The Annual Report of Colwall Parish Council

2010 – 2011

John Mills- Chairman, Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Finance and General Purposes Committee

2010/11 was another satisfactory financial year with performance comfortably ahead of Budget.

The Income and Expenditure statement shows a surplus of £10,940. This compares with a deficit of £3,464 last year. However last year included the once only cost of £2,911 for the May 2008 parish by-election. Excluding this cost last year was an operating deficit of £553.

Council finances benefited from the completion of the main Village Hall loan which was budgeted for, and from a very welcome but unexpected rise of £1,275 in our Parish Footpaths Grant. We also received an unexpected windfall of £4,000 from the sale of a small portion of land for a property access.

The two significant variances in expense compared with last year, apart from the election cost and the termination of the Village Hall loan mentioned above, were:-

· An increase in Countryside spending of £933 due to projects deferred from the previous year, and

· The start of the Red Cross Warden scheme.

Both these items were expected and budgeted for, indeed both came in under budget. The Red Cross scheme did not start until June 2010 when the budget allowed for a full year’s expense.

The allocated reserve funds are comfortably adequate but the General Reserve of £33,917, up £9,945 from last year, is now higher than necessary. This, however, is expected to reduce over the next two years.

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

The Planning Committee has once again had a fairly light load in this past year. The Brockhill Road development was eventually approved by Herefordshire Council. The Council gave assurances that minor adjustments regarding drainage and traffic management, would be forthcoming. However, this compromise did not fully meet the justifiable concerns of the objectors.

Most other applications received were for relatively minor extensions to existing properties.

The major possible development looming on the horizon is the Colwall water plant site. I am sure that the Parish will wish to be fully involved regarding any future plans.

Thank you to all the hardworking members of the committee and for the invaluable support and assistance of Karen Davis, our Clerk.

Barry Ashton Chairman Planning & Development Committee

Gywneth Rees – Chairman, Countryside Committee

The Committee met 6 times during the past year and I present this report as a brief resume of the business conducted.

Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve.

The site is checked regularly by Stephen Maund, our lengthsman, who litter picks and clears the tracks through the reserve and repairs fences and gates where needed. Some tree work is still to be dealt with but this will be left to Stephen West who is our Volunteer Manager for the Nature reserve to organize.

The pond has thrived although we did have some problem with algae bloom. It has teemed with life during the whole season. Newts have been observed for a short while in the Springtime but unfortunately the dew pond again dried out so is unable to support breeding activity. We were advised that water from the larger pool could not be diverted to the dew pond as this could cause contamination and also transfer eggs and was therefore not recommended.

The sluice gates require reconstruction to regulate the flow into the reserve and Stephen West will be arranging dates for this to take place.

Debris (one old metal chair and some large branches) were removed from the pond.

~ A new hardwood bench has been installed in the Reserve

~ Steps in the reserve were replaced with aggregate infill as they had become seriously eroded by the weather and the hand rail repaired.

~ The old dustbin has also been replaced.

Bat boxes have been installed and are awaiting residents.

Due to the perceived fall in suitable nesting sites for Barn Owls we enquired of the warden if there would be any merit in installing owl boxes in the reserve. The warden was of the opinion that owl boxes were unlikely to be utilised on the small and easily disturbed reserve. Therefore we will not pursue this any further.

We have received very favourable comments from members of the public who have used the Reserve.

Footpaths

Seasonal vegetation is cleared throughout the year from the 50km of footpaths within the parish.

A programme of installing wooden finger posts to replace the metal ones has commenced.

Where easy access gates have been installed the feedback has been extremely good from both walkers and landowners.

The Parish Council undertook a circular walk using parish footpaths which was organized by our Footpath Officer Mr. David Tongi.

The committee invited the Herefordshire Council Council Rights of Way Officer – Mr. Tim Thompson - to discuss the possibility of a wheelchair friendly circular footpath route within the parish. After some discussion a member of our Countryside Committee, who is a wheelchair user, offered to check routes and footpaths and report her findings.

Throughout the whole year David Tongi has walked our footpaths and reported on their condition and liaised with landowners on our behalf, whenever required. He has been our Volunteer Footpath Officer for many years and has now decided to “hang up his boots”. The Countryside Committee on behalf of the Full Parish Council formally thanked David at our last meeting for all the many hours and miles he has undertaken on the Parish Councils behalf. He will be greatly missed for his expertise and wise council.

Our clerk has advised that Mr. John Cooney has kindly volunteered to consider taking over the role of Footpath Officer for the Parish Council. Should anyone wish to volunteer in helping with the footpaths they are asked to contact the Parish Clerk.

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Countryside Committee to thank the following volunteers, without whose help the Committee would be less able to function.

