TOTLAND PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL REPORT
2006 - 2007
Totland Parish Council holds its Annual Parish Meeting during April when an Annual Report is written and submitted to the
Parishioners. The Annual General Meeting is held in May when the Chairman, Vice Chairman and committees are appointed.
Your Council welcomes your involvement and urges you to work together with us for the benefit of our Community.
My fellow Councillors and I have pleasure in submitting this Report to you with thanks to our Parish Clerk, our Responsible Financial Officer, our County Councillor and its many volunteers. Our thanks also go to those who attend our monthly meetings and to you, our Parishioners.
John F Howe
Chairman
Your Council welcomes your involvement and urges you to work together with us for the benefit of our Community.
My fellow Councillors and I have pleasure in submitting this Report to you with thanks to our Parish Clerk, our Responsible Financial Officer, our County Councillor and its many volunteers. Our thanks also go to those who attend our monthly meetings and to you, our Parishioners.
John F Howe
Chairman
The last year has been yet another one of steady progress for Totland.
The Parish council has met on 12 occasions and attendance of your Councillors has been as follows:
| John Howe (Chairman | 10 | Mr Alistair Jones | 10 |
| John Honeychurch (Vice Chairman) | 11 | Mrs Carol Bryan | 12 |
| Mr David Filby | 8 | Mrs Valerie Cooke | 10 |
| Dr Brian Hinton | 10 | Mrs Susannah Jennings (RFO) | 5 |
| Mr V Fennell | 12 |
Our year began with the creation of the Parish Plan whereby John Holsburt and Helen Goff together with the Steering Committee produced the relevant questionnaires for all age groups. This is now nearing completion and will be printed and delivered to every home in Totland shortly.
Planning has continued to be a major controversial issue for Totland. We have seen many luxury homes and apartments built with many still unsold which has resulted in loss of trees and wild life. Although we continue to support the vast majority of our parishioners by opposing these Planning Applications they still manage to get Planning permission. We will continue to oppose these luxury developments on your behalf.
Both Primary Schools and Nurseries have been successful and the Children's Centre continues to work well for the community.
Unfortunately Totland has had its fair share of problems with vandalism and anti-social behaviour.It has been agreed that the new Community Officers together with the local Constabulary will regularly police Totland and Freshwater in future. However, it is felt that more should be done for the youth of Totland and the West Wight and this is now being looked at by our County Councillors.
Your Council continue to strive to keep Totland and its open spaces well looked after. The Turf Walk, Stokes Green, Cokes Green Turvills Field and Jubilee Pump have all had extensive work carried out this year.
Your Council continues to support and work with the Totland Regeneration Partnership.
Councillor John Honeychurch is at present setting up a Trust called Totland Village Trust. This is to build a new Community Centre on the site of Totland Church Hall and Council are happy to actively support this project.
The Parish Council meets once a month except during August. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month in the
Council Chamber, Winchester House, The Broadway, Totland Bay at 7:30pm; members of the public are welcome to attend
TOTLAND REGENERATION PARTNERSHIP
Once again we are at the time of the year when the Totland Regeneration Committee are busy organising the annual `Art on the Turf Walk' to be held on Saturday 25th August (Bank Holiday) from 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.This is the 6th year of this prestigious event originally brought together by Totland Regeneration with guidance and strong support from Hannah Birks who is currently Arts Project Manager of the Island 2000 Trust. Each year we have had an increase of exhibitors and this year we hope to maintain last year's figure of 60. Although the exhibitors are mainly artists we do have other crafts with an `arty' influence including glass painting, wood carving and photography.
When you need a break from browsing refreshments are available from the Headon Hill W.I. marquee. Whilst taking your refreshments you may wish to enjoy a performance from the Kaleidoscope Youth Theatre Group which has proved to be very popular. Flag painting has been previously provided by local school children - this year the three local Junior Schools are taking part in a picture competition. The judging will be undertaken earlier by representatives of the West Wight Art Group. Winning entries will be displayed at the Turf Walk venue, the remainder will be exhibited at the Parish Office. John Howe, Chairman of Totland Regeneration Committee, will make a presentation to the winning entrants at 2.00 p.m. on the day (25th August).
A tombola will replace our previous raffles, the prizes to be supplemented by local businesses, and if any members of the public wish to contribute, they may leave donations at the Parish Office, The Broadway, Totland. The money raised from the tombola will help us to fund future events.
PROPOSED TOTLAND VILLAGE HALL
Following the successful completion of the West Wight Sports Hall project Totland Parish Council have embarked on another project which is to take a long lease of the Church Hall site from the Diocese of Portsmouth. With grant funding they plan to redevelop the whole site to provide a building which will meet the anticipated needs of the community of Totland in particular, and the West Wight in general for the foreseeable future. A recent survey conducted as part of the Parish Plan gave overall approval of the proposal to redevelop the Church Hall site.In outline the proposal is, subject to detailed discussions with the community as a whole and with potential users, to create a new complex with entry from the car park, designed to meet the latest disability and fire legislation.
