Northwood Parish Council

Posted by Admin on 16 September 2009, 12:00 am

NORTHWOOD PARISH COUNCIL

Chairman: Cllr John Pullen
86 Wyatts Lane, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 281250
Email: pullenjd@hotmail.co.uk

Vice-Chairman: Cllr Paul Fuller JP CC
74 Wyatts Lane, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 289595
Email: paulfuller@onwight.net

Chairman (Planning): Cllr Peter Brooker
28 Uplands Road, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 296958
Email: peter.brooker@waitrose.com

Cllr Colin Cramp
37 Greenways, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 289996
Email: colin.cramp@yahoo.co.uk

Cllr Marie Ely
14 Wyatts Lane, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 299673
Email: the.elys@onwight.net

Cllr Roger Mazillius CC
21 Oxford Street, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 295556
Email: roger.mazillius@iow.gov.uk

Cllr Colin Palmerton
40 Greenways, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 282242
Email: overner@onwight.net

Cllr Eileen Turner-Palmerton
40 Greenways, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 282242
Email: whitecross@onwight.net

Parish Clerk & RFO: Barbara Herbert
11 Wyatts Lane, Northwood.
Tel: 01983 290086
Email: barbara.herbert@sky.com

NORTHWOOD PARISH COUNCIL REPORTS
(coordinated by Pete Brooker)

Future Meetings of Northwood Parish Council

The next two months' meetings are currently scheduled for:

October 6th   Full Council
October 20th  Planning Committee
November 3rd  Full Council
November 17th  Planning Committee

Meetings are held in the Northwood W.I. Hall and start at 7.45pm. Public attendance is welcomed and prior to each meeting there is an opportunity to ask questions of members of the Parish Council. Confirmation that any meeting is proceeding as scheduled may be obtained from the Clerk – contact details above. Minutes and agendas are always displayed on the Community Notice Board.

Summary of Recent Parish Council Meeting(s)

The Parish Council last met on August 18th (Planning Committee) and September 1st (Full Council).

Matters considered at these two meetings included:

• Three planning applications, to which no material objections were raised (August 18th).
• Minor alterations to an already approved planning application; and decisions taken by the Local Planning Authority since the last meeting (September 1st).
• The report from the Local Safety Neighbourhood Officer.
• The report from the local Environment and Neighbourhood Officer.
• A further 'Big Tidy Up' event, to be held on October 3rd.
• The replacement of some planters and provision of a new village sign at the Whitford Bridge entrance to the village.
• The collapsing fencing along Newport Road, south of Oxford Street.
• A grant application to the IWRCC for provision of a community 'Welcome Pack'.
• Response to the consultation document on proposed waste processing facilities and landfill sites; and the draft statement of Licensing Policy.
• Reports from the Parish Council Working Parties and IWC Ward Member.

The Council will be considering two planning applications on September 15th.

The following reports are those of the named contributors, and any views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Northwood Parish Council.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT (John Pullen)

PC Mark Thomas and PCSO Steve Oatley have reported that the crime figures for the Isle of Wight show a reduction of all crimes of 9%. There have been no reported serious incidents in Northwood.

Police are keen to make everybody aware of “letter-box“ crimes. These occur when burglars put tools through a letter box to hook out keys. Place any keys well away from any area that might be reached in this way.

There has been a problem with motor-cyclists riding down the cycle/footpath at Medham and then using an area by the riverside as an unofficial race track.
There is a joint initiative by residents, police, Environment and Neighbourhood Officer and landowners to stop this dangerous and disruptive activity. One individual has already been warned and hopefully the other people involved will be aware that the area is being monitored.

A warning: Rogue Traders have been again 'Cold Calling' in Hampshire offering to tarmac driveways etc. These traders are operating under the name of County Construction and are not providing consumers with the required notice of right to cancel, which gives consumers a 7-day cooling-off period. They are asking customers to sign their order/receipt requesting that the work starts straight away. Claims are also being made that the tarmac is left over from another job, but this is also not the case.
If anyone on the Island has had any dealings with this trader in the past few weeks, Trading Standards would like to hear from you.

I have a small supply of 'No Cold Calling' window stickers if anybody needs one. Please let me know of any incidents of people cold calling, or ring Trading Standards on 01983 823370.

Ring 01983 281250 if you are interested in the black and green recycling bins.

The numbers to ring for the police are:

0845 045 45 45 to speak to a police officer or staff member or report a crime

999 for emergencies

101 to report vandalism and graffiti, noise nuisance, threatening and abusive behaviour, abandoned vehicles, dumping and fly tipping, drunk and rowdy groups, broken street lighting, and drugs-related anti-social behaviour.

Do not forget Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
You do not need to identify yourselves and the calls are not recorded.

NORTHWOOD RURAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING (Colin Cramp)

Northwood Parish Council is looking for a site which is suitable for building 4 to 6 homes. Perhaps you have submitted a site for development under the Island Plan and had it rejected? Please phone or email me.

NORTHWOOD TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC REPORT (Paul Fuller)

Pallance Road Speeding Review

During the summer members of the Parish Council’s Traffic and Transport Working Party have monitored traffic speeds in Pallance Road. This follows complaints made concerning vehicles speeding.

Northwood’s Worst Kept Roads

The Traffic and Transport Working Party are keen to identify which of Northwood’s public roads are in the poorest condition. Although there are one or two obvious contenders, we would like to know from residents which ones you feel are bad. There is a serious reason for this survey: the Parish Council wants to list priorities for action against the future IWC PFI Award.

Dial-A-Bus

Dial-A-Bus provides a personal service for people with mobility difficulties. It offers door-to-door transport from the Cowes area to Newport for shopping visits or to go to the Riverside Centre, St Mary's Hospital and other facilities in Newport Town Centre.
Dial-A-Bus has trained drivers, whilst vehicles are all easy to board. Wheelchair users are very welcome. The Dial-A-Bus service is operated by the IW Council's Wightbus service.
This service operates on Monday at around 9.30am from Cowes, returning at 1pm; and on Fridays at around 10.45am from Cowes, returning at 1.30pm. The Dial-A-Bus can also be used for journeys into Cowes on those days. For further information and booking enquiries contact the Dial-A-Bus Helpline on 522226.

VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENTS (Peter Brooker)

The Parish Council continues to discuss the possible production of a Village Design Statement (VDS) for the community. A recent training session attended by three councillors on 'Community-Led Planning' reinforced the message that a well-prepared VDS can be a useful tool in responding to plans for new development in the community, and can reflect the vision and desires of local people. As mentioned before in these columns, a Village Design Statement differs from a Parish Plan inasmuch as it is far more focussed on the visual character and distinctiveness of the community and its setting, and how this might be protected and enhanced in any new development. It is applicable to all forms and scales of development; it is about managing change in the community, not about preventing it.

Preparation of a quality VDS needs the involvement and commitment of a sufficient number of people from the community who can focus their skills and energies, and who can provide opportunities and means for whole-community engagement.

If you can see the value in a VDS and are interested in helping, and/or need further information, please contact me.

NEXT 'BIG TIDY UP' EVENT

Please come along and help keep the community free from litter! This is a never-ending battle, for in some areas as soon as litter is removed it is back again.
Meet at 10.00am on Saturday, October 3rd at the play area, Venner Avenue. Equipment will be provided….
If you can't help then, you can help at all times by not dropping litter and making sure the younger ones do likewise!