Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of Clehonger Parish Council held on 18th January 2023 from 7.30 pm at the Clehonger Village Hall
NB- The minutes are “draft” until ratified at the following parish council meeting.
Present: Cllrs J Whittal, C Protherough (in the Chair), S Savory, W Watkins, J Jones, N Rider and K Langdon
In attendance: Mrs A Wright (Clerk), Lengthsman Paul Wright, Ward Cllr David Hitchiner and three members of the public.
1. Open Session with any parishioners who have joined the Meeting (to include any update from West Mercia Police – if in attendance
The police were not in attendance. A member of the public highlighted an issue with thefts from vehicles. It was stated that it was important not to leave valuables in vehicles if at all possible and that all incidents of this nature and any criminal activity should be reported to the police. Cllr Watkins would put a note on the Clehonger Parish Forum Facebook page to give contact information for police reporting.
The Coronation of King Charles III on May 6th 2023 was mentioned. The coronation was the same weekend as the one following the local elections. Was there a will for “something joined up” in the village to happen? The Chair would put out an enquiry to canvass if there was any interest in a joint venture of village involvement. This could include the school, parish council, hall or any other groups subject to them expressing a wish to join together to commemorate the day. Cllr Watkins advised at the meeting that the hall was available on the 7th May. Chairs from the hall would also be available if required. No formal booking was made. There was also a suggestion concerning a possibility of consideration of a commemorative token of the coronation for the village children?
2. Co-option of councillor and signing of forms
There were no candidates presented for co-option at the meeting.
3. To receive Apologies for Absence
There were apologies for absence received from Cllr A Davies.
4. To note Declarations of Interest
There were declarations of interest made by Cllrs Watkins and Jones in relation to the Village Hall and Cllr Whittal in matters relating to the Clehonger Church.
5. To approve Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 21st December 2022
The Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on the 21st December 2022 were approved.
6. Finance and Policies
(6.1) Resolved: The following list of payments were approved:
Clerk paid in accordance with contract (January)
Expenses £32.51
HM Revenue & Customs (tax) £195.20
HM Revenue & Customs (NI) £69.12
Longfield Services (Lengthsman/Bins etc.) £213.10
Clehonger Village Hall (Hall hire 21/12/22) £14.00
Resolved: The bank balance was noted at £40316.97 (January statement)
(6.2) To discuss progression of a parish questionnaire for residents “wish list”
It was resolved that a suitable date and time for the questionnaire meeting would be arranged.
7.0 Playing Field
(7.1) Update on matters relating to the playing field
It was suggested that a hard border edging be placed around the flower bed area, in the playing field, to avoid possible damage from the mowing. Cllr Watkins would liaise with the lengthsman on this.
8. Planning.
To consider response to Planning Applications, as notified, and then determined by Herefordshire Council
No new applications for consideration of comments this time.
9. Clehonger Parish Church
Services at Innesfield had ceased during the Covid Pandemic. Cllr Whittal had spoken with the Churchwarden regarding a possible restarting of these.
10. To consider HALC Membership for 2023 – 2024
The HALC Membership was again discussed. Consideration was still being given to the value for money and the benefit of membership. Alternative membership, of the SLCC, was being determined. Decision on whether to renew the membership of HALC would be on the Agenda for February 2023.
11. Clehonger Village Hall
The Village Hall Secretary advised that there was a meeting of the hall committee the following week.
12. Parish roads and footpaths, trees and land
12.1) To note any defects to be reported to Balfour Beatty
Mud on the road near the new development site on the Kingston Road had been reported and cleared. There were still flooding issues with the Persimmon site and a local field was being flooded when there were downpours. The attenuation pond on the Persimmon estate was still not seemingly taking the water from the site as intended. The Ward Cllr would enquire about this. It was commented again that Birch Hill Road, Poplar Road and Birch Hill were all broken up in terms of road surface and required resurfacing and not just patching. There was also a priority to renew the worn away white lines as identified and reported.
12.2) To consider any issues in relation to footpaths
The Footpath Officer was not present. No update. There was a tree down on a local footpath and confirmation of this would be supplied. It may be an Allensmore footpath. There was a also a report of some soil dumped half way down Poplar Road near the marker outside Orchard House. There was also some dumped soil in the ditch outside Yew Tree Close. The lengthsman would take a look at the situation regarding these soil deposits.
12.3) To put forward work for the Lengthsman
To look at mud in ditch in Poplar Road and play area border
12.4) To receive any update regarding trees
No further update.
12.5) To consider any matters relating to speeding in the village – progress of community speed watch and Speed Indicator Device
The Community Speed Watch Co-ordinator advised that there had not been any further details of Clehonger CSW progressing. The co-ordinator would maintain a fortnightly checking up and chasing process.
