MINUTES OF ORLETON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ONLINE AT 7.30PM ON THURSDAY 20 AUGUST 2020
PRESENT: B Gandy – Chairman; P Smith – Vice Chairman; E Clanzy-Hodge; S Perry; and P Burnham.
IN ATTENDANCE: Ward Cllr. Bowen; and R Hewitt (Clerk). There were five (5) members of the public present.
1. Apologies for absence – J Page.
2. Co-opt two new members to the parish council – Ms Stacy Perry and Mr Paul Burnham were co-opted to the parish council. Both co-opted members accepted the Declaration of Office and joined the meeting.
3. Declarations of interest and written dispensations on agenda items – None.
4. The minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2020 were agreed to be a true record.
5. Receive report on Herefordshire Council – Ward Cllr. Bowen reported on a tour of the local roads with Balfour Beatty’s locality steward and said that the resurfacing of Kings Road is not currently programmed for 2020-21. Other matters raised included the silt under the bridge on Millbrook Way and use of the gully cart to clear the drains. Grade II* listed Shire Hall is in a lamentable condition which came to light with the collapse of ceilings. A VJ Day ceremony saw the consecration of a plaque. The renaming of Canary Bridge to commemorate munitions workers was marked by a service at Hereford Cathedral. A proposal to borrow up to £8 million to improve the county’s roads will be considered by Herefordshire Council shortly.
6. Invitation to members of the public to address the council (limited to 15) – A member of the public asked the parish council to address speeding traffic on the B4362 at Comberton. The meeting noted that the parish council deploys a speed indicator device on a quarterly basis and has commissioned Balfour Beatty to improve signs and road markings on the B4362 and B4361. Ward Cllr. Bowen said that West Mercia Police has been asked to undertake enforcement.
7. Clerk’s report and reports on meetings attended by parish councillors – The Clerk reported that Balfour Beatty is due to decide the outcome of the drainage grant application by 9 September 2020.
The Chairman said the refurbishment of the toilets at the village hall has been delayed by the need to order new toilets that fit the infra red fittings, and that new information on regulations for re-opening has been received by the village hall committee. The Parish Council Summit hosted online by Herefordshire Council was attended by the Chairman and slides from the summit have been circulated by the Clerk.
8. Plans
202350 Bower Orchard, Church Lane, Orleton, SY8 4HU – Works to various trees. The proposed tree work was supported.
202270 15 Mortimer Close, Orleton, SY8 4PG – Ash (T1) Trunks growing into one another: reduce one trunk. Holly (T2) Tree leaning into garden fence: remove leaning section. The parish council considers that the work specification is appropriate for the trees and their situation, and requests that Herefordshire Council’s Tree Officer advises on the appropriate work for the trees, taking due account of the TPO designation.
202204 The Old Vicarage, Kings Road, Orleton, SY8 4HN – Fell Yew tree. The Yew Tree looks to be suppressed beneath the canopy of adjacent trees and that therefore removal would be acceptable subject to an appropriate new tree being planted elsewhere on the property.
Herefordshire Council has granted planning permission for 201341 The White House and 201186 Kitchen Hill Road. Works to trees are allowed for 201816 29 Mortimer Drive and 200575 Timbers. Planning application 201187 Orleton House has been withdrawn. Planning application 201593 The Knoll has been refused by the planning authority.
9. Accounts
i) Financial Statement to date: The balances of the parish council accounts on 30 July 2020 were noted: Treasurer – £4,422.60; and Money Manager – £20,386.31.
ii) The following payments were agreed: D C Gardening Services, lengthsman/ P3 footpaths (£468.00); and Leo Pest Control, dog waste removal (£45.60). A cheque was raised to reimburse the Good Neighbour Scheme for the cost of printing Covid 19 contact cards, as agreed on 19 March 2020.
iii) Quotation from Balfour Beatty for implementing the agreed road safety work on the B4361 and B4362: The quotation is considered to be too high given the approximate costings provided at the outset by the senior highway engineer who met on site with members of the parish council. It was resolved to request that the quotation is reconsidered by Balfour Beatty, and if necessary, a meeting requested to look at the costs in the quotation line by line. Ward Cllr. Bowen kindly offered to make the same request.
10. Governance Statement 2019-20 – The Clerk read out the Annual Governance Statement, which was unanimously agreed and signed by the Chairman.
11. Orleton Parish Council Accounts, 2019-20 – The Annual Accounts for 2019-20 were considered by the meeting, unanimously agreed and signed by the Chairman.
12. Review Risk Schedule – This was reviewed, agreed and signed by the Chairman.
13. Lengthsman/ Highways/ Footpaths – The Clerk reported that the lengthsman has been asked to fix the wobbly stile off Green Lane, and to strim a section of footpath OL29 starting at Kitchen Hill Road.
14. Community resilience plan – It was agreed to set up a working group to help develop a draft resilience plan for Orleton. Members of the working group are the Chairman, Cllr. Perry, and member of the public Ms L Mackay who kindly volunteered to join the group as well.
15. Matters raised for next meeting (no discussion) – New dog bin by entrance to bridleway OL28.
16. Information items – Noted.
17. Date of next meeting – 17 September 2020. The meeting will be held online.
The meeting closed at 9.27pm.