Honeybourne Parish Council Clerk: Ruth Waller, Honeybourne Village Hall, Harvest Close. Honeybourne. WR11 7RH [email protected] Tel: 07951429652

DRAFT Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held via Zoom Tuesday 13th April 2021 commencing at 7.15pm

Members Present: Cllrs: Trevor Askew – Chairman Matt Henson, Andy Attridge, Colin Clear, Graham Clelland, Graham Taylor, Chris Gear and Heath Jobes

In Attendance: Ruth Waller (Clerk) and 7 members of the public

Cllr Askew opened the meeting at 7.15pm and welcomed those present. In remembrance of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh a minutes silence was then observed.

210413/1 Apologies – None. All Councillors present.

210413/2 Declarations of Interest: (a) Cllrs are reminded of the need to keep their Register of Interests up to date (b) To declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in items on the agenda and their nature: None (c) To declare any Other Disclosable Interests in items on the agenda and their nature: Cllr Henson declared and Interest in Item 20a in relation to the Sports Pavilion (d) To receive and consider and requests for Dispensations on matters on the agenda: None

210413/3 The MINUTES of the meeting held on held on of the Draft Minutes from the meeting held on 9th March 2021 and the Draft Minutes of the Extraordinary Council Meetings held on the 15th and 23rd March 2021, all held via Zoom video conference were unanimously approved. These will be signed at the next physical meeting of the Parish Council.

210413/4 To receive Clerks Report (Matters arising from the Minutes): The Clerk’s report had been circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting, and its contents noted. 210413/5 To receive report from County Councillor: Cllr Adams was not present, but a report had been received. The main points included the following:

County Council Elections May 6th I confirm I am standing for another 4 years so if you are happy on what I have achieved for Honeybourne in the last 4 years, then please support me at the elections on Thursday 6th May. Our New Zebra Crossing is now operational. County Council finished building the zebra crossing in April, and it is now all up and working. Not only will this provide a safe crossing of this busy main road, but hopefully it will also help traffic calming. Update on the vaccines rolled out in Worcestershire. See https://herefordshireandworcestershireccg.nhs.uk/covid-19-vaccine for more up to date information showing where you can be vaccinated and what to expect when you arrive. The good news is Worcestershire is one of the best performing counties in the roll-out for vaccinations. Besides the vaccine roll-out, the other big news since my last report is good progress is being made with the Government’s roadmap out of Lockdown. For full details see - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid- 19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021-summary 12th April has arrived so all shops are open, gyms are open and you can meet friends in pub gardens. People can go on holiday in self-contained accommodation. Life is starting to get back to normal.

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Support given to Worcestershire employees & employers • 39,700 employees were furloughed as at end of January = 14.7% of workforce • 17,000 grants given totalling £140m • 753 Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Schemes (CBILS) totalling nearly £200m • 12,228 bounce back loans valued at £353m Highways: It is that time of the year when surface dressing of the roads occurs following repairs and patching to the roads. Surface dressing considerably extends the life of our roads and improves grip. Please visit https://one.network/ to see all the details of roadworks ion the area. Surface Dressing is quick and most roads will only be closed for a few hours whilst this operation occurs. But can I remind all drivers to drive SLOWLY once a road is re-opened. The recommended speed limit on roads that have just been surfaced dressed is 20mph, and please do not accelerate hard on these roads as loose stones are likely to be flicked up and damage the windscreen of the car following you. As always, if you have any issues on any Highways matters, please report it on the WCC website http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/homepage/98/report_it County Council Divisional Fund (The fund is now closed until June 2021) • “Young at Heart” Senior Club, – grant requested. • - 2 x benches for their new community garden • Honeybourne Village News – grant to re-launch the service • WI – grant requested for Zoom annual charges so the members can continue to meet over the internet in these COVID times - Paid • Vale Rail Trails for Cyclists – grant requested for a software programme that shows the cycle routes. – grant paid • Village Hall – grant requested for the terrace project • Evesham Sea Cadets () – boat shed conversion – grant paid • Pebworth Village Hall – a grant request to renovate the wooden hall floor. Paid • Bretforton Allotments – grant requested for a strimmer- Paid • Honeybourne Harriers – grant for portable flood lights so the youngsters can continue Your County Councillor, Alastair Adams can be contacted on [email protected] or mobile 07725 979 277 or www.alastairadams.org Cllr Adams full report can be found on the Council’s website and Facebook page.

