Dear Badby Parishioners,
I am pleased and privileged to have been elected as the new Chair of Badby Parish Council. I offer my thanks to Steve Chandler for all his efforts as Chairman over the last few years when he has worked tirelessly for the benefit of our village community. We will all be enjoying the new tree avenue and picnic area at the playing field this summer – just part of Steve’s legacy as Chairman. I am pleased that Steve has agreed to remain on the Parish Council and I appreciate his support.
On 2 June this year I will have lived in Badby for exactly 30 years. Even though I am a Weardale farmer’s lad from County Durham, which still has a place in my heart, Badby is home. It is certainly “home” to my daughter, who has grown up here, enjoyed her primary education at Badby School and still loves the village and woods. My wife and I have seen many changes in the village since we unpacked those teas chests in 1994 (some of them for the better, some less so) but, really, what a fabulous place this is!
One of my first duties this week was to chair the recruitment panel appointing our new Parish Council clerk. We were very fortunate to be able to appoint an extremely strong candidate in Paul Hymers, an experienced local government finance officer. I am confident that Paul has all the skills, experience and “can do” attitude to be a very worthy successor to Frances Williams, whose excellence and professionalism in the role will have been recognised and appreciated by the whole village during her term of office. We are very sad to see Frances go, but the transition promises to be smooth.
There was a real spirit of optimism from the floor at the recent Annual Parish meeting. A group of parishioners went away with some ideas for making Badby, which already benefits hugely from so many active clubs and societies, even better than it is. I look forward to liaising with them to assist in any way.
The parish council tries to ensure we remain a village within our agreed confines and retain Badby’s green, rural character. Our influence over planning decisions is limited (West Northants Council consults us but can, and often does, over-rule our feedback). Nevertheless, looking after our village infrastructure and environment, safeguarding it for future generations, will continue to be a strong focus. I hope that another priority while I am chair will be to welcome families new to the village (we seem to have quite a few) and ensure they feel part of our community. One aspect of that will be to look at facilities and opportunities for the children of the village – it is great to hear lots of children’s voices around and about now that the weather is getting warmer.
We are having a “cabinet re-shuffle” on the parish council, with some current roles and responsibilities changing hands. We also currently have a vacancy for a parish councillor. How about it? Whatever your skills are, I’m sure we can use them.
I am happy to be contacted by any villager who wants to make suggestions, voice concerns, give us feedback or offer support.
Michael Thompson
chairman@badby-pc.gov.uk 07738 274057