Previous Annual Reports
2010 - 2009 - 2008

Annual Report 2011

We have had a good year with our full complement of seven councillors. We have had a number of issues to consider and I have broken these down under three headings – ‘Achieved’, ‘Ongoing’ and ‘Not Achieved’.

Achieved
Three new Village Signs have finally been erected. There are two at the top of the Parish and one coming into the Parish from Wales. This was an item that was highlighted in the Parish Plan and although it has taken some time to achieve I am pleased that visitors to the Parish can see the identity of the area they are visiting.
Considerable time was spent on Brockweir Quay at the beginning of the year. Further to the development of the quay concerns were raised regarding the insurance cover of the quay and the need for ongoing maintenance. Following extensive investigation into local records it was established that the Parish Council does not own Brockweir Quay and indeed it does not appear to be owned by anyone. Although the Parish Council has extensive Public Liability Insurance as it does not own the quay it cannot ask parishioners or contractors to carry out maintenance on the quay. Members of the public can carry out maintenance on Brockweir Quay but it is at their own risk.

Ongoing
The old CPL site has been highlighted as the best site for Affordable Housing in the Parish. However, the process can take a number of years so this is a situation that the Parish Council will be revisiting over the next few months.
Road Speed Limits remain a concern in the Parish. The Parish Council have been discussing solutions with Gloucestershire Highways and are awaiting results from an experiment being carried out at Symonds Yat using a chicane system.
Winter Maintenance has become a major issue in the Parish following a couple of bad winters. We hope to get a Snow Plough Operator in our Parish this year and we plan to instigate a rolling program of replacing the grit bins in the Parish with new ones with lids.
Dog Mess was a nasty problem, especially at the centre of Brockweir Village although the main culprit has moved. Signs have been erected in the area and there seems to be some improvement.

Not Achieved
At this time there has been no conclusion to the Multi Use Path application by Sustrans. In order to get a clearer understanding of the feelings of the Parish the Parish Council sent out a survey. The results indicated that the majority of the parishioners were against the proposals. The Parish Council conveyed the conclusion to the District Council and two Councillors attended the Planning Meeting to reiterate the feelings of the community. We were also keen to point out that the Parish were against the proposals as they stand. The current proposals are felt to be poorly thought out with an inadequate design. However, the Parish Council has emphasised its willingness to work with Sustrans to reach a working compromise. The Parish Council has just learned that Sustrans is going to reallocate the funds that it has put aside for the project due to the time constraints they were under and the time it was taking for Monmouthshire County Council to make its decision. However, Sustrans remains committed to the project and will continue to fundraise in order to take it forward when it receives planning approval.

Luke Wilson - Chairman