210413/6 To receive report from District Councillor Thomas Havamann-Mart: The following report was received:

• have developed a ‘Let’s get back to what we love safely’ campaign to support the lockdown easing process including the reopening of non-essential retail on 12 April. This will encourage people, vaccinated or not, to only do as much as they are allowed at each stage of lockdown easing to make sure we keep this virus under control. • Vaccine rollout data is now being published by Worcestershire County Council at a local level. This shows in Wychavon 61,054 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Data is also available at ward level but be wary of comparing data between wards. If one ward has a lower percentage of vaccine completions than another it may not necessarily mean there is an issue in that ward with demand or supply but could be due to other factors such as a particular ward having more older people in it than another. • The message from our NHS locally is that vaccine supply issues mean the rollout will slow down in Herefordshire and Worcestershire during April. It means the next stage of the rollout – to the over 40s – will not begin until May. Our local NHS though remains on track to meet the deadline of offering a first dose to everyone 50 and over by 15 April and to all adults by July. They want to

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reassure people that there is enough supply to make sure they give second doses to all staff and patients due them. • People aged 50 and over can now book their vaccine without needing to wait for an invite but the NHS will send you one anyway. The NHS will be contacting this group by text (some may get letters as well or instead of). The text will come from NHS Vaccine. A genuine text will not ask you for your bank details or payment as the vaccine is free. • Business Support Since the November lockdown we have paid out: £14.1m (85% of allocation) of grants to businesses who have been forced to close £3.1m (84% of allocation) of grants to businesses who may have been allowed to stay open but have seen a significant impact on their revenue. • We have now received guidance for the next tranche of funding “restart” grants, and we will start paying this out to businesses in early April as directed by the Government. Most of the existing business support schemes end on 31 March for new applications, except for the February extension payment which closes for new applicants in May. • High Street reopening fund: The Government has announced a new round of funding to help councils encourage people back into town centres as restrictions are eased. Wychavon has received £115,000 and the money can be used for: • Street planting, parks, green spaces and seating areas to make high streets beautiful and welcoming • Publicity campaigns and events such as street markets and festivals • Floor signage and floor markings to encourage social distancing • Planting flowers in town centres or removing graffiti. • Support for our leisure centres: We have received £288,537 from the Government’s National Leisure Recovery Fund. This money supports the recovery of publicly owned leisure centres and gyms and allows them to prepare for reopening from 12 April. Support for those self-isolating£132,000 in payments of £500 have been made to residents who have lost money through having to self-isolate. The Government has announced the scheme is being extended so parents and carers of children who have been advised to self-isolate by their school or NHS Test and Trace can now apply for a support payment if they meet the eligibility criteria. • In other news… Decarbonisation funding announced The Government announced this week that Wychavon is one of 10 councils – and 200 in the country – to receive money to retrofit homes to improve their energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions and save householders money. We have been given £5.8million which will be used to install energy efficient solar and solar thermal panels, external wall insulation and loft insulation. Work will be targeted at low income households. Not all of the money will be spent in Wychavon as it was a joint bid between us, Rooftop Housing Group, Trent and Dove Housing Group, Citizen Housing Group and Trident Group, so residents in Staffordshire and Birmingham will also benefit from the funding. Anti-litter campaign update • We continue to see a surge in litter across the district and expect that to get even worse (if that is possible) as restrictions start to ease. Despite the restrictions imposed by lockdown we continue to make progress on our anti-litter campaign. Some recent actions we have taken: • Our Adopt a Street volunteer litter picking scheme now has more than 600 individuals and organisations signed up to it. Demand continues to be high. The Great British Spring Clean takes place from 28 May to 13 June and we will be encouraging existing volunteers to get out and about and pick in support of this campaign as well as promoting the scheme to ask for more sign ups. If you would like to sign up then visit www.wychavon.gov.uk/adopt-a-street • We have launched our new litter education sessions in schools. This involves an outdoor, Covid-19 secure, interactive litter picking session. A lesson plan is then given to the teacher to follow up afterwards. We have commissioned Little Litter Warriors to run these sessions. Early feedback has Page 3 of 9

