Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly

held on Tuesday 19 May 2008
at Allhallows Primary School, Avery Way, Allhallows at 8.00pm

Contact us by email:   clerk@allhallows-pc.gov.uk

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ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY 2008
[These are DRAFT Minutes until formally approved by the 2009 APA]

PRESENT:

Cllrs R Morrad, Chairman, Mrs. Y Forrest, J Luck, A. Marsh, M Scudder, Medway Councillors Cllr Mrs. Janice Bamber, and Cllr Phil Philmer, Mr Andy McGrath Assistant Director Frontline Taskforce Chief Inspector Des Keers and Inspector Wharf, and twenty parishioners.

1. APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Ken Bamber, and Cllr Jim Duncan.

2. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY HELD ON 24 APRIL 2007

The Minutes of the Annual Parish assembly 2007, having been circulated to Members and posted on the website. The chairman Cllr Morrad read them to the meeting it. It was proposed by Cllr Marsh, and seconded by Cllr Luck and agreed that they be signed as a true record.

3. ACCOUNTS

The Financial Statements of the Parish Council’s Accounts for the year ending 31st March 2007 were received.

4. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Chairman’s Report
AGM 2008.

The last financial year has never been more demanding with new legislation coming from central government including the updated code of conduct, updating the Asset Register, Risk Assessments on all our activities, a review of our Standing orders and financial regulations, the more accurate recording of all the decisions that the council makes.

A number of legal issues have had to be resolved with our solicitor including the Village Hall roof, the Brimp site, and land issues with Medway Council on leases etc, and finally the constitution of the village hall has been brought into question.

The old disused play area in All Saints Road has been transformed into a very popular allotment site with all the available pitches taken up very quickly. I should like to put on record our thanks to Mr Dave Wallace of the Allhallows and Stoke Allotment association for taking over and managing this project. Our clerk has just been with us now for just over a year, I keep telling her that the last year was not the norm but I don’t think she believes me any more.

We have been able to supply a kick wall in the recreation ground at a cost of £3890 and hope to purchase a further one this year. A new small children’s play area is out to quotation and will be situated in the recreation ground. We have already spent over £3,000 on refurbish works on the proposed new community centre on the Brimp. We were able to obtain a grant from EON of nearly £1,000 to help with the Brimp project. Also £4.700 grant from Medway’s Rural Liaison grant.

Donations to local groups continue with some £250.00 being donated by us last year, making a total of over £1,600 in the past two year alone. A new tarmac surface was paid for at the Village Hall side entrance. Other expenses were £2,700 on caretaking/cleaning. £3,800 on the magazine. £1,000 on the web site. £1,700 Insurance and £2,200 on the provision of water for the new Allotments.

I should like to put on record my thanks to the clerk and all members for there dedicated work for the best of the community, all of which is on a voluntary basis as parish councillors do not receive any payment for the job. None of your precept is spent on councillors' wages; in fact it can cost us money in phone calls and stationery etc.
Cllr Rod Morrad.
The Chairman’s report was read and would be available on the website. No questions were asked.

5. YOUTH REPORT

Allhallows Parish Council: Annual Parish Assembly: Report for Youth Committee
Compiled by Cllr Mark Skudder

Read out at Parish Assembly 19th May 2008

Youth Report
It was agreed for this year for some extra funds to be made available for investment in youth and child projects. And my thanks go to the Finance Committee for their support in these projects.

The main project this year now is to purchase and install a small play park in the Recreation field. Play parks are very expensive projects, so this one will start off quite small, with plans to expand as funds become available. It is anticipated that the Play Park should be in place around July/ August.

A Kick Wall was also purchased last May on the recreational field. There are plans in place to purchase an opposing kick wall this year. However, these plans will be balanced against the need for the small play park and its costs. If funds are not available, then the second Kick Wall will be delayed.

The Brimp building is now available to the Parish Council. My thanks go to the Parish Council for the perseverance and also Councillor Filmer who helped broker an agreement to gain the building. The potential for Youth and Child projects is very high. There are some health and safety and building aspects that need to be resolved prior to its use. However it is hoped that a Youth Club will be up and running within the next few months, with a Drop In Centre for older children following shortly after. However, both of these projects will be dependent upon the availability of adult volunteers. I will be advertising for such volunteers, once the building issues have been resolved.

