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Beaudesert & Henley-in-Arden

Joint Parish Council

imageThe Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Joint Parish Council is part of local government and works in accordance with a statutory framework laid down by law.

The present council took office in May 2008. There were insufficient nominations to require a contested election to be held.

At the Beaudesert Parish Meeting held on 22nd February 1954, the Court Leet suggested amalgamating the Parish of Beaudesert with the Henley-in-Arden Ward of the Parish of Wootton Wawen. However, the meeting resolved that the parish of Beaudesert should preserve its own identity and should apply to the County Council to become a Parish Council. Beaudesert Parish Council was formed and held its first meeting on 22nd June 1955.

Henley-in-Arden Parish finally separated from Wootton Wawen Parish in March 1957, following a public meeting and the Henley-in-Arden Parish Council held its first meeting on 1st April 1957.

Grouping of the parishes was discussed in 1975 and at the Annual Assembly of Henley-in-Arden on the 17th March 1975, it was agreed that a grouping order would be pursued. The Annual Assembly of Beaudesert of 25th April 1975 discussed the same issue and came to the same conclusion. The grouping order was finally made on 10th May 1976, when the two parish councils became Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Joint Parish Council.

Parish Councils are Local Authorities but they are very different to County, District, Metropolitan or Unitary Authorities. They are small and locally accountable. They represent an identifiable community. All their statutory powers, the things that they can do, are discretionary so the Council decides where it is important to act and use resources. They also have legal duties to perform such as keeping minutes and accounts etc. There are around 116 Parish and Town Councils in the Stratford District area. For the fiscal year 2009/10, it increased its precept, parish council tax, by a massive 35%, which was twice the % increase of the next highest in the Stratford District Council area.

imageimageIn recent years, the JPC has become very unpopular with large sections of the community. Many residents have complained about a lack of consultation, lack of transparency and significant unnecessary expenditure on administration. On Tuesday 25th May 2010, there was a Referendum in the parish of Henley-in-Arden on the "Confidence in the Leadership Management of the JPC". The JPC lost this vote of confidence. As a result, a new organisation, The Reform Association, has been formed to restore democracy to the Parish Council. The next election will be in May 2012.

Local government electors in the both parishes are also questioning why there is a Joint Parish Council and not a town council, as is the case in other similar size communities in Warwickshire. This hang over from the past leads to unnecessary duplication and additional cost. It is expected that within the next two years there will be a referendum to change the status.

 

So What Can A Parish Council Do?
Parish Councils have two roles.

1
They are involved in the provision of facilities, either independently or with other bodies. For example, the provision of benches, children's play equipment, village halls etc. (In Henley, the village hall and the playing fields are owned and managed by the Town Improvement Committee, part of the Henley-in-Arden War Memorial Trust.)
2As a group for consultation. For example:
 i.
The Parish Council has a statutory right to be notified if all planning matters within the community and a right to comment on them.
 ii.Many bodies look towards parish councils for their views on a wide range of issues.
 iiiParish Councils are entitled to appear at local or unitary development plan enquiries.

 

How are they funded?

Like the County and District Councils, Parish Councils raise the money they need to operate through the Council Tax. So there are three components to the Council Tax. The Parish Council's component is called the PRECEPT. In 2008/9, the JPC's precept was £61,770 according to Stratford DIstrict Council.

Due to there having been some very large increases in Council Tax in recent years, and in an attempt to limit the increases, the Government now specifies a maximum percentage increase that can be applied.  This is known as a cap.  In 2008, the cap was 5% and applies to the precepts demanded by each body with the exception of Town and Parish Councils!

In 2009/10, the Joint Parish Council, according to Stratford District Council, will levy an increase of £20,717 or 34%. The County Council's increase will be 3.89% and the District Council's increase will be 3.5%.

 

How Are Parish Councils Accountable?

