Minutes of a meeting of Wellington Heath Parish Council on Monday 24th November 2025 held in the Memorial Hall starting at 7.30pm.
PRESENT – Cllrs H. Tierney, G. Kirk, T. Lott, J. Jones, S. Harries and R. Barnes.
Agenda item 2 – The Minutes of the meeting held on 29th September 2025 were taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chairman.
Agenda item 3 – No declarations of interest in items on the Agenda were received.
Agenda item 4 – Open Session – County Councillor Harvey was not in attendance and there were no members of the public in attendance.
Agenda item 5 Update reports on outstanding matters as follows –
Road Safety – Cllr Lott reported as follows –
Phase 1 of this scheme should be signed off.
- Move to Phase 2 of the plan commencing with road improvement works along the B4214 at Staplow which might be funded by Grant applications with some match funding from the Parish Council and some low cost actions across Wellington Heath village.
- Cllr Lott will introduce a near miss reporting system on and advertise it in the next Newsletter.
- Consult with residents in Horse Road about a one way system on Horse Road regarding the adoption of “20 is Plenty for us” which is a voluntary initiative but part of a national campaign for lower speed limits. At the same time he will consult with residents about installation of white edge lines, relocation of Farmers Arms signage, consideration of a one-way/except for access arrangement suggested by Herefordshire Council Traffic Management team.
Cllr Kirk advised the installation of some signage had not been approved by Herefordshire council who state that signage should be at a certain level above ground and the stainless steel chrome posts which had been used were not approved and should be painted. Cllr Barnes agreed to discuss with the Lengthsman a suitable colour and arrange for the offending poles to be painted.
All Councillors were in agreement for Cllr Lott to endeavour to discuss the projects with residents and give a full update if required. Thanks expressed to Cllr Lott for his full report on various issues.
(b) Planning – Cllr Kirk had forwarded all Councillors a Report prior to commencement of the meeting.
(c) Lengthsman –Cllr Barnes reported work on Pool Piece now completed, carpark cleared of rubbish and water now flows into the brook. Application for funding for public right of way at Ochre Hill has been agreed and work will commence over the winter. It was confirmed that Ochre Hill would not be used until work commences.
Cllr Kirk raised concerns over the sloping concrete on Ochre Hill and felt that the area should be closed off as he considers the area to be extremely hazardous to pedestrians. Cllr Barnes said he would need to apply to Hereford Council to close the steps which whilst work was carried out to replace them. However it would be possible to keep the slope to the side of the steps open. He confirmed the Lengthsman would remove the broken steps which would be used as hardcore for the new steps. He also advised amounts of funding have been agreed including an amount for ditching work. Cllr Barnes also confirmed new department at Herefordshire Council called “Flood Risk”.
Neil James has reported on some work which is required in the Parish and Cllr Barnes agreed to ask for an inspection with a camera on certain drains in the Parish.
(d) Registration of Memorial Hall documents – Cllr Kirk apologised that he had mis-read the date when this registration would take place, and advised that an official response to our application will take place by October 2026.
(e) Farmers Arms – Confirmation had been received that this has now been successful in registration as an Asset of Community Value where it will remain for a further five years. Thanks were expressed to Cllr Kirk for dealing with this.
(f) Rent for Memorial Hall – Clerk to send the Memorial Hall Committee an Invoice for rent in accordance with their tenancy – to date there is no record of any payment received.
Agenda item 6 – New items for consideration –
(i) To consider joining Parish Council Summit – Cllr Lott had attended a discussion session on the proposed Parish Council Charter. The Chairman had also down loaded a document which included helpful suggestions to Parish Councils. It was suggested that Parish Councillors read through the document and that an agreement could be made at the next meeting of the Parish Council in January 2026 on whether to join the Charter.
(ii) Purchase of additional dog litter bin – following advices received that bags of dog faeces had been placed in winter gritting bins, the Chairman agreed to look into where an additional bin could be placed and emptied and report back at the next meeting.
(iii) Financial Regulations as slightly amended – the Chairman advised this should be reviewed yearly to ensure it meets the Parish Council requirements. Councillors approved the slight adjustments made with regard to various financial limits on expenditure.
(iv) Councillors to look into expressing an interest in a Play Area Capital Investment Grant.
Agenda item 7 – Finance
Parish Councillors had met earlier in the month and considered the Budget and Precept for the year 2026/27. The Clerk confirmed she had received no request for information following advertisements on the public notice boards for two weeks prior to current Council meeting.
Precept – The proposed Precept for the year 2026/27 was £16,090.00.
Budget – The proposed Budget for the year 2026/27 was £16,090.00.
All Councillors approved the Budget and Precept for 2026/27 and the Chairman signed the documents for submission to Hereford Council.
The following Accounts had been received for October 2025 when no Council meeting was held –
- Go Greener skip at Pool Piece £245. + vat @£49.00 = £294.00.
- A J Roberts Hedge cutting £182.63.
- The Practice Pay roll £12.00 + vat @ £2.40 = £14.40.
- Clerk Salary £350.10.
- HMRC PAYE £87.40.
- Lengthsman (Inv No. £360.00. (Chq No. 1505).
The above payments were approved and cheques signed as appropriate.
Clerk confirmed that she had not received any Invoices for payment at the November meeting, all of which would be carried forward to the next Parish Council meeting in January 2026 for confirmation.
Agenda item 8– Reports from Council representatives for the following items-
Memorial Hall – Cllr Barnes confirmed craft and new comer events had been a success refurbishment of Committee room nearing completion – new chairs to be provided but decision made not to provide new desks at this time.
Green Spaces – Cllr Kirk advised very little to report, but advised that John Tearle had raised concerns regarding an open pipe where the stream runs into the culvert on Pool Piece which he considered might be adequate for a child to investigate and get stuck. This was discussed and Cllr Kirk agreed to speak to the Lengthsman about how it could be covered in to prevent a child getting stuck in the pipe.
Planning – a circular had been e-mailed to all Councillors providing an update on the status of various planning applications.
Agenda item 9 –
Update provided on Bank balances.
The Chairman advised the present Editor of the Newsletter – Imogen Peck had resigned with immediate effect. Fortunately Carolyn Ainsworth had indicated an interest in taking over the role of Editor when attending the Newcomer event. The Chairman was to speak to both ladies about the next Edition due for publication in February 2026.
There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.39pm.
H. Tierney
Signed…………………………………………………………………….Chairman.
Dated 26th January 2026.