English Bicknor Parish Council. Minutes of the bi-monthly meeting held on 7th October 2013 at English Bicknor Village Hall.

Transcription

1 English Bicknor Parish Council Minutes of the bi-monthly meeting held on 7th October 2013 at English Bicknor Village Hall. Those present were as follows: Councillor Mrs P. Drinkall - Chairman Councillor Mr. J. Carrick Councillor Mr S. Dartnell Councillor Mr. C. Lathan Councillor Mrs. D. Owen Councillor Mr D. Gunter Councillor Mrs G. Warden-Heggie Also present were County Councillor Mr C. Guyton and District Councillor Mrs M. Smart 418. Apologies and welcome Apologies were received from PCSO N. Jones 419. Public Forum There were no members of the public present Minutes of the last bi-monthly meeting The minutes of the meeting held on 5th August 2013 were signed as correct by the Chairman after being proposed by Cllr Mrs Owen, seconded by Cllr Mrs Warden-Heggie and agreed by all present. Apologies and a report sent via by District Cllr Mrs M. Smart prior to the August meeting had not been received by the clerk Report of the County Councillor County Councillor Mr C. Guyton was updated on the weedspraying which had taken place in English Bicknor. Weeds along the pavements had been scraped, not sprayed, although in front of Cowmeadow Farm this had been done very well, leaving sufficient room on the pavement to allow access by a motorised wheelchair. Cllr Gunter confirmed that pesticides cannot be used to spray under a hedge, or on the road where the pesticides could get into the drains. Cllr Mrs Drinkall asked if the weeds under or near the base of the hedge outside Cowmeadow Farm could be clipped or strimmed, but it would be ideal if the weeds along the pavements throughout English Bicknor could be sprayed in the Spring. County Cllr Mr Guyton confirmed that Highways will use an outside contractor to carry out weed spraying. Mr Guyton reported that the County Council is looking into the possibility of becoming a Unitary Authority, but this will not be for a number of years. An extra 1million has been found in the budget to be spent on roads county wide. At this point Cllr Mrs Drinkall explained that a meeting had been held in August with Highways at the instigation of Mr Brian Watkins of County Highways. Mr Watkins had suggested imposing a 30mph speed limit along Hillersland, and for the moment the proposal of a gateway at Symonds Yat Rock had been put on hold. Cllr Dartnell asked Cllr Guyton if he could talk to

2 Highways in support of this speed limit along this road, which has no pavement and is walked along regularly, often by large groups of people. Cllr Gunter noted that the signs on the Herefordshire side of Symonds Yat Rock hill are now positioned much better. The signs at Christchurch however are placed after vehicles have turned towards Symonds Yat Rock. This may be because signs have to be no more than a certain distance from the relevant road hazard, junction etc. In summary, Cllr Mrs Drinkall confirmed that better signage and the work Cllr Lathan has done in contacting SATNAV companies has resulted in fewer instances of vehicles being stuck on Symonds Yat Rock pitch, though they are still occuring. Recently a vehicle driver has been fined 100 and three points put on his licence for ignoring road warning signs Report of the District Councillor District Councillor Mrs M. Smart commented in relation to the idea of a Unitary Authority for Gloucestershire, that the County is so diverse, District Councillors are not sure how it would work. District Cllr Smart reported briefly on items from her August report, which had not been received by the clerk. Clare Childs, one of the Council's assistant solicitors, has taken on the role of Monitoring Officer and Returning Officer. Work was proceeding on a balanced budget for 2014/15, although more savings will have to be looked for in light of the reduction of the Government Grant. A major concern had been the Policy introduced in September 2012 which meant that English residents registered with Welsh GP practices could only have secondary care in Welsh hospitals. This affected 6,000 patients in the Forest of Dean who receive GP services from branch surgeries of Welsh practices which are located in Gloucestershire. Pressure from local groups resulted in this issue being the subject of a Parliamentary Debate on 25th June. In her report to the meeting on 7th October Cllr Mrs Smart confirmed that patients living in Gloucestershire registered with Welsh GPs will now be able to access secondary care at hospitals in Hereford, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Bristol. The majority of the Precept comes from funding raised from Council Tax bills, the balance comes from a government grant to fund the Local Council Tax Support Scheme. In 2013/14 this scheme was 100% funded, but cuts are expected for 2014/15, possibly by as much as 23%. A letter has been sent warning all councils that the District Council is likely to pass on equivalent reductions to town and parish councils. The Budget announcements in June indicate that the District Council will have to find new savings of nearly 1million by In the future a larger proportion of the Precept will come from the Parish through Council Tax. Cllr Mrs Smart recommended that the Parish Council contact Mr Derek Broom at the District Council for clarification of what this will mean for our Precept Report of Police Representative PCSO N. Jones had sent a brief report via and it was agreed to add this to the agenda. Since the meeting in August there has been just one reported crime in English Bicknor, criminal damage to a vehicle. There has also been one reported incident of a lorry being stuck on Symonds Yat Rock pitch. In June the

