Chair's Annual report 2020/21
It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this chair’s report. After the sudden passing of our chair and friend Margaret Strong.
Margaret had been Chair of the Parish Council for over 5 years and was heavily involved in the community, and was instrumental in this council year. Working and supporting the Parish Council to achieve its vision.
Sue Earnshaw retired during this year after 10 years of service as Parish Clerk, we were saddened that she decided to retire. We are lucky to have a new clerk Julia Talbot and welcome Danielle Shooter as admin assistant to the Parish Office.
This year has also strange for all of us, March last year COVID 19 began to affect the Parish Council, the Parish Office started working from home and our meetings were remote from April 2020.
Last year the council decided to not have their Annual meeting of the Parish Council, all councillors remained in their roles as committee members.
The Parish Councillors volunteer their time to support the community, they all live in the Parish and have its best interests at the heart of everything.
During this difficult time, we have continued to work hard within the Parish, maintaining the assets we have responsibility for. These include the two cemeteries at Netherton and Middlestown. Three allotment sites. The old cricket field and pavilion in Netherton, Emroyd Common, Netherton play area. The Parish Council is the sole trustee of Netherton Village Hall and supports the day-to-day runnig of the hall.
You will have seen a rise in the overall council tax this year from Wakefield MDC, but no rise in the Parish Council precept. This remains at £57,600 as it has since 2016.
Here are examples of how money is spent to keep and improve facilities in your community:
Emroyd Common
The Parish Council works closely with the friends of Emroyd to support their work in this area. This year we have had to deploy the services of our Police safe scheme officers as there has been a number of reported incidents, including quite a bit of den making, wood cutting and fires taking place. We continue to monitor this area.
Netherton Village Hall
The Parish Council work closely with Netherton Village Hall management Trust to provide community facilities. It has been closed most of 2021, with a brief phased re open in the summer. The trust received a grant from Wakefield Council and this has supported the hall, ensuring that they are COVID safe and can provide reassurance to our hirers when they return next month. We look forward to welcoming both new and regular hirers to the hall.
The Parish Council meeting will commence face to face from the 1st June and the Netherton Ward meeting will now be held in the Village Hall.
Netherton & Middlestown Cemeteries
The Parish Office continued to work throughout the pandemic, ensuring the smooth running of the cemeteries. We added Christmas wreaths to the gates at Christmas and these were well received. We have carried out some tree work at Middlestown cemetery as the first heavy snow fall, brought down one of the larger trees and we wanted to ensure that this area was safe for all to use. So, we sort advice and the work commenced early in the year.
We are investigating a further inspection for Netherton to ensure the trees are safe, the Wildlife trust has carried out work on over hanging trees in the top corner of Netherton cemetery as these were unsafe and overhanging graves.
We have also repaired the tap at Middlestown and added grit bins for both cemeteries.
The Old Cricket Field /Pavilion
The Parish Council took over the Old Cricket Field over a year ago now.
Work has been slower than expected due to the pandemic, the bottoming fencing has been replaced and looking much better with work soon to be carried out on the decking section outside the pavilion. We have added new guttering to the outside of the pavilion to try and improve the look of the building and keep the water out.
We asked for volunteers from the Parish to come forward to set up a friend of the Old Cricket Field supported by the Parish Councillors. This has now been formally formed and meetings have been carried out remotely. The Parish Council realise it is important to engage with the community on this lovely community asset. We are currently looking at benches for the area with the friends and the future of the container and possible hedge planning.
Netherton Play area
The Parish Council are investigating adding extra equipment to the play area at Netherton, including replacing the basket swing and also intent to surface the Toddler area as it is very muddy through the winter months. We are currently working closely with Wakefield Council District Councillors to obtain funding to make this vision be realised.
The Parish Council are active in helping with this in a number of ways:
· Sitlington in Bloom with beautiful planters around the villages these are maintained by volunteers and they do an amazing job every year.
· It has been difficult for Sitlington Litter Pickers to meet this year; we have purchased more equipment so this can be done individually. Wakefield Council are also providing these free to encourage residents to care for their area under the stop the drop campaign. The Great British Spring clean will commence this year and the Parish Council will be advertising how you can get involved.
· Dog fouling has very much been on the agenda this year, we are working closely with the dog warden to target areas of concern that have been reported by residents. There have been signs added around the Parish and the Parish Council are investigating signage and dog bag disposers for assets of the Parish Council.
· The Council is working on a programme of placing defibrillators at accessible points around the parish. Four defibrillators have been placed in the Parish with considerations for other areas including Midgley.
Safe Scheme
The Parish Council has for a number of years paid into the Police Safe Scheme which enables Police officers working overtime to attend to the priorities raised by the Council at its monthly meetings. The Safe Scheme co-ordinator regularly attends these monthly meetings and provides a full report – these can be viewed on the website or by contacting the Parish Office. Some of the priorities in the past year have included: speeding on the roads, anti-social behaviour at Emroyd Common and fly tipping.
Christmas Trees
The Parish Council have in the past tried to support root ball trees, to try to be more sustainable.
This has unfortunately not been as successful as we had hoped. With success at Overton and some success at Middlestown school. The Netherton tree didn’t take very well and this year we placed a cut tree at the end of Church Lane and outside Netherton Village Hall. This year we are considering requests from residents for a tree at Midgley and will be investigating root ball trees.
Supporting the community
Denby Grange Sports Club is another example of the Parish Council supporting volunteers and it has continued to award an annual grant to help with grounds maintenance. This is a facility used by all ages for sporting and other activities and a valuable asset in the community.
Finally, I would like to thank and commend my fellow councillors , staff and volunteers for the time and work they have undertaken in the past year. I hope they will all continue to do so in the coming year.
