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Month: November 2023
Ward Councillor Report for Penyard Ward – November 2023
Penyard Ward Report November 2023
Meetings I have attended during the month include some local parish meetings plus others to deal with transport issues, specific cabinet member meetings regarding Shire Hall and the Broad Street Museum, Capital budgets, Revenue budgets, 20mph debates, Scrutiny meetings, Strategic Partnership board with Balfour Beattie, Oh, and dealing with the Southern Relief Road and Bypass, their business cases and funding. The Waste Collection Contract, The Model Farm Enterprise Park, Road Resurfacing Strategy and not forgetting of course speeding in Lea and Gorsley.
There are a number of issues in and around the ward that have/are being delivered, some on the agenda for delivery, some not due to lack of funding in this and future financial years. These include roads, surfaces, potholes, footways, ditches and verges, mud, 20mph and 30mph zones, planning 106 developer agreements, etc. If you feel the need to complain about road issues, drainage, potholes, ditches, etc please go directly to the Council website and get it reported, that is the place that new issues are acted on in the system.
Budgets are the difficult topic.
A summary of the Councils Revenue budget starting with this year’s, 23/24. When these budgets are set by full Council in February, they are deemed deliverable by the senior officer team across all directorates and signed off by the 151 financial director. Apart from delivering the services within the budget it is expected that a Council maintains an unallocated reserve of at least 5%.
The budget over the last couple of years has overspent and relied on previous reserves to get through. The current budget is overspent and won’t balance and will rely on what few reserves are left, leaving the future years with a choice – more income, or more efficient, or cuts in delivery. I don’t believe this year’s budget was ever going to balance. Known issues and pressures at the time particularly in Children and Wellbeing were always going to exceed the forecast. Whilst this year’s budget is currently £13.5 million adrift it is likely to require a significant figure from reserves at the year end. This is not just a Herefordshire problem as it applies to nearly every Council, and many are in a worse position than us. The cost of care delivery across Children and Community Wellbeing directorates is adding further pressures and constantly impacts the money available in Economy and place, which of course means amongst other things, Road repairs and maintenance, so the latest notification of extra funding on Friday for roads and infrastructure from HS2 cancellation is good news.
The headline forecast figures for you for the 24/25 budget.
Expected Council Income £201 million
Expected Council Expenditure £220 million
Leaving Just over £19m to save for next year to balance the books and that includes the max increase in Council tax rates!
Regards
Cllr Harry Bramer
Herefordshire Council – Penyard Ward Member
Cabinet Member – Community Services and Assets
West Mercia Police Herefordshire – Results of Town and Parish Council Survey
The article below has been shared on the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) website as the full Town & Parish Council Survey results have been published. The PCC heard from a record number of 182 councils, an increase of 30% from last year, about their feelings on policing.
In Herefordshire, 59% of respondents believe West Mercia Police are doing a fair job.
Other results from respondents included:
- 14% believe West Mercia Police are doing an excellent/good job.
- Three-quarters (75%) rate the visibility of police as poor/very poor. This a significantly higher proportion than the West Mercia average of 60%.
- Less than half (39%) state that they believe West Mercia Police is working well with councils to identify and address local crime and disorder issues.
- 61% did explain the level of contact with West Mercia Police was good/fair which is higher than the average for the force area at 33%.
- 21% of respondents believe that anti-social behaviour is a problem, with road safety (31%) being one of the biggest problems in the area, alongside rural crime (35%).
PCC John Campion said: “As PCC, my pledge is clear to ensure everyone from all corners of our communities has a voice, and it’s heard at the highest level in policing. This survey allows me to understand the concerns of communities across West Mercia, and I will ensure they are acted upon.
“It’s concerning to see that a small percentage of respondents believe West Mercia Police is doing a good job and furthermore, that the majority don’t believe the visibility of police officers is what they or I expect. I want the community to feel the benefits of the investment I have made to provide West Mercia Police with a record number of officers, who are delivering on my commitment to build a Safer West Mercia.
