The May meeting of the Finchampstead Parish Council is traditionally its Annual General Meeting, when the Chairman of the Council and the Chairmen of the Committees are elected.

On 17^th May, Councillor Roland Cundy was re-elected as Chairman of the Parish Council and Geoff Markham as Vice-chairman.  Chairmen of most committees are unchanged, except for Finance where Councillor Eric Cox has resigned, to be succeeded by Cllr. Suzanne Sach.  Cllr. Cox has served as Chairman of Finance for 17 years and Cllr. Cundy thanked him, on behalf of the Council, for his diligence and prudence in handling the Parish’s finances so efficiently for such a prolonged period of time.

Louise Morris, the Villages Youth Worker, reported to the Council that the Youth Club on the Gorse Ride Estate is slowly gaining more members, and that a summer scheme is being planned for the school holidays.  It is hoped that this will help prevent some of the anti-social behaviour which has upset residents.  Cllr. Cundy thanked Louise for her hard work and enthusiasm.

Cllr. Newcombe, Chairman of Planning, reported that, at the appeal hearing for the proposed apartments in Finchampstead Road, it became apparent that the Thames Basin Heath legislation has changed.  It would appear that distances from protected sites are now measured by roads rather than “as the crow flies”.  Given the bends and twists in most of our roads, this means, in effect, that the areas affected by the legislation have shrunk, leaving parts of Finchampstead once more vulnerable to development.  The Parish Council has requested clarification from Wokingham Borough Council.

A new Parish Council notice board will soon be placed outside the Memorial Hall.  It will be positioned on slightly lower ground, so those who are vertically challenged will be able to read it more easily!  There will also be a new board at the Finchampstead Road end of Kiln Ride.  The Parish Council has a rolling programme to replace all the old notice boards with ones which are more attractive.

The Roads Committee  will also be looking into tidying up the parish by requesting the Borough Council to remove redundant road signs, such as “New speed limit“ (several years old), or “New road layout” (ditto!).

The Amenities Committee would like to enhance the California Crossroads area by once again placing flower baskets near the shops.  However, there may be a problem with watering them as the Borough Council has not yet agreed to take responsibility.  Any ideas, suggestions or offers of help would be most welcome.

Cllr Chris Driver

The date this page was last altered was June 02, 2007.

Copyright © 2003 Finchampstead Parish Council