The Parish Year – A summary by the Chairman, Cllr Peter Smith.

The Council year starts in May with the Annual Meeting at which all the positions and committee members are elected.

Although the life of councils such as ours is for 4 years following an election, our cycle is geared around a 12 month period. As with many organisations our business side, ably managed by our Clerk, Mrs Susan Whitcher, has a financial year from April to March.

At the full council meeting in May, I was privileged to be re-elected Chairman and was pleased that Reg Wareham was also re-elected as Council Vice Chairman. The Amenities and Planning committees were re-established (each councillor may sit on one of these committees). At the first meeting of each committee, they elect their own chair and vice-chair. Cllr John Grey and Cllr David Terry were elected chair and vice-chair of Amenities and Cllr Ken Wells and Cllr Roy Bowring were elected chair and vice-chair of Planning. The third committee, Finance, Policies and Resources is composed of the chairs and vice-chairs of the two committees plus the chair and vice-chair of the Council.

June – As I had outlined in May, when I thanked my fellow councillors for re-electing me, I was aware of the importance in reviewing our current practises and improving public participation and Council agreed to setup a sub-committee to investigate and make recommendations. The Clerk and I also recommended to our fellow councillors the annual Audit return for 2008-09. Also at this meeting we had the first reports of vandalism.

July, saw me on holiday but the Council was ably chaired by Cllr Wareham. The Clerk had been updating our insurance requirements and in light of the cost of making small claims, was recommending financing these small claims (usually caused by vandalism) ourselves as they rarely exceed the cost of our excess and collectively may make our premiums’ more expensive. Cllr Wells also represented the Council when the Searle Trophy was awarded at Hordle Primary School. This award is made in the memory of a long standing councillor, Dick Searle who was also the Chemist in Hordle for many years.

August. The Council has had a presence at each of the 3 village fetes for a few years and I reported on those at Tiptoe and Everton (Hordle was later). The weather was kind at Tiptoe but Everton was not so lucky. We usethese events to try to publicise what we do and be available to members of the public but the Council is aware that we need to do more if we want to try and involve the communities, both to get our information out and to be able find out what collectively is best for the Parish as a whole. It was noted at the meeting that we had submitted the planning application on behalf of the Tiptoe Green Trust. We also started to amass information for the financial budget which will dictate what we are able to fund for the 2010-11 year and provides the bases for the amount which we ask NFDC tocollect on our behalf, we call this the Precept but most of you see it as the ‘Local council’ rate tacked onto the bottom of your Council charge.

September. We were joined at this meeting by PCSO Vicki Pressey who besides a verbal police report made councillors aware of the e-mail service by which councillors and members of the public can have the local beat reports sent to them directly. These visits by the police do give us the opportunity as councillors to ask questions and comment on how we see their performance. The question of parking problems at Everton was raised by a member of the public and this has directly led to the Planning committees’ work in getting restricted parking at some of these locations. Cllr Bollom who has been very pro-active with the woodland at Golden Hill, had arranged working parties to fix among other things the leaking dam.

October saw another visit from the police, this time by PC Marco Machiori who suggested that the police were trying to be low key in their approach to problems in this area so as not to alarm members of the public. Your Council was able to put the case that most residents would like to see the police have a higher profile as a deterrent. We confirmed the appointment of the Hampshire Association of Local Councils to undertake our internal audit. Prior to the meeting, Barry Foley, chief executive of the National Park, addressed the council and made them aware of the changes in the consultation process which he hope would address some of the objection to the way in which the first draft was delivered.

Prior to the November meeting, Sarah Newman of the St Barbe Museum addressed the Council on a planned historical exhibition for Hordle and Sway along the lines of the recent very successful New Milton project.

The meeting itself was very concerned by more accidents at the Everton Road/Woodcock Lane/Hordle Lane crossroad and formally requested Hampshire County Council to carryout an immediate review. Full budgets were requested from all the committees so that the Council budget could be agreed and the Precept set at the next meeting. We also had the good news that the New Forest National Park Authority had agreed the Tiptoe Green plan with some conditions.

