In their 2019 manifesto, the Parish Council pledged to:
- Get the new Village Hall built.
- Support the Post Office and re-open the Village Shop.
- Encourage more sports on the Recreation Ground
- Make Parish Council meetings relevant, enjoyable and transparent, so that residents want to and are encouraged to attend.
- Create a Community Plan to protect our environment.
- Get the community back on its feet.
So how did they do?
There’s no new Village Hall in sight. Indeed, the £236,400 Army Grant had to be returned due to a lack of progress caused by mismanagement and a total refusal to compromise.
Over £19,000 has been spent on legal/HR fees following the dismissal of the long-serving
Parish Clerk. The Auditor has warned “The Council may be the subject of an Industrial Tribunal
Action from the previous Clerk,” so it seems further legal costs could be incurred.
They have spent over £7,000 on planning fees for a new pavilion, only to realise, after the plans were approved, that the £355,000 scheme was unaffordable.
To pay for all this, they have more than tripled the Parish Precept from £18,212
in 2019 to £56,143 this year, substantially increasing our Council Tax.
Meanwhile the pavilion remains closed, forcing sports teams to play elsewhere, and thus losing valuable income.
The Village Shop also remains closed, and the Post Office is struggling because the Council refuses to support it.
The financial mismanagement has been highlighted recently by the External Auditor who has upheld
concerns of residents for the lack of transparency and failure to comply with its financial regulations.
Parish Council meetings have become a showcase of undemocratic behaviour, with questions from the public being either sidestepped, ignored or treated as vexatious.
It is highly likely that the colony of Great Crested Newts, a protected species, may become extinct due to dredging the pond at the wrong time of year.
We’ll leave you to decide if the community is back on its feet.
WE THINK IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE.
So what would we do…….
Following the loss of the Army Grant, building a new Village Hall will be difficult to achieve.
In the meantime, let’s spend money wisely, and at least keep the existing hall in a usable condition and consider alternative solutions.
Likewise, the Pavilion is a solid structure which could be refurbished with community help.
Let’s continue supporting the Post Office and look to create a Community Hub in the shop for residents to meet, socialise and share advice and support.
Let’s get the Precept back to a more appropriate level for a small village and lower our Council Tax.
But most of all, let’s get back to sensible local government,
where if something needs doing, the first instinct is to roll our sleeves up, rather than just getting the cheque book out.