Document Date
16/04/2026
Created by
Parish Clerk
Category
Meetings
Wollaston Parish Council
Wollaston Parish Council
Document Date
16/04/2026
Created by
Parish Clerk
Category
Meetings
WOLLASTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PARISH HELD ON
THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2026, 7.00pm
HELD AT THE OASIS BUILDING, WOLLASTON
PRESENT: Councillors Alvis, Barber, Farman, Gay, Goldsmith, Jones, Mitchell, Savage and Threadgold. Clerk – Mrs S Grant.
IN ATTENDANCE: No attendance from Village organisations.
APOLOGIES: Apologies received from Cllr Atkinson, Cllr Carter, Cllr Hodson and Cllr Seager.
MINUTES: RESOLVED that the minutes of the Annual Assembly of the Parish held on Thursday 17th April 2025 were read and signed as correct.
MATTERS ARISING: There were no matters arising from the 2025 Annual Assembly.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
The new Parish Council was elected to take office from May 2025. Two Councillors from last term did not stand again for election and on behalf of the Community I would like to extend thanks for their service to Mrs Milroy and Mr Alms. I would also like to thank Mrs Milroy for continuing to manage the village magazine, Wollaston Together. This is much appreciated. Finally, it was pleasing to see 13 members from the Community offer their time and services and stand for election to the Parish Council. All nominated were elected.
The first year of this Parish Council term has been an exceptionally busy one. The original concept of a stand-alone Village Hall and Pre School have had to be withdrawn as the HSE redrawing of their Safety Zone surrounding the Scott Bader chemical plant means that planning permission for a children’s unit would not be obtained. The Parish Council then decided to revert to its original ambition which was to redevelop the existing Village Hall and to incorporate within the Oasis structure an independent Pre School. Unfortunately, this proposal was not met with any interest by the Section 106 team and the Early Learning Team at North Northants Council as they are reporting a falling birth rate in the County meaning that the number of pre-school children are adequately catered for within the existing pre-school facilities in the village. They did however suggest that an baby and Early Learning facility would be something that they would look in favour of and so the Village Hall and Pre School steering group have taken the suggestion on board and following a redrawing of the plans for the Early Learning Centre rather than a Pre School has been approved by the Section 106 Team as an acceptable use of the funds allocated for Early Learning in the village. The development of the project will continue into 2026 and possibly into 2027 before completion.
The theme of planning doesn’t seem to be far away from us these days and following a meeting with the Residential Housing Team at North Northants Council, the Parish was informed that the next 20-year housing supply will now be focused on the rural / village communities rather than the towns. We await to hear our fate, but in the meantime a team of Councillors has been established to revisit the Neighbourhood Plan and reach out to local landowners to assess their appetite for disposal of their land for property development. The team will also review the Initial Neighbourhood plan and consider any deletions or additions or other changes that may be required to ensure that the Plan will fit the needs of the Community and provide some form of protection to the rural nature of Wollaston.
Finally, I will close this report with the hope that the Community and the Parish Council have done all in their power to reject the proposed application for a major plastics recycling centre behind and beside the mortuary on Doddington Road. I would like to thank all Councillors and the Clerk for mounting a spirited defence against this monstrosity and an absolute blight on our beautiful countryside. I would also like to thank all the members of the Community and our neighbouring villages who objected to this commercial development in the middle of the countryside and await the decision of the Waste and Minerals Planning Officer at North Northants Council.
I would also like to thank the Clerk, for her steadfast efforts in ensuring that the standards demanded for local Government institutions are properly managed and regularly updated, and to congratulate her on attaining the CiLCA Qualification in Local Government Administration. This took a lot of time and effort so well-done Suzanne!
Finally, I would like to offer my thanks to all Councillors, past and present, for all their efforts in promoting strong values, to show a lead to the Community, and take Wollaston forward.
Lindsay Alvis
Chair
Wollaston Parish Council
REPORTS FROM VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS:
None received.
There being no further business the meeting terminated at 7.05pm.
Chair ………………………………………….
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