2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR PITSTONE PARISH COUNCIL

Financial Position

	2018-19 Actual	2019-20 Actual	Variance to Last Year	2019-20 Budget	Variance to Budget	
Income	£126,838	£230,338	+82%	£372,501	-38%	
Expenditure	£147,157	£263,850	+79%	£1,329,704	-404%	

The substantial increase year-on-year relates mainly to the three capital projects described below, where grant funds have been obtained to enable works.
The parish council is financially independent with no loans, lease payments or debts.

Extension and Refurbishment of the Pavilion Site

The parish council has been successful with obtaining grant and S106 commitments of over £900k towards the extension and refurbishment of the pavilion site (£370,000 grant from Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus awarded; £540,000 of Section 106 funding ring-fenced; £10,000 grant from the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust Thriving Communities scheme received; £4,000 pledged from Pitstone & Ivinghoe United Football Club; £35k application outstanding with the Football Foundation; £1.5k pledged by Pitstone & Ivinghoe Junior Football Club).  The council has committed £14,885 of funding accrued over previous years towards this project.  It should be noted that the majority of this grant funding is paid by the providers in retrospect, following receipt of invoices & proof of works undertaken, therefore these figures are not reflected in the above accounts.  During the financial year our professional partners draw up architectural, mechanical, electrical, civil, construction and principal designer proposals; associated building and ground reports were undertaken; the tendering and value engineering processes undertaken, and Neville Special Projects awarded the contract.  Planning consent was granted last year.  £62,488 of costs were incurred during the year & £28,482 grant funding was received (the council must claim retrospectively).  Physical construction works will commence in June 2020 (postponed from April due to Coronavirus) and complete in October 2020.

The Purchase of a Parcel of Leisure Land

What you perceive to be the recreation ground was in fact two parcels of land.  The village green being the main parcel of land immediately in front of the memorial hall.  The land from the rear car park back to the rear hedge, which contains the play equipment etc, was previously part of the allotment site and managed under licence to provide additional open space.   The council has been trying to secure this land, on a permanent basis, for many years and was delighted when the owner (Pitstone Parish Charity) was able to progress our purchase of the land.  £37,090 was spent on this purchase, completely funded from Section 106 grant funding released by Aylesbury Vale District Council.  Securing the tenure on this land, has enabled the long-awaited replacement of the play space to progress.

Installation of Replacement Play Space

Huck Teck had previously been awarded the contract for the removal of the old playground equipment on the recreation ground and the installation of an exciting new play space.  Once the land purchase above had been secured, the contract was reviewed and updated.  Initial ground works were undertaken.  Work was due to commence at the end of March but had to be postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.  The council is working with the contractor to facilitate the project as soon as possible.  £40,055 of invoices were received during the year.   This project (total cost £123,868) is being funded by an S106 release from Buckinghamshire Council, a Community Leader Grant and £11,951 of funding accrued by the parish council.

A new play space within the Bellway development off Vicarage Road has now been installed by the developer.  Once open, Bellway will arrange for the maintenance and care of this play area for a period of 24 months before it can be passed to the parish council.

Other Grants Received

Buckinghamshire County Council’s Local Area Forum supported our parish with two grants.  

The first (£1,347) covered 50% of the cost of a second mVAS (flashing speed sign) unit for Pitstone, following approval by Taylor Wimpey for an additional site on Westfield Road.  Our 2 units now rotate around our 4 approved locations.
The second (£2,080) contributed towards funding for outdoor sports equipment for the youth café including an outdoor table tennis table and outdoor basketball hoops (both of which are also utilised by Brookmead School), scooters and skateboards.  

Grants and Donations given by the Parish Council

During the financial year, the parish council provided the following grants and donations to other groups: Pitstone & Ivinghoe Entertainments specifically towards the firework festival (£2k), our Volunteer of the Year 2019 (£50), Royal British Legion (in lieu of a fresh wreath) (£150) and our Volunteer of the Year 2020 (£50), although sadly the arrival of Covid-19 meant that the Annual Assembly had to be postponed and this last payment has yet to be presented.

Pitstone Community Car Scheme

A new member of staff joined us in April 2019, Stephen Davies, to fulfil the role of co-ordinator for the Pitstone Community Car Scheme.  All drivers are volunteers.  New drivers have been recruited, new policies put in place, training provided and the scheme is currently working well enabling residents to access their medical appointments who may otherwise struggle to do this given the limited public transport system from the village.

Pitstone Allotments

Funding was provided to purchase stone, digger, and driver, to enable Pitstone Allotment Association to install a perimeter track around the site which will mean that tenants can access their allotment throughout the year.  

Other Leisure Updates

Nicholas King Homes will be installing a multi-use games area, as part of their residential development, on land owned by the Parish Council at the bottom of the Memorial Hall car park and providing replacement car parking adjacent to this.   Once we have confirmed timescales from the developer, we will let residents know.  

The Parish Council still aspires to install a concrete skate park on the recreation ground between the new multi-use games area and the new play space.  Tendering had to be placed on hold due to the Coronavirus outbreak but will resume during 2020/21 and we will keep residents updated on progress.

Devolved Services

We received £3,552.30 from Buckinghamshire County Council to undertake grass verge cutting within the 30mph limit (including some areas of grass previously maintained by Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust), siding out of footpaths and certain right-of-way maintenance.  £3,322.72 was expended during the financial year.  Allowing for a prior year adjustment, the cost centre closed with £399.46 to carry forward to 2020-21.  Under our Devolved Service obligations, we also issued 10 event advertising permits, removed unauthorised advertising, issued 3 hedge cutting notices and resolved 4 complaints.

Buckinghamshire Council have extended the contract for a further 24 months.  The council re-tendered for aspects that had come up for renewal and contractors are now in place until the close of the 2021-22 season.

Ongoing Projects by Other Bodies/Tiers of Government

•	Hertfordshire County Council has ruled out the possibility of a direct cycle route along Northfield Road for safety reasons but continues to investigate more indirect routes which may be of particular benefit to leisure/family cyclists.
•	Buckinghamshire Council continues to work with developers (Taylor Wimpey, Croudace and Bellway) to fulfil their highway obligations.
•	Buckinghamshire Council continues to work with both Pitstone and Ivinghoe Parishes re the Safety Scheme proposals.
•	The new unitary Buckinghamshire Council came into effect at the start of April, replacing the old Bucks County Council and the 5 district councils.

Parish Council Election

Along with the elections for Buckinghamshire Council, our elections were postponed by central government following the outbreak of Coronavirus and will now take place in May 2021.  All members of the council will continue in their existing seat of office for the further 12 months.  Next May, we gain an additional seat, to reflect the expanding community.  If you are interested in joining the parish council, please contact the parish clerk.