors on planning affairs and I refer to Councillors Geoff Yapp and George Hall. They deal with all applications without prejudice and with fairness and this gives the whole Council confidence in their skills. They are very well supported by Councillors Ken Shutt and Geoff Holmes and my thanks go to all of them. Crime is still a major worry in both villages and the statistics are passed to us at each Council meeting when we are able to analyse and discuss these with our local PC Andy Katkowski and his two PCSO’s Dan Sillers and Steve Wales. PCSO Paul Buffey retired in 2007 and we thank him for the hard work he carried out and wish him a happy retirement. So the new team looking after our security are settling in well and have had many successes but we must all remain vigilant and not make things too easy for the criminals and make sure we do not leave doors or windows open or leave our keys on view. The police are offering free security checks on our homes so please take advantage of this by telephoning 0113 285 5374 to make an appointment. If you witness any anti-social behaviour or any criminal act, however small, please telephone the above number or 0845 6060606. When you report it please ask for a crime number, so the statistics we get are accurate. Speeding is also a major issue in both villages and volunteers from Scholes Community Forum have been operating the Speed Indicating Device which has highlighted the problem and warning letters have been sent to the culprits which in the main turn out to be residents within the Parish. We thank the volunteers for their time and effort in trying to reduce speeding. Finance Meetings have been more frequent this year than in the past and this is mainly due to the enhanced street lighting problems in Scholes when erection of the lampposts fell behind schedule. This has now been satisfactorily resolved and I am pleased to report that all lights in Scholes including those at Scholes Lodge Farm are now working. We now look forward to the completion of the Heritage Lighting in Barwick. The new street signs in Scholes are now finished and we hope to complete Barwick’s during this next financial year. Both the Heritage Lighting and the Street Signs have drawn good comments from the public both in and out of the Parish. My thanks go to all of the Finance Committee for the extra work that has gone in this year. I feel the rewards are there for everyone to see. Councillors Paul Birdsall and Geoff Yapp play the major role of keeping all aspects of the finances on an even keel. They are supported by Councillors David Leeming, Colin Bond and Norma Fletcher. Paul did the major work relating to the Scholes Street Signs and along with Geoff Yapp he does the bulk of the preliminary work of setting the precept whilst David is mainly responsible for the Internal Audit and also looks after the Charitable Trust. We have given support to both Village Halls both financially and personally. Councillor Claire Hassell has spent time with the Committee at Barwick and this is paying dividends. The Barwick Committee has worked very hard to turn things around and they deserve the success they are now achieving. Our thanks go to all the Village Hall volunteers in both villages who give their time willingly so all of us can enjoy the variety of activities they are able to host. Environmental issues are constantly being dealt with and the two “In Bloom” groups received financial support and I am sure everyone would agree that the money has been well spent. This has paid dividends with good results in both villages for the Yorkshire in Bloom competition. Barwick achieved a Gold Award and Scholes had their best ever result with a Silver Gilt. Well done to both villages and all the volunteer helpers. Following difficulties in not being able to carry out work on the Parish Paths due to health and safety issues, Harold Smith who has led the volunteer group for many years with outstanding success thinks it is an appropriate time for him to stand down. Harold has done a first class job for many years and we are indebted to him for maintaining the wonderful countryside which surrounds our area. I wish to thank Harold for his services to the Parish and he deserves his retirement. Harold has been replaced by Peter Taylor from Scholes. Peter has a vast amount of experience for this position and we feel he will make an excellent leader for this group. We also thank Alan Senior for his continued support and guidance. Playing Fields and Allotments had their two usual meetings during the year when we met with their representatives. The Sports Clubs reported various successes and all of them are in good shape, although most of them could do with more members but, financially they are holding their own. Both Tennis Clubs have received financial assistance from us to help with some of their bigger projects and we are happy to help when we can. I am sad to report the recent death of Don Pile who represented the Scholes Bowling Club for many years. Don was instrumental in setting up the Bowling Club and also the laying of the green. He was Honorary Life President of the Bowling Association and he will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him. We offer our deepest sympathy to all his family and his numerous friends and fellow colleagues. Barwick allotments are all fully let and thriving well, although it has just been reported that another major break in has occurred. All of us must be vigilant and report any incidents however small to the police so these people who are responsible can be caught and dealt with. It is heartbreaking for the tenants who spend hours on their allotments to come and find that equipment has been stolen and their plots have been vandalised. Publicity for the Parish Council Newsletter has mainly been prepared by Councillors Colin Bond and Desma Thompson. Our Parish Clerk Chris Hassell also had a big input into the February edition and it was Chris who pushed for this Newsletter to be in colour and to change the presentation which was hailed as very successful. So another busy year is coming to an end and we have fulfilled most of the objectives that we planned to do and this included bringing the precept back down and this we managed by 8.7%. We can now travel by public transport between the villages again and this is by courtesy of Geldard Coaches but, we have been warned, if we do not use it, we will lose it. So please give it your maximum support. The whole Council wish to thank our Ward Councillor Ann Castle for the unstinting support she gives to our Parish. She attends nearly all of our Parish Council meetings and holds a surgery in each village every month. This is most appreciated. The Parish Website is now up and running under, www.barwickandscholes.com and the Council has its own section which is highlighted by tab on the Home page. The Council minutes, end of year accounts plus many interesting items are included on the site. I would finally remind everyone that there are TWO PARISH COUNCILLOR VACANCIES, so if you feel you would like to join a very successful team, please give a call to myself or our Clerk. Ben Hogan Chairman of the Parish Council http://www.barwickandscholes.comshapeimage_1_link_0
Friday, 2 May 2008
Chairman's report 2007-2008