The Environment Agency flood defence (managed retreat of the shoreline) near Thorngumbald Clough is nearing completion. Steve has continued to act as village liaison, attending meetings in Hull and Leeds, fully representing the council/village views. Keith Slaney, the EA project manager, has briefed the council and kept us fully informed on progress and promises that an exhibition of the scheme will be held in the village in the near future. The Agency has agreed to construct appropriate access paths from the village car park to link in with the project and provide good access for walkers to enjoy the area.

Negotiations with Hull City Council to transfer ownership of the sports field and adjacent land into the hands of the Parish Council have caused much frustration, with very limited progress since last year. The major stumbling block continues to be the determination of responsibility for the upkeep of the river defence over this stretch of land, with expensive repairs currently needed at the old slipway. The Parish Council continues to support the sports filed and the churchyard by helping to maintain them as attractive areas and to ensure adequate access for all users.

Reopening of the public conveniences continues to be a priority, but again steeped in frustration. The toilets have been assessed to attract a business rating of over £1,600 per year. This, plus the operating cost, would be too expensive for the council to afford without a major increase in the precept. Attempts to have the rating decreased have so far met with little support, but the fight continues, with a commitment to re-establish a cost-effective facility as soon as possible.

The village was surprised and shocked when a proposal was tabled to close the village school. The community response perhaps took the Local Education Authority by surprise, with a solid and concerted effort by governors, councillors (Parish and Ward), parents, parishioners and people from surrounding communities to reverse the decision. Two meetings were held with James Cran MP who put his considerable influence behind this and other matters of parish concern. Thankfully, we won - no mean feat for a small village taking on the resources of the biggest rural unitary authority in the country. Hopefully, if the assurances made by the LEA are to be believed, we will see a new school,in the near future. What is especially heartening is that the entire village pulled together, community spirit was engaged and re-energised and the local authority may now think twice about further attempts to reduce village amenity!

Complaints about planning matters continue to regularly feature in our monthly meetings, with ongoing dissatisfaction regarding planning decisions and the failure of the county council to progress enforcement against those who blatantly disregard planning rules. Our resolve continues to be to fight any decisions which fail to fully account for the collective views /wishes of the village people and a formal complaint on planning protocol will result when the circumstances are right.

We continue to work closely with our industrial neighbours BP Chemicals, Saltend Co-generation and, more recently, Nippon Gohsei in their ongoing operations and development programmes, and have welcomed their open and honest consultations - both directly and via the community forum. They continue to be responsive to any concerns or complaints directed to them.

The Parish Council and 'Paull On-line' websites continue to be updated and attract interest (3,800+ and 2,300+ 'hits' recorded at last check). A wealth of village information is available at: http://www.paull-eastyorkshire.org.uk and http://www.paull-online.co.uk . Thank you to Dianne Davies, the webmaster, for all her hard work with this.

The council has continued to support parishioner complaints/concerns and have provided on-going representation on such matters as Public Transport, Road Safety and various NHS services - bringing all such matters to the attention of the appropriate agency for urgent action. The council ensures, on behalf of all villagers, that poppy wreaths are laid in remembrance of those lost in wartime. We have ensured two-way consultation with the police regarding crime prevention and reporting.