Broadband installation concerns
Over the last couple of months new broadband cables have been installed throughout the village and concerns have been raised by the Parish Council about the quality of workmanship by the contractors making good the trenches that were dug, particularly on the path outside our beautiful St Helen’s church. We raised this with the Highways Authority and are awaiting the results of a survey by the North Yorkshire Council Streetworks Inspector, which will take place once the contractors have registered the site as being “permanent”. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and will feedback to the parish in due course.
Light Valley Solar
The Light Valley Solar proposal, part of which is planned for our doorstep, is immediately beyond the parish’s northern boundary. The scheme will be spread over 4 sites and Site 1 (the largest) is next to Skipwith; and though its location falls entirely in the parish of Escrick, it is likely to have a significant impact on Skipwith particularly during its construction. Please let the parish council know what you think about this to help shape our response. As time passes and the proposals take shape it is vital that we know how YOU feel about this project so we can represent our constituents’ views on the matter. Please do get in touch.
Recreational Area
The parish council continues to explore the options for this area behind the bus shelter though progress is very much slower that we would wish, largely due to difficulty with finding potential contractors to help us put together costed options for further consideration by the parish residents. We have now seen some ideas for one possible option: how the site (or part of it) might be organised as a play area. We are also exploring funding options by way of grants to help make any developments possible. One thing we are clear about, however, is the need to level the area before any alternative use can be made of it. We are working towards having this done as soon as we can.
Allotment gardens
With Spring just around the corner (hopefully!) gardeners’ attention is turning to the renewed opportunities to grow your own vegetables, fruits and flowers. We have a vacant garden on the Skipwith Allotment Gardens’ site next to Common Road. Anyone interested in having an allotment who lives in the parish or nearby is invited to contact the parish clerk for more information.
Councillor vacancy
The parish council is made up of local people, making local decisions about our village and representing its views. In a nutshell, our job is to undertake projects and schemes that benefit the parish; give views, on behalf of the community on planning applications and other proposals; to alert relevant authorities of problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken; to help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities. We aim to work to improve our village environment and amenities, provide a listening ear to residents in order to understand the needs of the village, consult with residents to ensure the parish council is able to deliver on agreed, planned projects taking into account the input of residents; and to provide effective, efficient, transparent and accountable local government at this, the most local level, for Skipwith while achieving the best value we can.
With forthcoming retirements, we urgently need to recruit further councillors to assist with this important work. It is not onerous: there are 6 meetings a year lasting a couple of hours, held on the first Thursday each alternate month at 19:00 hours. Unless we can find replacement councillors, there is a risk we will not be quorate and the affairs of the council will grind to a halt. If you reside in Skipwith, please consider putting your name forward for co-option to the council. Chat to one of the current councillors or email the parish clerk.