Chedworth
Parish Council

What is a Parish Council ?

A Parish Council is a group of people who are elected by fellow parishioners to represent the concerns and aspirations of the local community.

What does a Parish Council do ?

The Parish Council plays an important role as the grass roots level of Local Government, directly representing and promoting the interests of the community. Councillors also act as ambassadors for their community, keeping everyone aware of local needs and concerns and reporting back on District, County and regional changes.

In addition to the Parish Councillors, who are your unpaid representatives, the Council employs a Clerk to carry out its business and to ensure that the many statutory requirements are met. A small levy, or precept, is added to your Council Tax to fund these activities.

Here are some of the services the Parish Council offers:

There are two ways you can contact the Parish Council:

1. Email the Clerk at parishcouncil@chedworth.org.uk
2. Contact a Councillor

Standing Orders

There are rules, some of them laid down in Acts of Parliament, on how a Parish Council should conduct itself. These rules are known as Standing Orders and can be viewed here.

Parish Council Meetings

The council meets in the games room at the village hall at 7.30pm on the third Monday of each month. Members of the public are actively encouraged to attend and there is an opportunity at each meeting to raise matters of concern, or to ask questions that have been previously lodged with the Clerk.

Please note that there is a protocol for raising issues from the floor: Attendees are respectfully asked to refrain from interjecting until invited to do so by the Chairman; a single point or question may be dealt with by the Chairman without opening the meeting to the floor, but in the case of an issue that is contentious the Chairman may suspend the meeting before opening a general discussion.

Meeting dates

The Council will meet on the following dates during 2010:

• Monday 18th January
• Monday 15th February
• Monday 15th Marc
h
• Monday 22nd March (Parish Meeting)
• Monday 19th Apri
l
• Monday 17th May
• Monday 21st June
• Monday 19th July
• Monday 16th August
• Monday 20th September
• Monday 18th October
• Monday 15th November
• Monday 13th December

Meetings start at 7:30pm in the games room at the Village Hall.

Agendas and Minutes

The Agendas and Minutes of recent Parish Council meetings are available online.

Meeting Agendas

• January 2010
• December 2009

Minutes of Parish Council Meetings

• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009

The 2009 Parish Meeting

The 2009 Parish Meeting was held on 13th March 2009 in the Village Hall. The report was given by the Chairman, Mrs Susie Moore.

• The 2009 Annual Parish Report

Latest News

It may not have seemed like it at the time but Chedworth did in fact manage pretty well to keep mobile during the snowy weather. Yes, the majority of the village roads were untreated, treacherous and impassable and it was left to individuals to spread the grit but we should be grateful to Gloucestershire Highways whose gritting lorries kept Fields Road clear. Thanks to the community parking facility at the Village Hall people were able to leave their cars there and leave the village even if this entailed a further stagger and slide on foot through the snow between the Hall and home. It was not ideal, and the supply of grit to the roadside grit heaps was inadequate, but many other Cotswold settlements remained completely cut off for the duration of the snow cover without sight of a Highways gritting lorry.

It fell to residents to clear the rest of the village network and in places they did an excellent job, particularly where neighbours banded together. The trick is to first clear the snow off the surface before even walking on it, if possible. Proper snow shovels are light and more effective for this than a standard spade and do not cost much – possibly a good investment with the prospect of more disruptive winter weather as our climate changes? Then the grit should be spread about before attempting to take the car over it.

Thanks to everyone who lent a hand and in particular to our Snow Warden, Mrs Clarke, and other local farmers who snow-ploughed their way around the lanes.

The Parish Council will ask Gloucestershire Highways to increase the number of grit heaps around the village and their frequency of resupply. Do we prefer roadside heaps or plastic bins? Salt heaps may be washed away before they can be of use and are unwelcome in summer as the roadside vegetation suffers. Plastic bins may keep the salt intact but are ugly. Let us have your vote:
parishcouncil@chedworth.org.uk or telephone Mrs Broad, PC Clerk on 720313.

The Parish Council has agreed a budget for the coming year and has applied for a precept of £4,504.00. This figure represents the estimated cost of providing the various village maintenance operations after deducting the even smaller income from hire or rental of the PC’s land assets. While this represents an unwelcome increase of 8.5% over last year it will only mean an extra 85 pence on a band D home, bringing the annual charge to £10.78.