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been very positive. To support this scheme, 50 virtual toolkits have been created and will be distributed to schools as well. • Additional ‘Don’t be a tosser’ signage has been created. We are now using our Adopt a Street data and local knowledge to identify areas where it can be installed to make the biggest difference. • We have been trialling different types of lay-by bins in parts of the district. Traditionally we haven’t put bins in lay-bys. The early analysis is they have been successful at encouraging people to put their litter in the bin rather than on the ground, but the recycling bins have still been heavily contaminated. We are now working on installing more bins in additional laybys around the district. • We have some new on-the-go recycling bins ready to be installed for our town centres. These provide separate compartments for recyclable material rather than just a single mixed recycling container. The hope is this will encourage people to use the recycling bins correctly and reduce contamination. • Changes to Bird Flu restrictions (Parish and Town Councils): The Government has confirmed that the requirement for keepers of birds and poultry, including in private gardens, to keep them housed will be lifted on 31 March. • Database of outdoor event spaces: Severn Arts is compiling a database of as many sites as possible across Worcestershire which can be used to host a range of managed public outdoor cultural events, from small community fetes to larger festivals. Here is a link to their website https:// www.severnarts.org.uk/open-spaces-directory where there is a bit of information and a link to a webform for any non-council owned sites/landowners. If you have time, please can you send this onto any contacts or groups who may have knowledge of sites. If they submit a form it will be treated as an expression of interest and there will be a follow up call or email. Your District Councillor, Thomas Havemann-Mart can be contacted via [email protected] or mobile 07817 873 054

210413/7 To receive comments and concerns from members of the public: The following comments were received: • Two residents raised concerns regarding the parking on the High Street and this may get worse following the installation of the new play area at The Leys. Clerk to arrange a meeting with Cllr Adams and Senior Engineer from Worcestershire County Council. • A resident reported that the traffic lights at the railway bridge appeared to be out of synchronisation– not enough time was given for cyclists to cross. • Member of the public started that he would send details to the Clerk of all the Parish Streetlights. • Noise + safety complaint regarding the riding of a motorcycle along the PROW on the field next to the Gate Inn. Resident requested Council considered a sign on the PROW. As this effects a PROW, it is Worcestershire CC’s responsibility. Action: Clerk to liaise with Cllr Adams to resolve this matter. • A resident asked for an update on the Bicycle signs being repainted by the Co-op: Cllr Adams has already responded stating: The bicycle signs will be repainted once the zebra crossing anti-skid surfacing is done and if there is surface dressing due and if so, it will wait until after that too. • Concerns about the barriers by the zebra crossing blocking the view when coming out of Clun Forest Way. Especially of bicycles and motor bikes. This was being investigated by Cllr Adams. • Complaints about work on a property on High Street: The work on the property been reported to Planning Enforcement and the work involving the driveway and pavement to Worcestershire Highways. • Complaint regarding an extremely large non-mobile structure delivered to a bungalow opposite the entry to St Ecgwins Gardens on the north side of Stratford Rd. Clerk was now in communication with Wychavon District Council Planning department regarding these concerns.

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• A Request had been received asking that Council consider the inclusion of a short article in the Village Newsletter ‘Walking in Worcestershire’. Action: Clerk to include this as an Agenda Item for the next meeting.

210413/8 To provide feedback from KOMPAN following the Public Consultation period for the Proposed Play Area at The Leys: Rob Heard had confirmed, via email, that there had been no direct feedback received. However, it was evident from the social media posts and reactions, particularly via Honeybourne spotted that there is widespread support for the proposals with 61 comments posted. Kompan had not received a single negative comment or any suggestions to alter the proposals. I have asked for some feedback direct from the School too...which is awaited. Rob Heard also confirmed that residents in Brick Wall will receive direct fliers on the day that the Pre-Start meeting is held; several weeks prior to site works commencing. These arrangements are on hold until Kompan receive an instruction from the Parish Council to proceed to manufacture.

210413/9 To receive quotes for bench on Station Road and agree final option and expenditure: A member of the public stated that this may have been a memorial bench, with funding being contributed by a resident. It was noted that armrests would be beneficial for less able people. The item was deferred for further investigation including this specification and to confirm if any funding was being donated by a resident.

210413/10 To establish a Volunteer Flood alleviation Group: Four volunteers had already offered their serviced=s for this Group to help clear the brooks around the village. Cllrs Gear and Clelland also offered to support this work. Council agreed that volunteers would be informed that a meeting of this voluntary group would be arranged once COVID restrictions allow.

210413/11 To approve the work on the Church gates: Council unanimously agreed that the work on the Church gates could now be completed, following the updated quote and permission from the PCC. Action: Clerk to contact the Contractor to commence this work.

210413/12 To reconsider appointment of a representative from the Parish Council for the Village Hall Committee: Cllr Jobes requested that a representative from the Parish Council should be reconsidered for the Village Hall Committee. Cllr Henson requested that this matter be deferred to the May meeting to allow him one more moth to attempt to resolve the issue relating to the funds provided to the Village Hall. Action: Clerk to include this matter for further review at the May Council meeting.

