Parish Annual general Meetings

Hassop Parish Annual General Meeting

Hassop Parish Meeting held its A.G.M. on Monday, 8th May, in the comfortable surroundings of Hassop Hall.

The meeting was opened by Chairman George Shaw at 8pm prompt and, in the absence of Clerk Kate Foster, Max Waters acted as both Clerk and Vice-Chairman.

Before official business began, the Chairman mentioned the recent death of one of Hassop's oldest residents, Lady Stephenson, who had lived in the village for some 46 years. The Meeting showed its respects by standing for a short silence in her memory.

Nine households in the village were represented and apologies came from four others. District Councillor Mrs. Christine Crowther was also present. The minutes of last year's A. G. M. of 26th April 1999 were read out and accepted. There were two matters arising: 1/ Longstone Edge: Mrs. Victoria Shaw reported very briefly on the present situation. The next meeting of the action group is to be held on 11th May 2000. 2/ Under The Edge: Distribution 'hiccups' have finally been resolved in Hassop and members appreciated the articles written about parish events. A plea was made for articles about the village; if anyone has any articles or ideas, contact Elain Turner.

The Chairman's report touched on three matters:

The death of Lady Stephenson in her 99th year; a suggestion was put to the Meeting that snowdrop bulbs should be bought and planted in the grassy area below her garden wall as a memorial to her. As snowdrops were known to be her favourite flower, this idea was turned into a motion and passed unanimously;

Social events held in the parish including the Car Treasure Hunt, the Coffee Evening, which raised £104, and the Millennium Bonfire. The Chairman expressed a big thank you to all that helped, especially members of the Social Committee;

The electoral review of divisions for County Council elections: The Chairman outlined the two schemes, one in which Hassop would remain in an area centred in Bakewell, as at present, and the other linking Hassop with the Hope Valley. It was decided that the Chairman should write to the Commission to tell them of the Meeting's feelings - we want to remain with Bakewell.

The Clerk's report dealt with four planning applications that had been passed during the year - a barn conversion and an extension to form a sun room at Torr's Farm, the enclosure of the existing canopy at Hassop Station and the brewhouse improvements at Hassop Hall. Max reported on the discussions between the Clerk and Matlock and Bakewell Police concerning the reduction of the 40 MPH speed limit through Hassop. Clr. Mrs. Crowther advised the Meeting to gather evidence and to write to Clr. Mrs. Twigg to arrange a meeting with the Highways Department.

The Treasurer reported a very modest balance in credit. The Election of Officers then took place; George Shaw remained Chairman and Treasurer, Peter Peel became Vice-Chairman and Max Waters took on the position of Clerk. The Planning Sub-Committee remains essentially the same, with Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Clerk, George Shaw (Eller's Knoll), and Richard Foden. Elain Turner retired to allow Nigel Anderson to join the Sub-Committee.

Judy Dilks brought the Meeting up-to date with the Parish's social events of the past year, giving thanks to all involved, and gave a list of events planned for this year: Treasure Hunt, Bike Ride, Time Capsule including a photo of all villagers, a Millennium Gift for all children in Hassop, Beating the Bounds, a possible facelift for the Pinfold. Dates will be fixed at the next meeting of the Social Committee. The Chair thanked Judy for all the work she had undertaken.

Under any other business was a request for Clr. Mrs. Crowther to give the Meeting an update on Peak Rail. She informed us that developments could be afoot as in-depth studies were being commissioned to weigh up all the pros and cons. Nothing more was certain.

The departure from Hassop of Mrs. Judy Elliot was highlighted and recognition was made of her work within the village, and particularly that she was one of the founder members of the parish Meeting, nearly 20 years ago.

The meeting closed at 9.45pm

Longstone Parish Annual General Meeting

This month saw the Annual Parish Meeting take place, before the usual, monthly Council Meeting. There were several members of the public in attendance, indeed, perhaps a record attendance!

The Annual Meeting opened at 7:00, with Clr. Hirst in the chair. There were apologies received from Clr. Bowering, the previous minutes were accepted, with no matters arising.

