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DORMINGTON & MORDIFORD GROUP PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Group Parish Council held on Wednesday 16th October 2019 at 7.30pm at Priors Frome Chapel

Present Cllrs David Lloyd (Chair), Ray Dickson, Willow Groeber-Shaw, Derek Hughes, Craig Preedy and Mel Preedy In attendance Chris Bucknell (Parish Clerk)

3 Members of the Public Item Minutes Action 1.0 To Receive Apologies for Absence – Cllr Julia Cotton, Ward Cllr John Hardwick,

2.0 Declarations of Interest a) To Receive Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest

b) To Approve any Written Requests for Dispensation There were no requests for dispensations

3.0 To Accept Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Group Parish Council held on th 18 September 2019 Resolved: The minutes were accepted and signed by the Chair

4.0 To Receive Brief Verbal Reports: a) Ward Member – Cllr Hardwick Cllr Hardwick was not present at the meeting and there was no report

5.0 Public Participation Session The Chair gave an update on a question that was asked at the last meeting regarding cycle parking at the school, confirming that the plans did include an area for bicycles.

A member of the public said that there was water coming onto the road at Swardon Quarry

running off from Ann’s Cottage. There was also a bad pothole on the bend by the car parking

area. It was agreed that Clerk would speak to James and Manny Smith (Balfour Beatty) Clerk

about the water runoff and report the pothole (CAS-736455-J4Z9J9).

6.0 To Consider Planning Matters

a) To Consider any New Planning Applications

Ref Application Stables and Yard North of the Mews House, Mordiford - Variation of condition 2 192596 of planning permission application 143272/F. To allow changes to design and detached garage. Re-Consultation Clerk Resolved: To support the revised application

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Item Minutes Action b) To Note any Decisions/Notifications Received Ref Application Decision Wootton Barn, Checkley – variation of condition 15 – conversion of Awaiting 191451 barns to residential use. Decision Awaiting 192375 Wootton Barn, Checkley – Listed Building Consent Decision Lady Grove, Mordiford HR1 4LT. Proposed removal of Section 106 191870 Approved agreement. St Nicholas Mission Church, Checkley – proposed small extension to Awaiting 191199 existing church to provide kitchen and disabled toilet Decision Wootton Barn, Checkley - Proposed variations to link and existing Awaiting 192375 outbuilding, proposed garage and the provision of solar pv panels on Decision outbuilding roof Wootton Farm, Perton Lane, - application for variation Awaiting 191451 of Condition 15 of DCC083188/F Conversion of barns to residential Decision use Stables and Yard North of the Mews House, Mordiford - Variation of condition 2 of planning permission application 143272/F. Proposed Awaiting 192596 earth sheltered dwelling to replace an existing stable and storage Decision building on a previously developed site.

c) To Consider Other Planning Issues and Updates Tarrington Parish Council - Draft NDP, Reg 14 consultation – Councillors felt this covered all the Clerk major opportunities and risks. They supported the plan, commending Tarrington Parish Council on a professional and well-constructed document.

7.0 Finance a) To receive a Finance Report from the RFO Bank balances: Business Current Account £11,530.60. Business Reserve Account £74,459.26 Income since September meeting is £12.65 interest on the Business Reserve Account and a £65 payment for a Memorial in the Burial Ground. Mr Vince Heeley had deposited £182.31 as a contribution to the Defibrillator (see item 13) b) To Agree Payments made since September meeting Chq/ Expenditure Amount BACS Daniel Squire invoice 75855. Grounds Maintenance of Communal BACS £108.00 area and Community Orchard. Cutting 1 vacant Allotment. £90 + VAT D C Gardening invoice SI-529. Grounds Maintenance in Churchyard BACS £240.00 and Burial Ground September 2019 £200 + VAT BACS Enviroability invoice 3843 Regular monthly cuts to 3 sites (September) £62.50

c) To Agree Payment of Outstanding Invoices Chq/ Expenditure Amount BACS BACS Clerks Expenses Quarter 2 including travel and printing at 44% 62.16 BACS Priors Frome Chapel Use of Room for GPC Meeting October £20.00 Clerk Resolved: Invoices were noted and approved for payment

d) To Consider Draft 2020/21 Budget and Precept The Finance Group (Cllr Ray Dickson, Cllr David Lloyd and Cllr Mel Preedy) had prepared a draft budget which had been circulated to all Councillors in advance of the Meeting. Cllr Preedy

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Item Minutes Action presented this budget at the meeting, which assumed the precept would remain at £22,445 for 2020/21. Clerk Resolved: To Approve the 2020/21 budget as presented and to submit a precept request to

Herefordshire Council for £22,445.

e) To Consider Purchase of I Don’t Buy Crime Packs The details of the offer presented at the September meeting had been forwarded to all Councillors. The 2011 Census showed the number of households as: Dormington 108, Mordiford 236. It was noted there would need to be a plan of events/locations where the public could pick up their packs and have them registered with West Mercia Police. It was agreed to go forward with the Smartwater initiative and the Clerk would look further into the documents and application form forwarded from West Mercia Police, contacting Estelle Stock Clerk for advice and assistance in putting the programme into place.

