Issue 1     February 2004

HELLO – HERE IS THE NEWS !!

This is the first edition of what is planned will be a six-editions-a-year newsletter to be published by your parish council and delivered free to every house in the parish.

The aim of the publication is to help keep our residents informed of what is happening in the parish and what the council is doing on your behalf.

We will welcome items from you for insertion into it and these should be sent to the Clerk at the address given in column one on this page.

SOCIAL TIME AHEAD FOR STANTON

Following on the success of the Millennium and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee events held in the village, the Parish Council are looking to formulate a group of people willing to stage some kind of social event for residents in 2004.

The event held to mark the arrival of the new Millennium and the 50 years reign of Her Majesty were both hugely successful, and many of the people attending them asked for a repeat as soon as possible. The Parish Council are now looking to find people willing to help to stage some sort of event for 2004 and chairman Bryan Baines is hoping people will come forward and volunteer their help.

Meeting: a meeting will be held at the home of Margaret Healy at No 1 Stanton Mews on Browns Lane on Wednesday February 18^th at 7:30pm. Everyone will be welcome to attend and it is hoped that an organising committee and chairman will be appointed during that evening. It is suggested that the proposed event will be held in June or July.

FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEE DISBANDED

The Parish Council have agreed to disband its Finance Committee – it met only once a year to discuss the budget and the precept – and instead to have the full council available to discuss the finances etc. Councillor Dennis Hackett, who was chairman of the sub-committee, is to retain the main role in regard to the financial aspects of the work of the council.

LETTING YOU KNOW…………

The council have produced printed lists of its membership giving telephone numbers and addresses of all members. These are being displayed in the three council notice boards and will be updated as and when needed. All councillors are available for contact by residents.

TALKS ON LOCAL BUS SERVICES

Rushcliffe, Wolds Ward, Borough Councillor, Roy Butler, attended a meeting at Keyworth Village Hall recently, together with councillors from Keyworth to discuss with Keith Shayshutt, Head of Development at Trent Barton, bus services in the Keyworth area, with particular reference to the decision to terminate the service at Broadmarsh instead of Friar Lane with effect from 22^nd February 2004.

The representative for Trent Barton explained that this was necessary for financial reasons in order to maintain the frequency of the service. The cost of running buses was going up faster than passenger numbers. The one extra stop to Friar Lane represented 25% of the total cost of £1500 per day of running the ‘Keyworth Connection’ which did not receive any subsidy from the County Council.

COUNCIL LOOKING TO QUALITY STATUS

Preliminary discussions have been held by members of the Parish Council in regard to the possibility of them seeking a ‘Quality Council Status’ tag. The Rural White Paper ‘Our Countryside: The Future – a fair deal for Rural England’ published in the year 2000, set out a number of measures to give local people the opportunity to become more involved in the development of their communities.

The Government said they believe that parish councils, as a tier of government that is closest to local communities, have a central role to play in improving the quality of life. The White Paper made a number of proposals on improving rural life, one being the introduction of the new concept of a ‘Quality’ parish council. Such a status will equip a parish council to take on a stronger role in their community and is aimed at being achievable by a parish council of any size, location or current activities. A working party of Stanton Parish Councillors is supporting the idea but no decision will be taken until all members have had the opportunity to study a report presented by the clerk.

HEDGE CUTTING PLEA

The Parish Council are appealing to residents to ensure that any hedge they have fronting on to a pavement is kept well cut back. Often complaints are received by the council that footpaths are blocked by the over-grown hedges.

PARKING PLEA FROM WILLOWBROOK SCHOOL

A new plea has been issued from the headmaster of Willowbrook School in relation to parking outside it by parents when they take or collect their children. Head, Mr Ian Jenkinson says the yellow lines there, are to protect everyone crossing Willowbrook and he has asked the police to monitor the situation and officially intervene if at all possible.

COUNCIL SEEKS INCOME OF £4410 FOR YEAR 2004/2005

A precept of £4410 has been decided on by the Parish Council for the forthcoming 2004/2005 financial year. Of the figure, Rushcliffe Borough Council will provide £2427 in grant aid and the remainder will be raised locally in the parish through council tax. The figure for the coming year compares with one of £4094 for the current year, of which the Borough provided £2252 and so the actual cash raised locally for the next 12 months is only around £140 more than in 2002/2003. The council are making provision for £1485 for a capital programme in the coming year and will look to refurbish or provide new public seats as one of their activities.

VOLUNTEERS TO STAFF POLICE POINT

A team of volunteers have been appointed to man the Police Contact point on Nottingham Road at Keyworth on a Saturday morning from 10am to 12 noon. Members of the public are able to visit the premises between those hours for such purposes as showing documents, advice etc. It is eventually planned when more volunteers have been trained to open the Contact Point on a weekday as well.

EARLY REMINDER OF ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

The date of the Annual Parish Meeting for 2004 has been chosen by the council as Wednesday 21^st April. It will take place at the Willowbrook School and all residents are invited to it.

The Chairman, Councillor Bryan Baines, says the meeting gives opportunity to residents to have a say on what they feel the parish needs and how they feel the parish is operating. In addition to the once a year opportunity, the Parish Council have now agreed to introduce a 15 minute ‘public session’ at the end of each of their meetings, when residents can raise any matters of parish interest and seek to have them raised at the following meeting of the council.

MEETINGS ON A REGULAR DAY

The council has agreed that meetings throughout 2004 should always be held on the same night, on the second Wednesday of every other month, starting in January. They are held normally at Willowbrook School at 7:30pm.

BITS AND BOBS

Mr Ken Butler of Golf Road, Stanton has accepted a Parish Council request to take on the duty of laying the Remembrance Day Service wreath on behalf of the parish.

Residents are offered a service by the Notts County Council Library travelling van, with it calling on the village on Fridays at Stanton Lane from 10:55 to 11:15am and outside The Wolds Nursery on Browns Lane from 11:25 to 11:55am.

Rushcliffe Borough Council have approved a planning application for the demolition of the existing Wolds Service Station on Melton Road and for the erection of a chalet bungalow with garage and a shop with attached living accommodation and parking.

The WRVS continue to offer its ‘Books on Wheels’ service in the parish and Mrs Ferrar on Stanton Lane is the contact. Her phone number is 937 2838.

Stanton’s County Council representative is Councillor John Cottee of Cherry Hill, Keyworth. He can be contacted on 937 3392.