The Chairman's Report
MARCH 2008

We have had a busy year in the Parish this year already with a lot of work already being dealt with by the sub-committees of the PC.
The community group, who are not only working on funding for the new community centre, but are also organising the Festival Fun Day on the 19th of July 2008 Please come along and enjoy a fun packed day out for the whole family.
The Friends of Priory fields are going to join in on this date and have their official opening day.
In Woodham Ferrers an advisory group has been formed studying the traffic problems run by Jill Oliver.

Pavements & Roads
As a Parish Council we do not do repair work on the pavements and roads, but we notify the CBC & ECC on work that needs to be carried out.  Your CBC Councillor, Richard Poulter, is always in contact with the departments trying to and, in some cases, getting things done to improve the situation.  Please let us know of any problems and we will do our best to make representations to the correct authority to have it put right.

Annual Parish Assembly
 
The Parish Council will be holding their Annual Parish Meeting, on  Friday 2nd May in the Woodham Ferrers Village Hall.  More details will be coming out before then but please put that in your diary.   This is your opportunity to hear what is going on and to ask questions to our panel of guests. You are also welcome to come along to one of our council meetings; please see notice boards or this website for details.

Over the last few years my fellow councillors and I have been asked about the police presence (or should I say the lack of!) in our parish.  I am pleased to inform you that Deputy Chief Constable Carmel Napier of Essex Police is going to be present to answer your questions. Lord Hanningfield (Chairman of Essex County Council) will also be present, along with your CBC councillors for the area.  There may be other guests announced later.

Newsletter/Advertising Opportunity

We are considering publishing a newsletter every two months so we can get keep our community regularly updated of events.  We anticipate offsetting some of the costs by offering advertising.  Ideally, we would like to keep it to local businesses and services, to promote our local community. If you are interested in placing an advertisement please contact the Clerk for more details.

Law & Order In The Community

Here is an exciting suggestion for you to carefully consider.  Some Parish Councils are now paying for a PCSO to work exclusively for them.  The benefits of this would be we would have a constant visible police presence in the villages.  The PCSO would get to know the issues of the area, build relationships with the community and young people of the area, stop vandalism andhelp to stop underage drinking.  We would certainly all have to do our best to support the PCSO.  Do you want to have a police presence here in Woodham Ferrers & Bicknacre???  We may have a solution…… if each household would be prepared to increase their Council tax by approx £0.50 per month it’s a feasible project!  So now it is up to you now to let us know your feelings on this matter by the various means of communication.  We will discuss further at the Annual Parish Meeting.

Post Office Closure

We would be interested to hear if this has affected many of you.  We campaigned to try and stop the closure but it wasn’t to be.  If you are experiencing problems please let the Clerk know and we will see what we can do to help.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Easter.

Cllr Barry Arnold, JP
Chairman of the Parish Council