18/04/2008 Chairman’s Report

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2007 – 2008

1. Once again we have won the Best Kept Small Village Competition, which is our 10^th award. Very sadly I just haven’t had time to physically go and collect the cup, which apparently we have won for this. However the certificate has been framed and is on display in the village hall. The competition this year has altered radically and we have yet to decide whether we will be entering it or not. If we do I shall be sending out a task list for “volunteers” to help under various headings –Environment, Communications and Community Buildings. If we do have a “Village Clean Up Day” it will be on Saturday the 31^st May. I will send out all the necessary details later.
2. There were the normal three Ordinary General Meetings, which were held in April, June and November with the AGM following the April meeting. There were also two Extraordinary General Meetings held during the year.
3. There were two Planning Notifications in the year. One for the construction of a stable yard at North Lodge and the other for a change of use for buildings at Barton Hill Barn. This latter Application was recommended for refusal on 4^th September 2007 by the Area Planning Meeting (an outline of this was given to the PC by Helen and Chris Seymour-Smith on 20^th April 2007 at the Ordinary General Meeting). The Application then went to the Application Planning Regulation Committee at Stratford DC on October 15^th where it was approved. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman gave evidence of support.
4. We received another “Unqualified Opinion” for our Accounts to 31^st March 2007.
5. We have applied for a Precept for 2008 – 2009 of £657. Last year the Precept was £670.
6. Our Barton Village Website (www.bartonontheheath.co.uk) has continued to run most satisfactorily and I know you will agree that our Webmaster, Mrs Linda Graham, has done magnificently in keeping this all going with her usual enthusiasm. Please do try your best and give Mrs Graham inputs, which could be beneficial to the village, as numbers of people visit our website and it just makes everything so worthwhile. Please can you forward your Email addresses to her, copied to me, so that we can contact each other that much easier. My Email address is brigadier@ujclub.co.uk. Linda Graham’s Email address islindamerlin@btconnect.com. The village Email address is bartonvillage@btconnect.com, which of course is operated by Linda Graham.
7. The salt bin for the village is still situated within Eddy Hicks’ compound, once again there was no need to use it this last winter.
8. Seven Trent Water Board are currently putting in a link to the water feature on the village green – hence the mess there.
9. There have been too many instances of lorries running over the verges in and around the village and in one case destroying a young tree planted to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. We are currently thinking of what action we can take to try and prevent this recurring.
10. One of our village signs has been stolen. We are hoping that this will be replaced by the Warwickshire County Council; we still await developments.
11.  Luckily the village was unaffected by the floods in the area last July and we had no need to apply to the District Council for any help. The repairs to the culvert on the Little Compton road had been carried out in the nick of time.

J F Rickett

Brigadier

Chairman