December is the time we need to finalise our budget. Most of this work has been carried out or consolidated by the Finance, Policy and Resources committee and when full Council accepted the minutes of that committee, it was also accepting the budget recommended. The budget was accepted and the Council has then to set the precept. Even with little development, the costs of maintaining services had actually increased by nearly £6000. Reluctantly the precept was request to rise by 6.4%. This Council had also been requested to put forward additional land for development, over and above that already requested by land owners and agents, but we felt that this needed consultation between us and NFDC. Your Council was also unhappy with the cycle route through the parish proposed by NFDC and requested proper consultation. The Council had received a formal request for allotments and it was agreed to form a working party with interested members of the public to see how best to progress this as the Council did not have any suitable land available. With the Clerk cracking the whip, members of the staff and councillors had also participated in a national tree planting project.

January, the start of a new year and three quarters through the life of this Council. Again the Police were present in the form of our new beat officer, PCSO James Mitchener and we thanked him for his attendance. Through all the work that Planning had done, we were still no further in getting a safe crossing point across Ashley lane. The Council agreed to form a working party of councillors and members of the public to progress this. Its often publicity that gets things done and in this case it seemed to be working. We also at this meeting took the first steps in forming another working party to prepare a Community Engagement Strategy for the Council.

February brought freezing conditions and the first of two resignations. John Grey, chairman of Amenities resigned due to health reasons and in his absence he was thanked for his many years of service. We also received the resignation of David Lane due to work commitments, David had served on the Amenities committee and his expertise on football matters was of great assistance to the Council. The Clerk then put into progress the formal and legal work to replace the two council positions. The Council accepted the report on Council Policies and Processes which in many ways made the existing procedures formal and then provided suggestions for the way forward. The main item on the agenda was the public response to the NPA management Strategy. Disappointingly only two members of the public were present. The Council felt that in general terms the proposals were acceptable as far as they went but were greatly concerned that all the power and real decisions were to be made by an undefined ‘Steering Group’. A member of the public raised the issue of ‘pot holes’ in our roads!

March brought the first of two meetings, the first was a general full council at Everton ( we try to hold some meetings in both Everton and Tiptoe) where amongst other items District Councillor Andrew Tinsley announced that he was able to provide £500 towards the Ashley lane crossing. The second full Council meeting was to interview three candidates for the two vacant councillor positions. As we had not needed to call an election (which saved a considerable expense which comes out of the Councils budget) we needed to ensure that we selected our councillors in an open and fair way. The balloting was very close due to the quality of the candidates and Angela Meads and Alex Pepper were invited to become councillors.

April was upon us and in the final meeting of full Council we agreed to proceed to the final stage of adopting a Community Engagement Strategy and to host a meeting at Tiptoe to discuss a proposal for social housing on the edge of the village.

That brought us full circle, with the full Council overseeing the work that has been achieved by the three committees. A year that brought committee changes with David Terry and David Ironside being elected chair and vice-chair of Amenities. Our Clerk Susan Whitcher gaining her ‘Quality Clerk’ status.

Successfully working within a strict budget and still managing to enable many unexpected projects from clearing paths to planting for the future. This has been achieved by a small dedicated staff, Sandy Smith minutes and office support and Paul Dennis our invaluable handyman, all ably managed by the Clerk and from your councillors who have throughout the year represented your interests at Council meetings, public meetings and at NFDC and the NPA besides getting down to earth with practical work. I would also like to thank all 13 councillors for their support to me and indulgences to my witterings at meetings and the backup I received from both the Clerk and the vice- chair Reg Wareham.

And finally – your parish councillors provide their time, services and skills absolutely free! Although councils may choose to pay their councillors an allowance (which would increase the cost of the precept), your council only pays for transport (normally mileage at 40p per mile) for parish business or training outside of the parish area.

The only other financial assistance is for the provision of paper and printing inks to enable us to print

electronically received documents at home. There is no tea and biscuits at any of our meetings (come and check) except perhaps for the public meetings we occasionally host.

The grand total for expenses for the year 2009-10 for all councillors was £112.32.

PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

Chairmans Report 2009/2010

Planning Applications:

Following last years trend, the number of planning applications for the parish are again notably down on previous years, a certain barometer of the economic climate.

