FLYFORD FLAVELL, & PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting held by ZOOM, on Tuesday 17th November 2020

Present P Wakeman S Densham C Bennett D Waide(Chairman) J East R Davey

Cllr L Robinson Cllr R Adams

Mark Broughton-Taylor attended as clerk

2. Declaration of Interest:

None

3. Public Participation:

Members of the public attended the meeting to outline concerns about the revised planning application for Hill Top Farm, Old Hill, Flyford Flavell. The clerk explained that this application had been received just after the agenda had been sent out for this meeting and so was not included in the itinerary. After listening to the concerns of the neighbours and briefly reviewing the proposals it did not seem that the concerns previously raised by the council about this application had been adequately addressed. It was resolved to call an extraordinary meeting for Tuesday 24th November at 7.30pm by Zoom to discuss this matter more fully.

Concern was raised about a noisy motorbike which comes through the village on a daily basis early in the morning and late afternoon. It was agreed that this would be reported to the local police to see if it could be intercepted.

4. Minutes of the 15th September and 14th October 2020

Minutes of the ZOOM meetings held on 15th September and 14th October were accepted as a true record of the meeting with the correction of the numbering to the last paragraph of the October minutes.

Proposed: Sadie Densham Seconded: Pauline Wakeman All in favour

5. Matters Arising from the Minutes:

No matters arising

6. Resignation from the Parish Council:

2 Simon Kennedy had formally resigned from the parish council within the past few weeks due to relocation. His resignation was formally accepted and the chairman asked for his thanks to be publicly recorded. The clerk was also asked to write on behalf of the parish council and thank Simon for his considerable input over the past few years.

7. Correspondence:

None.

8. Local Police Officer and Community Support Officer:

No report had been provided.

9. Neighbourhood Watch & Smart Water

The Flyford Neighbourhood Watch scheme now has 192 followers. It had previously been proposed that the parish council would provide some Neighbourhood Watch stickers. Ceri agreed to liaise with Jane Hand and come back to the meeting next Tuesday with the requirement.

It was agreed not to proceed with the SmartWater initiative at the moment as it did not appear that there was sufficient support for the idea. It was agreed to bring this matter back to council in six months’ time.

9. District and County Councillors

As we entered into a second lockdown announced that they will re- introduce free parking in all their Council owned car parks until the 3rd January to help support local businesses over Christmas. A walk in test centre for Coronavirus is to be set up imminently in the middle car park at the Wychavon Civic Centre site. Appointments will be required through the Gov.uk website under Testing for coronavirus.

This facility is expected to stay in place for six months and will then be converted into a vaccine centre. Please see the attached link at the end of this report for more Covid information Impact on services Our websites have been updated to reflect the impact of the pandemic on services offered by us and County Council. A brief summary is below.

• Public toilets will stay open • Playgrounds we are responsible for will stay open • Household Recycling Centres will stay open • Libraries will close to the public but can stay open for people to collect books they have reserved online, pre-bookable public computer sessions for essential purposes and book returns. • Remembrance events can take place in-line with official guidance. An update has been issued to local organisers • Our leisure centres will be closed

3 • Our Customer Contact Centres are still closed but we will continue to offer urgent appointments face to face for those who really need them from the Civic Centre. • As with the last lockdown, we will aim to maintain waste and recycling collections and other essential functions • Car parking has been made free until 3 January 2021. On-street waiting times and other restrictions still apply and will be enforced, with the existing exemption for NHS, and adult social care staff and official community volunteers displaying the right evidence.

Supporting the extremely clinically vulnerable People who are clinically extremely vulnerable – and would have shielded during the first lockdown – are being asked to take extra precautions from 5 November. This includes staying at home unless shopping for food or exercising and not meeting up with people outside of their household. The Government is providing over £32 million to upper tier councils in (Worcestershire County Council in our area) to support the clinically extremely vulnerable over the next month. The funding will be used to provide support, such as access to food deliveries and signposting to local support services, to the most at risk and enable them to stay at home as much as possible over this short period. We are working with Worcestershire County Council, and our voluntary and community sector, to support this effort. If you know of someone who is vulnerable, whether clinically or for another reason, and needs help then please direct them to the Worcestershire Here 2 Help site. Anyone who wishes to help volunteer or support should also get in touch with Worcestershire Here 2 Help. Guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable www.worcestershire.gov.uk/here2help Supporting rough sleepers The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick MP has announced a further £15million has been allocated to support the ongoing efforts to provide accommodation for rough sleepers. The scheme – called the ‘Protect Programme’ – will help areas that need additional support most during the restrictions and throughout winter. The Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Kelly Tolhurst MP, has also contacted trade bodies representing caravan and park home site owners to confirm that they should remain open for those using them as their primary residence, for those with nowhere else to live, vulnerable groups or where it is essential for work purposes. We are waiting for more information. Read the full announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jenrick-launches-protect- programme-the-next-step-in-winter-rough-sleeping-plan Impact of Covid-19 on social mobility/holiday hunger Over the past year Wychavon District Council has been working with school and early years settings to support free school meals children and their families across the district. COVID 19 has seen a significant increase in numbers of free school meals eligible children and families in need Wychavon is helping to ensure that children, families and schools are supported. Due to the constantly changing situation we are

