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Chairmans Report December 09
From the Parish Council....... Tebworth pond. We have received a small grant from the Greensand Trust towards some work on the pond in Tebworth (also known as the Great Pond). We are also liaising with Parkfields School and will have pupils from Year Seven who will help us as part of a science project. They will work alongside the Greensand Trust and local residents to remove reeds and encourage water back into the pond. We are grateful to residents living close to the pond for their involvement. Fly tipping. This is a continual problem for this Parish. If you see anything suspicious please report it to the police or to a member of the Parish Council. Make a note of registration numbers of vehicles – the police will always follow up. Frank Griffin. We will be positioning a bench in The Lane in memory of Frank. It will also be a way of ‘celebrating’ all the work he put into the Parish over many, many years. We will be commissioning a plaque to put onto the bench. Central Beds. Councillor Tom Nichols. Parishioners have expressed an interest in talking to one of our Central Beds Councillors about their views on some of the key concerns in our community. Cllr. Nicols has agreed to meet us – a date will be arranged. Winter gritting. We have begun our annual campaign to get all the main roads in the Parish gritted - especially Chalgrave Road. New Parish Councillor. By the time you read this we will have co-opted a new Parish Councillor. We have had fantastic applications. It would have been great to co-opt them all, but we are limited to a Parish Council of seven. We sincerely hope that the all of them will get involved in Parish activities. Precept. The precept is the annual amount you pay as part of your Council Tax towards the work of the Parish Council. To keep our funds in a healthy position we will be increasing the precept for 2010/11. The increase will mean an additional £1.49 per electorate for the year. Nearly 50% of the precept goes directly back into our community in the form of grants and awards. A proportion of the rest goes into the running of the Council which includes insurance, office expenses and the Clerks salary. We also set some money aside as a reserve fund for the unexpected. If you would like to see the accounts they are available via the Clerk. You have a very active Parish Council. We are all involved in many activities, projects and committees – all of which are to benefit our community. Talk to us. We would really like hear your comments and concerns about any of the issues that may concern our Parish. Either speak to a councillor (our telephone numbers will be in this issue) or come to one of our meetings. Finally. We wish you a merry Christmas and very happy New Year. Phil Parry Chairman
A Tribute To Frank Griffin
At the end of August 2009 Councillor Frank Griffin died due to complications following major heart surgery. Not only have we lost a great friend but also a hard working and committed member of the Parish Council.
Frank had been a continuous member of Chalgrave Parish Council since 1967 and we could always count on Frank to work tirelessly on behalf of the Council and for the benefit of the residents of Chalgrave. He had chaired the Planning Committee for many years and his depth of knowledge and attention to detail were meticulous and will be sorely missed. He was so reliable and thorough and his enthusiasm was infectious. His reputation went beyond Chalgrave and he was well respected by other parish, district and county councils as well as other organisations that Chalgrave is involved with. He was instrumental in setting up a consortium of local parishes which meets monthly to discuss common interests and concerns. He also made the views of both Chalgrave and the consortium known at national level by making several trips to Parliament and meeting with MPs.
Frank was a trustee of the West Charity which awards grants to young people between the ages of 5 and 25 who live in Chalgrave and the neighbouring village of Hockliffe. He was also a school governor of the village school before its closure.
As an engineer Frank had worked for two companies, AC Delco where he received an award for excellence, and Texas Instruments where he was a much respected manager travelling the world.
In his youth Frank used to box as well as play rugby and snooker. He was an accomplished musician playing the saxophone and performing with a band in local clubs.
Frank appeared in Chalgrave’s recent “Old Time Music Hall” productions. He also took part in the village concerts which took place every year from 1971 until the old hall was demolished. The tradition was that the men used to perform a version of the woman’s number from the previous year’s production. One year the women did the “Can Can”, the next year Frank was one of the four male "Can Can" dancers.
A dedicated family man, Frank and Valerie were married in 1959 and had four children. They celebrated their 50th anniversary earlier this year. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.
Always courteous and helpful Frank was a true gentleman. It goes without saying the Parish Council, and indeed the Parish, will be all the poorer without his presence.
Yours faithfully,
Lesley Smith,
Clerk to the Council.
Growth Area
The East Of England Regional Assembly [EERA] has produced another paper and comments were required by 24th nov 4009. They are going to produce a report in due course and it will be interesting to see if any notice at all is taken of our objections. Also it has been announced that the EERA is being wound up by the government NOTE THE TOTAL FOR THE EAST OF ENGLAND BY 2031 IS 540,000 !!!!!
The Deadline for registering your opinions is now passed.
We think the whole concept is flawed and unsustainable and continue to do all we can to oppose it but no doubt Central Bedfordshire Council and The East of England Authority will keep driving it forward.
Central Bedfordshire’s preferred development option is to put many of these houses north of Houghton Regis between the A5 to the A5120. This will bring Houghton Regis up Lords Hill close to our Parish boundary Looking down Lords Hill to where houses are planned Arrows show direction of preferred growth
Thanks to those who responded and to those that did not: Don’t blame the Parish Council when the bull-dozers move in. If you are not sure of the impact, stand at the top of Lords Hill and look towards Houghton Regis. It is beautiful countryside, fields, trees, and wildlife. There is a very real danger that this will disappear
under concrete.
Note that the growth will be close to but not actually in our Parish.
You can see more details at www.shapeyourfuture.org.uk
These are some of our grounds for objections:-
Increased congestion on road and rail.
Not needed for local people.
Will only bring in commuters.
Loss of the protected green Belt.
Where are the hospital services?
Where are the schools?
Where are the jobs?
Government insist these houses be built but also state that all new development must be sustainable; we say this is definitely not.
We think that the provision of housing should be decided by local councils not dictated by Central Government.
Parish Assembly [see also on the profile page] The Parish Assembly is an annual event to which all parishioners are invited by circulation to all properties. Parish Council:- Chairman's Address Note:- Because this is an annual meeting the minutes will be accepted and signed at the next annual meeting
We try to make it a pleasant social event with Wine and a buffet
All parish organisations including the Parish Council present a short account of what they have been doing over the past year
Parish Assenbly:- 2009 Minutes
