The Friends of Henley Library and the Joint Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Parish Council have been informed by Warwickshire County Council (WCC) that their proposal and business plan for retaining a Library Service in Henley-in-Arden will be recommended for approval to the Cabinet of WCC on 13 October 2011.The residents of Henley-in-Arden, Wootton Wawen and the neighbouring villages will be delighted by this announcement.A great deal of work has gone into this and we should like to thank our County Councillor Mike Perry and District Councillor George Matheou for their support and help in preparing the proposal and business plan. There is still a great deal of work to be done before the new Library in Henley becomes operational.
30th August 2011 - Henley Library - latest developments
At a meeting on 15th August between the Friends of Henley Library, District and Parish Councillors, the business case for retaining a Library Service in Henley was discussed and approved. The following day Cllrs Mike Perry and George Matheou discussed the proposal with Warwickshire County Council (WCC). It was agreed the plan was sound and was presented formally to WCC the following day. Mrs Judith Lindley, the Chairman of the Friends of the Henley Library is the designated proposer of the business plan. An answer to the plans presented by 16 Parishes whose Libraries are threatened with closure will be announced by WCC sometime in October.
Henley's plan is based on the premise that the Police Station, which will be vacated by the Police by the end of September, will be made available as a community centre to house the Library. The other alternative i.e. to retain the library at the Guildhall is currently not an option as the rent of £9,500 per annum which is being demanded by the Guildhall Trust cannot be afforded by the proposed Community Library.
On 23 August 2011the Friends of Henley Library elected George Atkinson, SDC Councillor for Tanworth, as their Treasurer.
Arrangements are now being made to formalise the new Henley Community Library organisation and discussions are taking place with VASA who will be advising the new Henley Library on a number of issues free of charge.
On Thurs 16 June, Warwickshire College hosted the annual sports awards evening to celebrate the many successes of the sports students at the Henley-in-Arden campus
The evening was a great success and was very well supported from members of the community, former & current students and parents. The students that attended were there because they have put the effort into all that they do and have excelled wither academically or within there sport.
The evening started with a welcome from Nicki Breeds (acting PAM) for sports at Warwickshire College. Nicki said
“ you can take a horse to water but you cant make it drink. We take the students to the water, some are hydrophobic and get thirsty, others lap it up and want more”
All the students that attended have achieved great things throughout the year and are self motivated, disciplined, train and work hard.
The evening followed with Staff & industry experts presenting the awards summarising each of the great achievements.
The main winners and categories are as follows:
Student of the year for Higher Education: Hayley Reynolds
Student if of the year for National diploma in sport and exercise science:
Sammy Licence
Student of the year for fitness: Robert McLauchlin
Student of the year for National Diploma in sport development, coaching and fitness:
Matthew Brookes
Contribution to athletics: Imogen Green & Richard Smith
Wheelchair basketball player of the year: Matthew Tapper
Team sports player of the year (male): Aran Singh
Team sports player of the year (female): Nancy Creedy
Individual Sports Athlete of the year: Jack Smith
Outstanding Contribution to sport: Nancy Creedy (GB Wakeboarding)
James Earl (GB Water Skiing)
Jess Print (WBA football team)
Jack Smith (GB Badminton)
Richard Smith (County Rugby)
Tom Brown (County and Denmark Cricket)
Volunteer of the year:Tasmin Jones
Sports person of the year:Imogen Green
Coach of the year:Tom Greensall
Encouragement of team spirit in work and play: Bella Ingram
Outstanding student of the year (academic)Hayley Reynolds
Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Joint Parish Council
The Joint Parish Council is very pleased to report on the re-surfacing of the whole of High Street in Henley in Arden. Work was undertaken by Warwickshire County Council contractors during the latter part of last week.
The Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr Roger Hubbocks said “We are thrilled that the High Street has been re-surfaced.This follows many discussions with the County and District Councils at our regular Maintenance Group meetings.We would like to thank County Councillor Mike Perry and John Brown, WCC’s Locality Officer, for their persistence and hard work in achieving this excellent result for the town.”
The High Street was last surfaced over 20 years ago so it was very much in need of this treatment.The Parish Council had identified the High Street as a priority in response to feedback from residents who welcome the work as it will significantly reduce noise levels on the High Street.The Parish Council will strive to continue to meet their communities’ needs on any issue that affects them.
For further information please contact Jenny Walsh – Parish Clerk on 01564 795499 email bhjpc@btconnect.com
22 June 2011
Retaining a Library Service in Henley
Your Parish Council working together with County Councillor Mike Perry and the 'Friends of the Henley Library' has produced a feasibility report outlining the options that are open to us for retaining a library service in Henley-in-Arden.