3 burglary of garden machinery was reported to police. To date this crime has not been detected. The new Policy Non-emergency address by which members of the public can contact Gloucestershire Police Councillors were concerned that during the recent closure of Staunton Road, quarry lorries went via English Bicknor rather than the signed diversion route through Lydbrook. District Cllr Smart confirmed that lorry companies had been informed prior to the closure Matters arising from the minutes of the last bi-monthly meeting Power lines in overgrown hedge behind the bus shelter in Ross Road A letter thanking Mr Toomer was sent to him on 6th August Part Night Lighting Scheme Following the meeting on 5th August, Cllr Lathan informed the clerk that Part Night Lighting had not been carried out in Hillersland. Lesley Smith of Gloucestershire Highways' Street Lighting Team was contacted and on 17th September she confirmed that the necessary paperwork had been passed to the contractor, who will carry out the work within the next few weeks. 348 Blackthorns Farm The Ecological Survey was submitted to the District Council in August The Sustainability Team have no objection to this report, subject to three conditions being imposed. On 12th September the Planning Officer sent an to the applicant with regard to one of the conditions, which is a pre-commencement condition relating to bat and bird boxes. The Planning Officer advised that details should be submitted to the District Council before the planning application is determined. She asked that these details be forwarded within 14 days of the date of her . The application is still listed as pending a decision Parish Council Chairman plaque The plaque has now been updated satisfactorily. The total cost is 39.00, of which 6.50 is VAT which can be reclaimed. The clerk will ask Mr Verity if he has three metal strips to match those on the board which the Parish Council can purchase Weed spraying At a meeting held between representatives of Gloucestershire Highways and the Parish Council held on 13th August, Brian Watkins agreed to scrape the pavement opposite Cowmeadow Farm. It was suggested that County Councillor Colin Guyton should be approached to ask if his County Councillor fund could be used to finance weed spraying on the pavements in English Bicknor Rotten street light pole The rotten pole at the junction of Redhouse Lane has now been removed Blocked drains on Chapel Hill At the meeting held on 13th August, Mr Hawkins and Mr Watkins of Gloucestershire Highways confirmed that one drain had been missed when the regular maintenance had been carried out. They will ensure that this one drain is cleared Bicknor Street Highways will contact the owners of Rush cottage before filling in the gulley opposite their property. The clerk was asked to write to Mr Datta to inform him that the Parish Council regret that they have still received no reply from Mr Roberts relating to installing a kissing gate to give access to his property, and it is felt that it is very unlikely that a reply will be received Bus service in Hillersland The clerk wrote to the District Council

4 with regard to the bus service from Symonds Yat Rock and also wrote to Mr A. Barrett of Integrated Transport Dept at the County Council, as advised by Mr C. Elsmore. No reply has been received. Councillors agreed that the Parish Council should continue to press both Mr Barrett and Mr Elsmore for a bus service to be available on Fridays. The clerk will ask for the name of the newly appointed Transport Co-ordinator and also write to him/her. 387 Footpath near Old Stone Well Cllr Lathan will walk this path to find out whether it has been re-instated, though he has had reports from visitors that it is still in a mess Works to trees on playing field Cllr Dartnell confirmed that the works to the trees will now cost 700 and work will start in mid-october. He has informed the Village Hall Committee that the Parish Council are not able to contribute towards this cost. The lease states very clearly that responsibility for maintaining the field and the trees lies with the Village Hall Committee. The clerk will write to the Village Hall Committee to confirm that the Parish Council regret that funds are not available as they had not precepted for any donation towards these works. 412 Planning Matters Cllr Mrs Drinkall explained the background to the barn built at Sterts Farm which had not required planning permission because of its size. Mr A. Grenyer, when he was Enforcement Officer for the District Council, agreed that the barn which had been constructed is of a larger size which does need planning permission and had a planning application been submitted, the Parish Council would have asked for the barn to be screened. The Parish Council were told that the owner would submit a planning application, but to date no application has been forthcoming. After many e- mails over a long period of time with the current Enforcement Officer, Mr Bainton, the Group Manager, Mr Peter Williams, was contacted. His reply is that he is unwilling to pursue the matter further and in the absence of a planning application, he is unwilling to enforce the provision of planting to screen the barn. District Cllr Mrs Smart asked the clerk to forward the e- mails from Mr Williams to her and also to Mr T. Glastonbury, who is head of the Planning Committee Footpaths in the Parish A letter was forwarded to Mr Jones, with a copy to the PROW Officer, Mr P. Maunder, thanking Mr Jones for maintaining footpath REB19/1 through his field Wye Valley AONB Study Tour Cllr Mrs Drinkall attended the Tour in the Wye Valley on 27th September. Among the sites visited on the Tour was Redbrook Bridge, which is being updated with grant funding. There may be funding for works to Lydbrook Bridge at a later date, however no grants are available at the present. Cllr Mrs Drinkall gave a brief report on what had been a very interesting and informative day Standards and the Code of Conduct Unfortunately illness prevented Cllr Carrick from attending this evening Pot holes in Eastbach Road Mr Watkins and Mr Hawkins of County Highways acknowledged that the potholes in this road were filled using a new process which is quick and cheap. They are monitoring these repairs to ascertain how effective this method is Hedges in Redhouse Lane Letters were sent to the owners of the two properties to request that they please cut back their hedges, and one hedge has now been cut Horses ridden on footpaths Letters have not been sent to

