I am very pleased to have been appointed Chairman of the Parish Council after the recent elections in May, it gives me the opportunity to support our new councillors and continue the work we have been doing over the last few years. This Parish Council website is much better than it used to be but it still needs some improvement, I apologise for this taking longer than expected but all the work is done in free time and these days this is at a premium. The site is now regularly updated on the important information but if you do see any errors we would be grateful if you would make us aware of them and, once again, if you have any items that you think could usefully be added or if you have a local organisation that you would like listed please let us know.
The Parish Council has healthy balances at this time so we are well positioned to maintain the level of services which you have all been accustomed to in the last few years. The costs of many services, which we share. with Worcester City Council are currently being looked at very carefully. Currently we support the Warden Service, the Dog Bins and more recently we have been called upon to pay for enhanced grass cutting servicesd as Worcester City Council continue to grapple with ever increasing cuts in their expenditure budget. We now face the prospect of funding additional work as the trees and shrubs in the area continue to develop and in some cases become overgrown and a nuisance. The layout of the villages was well thought through but no-one really considered the ongoing maintenance costs of keeping the area in good order. The Parish Council is able to raise additional funds to ensure that the area we live in is well maintained and kept to a standard which we have all come to expect, at our recent Annual Open Meeting those parishioners present supported this idea unanimously.
The Parish Council continues to support Lyppard Grange Community Centre with an annual grant, this may also have to increase due to the City Council’s reduction in grant aid and their recent passing on of maintenance costs to the Board of Trustees for the Centre, but I'm pleased to say that the current results that the Centre is achieving will limit this to inflation levels only.
My wish to help the youth is an ongoing struggle because many agencies are working towards this goal but they each have their own priorities and it's difficult to imagine that cuts will not be made by the major authorities. I still believe that much more could be done by pooling these resources and having a focus on the issue instead of the current fragmented approach. Hopefully if we continue to make a noise about that things will change for the better !
I'm pleased to say that we finally have a full compliment of Parish Councillors, Dawn Merriman and Dave Long were both co-opted at our meeting on the 4th July.
Ray Morris
5th July 2011