The Parish Council decided to precept in full for net expenditure after considering the alternative of dipping into its reserves to keep the percentage increase in line with inflation. 8.5% may seem like a substantial hike but the difference would not even buy you a bottle of water these days.

Regrettably the PC was unable to respond to a plea from Cynthia, our Village Agent, for volunteers with 4x4 vehicles willing to help transport people to Doctors’ or hospital appointments in the bad weather. Another suggestion that the PC might organise a team of volunteer snow-clearers has encouraged us to look into the production of an Emergency Plan, a tool which is being widely promoted to give communities the ability to prepare for and respond to emergencies such as flooding or heavy snow. Until the PC has formulated such a Plan we can only offer to liaise informally between volunteer drivers and their putative passengers. Responses to the Parish Plan consultations revealed that this is a constant need and not limited to 4x4 vehicles in poor conditions. It is becoming obvious that, as with snow clearance, providing transport for the sick to surgeries, for Seniors to Cheery Club or on shopping trips remains a problem for which the community must take responsibility. Please contact the Parish Council if you can help.

Next meeting: Monday, February 15th at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall games room. Please contact Mrs Broad by the preceding Wednesday with items for inclusion on the agenda or if you would like an informal chat with a Councillor before the meeting starts.

The Parish Council has agreed to apply to BT to adopt the red telephone box in Lower Chedworth at the bottom of Hemplands Hill but to retain the kiosk outside the Vicarage as a functional payphone.

Discussions about vehicle parking around the village dominated the recent PC meeting, with reports of inconsiderate parking at the near end of Ballinger's Row, the old railway bridge in Middle Chedworth, the Hemplands and Valley View.

Causing an obstruction is not just antisocial and dangerous, it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 (section 22) which states unequivocally "You must not leave your vehicle or trailer in a dangerous position or where it causes any unnecessary obstruction of the road."

The Highway Code amplifies this with the instruction not to stop or park in a number of situations including:

• near a school entrance
• anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services
• opposite or within 10 metres of a junction
• near the brow of a hill
• in front of an entrance to a property
• on a bend
• opposite another parked vehicle (if this would cause obstruction)

Enforcement of the law against obstruction is not easy in a village. In the first instance common sense, respect for one's neighbours and civic duty might solve the problem but involving the Police is also an option. At November's meeting a member of the public described a scenario where if an illegally-parked vehicle obstructed access for the emergency services and a death occurred as a result, it could be possible to sue the errant parker in a civil litigation suit. Inconsiderate parking has already brought an end to the winter gritting service on Tuns Hill and Cook's Hill. Could the refuse collection service be the next to go?

A flurry of rumours surrounds the siting of a new incinerator for Gloucestershire's waste. Javelin Park near Stroud is currently rumoured to be the favoured site. One feels for the local residents there and for the residents of Bishops Cleeve who may end up with the residual ash on their doorstep. Foss Cross is mentioned as a possible site but is way down the list. This is bound to bring out the NIMBY in everyone, but at the heart of the matter is a desperate need for us all to PRODUCE LESS WASTE.

To view the current waste management consultation and add your opinion go to www.engagespace.co.uk/engage/gcc/consultation.

There is another consultation in progress about the possible use of Foss Cross as a waste transfer facility. This involves the decanting of waste and recyclables from smaller lorries to larger ones, an operation which has been carried out at Foss Cross before and one which is claimed to improve the efficiency of waste transport.

The Parish Council has adopted the Information Commissioner's model scheme for Freedom of Information and produced its publication schedule which may be viewed on the PC webpage (www.chedworth.org.uk/parish-council) or in paper form in the Village Hall foyer.

Don't forget to give the Gloucestershire Highways Puddle Hotline a call on 08000 514514 to report any local flooding (such as is STILL occurring on the airfield bend).

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Monday December 14th at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall games room. Santa hats essential.

British Telecom is applying to Cotswold District Council to remove the telephone equipment from the village's two red phone boxes and has asked the Parish Council if it would like to "adopt" the empty kiosks.

The phone box at the bottom of Hemplands Hill has been used 22 times in the past year while the other, outside the Vicarage, has been used 32 times. BT's case for disconnection is based on this very low level of usage and supported by the suggestion that there is mobile coverage from all four of the major networks in the vicinity of the kiosks. Rather than taking away the iconic red boxes as well, BT is offering to transfer ownership to the Parish Council for the sum of one pound each. What a big difference this would make to the PC's asset sheet - not just a football field that is rarely used and a clapped-out strimmer, but TWO RED PHONE BOXES as well.

