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

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 2008

The Council will meet on the following dates during 2008:

• Monday 21st January (Precept Meeting)
• Monday 18th February
• Monday 10th March (Parish Meeting)
• Monday 17th March
• Monday 21st April
• Monday 19th May
• Monday 16th June
• Monday 14th July
• Monday 18th August
• Monday 15th September
• Monday 20th October
• Monday 17th November
• Monday 15th 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:

• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007

Minutes:

• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007

The 2008 Parish Meeting

The 2008 Parish Meeting was held on 10th March 2008 in the Village Hall. The report was given by the Chairman, Mrs Susie Moore:

• The 2008 Annual Parish Report

Latest News

Acts of vandalism are fortunately uncommon in Chedworth but their comparative rarity makes them all the more disturbing when they do occur. An electric fence put up in the Parish Council-owned field beside the football pitch was recently cut, presumably by someone with the mistaken belief that they had right of access across its line.

It is a common misconception that the paddocks bordering the football pitch are Public Open Spaces where people may freely roam. They are not. They are agricultural land, leased to a local resident for grazing. Permission had been obtained from the Parish Council to install the electric fence so that grazing could be controlled for the well-being of both the pony and the sward. The fence does not cross the public right of way which runs from the northern corner of the tennis courts to the stile, across the corner of the football pitch to another stile.

The Parish Council would like to remind people that they should keep to the footpaths when crossing the paddocks and pick up after their dogs here. Should you believe that a public right of way is being obstructed - by a fence, impenetrable undergrowth or whatever - our advice would be to check the exact route of the right of way on an Ordnance Survey map before informing the Parish Council - and, please, leave your wire cutters at home.

Chedworth's Youth Parish Council has exciting plans for improving the social lives of our young people while extracting ideas for ways in which better facilities and opportunities could be provided. Contact them at youthparishcouncil@hotmail.com to find out what is going on.

Anarchy reigns again on the village notice boards as over-sized notices of little local value are plastered over the top of more relevant ones. The convention is as follows: the smaller the notice, the more imminent and local to Chedworth the event it advertises, the greater its right to be posted. And statutory notices posted by the Parish Council have precedence over absolutely everything else.

Next month's meeting will take place on Monday November 17th at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall games room. If there is a particular topic you wish to bring to the Parish Council's attention, please contact the Clerk, Mrs Elizabeth Broad, on 720313 or at parishcouncil@chedworth.org.uk to get it on the agenda by the preceding Wednesday.

The results of the recent survey into Chedworth's housing needs have been released in a report compiled by the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council's Rural Housing Enabler, Laura Mills, and adopted at a meeting of the Parish Council. Those who missed this important event can download the report here. NB the report is in PDF format, which requires the installation of the Adobe Reader on your computer. If you're not sure if you have this, try clicking on the report. If it doesn't open then you can download and install the Reader software here.

This survey is the first of a number of hurdles which must be cleared before any small-scale development of affordable housing for local people can be achieved and allows the project to move to the next phase as described by John Robson in the latest Hill & Valley magazine.

The Village Agent scheme which began as a pilot project in this county has been deemed sufficiently successful to be extended to the rest of the country. The Gloucestershire Village Agent project will now be funded by the County Council and County Primary Care Trust. Our congratulations go to Cynthia Laird who has worked hard over the past two years to ensure that the over 50's in the local area are fully aware of all the services available to make their lives easier and safer. Cynthia now covers the area bordered by the villages of Hampnett, the Barringtons, Barnsley and North Cerney. She can be contacted by phone on 07776 245780 or by email at cynthia@villageagent.grcc.org.uk.

Residents have voiced concerns to the Parish Council about the additional road hazards posed at this time of year by agricultural vehicles involved in crop harvesting. This has been a difficult growing season and harvest is always a twitchy time for farmers as they battle with the weather and the clock to get the crops in. So please be aware of the greater-than-usual numbers of tractors, trailers, carts, combines and mud on our roads.

The next Parish Council meeting will be on Monday 15th September at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall games room.

