The Minutes of Parish Council Held at Abberley Village Hall Committee Meeting Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th October 2019

Present: Cllr C Knight (Chairman), Cllr T Eden, Cllr A Juckes, Cllr. C Eberlin, Cllr. J Ballard, Cllr K Andrew, Cllr. Gibson, Cllr. Goodman, Cllr. Nott. .

In Attendance: Cllr P Cumming (District Councillor), Cllr. K Pollock (County Councillor); (Carole Hirst) Clerk.

Item 224 Apologies None. 225 Declarations of Cllr. Andrew declared a Non-Pecuniary Interest in the Orchard Site and Cllr. Nott Interest declared a Non-Pecuniary Interest in Land East of Clows Top Road. (District Councillors Report) 226 Democratic Period/ Public No Parishioners were in attendance. Time

227 Minutes Subject to amendment of Minute Reference 216 change Chambers to Knight - Cllr. Knight Proposed and Seconded by Cllr. Eberlin and all agreed to adopt the minutes of the meeting held on the 18th September 2019. The Chairman duly signed them as a true record. 228 Matters Arising • Community Litter pick- Saturday 12th October from 10am to 1pm. The Clerk placed the event on the website and wrote to the WI and Abberley Young

Farmers to ask for volunteers. Clerk completed the MHDC Load Agreement and sent to MHDC. Cllr. Knight reported that the event was very well attended with 15 volunteers taking part clearing over 20 bags of rubbish in 3 hours. Cllr. Knight expressed thanks to all those that took part in the event. Cllr. Eberlin

reported fly-tipping around Shavers End Quarry on private land. Action: Cllr. Eberlin to speak to the landowner regarding this and to discuss whether maybe looking at changes to the fencing could help prevent this in the future. • Missing Abberley Village sign- Cllr. Pollock to chase this up with WCC Highways and report back to the Parish Clerk. Cllr. Pollock again reported that this had been chased by WCC Highways and that the original new sign ordered had been lost. Councillors requested that the Clerk send a strong letter to Cllr. Pollock asking when the Parish Council could now expect the sign to be completed. • Highways’ vehicles have caused damage when resurfacing Suffolk: Lane. Cllr. Pollock inspected this on his way to the meeting but could find no evidence. Cllr. Eberlin agreed to inspect and take photos and forward to the Clerk to pass to Cllr. Pollock as evidence. • The Parish Council agreed to having Parish Council email addresses. Cllr’s Eden, Nott and Juckes to complete. No further update. • Mineral Products Assessment Report – for information for Shavers End Quarry. Cllr. Eberlin provided a copy of Mineral Products Assessment Report to the Clerk who then circulated to all Councillors. Report contained talks of multi-pronged approaches to tackling issues around quarries and risk assessments. It was suggested that this be shared with the Shavers End Quarry Working Group by the representatives on the Parish Council.

Chairman…………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………………

Parish Website. http://www.abberleyparish.org.uk Parish Clerk. Parish Office, 1a Church Walk, Stourport on Severn, . DY13 0AL email [email protected]

The Minutes of Abberley Parish Council Held at Abberley Village Hall Committee Meeting Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th October 2019

• The Worcestershire Passenger Transport Strategy is now available online. Cllr. Andrew was unable to attend but is being sent all the documentation from the event. • The Clerk wrote to David Clarke re Category 2 for “The Common” to say that in planning application terms Developers are still seeing The Common at Abberley as Category 1 and what procedure must take place to inform Developers that The Common, Abberley is now Category 2. This was actioned and David Clarke replied to say that he had now actioned this himself. • 19/01313/FUL- 33 The Village, Abberley, Worcester, WR6 6BN- Remodelling and extension of 'The Cottage', removal of existing greenhouse and storage buildings. Construction of new greenhouse and agricultural storage building. Extensive restoration of landscape and orchards. Comments Submitted. • 18/00593/CLE- Cherry Ash Bank Lane Abberley Worcester WR6 6BQ- Certificate of lawfulness for the occupation of the annex building known as Cherry Ash Annex as a separate independent dwelling-house and not subject to any agricultural occupancy tie. The Parish Council decided that they wished to make no further comment on this application. The Clerk Actioned on 20th September. • 19/00959/FUL- 65 The Common, Abberley, Worcester, WR6 6AY- Proposed new dwelling on land to east of No.65 The Common and amended access and parking. Cllr. Andrew prepared a response which highlighted street furniture. This was passed to WCC Highways who have promised a direct response. • Cllr. Knight asked the Parish Council for ideas on how better we could disseminate information. Cllr. Ballard suggested that asking the community at the Shindig on 21st September and raising awareness of the Parish Council website. Cllr. Ballard to feedback to the October meeting. A small list of those interested in receiving emails was obtained and the Clerk is now sending news items to this circulation list.

