Baildon Parish Council

The Parish Council approved an Environmental Warden for Baildon at its meeting in August. This is an exciting venture for Baildon and has received excellent publicity from the local press.

You can read two articles on the Telegraph and Argus web site by following these links  Warden to patrol village and Warden will keep an eye out.

Our new warden started work on the first day of December and had some cold and icy weather to contend with on his first week. The T and A have done another article now that Keith has started work. You can read it here.

The closing date for applications has now passed, a short-list was drawn up and the prospective candidates interviewed on the 16th October 2008. The decision was made and the chosen candidate is scheduled to start work on 1st December 2008.    

Our Warden will be the Eyes and Ears of Baildon. The Warden will make good relationships with local people, businesses and agencies such as the police and Bradford Council to deal with and resolve matters such as 

litter

dog fouling

monitoring the cleaning and maintenance of open spaces

street furniture

street lighting

fly tipping

abandonned vehicles 

The Warden will start their role by carrying out a Quality of Life Survey. This will involve our Warden speaking to residents, Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators, business owners, schools and community groups to gather information about problems and issues in Baildon.

Our Warden will not serve penalty notices but will pass information onto the agencies that do.

The Warden will be employed for the equivalent of 2.5 days a week.

Costs

Salary £7911 including National Insurance Contributions

Payroll charges of  £120

Equipment £1,000

£500 Training

If you have any queries about the Warden please contact the Parish Clerk Ruth Batterley at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 01943 605746.

Growing numbers of people in all types of communities are coming together to develop a plan for their community. Two examples of this in Baildon were the Design Statement where people expressed their views about future development in the village; and the Urban Village Plan which allocated a pot of money from Bradford Council on some immediate needs. Now that Baildon has a Parish Council, it is time for the people of Baildon to think long term about how they see the village in 10, 15, 25 years time, and have the Parish Council work on that vision. These long term views are worked out with the community and published in a Parish Plan.

Parish plans do not have to have a standard format or have a fixed list of subject areas. Through meetings, consultations, questionnaires, and community planning sessions, the ideas of the population are identified so that the community can set out its vision, decide which issues it would like to tackle, agree priorities for action, and present the information in a way that is accessible to all. An important part of this process is an audit of existing local plans, and of local skills and resources. Actions arising from the planning process can be set out in the plan within the short and long term goals of the council. Issues covered in parish plans include planning, transport and travel, access to medical services, meeting halls/places, recreation and open spaces, footpaths, litter, support for local businesses etc.

The Parish Council is in the early stage of drawing up a specification of what the planning process could be and who it should reach. We are taking guidance from a range of agencies that will help us to do this. The finished Plan will not only set the agenda for the Parish Council in the years to come, it will also provide it with a framework and “business plan” to attract funding and to discuss service provision and management.

The Parish Council will be starting its grants scheme from the 1st of April this year. The aim of the scheme is to provide grants to local groups that can show that the use of any money awarded will benefit Baildon and its residents.

This is a very exciting scheme for Baildon and the Parish Council.

Grants can be awarded from £50 to £1,000. The fund for the scheme for 2008-2009 is £5,000.

Any group interested in applying for a grant will need to complete an application form but don't let this put you off as help to complete the form is available.

If you would like further information, then please contact Ruth Batterley the Parish Clerk on 01943 605746. Or you can contact Ruth via the contact form on this website. Go to Contact and follow the link there.