Annual Report 2005-2006 - Chaldon Village Council

Chaldon Parish Councilwww.chaldonpc.org.uk

Annual Report2005-2006

CHAIRMAN OF THE PARISH COUNCIL Cllr. Roger DaviesVICE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARISH COUNCIL Cllr. Mick Breare

SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES 2005 / 2006

Administration and Finance Cllr. Roger Davies

Amenities / Environment Cllr. Russell Myers

Fete Committee Cllr. Roger Davies

Footpaths & Bridleways Cllr. Ray Sterry

Highways Cllr. John Spurgin

Liaison with Local Organisations Cllr. Ray Sterry

Neighbourhood Watch/Police Liaison Cllr. Mick Breare

Planning Cllr. Peter Campbell

Publicity & Events Cllr. Julia Thomas

Village Plan Cllr. Mick Breare

Village Hall management committee Cllr. Roger Davies

CLERK TO THE PARISH COUNCILMrs Angela Charlton 01883 34580933 Leazes AvenueChaldonCR3 5AG [email protected]

Chairman’s report (Cllr. Davies)August this year saw the resignation of Councillors Kippin and Richards. Paul Kippin, our youngest member, whilst working in London, found that he had insufficient time to devote to his activities in the council. Paul had special responsibility for publicity and was instrumental in creating our website. Rob Richards was one of the founder members of Chaldon Parish Council when it evolved from the Chaldon Association seven years ago. He had been the first Chairman and contributed greatly to making the Council the professional and efficient body we have today.

The procedure for replacing councillors is by an election, if more that ten parishioners petition. Fortunately, probably because this council is completely non-political, an expensive election was not required. The council therefore advertised and selected two new councillors from five applicants. It was a pleasure partly to address the imbalance of male councillors by selecting Cllr. Julia Thomas who took on the mantle of Publicity and Events. The appointment of Cllr. Russell Myers who became responsible for Amenities, allowed another imbalance to be addressed since he is at least 20 years younger than any other councillor.

Table 1 shows the initial budget and actual expenditure for the year 2005/2006. It was intended that the reserves would increase from £7600 to £7900. However expenditure on Highways was £538 less than expected because the council did not have to pay for as much removal of fly tipping as expected, and Amenities had an under-spend of £1000 because the proposed notice board at The Harrow was not completed. The notice board will now be a 2006/2007 expenditure The closing fund at £9405 was therefore higher than expected.

Table 1

Income Budget 2005 Final VariancePrecept 7250 7,250Interest on Accounts 170 175 5VAT Refund 500 180 -320Grant 40 40Total 7,920 7,645 -275ExpenditureGeneral Admin 3300 3,555 255Audit Fees 230 221 -9Training 150 165 15Expenses 100 50 -50Insurance 250 251 1Footpaths 20 10 -10Highways 750 212 -538Amenities Church Green 100 -100 Notice Board 1000 -1,000 Plaque 100 100 Maintenance 50 50Parks/ Open Spaces 150 -150Village appraisal 500 303 -198Publicity 120 167 47Subscriptions 950 758 -192Total 7,620 5,840 -1,780Surplus/Deficit 300 1,805 1,505

Opening balance 7,600 7,600Closing balance 7,900 9,405

Table 2 shows the budget for 2006/2007. The council resolved that a figure of approx. £7000 should be kept in reserves and the proposed income of £7800 and an overall expenditure of £10000 reduces the

reserves from £9405 to £7100, which is on target. The precept (money raised through Council Tax) remains the same at £7250. This year, there is an objective to provide two new notice boards, a bench on Leazes Avenue green and dog mess bins, which has increased expenditure. There is however a substantial reduction in subscriptions since the council cannot justify paying almost 10% of its precept for a subscription to Surrey Association of Parish and Town Councils when their performance has been mediocre.

Table 2

Income Budget NotesPrecept 7,250 Same as 2005/2006Interest on Accounts 200VAT Refund 400GrantTotal 7,850

ExpenditureGeneral Admin 3,550 Clerk's Salary and ExpensesAudit Fees 230 Internal (£80) and externalTraining 100Expenses 100 Includes Chairman's Allowance (£50)Insurance 275Footpaths 10Highways 500 Removal of Fly tippingAmenities Dog Waste Bins 360 Two - including £30 per annum to empty Installation 400 Notice Board CCR 1,000 Replacement Notice Board Harrow 1,000 Bench Leazes Ave 500 Maintenance 200Parks/ Open Spaces 350 Daffodils (net £150) plus other horticultureVillage appraisal 1,000 Printing Only Publicity 250Subscriptions 300 Taxi 167Total 10,125 Open Space Soc 30Surplus/Deficit -2,275 TVSC 10

CPRE 25SLCC 70

Opening Balance 9,405 Year End April 2006Closing Balance 7,130 Year End 2007

Last year the Chaldon Village Fête raised a record £6500 for local charities. August Bank Holiday Monday was a lovely day, which always makes a difference and unfortunately the beer tent, and refreshments, quickly ran out of supplies.

The Fête Organising Committee is spearheaded by Parish Council and consists of representatives from local organisations including the School, Pre-School, Church, Guides / Scouts, WI, CADS, and the

Village Hall. Thanks are due to the companies that have supported the Fete with advertising and donations.

Next year one of the major objectives will be to begin the first steps to becoming a Quality Council. This means that many aspects of the council’s activities will be scrutinised by independent auditors. Chaldon hopes to be the first Quality Council in Tandridge and to join the favoured few in Surrey. Our Clerk, Angela Charlton, will soon be studying for a Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA). This involves providing a portfolio describing many aspects of council operations and it a prerequisite for qualifying as a Quality Council.

