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Bramham Village - Parish Council Magazine Reports - 2002
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January 2002
BRAMHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Bramham and Clifford councils are working jointly with
Metro to establish whether there are gaps in our existing bus services
that should be filled. For example, is there a need for a service to
Tadcaster and on to York?, do the present services run at the right times
and from the right places?, are the disabled adequately catered for? can
you get to work easily? Early in February we shall be distributing
Questionnaires to each household in the two villages asking for your
views. The only way in which we can improve the services is by finding out
what everyone really wants, and we do mean everyone, not just a
vociferous minority. Do please reply.
Few new problems have emerged during the last month to
engage the council’s attention though of course the more mundane things
like potholes and defective streetlights are always with us.
Disappointingly the council meeting again lacked a police presence; we
have had no police representation since July because our Community
Constable Jon Kinroy has been absent on long term sick leave. We hope to
see him back again shortly.
Councillors are still being inundated with the
paperwork fall-out resulting from last year’s Rural White Paper. During
the past month they have had to assimilate the new regulations governing
the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, the new Code of Conduct and the
associated procedures involved in its adoption, plus a document about
Local Leadership and Quality Public Services. In addition they have had to
present their written responses to a 45 page consultation document on
Quality Parish and Town Councils for onward transmission to the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A cynic might wonder what benefit
this drain on councillors’ time is likely to bring to the residents of
Bramham.
On a happier note the council intends to mark the
Queen’s Golden Jubilee by the installation of a new bench seat, fashioned
from local magnesium limestone, near the top of Windmill Hill. This site
commands one of the best views in the parish looking out towards the hills
marking the northern boundary of the Vale of York, with the White Horse
clearly visible and also offers a fine view of York Minster to the east.
The seat base is already available and should be installed in the near
future.
Ian Watson
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February 2002
BRAMHAM PARISH COUNCIL
The approaches to the village are now graced by two
handsome signs depicting All Saints’ Church and The Square, mounted on the
oak posts that were installed towards the end of last year. The scenes
were painted by a local artist to whom the parish council is very
grateful. Indeed the council would like to express its thanks to all who
were involved in bringing this project to a successful conclusion.
After a long wait we have finally received the Planning
and Development Brief from Leeds giving information on how they intend to
develop the grounds of Bramham House. It is probable that only about 1
hectare of level ground will be used occupying about 40% of the total
space. Bramham House and the Ambulance Station are expected to remain. The
development will include 25% affordable housing comprising flats and small
houses though with the caveat that the 25% figure is "negotiable" and
there is no indication of how many dwellings in total are envisaged.
Access will be from Freely Lane though there may be some additional access
from Bowcliffe Road but this will not be available to commercial vehicles.
The council has also been considering a new planning
application for a small housing development in the present Timber Yard on
Bowcliffe Road. This proposal is for 8 detached houses, a small terrace of
8 three-storey terraced houses and a roundhouse. Since publication of the
Leeds UDP it has been evident that development of this space along
Bowcliffe Road was inevitable in the not too distant future. While many
may feel loathe to see yet more new houses in the village, the council
does feel that in this case a genuine attempt is being made to put forward
a sympathetic development. The council will be asking for some changes
but, subject to a satisfactory resolution of these issues, it will support
the proposal.
On the other hand we are delighted to record that the
plan to put terraced houses on the site of the vicarage has been
withdrawn. This, we believe, was not because of the genuine technical
objections, but because of the 56 people who sent letters of objection and
176 others who signed a petition against it. We have always maintained
that the shear weight of public opinion counts for far more than the
parish council can achieve on its own.
Ian Watson
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March 2002
BRAMHAM PARISH COUNCIL
By the time the magazine is published our daffodils
will be in full bloom in many of the verges around the village. We do ask
residents to treat them with respect as they are there for the enjoyment
of everyone. They were all provided by individual donations or from public
money yet each year we find individuals taking advantage of the situation
and picking them for their own private use. Do please let us all enjoy
them.
The "Welcome to Leeds" sign on the A659 Tadcaster to
Boston Spa road continues to irritate many people. It has not been
improved since it has now got "Boston Spa" added underneath it. This
ignores the fact that it is located on the Bramham Parish boundary (many
probably don’t realise that Bramham extends that far). We have asked that
the sign be moved to the Boston Spa boundary one kilometre further along
the road but Leeds has refused to co-operate. Our council feels that,
having made the protest, life is too short to continue fighting such
silliness when more important things demand attention but, if parishioners
feel strongly, they should write to Leeds.