1
The decision of the Parish Councils are made by elected Councillors. To be eligible to be a Councillor you have to have a local connection. That means that the Parish Councillor must live in or work in the community. Being a Parish Councillor is not necessarily time consuming and generally is less about party politics than other levels of local government. That means any eligible member of the community may make a commitment to be a Councillor if they get local support. If members of the public are unhappy about the actions of the council, they may stand themselves for election at the appropriate time. Elections occur every four years.
2
Meetings by law need to be advertised and members if the public may well wish to speak to Councillors on issues to be raised at meeting, of if there is a public forum, comment then on issues or bring other matters to the attention of the council.
3
There is a legal requirement for a Parish Meeting to be held once every year and this is an opportunity for members of the public to have their say. The Parish Council is then obliged to consider requests from the Parish Meeting. This meeting usually takes place in April.
4
Parish Councils are publicly audited and high standards of accounting are required by the 1996 Audit Regulations.


Members of the Council - May 2008 to April 2012

Carsina Goodman (Beaudesert)

Carsina was born, educated and has worked in Henley-in-Arden. She has lived in the town all her life. She hopes to spend the rest of her life in the town and naturally she cares very much about it. She has served on the Parish Council for fourteen years.

Committee Membership & Representative on
Employment, Business and Security and Safety Committee
Christmas Lights sub committee
Henley-in-Arden United Charities

Les Goodman

Leslie Goodman (Beaudesert)

Chairman of the Joint Parish Council

Les came to Henley in the late 1950's on his marriage to fellow Councillor Carsina, and has been involved in all aspects of Town life ever since. He was a member of the very successful Forest of Arden Football Team in the 1960s and early 1970s. Together with the late Ivor Johnson and Derek Sharman he was responsible for reviving the Henley Carnival with great success. He was secretary and Treasurer of a thriving Sports and Social Club. He was organiser of the very successful Henley in Bloom during the 1990s culminating in their becoming regional winners in 1997. He became Treasurer of the Henley-in-Arden & District Royal British Legion in 1993 and Secretary and Treasurer in 1996. He formed and became Secretary and Treasurer of the lively Henley-in-Arden and district Ex Services Social Fund in 2001. He was appointed Chairman and Treasurer of the newly formed Beaudesert & Henley Christmas Lights Working Party in 2007. He became a judge for the Heart of England in Bloom in 1998, and was appointed Senior Judge in 2006 and chairman and Senior Judge in 2007. He became a Parish Councillor in 2008.

Committee Membership & Representative on
Finance (Chairman), Communication, Administration and Asset Management Committee

Haycock

Nicholas Haycock (Beaudesert)

Nicholas Haycock was co-opted on to the Joint Parish Council in January 2009 in succession to Laurence Marshall who stood down from the JPC but remains a District Councillor. Nicholas is a well known member of the community and has been working as a surveyor, valuer and estate agent in Henley in Arden for nearly 40 years. He started as a trainee with the late Tony Earle in August 1969 and qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1973. Since 1992 he has been running his own practice now based in the town centre. He was educated at Cedarhurst School, Solihull and Leamington College for Boys. Nicholas arrived in Henley in Arden three weeks after leaving school! He finally moved to Henley in 2004 following the sale of the family farm at Fen End.

Committee Membership & Representative on
Not yet appointed

Hadley

David Hadley (Henley)

David was born 1935 in Birmingham and educated at KEGS Camp Hill. After 2 years National Service with the RAF in the Far East, he joined the Firestone Tyre and Rubber Company and reached the position of Sales Promotion Manager for the U.K. He started his own automotive business in 1970 and developed a successful import/export tyre company.

He retired in 1995. Has lived in Warwickshire since 1985, Rowington 1985 - 1998, Shelfield Green 1998 - 2006 and moved to High Street in early 2007.

Committee Membership & Representative on
General Purposes Committee

Roger Hubbocks (Beaudesert)

Roger joined the Parish Council in November 2005. He moved to Henley about five years ago so he could live closer to his sister. For some sixteen years he owned his own coach company in Luton, Bedfordshire. Roger became disabled seven years ago. He is very interested in local issues and wanted to join the Parish Council in order to contribute to the community.

Committee Membership & Representative on
Employment, Business and Security and Safety Committee
Public Transport, Education, Sports and Leisure Committee

Bill Leech

Bill Leech (Henley)

Bill was born in Warwickshire in 1942, educated in Warwickshire at Rugby School and lived in Wootton Wawen in 1960s and 1970s, in Claverdon during the 1980s and 1990s and moved to the High Street in Henley in 2001. He worked in the motor industry with Austin, Lucas and Smiths before founding a successful mobile telecoms company in 1980s. He is now the joint owner of a Business Brokers in Stratford upon Avon.He founded Henley NEWS On-line in 2004 to improve the communications to the Henley residents about local events and issues. It is now the largest community activity with over 70 correspondents and around 1,000 readers and won the Warwickshire Ventures Competition in 2007. He is also the Webmaster of ‘This is Henley’, the Henley Gateway website sponsored by the Town Improvement Committee of which he is the Town Member.

