Minutes15 March 2018

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Minutes of Orleton Parish Council Meeting Held at 7.30pm on Thursday 15 March 2018 at the Village Hall

PRESENT R Jack – Chairman; B Gandy – Vice Chairman; E Clanzy-Hodge; J Harrison; P Gallagher; and P Smith.

IN ATTENDANCE Mr P Sutton and Mr J Brown, Connexus (formerly Shropshire Housing Association); Ward Cllr. S Bowen (Bircher Ward); and R Hewitt (Clerk). There were eleven members of the public present.

  1. Apologies for absence – Tibbles.
  2. Declarations of interest and written dispensations on agenda items –
  3. The minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2018 were agreed and signed as a true
  4. Invitation to members of the public to address the council (limited to 15) – Members of the public spoke against planning application 180517 Land to the north west of Kings Road on the grounds of flood risk, capacity of sewerage infrastructure and reduced size of car Mr Sutton and Mr Brown, Connexus said they wanted to work with the parish council, school and community to meet the concerns raised about the planning application.
  5. Plans

180517 Land to the north west of Kings Road, Orleton – Proposed 39 dwellings with associated access, parking and landscaping.  The parish council agreed to support the planning application subject to meeting the policies and criteria in the Orleton and Richards Castle Neighbourhood Development Plan, particularly:

  • Policy ORC4 Protection from Flood Risk, which states “No development will be

permitted that will result in increased flood risk to properties elsewhere”;

  • Policy ORC5 Sewerage infrastructure, which states “No development will be permitted which will exacerbate pollution overflows from the public sewer running through Orleton village”. Severn Trent Water had to pump out the system in February 2018 due to pollution overflows from the sewerage infrastructure on Kings Road by the school, and In February 2017, Severn Trent Water committed to resolving the problem and the action was minuted as follows:

“… work is being planned to refurbish the pumping station, including new pumps and replacement of a 6” pipe at the point of entry to the pumping station to bring the diameter in line with the rest of the network. A valve will be installed so that more volume can be pumped forward, and additional storage provided at Woofferton if necessary. The feasibility study for the pumping station project is estimated at 12 months…”

Orleton Parish Council wants to see the sewerage infrastructure upgraded in line with this commitment from the water authority, and believes this should be a condition in any decision made in respect of the application;

  • Policy ORC8 Housing Site in Orleton identified the site for new housing development, and the requirements in the policy need to be implemented in full, including “sufficient off street parking” and highway safety in the vicinity of [the primary school]… [C]omprehensive proposals will be required to address the combined effects of additional access points and traffic generated within the school’s vicinity in order to avoid increasing the danger to pedestrians, especially children”; and
  • Policy ORC12 Traffic Measures, which states that development should propose positive measures to facilitate “safer .. adjacent to Orleton Primary School”, has to be met in full as well. The provision for additional school parking in outline planning permission 152204 has been significantly reduced in this application. There should be a condition so that the required number of spaces is

increased to meet the needs of the school and community. Please also see Policy ORC13 Highway Design Requirements where proposals should “preferably address the reduction of any on-street parking problems that may exist within the vicinity”. The opportunity to resolve parking problems by the school needs to be properly considered and planned so that a long term solution is obtained.

In addition, the parish council would like to see a footpath added to the plans so that pedestrians are able to access the village more easily, thus encouraging people to walk (Policy ORC12 e). A footpath parallel to Halletts Well to Kings Road would allow people living along the cul de sac which leads towards the brook to access village amenities more readily.

The parish council wants to see the conditions in outline planning permission 152204 applied to this planning application. The developer has offered to work with the parish council and community to address the concerns highlighted above, and this should be made a requirement should planning permission be granted by Herefordshire Council.

180792 Land opposite Orleton Manor Accessed via Overton Lane, Orleton – Fell 31 conifers on site. The proposed tree work was supported. The trees felled should be replaced with appropriate native species.

180810 Orleton Pre School, Orleton Church Of England Primary School, Kings Road, Orleton, SY8 4HQ – Reduce crown of Ash tree. The proposed tree work was supported.

The following planning decision by Herefordshire Council was noted: 174778 Cullis Lodge. Works to trees within a conservation area have been allowed for: 180184 Church Croft, and 180219 Tunnel Lane Cottage.

  1. Report on Herefordshire Council – Ward Bowen said the 4.9 percent increase in Council Tax in 2018-19 has been confirmed. There is a new leader of the council, Jonathan Lester. A new cabinet member for children’s services has been appointed. Scrutiny will be looking at libraries, museums and the archive service shortly. Dates will be provided by Hartlebury for the planned visit. A velocity patcher has been hired by Balfour Beatty to help with the increase in potholes following the bad winter weather.
  2. Clerk’s report and reports on meetings attended by parish councillors – The Consumer Council for Water has acknowledged the complaint against Severn Trent Water and assigned a Speed data held by West Mercia Police is above the criteria for a speed watch scheme. Local police have been asked to “pay some attention to the area”. The .gov.uk domain name is in the process of being registered.  HALC has advised that parish councils should not donate to churchyards by receiving quotations and paying bills directly.  Herefordshire Council has confirmed the £25,000 precept in 2018-19, which is equivalent to £67.82 per year for a band D property.  A contractor quoting for the wall at the Memorial Ground has provided a location where examples of work can be seen. Cllr. Smith kindly agreed to join the Clerk and view the examples. The date of Balfour Beatty’s parish briefing at the Kingsland depot is now 10 April 2018.
  3. Accounts
  4. The latest balances of the parish council accounts were noted: Treasurer – £7,620.09; and Money Manager – £20,305.32.
  1. The following payments were agreed: Clerk, .gov.uk domain name (£162.00); andOrleton Village Hall, increase in hire fee in 2018 – £35.00.
  • Lengthsman and footpath maintenance in 2018-19 – The parish council considered three tenders and agreed to appoint DC Gardening Services with immediate
  1. Village gateway costings provided by Balfour Beatty – A working group was set up to review the costs and report back to the next meeting. Clanzy-Hodge, Smith and the Chairman kindly agreed to make up the working group.

vii) Annual Return process for 2017-18 – The meeting noted the new external audit process where there is a flat fee of £200.00 for councils with revenues or expenditure from £25,000-200,000. Further charges will apply if the auditor undertakes additional work in respect of the published accounts.

  1. Lengthsman/ Highways and Footpaths – It was agreed to ask the new lengthsman to undertake the following jobs in March
  • Clear mud from the pavement gutters on Millbrook Way from the junction with the B4361 to the junction by the War Memorial, and then from the shop along Kitchen Hill Road and Kings Road to the Where pavements are particularly muddy also clear the mud, and from the bus stop on Millbrook Way to the War Memorial remove sticks and branches where they have fallen on the pavement and gutter.
  • Clear the drain tops and grips on roads around the Goggin and Orleton Common to keep unnecessary water off the roads.
  1. Community Trees Fund – No action required. An application may be made in the
  2. Pavement parking notice – The poster was agreed subject to gaining the permission of Living Streets for the use of their
  3. Appointment of tree officer – A local member of the public will be approached, and a note placed in Grapevine.
  4. General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) – The parish council asked the Clerk to review the requirements and provide a report for the next
  5. Parish council projects in 2018 – No action
  6. Matters raised for next meeting (no discussion) – Planning re: the Boot Inn.
  7. Information items –
  8. Date for next meeting – 30pm, Thursday 19 April 2018. The meeting closed at 9.57pm.
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