In brief the proposal is to provide:
| • | 100 seat hall with a stage at least as large as the existing stage and with dressing rooms and toilet facilities, and with a lighting box and stage lights; |
| • | 60 seat hall; |
| • | Modern kitchen/servery/seating area; |
| • | Council chamber/meeting room and storage of the parish archives; |
| • | Offices; |
| • | Toilet facilities/cloakrooms; |
| • | Separate storage for each area. |
The provision of two halls will provide for the need to put on shows in the theatre whilst at the same time providing a hall to enable other activities to take place at the same time.
The new complex will provide a modern facility to meet the needs of Totland and will be managed by local people for local people with the aim of facilitating greater community participation. With this in mind the Parish Council has created the Totland Village Trust Company to be responsible for obtaining funding for the building of and the management of the new facility.
John Honeychurch
| Totland Parish Council Finances 2006 - 2007 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | Payments | ||||||
| Balance b/f Current a/c |
5320.00 | VAT | 1721.45 | ||||
| Balance b/f Deposit a/c |
25082.31 | Administration | 1439.83 | ||||
| Utilities & Phone | 587.25 | ||||||
| Precept | 29435.00 | Advertising | 38.49 | ||||
| Grant for grass cutting |
4385.07 | Subscriptions | 125.00 | ||||
| Loan repayment |
1190.07 | Donations | 9500.04 | ||||
| Deposit a/c interest |
850.19 | Training & mileage |
879.38 | ||||
| VAT refund | 768.02 | Salary | 7404.57 | ||||
| Inland Revenue online return |
250.00 | Council Tax | 1104.15 | ||||
| Misc. | 209.61 | General works/repairs | 3470.53 | ||||
| Unpresented cheque |
10.00 | Grass cutting | 6403.2 | ||||
| Incorrectly cashed cheques |
0.54 | Parish Plan | 1297.83 | ||||
| Misc | 2132.87 | ||||||
| Rent | 1300.00 | ||||||
| Petty cash | 350.00 | ||||||
| Loan repayment | 2380.14 | ||||||
| Balance current a/c | 500.00 | ||||||
| Balance deposit a/c | 26866.08 | ||||||
| TOTALS | 30402.31 | 37098.5 | 40134.73 | 27366.08 | |||
| 67500.81 | 67500.81 | ||||||
WORKING WITH BUSINESSES - The Needles Park at Alum Bay
Totland Parish Council appreciates the few businesses we have in Totland who not only help to maintain and offer facilities to local people, but also employ local labour. Below is a report from our biggest employer, The Needles Park.
"The Needles Park is the Isle of Wight's most visited tourist attraction. At its heart is the famous landmark Needles Rocks and Lighthouse. The Needles Park attracts half a million visitors each year. It's a popular choice for families, coach passengers, schools, walkers and cyclists.
The Needles Park is fundamentally a seasonal business with the majority of visitors visiting in the core summer months. However the business remains open all year round, continuing employment in the West Wight throughout the winter months. It also offers opportunities to the many coaching parties that visit in the off peak months.
Huge changes have taken place at The Needles Park in the last few years. The park has invested lots of time and effort to keep it on the list of the best tourist attractions on the island.
The Park has benefited from new on-site branding to ensure the visitor knows they have arrived and it makes the navigation of the park much easier to follow.
In recent years The Needles Park has increased its involvement in the community and with Island charities. It supports The Earl Mountbatten Hospice and has aided fundraising for the new chemotherapy unit at St Mary's Hospital. All of the charity money goes to Isle of Wight charities.
The Needles Park is a SSSI (Site of Specific Scientific Interest) in an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). It is essential that we continue to recognise our status and we work extremely closely with The National Trust to ensure all our new plans are in keeping with the natural beauty of the site.
The future looks bright for The Needles Park. Future plans are to continue to improve the site and add new attractions each year and upgrade our existing facilities. The main aim is wanting to offer something new and different to ensure there is another reason to visit The Needles Park for everyone.
The Needles Park respects its AONB status and the environment of the West Wight. Already a `green' employer by encouraging staff to use public transport with the free bus scheme they look forward to working more closely with Southern Vectis to continue this service and increase staff participation. The Needles Park is committed to enhancing the natural beauty of the site by planting many shrubs and indigenous plants which give the site a nice ambiance.
Our main aim is to push the Needles Park to new highs while preserving the charm and heritage of its setting. We want visitors to have a great, value-for-money experience and revisit us time and again".