229 Reports (District District Council Report. Cllr. Cumming. and Council A proposal to consult on plans to build three major new settlements across South Councillors) Worcestershire, to meet future demand for new housing, is set to go before councillors.

The Preferred Options document, produced as part of the review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan, sets out how a Government requirement to build another 14,000 new homes across , Worcester City and

Wychavon by 2041 will be met. This is on top of the need for 28,400 new homes by 2030, more than half of which have already been built, set out in the current plan.

Planners have assessed more than 900 sites put forward for potential development against a range of technical criteria and have made a series of recommendations about the most sustainable locations. These include:

Chairman…………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………………

Parish Website. http://www.abberleyparish.org.uk Parish Clerk. Parish Office, 1a Church Walk, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire. DY13 0AL email [email protected]

The Minutes of Abberley Parish Council Held at Abberley Village Hall Committee Meeting Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th October 2019

• A new town at Worcestershire Parkway delivering 5,000 homes by 2041,

with the potential for another 5,000 after that

• A new town at Throckmorton Airfield delivering 2,000 new homes from 2030 with the potential for further expansion in the future

• An expanded settlement at Rushwick delivering 1,000 new homes from 2030

once a new railway station has been secured

• Plans for 810 new homes on various sites around Worcester, 730 at Droitwich Spa, 200 in Evesham, 880 in Malvern, 600 in Pershore and 60 in

Tenbury Wells.

• More than 900 new homes earmarked for villages across Wychavon and 390 within Malvern Hills District.

• In Particular, a further 18 properties were discussed which affected Abberley Land East of Clows Top Road Abberley which it was felt would have significant effects on the Abberley views as well as the road infrastructure to

an already over capacity road bridge at Holt Heath.

th Cllr. Cumming reported that MHDC would be having a meeting on the 29 October to approve the plan for public consultation. He suggested that if Abberley Parish Council had concerns regarding proposed plans that these be viewed at the meeting

th on the 29 October. The Parish Council decided that they would attend this meeting. Cllr. Knight agreed to speak on behalf of the Parish Council. Cllr. Knight to prepare a

report and circulated to Councillors outlining the Parish Councils views.

There was a discussion about the timing of the NP coinciding with the adoption of the revised SWDP. The Parish Council should be aware of making sure that there is no conflict between the Abberley NH plan and the new SWDP.

Action: The Clerk was asked to post on both the Parish Website and Facebook

information about the forthcoming District Council meeting so that any member of the public can speak if they wish to.

Include the following; ‘’The District Council will be discussing whether they approve the Preferred Options Report for Public Consultation at their Council Meeting on Tuesday, 29th October. This will include a site for 18 houses on Land East of the

Clows Top Road. The Parish Council will be expressing their views and if any member of the community wishes to speak then they should register that with Democratic Services on 01684 862416. Clerk to register Abberley Parish Council to speak at that meeting.

Chairman…………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………………

Parish Website. http://www.abberleyparish.org.uk Parish Clerk. Parish Office, 1a Church Walk, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire. DY13 0AL email [email protected]

The Minutes of Abberley Parish Council Held at Abberley Village Hall Committee Meeting Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th October 2019

Maps of exact sites will be available from 5pm today, Friday 18th October on the SWDP website

https://www.swdevelopmentplan.org/?p=14376)

The District Councillor, Paul Cumming, will be speaking at this meeting, his main thrust being the problem of excessive traffic.

The Public Consultation will be held during from 5th November until 6th December.

WCC Report. Cllr. Pollock Conservative Party Conference While I am pretty sure parish councillors in Abberley will not want to discuss Brexit

today, there are some matters of national significance that might be worth considering.

