Minutes of the Meeting held at The Flyford’s Hall on Tuesday 19th March 2024

Present

David Waide
Andrew Short
Richard Davey
David Rhodes
Sadie Densham
Linda Robinson - District and County Councillor Mark Broughton - Taylor attended as clerk

Alison Crickmore & Richard Croxton - Joined the meeting following co-option

1. Apologies

None.

2. Declaration of Interest

None.

3. Public Participation

None.

4. Approval of Minutes of Meetings held on 9th January 2024 and February 6th 2024

The minutes of both meetings were approved.

Proposed: Sadie Densham
Seconded: Richard Davey
All in favour

5. Matters Arising

It was agreed that a litter pick should take place on the weekend of 6th – 7th April.

6. Co-Option of New Members

Alison Crickmore had volunteered for co-option to the council. Alison is retired and moved to Flyford Flavell three and a half years ago and has been actively involved with the social group and the church. She feels that these organisations have helped integrate the village and hopes to make a difference to the community by joining the parish council as well.

Richard is also retried and moved into Flyford Flavell over a year ago. He was a director of an organisation working with homeless people but would like to be more involved in the local community.

Both candidates were unanimously elected to the council to serve until the next elections.

7. Bio-diversity and Climate Mitigation

A model Biodiversity policy has now been published for parish councils. It was agreed that a working group of Andrew Short, Sadie Densham and David Rhodes should consider this document and present a suitable policy for the next meeting to be adopted into the Standing Orders. The clerk offered to attend any meetings to help with the administration.

It was noted that the Church of England had produced some excellent guidelines called Caring for God’s Acre. These were specifically for looking after church yards but could be used in a wider context. The local contact for our parish churches is Caroline Ward - [email protected]

8. Local Police and Neighbourhood Watch

Smartwater kits have now been bought for Flyford Flavell and these will be rolled out over the next few weeks.

There was no report from the Local Police Officer.

It was noted that elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner would be held on May 2nd.

Councillor Robinson told council that it was unlikely that there would be any further response from the PCC concerning the Highway issues until after the elections but he was well aware of our concerns.

9. District and County Councillor Reports

It has been a busy time recently at both authorities with their Spring’s Budget having now been approved.

County council

It has been finalised to cover a net £ 22.2m. overspend in funding. This is in line with many other regional authorities across the country with several like Birmingham having declared bankruptcy and been served with 114 notices from Government. Birmingham residents are facing a 21% tax increase. Happily, we are not in that position but significant pressures have been highlighted in respect of children social care payments, home to school transport and adult social care.

Our County Council’s tax precept will increase to 4.99%. in relation to two parts.

2% Adult Social care precept ring- fenced in order to contribute to existing cost pressures due to Worcestershire’s ageing population.

2.99% for other Council services to provide financial support for the delivery of outcomes in line with the Corporate plan ‘Shaping Worcestershire’s Future and the priorities identified by the public and business community.

Council officers have been offered voluntary redundancies to help reduce costs with other cost cutting measures under discussion. It was announced that this will not affect frontline services and that we are still moving forward with existing schemes. The continued year on year increase in the cost of children social care placements emphasize the importance of continuing the drive to recruit foster carers.

Much of County Hall remains closed due to the presence of RAAC being discovered in some of its concrete. Full Council & Planning meetings are being held at District offices to be able accommodate large numbers.

Wychavon unveils ambitious new plan for the district

Supporting residents’ health and wellbeing, boosting the natural environment, transforming town centres and increasing access to housing are at the heart of Wychavon’s new plan for the district.

The We Are Wychavon Plan includes 29 promises to be delivered over the next four years based on the council’s priorities of People, Place and Environment.

Feedback from residents, young people, councillors and information on the local needs of the district have been used to create the plan.