Finally, last year saw a football Open day competition on the Peninsula, hosted by High Halstow. Children from all over the Peninsula, including Allhallows, attended. It was a good day for all concerned. It is hoped to do something similar this year too, details to be confirmed at a later date. Still on the subject of football, Charlton Athletic football team will send a delegate to High Halstow’s June Parish Council meeting. High Halstow are extending an invitation to the meeting, to Allhallows Parish Council members. It is hoped that Charlton Athletic are to take an interest in football on the Peninsula. More details are not known at this stage

Mums and Toddler Group Annual Report 18/05/08

The mums and toddler group has been going for a while now, and over time has seen the numbers grow. The out look for the group looks very good and my hope for the future is that more mums and dads join in.
The aim of the group is for mums and dads that are at home on their own to come along and meet others, have a cup of tea/coffee, chat, get to know each other and to make friends while the children play together. We also supply drinks, biscuits and fresh fruit for the children.
Over the year we have bought various toys and play equipment for the children.
We are open all year round expect for Christmas when we close for 3 weeks. During school breaks the older siblings are always welcomed.
A fund raising event was held on the 10th May and would like to say that it went very well and a total profit of £332.99 was made, so a big thank you goes to all who made it possible.
A sponsored walk took place on the 22nd April and at this point in time we are waiting to get all monies in.
The future looks good and I hope it continues for many years to come.

Yvonne Forrest

6. MEDAY COUNCIL REPORTS

Peninsula Ward

It has been another busy year for the Hoo Peninsula and for Medway. Last year we were re-elected as your local councillors and we are proud to represent you again for another term. We were re-elected on the promise that the Conservatives would keep Medway’s Council Tax the lowest in Kent and introduce bus concessions for school children, and that is what we have done. Any increase in this year’s Council Tax has been kept to a minimum and half price bus concessions were introduced in September for school children going to and from school.

We were disappointed at the way Government reduced the Medway Planning Authority to a consultee on the application for Kingsnorth Power Station. However, the matter is still ‘live’ as 2000 Greenpeace supporters are expected to descend on Hoo in August.

The Bells Lane development kept us very busy with complaints about lorries depositing mud on the road and the appalling conditions the new householders were having to tolerate i.e. unfinished road and pavements, lack of electricity, contaminated water and poor standard of workmanship in the houses. Lessons were learned and the next development was conditioned so that the road was put in before the development of houses and the electricity supply connected before the houses were occupied.

Exciting plans are also being prepared for the future of the Black Lion Leisure Centre in preparation for the Olympics in 2012 and beyond and Medway Council are currently working on a submission to achieve World Heritage Status for the Historic Dockyard and surrounding area.

Medway Council is currently going through a management restructuring process which coincides with the retirement of one of our directors and the move to our new headquarters at Gun Wharf, finally bringing Medway Council’s operations under one roof. There will now be a leaner management structure and a more integrated and cohesive organization. We will certainly find it much easier with all the resources situated in one building instead of having to commute between the Municipal Buildings in Gillingham and the Civic Centre in Strood.

Our flagship Contact Point in Chatham has been officially opened this month, replacing the Chatham Local Office in Military Road. There are Contact Points in each of the five centres in Medway, as part of our commitment to provide easily accessible services to the communities they serve. Future plans are to have a Contact Point on the Peninsula.

The Customer First programme, which puts our customers at the center of everything that we do, has been awarded Chartermark status, recognising it as a service of excellence. Also our world-class contact center has been recognised as best practice amongst other councils in Britain and as far away as Denmark and New Zealand.

We are also pleased to report that we have secured funding for bus, road and rail improvements and will be making upgrades to the A228. In partnership with Network Rail, as part of the National Station Improvement Plan, the Council has also secured £1m towards renovations at Gillingham station. A number of road safety measures have been introduced in Medway including variable message signs, which inform drivers about the road conditions ahead.

