Chairman's Report - 2008

The Parish Office, which is situated within the Meir Heath and Rough Close village hall building (Grange Road, Meir Heath) is open as usual on each Monday (except Bank Holidays) from 11am until 1pm. It is hoped that the number of days each week, and the hours of opening, will increase in the near future. This should follow the appointment of a new Clerk to Fulford Parish Council, as stated previously. As we go to press, applicants for the position of Clerk have been interviewed, and the appointment is being progressed.

The Parish Plan is now complete, printed, and soon to be distributed, although because of costs, the distribution will be restricted. However a copy of the plan will be held in the parish office for those residents wishing to read it, or to check on future progress towards the implementation of its proposals.

“Quality Status” for the Parish Council is still our objective although progress has been restricted by our failure to meet certain criteria for accreditation, which we propose to address as soon as possible. The council will elaborate more on this in future issues of the “Newsletter”. The Council has applied for the same amount of money (the precept) as last year - £45,000 – to cover the anticipated parish expenditure for the financial year 2008/09. This will enable us to meet our commitments, help to limit the increases in Council Tax, and maintain a healthy working balance of the Council’s funds.

Barry Shaw - Chairman

Chairman's Report - 2007

The council has resolved to achieve “Quality Council” status and as part of achieving this, the council has initiated the preparation of a “Parish Plan”, which will be the result of consultation and cooperation with parish organisations. A questionnaire has been delivered to the 2,500 households in the parish, and to date over 900 have been returned, which is a particularly pleasing response to such an exercise. The analysis of this feedback by an independent person outside of our parish will then be used to set the goals and objectives for Fulford Parish Council for the next four years.

A decision to re-instate play equipment on Grindley Park has been made which will be subject to support from the Borough Council and applications for grant aid.

The local elections are to be held on the 3rd May 2007. All seats on the Parish Council will be up for election on that date. If you are interested in offering your services as a Parish Councillor, and would like to know what it entails (we have tried to explain much of this in previous newsletters), please contact the Parish Clerk, or one of your councillors. This is your chance to make a difference!

Martin Oxby - Chairman

Chairman's Report - 2006

The council has resolved to achieve “Quality Council” status and as part of achieving this, the council will initiate the preparation of a “Parish Plan”, which will be the result of consultation and cooperation with parish organisations, and for which grant applications are prepared.

Support has been given to the Borough Council’s plan to fence part of Barlaston (Rough Close) Common in order to permit favourable management through the re-establishment of grazing.

The village well in Fulford has been repaired which together with the County Council’s work, has very much improved this central feature.

A new notice board was provided at Rough Close, and a new bus shelter at Blythe Bridge.

The major planning issues have been the Gypsy site at Spot Acre, and the ongoing issues with developments at “The Wood” on Stallington Road, both of which had enforcement notices served.

Installation of new fencing and a kissing gate in Grindley Park was completed particularly to prevent the access of motorcycles and other such vehicles from entering the park and causing disruption.

In order to better utilise the Meir Heath and Rough Close Village Hall, we are supporting their Management Committee with their proposal to extend at the side of the building, which when complete will not only give more space for increased activities, but also allow facilities for the Parish Council.

Support was also provided to the start up of children’s facilities at Fulford and at Meir Heath, and also to the Windmill Group in their efforts to restore the prominent feature at Meir Heath.

With the above expenditure and together with those of its day-to-day administration and parish responsibilities such as grass cutting and bin emptying on parish land, the Parish Council was able to balance its annual budget.

In order to particularly address the provision for play areas and facilities for all age groups, the Parish Council increased its precept for the current year which resulted in an increase in individual properties rate demand, although this only results in £4.10 per year from a Band D household.

Martin Oxby - Chairman