GENERAL
This past year has been sad, difficult and often frustrating. John Pringle, our Parish Clerk for the past 12 years , who had been seriously ill for many months, died in September 2004. More recently, Arthur Hirst, our Village Warden, died suddenly in January 2005. The village owes a lot to both these men, who in their different ways contributed so much to the affairs of the Parish.
In May 2004, Mike Bradshaw of Scatterdells Lane, was co-opted to serve on the Parish Council, filling the vacancy left following the death of John Nichols. The council decided to inaugurate a memorial prize in memory of John Nichols, which would combine his particular interests in local history and young people in the village. The prize will be awarded annually for the best essay written on a local history topic by a pupil of St. Paul’s School.
The long-awaited Parish Map, commissioned by the council to mark the millennium, was published on Village Day held in July. A large copy was placed on permanent display in the Village Hall and smaller prints offered for sale. The council plan to display a copy of the map on an outside board close to The Common.
Constable Bob Healy and Police Community Support Officer Kim Ashworth have regularly attended Parish Council meetings to report on incidents of crime and vandalism in the village, keep the council informed of their work and receive feedback from members.
The council supported a proposal made to the Primary Health Care Trust by Chipperfield Care to provide ancillary medical care in the village but unfortunately the proposal was denied by the Trust for health and safety reasons.
The unsafe inspection gantry to the village clock was removed and work in the bell tower completed to reduce the sound of the chimes within the premises below the clock.
Following John Pringle’s death, members of the council made arrangements for all council business to continue until a new clerk could be appointed. As John worked from home in Tring, all council papers and files had to be collected and brought to Chipperfield. Members agreed to take the opportunity to sort all the material to make it ready for the new clerk. Once this was done, all the material was temporarily stored at Kings Langley Parish Council offices and we are most grateful to them for allowing us to do this.
Since the summer 2004 all members of the Parish Council have accepted responsibility for some aspect of the Parish Council’s work.
Cllr. David Nobbs undertook to deal with all planning matters and Cllr. Mark Jarrad agreed to act as treasurer, dealing with all financial affairs. Mark took the opportunity to review the council’s financial records and procedures and has prepared Principles of Financial Management for the Parish Council which members have approved and will come into effect on 1 April 2005.
All members of the council assisted with scrutinising reports, consultation documents, and correspondence and without their help it would have been impossible for the council’s work to continue. I am most grateful for all the effort and hard work which members have undertaken during the past year. We have certainly worked well as a team.
A new Parish Clerk, Mrs Joanne Deacon, who lives in Sarratt, was appointed in December and took up her duties on 1 January 2005.
Cllr. Liz Holliday

FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
The budget for expenditure on the village (the Precept), raised from your Council Tax for 2005-06 will be £23,500. This is £27.71 per annum for a Band D property and is an increase of 8p on last year’s figure. The Parish Council have also asked Dacorum Borough Council for an additional £17,890 to be spent on the village. This figure includes, for the first time, £8,240 for the Village Warden budget which will pay for salary, the Parish Council van and all other expenses incurred by the Warden. This sum has previously been raised by Dacorum and awarded as a separate grant to the Parish Council.
Over the past year the Parish Council has made grant aid to the Youth Club, the Cricket Club, the Junior Football Club, the Village Hall, the Jasmine Safety Track Trust and towards the upkeep of the churchyard.
In view of the additional work undertaken by members, it was decided not to enter the Village of the Year competition in 2004.
Cllr. David Nobbs has been liaising with the Rural Housing Enabler, reviewing possible sites within the village for affordable housing.
Thanks to Russ Evans, the village web master, the Chipperfield Website continues to provide an efficient and regularly updated source of information about the village for both residents and others who want to find out about Chipperfield and its activities.