This report has now been handed to the Warwickshire County Council (WCC) for consideration. We have been told that a decision on the future of the Henley library will be taken by WCC on 14th July 2011.
Elections for Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council
At the Annual Meeting of the Joint Parish Council on Monday 9th May 2011 Cllr Roger Hubbocks was elected as the new Chairman for the Council. Cllr Chris Milsom was elected as the Vice Chairman. The Councillors thanked the retiring Chairman Cllr Les Goodman for his hard work, commitment and dedication to the work of the Council in the last two years.
Annual Accounts
The Council’s Annual Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2011 were approved unanimously. The table below shows a comparison of budgets (precepts) of Parish Councils in the District with precept range between £50,000 to £250,000 and the effects these precepts have in calculating the rates for a Band D property.
Council
Parish Precept 2011/12 £
Band D Parish Amount £
Alcester
220,320
94.16
Bidford-on-Avon
202,000
101.36
Bishops Itchington
62,250
79.46
Harbury
66,256
61.53
Long Itchington
51,200
58.41
Shipston-on-Stour
206,000
98.14
Southam
174,430
73.72
Studley
131,020
62.96
Wellesbourne
200,000
81.41
Beaudesert & Henley-in-Arden
74,350
51.27
Average of all Parish Councils
50.84
(Source: The Guide to Council Tax 2011/12 booklet (page 9) Stratford-on-Avon District Council.)
It can be seen that JPC’s ‘Band D Parish Account’ is the lowest in comparison with other broadly similar Parish/Town Councils. In comparison to the average of all Parish Councils’ large and small, JPC is very close to the average of £50.84. It is clear from the figures that JPC finances compare favourably with other Parish Councils in the District.
Royal Wedding Celebrations The Parish Council organised a children’s party at the Baptist Church Hall to celebrate the Royal Wedding. Over 80 children as well as a number of councillors and residents joined the party which was great fun and everyone had an enjoyable time. Our grateful thanks to Henley Ice Cream who donated the ice cream, to Carsina Goodman for organising the event with the local schools and to everyone who helped with the party.
19/3/11 - Proposed development for the Cattle Market approved Stratford-on-Avon District Council (SDC) approved the proposed development of the Cattle Market in Henley-in-Arden by a majority of 8 to 2 votes. The Parish Council put forward its conditions for acceptance at the planning meeting which were in fact the key points raised by the residents to the Council. Twelve of the 14 conditions put forward by the Parish Council were accepted by SDC and these have been incorporated in the approved planning application conditions for the developer to fulfil.
We can now focus on finding a location to hold a new market. Henley-in-Arden is a market town and has had a market since 1220. Furthermore, the market was bringing a large number of visitors into Henley. A proportion of these were visiting our restaurants, pubs and shops thus benefiting the local economy. We now have to examine alternatives for bringing people into the town thus reducing the economic impact of losing the cattle market. A town team will be set up in the very near future specifically for this purpose. Any ideas and suggestions from residents will be welcome and should be sent to the Parish Office.
17 February 2011 - PLANNING APPLICATION 10/02458/FUL CATTLE MARKET SITE, HENLEY IN ARDEN RESPONSES FROM BEAUDESERT AND HENLEY IN ARDEN JOINT PARISH COUNCIL TO AMENDED PROPOSALS DATED 28TH JANUARY 2011
1. Hooped-topped railings Hoop-topped railings are an improvement to the scheme but we ask that the developers consider extending the railings to incorporate the boundary of the open space fronting onto Prince Harry Road (PHR).
2. Parking at Plot 9, PHR The JPC recognise the improvements to parking provision for properties 7 and 8 PHR. However, Parish Council still believe that the open space to the side of plot 9 could be utilised to create off-road parking alongside the property thus avoiding visitors from parking on PHR.
3. Open space area seating It is understood that the horse trough currently on Warwick Rd will be re-located as a feature in the open space. The majority of Councillors felt that the benefit of seating in the open space area outweighed the potential risk of anti-social behaviour and therefore ask that the seating is retained in the final scheme. We understand that a residents' Management Committee will be established.
4. Double yellow lines on PHR and Warwick Road (WR) -fronting properties The Parish Council acknowledge WCC Highways recommendations but still wish to express a preference for double yellow lines as stated.
