Annual Report
Parish Meeting
Wednesday 27th May 2015
7:15pm in the Craster Memorial Hall
The last year has been one of many
changes which have presented the Parish Council with a range of
challenges. This meeting is the opportunity for the whole community to
review how those challenges have been addressed and to express their
opinions on how the Parish Council should operate in the coming year.
With the death of County
Councillor John Taylor at the beginning of the year the Parish Council
lost not only a knowledgeable colleague, but also a valuable link to
the County Council. To fill the void the Officers of the Parish Council
undertook various liaison tasks with County Council officers to
progress issues identified as being of concern to the community. This
did raise questions of accountability, transparency and governance.
These issues were addressed by the Parish Council and the Officers’
actions were endorsed. At no stage were any decisions made without
reference back to the Clerk and full Parish Council.
Parking within the Parish is of
significant concern to all residents. The increase in visitor numbers
means that throughout the tourist season there are not sufficient
spaces for cars to park. The Parish Council has continued to work with
the County Council and has now convinced Officers that it is necessary
to increase the capacity of the Quarry Car Park. Unfortunately it has
not proved possible to purchase the waste land in the Quarry so
alternatives have been investigated. As only one coach per month pays
for parking in the Quarry this facility will be removed and the space
released allocated to cars. The County Council have now obtained
estimates to extend the car park by moving the perimeter fence closer
to the quarry wall, and are planning to do this work later in the year.
This should make a significant increase in the capacity of the car park
with no adverse environmental impact. The initial work on this project
was to be commenced this week, but following representations by the
Parish Council it has been put back until after the school half term
holiday: a good example of where our local knowledge can ensure a
better service from the County Council.
On high days and holidays the capacity
will still be insufficient and with the cooperation of the Greys the
turn field will be used as an overflow facility. To reduce the need to
man this car park while it is in use the Parish Council is
investigating the provision of a reconditioned solar powered ticket
machine.
Parking within Craster
village has been a problem and this year we have worked with the County
Council and have had the existing restrictions amended and extended
where appropriate. We are pressing for strict enforcement to reduce the
incidents of parking in prohibited areas.
Of particular concern during the year has
been parking for residents on Heugh Wynd. The village has benefited
from our Ward County Councillor’s initiative in allocating £18,000 of
her “Members Local Improvement Scheme” funds to strengthening the
verges outside of five houses and hopefully this action will solve the
problem for those residents.
During the year, eight planning
applications were made for developments within the parish. On one of
these the recommendation of the Parish Council was contrary to those of
the Planning Officers. This was an outline application for the
development of the Bark Potts site by the demolition of the café,
removal of the log cabins and the building of up to six houses. Having
taken account of the views of the community the Parish Council tried to
ensure that the application was amended so that at least six houses
would be built, thereby ensuring an affordable element. The reason for
this was that if fewer than six houses were to built then there would
be no requirement for that affordable element. The Planning Committee
took note of our concerns and agreed to monitor any subsequent full
application. This served to highlight once again the continuing issue
of the supply of affordable housing within the community.
The condition of the road outside of the
Cottage Inn in Dunstan has continued to be of concern. It was allocated
the highest priority by the Parish Council and was included in the
County Council’s schedule of works for the year. Although some initial
investigative work has been carried out no firm date for the renovation
work has been forthcoming from the County Council.
The Parish Council has
been more successful with pursuing the flooding of the road at the
bottom of the Tower Bank. In conjunction with County Council Officers
the Parish Council conducted a detailed investigation and a
County Council drain on the east side of the road was been exposed.
This drain had been overgrown and blocked. The drain, and the
associated culvert, has now been cleared and the water can once again
flow under the road to the burn on the west side. This appears to
solved the problem and during recent heavy rains there were no signs of
flooding.
The maintenance of Parish Council assets
has been put on a formal basis with a contract being placed for the
inspection and repair of the bins, bus shelters and notice boards. This
was achieved through a formal tendering process to ensure we obtained
value for the public purse.
The major expenditure of the Parish
Council in the recent past has been the subsidy given to the Embleton
Joint Burial Committee which runs the Spitalford Cemetery on behalf of
Newton, Embleton and Craster Parish Councils. This year there has been
a major change in the management of the Cemetery and a policy to
operate without subsidies has been approved by all three Parish
Councils. This is being achieved by the Committee through significant
savings in the operating costs and increasing the charges for the
services provided.
For many years the residents have been
subsidising funerals in the Spitalford cemetery by approximately £1,000
per funeral. This has now ceased and the Parish Council decided to
allocate £1,000 of the money saved towards the purchase and
installation of a deliberator. This will be placed on the wall of the
Life Boat Station and will be available for use in emergencies by
residents and visitors alike. Training will be provided to all who wish
it, so that should the need arise the equipment can be used to sustain
life until the professional paramedics arrive.
After serving the Parish and the Burial
Committee for many years our Clerk, Helen Brewis, decided to resign in
September. She agreed to stay on until we could find a replacement
which, in the event, took longer than anticipated. However Parish
Council has started the new year with a new Clerk who will also serve
Embleton Parish Council and the Burial Committee. The numerous changes
in the regulations relating to Parish Councils have made the work more
onerous and we are fortunate to have found a Clerk with extensive
experience of local government. The Council has also negotiated with
Embleton to share all costs relating to the recruitment, training and
on-going development of the new clerk and any common systems.
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