Parish Council
Parish Council five year plan 2024 – 2029
This Five Year Plan was developed and refined around the Community Open Day we held on 22nd March 2024. It is a statement of Pattishall Parish Council’s vision, objectives and key priorities over the next five years.
Introduction
This 5 Year Plan was developed and refined around the Community Open Day we held on 22nd March 2024. It is a statement of Pattishall Parish Council’s vision, objectives and key priorities over the next 5 years. The aim of the Plan is to provide our residents with a clear view of what the Parish Council is focusing on and how it expects to deliver this. The Plan will be used as a guide each year as we set the Budget for the next financial year. It is a “live” document which we will continue to review and against which we will report our progress. Vision To be a Parish Council our residents want to work with as we strive to improve our community.
Mission
To engage with our residents to understand their needs and priorities, and to respect their views.
As we focus on delivering our everyday services and our 5 Year Plan for improvement, we will:
● Communicate in a timely, open and constructive manner.
● Encourage our residents to engage and participate and be part of the decisions that affect our Parish.
● Strive to provide high quality, best value for money services.
● Improve of Parish by investing our Community Infrastructure Levy monies in areas which our residents have told us are most important to them.
Community Engagement
We will continue to communicate via social media, our website, Around Pattishall, and our Noticeboards, and welcome constructive feedback. We encourage residents to attend Parish Council meetings and share their views with us.
Parish Council Structure
Pattishall Parish Council has nine councillors who are elected every four years. The next election is in May 2025.
The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are elected annually by the councillors at the Parish Council Annual Meeting. Councillors are all unpaid and commit their time on a voluntary basis.
Our Parish Clerk is a part time paid employee of the Parish Council and is also our Responsible Financial Officer (RFO).
Pattishall Parish Council is funded by a Precept provided by West Northants Council (WNC) and for 2024 – 2025 this is £63,500. We also receive a share of Community Infrastructure Levy monies collected by WNC as a charge they make for new developments in our Parish. Between October 2021 and April 2024 we received £50,462
Parish Council Portfolios
We are actively involved in monitoring, managing and maintaining many assets and services in our parish, and in several areas we directly interface with West Northants Council as we strive to get the best outcomes for our community. The following are all included in the Portfolios each Parish Councillor has, and details are on the Parish Council Website, along with how to contact them.
Allotments
Budget and Financial Management
Bus Services
Church and Burial Grounds
Community Engagement: inc Around Pattishall, Noticeboards and Website
Footpaths / Public Rights of Way
Grass Mowing contract
Hedges and Trees
Highways (inc pavements and drains)
Local Liaison (Inc school, churches, WI, NW, Parish Hall and Playing Fields)
Planning
Play Areas Maintenance
Signs (inc play areas, speed limits, footpaths)
Street Lighting
Village Maintenance
Waste Management (inc dog waste bins and litter pick)
Five Year Plan
At the Community Open Day we presented some of the things the Parish Council had achieved in the previous 5 years (2019 to 2023) and these included:
● Installed new equipment in Booth Close play area.
● Refurbished benches and installed new ones.
● A major upgrade of all our street lighting.
● Maintained our Burial Grounds and our Garden of Remembrance.
● Repaired the steps to the church.
● Planted new hedging at the Old Burial Ground.
● Installed 3 new dog waste bins to provide better coverage around the parish.
● Refurbished and replaced some of our Noticeboards.
● Installed additional temporary speed awareness signs around the parish.
● Worked with WNC to start the improvements to Festival and Leys Roads.
● Installed a parish defibrillator at Pattishall School.
● Supported the Gayton and Tiffield Community bus which now operates in our Parish.
● Supported the Community Café with a £500 grant.
● Made grants to local organisation and events in the parish including Pattishall school, Produce Show, Senior Citizens Christmas lunch, WI, and British Legion
● Started Pattishall Parish Council Facebook page.
● Introduced a new Parish Council logo.
We also presented our proposals for the next five years and following your feedback we have developed these as the key areas of focus in our Five Year Plan.
These are as follows:
● Road Safety
Description: to ensure that road users abide by the parish speed limits
Actions:
i. To introduce latest technology speed indicator devices (SIDs) at key locations in the Parish.
ii. To request new speed limits where a risk assessment shows this will improve road safety.
iii. Assess and propose other calming measures such as a chicane on Butchers Lane.
iv. Liaise with residents who have safety concerns linked to highways.
