Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at The Flyford’s Hall on Tuesday 23rd May 2023
Present
Sadie Densham
David Rhodes
Andrew Short
Daivid Waide
Richard Davey (Chairman)
Mark Broughton-Taylor attended as clerk
1. Outgoing Chairman’s Report
We have dealt with 11 planning applications in the past year. Eight were supported by the Parish Council, and three were opposed, though two of these concerned the same site (4 No. Bungalows/Live work units on Radford Road, Flyford Flavell), which are still an open issue. The other opposed application has been withdrawn but may come back in a revised form.
The South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) is the policy which directs planning in our area. The present plan runs out in 2030 but Wychavon and the other councils, Malvern Hills and Worcester have been working on a revision of the plan for some time. There was a full public consultation last autumn when plans were revealed to build three new settlements to cope with the government’s requirements for new housing up to 2041. These are planned at Rushwick, Whittington and Throckmorton.
The final processes were supposed to take place this year with the plan being adopted by the year end. However, changes in government policy have disrupted the process and there is no reliable timetable for the completion of the plan. For various reasons Wychavon’s part of the plan is now seen as out of date which means that our area is vulnerable to speculative development. The parish council will do everything it can to prevent unsuitable development in the parishes.
2. The Village Green & Pond
Further improvements have been made to the Green, the regular maintenance carried out and the volunteers have kept the existing planting in good order.
A Management Group is being established, financially supported by the PC, to manage the maintenance work and improvements to the Green. A constitution has been drafted and recruitment is underway.
The play equipment has had its annual inspection by ROSPA, and a further waste bin has been delivered and installed.
The PC resolved to register The Flyford Green with Fields In Trust, to protect the Green for its current public use in perpetuity.
The application to bring the Flyford Pond into community ownership has been submitted, with a view to carrying out some improvements once this is achieved.
3. Transport & Footpaths
We have continued the Lengthsman scheme, though the current Lengthsman (Robin) has suffered from ill health during the year and will retire next year. A new Lengthsman is to be trained in the coming year to take over and we thank Robin for his many years as the Lengthsman.
We had a meeting with County to discuss our Transport and Highways plan and A422 improvements. However, very little of the plan has been actioned by County and this continues to be a source of frustration for the PC.
We have replaced the old speed activated sign in Flyford Flavell with a more sophisticated TAS, and Linda Robinson kindly agreed to pay for this. A second pole has been erected in on Bishampton Road so that the location can be rotated easily.
Action over speeding within Flyford Flavell has been planned in liaison with the police and is about to commence.
Andrew Short decided to step down as our Footpaths Officer after great work and we are still looking for a replacement.
4. Climate Change
The PC decided to prioritise this topic and Andrew Short has made a start in developing a strategy and prioritising actions. A sub-group has been established to get this moving and this will have increased focus for the Parish Council in the next few years.
5. Communication & Neighbourhood Watch
We continue to make efforts to connect the various communication platforms and groups that we have across our parishes, including an input to the Flyford Facebook page and taking on the Church web site. Facilitating these connections will be one of the priorities of the Parish Council in the next year.
The Neighbourhood Watch scheme is working well in Flyford Flavell and is being extended by offering it to residents in Grafton Flyford and North Piddle. The Neighbourhood Watch coordinator is keen to revisit “Smartwater” property marking to further improve our security.
6. Platinum Jubilee & Coronation celebrations
Over a hundred people attended the village party on Flyford Green and the lunch event at the Flyfords Hall for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which were both supported financially by the Parish Council.
The Parish Council also supported the Coronation events held on Flyford Green and at the Flyfords Hall in May.
7. Personnel
We welcomed Anna Toivola to the PC during the year. Unfortunately, both Anna and John East have decided not to stand again, and we thank them both for their hard work on the PC.
We are now 3 councillors below a full complement (of 8 people) and looking for interested parishioners to put themselves forward.
I would like to conclude by thanking all our councillors for their valuable contributions and input, and Linda Robinson for her strong support at County and District levels. Special thanks to Mark (our Clerk) for his continued excellent service, including his regular councillor briefings and hard work between meetings.
8. Election of Chairman and Declaration of Office of Chairman
Having given consent to the nomination David Waide was proposed by Richard Davey, seconded by Sadie Densham and all were in agreement. The chairman signed the declaration of office.
9. Apologies for Absence
No apologies.
10. Declaration of Interest
None.
11. Vacancies
Following a non contested election there are now three vacancies on the parish council. There being no volunteers for co-option the vacancies remained unfilled.
12. To elect/appoint the Vice Chairman
Having given consent to the nomination Andrew Short was proposed by Richard Davey, seconded by David Waide and all were in agreement.
David Waide had tested Covid positive and attended the meeting via Zoom. Andrew Short duly chaired the meeting for convenience.
13. Footpaths Officer
This post remains vacant.
14. Data Protection Officer
The clerk agreed to act as Data Protection Officer.
15. Standing Orders (Rules of the Council)
No amendments had been made during the year
The clerk was asked to clarify on the website when the last revisions took place.
The standing orders were re-adopted for the coming year.
Proposed: David Waide
Seconded: Richard Davey
All agreed
16. Staffing Committee
There was no report from the Staffing Committee
17. Treasurer’s Report
The clerk presented the accounts for the year. It was agreed that they should be adopted as a fair and true record of the accounts for the year.
Proposed: Richard Davey
Seconded: Andrew Short
All agreed
18. Parish Meeting
A combined Parish Meeting had been held immediately before the AGM.
Three members of the public were in attendance.
The public brought up the matter of the speed of traffic on Radford Road. Two residents presented the parish council with a record of incidents including speeding vehicles, near misses and accidents that had happened on the stretch of road between the village and Portway Cottage. It was agreed that these should be referred to Highways as a matter of urgency.
The parish council referred the residents to the Parish Transport Plan which identified this stretch of road as needing a reduced speed limited. The council had presented this to Mike Rouse – Portfolio holder for Highways at WCC - last year but as yet no action had been taken.
It was agreed that the council and County Councillor would re-energize their efforts to ensure action is taken.
The clerk reported on the latest situation concerning the Radford Road development proposal. The county archeologist has submitted a report asking for extensive investigations to be undertaken if the application is approved as it is understood that a Roman settlement may have been in that location. The owner of the neighbouring property at The Old Post Office was in attendance and reported that he had found a Roman coin in his garden. The council suggested that he report this on the Wychavon website.
A resident reported that the footpath into Kington was obstructed where it crossed the land which is now used to store cars. The clerk promised to pass the message on to the clerk at Kington and Dormston.