Withington Group Parish Council
Meeting Held on Wednesday 13th November 2024
At 7.30pm in Withington Village Hall
M I N U T E S
Present: In the Chair: Kevin Hewison (KH); Jonathan Beech (JB); Tom Nellist (TN); Paul Andrews (PA); Hillary Holden (HH); Kevin Powders (KP); Ingrid Heatly (IH); Ralph Barber (RB); Simon Dent (SD);
Also: Sophie Glover (Clerk), Ivan Powell (Ward Cllr); 6 members of public (who left after the public speaking element); PC Stephan Hawes (left at 20.05)
The Meeting opened at 7.30pm
1. Public open session: 10 minutes was allowed from 7.30pm for members of the public to raise any issues that they would like the Parish Council to consider.
Attention was drawn to the plans for a large anaerobic digester that is being considered less than 3 miles from this hall. A flyer was passed out. Submissions by the 25th November unless an extension is requested.
It was suggestion that we have an extraordinary WGPC meeting in December.
Action: clerk to ask for an extension and to arrange the meeting.
Tara: Rewilding project in the village. As a dog walker she and her mum have noticed the increasing lack of insects. Verging on the Wild will come out and give some advice on the best things to plant in the village to encourage insects in our area. They asked for guidance on when and where to plant. They have considered the conservation area behind Vine Tree but they have been told that this is private land. They then considered the bank in the play area of Withington Field and / or parts of the dog walking area.
Move to ask Cllrs who would like to be involved and to arrange a meeting with Tara, the advisor and involved Councillors.
Action: Tara and clerk to liaise.
Parishoner voiced his concerns about the flooding on Withies Lane. IP has been talking with Ed Bradford (Head of Highways) who is looking at the drainage generally on this stretch of Withies Rd.
Action: IP to liaise with Herefordshire Council to progress this. Profile of the change in flood profiles needs to be looked at.
A465: parishioner made representations a number of years ago to get a speed device put on the road near the Cross Keys pub. This bit of kit was demolished a few days later and nothing further has been done. The gentleman present was almost hit by a driver doing at least 80mph on the main road and they were keen to restart the discussion about getting a Speed Indicator Device (SID) there.
Police officer who was present took note.
Chair has started to encourage the police to reconsider looking at this area.
Action: PC Hawes to ask Ian Connolly what we need to do to get a SID in place there. He will report back to the clerk. He will also push for the speed van to visit the area.
2. To accept Apologies for absence – Howard Mansell (HM); Judith Howe (JH); Steve Scotcher (SS) Bob Rudd (BR); Sue Rudd (SR);
Absent with out apologies: Barclay Rogers.
3. To receive Declaration of Interests.
KH would not vote on the Grant to the church. Item 12d
4. i.Acceptance of minutes of the:-
Sept 24 meeting minutes
Proposed: KH Seconded: TN all were in favour of them being signed.
They were duly accepted as a true record of the meeting.
ii.Action Points from previous meetings.
Co-option of new Councillor: no one had expressed an interest as yet.
Sandbags 2 x builders bags of sand purchased in September and placed in St Peters Field. Also clerk has purchased small sand bags – 100 for each parish and to distribute these as necessary. Discussion as to best place to put sand and bags, resolved to put in a base at Withington Village Hall car park to house the sand for Westhide and Withington . SD will check if the Preston Wynne Sand can be housed at their village hall. Clerk was authorised to go ahead and get the base put in – where the current bin store is, to house a new sand and bin shed.
Discussion on the possibility of wild flowers being put in the conservation area behind Vine Tree and elsewhere – Tara Gibbons presented this point in the public open session.
School Access and Traffic Calming – Action was attributed to IP who said that he was still pushing for the lines to be put back on the road by the school entrance.
Barry Durkin (Herefordshire Council) was at the HALC annual meeting, and PA asked him if the lines and SLOW could at least be replaced asap – Cllr Durkin was hopeful that this could be achieved in the coming weeks.
5. Open discussion/public forum
5.1 Report from Ward Councillor – Cllr Ivan Powell had been circulated and it is attached to the end of these minutes.
He talked about drainage problems arising from new developments. He also questioned the reactions of the fire service/police and Balfour Beatty in September when Withington St Peters Field sustained bad flooding and suggested that they need a better emergency response.
