Quiz Night – Saturday 9th March 2019
Author: Jez Wilson
Comedy Night – Saturday 16th March 2019
Parish Council – February 2019 Meeting
The February 2019 meeting of Nether Heyford Parish Council was held on the 4th, at the Baptist Chapel Schoolroom
Public Participation – Cllr Adam Brown sent the following report.
NCC will meet twice this month: on 14th February to discuss the next phase of plans to establish two new unitary authorities in the county, and on 21st February to discuss the 2019/20 budget. On the 14th February Council will also debate a motion put forward by me which seeks to formalise NCC’s opposition to the proposed Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges near Blisworth and Milton Malsor. In that motion I highlight the severe impact on nearby villages and the brilliant work by local activists in opposing the scheme. Having discussed the matter with colleagues within the Conservative group I am optimistic that the motion will be passed and a strong message will be sent to the planning inspectorate and the Secretary of State for Transport.
In terms of budgetary matters, our leadership team is increasingly optimistic that we will end this financial year on budget or with a moderate underspend. As a member of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee I have been part of the team analysing next year’s budget and we have highlighted a number of areas of concern, most notably: the desire for continued subsidy of youth groups which allows them to use school premises in Northamptonshire; an instruction to Cabinet for NCC to be more aggressive in its approach to procurement in order to realise over £1m of savings; the importance that additional spending on social care services be sufficient to meet the anticipated demand.
Next year’s budget currently does not account for the recent government decision to allow NCC to increase Council tax by 2% in addition to the 2.99% permitted by the Secretary of State. I have argued that should we accept that additional 2% rise then the money must be used to reinstate services that the public have clearly told us they wish to retain such as enhanced winter gritting. Whilst the 2% would raise approximately £6m, much of that money would need to be put into reserves to allow for potential pressures on statutory services. Of course NCC has previously been criticised for failing to raise council tax, and whilst we remain one of the lowest areas for council tax in the whole of England in the midst of ongoing financial pressure it would be irresponsible to pass up the opportunity to strengthen the County Council’s revenue raising ability.
Village Hall
Alwyne Wilson introduced herself as the new chair of the Village Hall.
Bliss Close maintenance issues
Tom Dodd spoke about problems experienced by residents of Bliss Close with the maintenance of the public spaces, or buffer zones. Residents ware paying a considerable amount for maintenance which they do not feel is being carried properly or with any reference to the costs they are incurring. Any requests to see the contracts are rebuffed, and it seemed that the agreements were in perpetuity with no right to appeal or withdraw. He was concerned to know what had passed between Council and the developers on this issue. It was felt that safety issues were a concern of the Parish Council, even if other issues were not. Cllr PG reported that there were similar maintenance contracts in place in Bugbrooke, but that they were being properly handled. It was suggested that there might be breach of contract. It was felt that at this stage the issue did not involve the Parish Council, as the Council referred to in the House deeds was almost certainly South Northants Council. Such maintenance contracts were becoming common and similar conflicts were arising all over the country, and causing concern in Government. SC felt this was not an issue for Council, and AW felt the residents would have to take legal advice. The Clerk was instructed to write express concerns on safety issues, and the Chair expressed sympathy and support on behalf of Council.
Allotments
Rent night took place on Jan 24th. All but 8 rents collected. SC suggested a reminder letter at the end of the month. AW suggested setting up online payments with monthly instalments.
Neighbourhood Plan
It was reported that information was still being received in the form of postal votes for preferred future building sites. SNC were looking for 25 – 59 new houses. It was felt the village would be more comfortable with 25 – 29,
and felt that that community led housing and self-build should be explored.
Dog Mess
This is a perennial problem and Councillors felt there was more on the Green than was usual and were disappointed. A new Dog Bin has been installed on Church Lane and it is hoped that this might help with the river area. This problem has been further highlighted by contact with David Banner who farms the field on the other side of the pedestrian bridge. This maintained as a traditional style water meadow and as such it represents a valuable amenity and environment. Mr Banner is disappointed that many dog owners let their dogs run free and foul freely. He would ask that dog walkers keep to the paths and that they keep their dogs on their leads at least until they have “done their business” and that this be bagged and removed. While there are often not sheep in the meadow, the grazing of sheep is an integral part of the meadow’s management. Dog faeces can contain a parasite that causes sheep to abort and can also kill them. He would be most grateful if dog walkers could remember this.
