Notice of Vacancy for
Ampthill Town Council
Notice is hereby given that vacancy has
risen on Ampthill Town Council.
The Vacancy will be filled by co-option.
Please contact the Town Clerk on 404355 to find out how you can be considered.
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Gary Summerfield
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Council Services
(Town, District & County Council
Contacts)
Your Town Councillors
Mayor
Gary Summerfield,
20 Arthur Street, Ampthill. Tel:
753723
Vice-Chair
Richard "Hector" Chappell, 19 Morris Gardens,
Ampthill. Tel: 751066
Parks Chair
Richard "Hector" Chappell,
19 Morris Gardens, Ampthill. Tel: 751066
Planning Chair
Richard Holden, 12 Preston Close, Ampthill. Tel: 403141
Members
Sally Bacon, 1 Glebe Road, Ampthill. Tel: 754977
Paul Duckett, 20 Woburn Street, Ampthill. Tel: 405016
Peter Eversley, 5 The Crescent, Ampthill. Tel: 752319
Penny Foster, 30 The Coppins, Ampthill. Tel: 754747
Mark Smith, 6 Sidney Road, Ampthill. Tel: 402560
Roy Tebbutt, 25 Holland Road, Ampthill. Tel: 755730
Margaret Wilson, 15 Chandos Road, Ampthill. Tel: 750296
Margaret Wright, 2a Brinsmade Rd, Ampthill. Tel: 402060
Contact Your County & District Councillors for
Ampthill with your Issues
Ampthill Town Council is
located at 66 Dunstable Street, Ampthill, Bedfordshire MK45 2JS
(telephone: 01525 404355 & fax: 01525 406957)
Website: www.ampthilltowncouncil.org.uk
E-mail: council@ampthilltowncouncil.org.uk
Did you know
you can now address Ampthill Town Council at their meetings?
Did you know that any one can now address the Town
Council at the beginning of all council & committee meetings?
You have the opportunity to speak on any subject for a
maximum of 3 minutes. If the subject is not on the agenda for that meeting, it
cannot for legal reasons be discussed by councillors then, but it can be added
to future agenda, so it can be debated fully.
Anyone wishing to address the Council must advise the
Town Clerk, before 10.00am on the day of the meeting and confirm the subject on
which they wish to speak, so they can be booked in. There are limited spaces
available, so if requests to speak are over subscribed, a booking can be made
for a future meeting, if desired. Contact Ampthill Town Council's Clerk, Dawn
Sutherns at
d.sutherns@ampthilltowncouncil.org.uk
to book your spot.
DATES
OF MEETINGS - 2008/2009
All meetings
commence at 7.30pm
All meetings
are open to the public and press
FULL COUNCIL
Town
Mayor: Councillor Gary Summerfield
Vice-Chair: Councillor Hector
Chappell
18th June 2008,
16th July 2008, 17th September 2008, 15th October 2008, 19th November 2008, 17th December 2008,
21st January 2009, 18th February 2009, 18th March 2009, 15th April 2009, 20th
May 2009 (Annual Meeting)
Town Meeting: 8th April 2009
FINANCE POLICY & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
Town
Mayor: Councillor Gary Summerfield
Vice-Chair: Councillor Hector
Chappell
2nd July 2008, 3rd September 2008,
5th November 2008, 7th January 2009, 4th March 2009, 6th May 2009
PARKS, BURIAL GROUND & OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE
Chair: Councillor Hector
Chappell
Vice-Chair: Councillor Margaret
Wilson
1st October 2008, 3rd December
2008, 4th February 2009, 1st April 2009
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Chair: Councillor Richard Holden
Vice-Chair: Councillor Sally
Bacon
Meetings as required, usually on a
Wednesday
Ampthill Town Council’s
Responsibilities & Achievements
Responsibilities of the Town Council
Ampthill Town Council is responsible (alphabetically) for:
Allotments
- Everitt's Field (51 Plots) & Grange Farm (29 Plots)
Ampthill Hall – (leased to The Cottage Bakery)
Ampthill Town Cemetery
- Approximately 2 Acres, off Gas House Lane (Garden of Remembrance,
Traditional and Lawn Burials)
Ampthill Park
- Approximately 160 acres of parkland and woodland, including a Children's
Play Area, Toilets, Tennis Courts, Ampthill Town Cricket Club, Ampthill Town
Football Club and Ampthill Angling Club. A Senior Park Keeper and three
assistants care for the Park. The Park is managed in partnership with the
Greensand Trust.
Alameda &
Sweetbriar (including War
Memorial)
Bus Shelters
- Bedford Street (2), Dunstable Street and Flitwick Road
Car Parks
- Town Centre Car Park (part owned by the Town Council, but fully maintained
by Waitrose) and the Sands Car Park, Woburn Street
Christmas
Lights and Christmas tree on the Market Square
– The Friends of Ampthill’s Christmas Lights oversee and fund raise for
putting up the town lights and the Town Council provide the Christmas tree.
Cooper's Hill
- Approximately 30 acres of lowland heath land of national importance. The
site has been designated a site of Special Scientific Interest by English
Nature and was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1980 by Bedfordshire
County Council. Owned by Ampthill Town Council the heath land is managed by
a group including local volunteers and representatives from Town and Country
Councils, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust, Bedfordshire
Natural History Society and English Nature.
