RAVENSHEAD PARISH COUNCIL NEWS
SKATEPARK
At long last, Ravenshead has a Skatepark! Not just any old Skatepark – we have a State of the Art
Skatepark. We have to thank Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) which, with encouragement
from Cllr. Chris Barnfather, managed and delivered the project as promised just before Christmas –
despite some atrocious weather conditions. Some additional lighting and fencing has still to be
completed, but the Park is open and is already being used enthusiastically by our young people who
say that is by far the best Christmas Present they received in 2012. A large proportion of the
funding required has been provided by the NCC Local Improvement Scheme Initiative (LIS) with the
balance coming from the Parish Council. In due course we will have a formal opening ceremony
during which we will be able to thank everyone, including Ravenshead childrens` parents and Youth
Workers, who have all made a contribution to achieving this marvellous outcome.
PARISH PRECEPT
It is time again for the setting of the next year`s Precept – the amount which is added to the Council
Tax Bill for use at the Ravenshead Parish level. Normally the annual cost increase is less than £1.00
but this year it will be almost £7.00. Why so? Readers will recall that, over the last 25 years,
Gedling Borough Council has considered it its duty to financially support the provision of leisure
facilities in Ravenshead – and our facilities were developed on the assurance of this commitment,
which amounted to almost £50,000 per year.
2012/13 delivered a cut of £18,000 which
necessitated a Supplementary Parish Precept of £7.00 to balance our books. And 2013/14 sees a
further final £18.000 cut requiring another £7.00 Supplementary Precept. We are now cut adrift and
on our own! The booklet which comes from GBC with your Council Tax bill will tell you that they use
part of our contribution to the Borough Precept to provide excellent “Leisure & Community Centres”
and “Parks, Playgrounds & Open Spaces” – but none of that is being provided by Gedling Borough
Council in the Village of Ravenshead. We must now pay for it all ourselves.
So, to be specific, the Band D Parish Precept will increase from £37.32 to £44.28 per annum per
household – an annual increase of £6.96 per household (about 13 pence per week). This will also
be shown on the bill in percentage terms at 18.6%. The annual overall cost per household per year
works out as follows for each Band – and will be payable from April 2013.
A-£29.52 B-£34.44 C-£39.36 D-£44.28 E-£54.12 F-£63.96 G-£73.80 H-£88.56
The final thought is that this is the last of two Supplementary Precept increases and that the next
increase for 2014/15 should not exceed the rise in the cost of living index.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
Residents will be aware that Bowden Land organised an exhibition at the Village Hall on the
18th.January with their proposals for Housing Development on Cornwater – that piece of land
adjacent to the road up to the Leisure Centre on Longdale Lane. (This does not include the “Brewery
Land” lying adjacent to Kighill Lane). The site is designated as “White Land” – a category of land
which has previously been taken out of the Green Belt and is now identified as development land in
the Aligned Core Strategy. We have reluctantly accepted the inevitability of this development
happening and now concentrate on using any influence we have to maximise the advantages and
minimising the disadvantages of this housing outcome in the interest of the Village. This includes
the desire for properties designed suitably for purchase by down-sizing older Village residents,
housing with some garden and adequate off-road parking and a minimising of affordable rented
provision. There is some-way to go and many hurdles to climb before we get a solution. The next
stage is Outline Planning Permission, then the identification of a Developer and finally the
complication involved in their obtaining Full Planning Permission. The Parish Council will continue
to monitor this process, seeking to achieve the best outcome for the Village of Ravenshead.
LEISURE CENTRE
After an existence of some 25 years, the condition of the driveway up to the Leisure Centre
deteriorated rapidly with an ever increasing need to fill-in the pot-holes. We therefore engaged a
contractor to carry out the necessary repairs and at the same time to attend to another problem
which needs addressing – a shortage of car-parking places at the Centre. These extra spaces lie
between the two kissing-gates adjacent to football pitches 1A & 1B. Some inevitable short-term
inconvenience for our Users has been caused by this work – for which we apologise.
WINTER WEATHER
At the time of writing we are once again in the grip of Winter Weather, with perhaps more snow
than we have seen in the last few years. Nottinghamshire County Council has a huge store of
salt/grit this year and so far they have kept our main roads clear and usable, despite the immensity
of the task. I note that some extra gritting is taking place around bus stops and shelters which will
be appreciated. We have some extra street grit bins this year which have been fully supplied for use
on our roads and pavements – but, please note, not for use on private drives. Inevitably, many of
our inner Village roads will not see a gritting lorry but we feel sure that good neighbourliness will
ensure that the old and vulnerable receive support. And, our younger residents are really enjoying
sledging on the Leisure Centre fields.
Joe Lonergan-Chairman Parish Council-490035/793033-www.ravensheadparishcouncil.org.uk
J1115/21-01-13