Linton(South) Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
On Monday 13 January 2025
At Gorsley Village Hall
Present: Cllr A Newton (Chair); M Bertenshaw; Cllr E Clark; Cllr J Gough; Cllr J Hoyle; Cllr S Jurkiewicz, Cllr J Parkes; Cllr R Williams.
In attendance: four members of the public; PCSO Claire Denton; Parish Clerk Rich Hunt.
1) Apologies for absence: Cllr C Cresswell; Cllr A Price.
2) Declarations of Interest: None declared.
3) It was RESOLVED to agree and sign the Minutes of the meeting on 9 December 2024 as a true and accurate record. Cllr Newton as Chair signed the Minutes.
4) Clerk’s Report: Most of the boundary hedge at the Lovers Walk development adjacent to the B4221 has now been planted, with remaining landscaping to be conducted soon. In accordance with Herefordshire Local Plan policy the developer has until 31 March 2025 to complete planting and avoid a breach of Herefordshire Council (HCC) planning conditions. The Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) Annual Plan face-to-face briefing takes place on 29 January in Thorn Depot, Rotherwas, Hereford, with a Teams session option the following day. Parish Councillors are welcome at either session. HCC are holding a webinar for Parish and Town Councils on Nature Recovery Mapping in Herefordshire on 22 January, which Cllr Newton will attend. HCC have published a draft map identifying areas for mapping and all Herefordshire Parish and Town Councils are invited to provide input. There has been no interest so far in the Parish Council (PC) Clerk vacancy, which has been advertised through Herefordshire association of Local Councils (HALC) and in the Chimes local magazine, as well as on the PC website. The Clerk will look at other advertising options, including neighbouring Associations of Local Councils and local newspapers.
5) Public Submissions:
a) The Ward Councillor was not in attendance. The PCSO is focused on the issues of primary importance to the PC, i.e. the speed of traffic and parking on local roads. She is receiving the data from the Bromsash and Gorsley Speed Indicator Devices (SID) and advised checking with West Mercia Police’s Traffic Management Advisor whether the Operational Policing Unit has conducted periodic speed enforcement on the B4221 in Gorsley. The police have examined several parking complaints, but concluded no law has been broken and therefore they have no authority to act. The PCSO left the meeting at the end of this discussion.
b) Parish Matters: Cllr Newton responded to a query about settlement boundaries, which remain in place until June 2026 under the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP). The Government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will impact on the lower tiers of county and town/parish planning but will not have influenced HCC’s decisions on past planning applications. Queries on these decisions should be referred to HCC’s Planning Department. The Clerk will report to HCC the poor state of Linton Road in Gorsley near the allotments.
6) Planning:
a) (i) 242923 – Little Woodend Farm, Linton – residential development of the site. It was RESOLVED to oppose the application, with five against, two in favour and one abstention. The PC’s comments sent to HCC are contained in Appendix A to these Minutes.
(ii) 242978 – Tedgewood Farm, Upton Bishop – erection of oak framed garden room extension. It was RESOLVED unanimously to raise no objections and no comments to this application.
(iii) 242979 – Tedgewood Farm, Upton Bishop – erection of oak framed garden room extension. Listed building consent. It was RESOLVED unanimously to raise no objections and no comments to this application. (iv) 242144 – Land West of The Far Gardens, Kilcot – temporary change of use of land from agricultural to a mixed use including the siting of a caravan for residential occupation by the applicant, storage container and package sewage treatment plant (retrospective). It was RESOLVED unanimously to raise no objections and no comments to this application, as no material change had been made to the original application which the PC supported with conditions (see para 7) a) (i) of the Minutes of 14 October 2024 meeting).
The Clerk will seek an extension for comments on 243111 – Haywood Farm Caravan and Camping Park, Swagwater Lane, Gorsley to enable the PC to consider this application at its February meeting, and has asked HCC to amend its omission of Linton(S) PC as a consultee.
b) The schedule of recently decided applications was noted. The PC awaits further direction from HCC on the revised mandatory NPFF house building target’s impact on local councils, but as Linton(S)’s NDP is less than five years old its provisions will remain a factor in the review of planning applications. The Clerk will assess how long the process to revise the NDP (which expires in June 2026) will take.
7) Climate Change Working Group: Cllr Clark will arrange a visit by the Dark Skies Herefordshire Charity to Gorsley Goffs School.
8) Locality Steward and highways matters:
a) The Clerk will report the following to the Locality Steward: the poor state of the road surface on Woodend Lane from the Linton Village Hall end on to the whole length of The Line to where it rejoins The Ridge; potholes on The Ridge from Walnut Cottage to where it meets The Line; sand that has washed on to the road from Cut Throat Lane to Burton Mill, presenting an accident risk; obstructed signage and limited visibility at the Bromsash crossroads travelling from the direction of both Linton and Ross-on-Wye; poor condition of the B4224 from the entrance to South Herefordshire Golf Club through Bromsash to a point just beyond the Eccleshall Castle entrance. The Clerk will seek HCC approval to place an “Unsuitable for HGVs” sign at the bottom of Chapel Lane. The grit bin at the bottom of Linton Ridge near the village hall has been damaged; the Clerk will ask HCC to replace it.
b) Bromsash speeding issues. The latest SID report for Bromsash South shows around 9% of incoming vehicles exceeding 35mph but more than 12% of outgoing vehicles exceeding 35mph. The SID has been relocated to Bromsash North (north facing).
