Chair’s Annual Report from May 2020 to end April 2021
Introduction
In my report of 2019/2020 I commented that while we were under lock down we were unable to hold the Parish Council Annual Meeting. I am please to say that this year we are able to hold virtual meetings, so the Annual Meeting will take place over Zoom in May.
In this report I will cover the work of the Parish Council over the past year.
Ampleforth Volunteer Network
At the start of the first lockdown the Parish Council, together with St. Hilda’s and St. Benedict’s churches set up a local volunteer network to support people who were isolating or in need of assistance. 20 people vounteered their services – thank you. The main activities involved prescription collection, some shopping and the delivery of meals.
The network is still in place is now part of a wider Community Support Organisation (CSO), a voluntary body which is supported by Ryedale District Council and NYCC. The Parish Council is acting as organiser for Ampleforth. The CSO provides:
- A phoneline (9.00am to 5.00pm): to support the needs of callers – 07922 421326 or communities@carersresource.net
- Supporting callers with the practical, financial and emotional impact of COVID.
- Supporting and developing a collective food-security offer across Ryedale.
- Supporting organisers with ANY safeguarding questions.
- Giving the organisers the opportunity to ‘pass forward’ residents who they feel unable to support .
Thank you Rachel
Rachel Speight-McGregor resigned as a councillor this year. Thank you Rachel, particularly regarding your efforts to keep the village clean and tidy. The “Tidy Ampleforth” Day in March was organised by Rachel and very well supported. We intend to organise a similar event later this year.
Welcome Nichola
Our new councillor is Nichola Nicholls who many of you will know. Nichola has lived in Ampleforth all of her life and raised her family here. She runs a local business and this brings her into contact with our local councils and as local funeral director, contact with both churches. She has also been a school governor.
Ampleforth Common Shares
As we said in last year’s newsletter, we wanted to begin a discussion in the village about the future of the Common Shares plots of land.
The plots were valued in 2018 and rents have been increased to reflect current market rates. Following a further detailed review of the current situation involving extensive discussion with interested parties, the Parish Council decided to offer existing tenants the opportunity to either purchase their plot at market value or to continue to rent them under the current arrangements. A number of tenants have expressed an interest in purchasing. Three plots have been sold and two are in the process of being sold
Two vacant plots have recently been rented out.
Any profits made from the sale of Common Shares will be used to fund new community initiatives. We would welcome ideas/suggestions on how to best use these funds to benefit the village.
Traffic through the Village
A major complaint from residents is traffic speeding through the village, and the disruption when traffic is routed through the village due to the closure of Sutton Bank. We are endeavouring to improve the situation by working with the County Council to try and install some addition measures to deter speeding. This is not proving as simple as it sounds, so bear with us, we will continue to try and get some measures in place this year.
Finance and Funding Opportunities
The Parish Council has not raised the precept (the contribution we receive from your Council Tax) again, and we aim to keep expenditure within the current budget.
There is still Section 106 money available for sport and leisure activities – contact Ryedale District Council (ryedale.gov.uk) for details on how to bid. The money is only available until 2022, so we encourage local organisations who could benefit from it to get their bids in.
Millennium Green
The newly planted fruit trees have suffered with extreme weather conditions during their first year. With the extreme wet, then super dry conditions, despite desperate watering by a number of residents, we had some casualties with the new crab apple trees. These will need replacing this year.
Other newly planted trees, the mulberry, cherry, walnut, sweet chestnut and medlar, faired much better.
Special thanks go to John Green for donating an oak, now planted in the centre of the meadow.
More daffodil bulbs have been planted and we are hoping for a fine display in the Spring.
Thanks to dog walkers who kept the area clean and for restraining their dogs on leads for the benefit of others.
The Millennium Green is primarily a wild life area and with this in mind we have reduced the grass cutting schedule. The regular cut is limited to either side of the pathway, followed by an annual cut of all other areas.
Grass Cutting
The new grass cutting team settled in during the year and has been retained for 2021.
Our objective is to keep cutting to a minimum to reduce our carbon footprint and increase biodiversity in the village. This also reduces the spend on grass cutting, which is a large percentage of our budget.
Most residents cut the grass outside their properties, which again keeps our costs down, and the Parish Council wishes to thank you all for doing this.
Our contract for grass cutting is limited to roadside verges, not managed by local residents, and other public areas including:
- the south side of Ampleforth Bank and the area around the horse trough
- south side of Station Road from the Millennium Green to the edge of the village
- North and west sides of Station Road round the Main Street to the Village Hall entrance
- The village centre in front of the shop
- Areas around the bus stops and the telephone box
- St. Hilda’s churchyard and the cemetery
- The Millennium Green
Finance
Our main source of income comes from the Council Tax precept of £16,000, with additional income from fees and grants, plus income from the cemetery, which makes a total of about £24,000. This year our total spend will be about £15,000. As we still have ample reserves, we have not raised the precept for 2020/2021. Our main expenditure is on services around the village such as grass cutting, the salary of our clerk who acts as our secretary and finance officer, and grants for various activities.
Addition income from the sale of common shares, this year about £19,000 has been place in a separate account to be used on special projects.
Other Services
Cemetery management and churchyard maintenance
The Parish Council continues to manages the new cemetery and keeps the old (closed) churchyard tidy.
Defibrillator
The defibrillator on the shop wall is checked regularly to ensure that it is in good working order and parts are replaced as required.
Grants
No grants have been issued during the year.
Litter and dog waste bins and litter picking
We aim to keep the village as clean and tidy as possible. Thank you to all of the residents who support us in this. We intend to organise a litter pick as soon as regulations allow it.
Planning Applications
We are asked to comment on all planning applications, but are not part of the decision making process. Some residents think that we have much more influence over the process that we do, so it is worth pointing this out. Complaints need to be address to Ryedale District Council and the National Park Authority.
Reporting
We report faults and other issues to Ryedale District Council, North Yorkshire County Council and other services as appropriate and monitor their progress. The main issues are related to highways, potholes and traffic calming, which is ongoing.
Trees
The Parish Council is responsible for looking after roadside trees and those on the Millennium Green and in the churchyard. This year some dead, and possibly dangerous trees were removed from Old Station Road.
Plans for 2021/22
Newsletter
In addition to this report, we are issuing our News Letter annually. We had hoped to issue this in January but were unable to do so in a lock down situation. It will be issued later in the year.
It has been an interesting year and I would like to thank my fellow councillors and our clerk Louise for their support. I would also like to thank all of the residents who help maintain the village and keep it looking attractive.
Sue Shepherd
Chair of Ampleforth Parish Council
3rd May 2021