Planning (Cllr. Campbell) The Parish Council is one of the official bodies that must be consulted by Tandridge District Council when planning applications are made in Chaldon. However this does not mean that the District Council agrees with the Parish Council’s view; in fact they only agree with one in three of the comments made. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that decisions are made on a planning basis only (i.e. in accordance with the District Council’s Local Plan) and the Parish Council view is obviously sometimes conservative or parochial.

However there have been 2 instances in the last year of demolishing then rebuilding without permission and extending the scope of a previously agreed plan. In these instances, the local community is in the best position to observe and monitor these deviations; the Parish Council can act as a communication channel for this. In these particular cases though, a totally satisfactory conclusion still was not reached.

In other cases it should be appreciated that the Parish Council represents both the applicant and others who might object to an application. In addition the Parish Council might take a broader view. In which case, it is important that individuals, whilst making their views known to the Parish Council, should also respond directly to the District Council.

This situation is demonstrated in the application to provide flats in Roffes Lane. Though the Parish Council has objected on technical and planning grounds, it believes that there is a requirement for affordable properties for young people in Chaldon or senior citizens who want to ‘down size’ and remain in the village. This is a problem that will increasingly deserve our consideration.

Highways (Cllr. Spurgin)Highways is an emotive subject for Chaldon which experiences more and more traffic every year that has to squeeze its way through a village road network that was designed for traffic volumes of 50 years ago.

The Parish Council have continued to work with Surrey County Council Highways on problems including potholes, clearing of pavements, hedge cutting, damage to grass verges and emptying of gullies. The list of outstanding works has been building up over the last few years with some jobs being 4 years old. The strategy has been to continue to press for the work to be done and remind everyone of the agreed outstanding work. The Highways sub-committee meet SCC Highways regularly and agree a plan for tackling the outstanding items on the list.

Fly tipping remains a problem. The response to this anti-social activity solution is to have it reported and removed as soon as possible. If anyone spots fly tipping happening, report the details immediately to the police. If you see the results of fly tipping then please report it to the council or our Parish Clerk and ask for it to be removed. (this also includes abandoned cars).

Footpaths (Cllr. Sterry)There were 25 walkers on the Spring walks in May 2005 and 30 walkers on the Autumn walks in Oct 2005. Details of the starting points and walk lengths are posted on the parish notice boards a week beforehand. Everyone is welcome. They are free and all are invited to the back of the village hall at the

end of the walks for a free cup of tea and biscuit. The walks are between 2 and 3.5 miles and are also suitable for accompanied children and dogs.During the past year, Surrey County Council and the Footpath sub-committee have carried out a number of repairs to the Parish rights of way, from clearing paths and replacing finger posts to removing old metal posts and cutting back hedges.Members also visited Quarry Hangers and Park Ham on 9 th Nov with the volunteer warden. Half of this land lies within the Parish of Chaldon and will offer us all an excellent area to walk over, with far reaching views over the Weald. It is planned to open the area to the public later in 2006. SCC has very recently revitalised its interest in the legal adoption of footpaths over the Golf Course and we will be discussing with them what is needed to adopt these paths legally.

Publicity (Cllr. Thomas)Everyone involved with the recent issue of Chaldon Matters is to be thanked, particularly the road wardens who do the delivery. It is a good method of keeping residents informed about activities and organisations in the village. Several organisations have asked to be included next time in the list, and a young man has requested Saturday morning football. The website is also being updated and the Parish Council hopes to build that up in the near future, with links to other organisations. There is also a plan to produce a handbook to be given to new residents.

Village Amenities (Cllr. Myers)The Parish Council has recently ordered two new notice boards, one to replace the old one at the end of Chaldon Common Road and a new one to be erected somewhere near The Harrow. A bench has also been bought for the green in Leazes Avenue, following a request from residents there. There will also be three new dog mess bins in the village soon.

Neighbourhood Watch (Cllr. Breare)At present there are three active Neighbourhood Watch Areas in Chaldon :-

Leazes Avenue organiser Frank Turp ( 348634) helped by Ronald Brown The Heath organiser Ron Wootton (344903) helped by Ann LardeurChaldon Common Road organiser Sally Davies (343481) helped by Jules Goucher

This provides these areas with an information network about crimes in the vicinity and warning of potential problems such as bogus charity collectors. Apart from raising awareness of security issues, the operation of a local neighbourhood watch scheme also has benefits in promoting a sense of community with people looking out for others particularly the elderly and infirm. The recent Village Survey showed that around 35% of those who responded would join a Neighbourhood Watch group. The optimum size for a ‘Watch’ area is between 6 and 20 houses and it’s ideal if you can find someone to share it with.

Village Plan (Cllr. Breare)Unfortunately the Village Plan has been delayed because of the time taken in collecting and analysing the questionnaires. Some of the statistics resulting from the questionnaire were given at the Annual Parish Meeting and it is hoped that the project will be completed before next April’s meeting.

Councillors’ contact details

Michael Breare John SpurginLarchwood 7 Heathway 15 Mount AvenueChaldon CR3 5DN Chaldon CR3 5BB

342064 345822E Mail: [email protected] E mail: [email protected]

Peter Campbell Ray SterryEarlymist, Bridle Path, 2 Leazes AvenueLeazes Avenue Chaldon, CR3 5AHChaldon CR3 5AG 347651 343204 E mail: [email protected]

Roger Davies Julia Thomas96 Rook Lane 74 Rook LaneChaldon CR3 5BE Chaldon CR3 5BF 342986 344070E mail: [email protected] E mail: [email protected]

Russell Myers25 Leazes AvenueChaldon. CR3 5AG 341008E mail: [email protected]