Clr. Hirst read the Chairman’s Report. [Unfortunately we have had to edit the report, due to space limitations, Ed] "Eleven meetings have been held, all in the Village Hall, and all have been attended by members of the public. I welcome the regular reporting of Council business in UTE. The Backdale Quarry issue has changed little in the past year. The Council is satisfied with the maintenance of the greens and churchyard, but is not happy with the maintenance of the other verges; the Council has complained to DDDC about this on several occasions. The only solution would be to pay extra for additional cuttings, and the Council is not prepared to do this due to the extra expense incurred. The precept for this year is £7,770, down £815 on last year. The funding of Village Hall cleaning changes this year from the Council to the Hall Management Committee. The Holme Meal Charity has made its usual Christmas distribution. Work on refurbishing the slide is underway, and the area beneath it will be resurfaced. Thanks are due to those who collected and erected the Christmas Tree, and to the family of Mrs. Gladys Cox for donating the tree. The Council also thanks the West family for their generous donation of the allotments and adjoining land. The Council plans to improve the allotments and landscape the adjoining plot. Finally, the Council plans to host a Millennium Event later in the year, which is intended to be a children’s sports afternoon followed by an evening barbecue. I invite all in the village to attend."

The floor was then opened to the public. The first issue raised was that of weeds on the verges in the village, particularly dandelions; these not only made the verges look uncared for, but the seeds blew into adjacent gardens, causing a proliferation of weeds and extra work for householders. It was suggested that PC arrange for the verges be weedkillered in the spring. However, it was revealed by DDDC Clr. Mrs. Crowther that things are not as simple as they seem; the maintenance of the verges is currently the responsibility of DDDC, and their policy prohibits the use of weedkiller. The Parish Council agreed that there was a problem, and would ask Mr Watson (who tends the village greens) if he could apply a weedkiller that would be effective, but safe for pets and children. Clr Mrs. Crowther will raise the issue with DDDC again, and check their position on this issue.

Responses to questions about the allotments were postponed until the monthly meeting, as it was already on that agenda.

The next topic from the floor was road safety on Beggarway Lane; it was suggested the road was dangerous between the Church and Barn Furlong and that the speed limit be moved to the far side of Barn Furlong. The PC’s response was agreement on the need to move the limit, but – again - that this was not as easy as it sounded. Speed limits and road signs are the responsibility of DCC Highways Department. The PC wish to move the limit, have already raised the issue with DCC, but DCC will not act until Barn Furlong has street lights, and this is the responsibility of the developer of the estate. A follow-up suggestion from the floor was to lower the speed limit in the village from 30 to 20 MPH. The PC thought that DCC’s agreement to this was highly unlikely, and did not think it worth taking the matter any further. Another suggestion was for speed bumps on the main roads in the village. The PC disagreed with this suggestion and pointed out the difficulties this could cause from some road users. Again, DDC were unlikely to agree. A final traffic-related suggestion was for the speed limits to be painted on the road, as at Bakewell; the PC felt this would be a good idea and resolved to ask DCC if this could be done.

The final topic for public discussion was the proposed new village green on the corner of Croft Road and Main Street. The Council had received a letter from a group of residents from the area, with their views and suggestions. [Ed: Unfortunately we don’t have space to reproduce the whole letter here, but in summary…] The letter proposed that a boundary wall be retained to protect the green and a small lay-by be constructed for allotment holders to park off the main road. Any plantings should be of native trees and bushes, and the present sycamore trees be removed. A solid path be constructed for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and benches be provided. The PC welcomed the letter, and agreed with most of the content. However, it was felt that the cost of the work proposed should be considered; even though grants may be available to assist, the PC had not budgeted any significant amount for the project. Although the proposals were welcome, there may not be funds to carry them all out. The PC resolved to have a site meeting to consider the proposals in detail, and asked any residents concerned to come along to the site meeting. The Council would then ask the PPPB for more advice and suggestions, and explore the possibilities of grant aid.