, & PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting held at Three Parishes Hall, Grafton Flyford, Worcester on Tuesday 24 May 2016

Present: J East A Meikle A Reeves D Smallcombe D Waide P Wakeman Mark Broughton - Taylor was present as Clerk Disrict Councillor - L Robinson County Councillor - R Adams

1. Apologies: Joy Roscoe and Richard Davey had tendered their apologies for absence.

2. Declaration of Interest: None

3. Public Participation: Three members of the public attended the meeting. It was reported that Severn Trent appeared to have repaired the water leak outside Hedges on Lane and pot holes had been repaired in this area but there was still work to be done to correct the levels in the road The Clerk reported that Highways had informed him that this work has now been scheduled but no date has yet been given.

Further south on Bishampton Lane has still not been completed.

John Barratt attended the Parish Council meeting to report about break ins that had occurred in North Piddle on 15 May. These break ins followed a similar occurrence on 22 April at The Cottage on North Piddle Road in Naunton Beauchamp. A further break in had taken place in Naunton Beauchamp on the same night as the North Piddle burglaries. Items had been stolen from sheds and outhouses but no houses were broken into. A suspicious vehicle Registration number KT 04 ZNL had been reported to the police. John Barratt reported that District Council have a Crime Prevention initiative headed by David Hemming and Clive Parsons and Mr Barratt had been visited by one of these officers and this had proved helpful and constructive. It was noted that Cropthorne had taken up the Smart Water initiative and is soon to be declared a Smart Water area. Mr Barrett suggests the Parish Council mailing list should be used to inform people quickly of any future events of this nature to help people to take appropriate action. The Chairman thanked Mr Barrett for his contribution and the matter was further discussed under item 7 on the agenda.

4. Minutes of the meetings held on 19 April 2016: Minutes of the meetings held on 19 April 2016 having been previously circulated, these were approved subject to a minor correction paragraph 8.2 which should read The Council made a nomination for the Wychavon Community Recognition Award but has not heard the outcome of the awards.

2 Proposed by D Waide, seconded by P Wakeman and all were in favour.

5. Matters Arising from the Minutes: None

6. Correspondence: None 7. Local Police Officer and Community Support Officer: The following report was received by email and circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting. This report confirmed the burglaries which had taken place in North Piddle on 15 May. After some discussion it was decided that the Clerk would contact Martin Bailey concerning sending out an email on the Parish Council mailing list inviting people to join the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. This was thought to be a more appropriate way of informing people quickly of any criminal activity in the area.

“We have three incidents of theft which appear to have all occurred on the same evening being the 15th May between 2100 and 0800 of the 16th.

All took place in North Piddle and the properties are close to each other. In all three cases outbuildings were broken into but only two had items stolen. We believe the majority of these items were power tools.

This follows on from the incidents on the 12th April in Flyford Flavell.

The driver of a vehicle that was of interest to us is under investigation for similar offences but these last 3 incidents have occurred since.

If anyone has any information regarding any of these incidents please do not hesitate to contact us. If anyone sees anything suspicious please ring 101 immediately.”

8. Flyford Church: Work is progressing well at Flyford Church and Phase One is now nearly complete. The only outstanding major item is the connection of the sewer. The Church Committee is now moving on to consider Phase Two of the refurbishment which requires the removal of the pews and a creation of storage space. However at the present time there are no funds to carry out this work. The Parish Council was informed that there is an ongoing discussion concernng the provision of chairs for the community space in the church and the Flyford Social Group concerning the type and quality of chair which may be appropriate for the use of both organizations. However, it was thought that in order to remove the pews and open up the space in the Nave and create a storage area, the cost would be around £2,800. The sale of the pews would then fund the purchase of new chairs. The Parish Council was informed that the Friends Committee are intending to bring an application to the Parish Council for New Homes Bonus money to cover this work. The Chairman intimated that the Parish Council would be pleased to consider a full costed proposal for this application at the next Parish Council Meeting. However he thought it was important that the application included an explanation of how the church intended to provide and maintain community access. Please note addendum report.

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9. Flyford Flavell Social Group: The required consultation concerning the procurement of tables as approved at the previous Parish Council Meeting has now taken place and Wychavon District Council are satisfied that there is sufficient support in the community to proceed with this application. It was understood that the chief executive had given approval and the final approval from the local member would be forthcoming as soon as the appropriate communication could be completed. However the Clerk promised to order the tables without any further delay as soon as the confirmation was received from Wychavon.

10. Commemorative Medals: The Clerk reported that the Commemorative Medals have now been delivered. It was agreed that the Flyford Councillors would arrange for the presentation of the medals to children in attendance at the lunch on 12 June and that other medals would be distributed to children afterwards.

