Minutes of the Annual Parish and Annual Statutory Council Meetings of Clehonger Parish Council held on 20th May 2026 from 7.00 pm at the Clehonger Village Hall
NB- The minutes are “draft” until ratified at the following parish council meeting.
Present: Cllrs A Davies (re-elected as Chair), C Protherough (from 7.08 pm), J Whittal, N Rider (re-elected as Vice Chair) and K Langdon
In attendance: Mrs A Wright (Clerk) and two members of the public plus the Ward Cllr David Hitchiner, from 8.05 pm.
Agenda Part One – Annual Parish Meeting
1. Annual Parish Meeting with parishioners who have joined the meeting and to receive any reports
There were two members of the public present. Cllr Alison Davies, in the chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no matters raised.
Parish Council Chair Report
The Chair, Cllr Alison Davies, gave the following report:
“Chairman’s report 20.5.2026
Firstly I would like to thank our councillors for their service to the community, our ward councillor, David Hitchiner for his support and our Clerk for keeping us in check.
It has been a busy year with progress at last on the playing field with our new fencing being installed and we still have S106 money to spend on it. Our thanks must go to Nigel Koch at Herefordshire Council who has provided so much help and support and has been instrumental in getting things moving forward.
Pat Nelder has worked very hard for us in getting the Speed Indicator Device operation which has already impacted on speeds through the village with a second machine to be installed imminently, thank you Pat.
The Police have been in attendance occasionally and keep us informed of incidents in the village.
And lastly, but not least the members of the public who turn out to raise issues and keep us on our toes!
We have worked hard on keeping Herefordshire council informed of pothole repairs needed but sadly not with any success on Birch Hill Road, which we have been asking for major repairs to be done for 14 years.
We have been able to support the school with a large donation to their minibus fund, Kingstone Surgery Trust with a substantial donation to the medicine dispenser appeal, £800 to Dore Community Transport who provide such a valuable support to the community and money to Belmont Country Park towards the upkeep, a facility that is used by many residents.
We have also welcomed a significant number of new residents to Cagebrook View and hope they will enjoy living here and join in village activities,. Our village hall has a varied programme with something for everyone.
Moving forward, I hope we can continue to improve the lives of residents in the future.”
Ends
2. To approve the Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 21st May 2025
The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on the 21st May 2025 were approved and signed.
The Annual Parish Meeting closed at 7.15 pm
Agenda Part Two – Annual Meeting of the Parish Council
1. Election of Chair with signing of acceptance of office
Cllr Whittal opened the Annual Statutory Meeting. Nominations for the post of Chair were invited. There was one nomination; Cllr Davies by Cllr Langdon and seconded by Cllr Rider. There being no further nominations, Cllr Davies accepted the role of Chair and signed her acceptance of office form.
Cllr Davies assumed the position of Chair and conducted the remainder of the meeting.
2. Election of Vice Chair
Nominations for the post of Vice Chair were invited. There was one nomination; Cllr Rider, proposed by Cllr Langdon and seconded by Cllr Whittal. There being no further nominations, Cllr Rider accepted the nomination and was duly elected as the Vice Chair.
3. Election of Parish Council Officers (Tree Warden, Footpath Officer, Playing Field Representative, Speed Watch- Co-ordinator, HALC)
This item was deferred to June.
4. To receive Apologies for Absence
There were apologies for absence received from Cllrs W Watkins, J Gardiner, K Gardiner and C Forbes.
5. To note Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest made this time.
6. To approve Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 15/04/26
It was resolved that the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting, held on 15th April 2026, were approved by the Council.
7ayley
. Finance and Policies
(7.1) Resolved: The following list of payments were approved:
Clerk paid in accordance with contract (May)
Clerk’s Expenses £25.27
HMRC Employers National Insurance £113.81
Clear Insurance Management Ltd (Parish Council Insurance) £1808.03
Miss C Bull (Internal Audit) £40.00
Tracking the News (Welcome Packs) £40.00
Zemmat Holdings Ltd. (dog bin emptying) £805.57
Resolved: The bank balance was noted at £34259.87 with £224.45 of this amount ring-fenced to the playing field.
8.0 Playing Field and 106
(8.1) To discuss and confirm actions for the playing field including fire pit for the scouts at event in June.
No further information on the scout fire pit risk assessment, for the event day on the 28th June, was advised at the meeting.
(8.2) Update/actions on 106 for the playing field including fencing
The fencing project would be signed off, subject to snagging. Nigel Koch would be meeting with the parish council and Big Fish representatives on 22nd May 2025 at 11.00 am at the playing field.
