The Agenda for the Parish Council Meeting on 2 July 2012 can be seen here.

Roger Greenwood, the Clerk to the Parish Council, has forwarded a copy of the latest Parish Council Newsletter, which can be seen here.

The Agenda for the Parish Council Meeting on 2 July 2012 can be seen here.

The Annual Meeting of Heptonstall Parish Council will take place at 7:00pm on Monday 14 May 2012 at the Council Chamber in Hebden Bridge Town Hall.  The Agenda for the meeting can be seen by clicking here.

In addition, the monthly meeting of the Parish Council will take place at 7:30pm on Monday 14 May 2012, also at the Council Chamber in Hebden Bridge Town Hall. The Agenda for the monthly meeting can be seen by clicking here.

The Parish Council has developed the following General Protocol for organisations wishing to claims grants from the Council.

1. Grants should be applied for in writing under the criteria laid down by the Parish Council (PC) which has sole discretion in respect of making an award.
2. All Grant claims should be received by the PC by 31 October in respect of payments to be made in the following financial year (commencing 1 April).
3. All Grants of £250 or less will be paid in a lump sum after the first PC meeting of the financial year. There will be no requirement for the organisation to account to the PC for the way it has spent the Grant.
4. No organisation will be given more than one Grant of £250 or less in any financial year.
5. For Grants over £250 it will be necessary for the organisation to discuss the application with PC members at a meeting to be held in either November or December each year which should include an agreement with the PC as to how it wishes the Grant to be paid.  This will normally be by means of staged payments.  The PC will require evidence of the expenditure for each claim except where such payments are contributing to the day to day administration of the organisation, and shall require the completion of a ‘feedback’ form.
6. If the Grant is given for a specific project the PC will require evidence of the fulfilment of the project.

Grant applications should be submitted to The Clerk, Heptonstall Parish Council – full details are set out in The Grant Application Form.

The Agenda for the Parish Council Meeting on 2 April 2012 can be seen here.

Since the May elections the Council has held one vacancy. I am now pleased to tell you this post has been ably filled by  Nick James who lives on Edge Lane, Colden.  This is  particularly good news as Nick comes from the upper part of the parish, and members have always been keen to see such  a spread of representation.  You are most welcome, Nick, and  I am sure you will find your work most rewarding (though not  financially).

Well, in the past 3 months it has been very busy from a  planning point of view. Twenty one applications have been  considered and, in order to meet Calderdale Council’s  deadlines, three additional meetings have had to be held by  your members. I am grateful to members for taking on these additional tasks with such willingness.  It has also been a busy period for the wide range of issues the Council has had to address. I shall not list them all here as I need the space for other things (I will give you more  detail next tirne).

But one issue is the progress of the  Localism Bill, and the effects and opportunities this may provide to Parish Councils.  Early discussions are already  being held to consider the possibility of Asset Transfers –  the taking of Calderdale assets into local control.  You can be  assured nothing will happen without full consultation opportunities with you – our parishioners.  Watch this space!

Over the past 12 months the Council has put in place updated Standing Orders, Financial Regulations as well as  creating new Terms of Reference and Policies & Procedures.  The final leg of this has been to create a Statement of Aims  of the Council and I hope you will be interested to know what  they are.  I therefore reproduce them below :

• To protect and conserve what is of merit in the heritage of the Parish, whether this be the green or the built environment,objects or features within them, or organisations, activities and facilities operating within the Parish.
• To promote and support new developments in the Parish which will contribute to the wellbeing of the Community whilst not detracting from that which is worth preserving.
• To prevent new developments which will impact adversely on the heritage of the Parish, or on the wellbeing of the Community.
• To consult members of the Community on all matters which potentially may have a major impact on the Community before arriving at a decision on action.
• To maintain awareness of the needs and wants of parishioners so that these can inform the prosecution of the Council’s aims.
• To keep parishioners informed of Council business in hand and of decisions made.
• To respond courteously and constructively to parishioners’ complaints and concerns of whatever nature and, where justified, to endeavour to the best of the Council’s abilities to bring about a fair and reasonable outcome to these.
• To secure the involvement and support of Ward Councillors – and through them the Principal Local Authority – in seeking to achieve the Council’s aims.
• To establish and maintain links with, and where required gain the involvement and support of, other people and bodies in achieving the Council’s aims eg the local MP, other Parish & Town Councils, NALC, National Trust, Rambler’s Association, etc.