Ousden Parish Council

Financial Report

Income:

The Parish Council’s income for 2007-8 was £6739.91. The main income came from the precept and recycling credits. The recycling centre remains a good source of income for the parish. The income generated was £591.73. The clothing bank has been well used and has already been emptied on several occasions. This has led to an increase in the amount of recycling credit received.

Expenditure:

The total expenditure was £6851.40. The main expenditure was for general administration costs which cover the clerk’s salary, petty cash, training, subscriptions, insurance and the annual audit. Each year the Parish Council has to decide how much money it needs to precept for. This year the precept was reduced as the Parish Council received a larger grant from St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

Part of the precept this year was used to pay a contribution towards the cost of the new pavement and to pay for bark to top up the play park. The Parish Council also paid the cost of insuring the play park.

At the end of the financial year the balance of the current account stood at £1715.80. The balance of the Community Instant Reserve account stood at £1667.33.

Chairman’s Annual Report
Presented at the Annual Parish Meeting on Thursday 24 April 2008

The Parish Council would like to start by thanking the clerk, Mrs J Ince for her hard work this year and our local councillors Mrs Jane Midwood and Mr Derek Redhead for their help and support.

The Parish Council would also like to thank the Village Hall Management Committee for their work keeping the Village Hall open to the public and in particular Trevor Smith for his work on the playing field and children’s play park. The Parish Council made a contribution towards the cost of bark chippings for the play park.

Work on the Village Hall and the St Barnabas Lychgate has been completed thanks to Richard Hobden of the Community Payback Service and his team of workers.

The Parish Council would also like to than Veronica Lymn for her work as editor of the Ousden News and Ian Lymn for his work as Neighbourhood Watch Co-Ordinator.

The construction of the pavement in Front Street from the Fox to Rockall has now been completed thank to Mr Guy McGregor and Mr John Goodyear of Suffolk County Council.

Planning

Planning permission has been granted for the first floor extension of Hope Cottage , Dunstall Green Road, Ousden, and a new extension at Orchard Lea, the Hill.

Planning permission for a new conservatory at Ousden House has been refused. Planning permission for a new barn in Dunstall Green Road has been withdrawn.

Permission for the diversion of the public footpath (no2) from Rockall to Dunstall Green Road has been granted.

Local Development Framework

St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s Framework for Local Development Statement of Community Involvement was adopted in July 2005. It has a stated corporate objective to champion community interests and ensure that all sections of the community have an opportunity to be involved in the decision making process regarding planning applications in the future. With the arrival of the LDF local planning officers will be directed to give more consideration to the views expressed by parish councils on behalf of communities. The new procedure timetable is from 2004 – 2014. This means that planning applications will take 4 – 6 weeks not 6 – 10 weeks.

All towns and villages will almost certainly have new development sites allocated within their boundaries. In the St Edmundsbury area 10 thousand new homes are to be built by 2021 and another 5 thousand by 2031. Half of these have already been built or planned for.

Summary of Parish Council Activities from May 2007 – March 2008

1. Local elections took place in May 2007. 8 nominations were received and 7 councillors were elected including two new councillors. Mr John Pask was elected as chairman for another year. The Council adopted the revised Model Code of Conduct which defines the standards of behaviour which councillors are expected to uphold.

2. The Council held meetings six bi-monthly meetings including the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council in May 2007. The Parish Council also organised the Annual Parish Meeting on Thursday 24 April 2008. In addition the Council held 2 planning meetings to discuss planning applications which came in between scheduled meetings.

3. The Council maintained its links with Suffolk County Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council. County Councillor Mrs Jane Midwood and District Councillor Mr Derek Redhead regularly attended meeting and updated the Council on recent developments within their organisations. Of particular importance were the Schools Organisation Review and the Local Government Review.

4. Suffolk Police’s new Safer Neighbourhood Teams have been a success with regular visits from one of the St Edmundsbury Rural South Team. The Council was kept up to date with any crimes which had occurred in the parish and were given advice on ways to reduce crime which mainly involved thefts from outbuildings.

5. The Parish Council grass cutting contract came up for renewal in March 2008. The Council sought three quotes and decided to continue with CAD Landscapes as this was the most competitive quote.

6. The Council continued to support village organisations making a donation to the PCC towards the electricity cost for St Barnabas and to the Village Hall Management Committee towards the cost of new bark for the play park.

7. The Council updated its Emergency Plan which sets out procedures in the event of an emergency such as a serious disruption to services due to bad weather.

8. One of the Parish Council’s roles is to liaise with Suffolk County Council and report any highways problems such as potholes or blocked drains and any problems with local footpaths. Suffolk County Council carried out a Rights of Way Hierarchy Review. Under the review all the footpaths in Ousden were classified as category 2, which have a lower priority than category 1 paths. This relates to routine repairs and maintenance only as any problems threatening public safety will always be dealt with as a priority.

9. The Council received information about the National Air Traffic Service Proposals to site an aircraft hold over West Suffolk. In view of the potential impact of the proposals, the Council organised delivery of flyers to all the residents in the village notifying them of the proposals. The Council also organised a joint meeting with other local councils to discuss the potential impact of the proposals and to share information.

10. The clerk successfully completed her Certificate in Local Council Administration. A qualified clerk is one of the criteria for achieving Quality Parish Status, an option that the Council plans to look into next year.