Goal posts for the football pitch on the field were discussed, and it was agreed that they needed to be demountable.
The Village Hall recorded thanks to Big Fish for the filling of potholes in the driveway using the extra tarmac from the fence installation.
The rusted bin outside the playing field fence would be removed by Big Fish. If this was not done then alternative arrangements would be made to dispose of the redundant litter bin.
(8.3) To consider and determine “playing field rules” for new signage
The old playing field rules would be circulated and new ones discussed, with a view to agreeing these at the June parish council meeting.
(8.4) To update on bench repairs and welding
The welding and repairs would be carried out as soon as the contractor was available.
9. Planning.
To consider response to Planning Applications, as notified, and then determined by Herefordshire Council
There were was one new application for consideration of comments. This was for 260961 that had only just been received. This was for a driveway at 19 The Bines, Clehonger. An extension would be requested to the comments deadline.
10. Parish roads and footpaths, trees and land, litter and bins
10.1) To note any defects to be reported to Herefordshire Council, M Group, BB etc.
The ongoing state of Birch Hill Road was again commented. It was falling apart.
10.2) To consider any issues in relation to footpaths and actions
No further reports. Notification received about path KS31.
10.3) To put forward work for the Lengthsman and actions
Ongoing tasks and clearance as required. The Lengthsman had been asked to clear the nettles from outside the Clehonger School. The parish council had agreed the action and this had been carried out.
10.4) To receive any update regarding trees and actions
No further tree update. Tree Warden would be appointed in June.
10.5) To update regarding future litter pick and recent pick
There would be another litter pick organised for later in the year- end of September. A “thank you” was recorded to CAN for the refreshments, at the recent pick, and to all those who had participated in the litter picking. Around twenty people picked a total of thirteen bags of litter. A good clean up.
11. To discuss recent communications about highways safety and parking (Ward Cllr dealing) plus the condition of Birch Hill Road and any actions
Covered under the Ward Cllr Report and he was taking the issues of parking and road conditions forward.
12. To review speed indicator device and any actions
An update to the statistics was circulated. The new SID was pending being fitted.
13. Information Sheet, correspondence plus Ward Cllr Report
(13.1) To note Information and Correspondence sheet
Talk Community bulletins
New CEO
Appointment of new Chief Executive Officer, Paul Satoor, to replace Paul Walker
Changes to Public Right of Way KS31
Proposals for the relocation of the path KS31 and renaming it as path AN32 had been received and were noted.
Kingstone Surgery
Opening of the Prescription Machine – Event on 5th June 2026 – parish council members invited.
Kingstone Sports Association
A request was made to display a poster in Clehonger parish council boards to advertise “Kingstone Fun Fest” on the 11th July. The request was declined by the parish council.
Clehonger Action Network
A request was made to display a 28th June CAN Village Fete Event poster on the playing field fence leading up to the 28th June. The request was approved by the parish council.
Clehonger Church
A Cream tea would be held at the Clehonger Church on Saturday 30th May 2026 from 2.00 pm.
(13.2) To receive any update from the Ward Councillor
The Ward Cllr came to the meeting at 8.05 pm. He advised that:
• Questions were being asked about the repair of some roads, such as Hillary Drive in Hereford, when Birch Hill Road was in such a poor state?
• The Ward Cllr was asked about the employment history of the newly appointed CEO for Herefordshire, Paul Satoor. There appeared to have been issues at his previous post? The Ward Cllr advised that Mr Satoor had “done well at interview”.
• Joe Grice, Officer at Herefordshire Council, was being chased up about the posts to help deter the parking on the verge etc. near Harpacre.
• Sewerage problems had been advised at the Stonewater Site.
• The traffic crossing lights outside the Stonewater Site should be operational as the houses were occupied. This was being chased up.
13.3) To update on the Welcome Packs and actions
Packs were continuing to go out. A bulk delivery of packs had been made to the new houses in the Stonewater Development. Thank you to Cllrs Whittal and Davies for their work on the distribution.
14. Matters to be raised on the Agenda of the next Meeting
All of the usual matters would be included. Also the Year End Accounts and Audit for 2025 – 2026, the election of council officers and playing field signage plus notice boards – replacement etc.
15. Confirmation of date of next Parish Council Meeting
The next Meeting of the Parish Council would be held on Wednesday 17th June 2026, from 7.00pm, at the Clehonger Village Hall.
The Meeting closed at 8.15 pm.