Parish Council Notes - May 2011

The Annual General Meeting was held in May. Margaret Turnbull was elected Chairman and Doreeen Jordon as Vice Chairman Doreen Jordon will represent the Council on the Reading Room Committee, Paul Macdonald and Val Mennear on the Burial Committee and Philip Holden our representative at Prudhoe High School.

The Chairman's Report showed a full and active year for the Councillors, all of whom were thanked by the Chairman. Unfortunately at the start of the year Melanie Morton resigned. She has been missed but Ian Heslop was co-opted to the Council and has proved already to be of great value. Especial thanks were given to Doreen Jordon who keeps the village so beautiful with her flower beds and Phil Holden who works so very hard keeping the recreation ground perfect for the many users. A new mower was purchased during the year and this has made his job a lot easer. Perhaps it is not known how much work Phil puts into keeping the pavilion up to a very high standard.

There have been cuts in maintenance work done by NCC but on the whole most jobs have been undertaken, though routine work perhaps hasn't been done so often and there always seems to be drains blocked somewhere.,.

The most successful undertaking of the Council has been the installation of the Playbuilder Scheme on the Recreation Ground. By the time this is read it should be well and truly used and we hope the young people of the village do enjoy it. So far it looks as though they are all very happy with it.

During the year, following the death of Angus Armstrong who has rented one of the grazing fields for many years, it was decided to offer further land to the Allotment Association.

We would remind all parishioners that the monthly minutes are on our Web Site and can always be read. Georgina has now resigned as clerk and we welcome Margaret Davenport who has taken her place.

New Play Equipment - Official Opening - Picnic in the Park

Click on the images above to read about our plans for the official opening of the new play equipment on the playing field. It promises to be a great, fun, family afternoon out. The weather is bound to be scorching ... but even if it isn't, there'll be a great big colourful marquee there. Entertainment, music (from local youth bands), drama, games, competitions .... a fun afternoon. Bring a blanket, bring a picnic, leave your car and have a great time. Be there .... or miss it!

Parish Council Notes - April 2011

The meeting which took place on 14 April was well attended. The Allotments Association have now taken over the extra land and a letter of thanks was read to the Council.

Georgina Harper, the parish clerk for the last five years, is retiring at the end of May. The new clerk is Margaret Davenport (Ovington) and she will take over from June.

A long standing request has been answered - what to do with the old village post box. Bob Klotz is arranging for it to be loaned to Bellingham Museum, where it should have a good home. If there is anybody who has a photograph of the old post office, this would be good to send with the postbox.

The Parish Council are still very concerned about the state of our roads. Some clearing of the gutters has been carried out but still many of the drains have not been cleared and cause very large puddles across the roads. Some potholes on Horsley Road have been cleared but still many remain and the subsidence on Castle View is still giving concern.

Councillor Holden must be congratulated on all his hard work with the Playbuilder Scheme which as I write this is almost finished and by the time you read this we will have had what we hope is going to be a very happy afternoon launching the new play scheme. We hope that the young people will find it a good asset to the village.

Councillor Jordon, together with Councillor Jackson are well on the way with producing the new village plan and their appeal is to everybody for things they feel would improve village life. Please, when you receive your copy, do think, write and return to the Council your "wishes".

For two years now the Council has been producing a monthly magazine which is circulated to all households. However, under the economies which they are having to make this is to be discontinued, though hard copies are to be produced which will be found in some of our libraries.

On a rather sad note - our Community Policeman has reported that there is a crime wave at the moment here in the village on the Piper Road Estate and in Wylam. The police are urging everybody to be vigilant with property and especially cars and their contents.

Additional notes from OPC councillors:-

As you will have read in the notes above, Georgina Harper is retiring at the end of May. The job of parish council clerk involves a wide range of skills including perseverance, diplomacy, flexibility and above all a commitment to the community. Much of the work goes un-noticed by residents. Phone calls, meetings, letters, emails, chasing up un-answered emails, ... the list goes on. Georgina over the last 6 years, has done all of this on our behalf extremely successfully for minimal remuneration but we know with a lot of satisfaction. For that Georgina, on behalf of all the councillors and residents, many, many thanks. We wish you well.

