Last year I opened my report by referring to the two major, at that time proposed, developments in the village and how well we had met the challenges. As we can all see, these developments are now well under way.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of C’Cllr Paul Baldwin, the end products will be as sympathetic to the village scene as has been possible to achieve. In this connection I must record thanks to Jeremy Osborne from the developers of Church Farm, the Minty family and the District Council planning office for their cooperation to date in getting the development at Church Farm as right as possible for all parties. The same thanks must go to the District Council and Newland Homes for their cooperation in trying to achieve the best results on the Countrywide Stores site.
I cannot state too strongly the thanks that must go to Paul for the endless hours he has put into monitoring, negotiating and reporting back to this Council at all stages; not only on these but all planning applications over the past year.
Whilst planning I feel has been the main area of our focus over the year, other areas of our responsibility have kept us busy.
Mike Pickering has been active in keeping watch over the cleanliness of the main areas in the village and fitting in with the new system of village maintenance introduced by the County Council.
John Dix has kept in touch with the Recreation Association and has kept his finger on emergency planning, an area we should not ignore.
Ann Woolford has kept in touch with transport.
Julian Davies has kept his eye on area development.
Ralph Miles has watched over the play area in Clarkes Leaze which is proving to be a headache with ongoing vandalism of the perimeter fencing.
During the year we said farewell to Alison Salih as our Clerk. She had served us well. The Council and Village has been most fortunate in securing the services of Sue Lewis as Alison’s replacement.
We again achieved second place out of ten entrants in the Best Kept Village competition. In this connection our thanks must be recorded to Graham Whiting for the high standard he achieves in caring for the burial ground, the bus shelter and the delightful displays at the four entrances to the village. Thank you Graham.
Last but not least, our thanks to Councillor Jane Scott for all her support to the Parish Council.
In conclusion, I feel strongly that this council must maintain a high profile both in the village and in its dealings with the District and County Councils. It is possible that in the life of this new Parish Council, far reaching changes will be made to the council system in Wiltshire and must be heard in areas that have bearings on our Parish.
In recent weeks I have witnessed, in matters planning, the total disregard that the planning officers and the development control committee can pay to the recommendations, not only of our elected District Councillor, but also to the strong views of this Parish Council. It is vital that we make our feelings known in all areas an I am convinced that we in our dealings with our fellow villagers, know what is best for Yatton Keynell.
On behalf of myself as your Chairman over the past year and the Village, thank you all for your support.
Chris Dash, Chairman YKPC