11. To Report Planning Appeal Decisions 11.1 Flyford Green Development There had been no further development in terms of completion of contracts on the Flyford Green since the last Parish Council meeting, however finishing works had progressed on site. The entrance to the swale has now been regraded with reinforcement tracks inserted to provide vehicular access and the area where the porta cabins had been had now been regraded and seeded properly. It was understood that stone picking had taken place on the Green and that works to the verge on the corner of Church Lane had been completed satisfactorily. Concern was raised that the bollards are still in place outside the old show home and that the Green was still cordoned off to members of the public. The Clerk reported that he had checked with the insurance company to ensure that our Public Liability was in place for when handover does take place and that he would press Bloor Homes to allow access to the Green once we had taken possession. Further discussions concerning the maintenance of the Green took place but it was agreed that it was still early to obtain firm prices from contractors as it was still over twelve months until we took responsibility for the maintenance.

To report comments 11.2 Mr J Lang W/16/01034/PP Church Farm Bungalow Flyford Flavell Construction of building to house swimming pool and biomas boiler

The Parish Council have no objection.

11.3 Ms J Elliot W/16/00940/CU Woodland Grafton Flyford WR7 4PJ Outdoor riding arena 20 x 40 meters

Councillors had not responded to a consultation concerning this application and the Clerk urged them to do so as soon as possible

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12. Reports from District & County Councillors: 12.1 District Councillor – Linda Robinson The District Councillor gave a report as follows:

“As your District Councillor and for the last year the new Leader of the District Council I am pleased to be able to give you all a brief update from Wychavon for your Annual meeting. Nearly a year in since the election it has been a successful period of time for us though not without its challenges. We are working well with the County and its new leader plus the other five districts in Worcs. Also of course with all our Conservative MPs. And MEPs. Similarly with the Local Enterprise partnership or LEP on whose board I sit as the S. Worcs representative. Their main role is to encourage inward investment and support major infrastructure projects. We are also supporting their World Class Worcs. Campaign. Together we have a strong voice for our area and its promotion nationally. Council Finally adopted the SWDP this Feb together with Malvern Hills & Worcs. City ( 9yrs.work –cost £1.3m) New strategy for next 5 yrs. People, Place, Prosperity New 4 yr. Business Plan which will be our Efficiency plan. Our Response to Gov. Grant reductions to avoid service cuts. Grow, Save, Charge . Already reduced our 2019/20 budget by £4 million . Need to find a further £1 million per year by 2020/21 through: Efficiency savings of £125,000 Business Rates £250,000 Joint waste procurement £200,000 Negotiations are underway for a new improved joint Waste Contract with Malvern Hills & Worcs. city. Joint working with Malvern Hills £240,000 we already have shared chief exec & joint SMT in April + other shared services Other reductions £305,000 Strong Economy Direct investment in employment sites and Infrastructure - e.g. Vale Park, and Worcester Six & £190 million current commercial construction New Waitrose store in Evesham - opening in March 2018

5 Housing -Last year 886 new houses occupied (one of highest in country) Built 778 affordable homes and brought 280 long-term properties back into use We have made land investments such as Vale Park in Evesham+ Good rate of return Environment Invested in wet lands and green energy in Pershore hydropower scheme on the Avon. More green flag awards than ever before in our parks For our Communities New Homes Bonus. Over £1m gone direct to Parishes & towns. 150k. to Droitwich High Street and the same amount to Pershore and Evesham for transport related improvements. In Pershore this will most likely be a contribution towards the Northern link scheme including Pinvin crossroads and a new bridge which would make a huge difference to local traffic flows bringing benefits to residents and businesses. Satisfaction with the council is higher than ever even before the recession and no services have been cut in the last 4 yrs. Finally according to a recent Halifax survey Wychavon is the best rural place to live in the ...and 24th nationally and I hope you would not disagree. Thank You. For more frequently updated information on my work in the District and our ward please look at my blog; lindarobinson.yourcllr.com “ Councillor Robinson suggested that in future as her report is an annual report most of the Parish Councils included in the AGM rather than in the Ordinary meeting afterwards and it was agreed that in future this would be the case.

Following her report Councillor Robinson was asked questions. Concern was raised about the Planning Application for Meadow Croft in Flyford Flavell which has still not been determined even though it is considerably over date. Councillor Robinson reported that Karen Whiteman, the Planning Officer who was dealing with it has now left the authority and it has been taken over by Vicky Stone. She understood that there were further discussions taking place between the Heritage Officer, the Planners and the Agents. The Parish Council impressed that the lack of decision on this matter is causing uncertainty to residents which was leading to anxiety and concern. Councillor Robinson said that there would shortly be a further consultation on this matter but the consultation period would only be two weeks. The Clerk expressed his opinion that this was too short as any comment from the Parish Council needed to be formulated at full Council which required at least one week’s notice in order to convene legally. It was suggested that the Clerk write to Vicky Stone to express this concern. The Chairman also stated that if no

6 determination took place soon that the Parish Council would like this matter to be taken to Committee for determination at an early opportunity.