Flower Baskets
- Provision of hanging baskets in the town centre for spring/summer
Grass Cutting
and 101 Roundabout
Kings Arms Path
Gardens – Maintained by The
Friends of Kings Arms Path Garden
Market
(Charter) – a general market
held in the town centre car park every Thursday
Market
(Farmers) – held on the last
Saturday of each month in Aragon Housing Association car park
Market Square
- Including maintenance of the
Town Pump and the Town Clock
Public Toilets
– in the Town Centre Car Park, off Church Street,
Public Hall
- The Nottingham Rooms, Woburn Street.
Road Verges
- The Council carries out a programme of planting Spring flowering bulbs in
grass verges on the 4 main access roads to the town
Street Lighting
- The maintenance of Street Lights bearing the initials 'A' or 'BA' are the
responsibility of the Town Council
Verne Drive
- The public open space is the
responsibility of the town council
Recent Achievements
Achievements for the Town Council over the past few years have included:
Ampthill Park
– securing nearly £100,000 from the Landfill Tax Grants to upgrade
facilities in the Park. Perhaps noticeable aspect has been the complete
replacement of the fencing around the park. In addition the town council has
entered into a partnership with the Greensand Trust to manage the park. Also
the Town Council continues to upgrade equipment in the play area and the
recent installation of the ‘Ampthill Play Castle’ has proved a great
attraction.
Ampthill Town Plan
– Ampthill Town Council initiated the idea of a Town Plan for the Town that
residents embraced with an impressive 37% of households taking part in the
Town Plan questionnaire. The resulting action plan has now been published,
reflecting those wishes and this provides a plan for the town over the next
10+ years. Some things have already been achieved, such as the creation of
Ampthill Good Neighbours Scheme (that provides a link between those
residents needing help and those who are willing to offer help) and the
opening of a suitably sized new supermarket (Waitrose) in the town. However,
there is still much to do!
Ampthill Town Cemetery
– with capacity at St. Andrew’s cemetery exhausted the Town Council provided
this new facility that has only really come into operation in the last few
years.
Street Lighting
- The Council has responsibility for 169 of the lights in the town that are
mainly situated in the older residential areas of the town. The Town Council
has been carrying out a programme of up grading them, with ones with light
sensors that make them more energy efficient.
Ampthill Christmas Lights
– the Town Council assumed responsibility for the annual provision of the
Christmas Lights from the Chamber of Trade, as other wise they would have
been lost by the town.
Quality Status
– the Town Council is working towards achieving quality status. The Quality
Scheme denotes Councils that are properly managed, representative of and
engage with their community, that are committed to working in partnership
with other authorities and service agencies, that deliver local services,
work closely with voluntary groups, provide leadership to the community and
articulate the needs of the community. If successful, we will join just over
200 Councils nationwide who have received this recognition. Its impact could
be felt in the way that Central and other tiers of Local Government work
with us and the level of funding we will be able to attract in the future.
Markets
- the Town Council continue to support and promote its historic weekly
Charter Market and the monthly Farmers Market.
Flower Baskets
– the Town Council continue to provide flower baskets in the town centre
that act to enhance the appearance of the town during the spring and summer.
Bus
Shelters
– the Town Council has provided seating recently in the Town’s bus shelters.
Support of
Voluntary Groups, Clubs and Societies
– the town council recognises the importance of the part these groups play
in the life of the town and continues to support the town’s groups with
small grants.
Working in
partnership with the Police –
the ‘Alcohol Consumption in Public Places Order’ is in place in the town
centre and further a field, banning the consumption of alcohol on the
streets. Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have also been implemented when
needed.
TeenScene/Shocked Youth Club
– runs on a Thursday at the Nottingham Rooms from 5.30 to 7.30pm and
resulted from listening to what children at Alameda wanted!
Allotments
– many residents continue to enjoy these areas in the town as they continue
to enjoy their organic produce!
Improving Communication
- through Around the Pump, the Town
Council website and notice boards, with new ones to be positioned along
Flitwick Road (by Holland Road), Station Road (by the Firs), Queens Road (by
Russell School) and in the Town Centre Car Park (on the wall of the new
public conveniences).
'AROUND THE PUMP'
NEWSLETTER
'Around the Pump' is the quarterly
newsletter of Ampthill
Town Council, distributed to every household in the town. (Designed by
Corporate Creations Ltd). If you would like to submit an article, the next
deadline will be noon on Monday 4th November, for the Sunday 8th December
Edition. E-mail articles to council@ampthilltowncouncil.org.uk
The online version of the
newsletter can now be downloaded from the Ampthill
Town Council's Website.
If you want to make a positive
contribution to your local community & you don't know how, why not visit the
Citizens Connection Website, as this can give you step by step guides on
everything from writing to politicians & newspapers to setting up a
neighbourhood watch scheme. Why not become involved in your local
community!
Also consult the Action
for Market Towns Website
Ampthill Town Plan - Find out
more about this document, by clicking here, as it will
set out a vision for the town's future as it needs your input.
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/ MORE
PHOTO'S OF PRESENT DAY AMPTHILL
/ HISTORICAL PHOTO'S OF AMPTHILL / MORE
HISTORICAL PHOTO'S OF AMPTHILL / AMPTHILL
2000 VIDEO PROJECT
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© Mark
Smith 2000
(see My Online
C.V.)