The Parish Plan Steering Group has now disbanded having successfully completed its brief of delivering an in-depth consultation document that identifies issues of concern or interest to people in Chedworth, together with proposals to address these issues. At their recent meeting the Parish Council expressed its gratitude and appreciation to the outgoing team.

Of the five project areas, three (Environment, Housing/Development, and Enterprise/Employment) have already formed Action Groups and are busily pursuing projects arising from the Plan. There is, however, no overall spokesperson for the remaining areas: Social/Leisure/Services and Traffic/Transport although individuals have expressed interest in moving forward certain projects within each. The Parish Council wants to encourage as many people as possible within the community to become involved in implementing the Plan. The hard graft of collecting opinions and producing a document which can be used as a fund-raising tool has been done - and the fun part can begin.

The final Plan together with two appendices containing the supporting evidence can be found on its web-page: www.chedworth.org.uk/parish-plan . Please have a browse through it and identify any projects with which you would like to become involved; the Parish Council will put you in touch with the relevant people. But, crucially, we do need to form the last two project groups under spokespersons, and we also need a Treasurer to look after the books.

The PC debated at length a request from Cotswold District Council that it be furnished with contact details for a village emergency co-ordinator. Although our Clerk, Mrs Broad, agreed in truly public-spirited fashion to provide her 'phone number, the Council failed to see how CDC's emergency contact system might work. Although CDC will provide sand and bags to put it in, there is nowhere for the filled bags to be stored. And while Mrs Broad might, or might not, be at home when the next disaster strikes in either event neither she nor the rest of the Council should be expected to lug sandbags around the village. The floods of last July 20th have already identified those properties which are most vulnerable and the most practical approach for dealing with future flooding events must be for householders to be prepared to protect their own property.

The PC is still engaging with the County Council in an attempt to improve road drainage around the village but we are a low priority area when compared with many other parts of the county. We are pleased, however, to report that Gloucestershire Highways has vastly increased the capacity of the road drain beside the Tuns Hill waterfall by bringing in a huge bit of machinery to remove the limescale deposits that had all but choked the drain. At the time of writing a substantial lump of this calcareous deposit had been left beside the waterfall for us all to marvel at.

And finally, the Parish Council debated for the nth time one of the most puzzling, recurrent and disgusting questions in the universe: "How can anyone allow their dog to foul the children's play area?"

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

The Parish Council has agreed to ask the Gloucestershire Rural Housing Partnership to undertake a Housing Needs Survey on its behalf. This survey will clarify the housing need identified by the Parish Plan consultations and give more detail on the types of housing in deficit.

The Parish Plan Affordable Housing Group is keen to reassure residents of the village that the intended scale of any proposed housing would be limited to a maximum of 8 units. Each unit may consist of a 1 or 2 bedroom dwelling or, if a demand is demonstrated, a living space combined with a small studio/workshop - a so-called "live/work" unit.

The Community will be consulted at all subsequent stages on matters of siting, design and materials but at this very early stage the exercise is intended to do exactly what is says on the tin; it is a survey of the housing needs of the community and is not concerned with the pros and cons of various sites about the village.

A vital element of the Chedworth Affordable Housing Project which differentiates it from other AH projects throughout the District is that it is hoped to own (or lease) and manage the housing through a Community Land Trust rather than hand it over to a Housing Association for administration. This would give the village Community Land Trust absolute control over the allocation of units ensuring that they will always be offered to people with strong local connections. This mechanism will also ensure that the land will remain a community asset for the lifetime of its lease; there is thus no possibility of units being sold off or reclaimed as the result of future changes in government housing policies.

Several sites have already been proposed but if any landowners have land which they feel might be suitable for a small-scale affordable housing development please contact the PC as soon as possible.

It is widely stated that the beauty of the Cotswolds is the cause of its housing problems. It is a desirable place to live and, with improvements in road and rail connections assisting weekending and daily commuting, we find that Cotswold District has the third highest ratio of average house price to average gross income (over 16:1)in the South West Region. Lower-paid workers - many of whom are involved in land-related industries - are priced out of the housing market and have to leave the community, weakening family and social networks and disturbing the delicate demographic balance which is the mark of a healthy living, working village.