The Chairman asked that a complaint should be registered concerning the changing of the Landscape Scheme on the Bloor Homes site. These changes had taken place after Planning Permission had been granted without any further consultation with the Parish Council. It was considered that changing the terms of the Planning Permission without consultation with the Parish Council under these circumstances was quite disgraceful. Councillor Robinson reported that she had taken this matter up with the Planning Department in no uncertain terms but that as far as she was aware, nothing illegal had been done. It was a matter of courtesy that the Parish Council should have been consulted about these changes.

12.2 County Councillor – Rob Adams Councillor Adams started his reports by giving his thanks to the Clerk for his service over the last twelve months. He reported that as Chairman of the Planning Committee at the County Council that application had been granted for aggregate extraction on a site near Upton on Severn.

He reported that hard copies of South Development Plan are now available and would urge the Parish Council to obtain one for itself.

The County Council have made savings of £25 million over recent years and Simon Garrity has now been elected to lead the Council.

The discussions concerning the devolution which had been reported to the Parish Council before and entailed seven districts in the West Midlands working together are still on going. He reported that the government wished to appoint a Mayor for this new body but there was considerable opposition to this in the area.

It was recognized that Worcester Hospital is not big enough for its needs and car parking is a particular concern which is a matter being addressed at the present time.

The Fire Service had invested in new technology which it is hoped would improve its efficiency.

Parkway Station is progressing well and should be on line by 2018. He reported that an artwork in connection with the Worcester Regiment would be included in the site in recognition of its historic use of the area.

He reported that the energy from the recycling at the site plant should be on line at the end of the year.

Our local MP, Mr Huddlestone had invited local people to visit Parliament on 18 July and we would be welcome to join the trip if we wanted to.

Following his report Councillor Adams was asked questions. It was noted that whilst there had been a great deal of infrastructure development at the new employment site adjacent to Junction 6 of the M5 there appeared to be no provision for pedestrians or cyclists. It was reported that there will be

7 provision for pedestrians and cyclists but that this is likely to be from an entrance to the site which has not yet been developed and that it was felt not appropriate to provide such access to the entrance which is now being developed and is close to the motorway.

Finally Councillor Adams reported that no site had been identified in our area for fracking.

13. Highways/Footpaths: This matter had been dealt with under previous items.

There was a report from the footpath officer.

Concern was raised that the speed test promised for Radford Road had still not taken place.

It was reported that potholes have reappeared in Libbery Lane.

The sign on New Hill which had been moved to the opposite side of the road is now completely obscured by trees and should be relocated back again.

It was reported that Dudley’s Coaches are still driving down North Piddle Lane and churning up the verge on the corner by Green Farm.

The Clerk reported that the Church, the Three Villages Hall and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust were in discussion about erecting a brown sign to the Village Hall with the Highways Department. He thought that the cost of this would be about £700 and the Parish Council are likely to be approached to contribute towards the cost. It was agreed that a full proposal would be brought to the next Parish Council Meeting.

14. Treasurer’s Report: 14.1 Balances Balances were: Deposit Account £14,243.22 Current Account £ 1,190.32 £15,433.54

Made up of: General Fund £13,863.54 Appeal Fund £1,570.00 £15,433.54

14.2 Payments Made A payment had been made to for Insurance for £355.08 A further payment was made to Tower Mint £295.56.

14.3 Rural Rate Relief

The Flyford Arms £310.63

Alcester Road Service Station £205.01

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Proposed by A Reeves, seconded by A Meikel and all were in agreement.

15. Any Other Business: 15.1 The Chairman asked that the matters of the Art Grant should be put on the agenda for the next meeting. It was also agreed that a consultation would be posted on the website prior to the next meeting to ask for suggestions from the public

16. Dates of Next Meeting: 19 July 2016 The meeting closed at 10.18 pm.

Signed: Date:

Addendums

FLYFORD FLAVELL SOCIAL GROUP - Report for Annual Parish Meeting 9 May 2016 The social group has met regularly over the past 12 months. We were delighted to welcome two additional members this year, both new residents living around the Green.

The following events were organised by the social group over the past year: The annual Big Lunch Picnic on 7 June 2015

The annual village fete on26 September 2015. A fantastic net sum of £1014.17 was raised.

