2003/11

Parish Lengthswoman

Emma has now been working with us for just over two months, and has been making her mark on the village (for the better, of course). If you see her around, please stop for a friendly word – we want her to know that her efforts are appreciated.

Children’s Playground (Cove Road)

The swing set, for the older children, has now been reinstated, the frame has been painted, and, at great expense, we have had a “Wetpour” impact-absorbing surface installed. Quite soon the new chains and seats will be fitted, so that this popular facility can be brought back into use. If you visit the site, you might think that the “Wetpour” is just tarmac…. try walking on it – it will put a bounce in your step!

Our action group of local mums (and probably dads and other keen adults) is now officially constituted as “Action for Silverdale Children” (ASC). They have done a great deal of research and have come up with an excellent design for a scheme, for total renewal of the playground area. They had already advised us that they wanted to keep the existing swing-set for the older children, which is why the Parish Council have ‘invested’ so much money in bringing the unit right up to European Standards. Unfortunately, the Council cannot pay for the rest of the scheme, so the members of ASC are exploring various sources of funding, and possible money-raising activities.

Bank Well and Woodwell

By the time this Newsletter appears on the web site, we expect that a team of volunteers, led by Tony Riden, from the AONB Unit, will have done an annual clean-up and management operation of both of these “ancient watering places”. The Parish Council pays a nominal charge for this work, but this could not be kept anything like as low, as it is, without the involvement of the volunteers. If you are one of them… thank you very much!

Annual Audit for 2002-2003

This year, Silverdale Parish Council was selected as being one of the 5% of parish councils in the Country to be subjected to an ‘in-depth’ audit. We are pleased to be able to report that the auditors, HLB AV Audit, did not have to raise any queries, and that they completed the audit without making any comments, ie they were completely satisfied. If the system continues, it should be another 20 years before we have to submit to a further ‘in-depth’ audit…. our Clerk has now announced that he will be resigning sometime during the next 19 years!

Community Police Officer

A few months ago, our Community Police Officer, Ged Daley, departed for pastures new, and it was stated that he would not be replaced. However, your Council made very strong representations, and the decision was reversed. Whilst we were very sorry to lose Ged, we have actually been very pleased to welcome his replacement. PC Roger Brooksbank is now a familiar (and friendly) face in our community. We are already very impressed at the efforts he has made to bring a sense of security to our Parish. We cannot relax our personal guards for the security of our properties and persons, but Roger’s activities might make burglars think that Silverdale is a risky place to operate. If you want to talk to Roger you can contact him on his mobile phone: 07775-977887, but remember, if it is an emergency call, dial 999 instead.

Your Councillors

If you feel the need, or desire, to contact any of our Councillors, please feel free to telephone any of them. Their names and telephone numbers (all preceded by 01524) are:

Chairman John Eden 701678
Vice Chairman Peter Roberts 702315
John Burrow 702784
Bernard Fryer 701734
Arthur Graves 701284
June Greenwell 701610
Ralph Henderson 761594
Tony Houghton 701416