Annual Report

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 07 May 2008

Chairman’s Report

Welcome to everyone attending and introduction of Parish Councillors.

The previous Chairman, Brian Flanders, retired to the West Country and I wish to say a very big “Thank You” to him for all his work as Chairman. I took over as Chairman (again!) in December. Although I live outside the parish now I am still just within the geographical limits to enable me to continue on the Parish Council.

Many thanks are also due to Antonia Francis, particularly for her work on the parish footpath map.

We currently have two vacancies on the Parish Council. As the two departing Councillors were from Bishops Green it would be wonderful if we could find people from this part of the parish to serve on the Parish Council. Anyone who would be prepared to do that, please contact me after the meeting.

We are sadly saying “Goodbye” to Mike Harwood, our Clerk. He has been a great support to the Parish Council, bringing with him his knowledge and experience as he is also Clerk at Highclere. He has been very good at steering us through any difficulties and always a found of clear, calm information. Thank you so much, Mike.

We advertised for a new Clerk a few months ago and had about 20 responses. We drew up a short list of five, all of whom were outstanding. In the end, we decided that experience was very important, bearing in mind that we need two new Councillors. We are happy to welcome Doreen Gascoine, our new Clerk, who has great experience of local government, having worked for Hampshire County Council – in the Rights of Way department.

Last, but not least, our thanks go to the litter wardens, Lisa and Reg, for the work they do in keeping the Parish tidy. It is a most important job they do, and perhaps often unappreciated.

Unusually, the Parish Council owns quite a large amount of land in the Parish, which we do our best to look after. The old churchyard in Ecchinswell, Digweeds, the war memorial site (which used to be the village pound), the playing fields (leased to the Ecchinswell Village Hall Trustees), and the Ecchinswell pond. In addition, the Parish Council is about to enter into an agreement to deal with the on-going problem of the upkeep of the United Reformed churchyard. We will be taking over maintenance of that churchyard, which we think is right, not only because it will improve the visual amenity of the area but also because it pays respect to those from the parish whose remains are interred there.

We are planning to restore the war memorial and surrounding site. We would welcome your suggestions as to what action to take about the two conifers which are beginning to fall apart, and whether to re-install the railings that were originally there before the Second World War.

Just today, five trees were planted in Digweeds and five cornus bushes. The trees are two different types of alder, a rowan, a hawthorn and a crab apple, for the blossom and for the berries or fruits. I would like to plant a yew, but the two I had earmarked have been destroyed. So if any of you have a small (extra) yew tree which you could donate I would be very grateful. We would also like to plant some buddleias and some blackthorn. We aim to keep a patch of nettles for the butterflies, but at the moment kind people keep cutting them down!

We have received a quote for re-pointing the wall round the old churchyard in Ecchinswell and hopefully the work will be done in the next few months. You may have noticed some tree pruning was done there last year.

We are always in need of helpers for the pond maintenance, Digweeds etc. We pay for a considerable amount of grass cutting in the parish throughout the year, but help is always required. Again, if you are interested – names please. It would be great to have a village maintenance team – although Malcolm is a one man team often.

We ask (or precept) for money to support the work of the Parish Council. The Clerk is paid, but none of the rest of the Council. We claim as much in grants from various organisations as we are able, helped by our local Borough Councillor particularly. This year we have increased the precept above the rate of inflation so that we can do as much as possible in the parish. It means you Council Tax will go up a small amount, but I hope you think it is worth it.

Outside the Parish, two matters affect us greatly, though not strictly our concern; these are the Pro Logis application for Greenham Common and the new waste site, both in West Berkshire, but with visual impact on this Parish and from the point of view of traffic. We have objected, of course, but much of the work on this has been done by Borough Councillor James Lewin. Perhaps I may record my thanks to James, recently re-elected, for all his hard work. We are extremely lucky to have such a hard-working Councillor and now we have two – because, with the boundary re-organisation, we are now a bigger area with two Councillors. Borough Councillor Horace Mitchell has joined James in looking after the interests of the Parish.

There are always many planning applications to deal with. We can only advise and pass our comments on to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. Generally we do not object to extension, unless they impact visually on the parish. The Parish Council was, however, very concerned about the application for the water tower in Bishops Green, and objected strongly when a revised planning application came back before us. However, the application was granted. We considered an application for small craft workshops at North Ecchinswell farm and, although there were some reservations, on balance we would have like to see this go ahead, but it has been rejected. We had a presentation from the architects for the development at Cowhouse Farm into a sizeable house. Our concerns were that a cottage in the vernacular style would become a much larger building but, on the other hand, redundant farm buildings need a use.

We keep a constant eye on footpaths and roads, notifying the County Council of potholes in the roads and problems with footpaths. Please let the Clerk know of any problems you come across and they will be passed on. Or you are able to contact the County Council direct.

The Parish Council pays the rent for the land for the allotments, which Councillor Malcolm Jones oversees. I believe that for the first time since I came to Ecchinswell not all the allotment plots have been taken up.

We have received the Health and Safety report for the play park in Ecchinswell and some work needs doing. We will be following this up although it is not strictly part of our remit.

That’s my brief review of what has been happening during the last year so if anyone has questions please ask.

Caroline Holbrook
Chairman, Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green Parish Council