Annual Report
2008/2009
Another
year has passed since the last Parish Meeting and I am pleased to report that
Beech Parish Council have continued to act on your behalf addressing concerns
raised by the villagers of Beech. In particular we have attended to the
following:
Highways
Flooding
along Wellhouse and Medstead Roads in particular remains a problem during
periods of heavy rainfall. Following representations by the Parish Council we
are pleased to report that EHDC have accepted that, within it’s district, Beech
represents the most extreme example of surface water run off causing “serious
erosion to the public highway – resulting in highway safety and amenity
problems”. Accordingly any future
relevant planning consents granted by EHDC in Beech should be conditioned to
prevent surface water discharge onto the highway.
In
order to further alleviate the problem the Parish council met a local landowner
to investigate the possibility of creating an attenuation bank on land
adjoining the footpath leading to Thedden in an attempt to hold back the runoff
water prior to reaching the highway. Regrettably, following lengthy
consideration by the landowner, he felt
unable to assist as it would prevent the natural drainage of his land and cause
problems for his crops.
The
solutions to the problems caused by flooding on the highway are not straight
forward but we will continue pursuing any feasible possibilities of alleviating
the situation and any suggestions would be gratefully received.
We
continue to badger HCC to carry out road maintenance including road repairs and
drain/gully clearance and this has continued to be undertaken despite stringent
budgetary constraints.
Traffic
Speed
The
speed of traffic throughout the village remains one of the main concerns of the
villagers of Beech and one which the Parish Council continues to address.
At
the 2008 Parish Meeting the Parish Council expressed their enthusiasm to
acquire for its own use a couple of Driver Feed Back signs. These electronically operated illuminated
signs advise drivers of their current speed, programmed to be in different
colours representing whether they are within or outside the speed limit. Regrettably HCC, being the Highways Authority
(and on whose land the units would have to be sited) were not prepared to
sanction the Parish Council’s use of this type of apparatus. Accordingly, despite the positive reaction
received, the Parish Council, with regret, felt unable to proceed with this
initiative. However we understand that
HCC have acquired a number of units of their own which they intend deploying
throughout Hampshire on a rotational basis.
We hope that Beech will be included on this rota.
On
a more positive note Beech’s application has been approved to be included under
the ‘Village 30’ programme for the speed limit within the village to be a
uniform 30mph throughout its length.
This will entail the creation of a new “village gateway” sign at the
western end of Beech and the speed limit from this point down Kings Hill to the
top end of Medstead Road being reduced from 40mph to 30mph. The remainder of Medstead Road down to the
A339 will continue to be 30mph.
Development
During the year we have considered 14 planning and tree preservation order applications. Each application is considered in detail and the merits or detriments of each development assessed. As a result we have objected to 3 but in most cases made additional comments expressing the views/concerns of the community. The planning Authority EHDC in making their decisions have concurred with our recommendations in respect of 12 out of the 14 applications they have considered.
As previously reported EHDC now require all planning applications to be submitted on-line onto their website (www.easthants.gov.uk) where they can be viewed in detail. However the Parish Council is no longer furnished with paper copies.
Footpaths,
Bridleways, Community and Environment
We
continue to monitor, including meeting with the HCC rights of way officer, the
state and accessibility of the footpaths and bridleways serving the village.
Where necessary we encourage those responsible to undertake
maintenance/clearance.
As
a direct response to a specific villager’s concern raised at the 2008 Parish
meeting as to the unsightly nature of the Bushyleaze Wood we made contact with
the Forestry Commission who carried out a tidying up operation of the fallen trees etc
particularly along their land adjoining Medstead Road.
Also
considered by the Parish Council but not generally perceived to be causing
major issue at present within Beech are levels of litter & dog fouling,
street lighting, public services & utilities together with crime and
disorder.
Proposed
Beech Cemetery
The
parish council have continued to pursue the possibility of providing a cemetery
for Beech and were pleased when an approach to Alton Abbey was met with
relative enthusiasm. Accordingly a
number of meetings were held with the Trustees of Alton Abbey following which
an area of land to the west of the abbey was identified as a possible site for
a cemetery. Furthermore the views of the
village were garnered including holding an open meeting on 3rd
November 2008 to assess the level of support within the village for taking a
project of this magnitude forward. The
conclusion reached by the Parish Council was that there was support for a
cemetery to serve Beech and they are keen to take this forward. However we are presently very much in the
hands of the Trustees of Alton Abbey to progress with the purchase of the land,
terms for which have still to be agreed and we are awaiting a response. Once terms for the purchase of the land have
been agreed then environmental assessments will have to be carried out as well
as obtaining planning consent
Beech
Village Hall
We
would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Village Hall committee
for all their work in getting the redevelopment of the Beech Village Hall
underway particularly in obtaining the substantial Big Lottery Grant and
subsequent rapid progression of construction works. We are pleased to report that the Parish
Council have recently provided the project with a grant of £10,000 and will be
considering a further request for an additional £10,000.
As
requested of the Parish Council a new sign off the A339 has been erected to
provide directions to the Village Hall.
Community
correspondence and surveys
During
the year we receive and consider a large volume of correspondence relating to
community and other matters. To ensure
that the views of Beech are represented the council has responded to numerous
surveys canvassing our opinions on matters affecting the local area on a wide
variety of subjects ranging from “Proposed Changes to the SE Draft Plan” in
which we expressed concerns as to increased housing numbers without development
being conditional on increased infrastructure provision to “Gypsy &
Traveller Accommodation Needs”.
Representations
During the year we were delighted to welcome at Parish Council meetings Patrick Burridge (EHDC District Councillor) who has kept us informed as to what is happening at District Council level and PC Colin Gray (Police) who has temporarily taken over from PC Lucy Ryan who is on maternity leave. We are extremely appreciative of Mark Kemp Gee (Hampshire County Councillor) for all the lobbying he has done on the behalf of Beech at a County level.
Finance
We
are pleased to confirm that the Councils reserves are safe and have been
unaffected by the traumas in the global financial markets.
This
year the precept, the Beech Parish element of your council tax is to be
maintained at £12,000.
Acknowledgements
Once
again I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all the Parish
Councillors Ian Gibson (Vice Chairman), Anne Burridge, Peter May, Norman Miles,
David Woodroofe and Gillian Young who as volunteers have provided their
unstinting assistance, experience and time throughout the year. Considerable
man hours have been provided by the councillors attending monthly meetings,
working groups/panels, training and following up contacts with other
authorities as well as carrying out research and representing Beech on outside
Committees.
I
would also like to thank Sandi Fisher for auditing our accounts and Sheron
Gillard our wonderful clerk for the sterling work she puts in on behalf of the
Beech Parish Council ensuring everything runs smoothly and that we remain on
the straight and narrow.
The
Parish Council will continue to do their utmost in undertaking what they
believe to be in the best interests of the village with regular reports of
their activities being published in the wonderfully produced Beech
Newsletter. However to ensure we can be
certain we are doing what you want us to do please provide us with your feedback
together with letting us know your aspirations and concerns for our village of
Beech.
Edward
Neish
Chairman, Beech Parish Council