Codnor Parish Council :: Serving the Community of Codnor

Chairman's Report: 2004 - 2005

ENVIRONMENT

The Parish Council believes that the environment of Codnor continues to improve.

The diligence and hard work of the parish warden is one of the most important factors, as was evident when illness took him off the streets for some time; we are pleased to report that he has now recovered is and back at work, Councillors have carried out two litter picks; on the sports field and up Codnor Denby Lane, to enhance the work Ivan does on his regular schedule.

Amber Valley Borough Council has tidied up the corner by St. James' Church, following a request from the Parish Council. They have also checked all the tombstones in the churchyard and cemetery for safety; a few have had to be laid flat. They have agreed to prune the yews in the churchyard appropriately, balancing potential damage to the church, a listed building, and the fact that the trees are protected as old trees valued by the community.

Pressure by the council achieved a thorough clearing of the drainage system on Nottingham Road, and new 'queuing likely' signs. The County Council will also be pruning the trees on the border of the cemetery, on Crosshill, to get the full benefit of the new street lighting - something else we asked to be done.

The competitions for best kept allotment and best kept garden were popular again, but it would be good to have even more entries. We are grateful to Shipley Garden Centre and Manthorpe Engineering for sponsoring the competitions, and George Abel, the former parish warden, for judging it.

POLICE

We are beginning to feel the effects of having our own street bobby, Sally Rohde. I think she has discovered that certainly Codnor is no ordinary place; having had to cope with cattle and emus, as well as the more usual miscreants.

ANNUAL EVENTS

We have had the usual celebrations this year, all well attended [except by guys - we only had one entry for the best guy competition on bonfire night!] Codnor Sports and Social Club again proved to be a good venue for the bonfire and fireworks; and we were delighted to have our MP [Judy Mallaber] come to light the bonfire once more. £336 was collected, and distributed to Codnor scouts and venture scouts, the special constables, St. Johns Ambulance, and Ripley Fire Station.

We had Carols round the tree for the 32nd year, the Salvation Army have played for us at every one of them. As a small token of our thanks the Council gave them £75. The collection which came to £91 was sent to Children in Need. It was good to have Christmas lights in front of the French Horn again, and we thank the landlord for her permission to put them there.

It seems a long time ago now but last summer Amber Valley Rotary Club, with the Parish Council, organised another great Fun Day, when it seemed the whole population of Codnor came out to meet their friends, support the charities involved, and generally have fun!

DESK WORK

There are various formal matters the council have to get involved with every year, some of them to do with working towards becoming a quality council. They include internal and external audits, the code of conduct for councillors, the freedom of information act, risk assessment, the disability discrimination act. We continue to publish our proposed budget for public comment.

We take a keen look at all planning applications for the village; our local knowledge can often be valuable in picking up points that would not be spotted by the planning authority.

We are still represented on the Forge and Monument opencast site consultative committee. The removal of coal is now finished and we look forward to the restoration work being completed.

The Parish Council has made strong representations to Amber Valley Borough Council about the future of the leisure centres in both Heanor and Ripley. We have said that facilities at both sites should be maintained at least at the present level, and preferably enhanced.

There is to be a Codnor Parish website, it is being constructed at the moment. On it will be minutes and agendas of council meetings, useful information about the village and local facilities, etc. It will take time to gather the data, and any contributions of information will be very gratefully received. We are grateful to Mike Whittall and his colleague Neil Pfister at ParishCouncil.net for the time and effort they are putting into this development.

Finally thank yous - to the parish clerk for her patience and tact, and to my fellow councillors who have coped with my deafness with fortitude!

Anna Moon
Chairman