Two weeks ago, I was able to attend the Conservative Party conference and there

were several important announcements that are worth noting. None of this should be regarded as party political, as opposed to being of importance to Worcestershire

people. There were several announcements and expressions of interest and it remains to be seen how many get translated into firm policies and spending. Matt Hancock

announced money for 6 new hospitals and development funding for a further 34. He indicated his belief in the importance of convalescent hospitals, to relieve pressure on the major acute hospitals, which will be good news for supporters of the one

serving Tenbury. He also spoke strongly in favour of a learning culture replacing a blame culture, as well as seeking to reduce bullying among NHS staff.

There was a lot of emphasis on improving digital connectivity and much of that was based on the commitment by the Prime Minister I mentioned last month, to bring forward the deadline for everyone to have access to ultrafast broadband

connections from 2033 to 2025. I spoke to the head of Openreach, Clive Selly, and emphasised the importance of seeing Worcestershire near the top of the priority list, particularly as the starting point for this work will be in the remoter rural areas,

where our coverage, especially in Malvern Hills, is below average. Next year sees the introduction of the Universal Service Obligation, where everyone receiving less than 10Mbps will be able to insist on a quotation of the cost of

receiving that relatively low speed internet coverage. With Fibre to the Premises, FTTP, one should be able to receive 1Gbps – 1,000 Mbps! There was concern expressed at a Countryside Alliance meeting that rural areas are

being neglected in terms of service and spending. Philip Dunne, the MP for South Shropshire, spoke strongly in favour of better school funding for rural areas, like Worcestershire. This mirrored the concern expressed at the Rural Services Network

Conference I reported on last month. As with other matters like the availability of Chairman…………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………………

Parish Website. http://www.abberleyparish.org.uk Parish Clerk. Parish Office, 1a Church Walk, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire. DY13 0AL email [email protected]

The Minutes of Abberley Parish Council Held at Abberley Village Hall Committee Meeting Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th October 2019

banking services and ATMs, we need to keep pressing for adequate coverage in rural areas.

The same applies to rural bus services, where there is vocal support but we need a greater commitment. The recent consultation run by the County Council will show

the depth of interest in this area and give a platform for a policy to support that

which is required by all residents. On this, Sajid Javid announced a further consultation, to gauge what financial support might be needed.

While Extinction Rebellion is receiving a lot of coverage at present, the conference concentrated on how society might reach a zero-carbon position by 2050, as is now

government policy. There was discussion on the role of nuclear power in a zero- carbon world, as well as renewable energies like wind and solar. It would be fair to say that some of the discussion on alternatives like hydrogen lacked a fundamental

understanding of how easy such changes might be to implement, and where the ultimate source of energy would come from. Local matters I am still awaiting news about the Abberley village sign, where the replacement

seems to have gone missing. I may have more news by tonight. Likewise, I can give no more information on when the verges will be cleared of tree cuttings. In this regard, I would welcome suggestions for where the small amount of

money that I have in my highways allowance might usefully be spent within Abberley. While there is a long list of potential work within the division, I am unclear on matters that are of concern to Abberley residents.

While notification does not guarantee immediate action, or even acceptance of the need, it is always useful to know what matters are of concern to residents. Please

consider my email inbox is always open to suggestions from individuals or from the

parish council itself. Cllr. Eberlin reported problems with a drain on the bend on Suffolk Lane – opposite

Thistle Down. Cllr. Eberlin agreed to correspond directly with Cllr. Pollock on this matter. Further reports on footpaths by Councillors to Cllr Pollock were footway near to

village shop to Clows Top Road where the footway has been cut back there is no tarmac left. Footpaths around the Village Green need siding out and widening. Cllr. Pollock

agreed to investigate both of these paths. Dangerous tree on footpath which crosses the Worcestershire Way- Cllr. Pollock to investigate. 230 Fly tipping and Trespass at the Shavers’ End See Minute 228 Matters Arising – Shavers End Quarry Report. Quarry.

Chairman…………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………………

Parish Website. http://www.abberleyparish.org.uk Parish Clerk. Parish Office, 1a Church Walk, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire. DY13 0AL email [email protected]

The Minutes of Abberley Parish Council Held at Abberley Village Hall Committee Meeting Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th October 2019

231 Progress reports Part of the display space at the 21st Sept village Shindig event was used to make from Councillors/ residents aware of work done to date and next steps, some feedback was received A) on amenities needed. Neighbourhood The group met in September and will be looking to record green spaces, trees of Plan Working interest, local heritage features and pollinator sites. Group The outcome of the review of sites from the MHDC call for sites will be announced shortly. David Nicholson has commenced work on the first draft of the actual NP plan. The NP working group will be meeting on 27th November to review this draft.

