Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting of Woolmer Green

Parish Council

Held on Tuesday 12 April 2005

 

Present:          Cllr Mr H Bryant (Chair)   Cllr Mrs J Watson  Cllr Mrs C Evans

                       Cllr Mrs J Thom             Cllr Mr G Daniels    Cllr Mr D Marriott

In Attendance:                                  Mr A Edmonds (Clerk)    Mrs F Young (Minutes Secretary)

                       Members of the public (about 22)

                       3 representatives from the Police

                       District Cllr Julie Cragg, District Cllr Steven Markiewicz

                       Nicola Corrigan of the University of Hertfordshire

 

1.    Apologies for absence: Received from County Cllr Richard Smith, Mary Westley, Gary Fenton

 

2.    Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting 2004: All those at the meeting were given a copy of these minutes.

 

3.   Matters arising from minutes.  None.

 

4.   Chairman's Report Đ Cllr H Bryant

 

The Chairman welcomed members of the public, Cllr Julie Cragg, Cllr Steven Markiewicz, the police team and Nicola Corrigan to the Annual Parish Meeting.  He reported there had been several changes to the council over the past year the main one being that Cllr Judith Watson had stood down as chairman after initiating and running the Parish Council since 2000 and that Cllr Guy Daniels had now taken over as Vice-Chairman.  Council meeting were now going to be held on a monthly basis. 

 

The Village Day held last September was a great success and all those involved were thanked.  This year the Village Day is on 10 July and will celebrate World War II.  Woolmer Green was the proud winner of the Village of the Year for Business in the Community category and had entered again this year in all categories.  Under the guidance of Cllrs Daniels and Watson the Parish Plan citing how the community hoped to develop had made progress.  The Clerk, Cllr Watson and Cllr Bryant had met with the young people of the village but new contacts now needed to be made to advance matters.  The Chairman wished to thank in particular those members of the community who did jobs around the village, unpaid and unasked, especially Jack  who maintained the footpaths, Ken Hipgrave who filled the village planters and members of the community who regularly picked up litter each weekend.

 

There had been a few planning applications which the Parish Council was able to influence, mainly concerning the Beechwood Homes site on the London Road.  Cllr Thom was thanked for getting the best results possible with the localised power available to the Parish Council.  Discussions relating to traffic were underway with Welwyn who had a mutual interest in the scheme. 

The Parish Council had made a full response to East of England Plan.  This covered the area from Kings Lynn to North London, was run by a government quango and the Parish Council will keep the community informed of developments.

 

The Village Hall continued to be the main asset of the council and a source of useful income relieving residents of a proportion of the council tax bill.  Cllr Bryant wanted to thank Cawdor Stone Gallery for the attractive tiled flooring in the entrance.  Cllr Marriot, who was thanked for his hard work, had overseen the installation of new boilers and other running repairs.  He was also thanked for instigating a Farmers' Market which will run on the 4th Sunday of every month and will be a great asset for the village.  John Roper, the Vice-Chairman of Welwyn Parish Council, was thanked for his assistance in setting up Woolmer Green's Neighbourhood Watch schemes.  The Chairman reported the Council had been unsuccessful in obtaining free bus-passes for children travelling to school and Cllr Julie Cragg responded that County Cllr Richard Smith could assist in righting this problem.  This year would mark the Parish CouncilŐs 5th Anniversary and a full programme of events will be held to celebrate starting with 23 April, St George's Day.  The Book of Woolmer Green will be on sale shortly and was full of historical interest.

