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COLWALL PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Assembly
of the Parish Meeting duly convened and held at the Colwall Village Hall, Mill
Lane, Colwall on Tuesday 3rd May 2011.
1. Welcome and apologies for
absence.
The Chairman, Mrs
Nicky Carless welcomed approximately 7 members of the Public and 6 members of
the Parish Council. Also present were The Clerk, and the Red Cross Warden –
Lisa Pritchard.
Apologies were received from Councillors Cooney and Prideaux-Jackson.
2. Minutes
The Minutes of the meetings held on 5th May 2010 and the 4th
November 2010 were agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record of the
proceedings.
Councillor John Mills advised the
meeting that 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.
Thanks were extended to fellow councillors for their appreciation of the
finances and for the good sense and restraint with which they have committed the
community’s money; to Alison Grimshaw, the Parish Councils internal auditor; and to Karen Davis the Parish
Clerk for her stewardship of the accounts and the timely and accurate production
of information which has enabled the committee to make informed and positive
decisions.
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Chairman of the Planning & Development
Committee.
It
was reported that 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.
Thanks
were extended to all the hardworking members of the committee and for the
invaluable support and assistance of Karen Davis, the Clerk.
Chairman of the Village Amenities Committee
The
Chairman reported that over the last year the Amenities Committee has continued
to oversee the regular workload around the village. The committee meets 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.
Chairman of the Countryside Committee
The Chairman reported that the Committee met 6 times during the past year and provided a brief resume of the business conducted.
Charlie Ballard
Nature Reserve.
The site is checked regularly by Stephen Maund, our village maintenance contractor, who litter picks and clears the tracks through the reserve and repairs fences and gates
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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.
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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.
Thanks
The Chairman took the 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. Houlbrouk. 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 – the village maintenance contractor and unsung hero, who clears tracks and footpaths, installs stiles and gates repairs footpath bridges and is generally able to “fix” problems that arise.
The Clerk Karen Davis for her efficiency and support at these Meetings and the fact that she is always willing to “go that extra mile” to assist the committee.
Chairman of the Council
Councillor Carless gave a summary of the activities and events in the
Village during the last year.
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. The Chairman thanked them personally for their contributions.
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. The Chairman thanked David for ensuring the village footpaths are maintained to such a high standard. The Chairman also recognised and thanked Helen Stace for so ably representing the Parish Council on the Board of the Malvern Hills Conservators.
The Chairman confirmed there will be no election of the Parish Council this time as only 13 people were proposed for the 15 places on the Council. There is one new face on the Council, Roland Trafford Roberts who was welcomed to the team. This means the
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Parish Council will be in a position to co-opt 2 new members onto the Parish Council, if any one is interested they are to contact Karen Davis the clerk.
Looking forward the Chairman reported - 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 the Chairman thanked the committee Chairmen – Gwyneth, Barry and Jim, as well as the vice Chairman – John Mills for chairing meetings in the Chairmans absence and the Clerk for the efficient running of the Parish Council
5. Lisa Pritchard.
Lisa Pritchard
Colwalls’ Red Cross warden gave a very informative and interesting talk about
life as a Red Cross warden in the Parish of Colwall.
Mrs. Carless
extended the thanks of the meeting to Lisa for her very enjoyable talk.
6. Parishioners Question Time.
A question was
raised about the missing arm on the historic finger post. The Clerk reported
that the arm has now been returned and refitted to the fingerpost.
A question was
raised about making the budget available. The Chairman of the Finance committee
confirmed that the information was available to the Parishioners.
A question was
raised is a street map of the village could be exhibited on one of the public
notice boards. The Clerk will look into this.
A question was
raised regarding the damaged road name sign at the entrance to old Church Road,
the Clerk confirmed this has been reported to Highways for their attention.
The meeting closed
at .8.30 p.m.
Chairman………………………. Date………………