From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
It is not often anyone has the chance of witnessing a Parish Council setting an
example to National Governments - whether Tory or New Labour, or Democrat or
Republican. But it was a real privilege to be present at the last PC Meeting.
Some have suggested it would help the world if our PC was despatched to Iraq.
What it lacked in quantity it more than made up in quality. The only four
attending councillors were either existing or previous Chairmen or
Vice-Chairmen. The loyal Clerk was also in attendance, together with the
resident member of the public and a Crier reporter. It was a highly select
bunch - with no riff raff such as CCC or ECDC representatives or any junior
councillors. And what a difference this made as they rattled through the agenda
with an alacrity and sureness of touch only enabled by years of experience and
the conviction of being right in everything they think and do. With a little
more effort they might well have finished at 8.30pm (more on this later).
Almost immediately the PC was a-quivering with indignation, emotion, and over-flowing excitement following receipt of a letter from the CCC demanding payment for the Mill Hill speeding project. If the money was not sent immediately it could well jeopardise any future applications from the village!! Our PC prides itself on its prompt and accurate payments and was incensed. "Totally out of order", "Deplorable behaviour", "Outrageous", "We have to safeguard public money" and "nothing is paid for until the work is completed and working properly." Trevor affirmed that no county council or government department would ever pay for any goods before satisfactory completion and delivery - is this really true?
And what about the Village Light Enhancement Scheme they wondered. The village did not make any contribution to this - just as well because it may be six months, six years, or even sixty years before it's completed. No-one has any idea when the scheme will be finished off. Meantime some residents of the Lower Part of the High Street still envy the Upper Part with its new lights and asked at the General Assembly if they could have similar lights. Charlotte Cane elegantly and gently hinted that they didn't have a hope. But there have been some improvements. Fairly recently all the lights in the Lower Part of the High Street have been numbered. (If the vegetation around number 9 was cleared the notice could be put at the same height as all the others - or was it erected by a very short man?) From now on if a light fails you only have to phone up and give the number. Of course if the light is being repaired at night you would need a torch to discover the number of the light which had gone out.
They (whoever "they" are) did not dare to disfigure the new lights in the Upper Part of the High Street with these signs but another local government authority has had the nerve to do this with a number of "No Parking" signs. The original landscape designers insisted on the removal of such signs and placed them on the walls of houses in the location. Now they are a terribly intrusive eyesore. Not unreasonably people do park on double yellow lines in the Upper Part of the High Street - to act as a cheap kind of traffic calming, to go to church, to visit friends, to save walking far on a hot day, and for many other quite understandable reasons - and putting up more defacing notices will not stop any of this. Having got the offensive CCC letter out of its system the PC rattled on and got to planning applications at 8.25. Would they finish by 8.30? Alas, it was only a simple application for the addition of a conservatory which would not be seen from the road. After talking idly about the location, who lived there once, who lives there now, who lived next door forty years ago, someone lazily picked up the plan to look at it. Another councillor thought he should look at it also and the minutes passed. Eventually they agreed there were no objections BUT the 8.30 deadline had been passed, especially as they had been diverted into discussing the dubious heap of soil which is growing apace in Heath Road and which the PC will inspect (O, beware ye who live in Tothill Road) during the annual Village Inspection later this month. At 9.30am on Sunday 20th July some of you may have seen a very miscellaneous collection of people outside the Village Hall. I hope you were not frightened, and did not lock up your wives and daughters, because it was only THEM - doing their duty.
Just after 8.35 the Chair closed the formal meeting and asked if there were any questions from the public. Our resident member of the public welcomed the fact that the meeting had finished early as this would allow him some time to raise a number of questions and to put his own views forward. The PC always enjoys any interest from the public but it was quite interesting to see the open cheerful enthusiasm on their faces change first to puzzlement, and then to dismay, and then to alarm, and then to panic and a little crossness, before the Chair asked whether there were many more questions in a voice which only invited one answer - "No" - whereupon the meeting was closed at 8.45pm.