8.0 Highways, Footpaths and Commons

a) Dormington and Mordiford Traffic/Pedestrian Safety Proposals

i. Update on Dormington SID Application

Cllr Lloyd confirmed that the SID application had now been submitted and an invoice was to be

sent to the Clerk. He had obtained 2 quotations for the equipment with installation and

maintenance in addition. The Clerk confirmed that 2 quotations for specialist equipment, such as

a SID, which would need to be approved by Balfour Beatty, would be acceptable and would

comply with section 11 of the Financial Regulations.

ii. Update on Community Speed Watch Clerk It was agreed that now the SID was being progressed there was no need for the Community

Speed Watch activity, and this would be taken off the agenda.

b) Highways and Footpath Issues

i. Update on Footpath Maintenance

The fallen tree across the bridle path which ran from Old Sufton to Swarden Quarry had been

removed together with 2 others. A gate had been repaired on the northern end of MF5.

ii. Update on Volunteer Way Wardens

Cllr Lloyd reported that copies of the footpath maps had now been delivered to all but 3 of the DL

Way Wardens and he was now arranging to meet them either in small groups or individually to

plan the way that the footpaths were monitored and maintained.

c) To Consider Options and Responsibilities for Checkley Common

As agreed at the September meeting, Helen Beale of Council Property Services had

been contacted and she had confirmed that Checkley Common, although owned by the Foley

Estate, was an 1899 Act Common and therefore had a Scheme of Management. Having checked

this document, Helen Beale confirmed that there was nothing which suggested the Common was

the legal responsibility of the Parish Council. In summary she confirmed that the Parish Council

would not be legally responsible, as due to the restructure in 1998 any responsibilities would now

lie with Herefordshire Council as the unitary authority. In terms of Checkley Common there was

nothing specific as the Scheme of Management generally granted a power rather than a duty.

The views of the Councillors were divided in terms of whether the Parish Council should resume

mowing the Common with the Clerk noting that one issue in the past had been the grazing of

horses and the occasional travellers, which had interfered with the mowing schedule.

A member of the public, who provided his name to the Parish Council, said that he could arrange

for the Common to be mowed by a third party for £200 with no liability on the part of the Parish

Council. He said he would arrange to get a letter from Mr Foley giving permission for the

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Item Minutes Action Common to be mowed and confirmed that the contractor would hold his own Public Liability insurance.

Resolved: To have the Common mowed at a cost of £200 provided the above conditions and

actions were complied with.

d) Work to be carried out and any Other Issues and Updates Speed of Traffic on Sufton Lane – Cllr Craig Preedy had contacted Manny Smith, Balfour Beatty Locality Steward, about a resident’s concern regarding the safety of children playing on Sufton Lane, suggesting that the speed limit be reduced, or warning signs erected. Manny had responded saying that signs of that type did not comply with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 and would therefore be contrary to Highway Law, potentially resulting in legal prosecution if they were erected. Manny also stated that he would be reluctant to erect any sign that encouraged children to play on the public highway with the serious road safety issues that implied. If a TRO were requested this would be looked at but Balfour Beatty currently had 111 TRO requests for speed limits and parking restrictions and therefore any request would take some significant time to process. MP/ It was suggested that an article be put in the next newsletter and also on Facebook, warning both CP motorists and parents of the risks. Bridleway from Sufton Lane – this had been surfaced (using some left-over tarmac) and vehicles were now using it as a cut through, as opposed to it providing genuine access to properties. The Clerk was asked to contact Manny and ask what could be used to control the bridleway, allowing Clerk access to horses and pedestrians but stopping unauthorised vehicles using it.

Letter from Resident Regarding Footpath – a resident had written to Cllr Cotton expressing concerns about the footpath which ran from Claston Farm to Western Beggard, saying it was not DL/ being maintained and had no signposts. He also stated that the bridge was almost impassable RD with a large gate tied up with string hampering access. Cllrs Lloyd and Dickson would look into it. Grit Bins – All the Grit bins had been filled in February 2019 at a cost of around £750. As the grit/salt deteriorated it was noted it may be advantageous to have them looked at before the MP/ forecasted bad weather. It was agreed Cllr Mel Preedy would circulate her grit bin map and all All Cllrs would inspect bins in their location and report back.

Balfour Beatty Footpath Meeting – Cllr Lloyd and the Clerk would attend on Wednesday 23rd DL October.

