Yapton Parish Council

Chairman’s Report 2007/2008

 

Introduction

 

This report covers the period since the last Annual Parish Meeting on 14th May 2007.  It was the start of the new 4 year term of office for Parish Councillors following an uncontested election held earlier in the month. It is also my first report to you as Chairman of the Council.      

 

Over the last 12 months there have been six meetings of the full Parish Council and a number of meetings of the Planning Committee have also taken place.  The Planning Committee normally meets to consider any planning applications on the same evening as the Parish Council but on occasions special meetings may be called to deal with important issues such as the proposed crematorium.  

 

At the annual Parish Council meeting in May I was elected as Chairman with Andy Faulkner being appointed as Vice-Chairman.   There have been just two changes in the membership of the Parish Council during the last 12 months.  Firstly we were pleased to welcome Laura Wallbridge onto the Council in May. Laura took the place of Michael Fellows, the outgoing Chairman, who had decided not to seek re-election.   Sadly, the other change I have to report was the untimely death in December 2007 of Eunice Abbott who had only joined the Council the previous January.

 

Last year we also bid farewell to Gordon Diggance, a former Parish Councillor, who was very well known throughout the village and was the last owner of the Old Post Office premises in Main Road. Gordon died in September at the age of 89.         

 

Over the last year we have had the continued support of Christina Freeman, our local County Councillor.  Christina has also attended our meetings when  able to do so.   In May 2007, at the District Council elections, Christopher Forester and I were elected to serve as the two members representing the Yapton ward.  Since then, due to ill health, unfortunately Christopher has had to resign.  Emma Neno was elected in his place at a by-election held in March.    

 

Last year’s precept

 

It goes without saying that the cost of running local services always figures prominently in everyone’s minds.   I am pleased to report that the Council last year kept the precept (this is the sum which is set aside in the Council tax for parish services) at £40,000 for the 4th year running.    This was without any diminution in the quality of services provided. Indeed by careful housekeeping coupled with successful grant applications we have continued to maintain to a high quality, and where we could, improve the facilities provided in the village for the benefit of the whole community. 

 

Planning issues

 

Planning issues over the last year seem to have dominated the agenda with a renewed submission by Mercia Crematoria Limited to build a crematorium on agricultural land at Bilsham just north of Comet Corner.  The renewed application once again met with widespread opposition locally and, following a public meeting, the Parish Council, through its Planning Committee, ably chaired by Andy Faulkner, again submitted a detailed letter of objection to the proposal.  Subsequently the company wrote to the Parish Council stating that it had withdrawn its application to develop the site and did not intend to pursue it further. The letter went on to say that the decision to withdraw had been strongly influenced by the level of local opposition.  A victory for “people power”!

 

Yet another planning application was submitted for development of the Church House site in Church Road which is in the Yapton conservation area. This time just one extra house on the site was proposed but the objections and concerns of residents remained the same and following representations by the Parish Council, the District Council refused the application.  However, following an appeal the application was allowed by the Planning Inspector on the grounds, amongst other things, that the proposal would not be “detrimental to the character and appearance of the conservation area and the setting of the listed building”.

 

A proposal to build 59 houses on the Bilsham Road Industrial Site also came forward last year and met significant opposition from local residents.   The site is outside the designated development area and the Planning Committee shared the concerns of the residents about this and registered a strong objection.  The application was subsequently refused by the District Council but the latest news is that the developer, Glaydale, is taking the case to appeal and the matter will now be determined by the Planning Inspectorate on the basis of a public inquiry.

 

Recreational facilities for children and young people

 

The recreational facilities provided on the playing field for our children and young people continue to be popular and well used.  Unfortunately a proposal we had to enhance the children’s play area by the provision of new dual-purpose equipment suitable for able-bodied as well as disabled children has had to be put on hold following an unsuccessful grant application to the SITA Trust.  However the project we completed last year to enclose the Arena Sports Area has proved to be worthwhile with the facility now seeing much greater use by youngsters than before.  We now have plans in hand to provide floodlights for the area so that the facility can be used during evenings throughout the year.

 

Working with the Neighbourhood Police Team

 

Support from the local police has been good with regular liaison meetings now taking place involving representatives from the parishes of Yapton, Ford and Clymping.   Neil Billingham joined the local neighbourhood police team  last year as a Police Community Support Officer and he is now established as the main point of contact for policing issues in the village.   Anti-social behaviour and incidents of vandalism unfortunately continue to arise from time to time.  These often concern the “usual suspects” and seem to be centred around problems caused by under-age drinking.   The Parish Council is not however complacent; we will continue to work closely with the police and other agencies to address the issues and ensure that those responsible are brought to account.

 

Yapton & Ford Village Hall

 

Whilst still regretting the decision of the Village Hall Management Committee last year not to accommodate the new Children’s Centre in the Club Room, the Parish Council has continued to support the village hall in a number of ways including financing the cost of maintaining the external fabric of the building.   We have three representatives who serve on the Management Committee – John Bryan, Laura Wallbridge and myself – John has been actively involved in drawing up a Health & Safety policy and Laura has recently organised a very successful Race Night to raise funds for the village hall.   

     

Keeping the village tidy

 

It would be remiss of me in writing this report not to mention and publicly thank Jo Smithers and her husband Alan for the excellent work they do on our behalf to keep the village looking so tidy.  Litter collection is surely a task which many of us would shy away from but Jo and Alan do it with great spirit and enthusiasm throughout the year and in all weathers.  They are to be warmly commended for their efforts.  

 

Yapton News & Views

 

Also to be warmly thanked are the volunteers who help to deliver the Council’s newsletter, Yapton News & Views, to households around village.  There are still one or two roads in the village which are not covered and where we would appreciate help.   The newsletter is now of course well established and we believe it is well read and appreciated by residents.   Do please support the local businesses who advertise in the newsletter as they obviously help to defray some of the production costs. 

 

The Clerk who edits the newsletter for us is always pleased to receive articles on village life and photographs from residents and in particular would like to hear of the activities of the various clubs and other organisations who regularly meet in the village.   It was good to hear incidentally from Stuart Nolan who contacted us from Australia.  As a boy, Stuart lived in Yapton but emigrated many years ago.  As a result of an article we published in Yapton News & Views, Stuart and his wife made contact and subsequently met up with relatives who they didn’t know existed.  It’s certainly a small world these days! 

 

Conclusion

 

Finally, in closing, I should like to take this opportunity of expressing my thanks to all members of the Parish Council not only for their support to myself as Chairman but also for the interest they have shown in various ways in the needs of the village over the past year.

 

Looking to the immediate future we will obviously be monitoring very closely the plans for Site 6 development at Felpham and the impact of the proposed new Relief Road on residents of Hoe Lane very closely.  We now know also of the Government’s decision to short-list the proposal to establish an Eco-town on the Ford Airfield site and this clearly will figure highly on the agenda of our meetings in the immediate future.  We will strive to represent your views on these and on other important matters which are concern to local residents.

 

Our meetings are well advertised and members of the public are welcome to attend.  Always included on the agenda there is a Public Question Time when residents can air their views or question councillors on any matters of concern.    We hope you will follow with interest the work of your Quality Parish Council via our newsletter and our website and we look forward to seeing you at future meetings of the Parish Council.     

 

 

Stephen Haymes

Chairman of the Parish Council

12 May 2008