Expect the unexpected

Minutes from a year ago always seem absolutely aeons ago. Here are the mins from last year's parish meeting - slightly pruned.

At the Baptist Church, Bedford Road, Cranfield

Present:                   PCllr Mrs D Ball (Chairman of the Parish Council)                 

In attendance:                   Mrs R J Davey-Hunt [clerk], 7 members of the public, 7 parish councillors

PCllr Mrs D Ball welcomed all present and gave details of the statutory obligations for holding the meeting once in each year.

Chairman’s Report:   PCllr Mrs Delise Ball reported as follows:

Written report:

Welcome to the 2010-2011 Annual Parish Meeting.

I am sure that wasn’t what you had expected?  Did you expect to come and hear a boring report on the year’s achievements of the Parish Council, well that is coming but first I just wanted to talk about EXPECTATIONS.

What is it that the villagers EXPECT of us, the council?

I think that we can safely say that they expect the village to function and allow them to live happily without anything that adversely affects their day to day life.  They like the verges cut, lights lit and all the necessary and often mundane aspects of their village life to just happen.  If there is something ‘not as they would like it to be’ they expect to be able to contact someone on the council and to have that person address their concerns.  Sadly it is usually the things that they ‘don’t like’ not the things that they do that we get to hear about, although there have, over the past year been a couple of occasions where a parishioner has thanked the council for their hard work.  When that does happen it really does make us feel valued.

Councillors and EXPECTATION

I think that many people come onto the council expecting to ‘change the world over night’ and can often become disheartened and frustrated when it doesn’t happen.  We do make differences and these can be dramatic BUT they do take time.  Often because of red tape, far longer than even we would expect and it’s because of this that we have to keep battling away and keep focussed on out aims.  We must not be doing it for any glory or thanks because they are very thin on the ground but rather in a spirit of community and the belief in the fact that we can make a real difference.  We should expect to attend long meetings and often ones where we go over and over the same thin till we get ‘just the right mix’ to make it work.  We should expect to have disagreements in debate after all this is democracy (even I don’t get my own way all the time) but we should know that this team will always pull together and remain as one in our representation of the village.

Now to look at some expectations we have achieved and others we aim to do next council term.

Finance and Grants have set next year’s precept at the same level as the present one which is, because of the increases in the number of houses in Cranfield, in effect a decrease in real terms.  Something, I believe is this current economic climate that villagers would want us to achieve but if at all possible without a decrease in standards.

This committee continues to assess and recommend grants to local organisations St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Cranfield Colts and the Village Hall to mention a few.

The Planning Committee continues to deal with the day to day planning applications which require someone to go and look at each site and report back to the other members in order that a recommendation can be agreed.  One of the most time consuming and repetitive jobs this committee undertakes but such an important one for the development of the village and the safeguarding of our immediate home environment from overbearing and intrusive surrounding buildings.

This committee continues to work with Persimmon in softening the impact of the development of Home Farm.  Additionally this year there has been the coalition of 15 town and parish councils, spearheaded by ourselves to oppose the Covanta incinerator proposal.  This I am sure will feature highly in the next year’s activity and further on into future years when yet another ‘negative development’ will be thrown at us.

In the Burial Ground Committee one of the most successful achievements for me has been the facility now for people to have commemorative plaques put up in our memorial arch in the Garden of Memory.  Something asked for a long time ago by a previous parish councillor who is sadly no longer with us, but who I am sure would have approved.

As with most committees there will be times when things don’t go to plan and the war memorial has to be one of the most frustrating.  We are now about to have our third re lettering as each previous one has failed.  This is to be an interim measure while we decide on a permanent solution in the very near future.

General Purposes has this term produced a second edition, updated village directory which was delivered to all homes in the Village.  They have continued with the cultivation of bus shelters and these have been received as a welcome haven from Cranfield’s cold windy winters.  This committee is helping the Council to be seen and know within the community and has instigated a Village Photographic competition which will be held in partnership with the local schools.  All this in addition to the day to day lighting and street furniture issues that are continually on-going. 

Now you have all expected me to identify Chair and Vice Chair of each committee as I went along – I didn’t.  So as not to disappoint you I intend to include them in this next part. 

This Council does expect all its councillors to have an opinion on all areas of our remit, which hopefully is also influenced by their understanding of what our parishioners want.  Without each and every one of them there would be something of a dictatorship.  This way there is active discussion and debate and I hope a real well thought out result – so thank you to each and every one of you.

John Savill my Vice Chair, Chair of Finance and Grants and of Environment

Laurence Pollock, Chair of Burial, Vice Chair of Finance

Alan Morris, Chair of General Purposes

Sue Clark, Chair of Planning

Jill Brocklebank – a new councillor this year who stepped up when we needed her to and took the vice chairmanship of General Purposes

Peter Meadows, Vice Chair of Burial and Planning

Roy Phillips

Roger Baker

Alan Bastable and Ken Matthews - thank you both in your role as parish councillors as well as Central Beds councillors.

Jo Stannage, and finally Bruce Kitchener.

Thanks also to our contractors – In Trim Garden and Grounds Maintenance.

To Rosie, our long suffering Clerk a big thank you for all you do to keep us on the straight and narrow.

Thank you to each and every one of you for ensuring that this village gets what if EXPECTS.

BUT one final thing…… in council as in life….EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.

My own comment - mirroring Delise's Tales of the Unexpected.  I always liked MacMillan's comment when he was asked what was the most difficult bit of being prime minister. After a moment or so he replied: 'Events, dear boy, events.' Same with the Parish Council I'd say.