5 individual horse riders, but an item was put in the Parish magazine advising that horses should not be riden on public footpaths View from Symonds Yat Rock Darren Edwards of the Forestry Commission has replied to confirm that he will organise for more of the trees to be cleared this winter to open up the view further. The Forestry Commission usually do this every couple of years and it was done last year. However, they can only clear the trees around the viewpoint itself; further down towards the river the trees would have grown considerably over the years and without clearing large areas of woodland, it would be impossible to create the same view as there would have been many years ago Field hedge opposite the Village Hall A letter has been forwarded to the owner of the hedge, but to date the hedge has not been cut back and it is now encroaching onto the pavement. The clerk was asked to write to the owner again confirming that the Parish Council is disappointed that this work has not been carried out and confirming that if the work is not completed in the near future, the Parish Council will ask County Highways to carry out the work, for which an invoice will be forwarded to the owner Symonds Yat Rock village sign Trees and vegetation still obscure the sign so that it is not visible from the Hillersland side of the road, although it can be seen when approaching from the Symonds Yat Rock direction. The clerk was asked to get in touch with Darren Edwards at the Forestry Commission Drinking water in English Bicknor Severn Trent replied that their records indicate that routine sampling confirms that they have maintained chlorine within their target range and are therefore unaware of any reason for a noticeable taste difference in the water. Severn Trent advised that if the taste is still noticeable, they can attend the properties affected to check the actual chlorine level at the customer taps. Telephone numbers were supplied should it be necesary to contact them further on this matter Planning Matters There were no planning matters further to those which had already been discussed Accounts for payment. 1) Clerk's wages and expenses ) The Post Office - PAYE on clerk's wages ) Payment to HMRC late posting of end of year returns 4) Engravus - Parish Council Chairman's Plaque ) AONB Tour expenses The above accounts were proposed by Cllr Carrick, seconded by Cllr Dartnell and agreed by all present. Councillors had previously discussed the payment to HMRC of 100 being because of the late filing of the annual returns. Cllr Mrs Warden-Heggie noted that there is money left in the budget for the planters and asked if she could spend this money on winter pansies. This was agreed Footpaths in the Parish

6 There was nothing further to report on footpaths in the Parish Lime Kilns Maintenance Cllr Dartnell passed around photographs showing the overgrown state of the Lime Kilns. He has erected notices saying 'Do not enter Lime Kilns. Dangerous Structure'. He told councillors that he is concerned that the Parish Council would be responsible if anyone is hurt. The Parish Council received a grant of 16,000 from the AONB in 2006 towards refurbishing the Lime Kilns and at that time a lot of work was carried out. However, since then nothing has been done and now there is a lot of undergrowth which needs cutting back and there is growth on top of the Lime Kilns. There are steps which take people to the top of the Lime Kilns, but there is a ten foot drop from here and councillors are concerned that people could slip or fall. It was agreed that the undergrowth and trees need clearing, but it was felt that ideally the steps should be removed. The hazards which Cllr Dartnell outlined were confirmed in the Lime Kilns Risk Assessment. The clerk was asked to explain the situation to Andrew Blake at the Wye Valley AONB and ask whether he has any closure notices, and also if they could help with clearing the undergrowth. The clerk will also ask the AONB Officer whether it would be appropriate for a guard or barrier to be placed on top of the Lime Kilns, and whether the steps could be removed. Cllrs Dartnell and Lathan offered to meet with Mr Blake to explain the Parish Council's concerns. Meanwhile, Cllr Mrs Warden-Heggie will ask a local handyman for a quote in clearing the worst of the small trees and undergrowth, and Cllr Carrick will look into any areas of possible funding or help with the works. Cllr Mrs Drinkall suggested that the prison/probation service may be another organisation we could approach with help in clearing the area Risk Assessment Review All Risk Assessments for the Parish had been reviewed by Cllr Dartnell on 13th August 2013, with also a new Risk Assessment completed for the telephone kiosk at Hillersland. They will be reviewed again in August Correspondence received since the last meeting 1. A letter has been received from the Village Hall Committee asking for an increase in the mowing grant they receive from the Parish Council. Cllr Dartnell confirmed that no contribution towards mowing costs has been asked for from the Football Club, although they are the organisation which uses the playing fields on a regular basis. The clerk will write to the Village Hall Committee saying that unfortunately the Parish Council cannot contribute any further funds towards mowing, and in the future the current grant may have to be reduced as the Parish Council have been advised to expect a possible reduction in the Precept from the District Council. 2. A letter has been received from the Governing Body of English Bicknor Primary School requesting a meeting of the Glebe Committee. This meeting was attended by Cllr Gunter and Cllr Mrs Drinkall, and at the meeting Cllr Gunter was appointed Chairman of the Glebe Committee. The meeting had been called as essential tree maintenance is required around the school and on the Glebe land. The total cost of the works will be 2,000, of which the school proposes to pay 1,000 towards the cost of works to be done on trees around the school, with the school, church, Village Hall Committee and Parish

