Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly held on Tuesday 6 May 2008

PRESENT
Mr T Hughes (Chairman), Mr I Owen (Vice Chairman), Mrs F Hughes,
Mrs B Sharpe, Mrs K Law, Mr C Savery, Mr C Carter.
District & County Councillor N Hartin.
11 members of the public.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Mr W Davies, Mr P Davies.

MINUTES OF THE LAST ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY 8.5.07
These had been circulated and were taken as read, approved unanimously and signed by the Chairman as a true and accurate record.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
The Parish Council started the Year by to completing the task of rebuilding the north wall of the churchyard so that we could give more attention to other aspects of the village environment. St. Mary's Churchyard is a "closed" churchyard and its maintenance and that of the surrounding wall is the responsibility of the Parish Council. It was regarded as a matter of urgency to get this work done as costs were increasing year by year. We did manage to get help by way of a contribution of £3000.00 from The Worshipful Company of Grocers towards the total cost of £7425.00 and this was very much appreciated. The painting and repair of the Lych Gate has still to be undertaken. Annual maintenance by way of grass cutting in the Churchyard. the Causeway and the Common Land on Chapel Lawn Road costs in the region of £2000.00. The maintenance of other verges alongside the main roads of the village is the responsibility of the County Highways Authority.

There has been considerable concern about the condition of road surfaces throughout the village but the County Road Maintenance Budget has been under great pressure due to bad weather earlier in the year. In particular the condition of Weston Road has brought much adverse comment from those who live along that road. Repairs and maintenance are long overdue here and it is in no condition to take heavy construction traffic without causing even more distress to those who live there. At Bedstone, Higgins Bridge on the Mynd road to Bucknell has been rebuilt.

The tidiness of the village is very much due to a band of volunteer litter pickers. It is always better, of course. not to have to pick up litter and we make plea to all villagers not to discard paper wrappings etc. The Parish Council was prepared to provide Safety Tabards and Pickers but was deterred from doing so by stringent Health and Safety Rules so it is really down to individuals not to drop litter etc. In this same area there have been many complaints about dog fouling. At the November PC Meeting the County Dog Warden, Mrs. Ashmore, addressed this particular problem and provided a supply of plastic bags for owners to clear up after their dog's calls to nature These are available while stocks last at Belmont Garage.

During the year we welcomed Police Constable Griffiths and Community Support Officer Sue Eden who instituted a programme of random patrols in the village. They will hold "Surgeries" from time to time in the Memorial Hail to address the needs of the villagers as far as security is concerned. We have been asking for this supervision for some time and are delighted to have them in our community. It is also reassuring to note the traffic recording equipment which has appeared on Chapel Lawn Road near the School and the Church which is, in part, a response to a request made over many years to try to reduce speeds to "20mph" in this area. We have also drawn the attention of the Police and the Highways Authority to the "SATNAV" problem which results in large commercial vehicles using unsuitable roads in the village, such as Bridgend Lane

The search continues for suitable land for Allotments which have been requested by a significant number of new residents. This search has been vigorously pursued by Mrs. Kate Fraser but without reward so far. It has been noted that the Single Farm Subsidy Payment Scheme may be the reason why farmers are reluctant to release land for this purpose.

A "Community First" Computer Point has been installed at Belmont Garage by Shropshire County Council. This makes available all the County Council Services to all villagers without the need to go to Ludlow or Shrewsbury. It is very -User Friendly". It was with great relief that we learned that St Mary's School was not included the school closure programme for Shropshire and likewise there was relief that the Post Office was not to be closed either.

In June two Housing Surveys were carried out; one by Craven Arms Partnership and a second by South Shropshire Housing Association. The close proximity of the two surveys had an impact on the validity of the response to the second, according to local comments. The SSHA reported the outcome of the survey at a PC Meeting in September but the analysis was so patently incorrect that the presenter had to apologise and promise to return at a later date when the data had been reassessed. This had to wait until February 2008 when another presentation was made and a "Housing Needs Survey Booklet for Bedstone and Bucknell was produced. There is a dispute over the definition of the area referred to as "The Parish of Bucknell and Bedstone". This presentation was quickly followed by a proposal by SSHA to proceed with a development of 10 houses at the western end of Weston Road. There was vigorous opposition from the majority of residents on Weston Road and a further public meeting was arranged by South Shropshire Housing Association.