“It is encouraging to see that those who have had contact with West Mercia Police, however, believe it was a good/fair experience. I understand it could always be better and that more does need to be done to offer residents the reassurance they need that they are safe and that the police are listening to their concerns.”
Superintendent Helen Wain, the Herefordshire LPA commander, said: “I’m pleased to see that the majority of Herefordshire’s parish councils report a good level of contact with West Mercia Police.
“My local Safer Neighbourhood Teams work hard to understand and tackle local priorities, supported by other teams around issues such as rural crime and road safety.
“We have room to improve in respect of residents’ views on police visibility, and I will ensure that this is a focus moving forwards.”
You can read the 2023 Town and Parish Council Survey in full here.
Urgent Parish Council Meeting on 3 November 2023
Linton Parish Council
Minutes of the Urgent Parish Council Meeting
On Friday 3 November 2023
Meeting via Zoom Conference
Present: Cllr B Clark (Chair); Cllr A Newton; Cllr A Bates; Cllr M Bertenshaw; Cllr S Jurkiewicz.
Parish Clerk Rich Hunt.
- The meeting was convened at short notice to form a Parish Council position on Herefordshire Council Planning Application 232686 – Land adjacent to Walnut Cottage, Linton Hill. The deadline for comments on this application of 26 October 2023 preceded the next Parish Council meeting on 13 November. Herefordshire Council were unable to allow an extension for comments after this date as the application was a “permission in principle”. They did agree to accept comments before the Target Determination Date of 14 November but asked that these be submitted as soon as possible.
- This was the only agenda item, and the meeting was held in accordance with the Parish Council-approved procedures for meetings held outside the normal meeting schedule to attend to urgent business.
- Following discussion, it was RESOLVED unanimously to object to this application with comments as set out below.
Linton(S) Parish Council
Representation to Herefordshire Council on Planning Applications
General information
| Number | 232686 |
| Location | Land Adjacent to Walnut Cottage, Linton |
| Description | Application for permission in principle for one dwelling. |
| HC Case Officer | Joshua Evans |
| Applicant | Mr R Hemingway |
| Agent | Mr P Morgan |
| Date received by PC | 12 October 2023 |
| PC comments requested by | 13 November 2023 |
| Target HC determination date | 14 November 2023 |
Review of compliance with Linton Parish Neighbourhood Development Plan
| Relevant
Neighbourhood Plan Policy |
Compliant
Yes / No |
|
| BGL 1 Natural Environment | ||
| BGL2 Historic environment | ||
| BGL3 Building Design | ||
| BGL4 Renewable low Carbon Energy | ||
| BGL5 Settlement Boundaries |
Objection on grounds of contravening Linton(S) Parish Council Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) Policy BGL5 Settlement Boundaries due to the proposed development lying outside of the settlement boundaries defined in the NDP.
The applicant argues that the NDP settlement boundaries should be disregarded. The Parish Council strongly disagrees with this argument. The NDP was formally adopted in June 2021 and consequently should be given full weight. It should also be noted that Herefordshire Council’s housing delivery monitoring statistics (from August 2023) record a total of 112 for the parish – thus exceeding the Local Plan Housing target (including windfall) and consequently further undermining the applicant’s argument.
The Parish Council also notes that the proposed development partially lies within the Talbot’s Well area of Common Land. The Parish Council will not support any application for consent under section 38 of the Commons Act.
|
No |
| BGL6 Housing Mix | ||
| BGL7 Community Facilities | ||
| BGL8 Local Green Space | The proposed development would result in the loss of Local Green Spaces. | No |
| BGL 9 Small scale employment development | ||
| BGL10 Agricultural Development |
Summary
| Conclusion | The Parish Council object to the application as set out above. |
| Comments: | Unanimous objection at the Linton(S) Parish Council Urgent Meeting on 3 November 2023.
|
- The Clerk subsequently forwarded the Parish Council’s objection to Herefordshire Council Planning Services.