Hardington Mandeville

MINUTES OF ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PARISH OF HARDINGTON MANDEVILLE HELD ON TUESDAY 15th APRIL 2008 AT 7.30PM AT THE VILLAGE HALL

IN ATTENDANCE

Peter Bysouth, Rob Lloyd, Kevin Margetts, Bill Turner, Robin Carpenter, Malcolm White, David Beckley, Hannah Lefeuvre and Lesley Boucher (District Councillors), Diane Howes (Clerk), and 11 members of the public.

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Cathy Bakewell (County Councillor), Sarah Quinton (Pre-School), Karen Clotworthy (Village Hall Committee).
2. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL ASSEMBLY HELD ON TUESDAY 17th APRIL 2007
   The minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
   There were no matters arising.
4. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
   The Chairman reported that the Parish Council had met 13 times in the year - 11 regular meetings plus 2 special meetings to review the Clerk's contract and consider planning applications. The election in 2008 had not been contested and David Beckley had joined the Parish Council.
   Affordable Housing had been discussed at every meeting and 15 planning applications had been considered during the year. The path between the shop and Moor Lane had been adopted as a footpath in May. Continued support of the village hall had been given, buying a new oil tank and giving a grant of £3,700 towards the cost of the roof to the main hall.
   The Council continued to look at the provision of a recreation space and recently Ernest Kong had offered to sell the parish some land in North Lane.
   Another development had been the preparation of the Parish Plan which would be officially launched at the May meeting. The Chairman thanked the steering committee for their hard work.
   The Chairman thanked the many organisations and individuals who had made a contribution to village life.
5. INVITATION TO LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES TO ADDRESS THE MEETING
   • Brian Dodd (Parish Website). Since October 2006 usage of the website had increased by 87%. This increased usage may be attributed to the Parish Plan process, which showed that many residents were unaware of the village's website. An increasing amount of information was now being placed on the site - Nature notes from Mike Bickerton, The Garden Club, The Rector's page. There were more local services including links for the Pre-school, Moor End Nursery and Dave Creed.
     Brian confirmed that he would continue his article in The Messenger and was willing to include anything of interest to the community as a whole.
   • Village Hall Committee Karen Clotworthy (Chairman) was not able to attend, but had reported that the Village Hall Committee had been able, in the past year, to complete the work on both the main hall and garage roof.
   • Jonathan Chadwick (St Mary's Church) Church usage was down on last year and there had been no weddings. Mike Bickerton had installed the Christmas tree and flood lighting. The South West dry stone wall had been repaired and the PCC had installed a hearing loop with grant aid from SCC. Repairs to the clock had been arranged by Brian Dodd; Dick Hooper had maintained the Churchyard and David Platten had arranged a risk survey. Ernest Kong had paid for 10 new kneelers. Peter Bysouth was thanked for his work as treasurer, as were Eve Lloyd as secretary, and the Parish Council for its contribution to the church insurance premium. Daphne Creed was stepping down as Churchwarden after 11 years. He thanked anyone who had helped the Church in any way.
   • Ann Lunt (Players) Membership was thriving and there were many new young members. The panto had been a success as had the French evening. They now had a variety of costumes and spot lighting had been installed. Next year was the 25th anniversary of the panto. A Murder Mystery was planned for the summer.
   • Fiona Chadwick (WI) The WI was thriving and membership had increased to 46. Daphne Creed was thanked for all her time, and also the village hall committee for maintaining the hall. Monthly meetings had been held throughout the year. The WI had carried out litter picking, bulb planting and provided catering for many village events including the horse show and the flower show. The WI had had a float in the Carnival, a reading at the Carnival Songs of Praise, and had run a half-day course on resuscitation. One hundred and forty breakfasts had been served at the village breakfast and £400 sent to Marie Curie Cancer.
   • Hannah Lefeuvre (District Councillor) Hannah reported on the first year that she and Lesley Boucher had been District Councillors for the Coker ward. They had split the Parishes in the Ward between them, and Hannah had been the representative for Hardington. A new grant scheme had been introduced this year - the Frontline Community Councillor Grant which allowed each councillor to allocate money to local groups. £300 had been awarded to Hardington Church for a Hearing Induction Loop, and £700 to the Pre School. From the larger Community Grants Scheme, Hardington had been awarded £3000 towards the village hall roof.
     Hannah and Lesley had been active members of various Committees during the year. SSDC had won a national award for having the lowest proportion of waste going to landfill. SSDC received the Local Government Chronicle Award for Community Leader and also the National Charter for Member Development (similar to Investors in People) for the quality of training provided for members. The SSDC Sport and Active Lifestyles team won a national award from the Institute for Sports, Parks and Leisure for their work in promoting active and healthy living.
     Council Tax had risen by 4.9% this year and significant budget savings had had to be made.
     The new Local Development Plan was currently being implemented.
     East Coker and Barwick and Stoford Post Offices were on the list for closure and they were campaigning to save them both. David Beckley asked about recycling waste plastic. Mike Bickerton asked why it was difficult to build affordable housing when central government is pushing for more house building.
   • Brian Bower (Neighbourhood Watch) Brian reported that crime was not much of a problem in the village.
     The Chairman invited the public to raise any issues.
6. CLOSURE
   There being no further business the Chairman declared the Assembly closed at 8.15 pm.

Refreshments were then served (grateful thanks to Gillian Bysouth).