Election Dates
It has now been established that there will be no District or Parish elections in 2019 with the onset of the unitary council imminent.
Roads and Pavements
The installation of a 20mph speed limit was raised. This was felt to be an aspiration for next year, although it could be applied for under NHB.
Parishioners are reminded that anyone can report a pothole or other highways problem online to the Streetdoctor service, and this can refer to problems outside the village too. Alternatively, phone 0300 126 1000 and ask for Streetdoctor
Spring Clean
The annual “Spring Clean” would be taking place on March 30th/31st.
Signs
The Clerk had contacted Matthew Clarke at Keir/Highways who was still searching for a quote for a finger post for the church. He had also advised that renovation of the direction sign on the green would probably cost £1500.
Next Meeting
The next Parish Council meeting will be on Monday March 4th at the Baptist Chapel Schoolroom at 7.30 pm and is, like all Parish Council meetings, open to all Parishioners.
Parish Council Notes by the Clerk; Guy Ravine February 2019
For further useful information about Nether Heyford Parish Council and full contact details for the clerk and the councillors please visit our Nether Heyford Parish Council page.
Village Hall – February 2019
First, a huge thank-you to the many volunteers who helped to make our traditional Pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ such a great success. We had a packed house, making all the generous contributions of time, effort and raffle prizes well worthwhile. The atmosphere was amazing. This was my first experience of our village panto and I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and goodwill of everyone involved.
Our next Pantomime by the Looking Glass Theatre will be ‘Dick Whittington’ at the end of the year. More information nearer the time.
And now – the Annual Fete, which this year will be held on Saturday 8th June.
We are so fortunate in Nether Heyford to have such a splendid village green and
over many years our Fete has proved to be a very special event for our village. It has also represented our main fundraising effort to make sure that we have
enough funds to maintain our village hall in first class condition for everyone who wants to use it. As such we have a great tradition to maintain.
For this we need ‘all hands on deck’ again to make sure that we have an
enthusiastic team of helpers to work together to organise not only the regular events but also perhaps some new attractions. By the time this issue appears we will have held an initial ‘ideas session’ on 29 January, to be followed by regular team meetings as we work together to create yet another amazing Fete.
In the meantime, I would like to issue a warm invitation to the many villagers and friends who have helped in the past – and also to those who might fancy getting involved for the first time. Come along and join our team.
Alwyne Wilson, Nether Heyford Village Hall Management Committee
Call Alwyne on 01327 340803
Heyford Athletic Football Club – February 2019
Hi Everyone,
I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year and got to spend some time with loved ones over the festive period. As I write this from my office in London it is finally starting to turn cold and actually feel like winter, hopefully we will not be impacted by too many postponements as there is a bit of momentum in the club currently.
Firstly, on behalf of the club we would just like to send our well wishes to Linda Eales, an important lady in our club and we hope you are back on your feet soon and coming along to cheer the lads on.
Following on from my optimism last month results didn’t quite turn out as we had wished and we suffered a number of heavy defeats in the early weeks of December, which caused us as a committee to seek additional support. I am pleased to say that Danny Macintosh joined the club in the middle of December. He has delved into what I have since seen as a lengthy list of contacts and has brought in a number of players to help the club. We badly needed more players and we are now focusing on embedding these players into our club structure with a management team for both sides that I am sure can take the teams forward and reap the benefits.
In Danny’s first match in supporting Gary Hammond we were up against local rivals Harpole and we had a bumper crowd down the playing fields in the week between Christmas and New Year. They were treated to well contested 1-1 draw. After the season we have had this was a much welcomed point for the Blue’s. It is also the first time since I returned to the club 6 years ago that we have taken any points at all from Harpole. There have only been a smattering of games since then due to a certain somebody going off and getting married, and also the Christmas period. Both teams lost 2-1 in the last weekend (12th Jan). For the first team it was against current Champions Moulton and the reserves lost by the same score line at Finedon. However, the results here don’t tell the story – both teams had 15 in their squad – the first time that has happened in a number of years and there were certainly much better performances that gives us hope and optimism for future games. So welcome to the new players and I hope you enjoy your time here at Heyford, we are delighted you are on board.
