Annual Parish Meeting on Friday 2 May 2008 @ 8Pm @ Woodham
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Woodham Ferrers & Bicknacre Parish Council www.wfandbpc.org.uk Quarterly newsletter MARCH 2008 PUBLISHED BY WOODHAM FERRERS AND BICKNACRE PARISH COUNCIL VOLUME 1, EDITION 3 SEPTEMBER 2007 ANNUAL ‘JUST BIN IT’ CAMPAIGN PLEASE JOIN US ON SUNDAY 30TH MARCH @ 10.30AM IN WOODHAM FERRERS OR BICKNACRE TO PARTICIPATE IN A ‘SPRING CLEAN’ OUR VILLAGES. EVERYBODY WELCOME!! PLEASE SEE CLERKS SECTION FOR MORE DETAILS. Exciting news!!!!… the Parish Council are on the panel for April for approval and gaining the Quality Parish Council Award…announcement (hopefully!) and a date for your diary: Annual Parish Meeting on Friday 2nd May 2008 @ 8pm @ Woodham Ferrers Village Hall www.wfandbpc.org.uk 1 THE CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE We have had a busy year in the Parish this year already with a lot of work already being dealt with by the sub-committees of the PC. The community group, who are not only working on funding for the new community centre, but are also organising the Festival Fun Day on the 19th of July 2008. Please come along and enjoy a fun packed day out for the whole family. The Friends of Priory fields are going to join in on this date and have their official opening day. In Woodham Ferrers an advisory group has been formed studying the traffic problems run by Jill Oliver. Pavements & Roads As a Parish Council we do not do repair work on the pavements and roads, but we notify the CBC & ECC on work that needs to be carried out. Your CBC Councillor, Richard Poulter, is always in contact with the departments trying to and, in some cases, getting things done to improve the situation. Please let us know of any problems and we will do our best to make representations to the correct authority to have it put right. Annual Parish Assembly The Parish Council will be holding their Annual Parish Meeting, on Friday 2nd M a y in the Woodham Ferrers Village Hall. More details will be coming out before then but please put that in your diary. This is your opportunity to hear what is going on and to ask questions to our panel of guests. You are also welcome to come along to one of our council meetings; please see notice boards or our web site on www.wfandbpc.org.uk for details. Over the last few years my fellow councillors and I have been asked about the police presence (or should I say the lack of!) in our parish. I am pleased to inform you that Deputy Chief Constable Carmel Napier of Essex Police is going to be present to answer your questions. Lord Hanningfield (Chairman of Essex County Council) will also be present, along with your CBC councillors for the area. There may be other guests announced later. Newsletter/Advertising Opportunity We are considering publishing a newsletter every two months so we can get keep our community regularly updated of events. We anticipate offsetting some of the costs by offering advertising. Ideally, we would like to keep it to local businesses and services, to promote our local community. If you are interested in placing an advertisement please contact the Clerk for more details. Law & Order In The Community Here is an exciting suggestion for you to carefully consider. Some Parish Councils are now paying for a PCSO to work exclusively for them. The benefits of this would be we would have a constant visible police presence in the villages. The PCSO would get to know the issues of the area, build relationships with the community and young people of the area, stop vandalism andhelp to stop underage drinking. We would certainly all have to do our best to support the PCSO. Do you want to have a police presence here in Woodham Ferrers & Bicknacre??? We may have a solution…… if each household would be prepared to increase their Council tax by approx £0.50 per month it’s a feasible project! So now it is up to you now to let us know your feelings on this matter by the various means of communication. We will discuss further at the Annual Parish Meeting. Post Office Closure We would be interested to hear if this has affected many of you. We campaigned to try and stop the closure but it wasn’t to be. If you are experiencing problems please let the Clerk know and we will see what we can do to help. May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Easter. Cllr Barry Arnold, JP Chairman of the Parish Council www.wfandbpc.org.uk 2 A NOTE FROM RICHARD POULTER Council Tax It is the time of year when the demand for payment drops through our letter box and