Chairman's Report - 2010

This report covers my term of office which will end with the appointment of a new Chairman at the Annual Parish Meeting of the Council.

Fulford Parish Council is one of the largest parish councils in Staffordshire serving an electorate of over 5,000 people with an annual precept of £45,000 and as you can imagine the council have dealt with a range of issues during the past 12 months.

We continue to try and communicate with all the electorate via our quarterly newsletter, our well populated website, the parish notice boards and of course through the Parish office that is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 9.30am to 12.30 pm.

One of our big disappointments over the year was the failure to secure government funding to develop an adventure playground on Grindley Park, Meir Heath. However despite this set back the Council are determined to ensure all the hard work and effort put in by many sectors of the community is not wasted and we are now setting about seeing how best we can go some way to providing facilities for young people on Grindley Park.

The Parish Council has again been able to progress some of the issues in our parish plan, for instance:

• a new bus shelter has been provided in Fulford;

• the grass verges across the parish are now in a better condition following the Council’s decision to take over the cutting. We now cut them 12 times a year rather than the 8 previously provided by the County Council;

• more dog litter bins have been provided, although we still think some dog owners could be more responsible than they are at present;

• an ongoing programme, in conjunction with the County Council, to repair and where necessary replace some of the styles on our public footpaths is continuing.

The Parish Council has continued to support the County Council’s efforts to ensure that Staffordshire’s proportion of the regional sand and gravel requirements was reduced from 65% to 55% and I pleased to report that this campaign was successful and should help us in our fight to ensure that sand and gravel extraction does not take place in our or neighbouring parishes.

The Council continues to meet monthly with additional sub-committees and working groups meeting on a regular basis. Attendance at meeting continues to be very high with an average of around 85% attendance. Members of the public are of course able to attend these meetings, if they wish, and are always welcome.

One of our Meir Heath ward councillors resigned during the course of the year, but I am pleased to report that Mrs Wendy Jennings has been co-opted onto the Council as a very able replacement.

Finally, despite taking on additional costs associated with the grass cutting, additional dog litter bins and of course the normal day-to- day increases in costs, your Council has been able to maintain the annual precept at the same level for the 3rd year running and we will continue to strive to ensure that the electorate of in the Parish continue to get value for money.

Kath Brayford - Chairman

Chairman's Report - 2009

Fulford Parish Council is one of the largest parish councils in Staffordshire serving an electorate of over 5,000 people with an annual budget of £45,000 and as you can imagine the council have dealt with a range of issues during the past 12 months.

We continue to try and communicate with all the electorate via our quarterly newsletter, our well populated website, the parish notice boards and of course through the Parish office that is now open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 9.30am to 12.30 pm.

The Parish Plan was completed a little over 12 months ago and the Council is working to take forward the actions proposed in that document, for example:

• we have taken over responsibility for the grass cutting from the County Council and are now cutting the grass 50% more frequently than the County whilst keeping the increased costs of the work to 30%;

• additional dog litter bins have been provided and more are planned;

• efforts are being made to provide a school crossing patrol and/or a pedestrian crossing in Meir Heath to allow people to cross safely to the school and shops;

• an application has been submitted for government funding to provide an adventure playground for young people on Grindley Park and although our application for funding this year has failed we are planning a further submission for funding for 2010/11;

• an application for funding to repair some of the styles on our public footpaths has been submitted to the County Council.

Over the course of the year the Council has responded to several consultation documents including the Staffordshire Minerals Core Strategy, the Borough’s Local Development Framework and the Borough’s Sport and Recreation Facilities Strategy. The response to the Minerals Core Strategy was particularly important because of the potential impact some of the proposals contained in the document will have on our area. There is still a long way to go with the proposals contained in this document but your council will continue to oppose any attempts to quarry for sand and gravel in the area.

During the year we have also had some changes to the Council with 4 new Councillors joining us, the latest being Cllrs. Mrs McPherson and Mrs Weaver.

Finally, despite taking on additional costs associated with the grass cutting, additional dog litter bins and of course the normal day-to- day increases in costs, your Council has been able to maintain the annual precept at the same level for the 3rd year running and we will continue to strive to ensure that the electorate of in the Parish continue to get value for money.

Kath Brayford - Chairman

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