The total number of applications considered by this committee in the year under review being:-

NFDC: NFNPA:

Planning applications………...34 Planning Applications………..16

Listed Building Applications… 3 Listed Building Applications… 0

TPO,s………………………..11 TPO’s……………………….. 0

The ultimate approval or rejection of a planning application, which is subject to an appeal by the applicant, is determined by the planning inspectorate, based in Bristol. It is disappointing when regardless of strong local opinion and local knowledge that the inspector’s decision finds in favour of the developer or is rejected on terms that make a re-submission of the application a formality such as that adjacent to the school cross-roads at 108 Everton Road, where minor changes to the original design were made and local concerns for highway safety at this accident black-spot were not given the consideration they deserved. Similarly, the application for back-garden development at 19 Pinewood Road has been allowed, following appeal despite NFDC Officers efforts to uphold Policies to promote enhancement of design and to maintain living conditions for the neighbouring properties.

Planning Committee Objectives:

All of our objectives are influenced by the community who through their responses in the Vision Plan, published last year, helped formulate the parish development plan for the future. Issues connected with road safety supported with petitions also featured strongly in the plan. During this current council year, the community issues appertaining to P&E with progress to date is set out below:-

1. Non- Traffic Related Objectives:

*What is a Village Design Statement (VDS)?

A VDS is an advisory document, prepared by a village community, which describes the distinctive characteristics of the locality and provides design guidance to influence future development. Its aim should be to ensure that any development is carried out in harmony with the locality and improve the physical qualities of the area.

A VDS may be adopted as supplementary planning guidance by the Local Authorities and thus underlines the magnitude of its importance to the community.

Compilation of a VDS will require a group or small groups of volunteers working together to produce a comprehensive document which will shape the parish that you want for the future.

I would urge the community at large to think hard about this and whether they would wish to participate in the future preparation of this very important document.

2. Traffic Related Objectives:

Speed Limit Extension:

“Village 30”: This HCC safety scheme was announced last year and vehicle drivers will have observed the implementation of extended 30mph restrictions along Silver Street, Vaggs Lane and Everton Road between Hordle and Everton.

Public Transport:

The County Council has retained subsidies for bus services at last years level but the bus companies have increased their costs.The 192 Local Bus Service to New Milton via Tesco continues to be fully subsidised by the County Council but in common with other areas has been affected by cutting out the lightly used last two journeys of the afternoon.

Implementation Date – Monday 19th April.

The X12 Services operating between Lymington and Bournemouth are re-numbered, X1 via Everton and X2 via Hordle.

Reduced service levels will be implemented on the later evening services, Monday to Saturday as follows:-

X1 – Last bus from Bournemouth through Everton leaves from Bournemouth Square at 18-20.

X2 – Last bus from Bournemouth through Hordle leaves from Bournemouth Square at 18-50.

X1 – Last bus from Lymington through Everton leaves from Lymington Bus Station at 17-28.

X2 – Last bus from Lymington through Hordle leaves from Lymington Bus Station at 18-05.

Implementation Date – Sunday 18th April. New Time-table booklets will be available from 15th April.

My Committee:

Last April we welcomed a new co-opted, councillor, Mandy Hayes on to the committee. Cllr. Hayes has shown exceptional enthusiasm and dedication to council work and has ensured that the community of Tiptoe is well served by the council. I wish Cllr. Hayes well with her transfer to the Amenities Committee. Also transferring is Cllr. David Ironside and I would like to thank him for his great contribution to our committee work over the past two years. I now welcome two newly co-opted members to P&E committee, Cllrs. Angela Meads and Alex Pepper who will bring experience and youthful enthusiasm to our meetings. I would like to thank all members of my committee for their help, dedication and advice during this past year.

Administration:

This committee could not function effectively without good back-up services so it is right for me to acknowledge this and thank the Clerk and her staff for providing this.

I would also single out for special praise, our handyman, Paul Dennis, who works enthusiastically towards improving the environment within the parish as well as the safety of the play-parks and maintaining the sports facilities.

Ken Wells

Chairman-Planning and Environment Committee

April, 2010

Amenities report. 2009/10.

This year has seen changes with the loss of two valuable members of the committee, John Grey as its former chairman and Dave Lane; both long- term members of the Parish Council and of this committee, we have been very lucky to have two members from the Planning and Environment committee join us on Amenities and I feel that we once again have a very strong team.

