CHAIRMAN’S REPORT-ANNUAL ASSEMBLY 21ST APRIL 2006.
Welcome to the Annual Assembly of the Beaumont Parish Council. It is pleasant to see you all here and to note the increasing interest paid to the workings of the Parish Council generally. The council meets regularly to ensure that village issues are dealt with in the best interests of the parish and has been gratified with the support we receive. We hope that we create the atmosphere in the village that everyone has the confidence that we are doing things to maintain the high standards expected in our village.
I would like to begin by expressing our sorrow at the death of Stan Whitby. Stan was a true example of what belonging to a Village is all about and we will always remember him with gratitude. The Village Sign is his memorial.
This year has been dominated by the incursions by the resident Tendring Travellers. A great deal of nervous and physical energy and a great deal of our hard earned cash balance was devoted to removing these unwanted guests from our midst. Particular gratitude should be given to Tracy, Jane and Trudy as well as to Barney, Lynda and everyone else who dealt so efficiently with the invasion of our Playing Field in the summer. We are outraged by the fact that we have no protection and little support from Essex C.C. or T.D.C. when we are invaded and we propose to try to change matters to ensure fairness.
Some benefits were gained by the experience. We now have a smart and hopefully secure fence guarding the field and we are in the process of landscaping and securing Wass’s Corner to both improve and protect our Village. Thanks go to Trevor for his work here and we hope to proceed with this project soon. We also thank Strutt and Parker for their donation of £200 to the cost of the fence and another from T.D.C. of £300 which we have yet to receive.
The Village Noticeboard is now erected outside of the Farm shop where it is more accessible. General and Parish Notices are now displayed here instead of at the Village Hall. We thank Trudy and John for allowing it to be here.
The footpaths are in good order thanks to the new arrangements for their upkeep. David Day and John Carr have entered into an arrangement to cut the footpaths for Essex County Council. The paths will be inspected by them and other works carried out in 2007. This leaves us with a problem with damaged waymarkers which must be resolved. Bob cares with the footpath issues very efficiently for us and is thanked. We have also visited The Quay and have suggested some improvements.
The Fete was again very successful, raising over £2000 for both the church and the Parish to share. Much of our proceeds were spent on removing and repairing damage left by the travellers but we did donate £300 to the over 60’s to pay for their summer trip. The balance will be spent on developing Wass’s’s Corner. We are grateful to Bridget and Ben for allowing the fete to continue and we must soon meet to plan this year’s event. Everyone is welcome to take part and we are open to suggestions for projects to develop with the proceeds.
You will have noticed the improvements to the area around the Village Sign. Tracy, Ross and Doreen took on the responsibility to replant and improve the area as well as covering the sign to protect it. We used the balance of the Millennium fund to pay for this project. We cannot thank Doreen and her family enough for their true Village spirit.
Our gratitude is again expressed to James Wright for maintaining the area around the Village sign. His efforts over the year ensure that we give the impression that we care for our Village. Similarly we would like to thank Jeremy and Ruth Webster for maintaining Oak Corner.
Trevor continues to be our tree warden and we are grateful for his efforts. Each spring the daffodils around the Village are a pleasant reminder of his work. The marked trees continue to establish themselves and we hope to see the bluebells soon.
The Village Hall has continued to support itself mainly through dog training and band practices and is in a sound financial state. The Hundred Club is again fully subscribed and will be adding three further £10 prizes during the year. The other event which disrupted our summer was the accident which damaged the Village hall. The work of repairing the hall is now complete thanks to Russell Peck.
There was a successful New Year’s Party in the hall organised by Jane and Tracy which proved to be a great success. The event will be repeated this year. Jane is now the secretary of the Village hall Committee which is now very active thanks to new committee members and an extension to the Hall is planned together with improvements to the floor. We are awaiting the result of an application for a grant to allow this project to continue and we are also preparing a lottery.
Tracy now keeps us in touch with the Tendring Association of Local Councils which takes on Parish work on a larger scale for us. We have built a good relationship with this committee through Tracy’s efforts and they have taken up our complaint that we are not included in the Essex Protocol on Travellers. It seems ridiculous that we should be excluded and thus remains without the protection offered despite the fact that it is funded by our Council Tax. We have found it impossible to get a sensible response to our request for inclusion but we will continue to try.
Tracy is a bundle of energy. Her sensible constructive help as Vice Chair has proved a massive help to me. If I want a quick, honest opinion I know where to go. Tracy has her finger on the pulse. Thank you Tracy.
You will be pleased to know that all members of the Council have attended training courses on procedures and planning. I would guess that we are now more in touch with reality than some of the contributors.
I would like to finish by once again collectively thanking all of your councillors for their efforts and especially to thank our very efficient Clerk, Lynda who has continued to be the most efficient clerk ever. Despite the fact that she has moved out of the Village she continues to control the Parish Councillors with a rod of iron and ensures that we do our duties efficiently.
In conclusion, thank you once again for coming this evening and supporting us throughout the year. We hope that you are satisfied with the Parish Council and please let us know if you have any advice which would help us in the future. Thank you.