Co-opted members on the Committee whose help and advice we value: Freda Ballard, Mr. R. Houlbrouke. Mr. G Gilbert.

Footpath Walkers – who patrol and check their particular area and report any problem.

Sue Scott-Wilson and Eileen Stevenson - our two lovely village ladies who take their cups of coffee and regularly walk the Nature reserve and report any problems they find.

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

Our Footpath Warden - David Tongi

Stephen West - for his continuing expert advice in managing The Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve.

Stephen Maund – our lengthsman and unsung hero, who clears tracks and footpaths, installs stiles and gates repairs footpath bridges and is generally able to “fix” problems that arise.

And last but by no means least special thanks to Karen Davis our Clerk who is at all times efficient and supportive at our Meetings and always willing to “go that extra mile” to assist us.

Gwyneth Rees Chairman of Countryside Committee

Jim Beard – Chairman, Village Amenities Committee

Amenities Committee Annual Report 2011

Over the last year the Amenities Committee has continued to oversee the regular workload around the village. 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.

The Amenities Committee oversees the many areas in the village that provide recreational facilities and amenities. Play areas including Walwyn Meadow, Brookhill, Orlin Road, Allen’s Meadow, and Colwall Green. Regular maintenance programmes include surveying the trees in Walwyn Meadows, maintaining Aunt Alice with a clock “MOT” and the pruning of the shrubs in Walwyn Meadows to ensure their health.

We now also maintain the Railway Gardens, as a matter of course, which are an important gateway to the Village for those visitors who arrive by train.

The play equipment, Memorial Gardens, village seats, notice boards and litter bins are regularly maintained to the usual high standard and all recreational areas have their grass cut fortnightly during the growing season by our chosen contractors.

Although the actual work load involved in our various departments is quite extensive and time-consuming we also have to deal with unexpected events such as the death of the tree in front of the library in Walwyn Meadow. The consequences of the death of this tree, was this left us with nowhere to hang the Christmas lights which in themselves had to be upgraded. The solution was to build a permanent socket, which can supply electricity to the lights for a live tree which is being supplied annually from a local firm.

Busy as we are, it is gratifying to see that our work has come within the allocation of the annual budget once again.

Jim Beard Chairman of Village Amenities

Nicky Carless – Chairman, Colwall Parish Council

Chairman’s report 2010 to 2011

2010 to 2011 was the last year of the current term of office for the Colwall Parish Councillors. Three of our members have decided not to stand again, Terry Hunt who has moved from the village, Wil Leaper and John Cooney. Wil Leaper has served on the Council for a number of years, his expert knowledge has been invaluable to the Countryside committee, while John Cooney has been our newsletter editor and joint co-ordinator. I would like to give my personal thanks to them for their contributions.

Our co-opted committee members provide further expertise and as mentioned in the countryside report, David Tongi has decided to hang up his boots as our footpath officer. I would like to add my thanks to David for ensuring our footpaths are maintained to such a high standard. I would also like to recognise and thank Helen Stace for so ably representing the Parish Council on the Board of the Malvern Hills Conservators.

There will be no election of the Parish Council this time as only 13 people were proposed for the 15 places on the Council. We have only one new face on the Council, I would like to welcome Roland Trafford Roberts to the team. This means we will be in a position to co-opt 2 new members onto the Parish Council, if you are interested please contact Karen Davis our clerk.

This coming year could see some challenging yet exciting times for Parish Councils as more information becomes available from Government on the Localism Bill. This Bill has the potential to provide Parish Councils and local voluntary groups with wider powers to provide services and facilities required by the community. This power could become invaluable as the inevitable budget cuts from Herefordshire Council will be seen during the next financial year. The Localism Bill will also influence how the planning system operates in the Country, again with the potential power of planning applications being determined at a very local level.

Currently Herefordshire Council is in the process of making the planning system fully electronic with no paper copies of planning applications being provided through the Herefordshire Council to the Parish Councils. Again this will mean a new way of working for the Councillors as we aim to consult with applicants and their neighbours before passing comment on planning applications.

Locally, a group of residents have produced a draft Landscape Character Statement for Colwall. This group has enjoyed evaluating the local landscape and identifying its character as well as highlighting the potential threats to this landscape. It led an extensive consultation process in March this year. Currently the group are holding discussions with Herefordshire Council Officers to establish how best this information can be used by the Council and other bodies.

Finally I would like to thank my committee Chairmen – Gwyneth, Barry and Jim, as well as my vice Chairman – John Mills for chairing meetings when I am called away with work. The efficient running of the Parish Council is down to the tireless efforts of our Parish Clerk, Karen Davis. Thank you Karen for your continuing hard work.

Nicky Carless

Chairman of Colwall Parish Council.