c) Curbing speed on B4221 in Gorsley. HCC are beginning the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process with a review of speed limits through cable monitoring on the B4221 in Gorsley, and on the U70239 Linton Ridge. The latter is welcome as there is currently no speed limit on the Ridge or through Linton village. The SID in Gorsley has provided more useful information. Over the last month, 17% of incoming vehicles and 11% of incoming vehicles exceeded the 40mph, and a maximum speed of 93mph was recorded incoming late on New Years Eve! The developer of the new properties in Lovers Walk on the B4221 may provide help with the cost of speed curbing measures, of which resurfacing will be the most significant. Cllrs Clark, Bertenshaw and Hoyle will pursue at a meeting on 14 January. The PC will maintain focus on the TRO but is aware that it will benefit from complementary measures to reduce road speed, such as white gates at the village entry/exit points.
d) Flooding at Bromsash House/Fordings Lane. The problem has not been solved by the new drainage scheme, and the Roads Lengthsman has not yet provided a solution.
e) Two Parks Farm flooding. The Roads Lengthsman has visited the road which is prone to flooding caused by storm and surface water coming off a cultivated field into ditches and a culvert that are silted and require clearing. The Clerk will obtain a quote for this work from the Lengthsman for PC consideration.
f) Shutton Crossroads. It was RESOLVED unanimously to request HCC approval under the Community Commissioning Model for new stop and warning signs at several locations to alert drivers to the crossroads, the narrowing of the road, and the proximity of the M50.
9) Public Rights of Way: The Roads Lengthsman is replacing the four stiles along footpath LTR28 (from the road just west of Burton Court towards Bromsash near Eccleswall) with gates. Once this is complete, the Clerk will request HCC reimbursement of the cost of materials under the PROW grant scheme. The scheme has been extended until June, and the Clerk will ask HCC if new applications can be made. Footpath LTR38D is blocked by a fallen tree between Talbot’s Well and Walnut Cottage; the Clerk will report to HCC. The Public Footpath Officer for Linton vacancy has been advertised on the PC website, in the Chimes magazine, and in update e-mails.
10) Lengthsman:
a) Grass Lengthsman. Nothing to report.
b) Roads Lengthsman. The Clerk has requested an assurance that the Lengthsman will be able to complete all the works approved within HCC funding schemes before the deadlines of 31 March for Roads and 30 June for Drainage and PROW.
11) Allotments: It was RESOLVED unanimously to approve a ten per cent increase per annum in fees to cover annual maintenance costs. Cllr Williams is examining options to maintain the allotments and to clear the overgrown plot 20.
12) Financial Matters:
a) Cllr Hoyle signed the Receipts & Payments reports and reconciled bank statements for 31 December 2024. There was a bank balance of £25,680.59 with a cash balance after outstanding payments of £24.839.65.
b) It was RESOLVED unanimously to approve payments to: Richard Hunt, Clerk fee & expenses £440.94; Chris Hyett, Allotments maintenance £400.00. Cllrs Hoyle 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 review the bank account facilities offered by Metro Bank for the PC to determine at its next meeting if it wants to switch its accounts from Lloyds Bank to another provider.
e) Lloyds Bank have finally approved Cllr Hoyle’s application for online access to the PC’s bank accounts.
13) Chairman’s & Councillors’ Submissions: Cllr Bertenshaw is continuing to monitor the HCC processing of Planning Application 241664 Land at Upton Bishop Fishing Lakes, which both Linton(S) and Upton Bishop PCs strongly oppose. The target determination date has been extended until 31 March. The Ward Councillor is aware and has promised to invoke a full Cabinet Committee meeting if is the application is approved. Cllr Gough requested that HCC are made aware of the dangerous subsidence of the road surface on Frowens, Cockatoo, and Cothars Lanes and Gorsley Common Road. Cllrs Bertenshaw and Clark will turn the SID in Gorsley around to capture a diverse set of data.
14) Date of next meeting: Monday 10 February 2025 at 7:30 pm in Linton Village Hall.
The meeting finished at 9:20pm.
APPENDIX A Ref Para 6) a) (i) of Minutes of 13 January 2025 Meeting
Linton(S) Parish Council
Representation to Herefordshire Council on Planning Applications
General information
| Number | 242923 |
| Location | Little Woodend Farm, Linton HR9 7SR |
| Description | Residential development of the site |
| HC Case Officer | Awaiting Allocation |
| Applicant | Mr John Watkins |
| Agent | Mr Matt Tomkins |
| Date received by PC | 13 December 2024 |
| PC comments requested by | 14 January 2025 |
| Target HC determination date | 3 February 2025 |
Review of compliance with Linton Parish Neighbourhood Development Plan
| Relevant
Neighbourhood Plan Policy |
Compliant
Yes / No |
|
| BGL 1 Natural Environment | The planned development will result in an increase in traffic over local roads that are not designed to cope with it. The design is not in keeping with the countryside around it and will impact negatively on the local scenery and views. | No |
| BGL2 Historic environment | ||
| BGL3 Building Design | The design of the new buildings is not consistent with the traditional features of others in the area | No |
| BGL4 Renewable low Carbon Energy | ||
| BGL5 Settlement Boundaries | Although the application is to replace existing buildings, it will result in new properties and associated works outside of the settlement boundary. | No |
| BGL6 Housing Mix | ||
| BGL7 Community Facilities | ||
| BGL8 Local Green Space | ||
| BGL 9 Small scale employment development | ||
| BGL10 Agricultural Development |
Summary
| Conclusion | The Parish Council object to the application as set out above. |
| Comments: | Majority objection (five objections, two in favour, one abstention) at the Linton(S) Parish Council meeting on 13 January 2025.
This application is a revision of 231163, which Linton(S) PC also opposed. |