A list of local assets has also ben completed.

B) Lengthsman Cllr. Nott reported that everything is fine and up to date and the Lengthsman is doing a great job with no matters of urgency to report.

C)Footpaths Cllr. Gibson reiterated that he had now produced a Footpaths Reporting Procedure which is available on the website and on the Abberley Parish Facebook page.

D)Community The Abberley late summer Shindig was very well attended and had made a small profit Event/Working of around £200. Discussions about a future event took place. Group.

232 Planning 19/01300/CLE- Town Croft, The Village, Abberley, Worcester, WR6 6BN- Siting of a residential dwelling - application for certificate of lawfulness (existing)- APPROVED 3/10/19 Enforcement Appeal Ref: ENF/18/0005- The unauthorised change of use of the Land from forestry to a mixed use of forestry and the siting of a caravan for residential purpose- The hearing will be on the 22nd October. Noted.

233 Plan for Section Cllr. Ballard reported that to date no progress had been made but a meeting would 106 provision be scheduled at the end of the Parish Council meeting to take this forward. within the Parish

234 Correspondence 13/9/19- WCC Highways- Call for local farmers to be utilised as snow contractors. Action: The Clerk agreed to put this information onto the Parish Council Website and Facebook. 2/10/19- MHDC – 90 Consultation- Removal of Payphones. The Clerk has responded to this on behalf of the Parish Council stating that the Parish Council are against the Phone Box being removed.

2/10/19- MHDC- Reminder Call for Pollinator Sites. Action: Cllr. Andrew and Cllr.

Ballard to discuss this and respond.

30/9/19- Cllr. Cumming- reminder for MHDC Survey – The Clerk posted on the Parish Council website and Facebook. Cllr. Cumming reported that there had been a significant uptake in activity following this.

235 Finance Finance Chairman…………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………………

Parish Website. http://www.abberleyparish.org.uk Parish Clerk. Parish Office, 1a Church Walk, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire. DY13 0AL email [email protected]

The Minutes of Abberley Parish Council Held at Abberley Village Hall Committee Meeting Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th October 2019

a) Payments list 16th October 2019

Carole Hirst Salary Sept 19 £ 389.00

HMRC Payment Sept 2019 £ 97.20

Carole Hirst expenses 18th sept to 16th Oct 19 £ 70.90

IN2OUT - Lengthsman Sept £ 186.00

Abberley Village Hall Parish Meeting sept £ 10.00 Abberley Village Hall NDP Sept £ 10.00 Abberley V Hall security marking event 14 sept £ 10.00 L Walker Hog Roast £ 400.00 Sarah Crabbe (Free Drink) SHINDIG £ 40.33 TOTAL EXPENDITURE £1,213.43 RECEIPTS up to September not previously reported MHDC Precept 2 - 24th Sep £4,830.00 Shindig £1,375.00 TOTAL RECEIPTS £6,205.00

b) Formal Bank Reconciliation to 10th October 2019. Cllr. Eden Proposed and Cllr. Knight Seconded that the reconciliation was a true and accurate record and that it reconciled. All in favour.

236 Communications The Clerk reported that a new Facebook Page and Group had been set up for to Parishioners Abberley Parish Council and that she was currently linking it o local groups and inviting local people to join the group. All posts from the website were being uploaded to Facebook as well. 237 Pavement Cllr. Knight report incidents of pavement parking re The Common, Abberley. Parking Councillors decided to put an article in the Abberley Parish News. Action: Cllr. Knight to prepare an article and the Clerk to upload to the Parish Council website.

238 Councillors Councillors asked if further Defibrillator training could be discussed at the next Reports and meeting. Items for Future

239 Date of next Cllr. Nott asked if verge grass cutting could also be discussed at the next meeting meeting along with WCC Highway cutbacks on highway verge cutting.

240 The next meeting will be Abberley Parish Council scheduled for Wednesday 20th November 2019 at the Village Hall

The meeting was declared closed at 9.15pm

Chairman…………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………………

Parish Website. http://www.abberleyparish.org.uk Parish Clerk. Parish Office, 1a Church Walk, Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire. DY13 0AL email [email protected]