One of the principal anxieties (there are many others) about this development is the inadequacy of the village sewarage system to cope with the extra waste generated. Already, at one point in the year, the pumping station at the Hales has proved to be inadequate in dealing with the present load and the overflow storage tanks by Belmont Garage are constantly full.

In and around Bucknell and Bedstone the Countryside Access team have been busy replacing Footpath Finger Posts to identify pathways. Unfortunately, they have been unable to replace stiles with "kissing gates' on the path from the Church to Daffodil Lane. This would have been very useful for elderly dog-walkers.
Daffodil Lane Recreation Ground is now a well-used facility for many village events and for Football Matches. The Parish Council is in the process of arranging for the lease of Field No2 (the site for the new Village Hall etc) to the Village Hall Committee. Dorothy and Nicola Edwards and the Development Team deserve every support and congratulations for the dedicated way they have sought funding for this project, despite many setbacks. Funding is also being sought by the Parish Council for the refurbishment of the play area near the School. Let's hope that is successful too!

Throughout the year the making of a Parish Plan for Bedstone and Bucknell has been debated and a meeting was called by Cllr Hartin to get the views of the residents. This was attended by about 40 people and 10 volunteered to serve on a Steering Committee. The Parish Council, to which the Steering Committee is responsible, voted to proceed with the project providing the financial demand on the Parish Council was restricted to £100.00. The Council Tax Precept for the Parish had been set before this decision, so no further funding from the Parish Council for this project can be provided.  As the arrangements for funding from the Community Council of Shropshire are not finalised, the project is on hold for the moment.

Many of the residents are involved in creating a good visual impression of the village to visitors. In particular, the W.I look after the tidiness and flowers on the Railway Station and the Environment Group (Litter pickers), led by Mike Star, are regularly to be seen tidying up the village. Other villagers are to be thanked for taking part in the "Good Neighbours Scheme" and for the "Meals on Wheels" provision though we are to understand that this will shortly be coming to an end. There are many other communal activities which are too numerous(11 have been recorded) to list individually. It is a thriving community as new residents have recognised.

My thanks are due to Mr. Ian Owen for his work and advice as Vice Chair and to all Councillors for their support. The wider world is kept advised of our exploits in Bedstone and Bucknell by Mr. Graham Jackson who manages our website and I thank him for his work in this area.

Finally, I would like to express our appreciation of the work Mrs. Nancy Adams, the Clerk to the Parish Council, puts in on our behalf. Although living at a distance from the Parish she always seems to have her finger on the Parish Pulse.

DISTRICT & COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
In front of me, as I write this, is a list from BT of two dozen telephone kiosks they would like to close. Earlier this month it was a list of post offices — including two in my division. In January, it was a list of some 30 schools our own County Council intended to close. In sum, a series of seemingly unceasing attacks on rural community services.

COUNTY COUNCIL
There has been much going on over the past few years throughout Shropshire. Over the last twelve months, I can mention just a few issues:-

Unitary Council
Work is steaming ahead on constructing the new Council, which will in effect be in place 1 April 2009, with elections in May or June (the latter coincides with European elections).

The work is done through an Implementation Executive. Its meetings — and its committees — are public and their papers available on the web. It is politically balanced and all District Councils are well represented.

There will be 75 unitary councillors and, as you can imagine, hours of time and energy have been consumed with maps, which had to be in the Boundary Commission by 21 April. The 75 Unitary Councillors replace the 230 or so District and County Members.

In both Clun Division & Bishops Castle Division, there seems to be unanimity on the proposals which is to divide the existing two County Divisions into Three Unitary Divisions. Broadly the proposals mean new Unitary Divisions of approx 3000- 3500 people.