it will show an increase on last year. The Borough Council increase is 4.71% which relates to £6.84 per year at Band D. The vast majority of Council Tax is levied by Essex County Council. Their increase is 4.25% which amounts to £42.66 at Band D. Allowing for the Police, Fire Service and the Parish Council the new amount at Band D for Bicknacre and Woodham Ferrers is £1396.17. This is £30 less than Danbury solely because Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre Parish Council levies a lower rate. At Band F the difference is even more pronounced at £45. Concessionary Travel The Government has announced an admirable proposal that all concessionary travel i.e. bus passes will be free from April 1st to travel anywhere in England for all journeys starting after 9.30 a.m. and finishing by 11p.m. This is great news for the over 60s and the disabled. Unfortunately the Government has not provided adequate funds for this service. Local Councils have to pay to reimburse the bus companies for providing this free service and that is a sum for which we as taxpayers meet out of our Council Tax. On a best case scenario Chelmsford Borough Council estimates that for the next tax year this will amount to £738,000 or a 7.8% increase in Council Tax. It is only with prudent financial management that the overall tax increase has been kept below 5%. Had it not been for the cost of concessionary travel there might have been no increase for the Borough Council at all. In a further cost saving exercise the Borough Council will no longer be supplying free dog waste bags. They may still be obtainable from the Parish Council but residents are advised to stock up before the free service stops at the end of April. Ward Surgeries My next ward surgeries will be in the Pitman Room of the Bicknacre Village hall between 10 and 11a.m. on Saturdays 22nd March and 10th April. I look forward to seeing you. No appointment is necessary. I can also be contacted on 01245 223743 or at [email protected]. My wife and I wish all residents a very Happy Easter, Richard Poulter GENERAL VILLAGE NEWS FROM THE CLERK Where has the year gone already? Thankfully we are steaming towards some (hopefully) lazy summer days. I have been busy preparing the Council for Quality Status which will hopefully coincide with a move to official Parish Council Offices. We are hoping to be located in one of the village halls and this will give the residents a central point for enquiries or information gathering and make the Parish Council far more accessible. We have had wonderful feedback from our newsletters which is encouraging and we hope to possibly make then more regular. Now, a few important things for you to note: HOW CAN I ENTERTAIN THE CHILDREN THIS EASTER/WHITSUN HOLIDAYS THAT COSTS NOTHING??? EASY!!!!!!!!!!!! Please bring them along to Priory Field, Bicknacre to join in all types of Sports on the following dates/times: Monday 31st March, Thursday 3rd April, Monday 7th April, Thursday 10th April, Tuesday 27th M ay, th Thursday 29 May from 9.30am – 12 noon Children must be age 6 and over Please arrive 10 mins early for registration and collect promptly Please support this or it could be the last time it is supplied and the Parish Council fund these events. USE IT OR LOSE IT!! www.wfandbpc.org.uk 3 Cllr Albert Mair, Bicknacre, has proposed a scheme to the Parish Council where he will supply, free of charge, a van for parishioners to recycle using local sites. We are currently investigating the finer details but hope to have good news for you soon. There will obviously be conditions attached to this but what a wonderful idea and a great help to many people. After all our campaigning it was sad to see the village post office close. The Parish Council are currently in talks with the Post Office in relocating the box. We feel that the shops would be a much safer position for the box to be moved to. Any suggestions let me know…… We are for the first time since I have been Clerk participating in Chelmsford Borough Council’s initiative ‘Just Bin It’ campaign. The date is Sunday 30th March 2008. Both the schools in each village are also participating around the same time to help clean up the village ready for Summer. Please come along and spare an hour of your time, if we all work together much can be achieved. Litter pickers, gloves, black bags will all be provided. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The information is as follows: 10.30am – Bicknacre meet @ Priory Field Car Park or Woodham Ferrers – meet at Woodham Ferrers Village Hall.