We have been asked by DEFRA to help to publicise the
campaign against the illegal poisoning of wildlife. To keep the
countryside safe please report any suspected incidents by phone to 0800
321 600. All calls are free.
The Highways Agency has advised us that plans are afoot
for the A64 between Whinmoor roundabout and the county boundary to cease
to be a trunk road. This means that the responsibility for the upkeep of
this stretch of road would pass to Leeds City Council. The Secretary of
State is asking for comments, which must be made to the DTLR before 5th
April.
We had quite a good response to the questionnaires on
public transport. 105 households in Bramham and 126 households in Clifford
replied representing a total of 496 residents. The results are now with
Metro for analysis and of course we will be reporting back on any possible
improvements that may result.
The next Annual Parish Meeting will be held in the
Supper Room at the Village Hall on Thursday 11th April at 8
p.m. Do come along and give us your views on the things that are happening
in the village or, perhaps more importantly, the things that are not
happening that you think should be.
Ian Watson
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April 2002
BRAMHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Disappointingly not a single parishioner attended the
Annual Parish Meeting in the Village Hall on 11th April. Of
course this might mean that everyone in the village is totally satisfied
with how things are going but even the most optimistic among us finds that
difficult to believe. Perhaps you think councillors are already aware of
most of the problems and are doing their best to solve them. We can only
hope that this is a little nearer to the truth.
In his annual report our Chairman, David Evans, was
able to record that, despite what sometimes seems to be a continuous
uphill struggle, we did have some achievements in the last year. We have
kept our council tax at one of the lowest figures for the whole of the
Wetherby district (about half the rate for our nearest neighbours in
Clifford for example) and have still managed to provide two new bus
shelters and two attractive illustrated village signs welcoming people to
our community. The Children’s Playground, which though small is recognised
as one of the best in the area, has had its surfaces improved to bring it
into line with the very latest European safety standards. We have fought
off an unattractive unwelcome terraced development on the site of the
vicarage and made a big improvement to the development planned for
Milnthorpe Lane. After years of protests we have finally got the diameter
of the sewers increased to overcome the recurring problems experienced at
the bottom end of the village and Firbeck Road has been resurfaced. This
latter achievement occurred a mere four years after we first started
badgering for it. Dropped kerbs have been provided to make access to the
Post Office/village store easier for the disabled and people with push
chairs and we have got the inadequately sized letter box replaced by a new
large pillar box (which admittedly does seem to occupy rather a lot of the
pavement – we didn’t choose the siting).
Our current endeavours are aimed at getting an improved
bus service but it is still too early to judge whether or not we shall
achieve any success in that direction. On the subject of motor transport,
the police have in the last week or so received their new speed-checking
device for the Wetherby area. If you are aware of persistent speeding
problems please telephone them and they will be pleased to do a check.
Ian Watson
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| May 2002
BRAMHAM PARISH COUNCIL
At the council’s Annual Meeting in May, David Evans was
re-appointed Chairman to serve for another year. He will be supported as
before by Paul Topping as Vice Chairman.
The diverse responsibilities of our parish councillors
are well illustrated by the appointments that have to be allocated to them
at this annual meeting. We have several councillors on each of the
standing committees covering planning, the children’s playground and
finance. In addition individual councillors accept responsibility for the
parish archives, acting as the parish representative on WARDEN, on CPRE,
as a school governor, on the Community Involvement Team, on the Crime
Prevention team, at Yorkshire Local Councils Associations meetings, on
liaison with the Village Hall and looking after the Old People’s shelter
and garden. All this of course is in addition to their attendance at
regular council meetings and dealing with all the day to day requirements
that arise out of those meetings. All are unpaid volunteers just doing
their bit to help the village we all live in.
Now we are told the Government intends to implement
"Quality Council" status from April 2003. Time will tell what that means
in detail. Hopefully it will help to improve conditions in our community
but we can be sure that it won’t result in any reduction in councillor
involvement.
