Hello again Everyone.
We had a busy council meeting this week so I’ll keep it brief – you can check out what else went on when the minutes are published. Hopefully this note will give you a heads-up.
We bestowed the honour of Freedom of the Parish to Chris Hancock for his excellent service to our town over many years and on many groups including of course the Town Council. This is the highest honour we can give and I would like to thank Vicki Hewer for formally nominating Chris, Alan Wellman for presenting the scroll to Chris and many of those that know Chris for coming along to witness the event. Well done all.
We have a new member of the council. Janine Larner has joined us and started contributing to our work on her first meeting. Welcome aboard Janine.
We were also joined by County Councillor Nigel Moor who brought us up to date regarding the 801 bus service. There’s too much detail for this update but the take-away is that there remains a lot to do to get this important bus service to where we would like it. Watch this space and future council updates for news.
The Town Council is involved in a number of areas where we believe we can make Northleach a safer, cleaner, active, healthy and successful place for all residents. At this month’s meeting we:
Reviewed the Police Report which shows that we have a lower crime rate than many other areas – but there is still too much crime and so we should remember that if we are affected by any crimes then we MUST make sure it is recorded by the police. It not enough to simply broadcast on Facebook as this will not get police attention.
Confirmed this year’s Litter Pick as September 14 starting at 10:00 on the KGV Field.
Working out ways in which the council can help the town deal with any potential closure of the Post Office. There are a number of interested parties and we will work with them all to see how together we can make sure we keep this important service going. We will update you as this initiative moves forward – if you have any interests or ideas then please let us know. The council cannot run the Post Office but hopefully we can support anyone who is trying to keep it open.
Operating the Youth Programme 2019 where many events are planned. We have booked 2 days with Play Rangers, 75 places on a variety of courses at Far Peak and 2 sessions in the Westwoods Centre for World Jungle who will likely offer Street Dance and Circus skills. Look out for more notices from Cat.
Meeting on a regular basis to develop the strategy of the Town Council by taking into account what you, the residents, tell us you want and what we can afford (in both time and money). The next meeting will be in August and we will publicise our views on the priorities we believe we should follow – and we look forward to your feedback. Without knowing your views, we cannot be confident we are doing what you want us to do with our resources. Please let us know at any time what you think the council should do or should stop doing.
Progressing the installation of bike racks in the Market Square following a number of requests. We need to do some more planning with Gloucestershire Highways but we expect to see something soon.
Coordinating closely with the District Council and Gloucestershire Highways to ensure gullies in the town are kept clear to avoid flooding. Please let one of the councils know if you see a blocked gully.
Confirmed we are planning Northleach VE Day celebrations for next year – please get in touch if you have any ideas and would like to help.
We will continue to try different ideas for a Councillor Surgery so that you can come and meet us in an informal setting to share any comments or issues. Watch out for September’s session.
All formal meeting minutes and other information are on the Town Council website, and please, let us know if this brief update is useful . . . or otherwise.
Cllr Rob Platts