LONGTOWN GROUP PARISH COUNCIL Craswall, Llanveynoe, Longtown and Walterstone Minutes of the Longtown Group Parish Council Meeting held at the Longtown Village Hall, Longtown HR2 0LD on Wednesday 19th February 2020 commencing at 7:30pm. MEMBERS PRESENT: Councillors Cecil (Chair), Hardy (Vice-Chair), Palmer, Probert, Tribe and L Watkins. ALSO PRESENT: Ward Cllr Jinman, PC Knight, Paul Russell, Clerk to the Council, and three members of the public. 130/19 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs Hope, Powell and G Watkins. 131/19 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND APPLICATIONS FOR DISPENSATION There were no Declarations of Interest made. 132/19 ADOPT MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Council RESOLVED that the minutes of the Longtown Group Parish Council meeting held on 15th January 2020 be agreed and signed as a correct record. 133/19 OPEN FORUM – There were three members of the public in attendance. The following matters were raised: (a) Recent Flooding – Concern was expressed regarding the number of blocked drains and ditches in the parish. Following discussion, it was agreed to liaise with Balfour Beatty, Herefordshire Council and the relevant land owners to try to develop a co-ordinated plan to clear ditches regularly and to undertake maintenance of pipework. It was noted that many vehicles using the road were too large and were having a detrimental effect on drainage and the issue was exacerbated by debris from hedge cutting. It was further agreed to contact the MP to request assistance from central government to address the issues. The matter would be placed on the next agenda of the Council for full discussion. The Ward Councillor strongly recommended that no one should undertake works on the highways unless they were covered by their own insurance and had the relevant certification. It was also noted that red diesel could not be used in vehicles undertaking highway maintenance. 134/19 FRIENDLY FIELDS ASSOCIATION – Council noted that the Association had formally adopted a Constitution and had made a full representation to the Village Hall Management Committee where it had received the Committee’s full support. The Association was now seeking grant funding to carry out the work and would work with the Village Hall in a joint funding application. 135/19 CLIMATE CHANGE – Council noted that an initial meeting to commence the development of an action plan to address climate change locally, regionally and nationally had been held prior to the Full Council meeting. 50 people had been in attendance and a large number of ideas had been put forward for consideration. A Steering Group had been set up and would hold its inaugural meeting on Tuesday 25th January 2020 in the Village Hall. It was agreed that the Parish Council would meet all the hire costs of the Village Hall. Cllr Hardy would be the Parish Council’s representative. 136/19 POLICE – The following report was received from PC Knight: A number of incidents of sheep theft had occurred over the past month in the area including one locally where ten sheep had been stolen. Residents were requested to be vigilant; Incidents of crime remained low due in part to the support of the local community; 1 | P a g e The Police offered a service to mark tools and equipment to help prevent theft and locate stolen property. 137/19 WARD COUNCILLOR – The following Ward Councillor report presented by Cllr Jinman was received: The issue of flooding throughout the County was of major concern. The Parish Council was encouraged to contact the MP to request financial support to meet the cost of repairs especially with regard to the highway; It had been confirmed that the Herefordshire Council annual budget for resurfacing the highway network covered around 2-3% of the network, so on-going maintenance was in decline; Council was encouraged to work with the farming community to try to alleviate some of the issues highlighted; The Herefordshire Council Cabinet was meeting in Ewas Harold on 27th February 2020 from 2pm to 6pm. Questions needed to be submitted by Monday 24th February. 138/19 PLANNING APPLICATIONS – Following consideration, it was RESOLVED to make the following comments: NUMBER SITE DESCRIPTION COMMENT 194043 Porth, Craswall, Repairs to barn and construction of No objection subject to the Herefordshire, a two-bedroom extension. inclusion of renewable HR2 0PN (Retrospective) energy schemes for all new builds.. 194398 Tyn Y Berth, Retrospective application for the No objection Longtown, change of use of land for the siting Hereford, HR2 of a shepherds hut for holiday let 0NZ use and associated works. 139/19 GRANTS, REFUSALS & APPEALS – Council noted the following decisions: NUMBER SITE DESCRIPTION DECISION 193698 Barn at Greenacres Proposed conversion of barn to a Approved with conditions Walterstone HR2 0PF dwelling. 192057 Hatterall Herbs Old Proposed work space and office Approved with conditions Ebenezer Chapel building and new vehicular Longtown HR2 0LT access 200084 Llandraw Farm Proposed non-material Approved with conditions Craswall Hereford amendment to planning Herefordshire HR2 permission 192725 (Proposed 0PW repair, alteration and re-use of existing piggery to form ancillary farm storage) to make alterations to piggery roof. 140/19 FINANCES & POLICY (a) Accounts Outstanding and Financial Statement – The list of accounts relating to February 2020 were approved: Cheque Payee Item Total DD 1&1 Internet Ltd Domain Name £1.20 100794 Mrs R Russell Clerk Salary Feb 20 £412.88 100794 Mrs R Russell Expenses Feb 20 £47.19 100795 Mrs J Cecil Stationary £49.26 100796 K Pritchard Defibrillator install £409.00 100797 HALC Subscription £668.20 £1,587.73 2 | P a g e (b) Defibrillators – Council noted that the defibrillator had now been installed at Llanveynoe. It was agreed to secure a date and venue to hold defibrillator training which would be held at Craswall Village Hall on 25th April 2020, subject to the availability of the trainer. (c) Noticeboards – Council noted that the noticeboard at Alltyrynys had been damaged and required replacement. It was agreed to seek quotations for a new noticeboard and submit a recommendation to Full Council for consideration at its next meeting on 18th March 2020. 141/19 LENGTHSMAN WORKS – Council noted that a quotation had been requested from Richard Mills to carry out Lengthsman works in 2020/21. 142/19 NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN UPDATE – Council noted that the Referendum held on 30th January 2020 was in favour of the Longtown NDP. The NDP now had full weight and was expected to be adopted by Herefordshire Council at the end of February. The plan would now form part of the statutory development plan for Herefordshire. 143/19 CORE STRATEGY REVIEW – Council requested that a representative from each of the Group Parishes complete the review of rural facilities questionnaire from Herefordshire Council and submit it to the Clerk to compile an overall response. 144/19 NOTE THE CORRESPONDENCE SHEET – Council noted the following correspondence received: Locality Steward Weekly Briefings – February 2020 Herefordshire Council, Road Closures February 2020 – Update to programme Herefordshire Rural Hub – February 2020 newsletter Police Newsletter – February 2020 Review of transport strategy for Hereford 145/19 DATE OF NEXT MEETING – Council noted that the next meeting would be held on Wednesday 18th March 2020 at 7:30pm at Craswall Village Hall. The Craswall & Llanveynoe Annual Parish Meeting will commence at 7.30pm followed by the Group Parish Council meeting. There being no other business the Chair thanked members for their attendance and closed the meeting at 8:40pm. ___________________________ _________________________________ CHAIR: DATE: 3 | P a g e .