Committee Membership & Representative on
Finance, Administration and Communication Committee

John Love (Henley)

John has been a councillor since 1980. He is a qualified Radio amateur GOEPL. He has also been a member of the Henley Court Leet since 1980. He was educated at Wrekin College, Wellington. He served his National Service with the Royal Corps of Signals 1953-1955. He was employed by J Arthur Rank Organisation as theatre manager with Circuits Management Association Ltd. He managed the Odeon and Gaumont Theatres from 1955 to 1957. He came to Henley in late 1957 to run, with his parents The Vanity Box. He has now been here 48 years. John is chief photographer of Henley NEWS On-line.

Committee Membership & Representative on
Finance, Administration and Communication Committee

photo

George Matheou (Henley)

George joined the Parish Council in June 2004. He has lived on Henley High Street with his wife Ginny for eight years, moving from Solihull. Both of them began contributing to the community soon after arrival by joining the Henley-in-Bloom team. He spent 27 years in the Electricity Generation Industry and after completing a number of projects involving privatisation he left to take up a managerial position in London. George was born in Athens and by qualification is an economist and member of the British Computer Society and Institute of Administrative Management.

Committee Membership & Representative on
Finance, Administration and Communication Committee
Employment, Business and Security and Safety Committee
Henley Railway station project
JPC Representative on the Town Improvement Committee

Cllr Milsom

Christopher Milsom (Beaudesert)

Christopher has lived in Henley-in-Arden since 1982. For 14 years he and his wife were the proprietors of Ace Stores in Whitley Road. He retired in March 2006. Christopher wanted to joint the Parish Council to put something back into the community.

Committee Membership & Representative on
General Purposes Committee. Employment and Business Committee

photo

Sue Osborne (Beaudesert)

Sue was born in Lapworth and has lived in Warwickshire all her life.

She was educated at Cedarhurst School Solihull, Roedean, and Westminster Hotel School. She lived at Pinks Farm, Beaudesert from 1976 to 2009. After raising her 3 children she started her own successful food business in 1999. This was sold in 2006 after the death of her husband.

Since moving into The Croft in 2009, Sue has become a Steward at the Heritage Centre, and was recently appointed to the management committee of the Hub (youth centre). She is also a school governor, a member of the CPRE and a trustee of a charity. She was elected to the Joint Parish Council in April, 2010.

Committee Membership & Representative on
General Purposes Committee

photo

Sheila Roy (Henley)

 

 

Committee Membership & Representative on
General Purposes Committee

image

Gordon Trinder (Henley)

Elected on 27th May 2010, Gordon Trinder has lived in Henley all his life, He is the present Town Crier and member of the Court Leet.

Committee Membership & Representative on
None at present

 

Parish Clerk - Jenny Walsh

photoJenny Walsh was appointed Clerk to the Parish Council and Responsible Financial Officer in January 2009. She is a member of the Institute of Administrative Management and has achieved a national award from the National College for School Leadership for her work in Secondary School management. Jenny studied Business & Management at Manchester University and went on to follow a diverse career in the public sector including senior management roles in Education and Local Authority Committee Services.

The Parish Clerk can be contacted at the Parish Office Tel: 01564 795499 or by email: bhjpc@tiscali.co.uk

 

Want to become a Councillor? 

Anyone wishing to stand for either Beaudesert or Henley-in-Arden Parish Council must submit a nomination paper to the Returning Officer at the Council Offices in Church Street, Stratford upon Avon. The next election will be in May 2012. The relevant documents are available by contacting the elections office on 01789-260209.

Graham Raspin
Democratic Officer
Stratford on Avon District Council

 

Download THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL COUNCILS notes

Request an application form from the Clerk to the Joint Parish Council: bhjpc@tiscali.co.uk

 

List of organisations which have benefited from grants

In 2009/10 financial year the Joint Parish Council will provide grants to support local organisations which provide benefits to the Parishes.

Applicant Organisation
Purpose of Grant
Amount Granted
Henley-in-Arden Evergreen Club Subsidising outings for those who cannot afford them
£100
Henley-in-Arden Heritage and Visitor CentreProvision of JPC office and meeting rooms for JPC Committees.
£2,200
Henley-in-Arden Town Improvement CommitteeContribution to general and water rates for the Memorial Hall and playing fields, together with cost of rubbish collection and routine maintenance at playing fields.
£6,000
Henley in BloomTo replace containers, purchase summer bedding plants, maintain watering machines, insurance for fire tender drivers and public liability insurance for volunteers.
£3,000
Neighbourhood WatchIncreased coverage of Neighbourhood Watch signs and maintenance of mobile telephone purchased for Community police officer.
£126
HenmanTo contribute towards running costs.
£100
Christmas LightsThe provision, maintenance and running of the lights.
£3,000
Henley Guild Hall TrustContribution towards maintenance and running costs.
£2,000
Henley ScoutsContribution towards maintenance and running costs.
£500
Henley Royal British LegionContribution towards additional war memorial.
£800
St Johns Church, HenleyContribution towards maintenance and running costs.
£200


The next round of applications for community organisations to apply for grants from the Parish Council will open on 1st November 2010.

Information on how to apply together with application forms are available on this website. The application period is from 1st to 30th November 2010 – applications will be considered by the Parish Council at their meeting on 20th December 2010.

If you require further information on grants, please contact the Parish Clerk.

Download Community Grants for 2010  (for grants awarded in December 2009)

Download Grant Application Form  (for grants awarded in December 2009)

Download Criteria for JPC Grant Guidance Notes  (for grants awarded in December 2009)

 

Key Issues for the Parish

The Joint Parish Council is facing a number of key issues that it is trying to resolve:

Activity

Action by

When

1) Improve Parking in the town

 

 General Purposes Committee (GPC)

 Project (2008) then C = for monitoring parking

2) Maintain and improve security and safety in the Parish

 

 (GPC)

 Project (2008) then C = for monitoring performance

3) Manage the flood risk in the Parish

 Working Party for floods

 Project (2008) for plan and implementation of actions then C = for monitoring

4) Promote Tourism, Business and Employment for the town.

 

 Local businesses, Organisations and Business and Employment Committee (BEC)

 Project (2008/9) then C = monitoring performance

5) Continue to monitor the redevelopment of the Railway Station

 BEC

 Project 2008/9

6) Maintain the Parish Council's Website and produce Newsletter

 

 BEC, Parish Clerk and Local Businesses for Tourism

 Project for Tourism - 2008
C = for maintenance and enhancements

7) Maintain an efficient Office Administration

 Finance Committee

 C = continuous operational activity

8) Monitor and Manage the efficiency of the Allotments

 

 GPC

 C = continuous operational activity

9)  Key issues

 

 Action by JPC

 C = continuous activity

KEY
C = Continuous operational activity
P = Project - Activity that has a beginning, middle and or end.

 

 

 

Allotments
The Parish Council is responsible for 2 acres of allotment land located to the west of Station Road in Henley-in-Arden, over the Railway footbridge.

Allotments are available. If you are interested in renting an allotment please contact the Clerk: Tel: 01564 795499.

 

Complaints Procedure
In the first instance you should write to the Parish Clerk with your complaint. The Council has its own internal complaints procedure. Once this process has been completed, you will be advised of the Council's decision. If you are dissatisfied with the Council's decision, you then can appeal to higher authorities.

If you complaint concerns the conduct of a councillor, a group of councillors or the Chairman, but NOT the parish clerk, you should then refer your complaint to the Monitoring Officer at Stratford District Council. The Standards Board for England is responsible for promoting high ethical standards and investigating allegations where members' behaviour may have fallen short of the required standards. You can find out more about making a complaint about a councillor at The Standards Board for England website.

If your complaint concerns the refusal to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act, you should appeal to the Information Commissioner. You can find out more information about referring a complaint to the Information Commissioner on The Information Commissioner's Office website.

Remember, in the first instance you should write to the Parish Clerk with your complaint.

The JPC maintains a website at: www.henley-in-arden-pc.gov.uk

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