Parish Council Notes - February 2011

It was so good to know that at long last it appears that the culvert at the Pack Horse Bridge has now been cleared. NCC worked hard to dig a large hole and remove much of the gravel which has made the burn run so very slowly. However, following all the recent rain it appears that all is well and the Parish Council hope that at long last the burn will not block again and flood.

Once again the post box which was donated to the village some time ago was discussed. Has anybody any good ideas how it can be used? If you have a bright idea, please let one of the Councillors know.

Once again, the condition of our roads was discussed. There are pot holes in many places but those on Horsley Road have been reported as very dangerous. Also so many of our drains are becoming blocked by leaves and when it rains there are many places throughout the village with standing water. These have all been reported and it is hoped that NCC may find the money to put them right.

Councillor Holden was able to report that the Playbuilder Scheme is progressing well and the scheme should make its target day of the the 31 March. It was good to note that quite a few people had attended the "pop in" and it was very good that there were several offers of help when the scheme is up and running.

Councillor Jordon is forming a new "Village Plan" and needs the village's support and ideas. She has placed a notice on the boards in the village and would be delighted to receive any ideas for the requests which should be included in the survey. The last Plan was produced six years ago, when more than 50 ideas were brought forward. These have all been investigated and many introduced.Green Ovingham who were represented at the meeting offered their support

The next meeting of the Council will be 14th April (the first of the new financial year) and the Annual Meeting will be held 12 May.

Parish Council Notes - January 2011

The Council welcomed Ian Heslop to the meeting on his co-option. The Councillors hope that he will enjoy working alongside them, and already his input is being felt.

It has now been decided to split the field previously let as grazing land, some going to the Allotments Association and a larger amount to be kept as grazing land and let. There was much discussion over this decision as Green Ovingham had prepared plans for the Council which they hoped would allow them to take over the field. Although sympathising with the Group the Council felt that their decision should stand. They did, however, have much pleasure in granting Green Ovingham £100 towards their running expenses. The Council was also glad to hear of the many things which the Group has done in the past and hope to do in the future.

It may be noted that one culvert at the burn remains blocked, even though it had been hoped that the heavy rainfall would clear the gravel. However, as I write this I have just had the assurance from the Northumberland Bridge Inspector that a much deeper hole will be dug which should take away the gravel.

The Parish Council has agreed to pay for a longer grass cutting schedule this year. If you do have complaints about grass cutting, please report them to the Parish Council.

The Council have received complaints that horses are being ridden on the pavements and in one place have left droppings. This is very anti-social and the Council would ask all residents to report back and let them know if this happens again. The same rules concerning dog-fouling apply to horses, so please do help us stop this occurring.

There will be vacancy for a clerk in the future. If there is anybody who would like to know more about what the position involves, please ask Georgina on 01661 831897.

The March Meeting will be held 16 March at 7.15 in the Reading Room.

Village Appraisal

Cllr. Doreen Jordon is putting the wheels in motion to start the process of conducting a village appraisal.

A village appraisal is an important opportunity for residents and village organisations to flag the issues which are of concern to them and about which the parish council might have some influence. We all know it is a time of big change in the level and manner in which public services are to be delivered - even if at the moment we don't yet know just how these might change.

For starters, Doreen would be grateful for suggestions from residents and village organisations about what issues they feel might be included in the appraisal. If you have suggestions, please email them to Doreen at djnjordon@hotmail.co.uk. Alternatively, you can contact any of the other councillors or clerk whose contact details are on the website.

Parish Clerk Vacancy

Our clerk is due to retire soon. If you are interested in the position and would like details of the post, please contact Georgina Harper on 01661 831897.