AGM Minutes
Hewelsfield and Brockweir Parish Council
Minutes of the Hewelsfield & Brockweir Parish Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 5th May 2009 in the Mackenzie Hall, Brockweir
Present: Cllr. Mr. Wilson (Chairperson), Cllr. Mrs. Harris, Cllr. Mr. Summers, Cllr. Mrs. Mayo and Mrs. Compton (Clerk).
Members of the public were also present.
1387. Apologies
Cllr. Mr. Stott was unable to attend the meeting.
1388. Resignation of Previous Chair
The meeting was opened and the Chair stood down.
1389. Appointment of Chairman
Cllr. Mr. Summers proposed Cllr. Mr. Wilson as Chair. The Councillors voted on the proposal and the vote was unanimous therefore the meeting agreed the appointment.
1390. Appointment of Vice Chairman
It was agreed not to appoint a Vice Chairman at this time.
1391. Declaration of Acceptance of Office by Incoming Chairman
Cllr. Mr. Wilson accepted the position of Chair. Declaration of Acceptance of Office was signed at the meeting.
1392. Appointment of Staffing Sub-Committee
It was agreed to ask Cllr. Stott to join Cllr. Mr. Wilson (Chairperson) to make up the Staffing Sub-Committee due to his council experience.
Action Parish Clerk
1393. Former Chairman’s Report
This has been another year of hard work and commitment by the Parish Council. I have recently become more convinced that some of our parishioners regard the Parish Council as needing a good “sort out” and that they could do considerable better were they on it. This, as we all know, is not the case – we are often under pressure from friends, family and our own conscience to do something but we find ourselves constrained and bound by the rules and regulations that exist via our rules and Code of Conduct. As we are too aware we have recently suffered several weeks of the above, lost a very capable Parish Councillor in the process but I hope we are now a little more clued up on what is expected of us.
That said I believe we have had a good year. We have made considerable progress on the Quality Parish issue, having succeeded on having a website up and running (thanks to Tony Tucker) and we are now in the final stages of printing our newsletter. Hopefully during the summer Michele, our Clerk, will obtain her qualifications as Clerk and this means that Quality Parish Status is much nearer. Whilst some people may say “what is the point in all this” it could at some time in the future mean that we can remain as a local Parish Council controlled by our own electorate – who knows?!
The Parish Plan is nearing the final stages of completion after many years. We have been active in pursuing one of our open spaces on the quay and thanks to Lorraine’s hard work, have obtained an excellent grant to carry out work on the stone part – this will ensure it’s survival for many years but will need continuous cleaning to sustain it’s new appearance. We have officially applied for registration of the stone quay but it may be some weeks before all details are completed. Again thanks to Lorraine for this.
We have a membership of seven on the Parish Council and for much of the year we appear to have been advertising for at least one new member – this in fact is a complication for Quality Parish Status and it may be that five Councillors (the original number of several years ago) is a much more sustainable figure. We are sorry to have lost over the year three members – two of them former Chairs and obviously with them goes much experience. At the moment we have two vacancies which will be advertised as soon as possible.
Road safety took up several of our meetings at the start of the year with several site meetings. Eventually we secured the iron bollards on Mill Hill to prevent traffic from going on the pavement. Car parking unfortunately has not improved and it appears will not do so in the foreseeable future. A 30 mph speed limit is also unlikely at the moment.
The oil depot in the centre of the village is to be vacated this month and sold as soon as possible. The village is much quieter now, much as it was when I was growing up and this will enhance life in the bottom half of the Parish.
Finally my thanks to Michele for her hard work and commitment over the past year and to all the councillors, especially Lorraine, who has been the Vice Chair for the year, and to the Parishioners who make our work so interesting.
1394. Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 6th May 2008
The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of 6th May 2008 have been agreed and signed off during 2008.
1395 . Finance – Draft Accounts for End of Year 2008/9
The accounts for year ended 31st March 2009 and the budget for 2009/10 had been circulated amongst the Councillors and were available at the meeting. Cllr. Wilson told those present that at the end of the year the balance was £7,252.58 made up of £909.21 in the current account and £6,343.37 in the reserve account. A draft budget for 2009/10 was prepared. It indicated a deficit of £2,242 for the year. Although this could easily be funded from the reserve account this would reduce our reserves significantly below our agreed ‘comfort level’ of £5,000. Therefore, the Parish Council decided to raise the Precept to £6,000. There were no questions.
1396. Public Questions
Mr. Michael Lenthall told those present that he was concerned regarding the footpath issue in the Parish, especially the recent issue of FHE22. He is unhappy about how those opposing the extinguishment of the footpath have canvassed parishioners. Mr. Lenthall asked the Parish Council how many complaints they had received over the years that footpath FHE22 was blocked and inaccessible. Cllr. Wilson replied that the Parish Council had not received any such complaints. Mr. Lenthall asked about the policy document that has been circulated around the Parish. Cllr. Wilson replied this policy was adopted by the Parish Council in 1999, that the present Parish Council had recently become aware of its existence and that it is an agenda item for the meeting of 12th May to review this policy. Mr. Lenthall pointed out that the footpath in question did not exist on maps before 1950 and due to the fact that there are alternative footpaths in the area he could not see why the footpath should not be extinguished.
Mr. Lenthall asked what the Parish Council had concluded from the Parish Plan regarding planning issues as he is worried that Gloucestershire County Council will impose its policies on the Parish. Cllr. Wilson replied the Parish Council were hoping to put together a ‘Planning Policy’ in conjunction with the district council to indicate preferences for issues like building materials and building height. Mr. Wilson told those present that he had recently attended a Planning Forum Meeting arranged by Forest of Dean District Council at which they had expressed their intention to consult with Parishes to try to get their input as they put together a new district planning policy.
Mr. Lenthall told the Parish Council of his concerns regarding vans and lorries being directed along Bailey Lane by their SatNav systems and he asked the Parish Council if they could get signs put up stating that the road was unsuitable for such vehicles. Cllr. Wilson replied that this subject had been discussed by the Parish Council but that Gloucestershire Highways had been reluctant to put up signs as they felt they would not make any difference. Cllr. Wilson told those present that the Parish Council would discuss the item again.
Action Parish Clerk
1397. Close of Meeting by Chair
The meeting was brought to a close by Cllr. Mr. Wilson at 7.38 p.m.