Parish Council Report December 2024
PARISH COUNCILS – What do they do?
The Parish Council meeting in November was typical in covering a wide range of issues that impact the village residents and village life. Here’s a few examples of things we deal with:-
The first Budget from the new government hit us at the end of October. The increase in employers’ national insurance contributions together with the lowering of the earnings threshold on which these contributions are due added £2077p.a. to the council expenses. Residents will end up paying this of course through the Parish portion of the council tax. The Parish Budget for 2025/2026 will be agreed at the December meeting.
Regulation in all things is the new norm and of course it is mostly there to keep us safe. The village hall recently had to have new door hinges and fire seals to comply with new fire regulations. The cost was another £2,000 from our budget to bring it up to standard. The children’s playground is inspected monthly and the council receives notice of any damage or wear and tear that might make the apparatus dangerous or more likely to cause injury. Of course, if anything is reported we deal with it immediately; a regular risk assessment is made on all council property.
We have reported before in these pages that the Pavilion needs regular maintenance as the building and plumbing shows its age. We are grateful to councillor Jim Brown who works tirelessly to keep things functioning – especially the plumbing. The working group for the new replacement Pavilion is waiting for the planning permission to be approved. Even to get to the start line of applying for funding has meant considerable sums have had to be spent from our Community Infrastructure Levy pot. We need planning approval before we can start looking for funding and to get to that stage has required not just detailed architectural plans but also topographical and environmental surveys plus a survey covering surface water drainage. If you feel you have any skills that would benefit the project then the working group would be delighted to hear from you.
We are seeing the benefit of having our new handyman, Paul Antrobus, in the village once a week with the Village Hall area, Pond, allotments and land around the pavilion being tidied up and hedges and overgrown vegetation cut back. Paul has also tidied up the Plough Bus shelter which residents might not be aware is a Parish Council asset as is the shelter near the Half Moon.
If you see anything in the village belonging to the Parish Council which you think needs attention, then please report it to Anita our Clerk.
- If you want to help and have a say in how your village runs and engage with the community then why not sit on the Parish Council? Please contact our Clerk Anita Emery if interested. emery@plumptonpc.co.uk
The date of the next Parish Council meeting is December 10th, 19:45hrs at the Village Hall. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