7 Council each contributing 250 towards the cost of the works to be carried out on two Beech trees on the car park alongside Balls Hill. However, it was felt that a lease had been granted to Gloucestershire County Council for the car park area, and this lease included provision for the County Council to be responsible for maintenance of the land. This is to be looked into by the committee. It was suggested that more than one quote for the works should be sought. 3. A letter has been received from Mr Nigel Gibbons informing of a meeting which is to be held at the District Council offices on 22nd October relating to the Forward Plan. Cllr Mrs Drinkall will attend on behalf of the District Council. 4. The Monitoring Officer has invited Parish Councils to attend a Community Right to Bid training session to be held at the Council Offices on Wednesday 6th November at 5.30pm. 5. An has been received from Mr Derek Broom of the District Council advising that the way the Precept is financed will change due to a decrease in the Government grant to the District Council. The implication is that any shortfall will be made up by an increase in the Council Tax. The clerk was asked to contact Mr Broom for clarification Any other matters affecting the Parish Council 1. Cllr Mrs Drinkall outlined information which has been received from GAPTC which confirms that agreement has been reached for the clerk's wages to be increased by 1% as from 1st April This is the first wage increase for four years. At the new pay scale, the clerk would receive an increase of per year. Cllr Dartnell proposed that the council should pay this wage increase, payable from December 2013 and back-dated to 1st April Cllr Lathan seconded the proposal and all councillors agreed. 2. Most matters discussed with Gloucestershire Highways at the meeting in August are being implemented and have been previously recorded, but there are a few items still outstanding. The signpost on the Hillersland road has still not been replaced, although photographs were given to Mr B. Watkins at the meeting in August. The clerk will contact Mr Watkins again on this. It had been confirmed at the meeting that proposals for a gateway at Symonds Yat Rock are on hold as improved signage means that fewer vehicles are getting stuck. A 30mph speed limit was proposed by Mr B. Watkins for most of Hillersland Road, with a 40mph speed limit for part of the road. The clerk has confirmed to Highways that the Parish Council would welcome a 30mph speed limit along the whole length of the road between Christchurch and Symonds Yat Rock. The Parish Council do not know the name of the owner of the land at Junction Hill where branches are overhanging the road, but to date Highways have not received any complaints from drivers of high sided vehicles about these trees. 3. Cllr Mrs Drinkall represented the Parish Council at the funeral on 6th August of Mr William Grindle, who was clerk to the Parish Council for 25 years in the 1950s s. 4. Cllr Dartnell advised the Parish Council that the seat in the triangle in English Bicknor will need replacing in the not too distant future. 5. Cllr Dartnell has been painting the telephone box in Hillersland, it now needs one more coat of paint, then he will finish refurbishing the inside. The telehone box will then replace the current Hillersland notice board and could

8 also include tourist information. It was felt that the kiosk will probably need locking. 6. Cllr Dartnell reported that speeding is still a problem in Hillersland and we should ask the Police to carry out more speed checks. The clerk will contact PCSO N. Jones. 7. Wild Boar continue to cause a lot of damage in Hillersland. The clerk will write again to the Forestry Commission. 8. Cllr Gunter asked if the clerk could please write to the owners of the hedge on the sharp bend past the church, as the hedge is now encroaching onto the road and vehicles will soon be forced into the middle of the road, resulting in road safety concerns. 9. Cllr Warden-Heggie reported that the new owners of Alms Cottage are parking their vehicle on the green in front of their property. The property has no vehicular access and it was agreed that a car is safer parked sensibly on the green rather on the road where it is very close to the bend. 10. Cllr Drinkall has updated the Parish Activity List. 11. Minutes received of a recent Chartered Parishes Group meeting include confirmation that individuals are able to post information on the TomTom website of routes which are unsuitable for certain vehicles. This information is then used to update SatNavs Date of next meeting The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Monday 2nd December at 7pm at English Bicknor Village Hall.