Key promises include:

• Supporting the development of the district’s existing health and wellbeing hubs and introducing tailored health and wellbeing support in at least ten villages.
• Identifying households at risk of hardship and providing preventative advice and support.
• Extending Wychavon’s social mobility small grants scheme to increase activities and opportunities for more young people.
• Creating a new housing facility in the north of the district to provide support to homeless young people so they can move on to independent homes.
• Driving investment in the key sites identified in the town centre prospectuses including the Riverside Centre in Evesham, Droitwich Spa lido and reconnecting Pershore with the riverside.
• Raising career aspirations for adults and young people including creating school-business partnerships to connect people with local employers and training opportunities.
• Working with partners to develop a plan for reducing traffic congestion in Evesham and deliver a new cycling and walking route between the town centre and the surrounding areas.
• Supporting small businesses to access training, receive specialist support or grant funding to respond to climate change.
• Increasing biodiversity and natural assets in our parks and green spaces and increasing their resilience to climate change while retaining their value for users.
• Continuing to deliver actions in Wychavon’s Intelligently Green Plan to reduce the council’s carbon footprint including significantly cutting emissions from council-owned leisure centres.
• The plan was approved at a Wychavon Council meeting on Wednesday 21 February. It is available to read in full at wychavon.gov.uk/we-are-wychavon.
• It has also been agreed to increase Wychavon’s share of the Council Tax bill by £5 a year – the first increase for six years. The average Band D Council Tax bill for Wychavon will rise to £125.08 a year from April.
• “Despite this rise, our Council Tax will still be the lowest in Worcestershire and one of the lowest in the country and we’ll work hard to make sure we are using taxpayers’ money efficiently and delivering value for every pound spent.”

New WCC Rail Strategy

The county council has unveiled a brand-new rail strategy to transform travel across Worcestershire.

The ambitious plan from Worcestershire County Council includes more frequent trains to London, greater country-wide connectivity, a fast Worcestershire to Bristol service, Worcester Shrub Hill and Redditch masterplan implementation and parking developments.

Parkway station which is the first new station to open in Worcs.in one hundred years continues to encourage passengers with more than half a million trips made last year. Plans to extend the parking are being considered.

The county council hope the plans will help deliver better rail improvements across the county and set medium and long-term proposals to support and build on passenger demand until 2050.

"The strategy highlights the county’s ambitions for driving forward rail improvements, recognising the role that rail plays in connecting people, communities, and businesses."

For more information visit worcestershire.gov.uk/council-services/travel-and-highways/transport-strategy-and-planning/strategies-and-plans

Measles Outbreak

The Director of Public Health for Worcestershire has urged people and parents across the county to make sure theirs and their children’s MMR vaccines are up to date after measles cases soared across the West Midlands. Figures published on the 8th February show 329 of 465 (71%0 cases across England from October to February were in that region).

Around 80 per cent of cases have been in Birmingham, but Coventry, with 10 per cent, saw the second steepest rise.

Worcestershire is currently free of cases but officials want to maintain that status.

Lisa McNally said the full vaccination rates for the MMR in Worcestershire are among the highest in the region, but added: “However there are around 4’000 primary school aged children, and some adults, not vaccinated – and so they are at risk of serious illness.”

UKHSA health professionals are concerned figures will rise quickly as, while most parents ensure their children get both MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) doses, in some communities’ uptake of the MMR vaccine is worryingly low which has led to the spread.

Measles spreads very easily among those unvaccinated, especially in nurseries and schools, and is a nasty illness. In some children it can lead to hospitalisation and in rare cases causes death.

Babies, young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immunity, are at increased risk of complications if they catch measles. To increase the vaccination rate popup clinics are being organised in February at local libraries in Worcestershire on Saturdays especially focussing on vaccinating children.

Severn Trent Invest in Worcestershire Rivers

Severn Trent has announced it will invest over £250 million into its storm overflows to improve river health in Worcestershire.

The company outlined its 25-year plan up to 2050 to reduce spills across the county's 134 storm overflows.

This could see the implementation of increased storage tanks and green nature- based solutions.

Understanding and monitoring river health stand at the forefront of the plan, thus the company will ensure 100 per cent of its storm overflows are equipped with monitors.

With the analysis of around 300 million pieces of data per year, this will aid Severn Trent in prioritising investments that will most significantly enhance their facilities.

The Worcestershire investment is only a part of a larger £4.4 billion funding that encompasses 2,472 storm overflows across the Severn Trent region, in line with the company's Storm Overflow Action Plan (SOAP).

The ultimate goal is to reduce spillages into water courses across the county.

By 2040, high priority areas are expected not to overflow more than 10 times in an average year and in all areas by 2045, which is five years ahead of government targets.

A new foot and cycle bridge had just been approved in Evesham over the River Avon.

It was noted that the result of the review of the polling station in the parishes had been concluded. There will be two polling stations. The church will continue to be the polling station for Flyford Flavell whilst Grafton Flyford and North Piddle will go to The Flyfords Hall.