210413/13 To agree dates for the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and Honeybourne Parish Meeting, with consideration from updated legal requirements to hold physical meetings after 7th May: This was discussed briefly but Councillors were aware that further information would be available after the High Court Hearing on the 21st April. A provisional date for the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council was agreed as Tuesday 11th May 2021. 210413/14 To appoint an Internal Auditor for 2020/21: Clerk had circulated information regarding the Internal Auditor recommended by Worcestershire CALC. Council unanimously approved the appointment of Duncan Edwards as Internal Auditor for Honeybourne Parish Council for 2020/21. Action: Clerk to initiate the commencement of the Internal Audit and complete the Letter of Appointment to Duncan Edwards.

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210413/15 Planning: For consideration: a) 21/00352/ADV 12 High Street, Honeybourne, Evesham, WR11 7PQ – Replacement signage; No objection from Council. b) 21/00352/LB 12 High Street, Honeybourne, Evesham, WR11 7PQ – Replacement signage: No objection from Council. c) 21/00322/HP Station House, Station Road, Honeybourne WR11 7QG: No objection from Council For noting: d) 21/00505/AGR Poden Farm, Mickleton Road, Honeybourne, Evesham, WR11 7PS: Approved e) 20/02713/FUL Vicarage Nurseries, Weston Road: Approved, with 13 conditions attached.

210413/16 To consider Clerk’s request for additional administration support and, if agreed, wording for proposed advert: The Clerk explained the need for this extra support to enable the delegation of simple administrative tasks. Council unanimously approved this additional role but requested it was advertised as a six-month role. Council also resolved that should be advertised locally via the Village newsletter and the Council’s website and Facebook page.

210413/17 To consider and approve an Internal Control Policy; This was circulated prior to the meeting. Council unanimously approved its approval. Clerk recommended that the procedure was followed at least four times a year.

210413/18 HIGHWAYS: a) Handyman Role: To consider any requests and update on current actions: The Clerk was requested to bring the spreadsheet of work to future meetings to enable Councillors to track progress of work actioned. The following work was requested: • PROW behind Maple Lane still required attention. • Maintenance required to the benches in the Cemetery. • Establish timing for spraying of verges etc. • The public bins on the Council’s land required emptying more often. • Completing work on 3foot6” gate on the second allotment gate entrance10413/18 - A states on main allotment entrance. There is currently a small narrow opening where the new gate will be positioned. • Defibrillators: ensure these are being checked b) To consider invoice from EON relating to the replacement of a Street lantern: Council discussed the information relating to the removal of the lantern and the cost of a replacement. Councillors agreed that further information was required, particularly to establish if a Wayleave agreement was in place and if this was in a conservation area. Therefore, this matter was deferred for further investigation.

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210413/19 FINANCE: a) The following payments were approved:

Voucher Total VAT Net Chq Payee Details No. Payment Element Payment Total BACS Hartwells Hartwells (Sports Pavillion) 246.52PHA 1873s.65 19.66 117.97 E-payment WorcestershireCALC Clerk's Training: Audit 40.00LGA 1972, s112 40.00 DD EE Mobile Phone 25.00LGA 1972, s.111 25.00 2011 John Hyde Lengthsman/Handyman 53.40LGA 1972, 2 112 53.40 2011 John Hyde Lengthsman/Handyman 258.20LGA 1972, s/112 258.20 £ 311.60 BACS Ruth Waller Clerk's Salary 1,032.04LGA 1972, s.112 1,032.04 BACS Ruth Waller Clerk's Expenses 89.91LGA 1972, s.112 89.91 BACS PATA (UK) Paytoll 23.85LGA 1972, s.111 23.85 DD NEST Pensions Pensions Contribution 95.22 LGA 1972 95.22 E-payment Limebridge Rural Services Ltd Amenity Maintanance contract 2,007.60PHA 1873. s.65 334.20 1,673.40

It was noted that payments totalling £880 (£140 in cheques + £740 electronically) had been received from the allotments. A payment of £98.80 had been received from WCC for Lengthsmans Work.

b) To note transfer of funds from Business Account to Treasurers account; It was agreed that the RFO could complete this transfer of funds within 24 hours.

c) The bank reconciliation had been circulated prior to the meeting as was approved as follows: Honeybourne Parish Council Account and Bank Reconciliation 2020-21

