Agenda

Minutes

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 require that the accounting records for the financial year to which an audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested, during a period of 30 working days. For the financial year ending 31st March 2021 the Parish Council has determined that this period will run from 14th June 2021 to 23rd July 2021.

The responsible financial officer for the Parish Council must, on behalf of that authority, publish

(a) the Accounting Statements and Annual Governance Statement of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR), accompanied by a declaration, signed by that officer to the effect that the status of the Accounting Statements are unaudited and that the Accounting Statements as published may be subject to change;

(b) a statement that sets out—

(i) the period for the exercise of public rights;

(ii) details of the manner in which notice should be given of an intention to inspect the accounting records and other documents;

(iii) the name and address of the local auditor;

(iv) the provisions contained in section 26 (inspection of documents etc.) and section 27 (right to make objections at audit) of the Act, as they have effect in relation to the authority in question;  

The Parish Council meets on Thursday, 18th April at 7.30pm in the Church Rooms at Potten End. The agenda for the meeting can be downloaded from the Council’s website. If you’d like to get more information about items on the agenda it includes links to supporting documents, and if that doesn’t satisfy you, please come to the meeting and ask questions or contact me! Ashridge House The meeting will start with a presentation by Mr David Evans, Managing Director, Ashridge House who will be talking about their plans for future events.  National Trust At the February Council meeting we heard from Paul Miller from the National Trust about the significant challenges facing the NT from increased footfall at the Ashridge Estate. The NT will be giving an update on their plans at a public engagement event behind the Visitor Centre on Monument Drive on May 25th and 26th between 11am and 4pm. Details are available on the NT website. Highways Please note that the DENS Hillbuster cycle ride takes place on 28th April with routes through the parish. There are no road closures but there will be more bikes around than normal! More details are available on the council briefing note. The work to correct the flooding along Hempstead Lane has started with the road closure scheduled to last another 10 days. Potten End Hill is scheduled to be closed from 8 – 10 May and 10 June; see one.network for details. At the March meeting the Council agreed to pay for the installation of a gateway to emphasise the change in speed limit on The Common when approaching from Berkhamsted as part of the project from Herts County Council to standardise the speed on The Common to 40mph. As the land in question is owned by the Golf Club their permission has been requested. Little Jim’s bus service (532/502) has been deregistered. Residents wanting to use a bus should consider HertsLynx, an on-demand bus service that doesn’t run on a scheduled route but does need to be booked in advance. Open spaces The Plough has asked for permission to install more picnic benches on Spencer Holland. The Council would appreciate residents views on how to tackle an issue where cricket balls are landing in the gardens of Vicarage Rd and Vicarage Gardens – there’s more details about the issues involved in the Council’s briefing note. Congratulations to the Potten End Football Team who after making the final of the Aylesbury and District Football League’s Sheffield Jackman Cup last year went one better this year to win it. Planning At the last meeting the council supported an application for a new pitched roof over a garage and various other works at 18 Hempstead Lane (24/00459/FHA) and since that meeting has also supported an application for a single storey rear extension and various other works at Fryth View, Vicarage Rd (24/00656/FHA). The Council will consider applications from 21 Hedgeside for a new porch and various other works (24/00655/RET) and various detailed changes to the proposed new property for which planning permission has already been given at 31 Hempstead Lane (24/00778/DRC). The Council will also receive an update on a proposal to create a “SANG” – a publicly accessible green space which largely fills the area between Nettleden Rd and Potten End Hill, and from the Leighton Buzzard Rd to beyond Binghams Park Farm. The majority of this proposal is in Great Gaddesden Parish where there was a lively council meeting on Monday when the developers presented their proposals. CIL project prioritisation The Parish Council received £72,024.35 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) from the development at Valerie Way which has to be spent on infrastructure in the parish. Over 35 ideas of what to spend the money on have been received covering projects as widely different in scale as improvements to the Brownie’s cupboard in the Church Room to the replacement of the Scout Hut. The Council intends to consult with the community about which projects should be prioritised but before it does so has identified projects which for a number of reasons such as lack of space or not meeting the requirements for CIL expenditure it doesn’t propose to take forward to consultation. At the moment this is a draft list and if you think that the categorisation is incorrect the Council would like to hear from you before the next Council meeting in May. End of year accounts The Council’s financial year ends in March and the draft year end results for 2023/24 will be considered. Dates for your diaries The next two Council meetings will take place on 16th May and 20th June.

PKF LittleJohn, the external auditor, has completed its review of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) for the year ended 31 March 2025 and concluded that in its opinion the information in Sections 1 and 2 of the AGAR is in accordance with Proper Practices and no other matters have come to its attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met. A copy of the auditor’s report may be downloaded from this website together with the notice of conclusion of the audit.

Details Of Meeting

Meeting held on Thursday 17th November 2016
In the Church Rooms, Potten End at 8pm
Continue reading “PC Meeting 17th November 2016”