Page One Hundred and Twenty Eighty
Comprising Bishopstone, Bridge Sollers, Byford, Kenchester and Mansell Gamage
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 12 March 2009 in the The Portway Inn Hotel, Staunton starting at 7.30pm.
Present: - Mrs P Redshaw (Chairman), Mr J Macklin (Vice Chairman), Mr T Hunt
Mrs L Allsopp, Miss S Hubbard, Mrs C Draper, Mrs M Holmes
Mrs P Hickey, Mr A French.
Mr B Megson (Clerk)
2. Apologies: - Mr G Malins, Mr J Verry, Mr B Merrick, Mr A Blackshaw (Ward Councillor).
Members of the public included Mr D Macklin (Newsletter Editor).
1. To begin the meeting Chairman advised all present of the Fire Safety procedure.
There were none.
The previously distributed minutes of the last meeting were accepted as a correct record and signed.
5. There was no Hereford Councillor Report.
The clerk reported that the litter picking day in Bishopstone had been successful but already there were papers and empty tins and bottles in the verges. Councillors Mrs C Draper and Miss S Hubbard said they would organise a litter pick at the Byford/A439 junction.
The full details of the joint meeting between Madley Parish Council and our own PC were distributed for all to read. The meeting was considered a success because Herefordshire Council recognised that there was a traffic problem on the Madley to Bridge Sollers road and promised to take action this year.
Page One Hundred and Twenty Nine.
The Annual Meeting was arranged for Tuesday 12 May this year and Stretton Sugwas Hall had been booked as well as the guest speaker Mr Andrew Ashcroft, head of Herefordshire Council Planning. The councillors agreed that the meeting be informal with coffee/tea and refreshments to greet visitors and tables and chairs arranged. The annual meeting to start at 7.30pm and the speaker to begin talking at 7.45pm. The talk to be general, light, no politics must keep to rural subjects like agriculture and polytunnels. It was agreed that the audience would be encouraged to ask questions, that the talk should cover how the planning system works without getting too technical, should cover planning enforcement and how planning Policies can support rural areas as well as the towns. The question of how to advertise it arose and the clerk will try to get some Herefordshire Council posters. The chairman volunteered to produce some posters. The clerk was asked to move the next parish council meeting forward by one week to 7 May.
The clerk reported that Marches Housing Association had offered to move one of the families concerned with their quality of life in Bishopstone.
8. Planning Applications.
Hereford Planning
gave permission for a proposed single storey extension to the rear of “Camora”,
Kenchester. HR4 7EZ.
The meeting voted “7
for and 1 abstention” against the proposed lean-to building to be used as a
covered cattle yard and storage area at “Magna Castra” farm, Credenhill HR4 7EZ
because of its size, lights, noise and smell affecting people living on the
other side of the field.
9. Village Plan.
A report was given
by Councillor J Macklin who said that it would be on Monday 30 March that the Big
Lottery would announce if the New Bridge Community Committee had been
successful in their application for money.
A letter from a
resident highlighted that road signs on the A438 had been vandalised with green
paint. The clerk to report to “street scene”.
10. New Road Signs.
Councillor Mr G
Malins (Bridge Sollers) requests village name signs be erected at the parish
boundary on the A438 to announce to travellers that they have arrived in Bridge
Sollers. The meeting agreed unanimously and asked the clerk to write.
11. Accounts.
The meeting was told that our Precept application had been successful.
The meeting agreed to pay £148 to Mr D Macklin for the production/distribution of the March 2009 newsletter.
The meeting agreed to pay £40.05 being the clerks expenses for the period 13 Nov.08 to 6 March 09.
Page One Hundred and Thirty.
12. Waste Collection.
A Bishopstone resident living at the bottom of Bishon Lane is concerned about the standard of the collection service and the damage to road caused by the use of a large waste collection vehicle and asks the parish council to ensure that when new contracts are agreed by Herefordshire Council that their collection service is considered. The meeting was told of the lack of service to Byford Common for three weeks because of communication failure and the road damage also. The meeting agreed that rural areas should receive the same service as City and Market Towns because we pay the same rates. The clerk is asked to write.
13. Waste Strategy by
Herefordshire Council.
The chairman read out the letter received from Herefordshire Council which outlined the proposed new collection of waste from all properties in the County to start later this year.
14. Correspondence.
A letter from Herefordshire Council on the service to be given by their Mobile Library starting later this year based on a series of local meetings around the County. Bishopstone will continue to have a visit but this will move from a 3 week cycle to a 4 weekly.
West Mercia Police newsletter saying that our parish had had no crimes reported during February.
Herefordshire Council’s 22nd Funding Directory received.
The clerk was asked to write for posters for our notice boards from “Campaign to Protect Rural England” from litter.
A letter from Herefordshire Council re “Children & Young People” in the County.
A letter about “Sustainable Communities Act 2007” from Herefordshire Council.
Local Bus Contracts and the possible loss of their service contained in a letter from Herefordshire Council was discussed and the clerk was asked to write to our Ward councillor to tell him that a reduction in service was not acceptable.
Other correspondence of interest was available from the table and consisted of…
Community First’s Newsletter.
Biodiversity Action’s Newsletter.
Festival & Events CD-Rom on planning a large event.
St Michael’s Hospice Flower Festival posters.
Calor Village of the Year Competition 2009.
Clerks and Council’s Direct Magazine for March 2009
The next meeting has been re-arranged for Thursday 7 May 2009
starting at 7.30pm
in The Portway Inn Hotel at Staunton-on-Wye.