CHAIRMAN'S REPORT TO THE ANNUAL ASSEMBLY - 30TH APRIL 2003

The Parish Council has met on 11 occasions in the past year; 4 of these were attended by District Councillor Bayliss, and 1 by County Councillor Brewis. Parishioners were present at 3 meetings.

Two new Councillors joined the Council in May 2002; Tony Martin and Brian Fisher, both much involved in Parish affairs. Tony with involvement in Police Liaison meetings and the setting up of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme, and Brian in negotiations for improving the precincts of the Post Office, and attendance at Local Council association meetings. District Councillor Bayliss who was elected in May, has shown great concern for all Parish interests.

PLOMPTON much tree planting has taken place in Plompton over the past year, notably a refurbishment of the lay-by area. A meeting with Police and the Highway authority resulted in a proposed improvement in road safety adjacent to the Rocks entrance which could attract over £6000 from the Village safety Scheme.

NEW GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS These have been many and varied in 2002/03. Parish standards; Declarations of Interest; Code of Conduct; County Electoral Boundary Review; Race Relations; and Freedom of Information Act, are some of the numerous orders and directives which have entailed much time and effort to comply with. The Parish Council is indebted to Kevin Duckenfield for the use of the Internet for much of the information now available.

HIGHWAY MATTERS Most complaints to the Authority have been dealt with promptly. Parking at the Memorial Bus Stop is a nuisance and is being pursued. Fly tipping has been mostly of a sporadic nature and has been very efficiently dealt with. Roadside grass cutting on minor roads - annual - has been very unsatisfactory, but areas inside the Follifoot village boundary have been exemplary.

YORKSHIRE WATER The ongoing complaints of sewage smells have been continued culminating in a meeting between Councillor Fisher and a Yorkshire Water official in March. The Haggs Road has been connected to the main sewage system during the past year.

DISPLAY PANEL/VILLAGE BOOK This project, financed by Awards for All was completed in July and the Information Display Board at Leconfield Garth has been much used. The Parish Council appreciates Mr Tatterton's permission for the site. The Village books were distributed and are still available for interested local people. They attracted widespread approval.

FINANCE Two audits took place in 2002. One for 2000/01 and the other for 2002. Both entailed a new system of recording details, and also the appointment of an Internal Auditor. The Parish Council is grateful to Peter Carney for taking on this task.

SOCIAL COMMITTEE This organization functions to the benefit of the community, and they were congratulated on a very successful Jubilee Party.

SAXON CROSS Application has been made for Grade 11 Listing. A Risk assessment was carried out in view of recent events in some churchyards.

PLANNING Twenty applications were referred to the Parish Council for comment, the most controversial being the change of use of agricultural buildings at Follifoot Ridge Farm to a depot for Nidd Vale Motors.
GENERAL Dog fouling on pavements continues to be complained of. The new re-cycling of rubbish seems to be working well, and will be reviewed shortly.

I would like to thank all my fellow Councillors who have been both hardworking and supportive during the last year. I would like to mention particularly the several occasions when their presence at outside meetings have been so helpful.

At this point, I would like to thank publicly all those parishioners who have shown their regard and concern for the Community in so many ways - David Hinchley for flying the flag on all the appropriate occasions, various small repairs, donations of plants; and Brian Swales and Mrs Kendall for the worthwhile and much appreciated work at the Bus Shelters.

We welcome all newcomers to the village and we hope that they will offer their talents and interest for our environment. Neighbourly involvement can be of great benefit in security matters, and a co-operation with the Police, together with a strong community spirit is something to be aspired to.

Unice Cansfield.