4 keeping the social mobility work under review and adapting to the change in demands. Current focus areas include speech and language provision across the district and helping to tackle child criminal exploitation. We are also helping schools in the district to provide breakfast clubs and snacks for children to help ensure that children do not go hungry. For further information about social mobility please contact Leonie Silk on 01386 565569 or email [email protected] Wychavon Customer Service Excellence Wychavon has once again been awarded Corporate Customer Service Excellence, following a virtual inspection.

Despite the challenging situation we are delivering services in, we were found to have improved in some areas.

The assessor highlighted the following:

1. The council has pursued a strong agenda with regard to fairness with its approach to proactively seeking out small businesses so that they can receive Covid payments. In addition, discretionary Isolation payments are being made to reflect personal circumstances. The way in which the council has managed the Covid-19 situation is to be commended. 2. A comprehensive strategy for consultation and engagement is now more clearly promoted to residents. New and innovative ways for engaging with schools and children have also been created. 3. Customer insight (from residents) continues to strongly influence strategic priorities such as Intelligently Green. 4. Empowerment of staff to deliver excellent service has increased as a result of remote working. 5. The use of staff insight has been maintained and enhanced through the use of regular video meetings at all levels. Please stay safe all of you and abide by the latest restrictions to keep others safe as well. The message 'Here to Help' still applies to your County & District Councils and do feel free to contact me directly should the need arise in these unprecedented times.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKWYCHAVON/bulletins/2aa7dad

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKWYCHAVON/bulletins/2ab0ddb Update on Auntea Rita’s Tea Room

Dear Cllr Robinson –

I just thought I would update you on the investigation regarding Auntea Rita’s Tea Rooms in Flyford Flavell with respect to the complaints of odour and intrusive lighting received from the residents.

5 Regarding the reported odour, officers have visited a number of times and gained diary sheets from two of the affected the residents. Since the modifications to the flue in August officers have witnessed an odour characteristic of frying on one out of three visits. The odour is intermittent and experienced in short periods. The assessment is that under the correct conditions the odour could be a statutory nuisance however the experience of the odour is heavily affected by the wind direction, operating hours and volume of business at the premises and these factors need to be considered as part of a statutory nuisance assessment. As the odour is intermittent, the business volume is currently low and operating restricted hours it is not felt that the business is currently causing a statutory nuisance. However, if the operating hours or volume of business materially increase the times the business is undertaking frying activities, there is potential for statutory nuisance. I have asked the business to provide assurances around the maintenance of the flue and the operating hours as these are important mitigating factors and I have advised the residents of my conclusions.

With respect to the lighting. The artificial LED lighting has been assessed in both light and dark situations and based on the available evidence, whilst it is bright and noticeable, the lights are small and it is not felt that impact of the light constitutes a statutory nuisance on current operation. The light is more of an aesthetic concern and as such outside the scope of statutory nuisance. I have however re-enforced to the business that the lights should be switched off outside operating hours.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Kind regards

Nina

Note to above report: The Covid-19 testing centre on the car park at the Civic Centre is now open.

Councillors had attended an online event concerning possible boundary changes. Cllr Robinson report that these proposals were in an early stage and were unlikely to affect our parish.

County Councillor Report

School attendance numbers are dropping off due to the covid-19 situation.

The County Council has purchased 3 new gritter lorries to help cope with the roads this winter.

The Parkway Station has been nominated for a national award.

A £20 million fund had been established to improve cycling lanes in the county.

The highways Department was still working at full capacity.

The County Council Armed Forces Community Covenant is involved in distributing Christmas boxes in the festive season.

The County Council is initiating new schemes for apprenticeships for young people between 16 and 24 years old.

6 The 16 seater bus service that services Naunton Beachamp is performing well.

10. Flyford Green

The clerk reported that he had had discussions with Natural Networks concerning the revised plans for the village green. Natural Networks were very anxious to assist with funding for the scheme but carrying out the work over a number of years caused considerable complications with funding. It was agreed that the clerk will put together a package that would be easier for Natural Networks to fund and bring this to the parish council in January.

The storage box had been fitted and a 50m hose pipe will be provided.

The clerk reported that the grant application to the Severn Trent Community Fund had progressed to the last stage. The final decision will be communicated to the parish council in mid-December. In the meantime, the expressions of interest for the Wychavon Legacy Fund will close on 7th December. The clerk is exploring a plan B with Wychavon.

An application by the green committee to the Meadfleet Community Fund (Meadfleet is the company that administers the contract for the maintenance of the private road around the green) has been successful and some nesting boxes, a bug hotel and some wild grass seed will be provided.

