Ampney Crucis Times

Edition Number 1 February 2000

A New Arrival

Welcome to this, the first edition of ACT – the Ampney Crucis Times. The intention is that this newsletter will become a focal point for information within the village.

The decision to launch it was taken following the recent Village Appraisal. It was clear from many of the returns that there was a lack of regular information about many aspects of village life and so the Parish Council has decided to move ahead and produce ACT.

The purpose of ACT

The most important point to make from the outset is that the new newsletter is not intended to replace the Parish Newsletter. The Parish Newsletter will continue to be the focal point for communication about the benefice and ACT should be seen as complementary to it. It will be distributed along with the Parish Newsletter round about the end of each month.

For the first few editions, ACT will be published every two months, at the end of the month following a Parish Council meeting. In due course, if the editorial team can see the need for more frequent editions, we will move to a monthly version.

The content of ACT

As far as content is concerned, the intention is to provide a vehicle for articles about the various bodies in the village so as to keep people up-to-date with goings-on in the village. For example, the Appraisal showed the need for more information about the work of the Parish Council and where your money goes. In addition, there is a clear need to keep residents up-to-date with progress on the Cripps proposals following the referendum and there have also been requests for more information about the role of the various charities and trusts which operate in the village.

The opportunity is there for all the organisations active in the village to tell the village about their work and about events coming up in the future. We will also be taking the opportunity to ask them for help in dealing with questions we have been asked (the intention is regularly to seek feedback from the village about the sort of information you would like to see in ACT).

Parish Council News

At its meeting held at the beginning of January, the Parish Council was required to set its precept for the next financial year (which begins on 1 April). The precept is the amount of money the Council estimates it will need to fulfil its commitments throughout the year and will be reflected in individual Council Tax bills (for a household in Band D, the precept of E5,250 represents a payment of just under E18 for the year).

The money covers a variety of expenditure but the three largest items are the costs of employing the Clerk, the costs of maintaining the Burial Ground and the costs of other routine (and not so routine) maintenance.

At one time, the work of the Clerk was handled by a willing volunteer but those days are long gone. The Clerk can expect to spend an average of seven to ten hours a week on Council business as the legal and statutory framework in which Parish Councils operate grows increasingly complicated. This requires a realistic salary and the Council follows the guidelines laid down by the National Association of Local Councils

The Parish Council is a burial authority and is responsible for the provision of burials in the parish and for maintaining the burial ground. A contractor is employed to mow the grass and strim the outer perimeter and the contract also covers the Donkey Field entrance, the Pound Tree and the War Memorial. Other routine maintenance work covers keeping the shrubbery under control and maintaining the walls.

Councillors have a legal responsibility to ensure that public property is kept in full repair and is adequately insured. One big item of maintenance for 2000 is the War Memorial and Councillors have also been careful to start building up the reserves again to replace the money spent on the Lych Gate. There has also been comment about the state of some of the wooden benches throughout the village (all of which are the responsibility of the Parish Council).

Full details of the accounts of the Council will be displayed on the Parish Council notice boards shortly before the Annual Parish Meeting on 8 May.

The Referendum – an update

The results of the referendum on the Cripps proposals were published on the village notice boards in December and were as follows:

Eligible electorate	429
Votes cast	329
In favour	229
Against	100

This represented a 76.7% turnout (which is high by any standards) with 53.4% of the electorate voting in favour. Of the people who voted, 69.6% were in favour.

The Ampney Crucis Association committee feels that the result is a clear signal to move the proposals forward though the fact that 100 people voted against the proposals will clearly be an important fact to be borne in mind as the matter progresses. If, regardless of the way you voted, you still have some concerns about the proposals, do please write to the Parish Council chairman (Peter Kelly, The Old House, Ampney Crucis) or to the Association secretary (David Vessey, Convamore, Ampney Crucis) with details.

Village matters

Road safety

Road safety (particularly at the junction by ’The Crown’) was specifically dealt with in the Village Appraisal and the response provided very useful ammunition with which the Parish Council was able to strengthen its case with the County Council. As you will all by now know, the end result has been the improved road markings at that junction. The red box is a ’no go’ area which should prevent those accidents caused by people overtaking on the junction.

Speeding

There was also comment about the amount of speeding through the village. This was also raised with the County Council and the Parish Council was able to mount a traffic survey to see to what extent speed is an issue.

By and large, we are a law-abiding lot but there were one or two people who do not appreciate just how dangerous a village can be. One of the reasons for introducing the 30 m.p.h. limit was the safety of the school children but, ironically enough, some of the worst offenders are mothers on their way to school. The Parish Council has written to the people concerned to ask for their co-operation in making the village a safer place in which to live.

The Millennium

Parish Councillor Sally Hebbs is looking into proposals for a village Millennium celebration in the summer. There is an informal meeting on 2 February; if you have any ideas or would like to join the team, please contact Sally

Produced by Ampney Crucis Parish Council for the information of residents. No liability can be accepted by the Council or Councillors for any losses, however caused, arising from this publication.