 

5.  Questions on this Report.  None.

 

6. Report from St Michael's Church by Sue Keach

 

Sue Keach reported the recent development of steps to unite 5 local Parishes with the view to maximise clergy manpower and support whilst maintaining individual church autonomy.  However, St MichaelŐs had been disappointed not to receive a grant from the Parish Council for churchyard maintenance as costs were  over Ł1000 a year and it was a facility for the whole village.  There was a working party every year in the autumn to clear overgrown vegetation and more volunteers would be most welcome.  The Church now held a well attended Family Service on the 2nd Sunday of every month which was more informal than the Communion Service.  It also held a successful Pram Service on the 2 and 4th Mondays of each month linking in with St MichaelŐs pre-school.  Closure of the church is not likely but it did need support and money to meet costs which the congregation of 40 struggled to meet.  Sue Keach suggested the village should form a ŇFriends of St MichaelŐsÓ group to help overcome these problems.  Cllr Watson responded it would be difficult for people not connected with the church to set one up although a number of people would be pleased to be part of this group.  Cllr Howard suggested the Parish Council should meet with church representatives to organise a co-ordinator.  An advertisement could be placed in the village magazine for volunteers to form a ŇFriends of St MichaelŐsÓ group.

 

7. Report from St Michael's School by Tony Keach

 

Tony Keach, a School Governor, read out a report written by Mary Westley the new Head of St MichaelŐs School.  The school, which has 96 pupils, had had a successful year.  At the Harvest Festival, celebrated in the Church, a generous amount of gifts were distributed locally to those in need.  The Carol Concert had an international theme with carols sung in many languages much appreciated by the residents of Monread.  Eighty charity boxes were sent to the needy world wide and nearly Ł3000 raised for the Tsunami appeal.  A class trip to Cromer was also a great success.  Lastly, the friends of the school were publicly thanked for their tireless help and support and any further voluntary help would always be welcomed.

 

8. Parish Plan for Woolmer Green - Cllr Daniels

 

So far the Parish Plan had had 3 meeting, focussing on local businesses, residents and local associations, all well attended.  It is the government's intention that the Parish Plans will reveal the needs of local people influencing spending, policy and encouraging 'active citizenship' over the next 5 years.  The next step was to compile a questionnaire and then implement the plan.  Offers of help in compiling the questionnaire and any analytical skills would be most welcome and a flyer was distributed with details.  It was estimated the Parish Plan will take 6 months to complete.  The chairman thanked Cllr Daniels on behalf of the council for his work on the Parish Plan.

 

9. Community Policing

 

The Chairman  welcomed PC Steve the Ward Constable for Woolmer Green and Oaklands who introduced his team: WPC Gerry - Community Police Representative and WPC Cath the Community Support Officer.  The focus of their work was mainly with nuisance youths who, although committing low-level crimes, affected the quality of life for the community.  Their main role was to interact with other agencies in the district and encouraged residents to report to the police any incidents for, at the very least, statistical and resources purposes.  Members of the public raised various concerns especially about the car park at Mardley Heath.  It was reported these areas were regularly patrolled and warning signs to lock cars and remove valuable replaced.  The police could be contacted on mobile phone number (made available in the village newsletter) between about 8 am to 10 pm and they would be on foot patrol around the village. A 'Problem Oriented Partnership' booklet indicating ways the community could get involved would be made available along with a Neighbourhood Watch stand at the St George's Day Event on 23 April.  The speed limit in Mardlebury Road, raised by a member of the public, would be mentioned to the appropriate Police department as 60 mph was too fast along residential end.  The public also raised the issue of fly tipping and motorbikes on footpaths.  The police encouraged the reporting of the car number plate if available.  For left rubbish the Environment Agency should be contacted and they could also help with education in schools regarding the care for the environment.

 

10.  Neighbourhood Watch in Woolmer Green - Gary Fenton

 

Gary Fenton, the village co-ordinator, sent his apologies and the report was made by Cllr Evans.  All but 4 roads were now covered by the Neighbourhood Watch scheme.  Extra supporters were encouraged and it was stressed the commitment was not huge.  Adverts would be placed on the web-site.  A notice was already circulated in the village magazine.

 

11.  Renewable Energy - Nicola Corrigan, University of Hertfordshire.

 

Nicola Corrigan of the University of Hertfordshire gave an informative talk on renewable energy sources and how Woolmer Green as a village could use, and encourage the use of, renewable energy sources.

 

 

 

In closing the meeting, the Chairman thanked members of the public for their interest, Judith Watson for the food and Jean Webber for providing the teas and coffees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs Fiona Young

Minutes Secretary

Woolmer Green Parish Council                                                13 April 2005