Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday 19th May 2025 in the Memorial Hall commencing at 7.30pm
In attendance – Cllrs. H. Tierney, J. Jones, G. Kirk and R. Barnes.
Also in attendance were S. Harries, S. Holmes, T. Lott and the Clerk. An apology for inability to attend the meeting had been received from County Councillor Liz Harvey.
Appointments –
- Election of Chairman for the year 2025/26.
- On a proposal by Cllr Barnes seconded by Cllr Jones and carried Heloise Tierney was elected as Chairman for the year 2025/26, and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took the Chair.
- Co-option of Councillor – on a proposal by the Chairman seconded by Cllr Barnes, Stephen Harries was co-opted as Parish Councillor and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office in the presence of the Clerk.
- Vice Chairman – On a proposal by the Chairman seconded by G. Kirk Cllr Jennifer Jones was re-elected as Vice Chairman for the year 2025/26.
- Planning Committee – Cllr G. Kirk was elected as Chairman of the Planning Committee. All Councillors to serve on this Committee.
- Finance Committee – All Councillors were appointed to serve on the Finance Committee.
- Internal Auditors – Greendawn Accounting were re-elected as Internal Auditors to the Parish Council.
- Bankers – Lloyds Bank were re-elected as Bankers to the Parish Council.
Minutes – The Chairman signed the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 31st March 2025 and confirmed the Notes from the Annual Parish Meeting held on 14th April 2025.
Declarations of Interest in items on the Agenda – No declarations received.
Open Session – No topics raised.
Audited Accounts – for the year ending 31st March 2025 – The Chairman advised that Greendawn Accounting had again issued a clear audit report.
- The Annual Governance Statement was read through, confirmed and signed by the Chairman.
- The Certificate of Exemption was signed by the Chairman.
- The Annual Return was approved by all Councillors and signed by the Chairman.
- The audited Accounts to 31st March 2025 were approved by all and signed by the Chairman.
A discussion took place on all aspects of the audited accounts, balances in hand, precept and cash flow and all the audit paperwork was signed by the Chairman and Clerk with the approval of all Councillors.
Update Reports – Road Safety – by area
(1) Staplow – the Chairman advised she had drafted out an application for a grant from West Mercia Police Road Safety fund which will cover two speed indicator devices, two village gateways and installation costs, but she was unable to complete the application until Balfour Beatty have submitted a Quotation for installation costs. Grant application expected to be around £14,000 including VAT. Bosbury Parish Council have indicated they are happy for the grant application to include the SID and village gate to be installed within their boundary. The Chairman advised that she will ask them if they are prepared to cover any maintenance costs for these going forward.
West Midlands police have identified safe locations for volunteers to work and the next step is for the Police to place speed data boxes to monitor traffic. There must be a minimum volume of traffic and that speeds must be 45 mph or below. If data comes back as over this limit, enforcement measures will be looked into by the Police. The Parish Council will need to find sufficient volunteers before the proposals can proceed.
(2) Beggars Ash –The Chairman had met with the Ledbury Town Council clerk to discuss road safety on the part of Beggars Ash which is within Ledbury parish boundary. She had agreed to raise this at a Section 106 meeting later that week and obtain their views on including a TRO to reduce the speed limit from the national down to 30mph in their 106 bid. She also agreed to press Herefordshire Council to resurface the road. Overhanging trees and a safe walking route were also discussed and the Ledbury Clerk agreed to talk to Ward Councillor Cllr Liz Harvey about these items.
(3) Wellington Heath – Cllr Kirk has purchased “unsuitable for HGV signs” and these will be installed by our Lengthsman provided he has the necessary insurance to work on the roadside. Cllr Barnes agreed to check with Herefordshire Council whether the Lengthsman holds the necessary approval and insurance for working on the highway working. Action RB The Chairman had sought advice from the National Landscapes about proposed pedestrian warning signs along the Ledbury Road which Herefordshire Council Traffic Management team has proposed in conjunction with SLOW carriageway and edge of carriageway markings. He had provided a helpful paper including mock-ups of this option and an alternative which he proposed, as he felt that the TM proposal would not significantly increase pedestrian’s feelings of safety, and hence the visual impact is not justified. He proposed an alternative of a single marked edging which looked similar to the marked pedestrian route which he has rejected.
* The Chairman would welcome views on the NL paper and agreed to make an appointment for a meeting with John Stocks to talk through his ideas and to include Herefordshire Council TM team to the meeting.