9.0 Community Orchard

a) To Consider Cost of Tree Replacement

Cllr Mel Preedy reported that there were 3 dead trees. If these were replaced like for like this

would cost around £30 per tree plus cost of planting. MP Resolved: To purchase the trees and arrange for Daniel Squire to plant them

10.0 Mordiford Dragon Project

a) Update from the Working Group

The Funding Group had put together an Expression of Interest which would be submitted to the

Heritage Lottery, this would be considered under item 10b.

b) To Approve Expression of Interest for Heritage Lottery

A draft Expression of Interest had been circulated to the Parish Council in advance of the

meeting. The Clerk noted that the wording on the employment of the Project Manger needed to

be revised as the Lottery would expect the Parish Council, as the applicant, to carry out some of

these activities, thus allowing funding to be used elsewhere. The Chair of the Dragon Working

Group maintained that a Project Manager would be needed if the outcomes were to be achieved

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Item Minutes Action but also said that it was intended to rework some of the application before it was submitted, following feedback from partner organisations. Cllr Mel Preedy asked that the Parish Council approve submission of this document in advance of the November meeting, stressing that the application was non-binding and was only being submitted to receive initial feedback from the MP Lottery in advance of the full application being prepared. With some reservations from the Clerk this was agreed.

c) To Consider Proposal for Purchase of Domain Name

This would be deferred until the project was further advanced.

d) To Consider any Expenditure There was no expenditure

11.0 Declaring a Climate Change Emergency a) Update and Actions from the Working Group The report from the Climate Change Working Group had been circulated to all Councillors in DL/ advance of the meeting. Cllrs Cotton and Dixon had attended the HALC Meeting on Climate RD/ Emergency and the main points were outlined in the report. It was suggested the Planning DH/ Subgroup and the Climate Change Group could work together to develop a Sustainable Planning MP/ Policy for the Parish Council’s use when considering planning applications, although it was noted JC this could only be advisory. It was agreed to arrange this meeting. th It was agreed that Gareth Williams would come to the GPC meeting on Wednesday 20

November to give a brief presentation, including the need for a carbon calculator, which the GPC

would be asked to contribute to.

b) To Consider Proposal for Tree Planting th The Parish Council were asked to endorse a Tree Planting Day on 30 November and to provide a budget of up to £1,000 to pay for trees. The Clerk asked whose liability would it be once the trees had been planted and Cllr Mel Preedy confirmed that they would be planted on private land and the liability and ongoing maintenance responsibilities would lie with the landowner, who MP/ would also fund the installation. It was agreed to send a letter to parents and to promote the CP initiative in the Parish Newsletter and on Facebook to see what the response would be before buying the full number of trees.

12.0 Social Media and Other Parish Council Communications a) To Consider Proposal for Parish Noticeboards (Priors Frome and Pentaloe Green) CP It was agreed to get a quotation for a moss green aluminium pin board, A1 landscape with wording on the top to indicate it was the property of the Group Parish Council. The Clerk was asked to check with Herefordshire Council regarding ownership of the noticeboard Clerk by The Spout which required new glass.

b) Update on Website and Facebook Cllr Craig Preedy reported that Facebook continued to be very successful with 3,023 people reached in the past month, 414 of whom clicked through. Likes were now at 104 which was an increase of 3 in the past 28 days. c) To Consider Dormington Proposal for Parish Council Logo Cllr Craig Preedy said he had contacted a graphic artist who was interested in working with the Parish Council on this, saying it would cost in the region of £300 - £500 to produce a logo (this would include all the copyright and publishing approvals). Concern was raised as to how this would work if, once completed, the Parish Council did not consider the logo appropriate. It was CP agreed Cllr Craig Preedy would go back to his contact and get a full quotation with terms and conditions.

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Item Minutes Action

d) To Approve any Expenditure

There was no further expenditure

13.0 Update on Community Defibrillator

Following the September meeting Hayley Driver, who was part of the group managing the

defibrillator, both in terms of getting it up and running and in terms of providing ongoing support,

tried to order the required parts but found that the defibrillator was now too old and could not

be updated or got back into working order. She looked into the alternatives and the only option

was to part exchange the old machine for a new model. This had now been done and the new

machine was working and registered with the British Heart Foundation and the Emergency

Services. This cost for this was £645 + VAT (£774.00) and Vince Heeley had donated £182.31

towards the cost, making a net cost to the GPC £442.69.

Mr Heeley noted that this donation closed the account which held donations in memory of his late wife. The donations had provided defibrillators for Mordiford School, Fownhope Stores and 14.0 The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat school, plus two 24/7 weatherproof housings for the Mordiford and Fownhope machines. Mr Heeley said these successes would not have been achieved without the help and support of Ambulance Service, (in particular Diane 15.0 Pearson), and the following charities, SADS UK and The Community Heartbeart Trust. Mr Heeley was commended for his contribution to the community.

Chq/ Expenditure Amount BACS

Cardiac Science Holdings invoice 7372212. Cardiac Defibrillator BACS £774.00 £645.00 + VAT

An article would be placed in the Parish Newsletter regarding the Defibrillator and also training MP would be arranged by the school into the use of the machine.

A question was asked as to whether there were life rings in the , or, if not, whether this DL could be arranged. This would be looked into.

16.0 To Note the Information Sheet (October 2019) and any other Updates

The Information Sheet was noted.

17.0 To Raise Items for the next Scheduled Parish Council Meeting (No discussion)

Woodland trees, Climate Emergency Presentation

18.0 To Note Date and Time of the Regular Meeting of the Group Parish Council th Wednesday 20 November 2019 at 7.30pm at Priors Frome Chapel.

The meeting closed at 9.31 pm

Signed ……………………………………… Date 20th November 2019

Chairman of Dormington and Mordiford Group Parish Council

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