The village Twelfth Night dinner at The Boot in January 2016. Village Quiz & Curry Night in February 2016.

All these events proved very popular & were extremely well supported by the Flyford Flavell community.

The information & book-share kiosk has been cleaned & maintained by a fortnightly rota of volunteers. It is very popular with both adults & children.

A village Facebook Page has been set up recently &, although still in its infancy, is proving successful in advertising events & keeping people in touch with each other.

The next event is the Big Picnic Lunch on 12 June, celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday. With a donation of £250 from the Parish Council, invitations have been extended to residents in Grafton Flyford, Libbery & North Piddle, as well as Flyford Flavell. Recently the social group was asked, by the Parish Council, to suggest ideas for a Community Arts Project & also the New Homes Bonus. From ideas put forward for the Community Arts Project, by social group members & also from the wider community, some via the new Facebook page, the most popular were a carved wooden village sign & a carved wooden bench for the Green. Money from The New Home Bonus was requested to buy tables for events &, subject to public consultation, was approved by the Parish Council. It is hoped to have these soon.

9 On 17 July, the social group will be hosting “Games on the Green” , a variety of traditional games, a Rounders match & afternoon tea all held on the new green. A subcommittee comprising six households from the Green, including social group members, has already met & reported back.

The annual fete will take place on 24 September 2016 in the grounds of Flyford Flavell school & we hope to host Christmas Carols on the Green on 21 December 2016.

The social group will also be considering, in the near future, Royal Life Saving Society workshops.

Some of our events are free of charge to Flyford residents & where there is profit from events, e.g. the village fete, the social group aims to make donations to local good causes once a year. Over the past year we have donated the following: Towards the printing costs of Flyford Family News £50 Flyford Flavell First School £100 St Peter’s Church Flyford Flavell upkeep £700

REPORT ON PROGRESS OF ST. PETER’S CHURCH, FLYFORD FLAVELL COMMUNITY PROJECT PARISH MEETING TO BE HELD AT FLYFORD FLAVELL FIRST SCHOOL ON THE 9TH MAY 2016 AT 7.30 PM

Since the last Parish meeting on the 13th May, 2015, work started on the first phases of the re-ordering of St. Peters on the 22nd February, 2016, the project being designed by Poole Phillips of Pershore, and the builder is Inov8 Build & Design Limited.

To get to this point we have attended meetings of the Friends of St. Peter’s Community Project Group on the first Monday of each month. There are 8 members but unfortunately, for us, one of our members secured a work contract in the latter part of the year which meant he was working away and his contract will not finish until July 2016. However, all members have different skills and we managed to negotiate opening a Friends bank account, which took several months, and a St. Peter’s Church Grant Account which took even longer. Therefore, we only actively moved forward towards the end of the year.

In the meantime, we secured the following grants: Listed Places of Worship Repair Fund Roof Grant up to £11,900 Welcome to our Future (Severn Waste Environmental Fund) £8,500 Laslett’s Charities – One-off grant towards the cost of restoration work. £2,000 William A. Cadbury - towards our appeal. 750 This is a total of £23,150.00.

The work was due to complete on the 11th April 2016 but the Severn Trent and Hemings Services Ltd, who are to carry out the connection of the water and drainage, have been slow to arrange for this work to happen and we now have a date of the 9th May.

10 Once Inov8 has water they will carry out the snagging and to this end we have sent a list of our observations to help with the concluding of this project to our satisfaction. On completion, we will have a toilet facility, kitchen, a refurbished Vestry, and disabled ramp access and drainage around the church to prevent ingress of water.

With regard to the LpoW Roof Grant, works internally in the Tower, i.e repointing of large open cracks and removal of mould from the stone work has been done. We have a problem with a leak in the Vestry roof where the old chimney was and the matter has been referred to our Insurers, EcclesiasticaI Insurance Company, and they are in contact with Heritage Stone Access. The cost of these repairs is £1582 + VAT, and to date the claim has not been accepted. However, the insurers have appointed a surveyor to inspect and report back to them and he should be in contact with us within the next few days. In addition, the medieval tiles may need to be specialist cleaned which is another cost.

The remainder of the works on the external part of the Tower should take place during June/July, Richard Martin of HSA also said he would try to re-point window sills inside the church, and clean the guttering. The problem is that maintenance has not been carried out on the church for some years and once this work is completed we are subject to the LpoW rules of the grant and we will need to enter into a 10 year maintenance plan. Therefore, we will need to be even more proactive with our fund raising.

The good news is that we have made improvements to up-date this pretty church and we hope the community will support us in our task of going forward. Sue Peace – On behalf of the PCC, St. Peter’s Church