Balances B/F Current Account Opening Balance 15,522.16 Deposit Account Opening Balance 120,364.65 Total 135,886.81

Receipts for the Year 105,069.17 Un-cleared Receipts 0.00 Total Receipts 105,069.17 Funds available 240,955.98

Payments to date 108,637.95 Un-cleared Cheques 2,206.50 Cheques cleared from last year 210.00 Total cleared payments 106,641.45 106,431.5 Income Less Expenditure Balance 134,314.53

Represented By : - State. Date No. Current Account Statement Balance 4,922.46 19-Mar-21 Deposit Account Statement Balance 129,392.07 09-Mar-21

Bank Account Balances 134,314.53

Reconciliation difference 0.00 Page 7 of 9

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d) It was noted that the Budget allocation for the Lengthsman Scheme from WCC for 2021/22 is £2072.78. e) To discuss requirements for a printer and agree next actions: This was briefly discussed, and Cllr Henson recommended a suitable printer. Council agreed to fund the purchase of this printer. It was also agreed that a ‘Dropbox’ facility would ensure documents can be stored in one place for Councillors and available on a timely manner. Action: Clerk to order the recommended printer.

210413/20 VILLAGE AMENITIES:

a) To consider request from Honeybourne Harriers requesting permission to hold a 24-hour football match on the 14th of August in aid of MIND children's mental health charity: Cllr Henson declared an Interest in this Item and left the meeting at this point. Councillors agreed to this providing that local residents were informed of this event via a letter from the Parish Council reassuring residents that control measures would be in place to ensure noise and disruption are kept to a minimum. Action: Clerk to write to local residents informing them of the details of the 24hour Charity football match to be held on the 14th August. Cllr Henson re-joined the meeting, b) To discuss concerns relating to locked pedestrian gate at the MUGA: Cllr Jobes stated that a gate had been locked on the Gloucester Road entrance to the MUGA. Council agreed that the handyman could remove this lock and, if necessary, repair the gate. Action: Clerk to inform the Parish Handyman of this work. c) To provide update regarding the Parish Notice boards – the condition of the boards: Thanks were given to Cllr Gear who had made a huge improvement by tidying up the notice boards. However, there was still some condensation inside and other maintenance issues. Action: Cllr Henson to inspect the boards and report back maintenance required to the Clerk. d) To confirm details for a new dog waste bin: The information on the cost for both dog and litter bins had been circulated prior to the meeting. Council resolved to purchase a regular litter bin. Action: Clerk to Contact WDC to arrange the purchase and installation of a litter bin near the village hall. e) To provide update regarding the contact information on Public notices and consider making all signs permanent: Clerk reported that it would be advantageous to make these signs permanent. This was discussed briefly, and Council agreed that measurement would be required for individual signs to progress this further. Action: Clerk to measure signs and draft wording Action: Cllr Henson to arrange quote, using the information provided by the Clerk and to bring back to the next Council meeting for further consideration.

210413/21 For Information only: The following items were raised: • Review of Assets Register • Establishing the ownership of the land on Dudley Road with the Land Registry • Welcoming of newly elected Councillors and completion of necessary paperwork

210413/22 To agree the installation of path + the number of car parking spaces at the Ley Play area and receive quotes for proposed work: Based on the public consultation that had taken place last year, Cllr Clelland proposed the allocation of parking space for 5 cars, with 2 spaces designated for disabled badge holders only. This was seconded by Cllr Jobes and unanimously approved by Council. The three quotes that had been received were then discussed in detail. Cllr Jobes raised concern over the specification for a disabled parking space.

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Cllr Attridge proposed that the contract was awarded to C Farmer as he had provided the most accurate detail for the work required. Cllr Gear seconded this proposal. Council resolved to appoint Chris Farmer for this Contract providing a copy of his Public Liability Insurance is received by the Clerk.

210413/23 To agree Terms of Reference for the Village Hall Working Group: Clerk advised that Cllrs Gear and Clelland should not partake in voting on this agenda item and were moved to the waiting room. The Terms of Reference were approved following the changing of the wording to include the word ‘potential’ and that Council would receive a monthly update. It was agreed that Cllr Henson and Askew and the Clerk would be members of this Committee. The budget of £2,000 was agreed towards costs.

210413/24 It was agreed that the date of the next Parish Council meeting would be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and, restrictions allowing, would be held on Tuesday 11th May 2021, commencing 7.15pm. Venue To be confirmed.

There being no further business, the Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the Meeting at 10pm

Signed ______(Chairman) Date ______

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