Saturday 21 June 2014

Parish Council

Parish Council Report – 17th June 2014

A packed agenda was dispatched in a fast and efficient manner this month!
Amongst the highlights were:

Village Hall:  We are making progress!  Steve Saunders of Williams Saunders Ltd is to provide architectural support to turn the ideas of the Project Team into reality.  This is a free service, following which we will be in a position to draw up fully detailed plans, apply for planning permission and funding and, hopefully, to make a speedy start!

Nocton Village Green:  It was agreed to provide our own grass cutting service next year when the current contract with NKDC expires and to purchase a lawn mower for this purpose.  We have all been aware that the Green has not always looked at its best and recently a few local residents have very commendably taken up the mowing and general tidying up (strimming, etc) themselves – so many thanks to all of them!

It is also intended to have the trees which edge the Green inspected and, if necessary, to have any lower branches which have become too low and therefore a potential safety hazard removed.

Village Tidiness:  It was noted that generally our village is clean and tidy.  The fly-tipping notices appear to be having an effect and everywhere there is evidence of residents taking it upon themselves to trim here, cut there and generally do their bit. So many, many thanks to them all.  However, the old saying “Many hands make light work” is obviously very true!

Parish Council Website:  Following on from the above, we are looking for a Website Master.  We have a free website that is provided by LCC and which is, at present, managed and kept updated by the Clerk.   However, we are keen to make the site more user friendly and attractive and so we are looking for someone with the necessary skills to do this on our behalf.  If this is something you are interested in doing for us, or you know of anyone who would be willing to spend a little time getting our site in order, then please, please contact our Clerk as soon as possible!

Youth Club:  Interviews of candidates for the Youth Leader to run our new youth club are to be held later this month (June).  All being well we are looking to launch the Club in September, just after the start of the Autumn Term.  So do watch out for details over the summer.  We already have a number of residents who have previously offered to help the organisers run the Club but obviously we could always do with a few more.  If you are interested (no experience necessary!) then please contact our Clerk.

Summer Volunteer Groups:  We have been offered the help of free volunteer time to enhance village facilities.  The Parish Council is to ask that these volunteers to remove the now redundant and unsightly chain fence to the side of the village hall and to carry out a general tidy up of this boundary.

Nocton Hall:  Representatives of the Parish Council have been meeting recently with both LEDA Properties and NKDC in an attempt to keep the pressure on to bring about a resolution of the development of this site.  LEDA has, it appears, now engaged the services of a planning consultant to devise a scheme for both the Hall and former hospital sites and have said that they will complete the preliminary design work by the summer.  The Parish Council and NKDC have made it very clear that any scheme must comply with the previously agreed way forward under the Options Appraisal. 

LEDA has promised to meet with representatives of the Parish Council once their initial plans are available.  We have, of course, been here before and very sadly there was little further information available at this time.  Looking again to the community for help, if anyone has any thoughts on an answer to the demise of this once grand and gracious house and grounds, then do please let our Clerk know – as your Parish Councillors will be only too pleased to feed these into the current discussions.

We have also asked LEDA to take more positive action to prevent the continued and unauthorised access to the Hall itself and the company promised to respond positively.

REMINDER:  Next meeting is on Tuesday, 29th July at 7.00 p.m. (Meetings are now held every SIX weeks)

“A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.”

Councillor MaryAnn Williams

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