But what would we do with them?

The PC has long been in need of its own dedicated space in the village. A telephone kiosk could usefully serve as a Mini Parish Council Office where the PC could display all its bits of paper, where messages could be left, opinions expressed, leaflets dispensed, where Parishioners could peruse minutes and agendas at their leisure in dry, albeit cramped, conditions rather than going to the Village Hall (which is currently the only place that paper minutes can be displayed) only to find it locked.

And what of the second kiosk? Ideas which have been aired include a very small Museum of Chedworth, an exhibition space which could be managed by village institutions such as the School or the WI on a 6-monthly rotation, an art gallery and an advertising space which would relieve the pressure on the village noticeboards and bring some income to the PC. Please let us have your own suggestions (a vertical massage parlour and a wedding venue have already been considered and rejected).

There would be outgoings - notably electricity supply (currently BT spends an average of £17 per kiosk per annum), insurance and maintenance. The Vicarage box would present additional problems as it is a Grade II listed structure. But the PC is excited at the prospect of giving these well-loved landmarks a further lease of life with new roles within the community. Not only are red telephone boxes part of our national landscape and heritage, here in Chedworth they are also invaluable navigation landmarks.

If anyone wishes to make the case for retention of the telephone equipment they should get in touch with CDC's planning department before November 28th.

As we reported in April Hill and Valley News, Gloucestershire Highways is to replace the lorry gritting of Tuns Hill, Cooks Hill and Ballingers Row with the provision of grit bins/heaps. This is necessary because the gritter has frequently been unable to manoeuvre and turn around there because of the large number of parked cars. Congestion is a real problem here (in common with other parking black spots around the village) and residents fear that it could prevent access for emergency vehicles. A solution is not easy but if this plea from the Parish Council for residents to make full use of any off-road parking before resorting to sensible on-street parking falls on deaf ears, the next stage will involve inviting the Police to see what improvement they can achieve.

The PC has become aware of the dangers posed by the current craze for flimsy paper "Chinese lanterns" which are now routinely lit and launched at social events and gatherings. They may look charmingly romantic as they float up into the night sky - but when they land they can set fire to things like thatched roofs and straw bales, After burning up they leave behind a plate-sized ring of fine wire which can cripple and kill livestock and wild animals, and cause damage to farm and garden machinery. The PC has agreed to support the National Farmers' Union campaign to have the things banned.

The next meeting will be on Monday November 16th at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall games room.

Topical Issues

The Parish Council is always keen to receive information or opinions on topical issues; the following section outlines some of the topics that have recently been discussed within the Parish. We will be regularly updating this section so that interested parties can keep themselves up to date with how things are progressing.

Freedom Of Information Act
Publication Scheme

The Act requires every public authority to adopt and maintain a generic model publication scheme which should be adopted and operated by all public authorities from 1 January 2009. Chedworth Parish Council adopted the generic model publication scheme at their Council Meeting on 16th November 2009. It is intended to provide everyone interested in the Council with a comprehensive guide to the information that the Council will automatically or routinely publish or otherwise makes available to the public. See here for details.

Chedworth Parish Plan

A Parish Plan is a report resulting from a community-wide consultation on matters which affect the village and the community. At the beginning of 2006 we were sent information from the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (GRCC) regarding the benefits of forming a Parish Plan. A public meeting was held at which volunteers were recruited to form a Steering Group, which will take the Plan forward.

A web page has been set up to keep residents informed about the progress of the Plan.

Dog Fouling

There is still a problem with dogs fouling the footpaths and other public areas. Allowing your dog to foul is not an offence. Not clearing up after your dog is an offence.

Dog fouling in play areas presents a health hazard to children. Fouling on agricultural land poses problems for the landowner, as there are obvious implications of parasites and toxins found in dog faeces getting into the food chain. It's therefore both in your own and everyone elses' interests that you take responsibility for your dog when away from your home.

Please note that allowing your dog to foul anywhere other than on your own property (and not picking up after it) is illegal and punishable by a fine and a court summons. This is likely to be issued by the dog warden who will be making routine visits to Chedworth.