IP was asked what the rubber strips on the top of Orchard Rd in Withington were there for. If they were ‘measuring traffic’ then could similar strips be put on the A465?
Action: IP will continue to push for help for those who have suffered from flooding, particularly with their mental health and will check what the strips were for and how we can get them put down at Cross Keys.
5.2 Local police – PC Hawes told the meeting that our Parishes had been quite quiet for crimes generally. But on one day 3 separate events of loose horses on highways had to be addressed.
Whitestone had a non tax vehicle removal to be addressed.
Speeding tractors: the police are aware of this as well as tractor drivers using mobile phones as well as walkie talkies. The law states that it is the use of hand held devices that are illegal while driving.
Withies Close at Halloween has had a few nuisance calls.
WGPC offered the football facilities to the police to set up a youth provision to play football on the Withington pitches, PC Hawes and IP will look at this as a possibility.
5.3 Balfour Beatty – Information sheets come out weekly and cllrs can comment on them.
Update on Vine Tree: deferred until we discuss the traffic calming at a future meeting.
Action: Clerk to find out when the updated road calming map was going to be able to be seen by the PC.
6.1Applications: To consider comments on applications to be determined by Herefordshire Council as listed below or on the Herefordshire Council Planning website prior to the meeting:-
None at this time.
The meeting was told that a land owner has constructed a new entrance to the field – enforcement have been to see it and it has been noted that it is more than 20m wide which is the limit of a new entrance. Planning permission was granted in approx. 2022. Enforcement will take action as appropriate.
6.2 Planning decisions made
None at this time
However, the meeting was informed that the Sonas House dispute has been resolved with probate. IP felt that the landowner should not have a problem with us using the field to take SID readings if we need to.
6.3 Planning matters to be discussed:
Vine Tree Improvement – to be discussed with the item below.
Withington Traffic Calming measures. Will be out in the next couple of weeks and hopefully the WGPC will be able to discuss it at the December extraordinary meeting.
7. Working Parties
a) on A4103/A465
We have heard about the problems on the A465.
On the A4103, the SID is in place and working, however, gathering the data is problematic as you need to be with in 10m for the Bluetooth to work. Finding a location to do this has caused a problem so far with out endangering KP’s life. The WGPC were keen to ensure that the data was gathered safely and IP felt that the land owner of the field next to the SID would let us have access to take the necessary readings.
Action: IP to liaise with KP about linking the land owner with KP.
b) School access working group
IH has written to a number of people to progress this but things are moving slowly.
Action: keep on agenda.
c) traffic calming in Withington
Map of traffic calming will be out before December.
Action: Clerk to inform the PC as soon as the map is available.
d) Withington Field working group –. Will be working to plant the flower seeds as mentioned by Tara. One of the new pieces of equipment, the Maypole replacement, left the hole from the original item, and in the heavy rain, this sank, creating a ‘sinkhole’ effect with just the webbing stretched over it. The lengthsman has filled in the hole, he had to remove the webbing to do so and thus we have lost the warranty on the webbing, but the remedial work seems to be satisfactory.
An issue was identified on the toddler area about the catch to the entrance gate, this has now been removed and we are awaiting a self closing gate to replace this.
Turf for hill by slide is still being sourced, although grass is actually growing there now of its own accord.
Action: KP to contact the turfing company with TN’s assurance that they are willing not only to supply the turf, but will also lay it.
8. Withington Fields – including update on the use of the football pitches: no one from Herefordshire FA have expressed any interest at all in using the field, so it has been suggested that the police use it for Youth Engagement ie a local club is being considered.
The refurbishment of fencing has been completed and the entrance onto Withies Rd has been made safe again following the removal of the fence onto the road.
Work in the copse has been completed, and the dead trees felled and stacked as wild life habitats..
Action: IP and PC Hawes to liaise about using the football pitch, keeping the clerk informed as necessary.