The speed indicator device request had been chased up again but no further information had been received. Village gates were commented but these had not been pursued as two of the village entry points had been deemed unsuitable previously Cagebrook and the Kingstone Road) and the SID would hopefully be on the third entrance where there were already two tall speed advisory posts marking the 30 mph limit. It was agreed that the “mannequin” traffic idea figures (made out of stuffed clothes) was a good one and they had been commented as being a good idea by the police at another council meeting. Perhaps a competition could be arranged for the best one?
13. Information Sheet, Correspondence plus Ward Councillor Report
13.1) To note Information and Correspondence sheet:
Herefordshire Council:
Talk Community bulletins
Section 106 Portfolio of works delivery update
Flood updates and briefings
Coronation of King Charles III on May 6th (Bank holiday on 8th May 2023)
Suggestion received from councillor to discuss any wish to hold community event(s) and to start to plan these.
Letter from Mrs Harding of Church Road:
8 January 2023
Mrs A Wright
Clerk Clehonger Parish Council
“Dear Alison
Two points I would like raised at the 18 January meeting of Clehonger Parish Council. Notice Board in Church Road I attended the April 2022 parish council meeting and raised the condition of the notice board by the pond opposite the church. It was agreed this board should be looked at – see below. (7.2) Notice board for maps to agree purchase and location of boards and maps It was agreed that one map mounting board should be purchased for the playing field (exact specification to be chosen) plus the notice board near the church would be repaired to house a copy of the new map of the village. Over Christmas I drove to the playing field and saw a new information board had been installed. When will be the board by the pond be attended to?
Bus Stop, Church Road / B4349 This was raised at the parish council meeting of 13 December 2018. 6. Brief Verbal Reports: 6.1 The Ward Cllr was going to try to obtain a pathway to be installed by the bus stop at the top of Church Road. The situation had been raised and he was awaiting feedback. When you alight from the bus heading towards Clehonger on the B4349 and cross the road to the other side there is no level path to walk on until you reach the bus stop on the corner of Church Road. The ground is very uneven and rutted. Garry had to catch a bus recently as he cannot drive at the moment due to a foot operation. Having crossed the road, he had to walk in the gutter as walking on the rutted grass verge with a crutch could have caused him to stumble. The B4349 is a very busy road and vehicles travel at 60+ mph. We have several elderly neighbours in Church Road who use the bus service to and from Hereford. If I catch the bus from Hereford on a dark winter’s evening I have to use a torch to ensure I don’t stumble on the rutted verge. Please would you contact Herefordshire Council and request that they assess this area to create a ‘pavement’ from the Church Road bus stop to align with the bus stop on the opposite side of the road.
Kind regards
Linda Harding”
The contents of the letter were discussed and it was agreed that the Clerk would write to the Ward Cllr and the Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure about the bus stop and paving situation.
The notice board opposite the Clehonger Church was not actually the property of the parish council, but they had kindly agreed to put a new map into the board and tidy up the structure. There were some spelling mistakes advised on the map and these would be checked out, and corrected, before a new map could be ordered. This work would be carried out once a revised map had been obtained and a quotation to produce the art work had been approved.
Dore Community Transport
Thank you letter from the treasurer for the support received.
Ward Councillor Report
The Ward Cllr advised that he was hoping the gap in the pavement onto the road opposite Harpacre would be made safer by the end of the financial year.
14. Matters to be raised on the Agenda of the next Meeting
All the usual matters would be included. Consideration of the HALC subscription would also be on the agenda. Parish Wish List Survey and Coronation feedback re canvass for an event.
The Ward Cllr updated the meeting regarding the Herefordshire Council Budget and Council tax would probably be going up by 4.99%. The overall budget position was more favourable than had been thought. The pre-election period (previously but no longer known as “purdah”) would be starting on March 6th. This would impact council making decision ability. The Childrens’ Commissioners recommendations to the Secretary of State were being awaited. The contract with Balfour Beatty Living Places was up for renegotiation. Some of the services, previously transferred to BBLP, may come back “in house”. The Owen Street cycleway was described as a “disaster”. There had only been one bidder for the contract. There was a Master plan for the city under consultation. This may involve an eastern river crossing and a housing strategy to 2050, a big economic plan.
There was a collective comment about the timings of the consultations being over the Christmas period when engagement may not have been focussed. Some of the consultations were acknowledged to be still ongoing.
15. Confirmation of date of next Parish Council Meeting and possible cancellation of meetings in December.
The next Meeting of the Parish Council would be held on Wednesday 15th February 2023, from 7.30pm, at the Clehonger Village Hall. It was proposed that the December meetings of the parish council be removed from the schedule of meetings for the year and this was agreed. There would be no parish council meeting in December going forward.
The Meeting closed at 8.53 PM.