Plans are in place and Phil is actively working with officers to solve the problems of introducing the Walking Bus for Stoke Primary School.

In the past few months the idea of constructing an airport in Medway has reappeared and proposals to build a tunnel extending from the Hoo Peninsula to Essex have emerged. Both plans are financially flawed and would decimate the peninsula. Recently the Leader of Medway Council Councillor Rodney Chambers and Portfolio Holder Phil Filmer supported by KCC have met with the tunnels promoters to oppose the proposal. Rest assured that your local councilors will fight both the airport and the tunnel proposals.

Janice Bamber Phil Filmer Ken Bamber

Members for Peninsular Ward

Questions were asked by members of the Chalet Association regarding the freehold of the land the chalets occupied, recycling, and drink drivers on the site. The Medway councilors and Mr. Andy McGrath promised to look into their concerns.

7. REPORTS FROM LOCAL ORGANISATIONS

All Saints Church Report to the Annual Parish Council Meeting 2008

The PCC would like to thank the Parish Council for their donation towards the grass cutting at The Binney Road Graveyard. We have had to obtain new quotations for this as Quadron are no longer taking outside contracts. This has affected us as they used to cut the grass for about £42.00 per cut, our new contractor Colyn Property Services costs £108.00 per cut. This means an increase of £444.00 this year.
The repairs were completed to the Church Roof in February and the windows and rainwater goods painted.
It costs approximately £150.00 per week to maintain our Church Buildings and this comes from the donations made by the congregation, wedding fees, funerals, fund raising such as Nearly New. We also pay the Rector’s salary etc. The PCC are looking at ways to increase our congregation or adapt the use of the church before the inevitable happens and a For Sale sign appears. This could happen within the next ten years. How much does the Church Building mean to the people of Allhallows.

From July we are proposing to hold in addition to our normal morning service a more informal evening service in the village hall twice a month. Refreshments will be served.

We hope to be starting the Joy Club in the school again in September.

We are looking at running a youth event each month in the church. We are also hoping that we will hold our Carol Singing at the School which was proposed last year but unfortunately didn’t materialize.

We have enjoyed seeing the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides at several services throughout the year and were delighted when Pre-school performed their Christmas play in the Church.

Nearly New has been running for twenty three years and is still as popular as when it started. We had a burglary in the Church in early February when two fires and some money from Nearly New was stolen, we have now had a full payout from the Insurance Company to cover this.

Please People of Allhallows if you want to continue to have use of the Church building for weddings, funerals, baptisms etc you need to support your Church NOW.

The Indoor Bowls Club

The indoors Bowls Club reported that they were low on numbers now only six to eight regular attendees. Meetings are held every Friday and new members would be warmly welcomed.

8. VILLAGERS’ LIFE MAGAZINE

Cllr Morrad reported that the June/July edition was ready to go to print. He was concerned about the cost of the magazine and the reduction in the advertising income.

9. OTHER BUSINESS AT THE CHAIRMAN’S DISCRETION

There was no other business

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The chairman introduced the quest speakers Chief Inspector Des Keers and Inspector Wharf.

A very interesting talk was given by the Medway Policing representatives. Chief Inspector Keers Chief Inspector Keers stated that the policing in the area had been increased. The aim was to give reassurance, to be more accessible and to increase public confidence. There was to be an extra sergeant and four new constables from the 1 September.

There are currently seventy six PCSO’s and twenty-eight police constables in the neighborhood policing team. The budget for neighborhood policing had been increased. The Hoo peninsula was a safe place to live as anti-social behavior had gone down and there was a reduction in the fear of crime. The only crime to go up was burglary.

In regard to concerns about the impending protest against Kingsnorth Power Station it was reported that a special intelligent unit is being set up, with a vehicle identification unit monitoring all vehicles both on and off the peninsula. A massive police presence will be in the area involving police from the Met, Sussex, Essex, and Surrey

Questions were taken from the floor.

The Chairman thanked Chief Inspector Keers and Inspector Wharf, Councillor, and Parishioners for attending and closed the meeting at 9.25pm. The meeting was followed by a buffet.

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