A treasure hunt (£126.00) and other online donations had raised further funds which will be transferred to the parish council bank account.

John Broderick kindly offered to donate a Christmas Tree to be planted on the green as a permanent fixture. This offer was accepted and it was agreed that the chairman and Mr Broderick would liaise further about the details after the meeting.

Ceri reported that some events are being planned in the village over Christmas. These might include Advent displays in people’s windows and a walk around the village by the Salvation Army Band.

11. Three Parishes Hall:

The clerk reported that the building works were now underway and the hall had been closed early because of the lockdown rules. Work was progressing well.

A Christmas tree will be displayed outside the hall.

12. Speeding Issues in Flyford Flavell and A422:

The clerk reported that a meeting had taken place with Nigel Huddleston and our complaints had been referred to various agencies. A full safety review of the A422 between Spetchley and Alcester had been ordered by Worcestershire County Council and this was being conducted by outside consultants. The parish council had been asked to contribute to this review and a report had been submitted by the clerk. Cllr Adams reported that funds had been set aside by

7 the County Council for immediate response to the report and that he was hopeful that we would know the extent of the proposals by the end of the year.

Cllr Adams suggested that the parish council might like to host an online event for the other councils on the A422 and Highways once the announcement had been made concerning the proposals for the road.

The clerk reported that the Highways and Transport Plan was ready for the final edit but as Simon had left the council there was no longer a working group to do this. It was agreed that the clerk would send the document to the chairman for the final editing.

13. Broadband

The clerk reported that the broadband contract had now been delivered to all 92 properties. There was now a problem as there was a requirement to validate the vouchers. Government vouchers had been issued at the commencement of the project to cover the cost of the scheme. There were now 6 vouchers left to validate amounting to £8,400. Unfortunately, circumstances had changed for some people and it was now difficult to finalise these validations. The clerk was proceeding to sort these out on a case by case basis. It was not clear whether the community would be charged if the vouchers were not fully redeemed but the suggestion had been made by BT.

14. Planning Matters

The clerk reported that he had submitted a full reply to the government white paper on planning but it had not been possible to print off a copy of the submission. Cllr Robison report that she too had made an online submission through the dedicated portal and had the same experience.

There was a detailed discussion concerning Neighbourhood Plans. Sadie Densham had organised an online discussion with Chris Hayes who had spearheaded a Neighbourhood Plan at . Ceri Bennett and the clerk had also been in attendance in that discussion. It had been suggested that we should make further enquiries with a consultant but a quote of £300 had been received from Avon Planning Consultants for a preliminary online (training) session.

It was clear that there might be some benefits in creating a neighbourhood Plan but that there would have to be a declaration for some development in the parishes in order to get the plan approved by the inspectorate and Wychavon. There was some uncertainty about the future of Neighbourhood Plans with the proposals made by government, nevertheless the advice from Wychavon was that those who have plans in place will be in a better position than those who do not when and if the proposed changes take place.

It was agreed that the working group would continue to research the issues and report back to the January meeting with a full proposal.

8 Planning Applications

M Bleney 20/01208/CU

Hill Court Farm, Grafton Flyford To , Grafton Flyford, WR7 4PL Demolition of existing outbuildings and conversion of brick barn to single holiday let.

Approved

Mrs Catherine Thomas 20/01440/FUL

Land At Grafton Flyford, Grafton Flyford Change of use from agricultural to mixed agricultural and equestrian sui generis use and the erection of 3 loose boxes, a store and a barn for storage of hay, bedding and fodder. Land At Grafton Flyford, Grafton Flyford

Approved

Manor Farm, Grafton Flyford, Worcester, WR7 4PG. 20/01586/CU

Retrospective change of use of land to residential curtilage including the addition of decking.

Approved. The parish council had raised concerns about the footpath and these had been dealt with by way of special conditions proposed by the County Council Footpaths officer.

15. Highways/Footpaths

The lengthsman had cleared the footpath at the back of Church Mead.

Due to the present coronavirus position it had been agreed to suspend the lengthsman operations until December 2nd.

It was reported that the roundels on Radford Road had not been reinstated after the recent resurfacing.

16. Treasurer’s Report:

Present Balances

The third quarter divided was £913.29

Balances

Deposit Acc. £50,258.88 Current Acc. £6,574.47

TOTAL £56,833.35

General Fund £13,612.12 Appeal Fund £1,570.00 Grafton Society £1,500.00

9 Village Green £10,625.81

17. AOB

Councillors reported a number of scams that were going round at the moment. These included a very plausible email concerning TV licences, an app called Next door which pertained to be a local news feed but which was a nationwide advertising scam and an email purporting to be from Royal Mail saying that they had difficulty delivering a parcel but which actually emanated from Poland.

18. Dates of Next Meetings: 24th November 2020 (Online).

Signed: Date: