The Annual Report of Colwall Parish Council

2009-2010

John Mills- Chairman, Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Finance and General Purposes Committee

2009/10 was another satisfactory financial year with performance comfortably ahead of Budget.

The Income and Expenditure statement shows a deficit of £3,464. However this includes the once only cost of £2,911 for the May 2008 parish by-election. Excluding this cost there was an operating deficit of £553. This compares with a deficit of £751 last year.

There were few appreciable differences in comparison with last year. Notable among these few were:-

· Bank Interest plummeted due to the precipitate decline in interest rates caused by the national and international banking crisis.

· There was a significant increase in spending for General Village Amenities of £2,615, due mainly to expenses incurred this year that were deferred from last year and to the £1,573 cost of maintaining the Railway Gardens. At the start of the year the Parish assumed responsibility for maintaining the Railway Gardens. This will be a budgeted item in the future.

· Speed Indicator hiring costs were incurred for the first time this year; they amounted to £896. This also will be a budgeted item in the future.

The allocated reserve funds are comfortably adequate but the General Reserve of £23,972, although down £2,155 from last year, is probably higher than necessary. This, however, is expected to reduce in 2010/11 to a more usual level.

In all, it was a successful and satisfying year financially.

My thanks go to all my fellow councillors for their appreciation of our finances and for the good sense and restraint with which they have committed our community’s money; to Alison Grimshaw, our internal auditor; and to Karen Davis our Parish Clerk for her stewardship of our accounts and the timely and accurate production of information which has enabled us to make informed and positive decisions.

John R. Mills,

Chairman, F. & G.P. Committee

Barry Ashton – Chairman, Planning and Development Committee

This year the Planning Committee has had a relatively light workload during the past 12 months due to economic conditions and changes in the planning regulations.

The main request for new build property has been the proposed development of 20 units in Brock Hill Road, which raised many objections and concerns - namely drainage, road junction layout and the parking problems increased by the development of the school. The Parish Council has been working closely with Herefordshire Council Planning Department to ensure that the concerns surrounding this proposed development are taken into consideration when this finally goes to Herefordshire Council Planning Committee.

The other main application was for a substantial development of the furniture manufacturer located at Hoe Farm. This caused some concerns and modified plans have been submitted to Herefordshire Council

Looking to 2010/11Herefordshire Council will be undertaking a Housing Needs Survey to assess the need for affordable housing in the Parish.

Do you have a connection to the Colwall area but can't live there because of the lack of affordable housing? - If so, then you will need to complete a Housing Needs Survey.

As well as people living in the Colwall area, Herefordshire Council would like to collect details of people with a “local connection” to this area, including people who work in the village, people who have moved away and wish to return to be near family, or for people needing to give / receive support.

If this applies to you, then look out for the Housing Need Survey you will also be able to ask for a form by telephoning Richard Wilding on (01432) 383069 or e-mailing rwilding@herefordshire.gov.uk

Finally, I should like to thank all members of the Committee for their hard work and support and also the invaluable assistance given by our Clerk, Karen Davis.

Barry Ashton, Chairman Planning & Development Committee.

Gywneth Rees – Vice- Chairman, Countryside Committee

Due to pressure of work our Chairman of the Countryside Committee Helen Stace resigned from the Parish Council. As Chairman her enthusiasm and great knowledge is sorely missed, her legacy has been a productive 12 months for the Countryside Committee.

Footpaths

After a warm damp period the condition of footpaths gave David Tongi and Steven Maund a great deal of extra work last spring and early summer due to the abnormal rate of undergrowth. The ditch and bridge programme has now been completed and work undertaken on a rolling programme (where landowners agreement has been received) to replace styles with kissing gates The access to the start of CW30 and the Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve was restricted for a short duration due to the pedestrian bridge over the railway being closed for long overdue repair.. Herefordshire Council have undertaken to upgrade walks CW3 and CW32a to” Miles Without Styles”. These are proving very popular with walkers and enables the slightly less agile to enjoy the countryside.

We have a valuable facility in our footpaths within the Parish and I would urge those of you who have yet to explore our wonderful selection of walks to do so, you will be rewarded with some fantastic views.

Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve

The site is checked regularly for litter and debris in the stream and pond. Some tree pollarding and felling work was undertaken early last year. The main pond has settled and increased vegetation growth is now to be seen. A small gravel beach has been laid for the enjoyment of visitors and the improved condition of the pond will now enable the smaller ephemeral pond to offer good habitat for newts. Bat boxes will be installed shortly in the Reserve to attract the rare bats in the area. Our Clerk has put forward the 2 ponds in the Nature Reserve for the Herefordshire Nature Trust Parish Pond Project.

Earth Heritage Trust

The Trust contacted our Footpath Warden with reference to the Geopark Trail, thanking him for installing way-markers along the designated trail throughout our Parish.

Community Landscape Character Statement

Initially, Councillors Stace and Jackson volunteered to review the papers and now the project has a number of volunteers, Chaired by Nicky Carless, who will start the preliminary work to decide what they feel is important in our local landscape and how they would like it to look in the future. A display of the initial research and a request for parishioners input will be available at the forthcoming Colwall Village Fun Day at the Downs School. On 31^st May.

