Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
On Monday 9 December 2024
At Linton Village Hall
Present: Cllr A Newton (Chair); M Bertenshaw; Cllr E Clark; Cllr C Cresswell; Cllr J Parkes; Cllr R Williams.
In attendance: one member of the public; Parish Clerk Rich Hunt.
1) Apologies for absence: Cllrs J Gough, J Hoyle, S Jurkiewicz, A Price.
2) Declarations of Interest: None declared.
3) Co-option of members: It was RESOLVED unanimously to co-opt Jeremy Parkes as a member of the Parish Council (PC), filling the last remaining vacancy. The Clerk will forward Cllr Parkes’s completed Acceptance of Office and Register of Interests forms to Herefordshire Council (HCC).
4) It was RESOLVED to agree and sign the Minutes of the meeting on 11 November 2024 as a true and accurate record. Cllr Newton as Chair signed the Minutes.
5) Clerk’s Report: The Roads Lengthsman may take some of the hardwood left by the removal of ash trees near Quarry Lane footpath, taking care to avoid any environmental damage. He supplies wood free of charge to pensioners around the area, especially now some have lost their winter fuel allowance. The Clerk has reminded HCC Highways Department and Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) that when they last resurfaced the B4224 from the A40 through to the north side of Bromsash, it was agreed with the PC that the central white line would be replaced with road edging lines all the way through the village. Funds ran out however before they reached the south side of Bromsash, so this is still outstanding. The Clerk will confirm if the PC is responsible for a tree in the Quarry area which blew down and blocked a neighbouring lane. The tree has already been removed. The Clerk will report to HCC Planning Department that the developer has not replaced the hedge at Lovers Walk in Gorsley, which was a condition of planning approval.
6) Public Submissions:
a) Ward Councillor and PCSO were not in attendance.
b) Parish Matters: The Clerk will report to the Locality Steward the deterioration of the verges on Pound Farm Lane, caused in part by parents parking there to drop off children at Gorsley Primary School.
7) Planning:
a) No new applications had been received since the last meeting.
b) The schedule of recently decided applications was noted.
8) Climate Change Working Group: The thermal camera was loaned out recently. Cllr Newton will contact the organisers of the Colwall Eco Festival, featuring stalls by Green Energy suppliers, to consider staging such an event in Linton(S) Parish.
9) Locality Steward and highways matters:
a) The Roads Lengthsman has visited the road at Two Parks Farm which is prone to flooding caused by storm/surface water coming off a cultivated field into ditches and a culvert that are silted up and require clearing. The Lengthsman will make further enquiries and determine responsibility before presenting a quote for works that should be eligible for HCC reimbursement under their Drainage Funds Scheme. Cllr Bertenshaw has reported the terrible state of the B4221 near the junction with the M50 to BBLP but has not received a response.
b) Bromsash speeding issues. The latest Speed Indicator Device (SID) report for Bromsash North south facing (i.e. towards the crossroads) shows average speeds below 30mph with only 10% incoming and 5% outgoing vehicles exceeding 35mph. Maximum recorded speeds are, however, quite alarming with 57mph incoming and 63mph outgoing, with most exceeding 50mph recorded during hours of darkness when headlamps for oncoming traffic would be visible. The Bromsash SID has now been relocated facing south at the south end of the village. The B4224 Traffic Group is concerned by the traffic implications of the construction of over one thousand houses on the east side of Ross-on-Wye. This should not impact Bromsash but plans to expand housing development in Mitcheldean are likely to increase traffic through the parish.
c) Curbing speed on B4221 in Gorsley. The road is now a priority for Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) consideration to reduce overall speed from 40mph to 30mph, and 20mph in the vicinity of the school during drop-off and collection periods. Cllrs Clark and Bertenshaw will accompany Joe Grice from Herefordshire Highways Department through the area on the afternoon of 17 December to confirm the placement of traffic monitoring cables to provide date for the TRO process. They will emphasise points of concern, including the B4221 junction with Burrups Lane, and the need for clearer signage where the M50 slip road meets the B4221. The first report from the SID in Gorsley for November recorded 144,162 incoming vehicles and 140,289 outgoing vehicles. There was a top speed of 98mph, and although all speeds above 80mph occurred overnight, one of 81mph was recorded at 3pm in the afternoon. The high volume of vehicles resulted in an average of 83.93% incoming and 89.43% of outgoing travelling at 40mph or less. The SID may need re-calibrating as it appears to be underestimating actual speed. Cllr Bertenshaw will discuss with the Elan City supplier. Cllr Clark will forward the SID report to Herefordshire Traffic Management and West Mercia Police in Ross-on-Wye and share with the Geardown For Gorsley group.