I wont put any focus on the youth sides in this article – we currently have 4 teams and I am proud of each and every one of them. The time the coaches dedicate to making these young people better players is humbling. I am asked a lot by people about whether we will have new teams. So I wanted to say in our local news letter that yes. As a club I am happy to support the set-up of any new youth teams – it is, simply put the future of the club… we want boy and girls of all ages to become a part of our club and join our teams or help set up new ones. You will have my full support and that of a fantastic committee and secretary to do everything they can to help you. However, I can only do this if I have volunteers to run these sides. Without them these things cannot happen. I can have all the children ready to play, but without a coach it just isn’t feasible. So if your child is wanting to play and you think you can spare the time to run a team (ultimately this would involve training once a week and a game on the weekend) then please get in touch. Or if you are reading this thinking you would love to run a team but don’t know how then again, get in touch and we can have a chat.
Finally, I wanted to mention a fundraising event coming up in March. We will be holding our first Comedy Night at the Village Hall on 16th March. We have 3 great acts for you on the evening and tickets are costing just £10. The bar will be provided by the Foresters and a great evening should be had by all. Tickets will be available from The Foresters and Brian Edgington.
Hopefully next month I can give you news of positive results, but please come and see for yourselves, a friendly welcome and a cup of tea is always provided down the club – and there is a bar if you would like a pint 🙂
Gary McMahon – Chairman – 07801 276488
Flood Watch – February 2019
What’s in a name? Last October I introduced the Midway Development at J16 which has subsequently been named Panattoni Park. An unusual name for
Northamptonshire and clearly of Italian origin. The Company was formed in 1986 by the Panattoni Family in Newport Beach, California and is now the largest international real estate developer specialising in industrial estates and warehouses. Panattoni is a part of Panattoni Europe where they have developed over 30M sq. ft. of new build industrial estates. Recently in a merger with First Industrial to form First Panattoni they have expanded into the area of logistics with development for Stanley (Black and Decker) on the Brackmill Estate. Clearly they see the continued expansion of the so-called Golden Triangle of Logistics, an area from the East Midlands up to Nottingham and extending west to Northampton. The claim of Companies within this area is to deliver anywhere in the UK within 4 hours with a 90% success rate. Whilst the Northampton site ground preparation is ongoing, planning has been submitted to SNC for installation of lighting and security cameras. The whole site which includes provision for parking space for 140 lorries at the Red Lion is due for completion at the end of 2019.
At the recent Climate Change Conference concerns were expressed on the 2
degree centigrade cap set as a target for controlling Worldwide Environmental pollution and a new limit of 1.5 was agreed. Nobody can be in any doubt that global changes are increasing with 2018 seeing a succession of catastrophes from earthquakes, landslides, flooding, hurricanes and storms and volcanic activity as well as our general climate. The latest record hurricane, Michael to hit Florida and the new storm, Leslie to hit Portugal and Spain with flash floods and landslides in Majorca and the devastation in the west of the UK by storm Callum are testament to the effect of changes. Locally Northamptonshire has fared significantly better with the River Nene at record low for most of the year. The only flooding event of the year occurred at the end of March when the monthly rainfall was nearly double that of an average March. For the year, the rainfall totalled 70% of average with March, April and December being the only months to exceed average levels. From June through to November rainfall totalled 44% of average for that period.
J.Arnold
Parish Council – January 2019 Meeting
The January 2019 meeting of Nether Heyford Parish Council was held on 7th January, at the Baptist Chapel Schoolroom
Public Participation
Cllr Phil Bignell reported that South Northants Council grants panel had granted money for a container on the Playing Fields, and reported that an appeal had been made against refusal of planning permission for land behind 4 The Green. Mark Taylor asked for financial help towards the purchase of a new first responder’s equipment which costs £2,500. (A £3,500 grant was later agreed).
