As in previous years I would like to commence the annual report by recording my thanks to all the councillors who have freely given their time and energy to improving standards of village life and amenity. Again, particular thanks go to Steve Hulme, the vice chair, for all his continued support to me in all council matters – above all for standing in for me when other commitments have prevented my attendance at meetings. On behalf of the whole council, our special thanks go, once more, to Doris Franks, our ever-reliable clerk to the council, who has diligently served our community in this capacity for over 25 years - and continues to provide an excellent service and primary point of contact. Our thanks also go to Doris’s husband, Ken, who provides so much ‘behind the scenes’ support to Doris’s work

It is with great sadness we record the loss of two stalwart councillors who have made significant contributions to the village and it’s community over many years. Arthur Annison served on the parish council and a number of related committees for many years and was still active in this role until his sudden death in July last year. Throughout the time I had the privilege of knowing him, he was a fount of knowledge and experience on council matters bar none – and gave his advice and guidance willingly.
The village also lost another past councillor and hard working supporter of the playing field association and village hall committee earlier this year, Eric Fincham. Their voluntary and untiring contribution to the parish is immeasurable and they will be greatly missed. Our sympathy is with their widows and families.

Sadly, we also said goodbye to Judith Vincent, a relatively new councillor, who resigned from the council recently. Judith has been a great asset to the council and was always a keen contributor at our monthly meetings. We wish Judith well for the future. We hope to be able to fill this vacancy as soon as possible.

We have welcomed three new councillors during the year, Martin Gray, Simon Taylor and Alan Rose, who have quickly established themselves as ‘active’ councillors.

Once more I would like to record our gratitude for the hard work and allegiance shown by our county councillors; particularly Mrs Carole Lynn and Mrs Anne Suggitt– who attend almost all our council meetings and provide invaluable advice and support - articulating and pursuing (indeed actively fighting) our cases with the relevant council departments. Without their help and support much of our work would be much more difficult - if not impossible.

Each year I remind readers of this report that the principal duty of the parish council and the purpose of our regular meetings is to ensure that the people of our village are individually and collectively represented. We act as the essential interface with regulators and service providers; proactively monitoring, defending and attempting to improve, the delivery of agreed standards - be it the adequacy of street lighting, the control of development or supply of other essential services. We support local good causes, recognise and reward individual contributions to community life, and, albeit in a modest way, improve the infrastructure of our village. Our voluntary work is undertaken with low profile - by people working behind the scenes - who deserve, but rarely seek recognition for their important, yet tangibly unrewarding, efforts. The council as a ‘body’ has very limited powers - it relies rather on persuasion and the valued input of our county councillors who are always willing to embrace and pursue our causes.

As a matter of public record, all members of the Parish Council have signed the register of interests and agreed to accept the new local government code of conduct. No parish councillors have claimed any personal expenses incurred during the year as a consequence of their duties.

To review then some of the key areas of council activity during the last year :

In summary, a challenging year, tinged with frustrations - but with exciting opportunities on the horizon. I therefore commend this report to the council with an underlying confidence that we will realise and build upon many of these opportunities in the forthcoming years

Graham Shaw - Chairman, Paull Parish Council, 1998-2004

(Last year's Chairman's Report can be seen here)

[Home] [Councillors] [Information] [Paull today] [Photos] [History] [Old Photos of Paull] [Fort Paull] [Maps] [Links]