Hello Everyone,
Welcome to a late Summer/early Autumn update from Kirk Ella and West Ella Parish Council.
Whilst there have been major political changes at a national government level, here at the Parish Council the only difference is that at our ACM in May I became Chairman of the Parish Council (for the second time) and Cllr. Ben Weeks swapped places and became Vice-Chairman. Hardly a revolution!
I am happy to report that Parish Council finances are in good order; there are no ‘black holes’ in our budgets and I am confident that none will be at any point discovered.
We are looking as ever to maintain and improve the general environment in our area and support local activities that improve the lives and well-being of our residents. In doing this we welcome any suggestions from everyone as to any work we should be doing and feedback, positive or negative, on anything we have done.
Excepting for a Summer break in August the Parish Council meets at 7pm every second Monday of each month at St. Andrews Church Hall. Members of the public are welcome to attend the proceedings as observers and there is always the opportunity to speak to the Council on any matter of local concern at the beginning of the meeting (but just to note – if you wish to speak please contact our Parish Clerk in advance of your attendance).
I have some items of news which I hope will be of some interest:
Free Little Library
The little free library located on Church Lane, near the junction with St. Andrews Mount, has certainly been a success and has received positive feedback from residents. For those of you who haven’t noticed it, it’s a wooden bookcase located on the grass verge from which people can donate and take books. In order to improve the facility we have decided to replace it with a bookcase that is a little larger and raise it more from ground level to improve ease of access. The existing bookcase won’t go to waste as we will look to relocate it elsewhere in
the village.
Christmas lights switch-on
Preparations are well under way for the annual Christmas lights switch-on, which this year will be on 30th November. As attendance at this event has gradually increased over time this year we have taken the decision primarily for safety reasons to look to temporarily close the road area around the vicinity of ‘The Wheatsheaf’ and St. Andrews Church for a period of time during the afternoon of the switch-on. We are also looking to expand the event by having such extras as a few Christmas market stalls and some funfair rides for small children. However, I must stress that final plans are by no means settled and could change over the next few
months. Feedback from yourselves on our intentions here would be very welcome.
Telecoms Infrastructure
Many of you will be aware of and be quite angry about the extra telecoms infrastructure being installed in our area by new competitors to Kcom. Whilst extra choice and better quality services are welcome many of you could not understand why there was the need to put up new telegraph poles and lay new cables under pavements when there was the clear opportunity to share Kcom’s existing infrastructure. New companies, such as MS3, have a statutory right to install such infrastructure given it is classed as an essential utility and so despite complaints new telegraph poles have been erected and pavements dug up despite majority opposition by
residents. However, I wish to report a notable success! A few months ago residents on St. Julians Wells opposed plans by MS3 to introduce extra infrastructure and by organising themselves into a representative group and through persistent argument managed to get MS3 to significantly moderate their plans. It just shows it can be done!
That’s all from me for now. Take Care.
Best wishes,
Cllr. Shaun Horton, Chairman – Kirk Ella and West Ella Parish Council