Parish AGM

Annual General Meeting

The parish clerk and all the newly elected parish councilors (except Akis Chrisovelides) were present on Thursday 12 May along with eleven members of the public.
Election of chairman. It was agreed unanimously that Tim Ing would be chairman.
Election of vice-chairman.Adrian Joel was elected to this post (agreed with nine for and one against).
Appointment of working parties.The following areas of responsibility were agreed:
Play area.

Sarah Dye

Recreation area.

Jonathan Kemp, Carol Marshall and Adrian Joel

Allotments.

Adrian Joel, John Frost and Carol Marshall

The Green.

Tim Ing

Planning.

Derek Smalley, Paul Boggia and Sarah Windle

Emergency Plan co-ordinator.

Sarah Windle

Village Hall.

Tom Johnson

Youth Council.

Carol Marshall, Adrian Joel and Derek Smalley

Amenity area.

Adrian Joel and John Frost

Attleborough Task Force.

Tom Johnson

South Norfolk Action Panel (SNAP).

Derek Smalley.

Chairman’s annual report. Tim Ing said that several major achievements have been completed within the year including the play area at a cost of £75,000 of which the Parish Council donated £5,000 from its reserves. He thanked the Play Area working which had committed to over 2,000 man hours to complete the project. Also the allotments had been set up in a very short period of time and were now being used. The Recreation Area is still being worked on and four more benches had been provided for the Green. The village had also won first place in the Pride of Breckland Award Scheme being the best village in its category in the whole of Norfolk. The Parish Council had received a £500 award under the scheme and was seeking suggestions as to how best spend the money. He thanked all the parish councillors for their hard work during the year.
Parish Clerk’s annual report.The Precept meeting for the financial year 2011/12 was held in October 2010 and the precept was set at £12,656 which equates to a 3.5% increase on the previous year. The increase was due to grants being given to the Village Hall, a total of £1700 towards repairs. All Saints Church received £500 to assist with the felling of a dangerous tree. Without these grants the precept would have decreased by 15%. As Responsible Finance Officer the Parish Clerk will be putting forward budget proposals for the financial years 2012/13 and 2013/14 at the current level of expenditure and, if possible, even a reduction in the budget expenditure for recommendation by the Parish Council. The Parish Council are fully aware of the harsh economic times for a large part of the villagers who are on fixed incomes. The Parish Council will therefore ensure strict financial and monetary controls are effected at all times and that all expenditure is within budgetary limits. During the year ending March 2011 the Parish Council received grants totalling £47,419 for the play area, recreation area and the allotments. In addition Breckland also contributed approximately £894 towards the Community Car Scheme. Expenditure for the year totalled approximately £73,535 (net of VAT) from a total income of £71,009. All these figures are subject to audit. The Parish Council gave grants from it reserves of £5,000 to the play area and £5,000 to recreation area. The Parish Council also carried out a full review and adopted new standing orders which bring it into line with current legislation along with a risk assessment of all its assets. The Parish Clerk would like to take this opportunity of thanking the parish councillors for their hard work and commitment to their responsibilities as councillors and for the support they have given over the past year.
After the Annual General Parish Council Meeting closed, it was followed by the monthly parish council meeting.