The effect of this is:

a) To move Parishes of Colebatch & Mainstone together with Lydbury North into a new Bishops Castle Division which itself loses the parishes of Worthen, Wentnor & Chirbury which become a new Worthen Unitary Division.
b) To move the Hopesay Parish into the Craven Arms Division.

The Commission will be consulting this summer and publishing decisions, I think, in September. A key outcome of unitary was financial savings — postulated at £9.88M per annum (risk cases range from £4 - £14M). Currently, these are coming in at £1.5M better (i.e. £10.4M).

Council Tax undertakings are being firmly pressed by the Minister, again insisting on a 5% cap on Council Tax. Equalisation of the tax as we move over to Unitary, means I believe, that South Shropshire residents should have a 0% increase for the first two years. However, the County Council has not, I feel, endeared itself to residents in the last twelve months, culminating in the still continuing debacle of the school closure plans. It is essential therefore in my view that the 'One Council' is NOT the County Council by another name! - Not least because the County has too often proved itself disdainful of public opinion and slow to respond.

Bed-Blocking
This scandal - people being trapped for up to four months at a time in our community hospitals - was a big issue from June to winter. Our opposition pressure (supported by local residents' stories) has led to a multi-million pound improvement in the Adult Care budget. The problem has very much abated with, for example, a much improved inspection report at the new Four Rivers Nursing home in Ludlow.
Budgets

The top two issues on all Council surveys are Roads and Youth Services. The County Council has put no extra money into Youth in the last three years. It has reduced the spend on roads (as bequeathed by the last Administration) by £5M. A Youth Travel & Discount Card has long been the top request for young people. The County dismissed it last year but South Shropshire District Council set up an all-party Working Group to progress it. However, at the last minute, when the scheme was ready to be implemented, the ruling Conservative administration voted it down.

Primary Schools
I will not revisit ground which has been well-covered by the Press. The situation is as follows:-

a) The policy of 14th December 07, which could lead to mass closures of schools, is still in place.
b) Cllr Pate, CC Leader, stated that the 22 schools listed for closure at the 30th January Cabinet meeting will not be closed while he is Leader / in the lifetime of this Council. These 22 are thus gold-plated (Northern Rock like!) till next June. He assures us that this has nothing to do with the elections!
c) 16 "amalgamations" - i.e. 8 closures including Lydbury North & Clunbury in my division - have been through consultation which ended on 2nd May. CC Cabinet meets on the 19th May to consider its next move - a couple will undoubtedly be reprieved to show "they have listened"!
d) The status of our other 103 primaries is unclear. A Policy Commission is to be set up by Shropshire County Council but presumably will not produce anything until after the elections.
e) It is my clear belief that Shropshire County Council is determined to put in a bid for £8.5M capital for primaries this June. County officials met Ministry Civil Servants on 29th February and were slapped on the back for (i) having a Policy (that of 14th Dec); and (ii) Implementing it - i.e., that is why Shropshire County Council's persisting with the 16 while backing away from the 22.

DISTRICT COUNCIL
Despite the winding down of South Shropshire District Council towards unitary taking over next April, there is much work going on to make sure residents of South Shropshire get the best possible outcome, with councillors spending much time going up & down the A49 to attend all the unitary working groups that are currently beavering away.

I have already mentioned the 0% Council Tax cap for the first two years of unitary. There has always been an acceptance that best practise will be adopted across the Unitary when it takes over, so policies like our affordable housing policy, which has delivered more homes for local people than all of the other district councils in Shropshire put together, are likely to be adopted across the County, but strangely, not until 2011 because until then the Unitary will have to continue trying to deliver housing based on the existing five separate sets of policies - due to a bizarre legal issue around existing local plans.

In common with all district councillors I will cease to be your district councillor on the 1st April 2009. Between this date and the Unitary elections, now postulated by the government as taking place in June 2009 (coinciding with the European elections), the County will be run by the 'Implementation Executive' at the County.
 
ACCOUNTS TO YEAR ENDED 31.3.08
The Clerk tabled the accounts together with a summary receipts and payments account and the Annual Return. After discussion, these were approved and signed. Mr Owen to pass these to the Internal Auditor.

The Chairman then closed the Annual Parish Assembly.embly.