Welcome to the section of this site where you can find out
all about the function and activities of your Parish
Council. Use the links above to find the information you
are looking for.
Aims & Objectives (Adopted 2016)
The aims of Helmdon Parish Council are:
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To provide an effective, transparent and accountable local Government and to be a strong voice for residents and local businesses. |
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To retain the existing character and community spirit of the village whilst encouraging the development of a strong, inclusive and vibrant community. |
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To preserve and enhance the rural, built and natural environments of Helmdon. |
The objectives for Helmdon Parish Council are:
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To understand and communicate the views, needs and aspirations of residents to statutory and non-governmental bodies as required. |
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To manage the council’s assets and finances effectively and in accordance with statutory requirements. |
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To provide, maintain and improve play equipment, allotments and public green spaces. |
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To support the work of village groups and organisations through grants and practical support. |
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To respond to planning applications and other statutory consultations on time, ensuring that recommendations adhere to statutory regulations and the interests of the community. |
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To ensure that Councillors and Staff have access to high quality training and development opportunities and that Councillors and Staff meet all required standards. |
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To keep informed of changes to legislation and ensure that procedures and Parish Council policies are reviewed and revised in line with such changes. |
Parish Council Meetings
The Parish Council currently meets on the fourth Wednesday
of alternate months in the Reading Room. The Annual
Parish Meeting is held in April and the annual parish council meeting is held in May. An Open Forum, where members of
the public are invited to attend and put forward items for
discussion or debate, is placed on the agenda of
each Parish Council meeting. This is a commitment that the
Parish Council is under no obligation to provide but which
it does in order to make the Parish Council more open, responsive
and receptive to parishioners' views. We would hope that
any parishioner would feel welcome at a Parish Council meeting
and would respect that the Council does have business to
deal with, during which time public debates are not permitted.
All Parish Council meetings are open to members of the public
and press.
All the Parish Councillors have signed up to a Code of Conduct, which covers most
aspects of interests and responsibilities. For any questions
relating to the Code of Conduct please contact the Parish Clerk.
Planning Committee
The Planning Committee meets when there is an application
to be considered. It meets in the Reading Room and
the agendas are displayed beforehand. The Planning Committee
does not have the power to determine a planning application,
it makes comments of support or objection to South Northamptonshire Council, which is the Local Planning Authority. The
Parish Council, while being available to listen to residents'
concerns for or against an application, would urge all parishioners
to make their views known directly to the Planning Department
of South Northamptonshire Council (www.southnorthants.gov.uk).
Parish Council Notices
Any items of interest to parishioners, along with agendas
and other documents for public display are displayed on
www.helmdon.com and on a special area reserved on the notice boards of the village
for parish council matters. Any other item should be positioned
on the remaining part of the notice board.
There are currently three notice boards, one fixed to the
wall of the Reading Room in Church Street, another in Wappenham
Road at the junction with Field Way (The Square) and the
third one beside the telephone kiosk on The Green.
Items are usually displayed on each of the boards but where
something has to legally be displayed and only one copy
is available the notice board that would be used is the
larger one of the three, the one on the Green.
Organisations wishing to have notices displayed are asked
to keep the size of them to a minimum to allow room for
all the notices - they should try to keep them to A5 size.
Notices should be given to the Parish Clerk for display
on the noticeboards on The Green and the Square.
The website has a virtual village noticeboard on which a lot of notices go for which there is not room on the real noticeboards.
Welcome Pack
The Parish Council cordially welcomes new residents to the village with a welcome pack containing a list of local businesses, leaflets with information on parish walks, etc., which hopefully answers initial questions and helps orientate new residents. Other information can be obtained from the Parish Clerk.
Reporting defects in the highway
to the County Council
The Street Doctor
Telephone 0800 232323 or 0845 601 1113
Use this new service to report Highway faults such as
broken streetlights, hazardous pavements, potholes and flooded
gullies. (If a streetlight is not working properly, it should
be reported in the first instance to the Parish
Clerk.)
You can also report Highway problems online at www.northamptonshire.gov.uk
If the problem you want to report is either an emergency
or requires urgent attention DO NOT use the online service.
Please telephone 0800 232323 or 0845 601 1113.
On-line reporting allows you to tell the County Council
about a Highway problem directly and to see what they are
doing about it. Please note this service requires pop-ups
and scripting enabled in your web browser.
You can tell them where the problem is, either by
describing its location, or by using a map that covers almost
every street in Northamptonshire.
Many different type of Highway problem can be reported
on-line - e.g. potholes and faulty street lights.
Every report that they receive is allocated a unique
reference number.
The action that they decide to take will be recorded
against your problem's unique reference number, so that
you can check how thing are going, day or night, to suit
you.
They aim to have a first response available for you, to
check back on to see what is happening, within 5 working
days.
To report anything to Helmdon Parish Council please contact
the Parish Clerk.
Allotments
Rent for a Council allotment is currently £10 a year with
the first year free. If you are interested please contact
the Parish Clerk. All
applications are treated on a first come, first served basis.
The Pump Garden
The parish Council owns a small piece of land on Church Street just up from Shortlands Close known locally as the Pump Garden because it is where one of the village's three public water pumps was sited. The pump is still there but not operable. For the Queen's Jubilee in 2002 the Parish Council installed a bench at the Pump Garden for walkers to stop at on their way up Church Street. In 2012 the area was cut right back to allow new planting to take place in spring 2013 (see before and after photos here).
Grass Cutting
We receive many comments about grass cutting in the village.
The Parish Council is not responsible for all the open areas
of the village. Roadside verges are cut by a contractor
employed by the County Council. It is usual for verges to
be cut three or four times a year. While we appreciate that
this can sometimes make visibility difficult at times, particularly
during a wet summer, there is nothing we can do about the
timing of these cuts. South Northants Council cuts
the areas of grass belonging to them, at Station Road and
in front of the Green, these areas are usually well cut
back during the summer months. The Parish Council awards
a contract for cutting the areas of the school field used
as the play area and also the area known locally as Jenners
Piece. For the current year we have budgeted for four cuts
being undertaken in these areas. Also maintained by the
Parish Council is the War Memorial and the area in front
of the Reading Room. The War Memorial itself has recently
been refurbished. If anybody is interested in helping to
maintain these areas, perhaps by dead heading the roses
or weeding around the flowers it would always be appreciated,
please contact the clerk beforehand.
The school field and bank around the school is cut by another
contractor employed by the County Council.
Parish Paths Warden
One of the oldest offices held by the parish council, the
Parish Paths Warden is responsible for liaising between
the path network users and the County Council who are responsible
for the upkeep of the paths. Helmdon's Parish Paths Warden
is Roger Miles. If you have any questions, comments or concerns
please get in
touch with him.
Parish Tree Warden
In 2011 the parish council appointed a Tree Warden to help look after, monitor and record the trees in the parish. Northamptonshire County Council runs the Tree Warden Scheme. Helmdon's Tree Warden
is Phillip Ward. If you have any questions, comments or concerns
please get in
touch with him.
Comments & Suggestions
If any Helmdon resident has a contribution to make towards
the running of the village, comments and suggestions are
always welcomed by the Parish
Clerk or the elected Councillors. |