● Roads and Pavements
Description: to ensure that all roads and pavements in the parish are in a safe usable condition Actions:
i. Work in collaboration with the providers of re-surfacing, lining and signage to ensure repair work to our roads and pavements gets done effectively and in a timely manner.
ii. Liaise with residents who have concerns linked to the condition of roads and pavements in the Parish.
● Playground Areas
Description: to inspect and maintain our playground equipment to ensure it is safe and functional. Invest in new play equipment to enhance our facilities.
Actions:
i. Continue to carry out inspections and complete minor maintenance for the period.
ii. Replace the swing and seat at Butchers Lane Play area 2026
iii. Review provision of new play equipment at the Village Hall Play Area 2027-2028
iv. Investigate widening the access to Booth Close Play Area to allow easier grass mowing
● Footpaths (Public Rights of Way)
Description: to inspect and maintain the footpaths in our Parish and to invest in new stiles and gates to improve accessibility.
Actions:
i. Continue to monitor public rights of way within the parish and inspect and carry out minor repairs to stiles
ii. Install two new kissing gates within the Parish with the agreement of the landowner
● Trees
Description: there are many trees in the parish which are the ongoing responsibility of the Parish Council.
Actions:
i. to complete a survey and agree a maintenance plan for the trees in the parish which are the responsibility of the Parish Council.
ii. Incorporate this information into the Parish Online Mapping application.
● Church Wall
Description: maintain a safe wall at the church boundary with Church Street
Actions:
i. Carry out a structural survey of the church wall and agree a strategy for repair.
ii. Obtain and approve costs for carrying out the repairs.
iii. Complete repairs to maintain the integrity of the church wall.
● Supply of Burial Plots
Description: to manage the burial plots at Holy Cross church, the Old Burial Ground, and the Garden of Remembrance, and to ensure a future supply of plots. The Churchyard is closed and the Diocese cannot give any more land for burials. As of January 2025 there are 10 vacant plots in the New Burial Ground by the church. There is a plan of the burial ground held by Cllr David Hodges, Cllr. Iris Illingworth and Rev Marion Reynolds.
The Garden of Remembrance has space for ashes. There is a plan of plots. The Old Burial Ground by Blacksmiths Close has two Commonwealth Graves that are the responsibility of the Parish Council. It was recorded in the parish council minutes in 1980 that there were 5 double graves left but there is no indication as to their location.
Actions: To generate more burial plots we should:
i. Conduct a ground search to establish if there are spaces where there are no headstones or memorials in the OBG.
ii. Investigate the re-use of old graves in the OBG.
iii. Monitor a potential change in the law which could allow burial plots to be reused after 75 years.
iv. Acquire a piece of land for an additional Burial Ground in the Parish.
● New Parish Council Website
Description: Our current Parish website is over 15 years old and typically has ~2400 visits per month. We want to upgrade the website to be in line with best practice using the .gov.uk domain.
Actions:
i. Sign up to a 1 year subscription with Parish Online so in 2025 we can develop a new Pattishall Parish Council & Community website.
ii. Develop the content and format so it can be presented to the Parish Council in Q2 2025. If approved prepare an Implementation Plan for the 2nd half of 2025.
iii. Maintain the current website during 2025 until the new website is fully operational.
iv. Develop the Parish Online Mapping & Asset Management Service so it is populated with all the parish assets and maintenance / inspection information. Present this to the Parish Council in Q2 2025. Note: going forward we believe that each portfolio holder will have active involvement to ensure that assets and records relating to them are regularly updated.
v. Communicate with the Hall & Fields Committee and parishioners about the website project and seek their active involvement as the project progresses.
vi. Agree who will manage and maintain the new Parish Council and Community Website, and Parish Online Mapping Service post “go live”.
vii. Transition fully to the new Parish Council & Community website and Parish Online Mapping & Asset Management Service during Q4 of 2025.
viii. Transition all Parish Councillors to: name@pattishallparish.gov.uk email addresses by the end of 2025
Click the document link below to download a print friendly copy of the Five Year Plan.
Year 1 Progress Report
1 May 2025
Introduction
Our Five Year Plan is a statement of Pattishall Parish Council’s vision, objectives and key priorities over the period 2024 to 2029.
It provides a clear view of what the Parish Council is focusing on and how it expects to deliver this and will be used to help set the Budget for future financial years.
It is a “live” document which we will continue to review and against which, we will report our progress.
This document provides an update on our achievements against the Five Year Plan up to May 2025.
