The Annual Parish Meeting of Appleford Parish Council was held on 29th April 2008.
Chairman's Report
Unfortunately I cannot be with this evening as I have another commitment. This year we have again had a few changes on the PC with resignations and a new member joining and also a member resign and again rejoin. As ever the councillors need to cover a number of areas ranging from the millennium common, the Didcot Power station, 13 Parishes meetings and various other meetings. So a big thanks to my fellow councillors for all their hard efforts, especially as I have been extremely busy myself and cannot afford the time to attend these meetings some of which take place during the day.
This last year has seen changes in our village with the key change being the refurbishment of the Village Hall. This has I know being a time of some upset and controversy, however I truly believe that the PC has done what it feels best for the village given the timescales and available funding. As most of you are aware there was a time limit on the funding available from Wren which the village was awarded the previous year. After discussions with Wren we were able to put this funding towards refurbishing the hall, along with other funding which was applied for. I must thank Donald Alcorn my fellow Councillor for all his efforts in this area and for getting the refurbishment underway. During Donald’s absence councillor Paul Horton stepped up to the mark and saw the works through to completion and for this we are truly grateful. I’m sure all those who attended the re-opening will agree that the refurbishment is a great improvement on what was the old village hall. I’m sure you will all join me in thanking both Donald and Paul for a job well done. The design for the hall has been done in such a way that it could be easily converted into a full time sports pavilion in the future as and when the requirements and funding for a new hall are met. This brings me on to the village hall committee – now that the hall is completed (well besides a few touch-ups and tarring of the pathway) we need to look at how the hall is managed. The village hall committee is a registered charity and there are certain posts that are mandatory and over the past years people have been carrying out dual roles. To ensure the interests of all parties and individuals are catered for and that we make the most out of the hall, the Management committee should be made up of representatives from those organisations that regularly use the facility and others in the village. I feel that one of the first duties of the committee is to set up a sound and fair pricing structure taking into account the new facilities and the possibility of using the smaller room for small group meetings. There are costs associated with the running of such a facility that need to be covered, and I urge members of the Parish to come forward to serve on this management committee and help in maintaining a fine asset to our village.
The playground is still very popular and we still have regular use of the football field by St Edmunds' FC. With the new change rooms now available I’m sure that we will attract even more interest in our facilities by sports clubs. It is great to have the facilities used in this way and does bring a new life to the village over the weekends not to mention revenue towards the upkeep of the recreation ground.
I am still very concerned about the speed of drivers travelling through our village especially now that we seem to have more children coming to the recreation ground.
The new signage at the top of Abingdon road as you come from Didcot seems to have reduced the frequency of heavy vehicles travelling through our village, although I have had occasion to stop a few and enquire as to why they are ignoring the signage. If any resident observes large vehicles travelling through our village they are encouraged to report this activity to the clerk, however the vehicle registration and Company name should be taken so that it makes it easier in addressing the issue.
On the broader front the issue of new housing around our area is still ongoing. I’m sure that Gervase has more to cover on this subject in his report back to the village.
Building has now started on the Amey site. There will inevitably be an impact on the traffic at the T-junction going over the bridge, and back towards Appleford. This, linked with the Gravel extraction which should start some time in the not too distant future will definitely cause some problems.
Finally the proposed incinerator at Sutton Courtenay could also prove to have an effect on our way of life and I ask that you make yourselves fully aware of the implications.
Thank You.
Gordon Manning
Chair Appleford Parish Council
The following reports from the village were also presented to the meeting: