BRPC Not Spending Precept - Bank Balance Over £100K

[Colin James]

Why is the bank balance of the BRPC showing over £100k?

 

Why is OUR money Not being used within the Belmont Rural Parish?

The concentration of effort appears to be limited on or around the Jubilee fields.

I requested a Salt Bin back last November for Glastonbury Close and it was refused/deferred now this is something that would cost less than £100 to buy and very little to maintain. I also highlighted the lack of gritting in Belmont way back in 2010 in this topic about No Gritting.

We have overgrown tree's and bushes which the council do not have the money to maintain unless it becomes and health and safety issue. Some of these trees are that tall and overgrown they prevent street light for illuminating the footpath below.

We also have various public open spaces of long grass which has not be cut or maintained for sometime, Sydwall Road is a good example. The long grass and bushes around the length of the brook could do with being sorted out and the rubbish that is in the brook and causing blockages along the route could also be cleaned up with Parish money which is just sat in the bank account.

The BRPC are advertising for a handyman, who could possibly tackle some of these jobs and do this work but from my understanding this position is ONLY for only 5 hours a week! To be totally realistic what is a single person going to be able to do in just 5 hours a week? Why not use some of this money to actually employ someone full time? Pay them a wage!

I am sure that there are many other things that this money that the BRPC are reluctant to spend could be used on, after all, it is OUR MONEY! 

Please add your suggestions and idea's on what this money could be used on within the parish and I will gladly put these idea's forward at a future meeting.

[Denise Lloyd]

Is that not just coincidence I have just seen a tweet from the Shropshire area saying a PC does not have the £20k to run a library and I thought neither would we. My thoughts then moved to Belmont PC I would be interested to know why they are not using the money and how come they have so much.  Do they not have to spend the money on insurance/lengthsman what is going on?  If they are not using their precept they are obviously receiving far too much and rural areas are being squeezed more than necessary.  Should materials be required the PC is now responsible for purchasing these materials at their own expense.

 

What is going on?

 

Residents of the Belmont area should be sorting the PC out to get these jobs done and the area tidied up.

 

Who is the Chairman of the PC?

[Colin James]

Is that not just coincidence I have just seen a tweet from the Shropshire area saying a PC does not have the £20k to run a library and I thought neither would we. My thoughts then moved to Belmont PC I would be interested to know why they are not using the money and how come they have so much.  Do they not have to spend the money on insurance/lengthsman what is going on?  If they are not using their precept they are obviously receiving far too much and rural areas are being squeezed more than necessary.  Should materials be required the PC is now responsible for purchasing these materials at their own expense.

 

What is going on?

 

Residents of the Belmont area should be sorting the PC out to get these jobs done and the area tidied up.

 

Who is the Chairman of the PC?

 

Denise, this is frustrating to say the least! The chairman is Cllr Mark Schoffer

[Frank Smith]

How much!!! This is unbelievable, WHY are the sitting on all this money? Yet Colin puts in a legitamte request for salt bins and it gets deferred, what is going on here? 

[Denise Lloyd]

Well you guys need to get to the next meeting and sort them out - I see there is a PC vacancy and I know because of work commitments etc it is not always possible but surely there is a mouth piece who has the time

[Tracy Bowes]

Hi

 

As Ward councillor I have attended every meeting since I was elected and I have pointed out to the Parish Council that there are people asking questions about the precept money and how it is going to be spent.

 

As I am not a Parish Councillor I am not privy to all of the information but when I attend the meetings as a member of the public, I have on several occasions, including the meeting on Thursday, suggested that more things are done around the whole of the ward.

 

To be fair the Parish did hold a community day for Jubilee Field a few months ago and I along with several of the parish councillors and some of their families did spend several hours trying to cut back and prepare plants beds, myself and the son of one parish councillor, spent several hours in the brook trying to pull out debris.  Unfortunately, only a couple of members of the public turned up to the event and obviously with limited resource there is only so much which can be done.

 

It is my understanding that the Parish Council are considering another community day and I have suggested that they consider more areas than Jubilee field.  The problem is that there are now many areas of the ward that need time and effort spending on them.

 

I held a meeting with BBLP several weeks ago and the parish clerk kindly accompanied me, we highlighted several areas of concern including the brooks, which are overgrown and have items dumped in them.  Only this week I took pictures of several overgrown areas of brook and emailed them to the Operations Manager at BBLP highlighting again the issues.

 

I have spoken to the Parish Clerk about the field on Sydwall Road and I am hoping that this may appear on the agenda/list of jobs for the handyman to do, when they have been appointed. 

 

Due to budget cuts you are correct that the number of jobs that BBLP are able to do has been reduced and tree cutting is only done for Health and safety reasons. I know people find this incredibly frustrating, as do I, because we all know trees will carry on growing and in years to come we will have big problems.

 

It is my understanding that Parish Councils will be asked to take on more services in the future and

I know both myself and the Clerk receive regular complaints about overhanging trees and hedges.  Our locality steward is very good but he is also limited in terms of what the agreements and budgets allow him to do.

 

I would definitely encourage people to report issues via the on line portal on the Herefordshire Council website and I will continue to work with the Parish Council and encourage them to look at all areas of Belmont.  It would also be helpful if people did come and voice their concerns at the Parish Meeting, generally I am the only person from the "public" to attend.

 

When the Parish Council carried out their surveys during the last few years, the library service came top of the list of things the public in Belmont want to support.  I am expecting Herefordshire Council to make some proposals and requests in the coming months regarding the future of libraries and the Parish Council may well be asked to consider contributing to the library again for the next financial year.  The number of visitors to Belmont library has dramatically increased since the closure of the main library and everyone at the Community Centre is working closely with the Council to ensure a library in Belmont continues.  This year South Wye Community Association obtained a grant from Belmont Rural and Hereford City Council to cover the licence fee cost.  I imagine that next year the Parish will be asked again to consider a grant.

 

Belmont Rural has a great community spirit and has many areas of open space and two community centres.  We are very lucky and I believe by working together we can ensure that the area is maintained for future generations, that includes the Parish Council, myself, Herefordshire Council, BBLP and members of the public.

 

I am proud to be the Councillor for Belmont and we have a proactive Parish Clerk and some very good Parish Councillors, who give up their time to carry out work across the ward, we need to work together to ensure that jobs are tackled.  I agree the handyman is a great step forward but we need to keep up the momentum across the ward, in lots of different areas.

 

I was inspired when I helped with Colin and others to clear the Great Western Way last year.  I would love for a community day like that to happen in Belmont.  There are bushes/trees which need cutting back across footpaths, borders and lots of open areas.  It would be great if we could come together and make a start on bringing these areas back under control.  I for one would love to see some of the footpath bridges stained again, community litter picks and people helping their neighbours. (Even an hour spent litter picking can make a big difference to an area).  Newton Farm have a team of people who collect litter on a regular basis and it would be great to have a similar team in Belmont.

 

There is more than can be done and the Parish Council has money in the bank, please feedback to them on areas you would like to see money spent on and come along to Parish Council meetings to have your say.

 

Tracy

[Victor Wright]

Hi

 

As Ward councillor I have attended every meeting since I was elected and I have pointed out to the Parish Council that there are people asking questions about the precept money and how it is going to be spent.

 

As I am not a Parish Councillor I am not privy to all of the information but when I attend the meetings as a member of the public, I have on several occasions, including the meeting on Thursday, suggested that more things are done around the whole of the ward.

 

To be fair the Parish did hold a community day for Jubilee Field a few months ago and I along with several of the parish councillors and some of their families did spend several hours trying to cut back and prepare plants beds, myself and the son of one parish councillor, spent several hours in the brook trying to pull out debris.  Unfortunately, only a couple of members of the public turned up to the event and obviously with limited resource there is only so much which can be done.

 

It is my understanding that the Parish Council are considering another community day and I have suggested that they consider more areas than Jubilee field.  The problem is that there are now many areas of the ward that need time and effort spending on them.

 

I held a meeting with BBLP several weeks ago and the parish clerk kindly accompanied me, we highlighted several areas of concern including the brooks, which are overgrown and have items dumped in them.  Only this week I took pictures of several overgrown areas of brook and emailed them to the Operations Manager at BBLP highlighting again the issues.

 

I have spoken to the Parish Clerk about the field on Sydwall Road and I am hoping that this may appear on the agenda/list of jobs for the handyman to do, when they have been appointed. 

 

Due to budget cuts you are correct that the number of jobs that BBLP are able to do has been reduced and tree cutting is only done for Health and safety reasons. I know people find this incredibly frustrating, as do I, because we all know trees will carry on growing and in years to come we will have big problems.

 

It is my understanding that Parish Councils will be asked to take on more services in the future and

I know both myself and the Clerk receive regular complaints about overhanging trees and hedges.  Our locality steward is very good but he is also limited in terms of what the agreements and budgets allow him to do.

 

I would definitely encourage people to report issues via the on line portal on the Herefordshire Council website and I will continue to work with the Parish Council and encourage them to look at all areas of Belmont.  It would also be helpful if people did come and voice their concerns at the Parish Meeting, generally I am the only person from the "public" to attend.

 

When the Parish Council carried out their surveys during the last few years, the library service came top of the list of things the public in Belmont want to support.  I am expecting Herefordshire Council to make some proposals and requests in the coming months regarding the future of libraries and the Parish Council may well be asked to consider contributing to the library again for the next financial year.  The number of visitors to Belmont library has dramatically increased since the closure of the main library and everyone at the Community Centre is working closely with the Council to ensure a library in Belmont continues.  This year South Wye Community Association obtained a grant from Belmont Rural and Hereford City Council to cover the licence fee cost.  I imagine that next year the Parish will be asked again to consider a grant.

 

Belmont Rural has a great community spirit and has many areas of open space and two community centres.  We are very lucky and I believe by working together we can ensure that the area is maintained for future generations, that includes the Parish Council, myself, Herefordshire Council, BBLP and members of the public.

 

I am proud to be the Councillor for Belmont and we have a proactive Parish Clerk and some very good Parish Councillors, who give up their time to carry out work across the ward, we need to work together to ensure that jobs are tackled.  I agree the handyman is a great step forward but we need to keep up the momentum across the ward, in lots of different areas.

 

I was inspired when I helped with Colin and others to clear the Great Western Way last year.  I would love for a community day like that to happen in Belmont.  There are bushes/trees which need cutting back across footpaths, borders and lots of open areas.  It would be great if we could come together and make a start on bringing these areas back under control.  I for one would love to see some of the footpath bridges stained again, community litter picks and people helping their neighbours. (Even an hour spent litter picking can make a big difference to an area).  Newton Farm have a team of people who collect litter on a regular basis and it would be great to have a similar team in Belmont.

 

There is more than can be done and the Parish Council has money in the bank, please feedback to them on areas you would like to see money spent on and come along to Parish Council meetings to have your say.

 

Tracy

 

Thank you Tracey for your detailed response. We could do with more councillors like you up front and straight with people, I like that. Keep up all the good work that you do, this has not gone unnoticed. 

[DILLIGAF]

Tracey, referring to NF litter pickers, I had to laugh! I have only seen them twice - all five of them!. Once around their base at the oval and the second in the vacinity of the home of the leader/councillor!

It's a very clicky group...... If your face don't fit.....

[Roger Edwards]

Tracy,

I whole heartedly agree with you, but very little will be done because if you are the only one that attends as an non parish councillor, and no other members of  the public attending, to voice there opinion, then nothing will be done, because the parish councillor's don't know what the residents want or demand

I feel, and say you all, want it done, then attend the parish council meetings, and demand it done.

That will wake up the parish council.

[Irena Sulecka]

Why are they so reluctant to use this money? All very strange 

[Alex]

On 18/08/2016 at 23:05, Irena Sulecka said:

Why are they so reluctant to use this money? All very strange 

Because they think it is theirs! 

What is the point of having a precept if you are not going to spend it? Can we lodge a complaint to the HC about this? I mean is this being monitored by anyone independent of the BRPC? 

There are many things this money could be used for, cutting the grass around Belmont for a start and sorting out the overgrown trees, bushes and weeds. Belmont is far bigger than just the Jubilee fields!  I was reading through the various meeting minutes, I understand that the BRPC are going to buy a sit on mower, well I have to ask, how long does this take for goodness sakes? This was proposed earlier in the year, we are now coming to the end of the summer and almost into Autumn. Surely they just need obtain a few quotes and make a decision yes? 

[Denise Lloyd]

Why buy a ride on mower it is going to be stored somewhere operated by someone and no doubt used on the quiet?  Financially far better I would say to hire a good Lengthsman who supplies the know how and equipment and insurance.

Ride on mowers have become the new man's shed

[lpusseycat]

I agree with Roger.Everyone is moaning on here about the BRPC having all this money but if you do not attend the meetings and ask for the things which need doing they won't know what to spend the money on.Also hasn't Councillor Edwards got a ride on mower why buy another one. 

[Colin James]

On 21/08/2016 at 09:20, lpusseycat said:

I agree with Roger.Everyone is moaning on here about the BRPC having all this money but if you do not attend the meetings and ask for the things which need doing they won't know what to spend the money on.Also hasn't Councillor Edwards got a ride on mower why buy another one. 

I have attended several meetings, what difference does that make? Very little because you have a public participation, usually at the end, to ask any questions or raise concerns but this is at the chairmans discretion and they usually refer your contribution to a later date, this was proved in my request for a simple salt bin back last November and after several meetings it was referred to later this year, so still no decision! 

[Denise Lloyd]

As I have said before Colin come and live in Kingstone we are not like that and certainly do not receive anything like the precept that Belmont do.

[Glenda Powell]

This practice of large sums of money in their bank account has been going on for years. When I was on the parish council I questioned the bank balance also why they continue to put the precept up every year without spending any money, about 2 years ago NALC was taking an interest at my request, but as I am not a councillor anymore I do not know the outcome. There is a rumour going around that Cllr Edwards is going to apply to be chairman, and in regards to his sit on mower it is now redundant as BBLP has taken up cutting the grass again in the past two weeks, because I was talking to the workmen.

[Roger Edwards]

I looked at the minutes of BRPC for 8th September 2016 it is now £114,018.01, note the .01.

 

How long will it take for BRPC to get tp the £200k, ?