Jo Dixon informed the Council that the Tennis Club was looking to re-surface their courts and asked about the possibility of funding. Various suggestions were made.
Cllr Brown NCC reported that there had been no announcement at Westminster that there would be 2 Unitary Councils, as they are preoccupied. He feels that the timetable for Local Government Reform is far from firm. He reported that the Budget Consultation is live until 23rd Jan. It is an austerity budget, but has been eased by Government permission to use £75M from the sale of Angel Square. The Commissionaires now feel that the budget will be close to balancing.
Playing Fields Extension
As reported previously the Parish Council were willing to purchase a field adjacent to Middle St field to be included in the Playing Fields. A Parish Council has to go through various processes in order to borrow money for a scheme like this, and unfortunately the vendor was unwilling to wait for this, and chose to pursue another offer. One of the conditions of the loan was that a consultation was undertaken. This was initiated using social media and approx. 150 replies demonstrated a 95% majority in favour of the purchase.
Sharing PCSO with Bugbrooke Parish Council
The shared scheme with Bugbrooke will go ahead beginning in April. Many parishioners feel there is little police presence at present, and it is hoped that this initiative will help restore confidence. Final arrangements are still to be worked out, but there should soon be a regular PCSO presence. The PCSO patrols will not follow the same pattern every week, and only the Clerk and Chair will know the shift pattern. Precept -There is, naturally, a cost to the community for this service, which will be 4 approximately £12,500 p/a. As a consequence of this the annual precept has had to be raised, but not by the full amount. It will go up from £70,000 to £75,000.
Allotments
Rent night would be on Jan 24th. A plot holders meeting would be held on Feb 7th, and an Open Day for the Community Orchard is planned.
Neighbourhood Plan
It was reported that information was still being received in the form of postal votes for preferred future building sites. SNC were looking for 25 – 59 new houses. It was felt the village would be more comfortable with 25 – 29., and felt that that community led housing and self-build should be explored.
Dog Mess
The shorter days and darker early evenings always bring an increase in dog fouling as irresponsible dog owners use the cover of darkness to fail to clear up after their pets. The Council would appeal to Dog owners not to do this and to help keep our village as clear of dog waste as possible.
Election Dates
It has now been established that there will be no District or Parish elections in 2019 with the onset of the unitary council imminent. The Council had expressed a preference for elections in 2020
Roads and Pavements
Parishioners are reminded that anyone can report a pothole or other highways problem online to the Streetdoctor service, and this can refer to problems outside the village too. Alternatively, phone 0300 126 1000 and ask for Streetdoctor
Next Meeting
The next Parish Council meeting will be on Monday February 4th at the Baptist Chapel Schoolroom at 7.30 pm and is, like all Parish Council meetings, open to all Parishioners.
Parish Council Notes by the Clerk; Guy Ravine January 2019
For further useful information about Nether Heyford Parish Council and full contact details for the clerk and the councillors please visit our Nether Heyford Parish Council page.
Parish Council – 2018 Meeting Notes
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – January 2018
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – February 2018
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – March 2018
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – April 2018
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – May 2018
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – June 2018
July 2018
August 2018
September 2018
Ooctober 2018
November 2018
December 2018
For further useful information about Nether Heyford Parish Council and full contact details for the clerk and the councillors please visit our Nether Heyford Parish Council page.
Parish Council – 2017 Meeting Notes
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – January 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – February 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – March 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – April 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – May 2017 – AGM
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – June 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – July 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – August 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – September 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – October 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – November 2017
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – December 2017
For further useful information about Nether Heyford Parish Council and full contact details for the clerk and the councillors please visit our Nether Heyford Parish Council page.
Parish Council – 2016 Meeting Notes
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – January 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – February 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – March 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – April 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – May 2016 – AGM
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – June 2016
July 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – August 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – September 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – October 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – November 2016
Nether Heyford Parish Council Notes – December 2016
For further useful information about Nether Heyford Parish Council and full contact details for the clerk and the councillors please visit our Nether Heyford Parish Council page.
The Nether Heyford Prattler 