Thanks

Finally and most importantly I would like to thank the following volunteers without whose help the Countryside Committee would be less able to function.

Co-opted members on the Countryside Committee whose help and advice we value, Freda Ballard, Mr. R Houlbrook, Mr. G Gilbert and Mr. D Tongi

Our Footpath Warden David Tongi who puts in considerable time and much effort checking on the state of stiles, gates and paths.

Our team of other footpath walkers who patrol and check their particular area and report any problems

The Farmers and Landowners who keep their paths clear and who are happy to liaise with us.

Stephen West for managing our reserve and giving excellent advice

Sue Scott-Wilson for her continued involvement with the Reserve.

Stephen Maund, our lengthsman who clears paths and installs stiles and gates where needed.

A special thanks to Karen Davis our Clerk who has been efficient and supportive at all times.

Gwyneth Rees

Vice Chair Countryside Committee

Jim Beard – Chairman, Village Amenities Committee

Over the last year the Amenities Committee has continued to oversee the regular workload around the village that falls under its remit.

The Amenities Committee oversees the many areas in the village that provide recreational facilities, play areas including Walwyn Meadow, Brookhill, Orlin Road and Colwall Green. The play equipment, Memorial Gardens, village seats and litter bins are maintained to the usual high standard and all recreational areas have their grass cut fortnightly during the growing season. The committee meet every 2 months, and prior to every meeting members check all the areas under their remit and report back to the Committee.

Although there have been no major projects this year the actual work involved is quite extensive and time-consuming in itself. Regular maintenance programmes include surveying the trees in Walwyn Meadows, maintaining Aunt Alice with a clock “MOT” and the pruning for the shrubs in Walwyn Meadows to ensure their health.

In addition to the recreational areas the Committee also is responsible for the Station Gardens which are now being looked after under a regular maintenance contract. The Parish Council extends its thanks to Malvern Water who kindly sponsor the maintenance of the gardens for the Parish Council, this is a much appreciated contribution towards these costs.

These gardens are an important gateway to the Village for those visitors who arrive by train to our Village.

Jim Beard Chairman of Village Amenities.

Nicky Carless – Chairman, Colwall Parish Council

This last twelve months for the Parish Council has been one of consolidation, Colwall Bridge was re-opened to all traffic and officially opened in September 2009. However, we were very aware that the division route had been left in an appalling state with large potholes and worn away grass verges. With this in mind the Parish Council and other individuals have had discussions with Amey about the roads around Colwall, which has resulted in the re-surfacing of the roads around Old Colwall, some potholes filled in along other roads, and the sweeping and gully emptying along the Walwyn Road. We would also like to remind residents that Colwall Parish Council is not responsible for grit boxes and the gritting of roads in bad weather, this comes under the remit of Amey.

Speed along the Walwyn Road remains a big concern of residents, so this last twelve months we have hired Speed Indicator Devices from Herefordshire Council. The intermittent placement of these has been successful in controlling speed and we are currently awaiting statistical feedback from their recent implementation. These figures are passed on to the Local Police force to give indications of when to conduct speed enforcement measures.

The new refuse and re-cycling scheme initially led to some confusion within the village, and many phone calls were made to the Parish Clerk from concerned residents. A routine seems to have now developed and the majority of residents are happy with the scheme. Those who are not covered should make representations to Herefordshire Council as currently the coverage of the scheme is being reviewed.

The Parish Council was aware that the working relationship with Herefordshire Council had deteriorated with the difference of opinion over the layout of the new Colwall Bridge. With this in mind the Parish Clerk and myself had a meeting at Brockington, Hereford with the Chris Bull, the Chief Executive of Herefordshire Council. Besides discussing the process in how the bridge had been replaced, we discussed the road junction of Old Church Road and Walwyn Road, the cost of the bye-election and the consultation process on the granting of a license at the Big Chill. I am pleased to report that favourable outcomes have resulted out of this discussion.

The Parish Council has continued to issue quarterly newsletters to all residents and we hope that you find the information in them interesting. We continue to welcome members of the public to all Parish Council meetings and perhaps would like to see more residents at our weekly surgeries in our room at the back of the Post Office. If you have any other suggestions on how we should communicate with the residents of Colwall please mention them to any Councillor.

One of the most recent projects that the Parish Council, along with some Colwall residents with the support of the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Officers is the development of a Landscape Character Statement for the village. This will sit alongside the Village Design Statement and Parish Plan. It is hoped that this document will give a local aspect to the Landscape Character Statement that has been produced by Herefordshire Council and can be used by planners.

At the beginning of this year Helen Stace stepped down as a Parish Councillor and we were able in co-opt John Andrews onto the Council. Helen continues to represent us on the board of the Malvern Hills Conservators where her knowledge is proving invaluable. I would like to also thank Helen for her contributions to the Parish Council, especially on the Countryside Committee.

Finally I would like to extend my thanks to all our co-opted members who sit on our Amenities and Countryside Committees, Steven Maund our Lengthsman and all my fellow Councillors, who make the Parish Council such an effective and enjoyable team to work with. The Parish Council would not be able to do all they do without the work of our Parish Clerk. Karen Davies is a professional, hard working Clerk who always has the concerns of Colwall at heart and does her best for the Village in which we all live.

Nicky Carless

Chairman of Colwall Parish Council.