d) Flooding at Bromsash House/Fordings Lane. The problem has not been solved by the new drainage scheme. The Roads Lengthsman is going to revisit and excavate as much as necessary to find out what has gone wrong. It may be that the deep cultivation on the field has gone closer to the hedge than anticipated and the connecting pipe from the gully to the soakaway has been ruptured. Flagstones are needed to protect the drain from detritus. There will no cost incurred to the Parish Council for any remedial action. The Clerk has submitted a claim (£3,120) for the work to HCC for reimbursement under their Drainage Funds Scheme.
e) Signs. The PC will submit a requirement for additional road signs at Shutton Crossroads to HCC via the Community Commissioning Model. This comprises several Crossroads ahead signs, M50 direction signs and Give Way triangles to alert drivers. The Clerk will provide a diagram with the location of the signs for PC consideration at the meeting in January. HCC have committed to replacing the “Unsuitable for HGVs” sign at the junction of the B4221 and Quarry Lane with a new sign.
10) Public Rights of Way: It was RESOLVED unanimously to ask the Roads Lengthsman to replace the four stiles along footpath LTR28 (from the road just west of Burton Court towards Bromsash near Eccleswall) with gates. HCC have approved the cost of materials for grant support.
11) Lengthsman:
a) Grass Lengthsman. Nothing to report.
b) Roads Lengthsman. The scheduled parish maintenance rounds will begin shortly. The Clerk has requested a timetable for roads and drainage work for the remainder of the fiscal year.
12) Allotments: Winston Gooch has cut the allotments hedge. A second person is required while this work is undertaken to prevent the health and safety risk to pedestrians from hedge fragments. Cllr Williams was present on this occasion. DB Landscaping have yet to begin the clearance of plot 20. Contracts for allotment holders will be updated in January following PC consideration at the meeting on 13th. Cllr Williams will not pursue further dialogue with Newent Town Council.
13) Trees: Chris Arnold Ltd have confirmed that they have removed all the ash trees of concern near the footpath on Quarry Lane that were included in the original quote. No additional work is required.
14) Dark Skies Herefordshire: Light pollution is not a major issue in the parish, but the Clerk will ask the charity if their remit includes visiting schools to increase awareness of the damage artificial light at night causes to biodiversity. If so, Cllr Clark will arrange a visit to Gorsley Primary School.
15) The Clerk is leaving the area at the end of December but will continue in his role for a few months until a replacement is found. An advertisement for a new Clerk will be placed in the Chimes magazine, and a vacancy listed on the PC, HALC and HCC websites.
16) Financial Matters:
a) Cllr Williams signed the Receipts & Payments reports and reconciled bank statements for 30 November 2024. There was a bank balance of £27,528.36 with a cash balance after outstanding payments of £25.680.59.
b) It was RESOLVED unanimously to approve payments to: Richard Hunt, Clerk fee & expenses £491.77; Terry Griffiths Contracts, SID and Signs installation £1,056.00; Winston Gooch, allotments hedge cutting £300.00. Cllrs Clark and Williams signed the invoices.
c) The PC noted the latest budget monitoring report, which forecasts 2024-2025 income of £34,032.33 against expenditure of £40,235.96.
d) The Clerk will continue to explore options for transferring the PC bank account from Lloyds to another provider to avoid a monthly account maintenance fee from January 2025.
e) The Clerk has provided yet more authorisation requested by Lloyds Bank to complete the application for Cllr Hoyle to gain online access to the PC’s bank accounts.
f) The PC felt unable to respond meaningfully on the HCC Budget 2025/26 consultation because of a lack of contextual information.
17) Chairman’s & Councillors’ Submissions: None.
18) Date of next meeting: Monday 13 January 2025 at 7:30 pm in Gorsley Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 8:48 pm.