PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE – 20th May 2024
Following the annual Clawson, Hose and Harby Parish Council meeting on the 20th May, Cllr Nicola Draper was reelected as Chair and Cllr Mike Foulds as Vice Chair. The Chairs Report as read out at the meeting is below:
The Council has faced a number of challenges over the last 12 months. We started the term with my new appointment as Chair and five new councillors following the election last May. Our former Clerk resigned, and we had to appoint an interim Clerk, Helen Glaves. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Helen for all her hard work and support over the last 6 months. It is with great relief that we can now welcome our new Clerk, Stephanie Massey who was appointed as our permanent Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer (RFO) on the 8th April 2024. Stephanie has a wealth of experience working in local government since 2016 and is CILCA qualified.
Over the last few months, we have created a new website with a gov.uk domain, M365 services including new software to assist with our accounts, cemetery and allotment services. All of which will allow us to function more efficiently. We are very fortunate to have Cllr Jonathan Neale on board who has been the driving force behind these developments and we thank him for his time and expertise in making this happen.
As a Council we are working on a number of issues within the Parish. The flooding in Long Clawson has been a long-standing issue and we are working with Melton Brough Council and Leicester City County Council to identify the issues and find appropriate solutions. There have also been ongoing issues with access over a village green in Long Clawson which will be resolved shortly.
Our long-term projects include the street lighting across the Parish. We are in the process of surveying all the streetlights that belong to the Parish Council and intend to replace them with LED lights. Although this will be a significant financial undertaking, we believe it will be cost effective, and more environmentally friendly in the long term – future proofing one of our major assets. The playground facilities at Hose are also something that we would like to address and will be considering any grants and funds available to facilitate this project.
On a monthly basis we consider a significant number of planning applications across the Parish and have been working with developers regarding the Millway development in Harby.
We welcome support and contributions from the public and dedicate 15 minutes of public time at the start of our monthly Parish meeting for any issues that members of the Parish wish to raise – we look forward to seeing you there!
We are of the view that we now have the foundations in place to build and to support this Parish over the next 12 months and look forward in doing so.
*Ends*
Our new clerk Stephanie Massey has settled in well and makes positive strides forward with the councils’ new systems for accounting, the management of the allotments in Harby and Long Clawson church yard.
County Cllr Brian Lovegrove explained that grants are available under the Warm Homes service to assist in the purchase of energy efficient heating and insultation systems. More details can be found on the Melton council website here https://www.melton.gov.uk/your-council/news-and-awards/news/residents-urged-to-apply-for-grant/
Please check out the new council website: Clawson, Hose & Harby Parish Council – Leicestershire (clawsonhoseharby-pc.gov.uk)
The next meeting will be held Monday 17th June at Hose Village Hall starting at 19.00.
Regards Your Parish Council.