Speed limits within the Village

The only speed limit within the village is the 40 mph limit on Fields Road. Some residents have made representations to the council about the speed of traffic on this and other roads.

In response to these representations a flashing sign has been erected near the Village Hall to warn motorists of the presence of school children. This sign is activated by the school so that it only flashes when children are in transit. We are still waiting for SLOW signs to be painted on the other accesses.

After a request from a local resident, the Parish Council had looked at the possibility of a SID (speed indicating device) which is activated by speeding vehicles. The idea was turned down for two reasons: the cost (in excess of £1,800), and that it would not be in keeping.

We have also been monitoring traffic speeds in Fields Road using a radar gun. The average speed of vehicles is around 35-44 mph, which is within acceptable levels. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Just in: We've obtained a copy of The Department for Transport's guidance on setting local speed limits. NB: To view the document requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Footpaths and Hedgerows

Footpaths and roads can become obstructed, for instance by overgrown vegetation, particularly during the Summer months. If you know of any problems of this type please contact any Councillor or email the Clerk.

Parking in the Village

There are numerous blind spots in the village where consideration is called for when parking your car. You can help to avoid causing a danger to other road users, both drivers and pedestrians, by ensuring that you are not causing an obstruction when you park your vehicle. Please also remember that inconsiderate parking can obstruct emergency vehicles such as fire engines, ambulances etc.

The Parish Council is fully aware of the wish of many villagers to keep Chedworth free of suburban clutter such as double yellow lines, and councillors share these sentiments. We're therefore pursuing other ways of improving road safety in the village, for instance by asking residents not to park in dangerous places and to try to limit parking in these areas by non-residents wherever possible.

To this end we have sent letters to residents close to problem areas asking for their cooperation, and the parking seems to have improved in those areas. Our thanks to all of you who have responded.

Useful Information

Welcome Leaflet

The Parish Council has produced a Welcome leaflet for newcomers to the Parish. This leaflet includes details of many aspects of Chedworth activity including the Church, Doctors, Schools, Local Authorities and Societies, clubs and organisations.

If you are new to the village and have not received a leaflet then please contact the Clerk, who will be pleased to let you have one. If you know of anyone new to the Parish, please let a Council member know so that a leaflet can be delivered to them.

Village Maps

We have two maps of the village available for parishioners. One is a basic map like the ones that are sited at various points around the village, and the other is a more detailed road map. If you would like photocopies of either of these maps please contact any Councillor or email the Clerk. The cost is 10p per sheet for photocopying.

Bus Timetables

New for Summer 2009 - local bus timetable.

Broadband

Broadband became available to most residents in the Parish on 19th May 2004. Ex-Councillor Mr Paul Morris has prepared a guide to choosing a Broadband service.

Police Visits to Chedworth

PCSO Paul Bowman parks his Mobile Police Station at the Hemplands and/or the Village Hall once a month. He invites anyone who wishes to seek advice and information on any aspects of rural policing to visit him. You can also contact the Mobile Police Station by phone at 07734 068276 or via email.

• 26th January 16:00
• 11th February 11:30
• 23rd February 11:30
• 12th March 16:00
• 25th March 11:30

Chedworth Parish Council

Name	Address	Occupation
Mrs. Susie Moore (Chairman)	The Old Forge Fossebridge Cheltenham GL54 3JP Tel: 01285 720214	Retired Agricultural and Technical writer now Mother and Housewife
Mrs. Elizabeth Broad (Parish Clerk)	Brookvale Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AB Tel: 01285 720313 Email: parishcouncil@chedworth.org.uk	Parish Clerk
David Broad (Councillor, Vice-Chairman)	Brookvale Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AB Tel: 01285 720313	District Councillor, works in Motor Trade
Andy Miles (Councillor)	Apperley Fields Road Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4NQ Tel: 01285 720775	Planning Consultant
Tom Watt (Councillor)	The Haven Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AJ Tel: 01285 720604	Writer & Broadcaster
Paul Cundick (Councillor)	Umona Fields Rd Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4NQ Tel: 01285 720654	Administrator
Paul Sibbald (Councillor)	Iolanthe Church Row Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AD Tel: 01285 720016	Property Maintenance, Builder & Gardener
Adrian Bell (Councillor)	Pancake Cottage Lower Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AW Tel: 01285 721056	Agricultural Marketing & Journalist