Some of our long-term aims are starting to develop with the improvements to the area surrounding the War Memorial starting this spring. The work is respectfully being kept low key to maintain the rural aspect of the area and hopefully the changes will meet with approval. The old concrete fence, which is now breaking up, will be replaced alongside the pavement in Everton Rd with a similar looking one made of oak, the uneven grass area will be levelled and re-sown with grass through a protective mesh to enable disabled access around the monument and there will be some planting of shrubs.

The long awaited revamp of the children’s Play area by the WI hall will also be started during this year and some consultative work will be carried out around the village, though through discussions with classes at Hordle School, parents and members of the Playgroup we do have a good feel for what is required but always welcome comments and ideas. The majority of the cost for these projects is not from the precept but met from developer’s contributions, which is held by the NFDC and mostly restricted to “open space provision.”

Although we have had to dismantle the old mounds and slide on Dudley Avenue as inspections had labelled them unsafe, please be assured this is one of the next areas for us to concentrate on. Anyone who knows the history of that site will be aware of the limitations to that ground but it is still an important amenity for walking a practical kick- about area with its fixed goalposts and a very good spot for youngsters to safely enjoy their BMX and mountain bikes.

A lot of the committees and our handyman’s time is taken up in maintaining the councils amenities, this includes safety checks on the playgrounds and its equipment, maintenance on the bus shelters, the council owned paths around the village, the pavilion and the recreation grounds. Four of the public seats have also had to be replaced during this last year, the damage to one being caused by an uninsured car and driver. The small grass area in front of the pavilion, used by the Playgroup has been re fenced in an attempt to keep it free from dog fouling, this is still a big problem at all of the recreation grounds and we do once again ask dog owners to clear up after their pets. Dog wardens who with the backing of this council will take these offences very seriously now regularly visit the area.

Considerable repairs have had to be carried out on the Pavilion this year with the gutters and soffit boards having to be replaced, a lot of this damage has been caused by the indiscriminate kicking of footballs against the building, we did try erecting a trial “goal” with high back netting against the Muga to try and provide a suitable site for casual football, this did prove successful and was widely used and will be repeated for the coming year.

The inside of the pavilion has also been improved with the repainting of the changing rooms and the resealing of the main floor.

There has also been enhancement work carried out to the car park at Everton pavilion

Once again I would like to thank the members of the public who gave their time and volunteered to carry out maintenance work at Golden Hill Woodland, we try and meet up on the first Saturday of the month even if during the summer it is just to litter pick and to keep the paths clear for the many walkers who go to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Some comments have been made that the woodland should be left alone but we do have a responsibility to the people who walk or drive by to ensure that the trees are safe, we were all disappointed to have to loose the large white poplar with its large clumps of mistletoe that was a familiar sight from Hare Lane but the tree was rotten and had been condemned by the arboriculturist.

The paths have had another layer of gravel put down in an attempt to give a clean walking surface in-spite of the wet weather, this and a number of labour intensive projects around the village have been carried out by our handyman with the assistance of Community Payback labour. It was good to see our local Scouts getting involved by making and fitting a number of nest boxes nest boxes in the newly opened up areas.

Please feel free to visit the site, learn a little about its history and join with us on one of the work days, no pressure so you can do as much or little as you wish, perhaps just sit and watch the ducks or the occasional deer that visit.

I would like to thank everyone involved with the various planting schemes that have been carried out around the village both to those who kindly donated trees, shrubs and plants also those who turned up to help with the planting.

The recreation grounds at Hordle and Everton are still regularly used, with Hordle being home ground to both our village football and cricket teams, the Muga court at Hordle is under used at this time and we would like to hear from anyone wishing to hire this or any of our other facilities.

As reported last year we are still having problems with youths using and cutting up the surfaces of the pitches, which have been booked and marked out for the Football Clubs matches, this is very unfair to these teams who have to raise monies to pay for this facility. There are parts of the field that anybody can go to kick a ball about which will not cause problems to anyone.

I would like to thank all of the committee past and present for their hard work and support, the Clerk and Sandy for managing to turn ideas and questions into working solutions and answers and finally to Paul who manages to get the maintenance work and playground inspections done and still finds time to fit in all the extra “urgent” jobs this committee gives him.

David Terry.

Chairman Amenities Committee