Parish Council continues to fail in its responsibilities to village

The Parish Council receives information on all sorts of proposals and plans that could affect the village on a regular basis. It is the responsibility of the Parish Council to then inform and consult parishioners and respond appropriately. In 2002 the Parish Council failed to notice that the Nottinghamshire Minerals Plan included a proposal to allocate a large chunk of the Burton Joyce riverside as a minerals extraction site. We have the vigilance of a local resident who went to the trouble of putting up notices alerting villagers to this proposal to thank for the fact that the Plan was brought to the village’s attention. As a result of this inaction by the Parish Council and action by the individual resident, the Residents’ Association came into existence in 2002 and has been concerning itself with issues relating to the riverside area ever since.

With this experience, one would have thought that the Parish Council had learned its lesson and would take notice of future consultation documents but this has not been happening. We were particularly concerned to learn that Minerals and Waste Framework Consultation Documents (effectively, a new Minerals Plan which will eventually supersede the Minerals Plan that has just been adopted) began arriving at the Parish Council in February 2005 but none of these have been drawn to the attention of residents. At the Annual Parish Meeting in May, we raised concerns about this matter and asked that information about public consultations be brought to the attention of residents by notices on the Parish Notice Board near the Co-op, and the Council agreed to do this.

Over the summer, three significant documents affecting the village were open to consultation – one concerning Gedling as a whole, one concerning flood alleviation for our area and one concerning the new minerals and waste framework for the whole County – but none were brought to the attention of residents or local organisations by the Parish Council. We have asked the Parish Council for an explanation for their failure to honour the undertaking given at the Annual Parish Meeting and to ask what responses they gave to these important consultations.

Fortunately, BJRA became aware of these consultations through other sources and has made responses on behalf of its members. Yet again, BJRA has had to take up matters that are really the responsibility of the Parish Council. We shall be appearing at the Examination in Public in respect of the new Minerals and Waste Framework Documents later this month – just as we did at the Public Inquiry in respect of the previous Minerals Plan in 2004. For more information on this issue see July 11 entry on this site

Residents might like to ask why the Parish Council does not inform and consult residents about significant local issues and why it neglects important activities that it has a responsibility to undertake in behalf of the village, leaving the Preservation Society and the Residents’ Association to pick up the pieces.