Cllr T Allott
Acting Chair of the Parish Council ,It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this chair’s report. After the sudden passing of our chair and friend Margaret Strong.
Margaret had been Chair of the Parish Council for over 5 years and was heavily involved in the community, and was instrumental in this council year. Working and supporting the Parish Council to achieve its vision.
Sue Earnshaw retired during this year after 10 years of service as Parish Clerk, we were saddened that she decided to retire. We are lucky to have a new clerk Julia Talbot and welcome Danielle Shooter as admin assistant to the Parish Office.
This year has also strange for all of us, March last year COVID 19 began to affect the Parish Council, the Parish Office started working from home and our meetings were remote from April 2020.
Last year the council decided to not have their Annual meeting of the Parish Council, all councillors remained in their roles as committee members.
The Parish Councillors volunteer their time to support the community, they all live in the Parish and have its best interests at the heart of everything.
During this difficult time, we have continued to work hard within the Parish, maintaining the assets we have responsibility for. These include the two cemeteries at Netherton and Middlestown. Three allotment sites. The old cricket field and pavilion in Netherton, Emroyd Common, Netherton play area. The Parish Council is the sole trustee of Netherton Village Hall and supports the day-to-day runnig of the hall.
You will have seen a rise in the overall council tax this year from Wakefield MDC, but no rise in the Parish Council precept. This remains at £57,600 as it has since 2016.
Here are examples of how money is spent to keep and improve facilities in your community:
Emroyd Common
The Parish Council works closely with the friends of Emroyd to support their work in this area. This year we have had to deploy the services of our Police safe scheme officers as there has been a number of reported incidents, including quite a bit of den making, wood cutting and fires taking place. We continue to monitor this area.
Netherton Village Hall
The Parish Council work closely with Netherton Village Hall management Trust to provide community facilities. It has been closed most of 2021, with a brief phased re open in the summer. The trust received a grant from Wakefield Council and this has supported the hall, ensuring that they are COVID safe and can provide reassurance to our hirers when they return next month. We look forward to welcoming both new and regular hirers to the hall.
The Parish Council meeting will commence face to face from the 1st June and the Netherton Ward meeting will now be held in the Village Hall.
Netherton & Middlestown Cemeteries
The Parish Office continued to work throughout the pandemic, ensuring the smooth running of the cemeteries. We added Christmas wreaths to the gates at Christmas and these were well received. We have carried out some tree work at Middlestown cemetery as the first heavy snow fall, brought down one of the larger trees and we wanted to ensure that this area was safe for all to use. So, we sort advice and the work commenced early in the year.
We are investigating a further inspection for Netherton to ensure the trees are safe, the Wildlife trust has carried out work on over hanging trees in the top corner of Netherton cemetery as these were unsafe and overhanging graves.
We have also repaired the tap at Middlestown and added grit bins for both cemeteries.
The Old Cricket Field /Pavilion
The Parish Council took over the Old Cricket Field over a year ago now.
Work has been slower than expected due to the pandemic, the bottoming fencing has been replaced and looking much better with work soon to be carried out on the decking section outside the pavilion. We have added new guttering to the outside of the pavilion to try and improve the look of the building and keep the water out.
We asked for volunteers from the Parish to come forward to set up a friend of the Old Cricket Field supported by the Parish Councillors. This has now been formally formed and meetings have been carried out remotely. The Parish Council realise it is important to engage with the community on this lovely community asset. We are currently looking at benches for the area with the friends and the future of the container and possible hedge planning.
Netherton Play area
The Parish Council are investigating adding extra equipment to the play area at Netherton, including replacing the basket swing and also intent to surface the Toddler area as it is very muddy through the winter months. We are currently working closely with Wakefield Council District Councillors to obtain funding to make this vision be realised.
The Parish Council are active in helping with this in a number of ways:
· Sitlington in Bloom with beautiful planters around the villages these are maintained by volunteers and they do an amazing job every year.
· It has been difficult for Sitlington Litter Pickers to meet this year; we have purchased more equipment so this can be done individually. Wakefield Council are also providing these free to encourage residents to care for their area under the stop the drop campaign. The Great British Spring clean will commence this year and the Parish Council will be advertising how you can get involved.
· Dog fouling has very much been on the agenda this year, we are working closely with the dog warden to target areas of concern that have been reported by residents. There have been signs added around the Parish and the Parish Council are investigating signage and dog bag disposers for assets of the Parish Council.
· The Council is working on a programme of placing defibrillators at accessible points around the parish. Four defibrillators have been placed in the Parish with considerations for other areas including Midgley.
Safe Scheme
The Parish Council has for a number of years paid into the Police Safe Scheme which enables Police officers working overtime to attend to the priorities raised by the Council at its monthly meetings. The Safe Scheme co-ordinator regularly attends these monthly meetings and provides a full report – these can be viewed on the website or by contacting the Parish Office. Some of the priorities in the past year have included: speeding on the roads, anti-social behaviour at Emroyd Common and fly tipping.
Christmas Trees
The Parish Council have in the past tried to support root ball trees, to try to be more sustainable.
This has unfortunately not been as successful as we had hoped. With success at Overton and some success at Middlestown school. The Netherton tree didn’t take very well and this year we placed a cut tree at the end of Church Lane and outside Netherton Village Hall. This year we are considering requests from residents for a tree at Midgley and will be investigating root ball trees.
Supporting the community
Denby Grange Sports Club is another example of the Parish Council supporting volunteers and it has continued to award an annual grant to help with grounds maintenance. This is a facility used by all ages for sporting and other activities and a valuable asset in the community.
Finally, I would like to thank and commend my fellow councillors , staff and volunteers for the time and work they have undertaken in the past year. I hope they will all continue to do so in the coming year.
Cllr T Allott
Acting Chair of the Parish Council