Annual Parish Meeting – 23rd March 1955
The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held in the Schoolroom
on Wednesday, March 23rd, 1955
Present:
J. G. Hambledon (Chairman P.C.),
Cllrs. W. V. Wright, H. Bennett, C. Unsworth, A. Harding,
and three members of the public — Mr. W. Webster, Mr. A. Woodhouse, Mr. J. Turner —
and the Clerk, Mr. D. G. Wilson.
Agenda:
- Presentation of Charity A/Cs for approval.
- Statement of the position of the General and Lighting A/Cs & confirmation of precepts.
- Review of the Council’s activities over the last 12 months.
The meeting opened with the Clerk making known apologies received from Cllr. C. E. K. Stephenson, who was unable to attend.
The minutes of the last Parish Meeting were read and approved.
The Charity Accounts were made known to the meeting, and the distribution of same as set out in the Parish Council Minute Book was approved by unanimous consent. The Wright Charity A/Cs were also made known and approved.
The figures relating to the General and Lighting Accounts were given by the Clerk to advise the meeting of expenditure and receipts during the year, as shown in the Council’s ledger.
The Clerk then made known the proposals as to the new lighting agreement to be negotiated with the Electricity Board, whereby it is the Council’s intention to take over the responsibility of the lamp standards, and the Authority is to continue to maintain the time switches and bulbs at an increased cost of £0–10–0 per lamp per annum.
A review of the Council’s activities over the last twelve months was read by the Clerk from information obtained from the minutes of the Council’s Minute Book.
The Chairman then asked if there were any matters which those attending the meeting wished to bring forward.
Mr. Webster then said that he wished to congratulate the Council on the way Sunny Bank had been gritted and gravelled during the year, adding that he would like the Council to take some action to drain and surface this road permanently.
After discussion it was apparent that this road has never been officially acknowledged as Parish property, and was the responsibility of the owners of the property fronting onto the road, and therefore the Council could take no action.
Mr. Webster then asked the Council to approach the N.W. Bus Co. Ltd. to ask that the 3 buses arriving at 8.30 in the morning be rearranged so that one would arrive at 8.10 a.m. or thereabouts, to enable work people to reach Bakewell by 8.30 a.m., and also enable passengers to make connection with buses leaving Bakewell for Chesterfield and Sheffield at 8.30 a.m.
Mr. Webster also asked the Council to request the said Company to run the summer service buses on Sundays during the winter, as there are no bus services through the village on Sundays under the present arrangements.
Those matters were endorsed by resolution of the other members of the meeting, and the Chairman agreed that the Council would take action in these matters relating to the bus services.
Precepts:
The Council’s proposed precept for £40–0–0 as to the Lighting A/C and £50–0–0 as to the General A/C were put before the meeting and approved by unanimous consent.
The meeting then closed at 9.30 p.m.
Signed:
W. V. Wright, Chairman
26.3.56
In the Wider World — 1955
The year 1955 was one of quiet transformation in Britain – a nation moving from post-war austerity towards prosperity and modern convenience. Sir Winston Churchill, now aged 80, resigned as Prime Minister in April, handing over to Anthony Eden. The country still bore traces of rationing’s end (which had only finished a year earlier), yet consumer optimism was rising: televisions, washing machines, and family cars were becoming symbols of progress in rural as well as urban life.
Electricity and transport featured prominently in both national and local affairs. The national Electricity Boards, created after the 1948 nationalisation of power, were still negotiating with local authorities like Great Longstone over street lighting and supply arrangements – part of a wider effort to standardise public utilities across Britain. Meanwhile, the expansion of the North Western Road Car Company bus services reflected growing dependence on public transport before car ownership became widespread.
In rural Derbyshire, the mid-1950s saw steady change. The Peak District National Park, established only four years earlier in 1951, was beginning to influence local planning and infrastructure. Agricultural life remained central, but mechanisation and the migration of younger workers to nearby towns such as Bakewell, Chesterfield and Sheffield were reshaping village communities.
At home, the village’s concerns – the maintenance of Sunny Bank, the reliability of bus connections, and the cost of electric street lighting – reflected the practical realities of a small rural parish adapting to modern Britain: managing modest budgets while embracing the conveniences of the new electrical age.