TM had made a suggestion of painted white lines to edge parts of Horse Road at a couple of locations where the drives of houses give the appearance of a wider road. The Chairman sought views on whether this is a project the Parish Council wish to follow up and after discussion, the Chairman agreed to arrange a meeting with Hereford Council TM about the proposal. Action Chairman
Twenty is Plenty – The Chairman advised she has not made any progress into researching the “Twenty is Plenty” idea but will do so before the next meeting.
Encroaching hedgerows – Three locations had been brought to the attention of the Parish Council. Action has been agreed on one, the other two locations remain outstanding.
Planning – Cllr Kirk had submitted a report prior to the meeting. He advised the only outstanding matter was the application for Rockies Field. Two applications have previously been presented and also an appeal. It appeared there might be a new owner of the site. Cllr Kirk advised AONB has objected to some of the overall appearance of the site. No other applications had been received for consideration
Defibrillator – The Clerk advised David Williams had purchased and been repaid by the Council for two new pads for the defibrillator and it had been suggested that a “Apple Air Tag” should be fitted and also should be labelled in the hope of avoiding any problems in the future.
Memorial Hall documents – Cllr Kirk advised he had written to the Land Registry on 5th April requesting their entry for The Copse regarding the registration of the Deeds for the Memorial Hall, but awaited a reply. The application for registration is held up by this.
Lengthsman – Cllr Barnes gave an update on what has been achieved during the year including work on drainage to keep them clear and flowing during heavy rainfall, work at Ochre Hill which includes a soakaway, with major improvement on the steps scheduled to take place later this year. Work will also take place on the entrance steps in to Pool Piece. Cllr Barnes confirmed that the Parish Council have renewed their contract with Hereford Council for participation in the Lengthsman Scheme (funds available are £984.00) plus an extra grant of £492. under their “match funding scheme”.
Re-registration of the Farmers Arms as a Community Asset. The existing registration expires later during the year and Hereford Council had forwarded on to us details about how the scheme works and on the re-registration procedure. Cllr Kirk agreed to contact previous Councillor Frank Rozellar to see if he had any paperwork on the project and the Clerk/Chairman were to look through the Parish Council filing cabinet to see if there was any information in the files. It was decided and agreed by all Councillors that the Parish Council would apply for the ACV listing to be renewed.
Financial matters – The Clerk advised the undermentioned payments had been made during April when no Parish Council meeting had taken place –
- Zurich Insurance for year to 31st April 26 £437.00 – no increase from previous year.
- The Practice (new pay roll officer) £37.00 + £7.40 vat = £44.40.
- Clerk salary April £350.10.
- HMRC – PAYE to 5th May £87.40.
- Medisave, defibrillator parts £91.99 + £18.40 vat = £110.39.
- Lengthsman (Inv. Nos 59 & 60) £265.00. (cheque No. 1461).
- HALC – Affiliation fee £567.50 + £113.40 vat = £681.00.
Invoices for these payments were available for inspection at the meeting.
The Clerk advised the following Accounts were due for payment at the end of May –
- Cllr Kirk repayment of invoice for The Sign Shed £28.23 + £5.65 = £33.88.
- Cllr Kirk repayment of Invoice for SSP Direct £268.80 = £53.76 vat = £322.56.
- The Practice – pay roll officer £12.00 + £2.40p = £14.40.
- Salary Clerk- May £349.90.
- HMRC – PAYE to 5th June £87.60.
- Greendawn Accounting – annual audit – £225.00 + £45.00 vat = £270.00.
Resolved – All the above Accounts were approved for payment on a proposal by the Chairman seconded by Cllr. Barnes and carried.
Item 13 – Reports from Committee Members –
Memorial Hall – Cllr Barnes advised the Committee Room repair is in hand and will include a new TV, curtains, desk and furniture, and also a new website. Volunteers are assisting with the garden. A successful quiz evening had been held with all funds going to Charity. Future events included a treasure hunt and scarecrow competition. The Chairman agreed to do the contact list which the new Editor of the Newsletter had advised she was unable to take this over. The question of clearing notice boards of out-of- date notices and information was discussed.
Green Spaces – Cllr Kirk advised he had nothing to report.
Item 14 – Brief update on any items of importance or correspondence –
The Clerk advised on healthy Bank balances which she confirmed included the first half of the Precept for the year and also some funding from Hereford Council for the Lengthsman scheme.
In view of the Bank balances a discussion took place and the Clerk was requested and agreed to make enquiries regarding the possible transfer of some funds into the interest bearing account .
Dates of future meetings in the year were discussed – Cllr Steve Harries advised due to work commitments he would not be able to attend the Council meeting in July and gave his apologies.
There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.40pm.
Heloise Tierney 21st July 2025.
Signed……………………………………………………………………. Dated……………………………….
Chairman