This happens to be the month when the council renews
its insurance policy and it is sobering to find that the premium has
increased by almost exactly 30% since last year. Admittedly this is partly
because we have added features like the two new bus shelters, but it also
reflects the modern trend where we all have to pay heavily for the
misbehaviour of a few. It is worth repeating the plea at this point – if
you see any vandalism, please report it immediately, we all suffer.
On the other hand, to look on the cheerful side, Jon
Kinroy, our Community Constable, reports that the local crime level over
the last month has been very considerably lower than it was at the same
time last year. Long may this state continue! The other thing he reported
was that the new vehicle speed-checking device is now in operation in the
Wetherby district. They issued 50 tickets in the first three weeks. Watch
out!
Ian Watson
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June 2002
In the aftermath of the Royal Jubilee celebrations the council expresses
its thanks to all the public spirited residents who, on their own
initiative, organised events for the benefit of the whole village or for
their own more local communities. The splendid Flower Festival arranged by
Bramham’s talented ladies and the events on the Playing Field organised by
the Drama Group and the Red Lion are perhaps worth particular mention. The
parish council, while not taking any part in all the hard work that
parishioners put in to the holiday weekend, was very pleased to pass on
some financial support secured from Leeds City Council for the events of
Monday 3rd June.
While on the subject of public-spirited parishioners,
it is good to be able to report that a group of residents has formed a
committee with a view to starting a Bramham Youth Club. They are in the
very early stages of gathering information together and seeking funds but
the present plan is to start up in September. Hopefully, 11-16 year old
youngsters will be able to meet in the Village Hall on three Friday nights
per month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. At this stage of course there will be many
problems to be solved before it all happens but this is a facility that
has long been needed in the village and we wish them well.
Are there any other facilities that parishioners feel
that the village lacks? The Community Involvement Team has now been in
operation for about two years and one of our councillors attends its
quarterly meetings to represent Bramham’s point of view. At present they
have significant funds available for projects that fit into the Community
Plan. This Plan has five priority schemes
- Looking after the Environment
- Community Safety
- Young People
- Health and Social Care
- Housing Information and Services
The present funds are only available until 31st
March next year. Anyone who feels that there is a real need that fits into
one of these categories and is prepared to put together a strong
written argument based on factual information should contact the
Parish Clerk or any councillor so that it can be discussed by the parish
council and a decision taken as to whether the case fits the criteria and
is strong enough to submit. Over to you!
Ian Watson
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July 2002
BRAMHAM PARISH COUNCIL
The council is very pleased to announce the start of a
new bus service with effect from Monday 2nd September
connecting Bramham to Tadcaster. This is the direct outcome of the parish
council’s questionnaires on public transport that were circulated to every
household in February asking you what you wanted. The new service, which
has been achieved by diverting the existing 780 Knaresborough to Tadcaster
buses, will run hourly through the day on Mondays to Saturdays and will
connect with the Coastliner service for those wishing to go on to York and
beyond. Also, because it uses the A1 between Bramham and Wetherby, it
gives us an 8-minute service to and from Wetherby.
All this is on a trial basis. The trial has been funded
by money 75% of which has come from a grant obtained from the Countryside
Agency and 25% from Bramham and Clifford Parish Councils’ own funds. It
must however become a profitable route for Harrogate and District Travel
before March 2004, which is when the funds run out.
The electoral boundary review is now in progress aiming
to adjust various boundaries in the Leeds Metropolitan District to ensure
that each Ward has roughly the same number of electors. At the first
meeting in Leeds we were disconcerted to find a proposal being discussed
for the A1 to become a boundary, thus moving 29 of our electors into
another Ward. The fact that it also moved Bramham Park out of our Ward
into Collingham did not seem to have been noticed. Fortunately the council
was able to make representations emphasising how inappropriate this would
be and the proposal has now been modified. The current proposal is that a
new rural "Bramham and Harewood" Ward is to be created made up entirely of
villages similar to our own. It will include, for example, Bardsey,
Thorner, Barwick, Scholes, Shadwell, Scarcroft and East Keswick and will
be represented by two Leeds city councillors.
Following complaints from motorists, our council asks
that wheelie bins should not be left permanently on the roadway. They can
form a dangerous obstruction. We are making enquiries about the legality
of the situation but suspect that, in the event of an accident, the
householder would be legally liable to pay all costs.
Ian Watson
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