Councillor Robinson provided some notices for Fly Tipping and Dog Fouling which the parish council can use at its discretion.

10. Flyford Green

It was reported that the green was rather water logged after the persistent rain and the play equipment was hard to use because of the standing water.

The benches had been ordered and were due for delivery in early April.

The tress provided over the past 18 months have still not been planted due to the weather but a working group was planned for early April.

More wild flowers will be added in the spring.

It was agreed that the budget for 2024 would be the income from investments in 2023 plus any surplus from the previous year. It was reported that the income from investments for 2023 was £4052.50. Any surplus will be confirmed at the end of the financial year.

Proposed: David Waide
Seconded: Andrew Short
All in favour

11. Planning Matters

To report decisions.

11.1 W/23/02162/FUL

Mr & Mrs Kember

Lower Church Farm
Flyford Flavell

Construction of two dwellings.

Refused.

11.2 W/23/02364/HP

Mr Ryan Tolley

Belmont
Bishampton Road
Flyford Flavell
WR7 4BX

Remove existing access to highway and create new access.

Approved.

Appeals

To report comment.

11.3 W/23/01395/GPDQ

Mrs Goff

Briary House Farm
North Piddle

The following comment had been agreed by councillors following the last meeting:

“Many thanks for your email of 8th March. Whilst we are disappointed that you could not grant an extension of time as requested I have consulted with councillors over the weekend and I have been instructed to provide the following comment concerning the appeal for Briary House Farm.

The parish council would like to draw the inspector’s attention to comments made by the parish council at the time of the original planning application. The parish council does not see that the statement of appeal adds anything to the original case in respect to the concerns expressed by the parish council. The Statements of Truth from Mrs Goff and Mr Brookes simply corroborate the parish council's understanding of the situation but do not add anything to suggest that the enterprise is an ‘established agricultural unit’.

We also note that some of the answers in the Local Authority questionnaire seem to be a bit misleading. In particular the barn is sited in a prominent position which is visible from the main A422 and from the vista from the higher land on the north side of the road where there is a village hall and public footpaths. The development would also add to a cluster of houses which are cramped together and do not have the easiest of access. We have concerns that the development would compromise the privacy of the neighbouring properties.

Again, thank you for your reply and I trust that these comments will be taken into account by the inspector.

It was agreed that the clerk will organise an on line meeting with Wychavon planning officers concerning the PIP planning designation.

12. Highways and Footpaths

It was noted that there was a possible person interested in the role of footpath officer in Flyford Flavell. The clerk agreed to send Alison Crickmore details of the post for consideration.

It was reported that there were now 100 names on the petition for the reduction of the speed limit on Radford Road. Councillor Robinson noted that the petition could be handed in to full council in public. This would ensure that the petition was delivered to the right person and that it would be followed up.

It was suggested that the petition should be presented to parents at the school gate as there were constant concerns raised with the governors about Highway safety.

It was agreed that the issue of 20 mph through the village should be included in the petition.

It was agreed that Mike Rouse would be given one more chance to respond to the parish council’s concerns. If there was no satisfactory reply by the next meeting the council will consider going to the press.

The clerk reported that he had met with Roy Fullee who is an independent Highways expert and he had agreed to prepare a report for the next meeting concerning practical measures that the parish council could take to progress the issues raised in the Transport and Highways Plan. It was agreed that if possible, an extraordinary meeting should be called to meet Mr Fullee as this would be a subject that would fill a meeting on its own. The clerk will try and arrange a suitable time. Possibly 30th April.

The Highways expert had asked for a copy of the Safety Report undertaken by Jacobs in to the A422 and a copy of the data from Highways concerning the report on Radford Road. Councillor Robinson undertook to obtain these reports.

13. Treasurer’s Report

Balances: Deposit: £10,259.52
Current: £1,380.80

14. Email Addresses

The clerk reported that we had now obtained a .gov domain and we can now have our own .gov email addresses. However, these have to be provided by a commercial provider and can be quite expensive. It did not seem worthwhile for all councillors to have their own .gov email address for the amount of parish council email they received. The clerk had started to set one up for his use but it was taking time to finalise the details.

15. Any Other Business

It was agreed to discuss the matter of the cost of defibrator expendables at the next meeting.

It was agreed that a combined parish meeting will take place at 7,00pm prior to the AGM on May 21st.

16. Any Other Business

May 21st, 2024 (AGM)