5. Tree-planting and Footpath The JPC are pleased to see the amended landscaping plan and accompanying footpath.
6. Houses fronting WR Road 24-34 We note that reducing these properties from 2.5 storey to 2 storey would not materially affect the overall height as roof space is used for the top floor. However, Councillors still felt that the line of the new properties was higher than the existing ones from the traffic lights on WR and should therefore be lowered to present a consistent pattern
7. Apartments on PHR The amended plans now incorporate the reduction of the number of apartments to 4. The position of the apartment block has been rotated to face more towards Warwick Rd (thus no longer directly overlooking PHR properties) and the side wall facing the block has now incorporated 4 windows as opposed to none previously shown. These revised proposals meet the JPC's previous requests - there are no further comments.
8. Pedestrian Footpath The Parish Council acknowledge the ownership issues but would still ask for a pedestrian footpath to be pursued if at all possible.
9. Main vehicular access from WRThe Parish Council acknowledge that WCC has conducted extensive surveys on road usage and traffic flows in the immediate area but our concerns remain regarding congestion and road safety especially during peak times if the access road is not widened to allow two-lane turning in/out of the access road.
10. Design of dwellings Extensive alterations to the original scheme are now incorporated into the amended plans which now include a variety of gabled features, bay windows and facings which will give a more aesthetically pleasing look to the development. Of the brick samples shown to the Council, designs ‘Autumn Glow' and ‘Breckland multi-reserve' were the preferred choices rather than the more ‘spotty' types.
11. Density of dwellings Whilst the reduction of 2 units in the apartment block is accepted, the Council still has notable concerns regarding density of the development and would prefer a less dense scheme.
12. Affordable housing The Council is pleased to see an additional 2 units have been designated as affordable housing. However, the majority of Councillors believe there should be more rented housing to meet local housing needs.
13. S106 gain We thank the developers for their contribution of £10,000 towards the cost of providing a new market facility for the town. We understand that the cost of providing a pedestrian crossing on WR would be met by the developers separately to the sums set out in the S106 Agreement. Due to the threat of closure of the local library, we ask that additional financial support should be given in support of the library.
14. Environmental/Flooding issues Significant changes to minimise flood and other environmental risks have now been incorporated into the plans. The JPC will abide by the Environment Agency and WCC expert opinion on these proposals.
15. Construction traffic The existing requests previously stated remain unchanged, in particular, in relation to establishing set times when heavy/noisy works are undertaken and parking for site workers being contained within the development site itself not on WR or PHR. Proposed times for heavy or noisy work would be 7am - 6 pm Monday to Friday, 7am - 1pm Saturdays and no Sundays.
16. Properties 21-22 (New request) The Council acknowledges the changes to roof lights on these dwellings to ensure that they do not enable over-looking of adjacent properties but would ask that the glass in the roof lights is obscured glazing, not clear.
01/02/2011 - Development of Cattle Market Site, Warwick Road Following responses from the Joint Parish Council and other consultees to the planning application submitted by Taylor Wimpey Midlands for the development of the cattle market site on Warwick Road, new amended plans are now available from Stratford District Council. These plans will be available to view in Henley in Arden, on Saturday 5th February 2011 from 10.00am to 1.00pm at the Baptist Church Hall, High Street.
The amended proposals will be discussed by the Joint Parish Council at their next meeting on Monday 14th. Residents can give their comments to the proposed changes at the JPC meeting in public participation or directly to the Planning Dept, Stratford District Council. The closing date for comments is 18th February 2011.
5/01/11 - Parish Precept to go down by 10% in 2011! At their meeting held on 6th December 2010, Beaudesert and Henley in Arden Joint Parish Council voted to decrease the Precept for the town next year to £74,350 - a reduction of over 10% on the 2010 figure of £82,650. Eleven of the twelve Councillors, agreed to the 2011 figures which will be submitted to Stratford District Council at the end of the year.
Chairman of the Joint Parish Council, Les Goodman said "We are extremely pleased that we are able to pass on a significant saving to the tax payers of Henley in Arden - especially during the recession when most people's family budgets have been hit hard. We believe this is the first time in JPC history that a reduction in Precept has been made. We have secured the reduction due to efficiency savings in administration, including insurance and utilising discounts from on-line registrations with government bodies, together with substantial cost-savings on repairs and maintenance contracts. We wish to stress that the reduction in Precept does NOT mean that services will be cut or reduced as a result. We have worked really hard to maintain and improve all our services this year, and feel that the savings should be passed on to the public in return."
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19/3/11 - Proposed development for the Cattle Market approved