9. Financial:
a.Balances
Public Sector Deposit Fund (31.10.24) £ 15,182.19
Lloyds Parish Acct (24.09.24) £ 32,060.43
Lloyds Withington Field Acct (01.10.24) £ 5,192.12 £ 52,434.74
b.To approve payments
Cheques to be paid
Parish Acct:- Already paid To be paid Totals
Clerks Salary Oct £799.16
Nov £ 1,002.66
Clerks Expenses Nov £ 47.89
Sandbags £ 108.00
Paedriatric defib pads £ 106.79 £1,265.34
HMRC PAYE £ 81.90 £ 81.90
Hire of WVH inv 198 £ 10.00 £ 10.00
Terry Griffiths –
Invoice TGC2902 Amenities £ 54.00
Invoice TGC2903 Roads acct £ 559.20
Invoice TGC 2902 Roads acct £ 559.20
Invoice TGC2901 Amenities £ 96.48
Invoice TGC2890 SID placement £ 840.00 £2,108.88
Felton and Preston Wynne Village Hall £ 16.00 £ 16.00
Zurich Insurance (2025) £1,050.41 £ 4,532.53
Internal Transfer: None
Withington Field Acct:- Already paid To be paid Totals
J Smith litter picker expenses Oct £ 90.00
Pd by standing order Nov £90.00
Perfect grounds inv WF06 £866
Perfect grounds inv WF07 £99.00 £ 99.00
Terry Griffiths inv 2904 £ 42.00
Terry Griffiths inv 2906 £ 48.00 £ 90.00
CF Roberts – MUGA lights £ 102.00
Wynn Brown – Pest Control £ 720.00
£ 1,011.00
Total cheques: £ 5,543.53
It was moved that all invoices should be paid.
Proposed: HH Seconded:TN All cllrs were in favour of making the payments.
c.Receipts:
Interest on Saving Acct Sept: £ 76.53
Interest on Saving Acct Oct £ 62.06
Second half of precept £19,000.00
Clerks salary returned(duplicated) £ 844.74
d.Application for Financial Aid: St Peters Church Clock – Withington. Automatic rewinding mechanism has broken. £345 to repair it.
Proposed to support the fixing. RB Seconded: TN
In favour:6 against: 1 abstaining the Chair.
Grass cutting at St Peters Church.(£1,890) Deferred to Jan meeting as it is expected that the churches from our other Parishes will also wish to apply.
It was pointed out that the grass cutting was paid this financial year, so this should not be paid until May should it be granted.
e.Precept setting – discussion and recommendation for the 2025 to 2026 precept
Finance sub committee met last week and they were proposing to keep the precept at the same level.
Add the excess to the general reserve.
It was proposed that the Precept to remain the same
Proposed: KH Second: SD
All were in favour.
Action: Clerk to submit the precept request form.
f.Lloyds Bank – update on the charges that Lloyds bank accounts will be incurring. £8.50 per month at £4.25 per account.
It was proposed that the WGPC keep both of their Lloyds accounts accepting the fees when they are introduced.
Proposed: KH Seconded: RB
All were in favour.
12. Lengthsman Scheme – reminder of jobs outstanding and future jobs for the lengthsman.
Terry Griffiths, the lengthsman, has completed many jobs on the list that WGPC had given him, but still outstanding are three tasks on the Withington Footpaths, fitting a new self closing gate on the children’s play area (when it arrives) and to revisit the Old Post Office in Westhide to check that the flooding there that seemed to follow the clearing out of the drainage ditches, has been resolved.
In addition TG is working with BR in Preston Wynne to identify jobs to be undertaken with the Herefordshire Council drainage grant.
Action: Clerk to remind him of outstanding jobs.
13. Foot paths officers reports and identification of work to be done
PW: Not present
WH: No problems to report.
W’ton: 3 items already reported, no action taken on them in last 4 months.
Nunnington Court: have altered the footpath route to a permissive path around the farm – the path is clearly marked and easy to walk.
14. Tree Warden report – nothing to report.
15. Comments on any correspondence received
Including from P Bainbridge regarding potholes and road resurfacing.
IP will bring the pot hole by the Withies Rd bus stop to the attention of the locality steward.
From parishioner about continued danger to pedestrians on the Whitestone lane. Again, IP is aware of this situation and has suggested alternative routes to the parishioner in question.
16. SID: update and feedback from it’s first couple of months. Covered earlier in the meeting.
17. Feed back on training or meetings attended:
Including notes circulated from parish Summit meeting and HALC AGM.
PA and the Clerk went to the HALC meeting. David Tristram – Hereford council grants advisor is offering a workshop on fundraising in January. WF working group were all keen for this workshop to be attended by them if they were able.
Action: clerk to book places on his January workshop.
HH went to the parish summit – her notes have been circulated.
Action: Clerk to add HH’s point to next agenda.
Survey from the Government about doing meetings on zoom – RB encouraged councillors to look at it and complete if they felt that they wanted to.
Action: Clerk to recirculate.
18. Items for Facebook Site and / or social media for WGPC
RB to be added as joint admin for the facebook site.
19. Receive items for the next agenda (no discussion)
As discussed above. Parish Summit; Hedge in front of Vine Tree Cottage; PW and Westhide Church grants.
20. PC goes into session: Discussion and resolution of proposed clerks incremental salary increase and NALC salary increase.
It was resolved for the Clerk to go up one scale point to XXXXX, and to receive NALC incremental salary increase both to be back dated to April 2024.
Proposed: HH Seconded: KH All were in favour.
Action: Clerk to inform payroll provider
21. Agreed time and date of next meeting: 8th January 2025 starting at 7.30pm unless an extraordinary meeting is called for December to discuss any planning applications and hopefully the updated traffic calming plan for Withington.
The meeting closed at 9.32pm
Signed: _________________________ Date: _________________
Dates for 2025 meetings:
8th January 7.30 pm start
12th March 7.30 pm start
Annual meeting 14th May 7.00 pm start
9th July 7.30 pm start
10th September 7.30 pm start
12th November 7.30 pm start
Appendix
Ward Councillors report for Nov 2024
Roads, drainage and flooding
Since our last meeting we have seen the horrendous floods from a couple of weeks ago, of course the direct experience in Withington for some residents was awful and my acknowledgement to the parish council who provided urgent response over the particular weekend.
There are so many aspects of this that are all interconnected, and every flooding case is both tragic and yet different. With that in mind one of my cabinet member colleagues has been given a brief from the Leader of the Council to lead a cross-directorate inquiry as to what we can do to address the drainage and flooding issue in future across the whole of Herefordshire. It would be enormously useful if the PC can catalogue all floods and report them to floodrisk@herefordshire.gov.uk to enable us to build a current countywide picture of the challenges communities face. I have previously circulated some information about this and my thanks to those residents who have already responded. I have been asked, and can assure that this is a meaningful exercise and will result in action, accepting that this can take some time.
Drainage
The Parish Council drainage scheme proved to be very popular and as a result was oversubscribed, however the Council is looking at ways in which all schemes could be funded subject to a cost benefit assessment. I understand the Parish did not submit an application for this scheme and wonder if this could be reconsidered.
Parish council summit, Footpath officers and the PROW network
A few weeks ago, we hosted a parish council summit at HCC offices in Plough Lane where the Directors of Children’s Services and Community Well Being opened with presentations on the respective portfolios. Whilst these presentations were well received they did not generate a significant amount of discussion. Given these portfolio’s support our most vulnerable children and families and adults who need care and support I wonder if there is an opportunity to have a discussion at some point at parish level about how we similarly support our most vulnerable residents.
A presentation then followed on the support available to the public rights of way network, and reiterated how vital we consider it that our footpaths and other ‘Prows’ are maintained. We are able to confirm that all the bids for footpath assets (replacing stiles etc) were successful and would be funded from the £250k made available across the county. There is a bit of money left, should further assets appear!
Finances
In fairly recent news there has been coverage about the number of councils facing bankruptcy, most recently our neighbours in Shropshire have been at the forefront of this news. For assurance, at Herefordshire Council we believe we are in a stronger place than most of our neighbours/ peers, but we are keeping a very close eye on it. We are the first county council to have our (previous year) accounts audited. This is just one indicator to make sure that we are live to this situation and the fact we have been able to get them through audit shows we have a good understanding of the fundamental position. In the last year, we’ve had to work through huge savings to address the overspend we inherited.
The council is now starting to look ahead at capital and revenue budgets for year 25/26, of course we await the full and finer details of the new governments budget
Planning department
I am pleased to report that for the first time since I was elected last year, we now have a fully staffed team. I know that planning delays and issues have been a huge frustration; without a full team, it’s been hard to argue that things should be better. But now we have a full team, we are much more confident we can get the team working as it should, and hitting those deadlines.
Kind regards
Ivan