Chairman’s Report - Annual Parish Meeting 2010
Held on Wednesday 12 May 2010 at 7.30pm
In the Meeting Point, High Bickington

As a new political coalition dawns, with a new prime minister and deputy, and we see the majority of voters from Torridge represented in government for the first time in my living memory, welcome to your Annual Parish Meeting for 2010.  Last year the most important news was our Parish Council and Community Property Trust getting planning permission for a new school, community hall and the affordable housing on the Little Bickington Farm site.

This year the most important news is that months and months afterwards Torridge District Council eventually agreed and signed the Section 106 agreement and that work has finally been allowed to start on the site.  Our thanks once again are due to David Brown who has chaired the Community Property Trust, our parish council vice chairman Mike Leatham who has been our parish council representative and director on the Community Property Trust committee, and all the other active members who have supported and sustained this project.  Now all we have to do is raise the money to make sure that the things we wished for in our Parish Plan become a reality.

Last year at this meeting I asked everyone to think about what we would like done with the existing school, playground and church hall when they eventually become redundant.  At last month’s meeting chaired by Mike Leatham, which I unfortunately had to miss as I was working in Liverpool and Manchester that week, some parishioners approached the parish council for financial assistance with refurbishing the existing church hall, which apparently will cost around £12,000.  So in a moment when I open the meeting up for our annual informal discussion we’d like to hear whether you think this is something the parish council should be doing with your money.

The Devon County and District Council review by the Boundary Commission, which against everyone’s advice recommended a unitary council for Exeter, is probably now on hold following the election, so we still do not know quite what’s going to happen.

The vandalism which plagued the village last year and which used up so much of the money that we could have spent on young people instead continued with two suspicious fires at Dobbs’ shed and a Nethergrove hay barn, but recently things have been much better, so this year I’m looking forward to any suggestions from our youngsters about what improvements they would like for them in the village, and we’ll see if we can find money to make them happen.  We have exciting opportunities with the Little Bickington Farm site, and I appreciate that we have sold the Barton Meadow waste area used for BMX bikes to raise funds towards a new village hall, so I’d welcome any ideas to replace that lost facility.  We did however, by popular demand, keep the copse opposite the churchyard and protect the hedgerow.

The biggest problem or complaint this year (apart from the freezing weather, which also destroyed the road surfaces) has been dog mess again, which probably means irresponsible adults, with some dog walkers not clearing up after their animals and some clearing up but chucking the plastic bags with dog poo in them into the hedges and the entrance of the playing field instead of into dog bins, so we’re going to have to buy more of them.

Thanks very much to Sue Williamson and the helpers who again picked up litter around the village, and to all the other community minded people who run all our clubs, fetes, darts, skittles, cricket and football teams and other village events, keeping the parish vibrant and active. I’d also like to thank the hard working people who represent you as your parish council who all do other volunteer work in the village as well from Neighbourhood Watch and Church Councils to Community Property Trust, clubs and Playing Fields trustees and our of course our excellent clerk Di.  Please spend your money locally in the pubs, post office, shops and businesses, employ local people to do your jobs where you can and we’ll all come through this recession together.  We have another challenging year ahead, much to do, but much to look forward to as well.

If anyone wants to talk to any of your parish councillors please do, we’re here to help – come along to any parish council meeting and have your say, that’s what we’re here for.  It has been a great privilege to represent you as your chairman for another year, my apologies for having to miss so many meetings, and thanks to Vice-chairman Mike Leatham and everyone else for tolerating my work absences.  I wish you every success in the year to come.  Thank you.

Myc Riggulsford

Chairman