BLABY TOPIC

BLABY PARISH COUNCIL

NEWSLETTER ISSUE 10: APRIL 2006

Members of Blaby Parish Council: -

Chairman
Mrs. L. Gutteridge - (0116) 2775947

Vice Chairman
Mr. W. Jennings - 07951-028691

Councillors
Mr. R. Benford - (0116) 2771633
Mr. C. Bonser - (0116) 2776158
Mrs. M. Broomhead - (0116) 2771711
Mr. J. Churchard - (0116) 2771403
Mr. A. Goodwin -
Mr. G. Harding - (0116) 2772237
Mr. D. Martin - (0116) 2784366
Miss. A. M. Morris - (0116) 2772088
Mr. C. Orton - (0116) 2785318
Dr. D. Pollard - (0116) 2772076
Mrs. F. Pollard - (0116)2772076
Mr. J. Roper - (0116) 2773965
Mrs. C. Sayer - (0116) 2772695
Mrs. C. Thomas - (0116) 2772894
Mr. J. Wilford - (0116) 07748-114444

Parish Council Precept 2006/07

The Precept is the Parish Council’s demand placed on Blaby District Council for monies with which to operate during the financial year. For 2006/07, Blaby Parish Council will receive £139,180.00. Budgets have been agreed as follows: -

Wages/Salaries = 96,490-00
Administration =17,600-00
Leisure Facilities = 22,650-00 (Parks &Allotments)
Cemeteries = 2,915-00
Christmas/Social Activities = 3,350-00
Western Drive = 6,350-00
Grants to other bodies = 600-00
Repayment of loans = 12,735-00
Vehicle = 1,500-00
Contingency/Reserves = 7,002-00
Youth Council = 100-00
Equipment Replacement = 10,000-00

Subtotal = £181,292-00

Less Estimated income £42,112-00

Total = £139,180-00

DIARY
(All Meetings are open to the Public and are held at the Blaby Social Centre)
Council Meetings
(Tuesday, from 7:30pm)
11th April 2006
2nd May 2006 – ANNUAL VILLAGE MEETING
9th May 2006
13th June 2006
11th July 2006
8th August 2006
12th September 2006
10th October 2006
14th November 2006
5th December 2006

SURGERIES
A Member of the Parish Council will be available to answer your queries at Blaby Library. 10am-11pm on the following Saturdays: -
22nd April
20th May
24th June
22nd July
19th August
23rd September

VACANCY ON COUNCIL
There is a vacancy for a Parish Councillor. Do you want to do your bit for the community? The position is unpaid, but the rewards are great. Contact the Clerk for further details.

Grants 2006-07
·South Leicestershire Citizen’s Advice Bureau: £200-00
(towards the work of the CAB)

·Blaby Methodist Church: £200-00
(towards car park resurfacing)

·Turner Educational Foundation: £50-00
(towards grants to young people going on to further
education)

♫ SOCIAL EVENTS ♫

CELEBRATION OF ST. GEORGE - Sat. 1st April 2006
(Celebration Dinner & Toasts)

CAR BOOT SALE - Sat. 29th April 2006

CEILIDH & HAGGIS SUPPER - Sat. 20th May 2006
(Heather Mixture Trio)

HERITAGE EXHIBITION - Sat. 10th June 2006
(In Conjunction With Blaby Gala)

JURASSIC LEICESTERSHIRE - Sat. 17th June 2006

OOM PAH NIGHT - Sat. 8th July 2006

MUSIC IN THE PARK - Sat. 5th August 2006

COUNTRY & WESTERN DISCO - Sat. 2nd September 2006
(Rednex Disco)

LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS - Fri. 13th October 2006

CHRISTMAS CONCERT - Sat. 16th December 2006
(Notability Singers & The Enderby Band)
--------------------------------

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION & TICKETS PLEASE CONTACT: -
Mrs. Lee, Tel. (0116) 2784728
Email:blabyparishcouncil@tiscali.co.uk

Blaby Parish Council’s Activities since last Newsletter

Administrative Shake up
On January 1st, the Council brought in a new Committee system to streamline its work. The Allotments/Cemeteries Committee and the Parks Committees were combined, and the General Purposes Committee took over the Quality Ad Hoc Committee and the Social Committee. The Council will now have meetings on three Tuesday evenings of each month, leaving the first and fifth Tuesdays free.

Assistant Clerk
Mrs. Suzanne Hansford was appointed to the vacant position in December and has already proved to be a valuable member of the team.

Rabbits on the Cemetery
Complaints have been raised about rabbits on the Cemetery. They love to scratch in soft earth and eat the heads of fresh flowers. The Council sympathises, but has agreed, as the Cemetery is in open countryside, nothing can be done.

Children’s Play Area, The Crescent Play Area
The Parish Council has negotiated a second 7-year lease for this part of the green area with Blaby District Council.

Aldi Store: Proposed for ex-Chatterbox Shoe site
The Parish council opposed the company’s access/exit plans on the following grounds:
· Contrary to Local Plan
· Road Network (Congestion on narrow roads)
· Access/Exit
· Residents – severe impact (900 vehicles plus using Welford Road daily).
· Over intensification of use of the site (proposed supermarket will be twice the size of Waitrose)
· Insufficient on-site parking? If not, there would be greater on-street parking on the fringes of the central area.

News of Members
The Parish Council was sorry to lose the services of Mr John Troake in October, Mrs. Marlene Robinson in November and Mr. Peter James in December. However, two of the positions have since been ably filled by Mr. David Martin and Mr. John Wilford.

Cemetery Extension
The contract has been given for the necessary works to be carried out to make No.5 Cemetery ready for burial. The cost will be in the region of £85,000.00. The contractor is Blakedown Landscapes.

Christmas 2005
This was perhaps the Parish Council’s most successful Christmas yet. With the assistance of the County Council’s Street Lighting Department, the Parish Council was able to erect Christmas lights on eleven lampposts in the Village Centre. What’s more, another Department in the County Council made a grant of £2,000 towards the lights. There was an added bonus from the power company, which supplied electricity free of charge.

The second new feature was the visit by two reindeer to the Carol Singing event in the Precinct on Christmas Eve. The reindeer were a popular attraction and happily stood chewing the cud while local children (and adults) petted them. The reindeer have been booked again for the 2006 event.

Unstable Memorials: Blaby Cemetery
The issue of unstable, sometimes even dangerous, memorials, is taxing all Councils. This Council has a policy whereby it inspects all memorials periodically. Each individual situation is assessed and memorials which are considered to be dangerous will be laid flat immediately. Those memorials which are insecure but not dangerous will be marked with hazard warning tape and steps will be taken to identify and inform the owner of the memorial so that it may be re-fixed.

The Council asks visitors to the cemetery not to remove the tape from memorials. Even if it is not aesthetically pleasing, it has a serious purpose.

Printed by Blaby Parish Council,
13 Western Drive, Blaby, Leics. LE8 4FR
Tel. 0116-2784728
e-mail>blabyparishcouncil@tiscali.co.uk
Website>leicestershireparishcouncils.org/blabyparish