BAYDON PARISH COUNCIL
PARISH ASSEMBLY held at the BYPA Hall on
Friday 25th April 2014 at 7.30pm
PRESENT: Cllr Andrew Knowles (Chair), Angelina Grieve (Clerk)
1. Apologies: Cllr James Sheppard, (WCC) Cllr Tamsin Witt, Mark Austen, Heather Burch, Police
2. Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting 2013 – Not yet circulated. 2013 & 2014 will be circulated at the same time.
3. Report by Parish Council Chairman – The council has been very challenging of late due to the fact that there has not been a Clerk. Nearly all of the councilors work full time so cannot dedicate time required to issues within the council. Speed watch /Traffic Calming – Chicanes will be in place imminently. Littering, Bonfire Night, Xmas Carols require ongoing support from the village as do the Church, Shop and Public House. Litter Pickers – Posters to be put up to encourage people to help with this. Grass Cutting is has been tendered for and a company will be appointed by the next meeting on 25th May 2014. The BYPA hall can be utilized for many uses and Parishioners need to be made more aware of this. The Parish Assembly uses the school and BYPA Hall alternately for its meeting. The Parish Precept is at the time of this meeting, satisfactory.
4. Report by County Councilor. Cllr Sheppard was not present at this meeting
5. Police Report – A police representative was not present at this meeting
6. St Nicholas School – 125 Children presently attend the School. There are five full time classes. Year 3 / 4 Teacher is leaving and a new teacher is currently being recruited. There is number of volunteer helpers in the school but new volunteers are welcome. A new Chair of Governors is starting in September. Friends of Baydon School have raised money for laptops and science equipment and events at the School. Pupils have visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and @Bristol as part of Science week. A Music day was led by Bassitry Music which ended with a school performance. Years 5 & 6 participated in Climate Cops investigating renewable forms of energy, energy efficiency & power generation. Many activities have taken place during the past year and Charities have been supported. Foundation Governors are required and the Parishioners present were asked. The future of the School is looking very positive.
7. Reports from Village Groups
· Good Neighbour Link Scheme – Alison Tomkins. The Good Neighbour Link Scheme is in its 9th year and is now self-funded. Four new volunteers have just come on board and there are 30 volunteers in total. Parishioners asked if they would like to volunteer as many of the current ones work in the day so are limited to when they can help with driving.
· Baydon Allotments - Tony Prior – Allotments are being well maintained although some owners could spend more time on maintenance of their plots. Plot 14 has been lying fallow for some time is now being used thanks to the PC for a donation.
· Baydon Brownies – Jayne Dominy. There are 18 regular children who attend.
· Church Council – Mike Ball. St Nicholas Church has a problem with the Chancel Walls. As the building is drying out, cracks have developed in the Chancel Walls and subsidence is becoming apparent but being monitored. An appeal letter has been distributed throughout the village to raise funds for the Church Building. The Children of the Village have provided art work and there is a Children’s Corner in the North Aisle. Thanks were given to volunteers who help at the church including Brass cleaners and flower arrangers. Thanks were also given to the Church Treasurer & Fund Raising Team who organized the Fete, Concert & Quiz night which was well supported. The Bible Study Group & Lent Study was led by David & Margaret Hill. Thanks were also given to Tony Topps for his work over the past 13 years as Churchwarden. Margaret Hill will replace Tony.
· Baby & Toddler Group – Ali Jones. No Report made
· Running Group – Heather Burch. No Report Made
· Little Crickets – Karen Lock. No Report made
· Baydon Young Peoples Association – Gordon Walker. Since the Hall has been improved upon the Hall is well used and the income for it is good. Furnishings were obtained through Grants which were got by Cllr Tamsin Witt. Utensils for the Kitchen supplied by Debbie from the local shop. The AGM took place last week and was well attended. A Youth Club is to be started and will take place in the Hall. Parishioners were asked if they could help at the Parish Assembly Meeting.
· Cricket Club – Lee Hogan. There is an AGM this Sunday 27/4/14 at 7.30 at the Red Lion. The club is struggling to put a team together so may have to cease as a club.
· Baydon Website – Mark Austen maintains the Parish Website where information such as current & back copies of the ‘Scene in Baydon’ magazine, local weather & Travel, local contacts & phone numbers, Marlborough Area Board section & copies of village documents including the Parish Plan can be found. Along with these items, the Minutes from Parish Meetings can also be found. The Village website is updated most days of the week and parishioners were asked to let Mark know of any information they may have that they would like to be put on the Website.website@baydon.org
· Baydon Central Group – Pat Rhodes. Group membership costs £12 per year. Various events take place and parishioners were made aware, that the Group is open to anyone.
· Firework Working Group – Jim Grove. 700 people attended the Firework display in 2013. Entry is free to the display but donations are always needed for the Fire Works. Thanks given to the Red Lion, the Parish Stores and to Jonathan Smith for the use of his field. It is hoped that Father Christmas may be able to attend this year’s display. There will be a Car Treasure Hunt on the 31st May at 1.30 pm, commencing in the Cricket Field to raise money for a Fibrulator.
8. Village Matters
· Traffic Calming – Manor Lane is being monitored with a Metrocount. The Cricket Field entrance is to be looked at because of speeding. Traffic Calming is required. WCC may do an assessment. A 3k donation was made from a family in the village to go towards the Chicanes. It was noted that there is an online application available whereby potholes can be reported and monitored.
· Councilor Vacancy – There is a vacancy available and an appeal was made to Parishioners to apply. The Chairman thanked Councilors for giving up their time to deal with Parish Council matters.
· Friday Night Take-Away – Parishioners were asked if there was anything they would like to happen in the Village and the responses were as follow:
̃ Is there a way of villagers using the shop and pub more to help with trade
̃
Someone is needed to take over the village
magazine as Brydgette
is leaving the village this summer
̃ Not as many Village Groups attended as last year. The Chair said that this was due to letters not being sent out in time
̃ Grass Cutting Contract has gone to tender and a decision will be made at the next meeting on May 25th 2014. Pittams have done a one-off cut.
̃ Best kept village competition was suggested in the hope that some villagers would take pride in their gardens and fronts of properties
̃ It was suggested that Village Plan should be reviewed and perhaps not to have a meeting unless 50 people committed to turning up.
̃ There is flood water opposite the Red Lion and it is being monitored
̃ The village Fete is to be held on June 14th 2014
̃ Thanks to Whitton Benefice for their support to the School, Church and personal support to people in the village
̃ Baydon Village Bake-Off raised £600 for charity and was very successful as it gave a sense of community to the Village
9. Thanks to Cllr Tamsin Witt for her work in raising money through Grants for work needed in the Village.
The Meeting closed at 8.51pm
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