Please take the time to complete the Survey which has been distributed with your Hill and Valley News. The survey is anonymous, confidential and is being conducted by an external, professional body. It even has a freepost envelope for its return.

An excellent new notice board has been made for the Hemplands site by Stan Newman. Even in this era of electronic information exchange our village notice boards remain crucial to community life as sources of information and advertising accessible to all. The Parish Council would like to thank Stan most warmly not only for the time and materials which he has volunteered so generously in crafting this splendid notice board for everyone's use but also for his commitment to its future maintenance. Thank you, Stan.

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Monday May 19th at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall games room, with a Councillor on hand for a chat from 7.00 pm.

While most Parish Councils around the country would gladly forfeit their chains of office for the chance of owning land, Chedworth PC is extremely fortunate - thanks to the foresight of the late Mr Richard Lovett-Turner - in owning the land adjacent to the Village hall, part of which is let for grazing the rest being down to football pitch and tennis courts.

A large part of the recent Annual Parish Meeting was devoted to an open discussion on whether this land should be put to greater use in providing additional community facilities or whether it should remain as it is.

A number of possible uses were proposed: a site for Affordable Housing, extra tennis courts, a multi-use sports facility for teenagers, community vegetable gardens, boules pitch, grazing, games pitch and an extension to the Play Area.. The debate remains absolutely open and the Parish Council invites further opinions to be submitted by email to parishcouncil@chedworth.org.uk or to any Councillor.

The meeting was also addressed by Martin Large from Gloucestershire Land for People who introduced us to the concept of a Community Land Trust, a mechanism through which public land can be protected from external intervention and managed by the community. More detail is available here.

A mini-crimewave during March has seen the disappearance of a dog, a set of alloy wheels, new-laid eggs, a bike and a chainsaw among other possible unreported items. Fortunately Boo the dog was found and is recovering satisfactorily from a traumatic ordeal. The list of items stolen to date would suggest a thief with a bizarre and complex psychological profile - so the advice must be to lock everything up safely.

District Council is aiming to make the first collections under the new waste service throughout the District during the week beginning Monday, 21st April. The delivery of wheeled bins or beige refuse bags and re-useable cardboard sacks for the new service, along with information packs and collection calendars, should already have taken place.

• A weekly collection of food waste for composting
• An optional charged-for weekly collection of garden waste for composting
• A new fortnightly collection of card and cardboard for recycling
• The continuation of the current fortnightly collection of paper, glass, cans/tins and empty aerosol cans for recycling
• The collection of non-recyclable waste fortnightly in grey wheeled bins or in Council-supplied beige bin bags.

The Mobile Library is changing its schedule again; look out for it at the Village Hall between 11.50 and 12.20 on alternate Thursdays starting on April 3rd, then April 17th etc.

Primary School-aged children are to be entertained to a quiz and chocolate trail on Sunday April 13th by the Chedworth Youth Council. This free event will give the YC a chance to introduce themselves to their customers and to ensure that chocolate consumption will continue after Easter.

PC Reuben Wyatt is passing the wheel of the East Glos Mobile Police Station to PCSO Debbie Flay as from April. Dates for her visits will be publicised as soon as we have them. Chedworth thanks PC Wyatt for his services over the years.

The next Parish Council meeting will be held in the games room at the Village Hall on Monday April 21st at 7.30 pm - or beforehand for an informal chat.

The long-awaited Chedworth Parish Plan has been published. Details can be found on the Parish Plan page. Congratulations are in order and I'm sure all Parishioners will join the Parish Council in thanking the Parish Plan team of Lindy Gallagher, Isobel Milne, Alison Lovett-Turner, Paul Cundick, Richard Todd and Caroline Sibbald for their sterling efforts.

Following representations from members of the public at our recent meeting, the Parish Council is taking steps to address a pretty fundamental problem with the village drainage system. Whether the cause of the problem be climate change, increased run-off where hard surfaces have replaced grass or inadequate maintenance of the drains, the end result is that during heavy rainfall a huge volume of water rockets down the roadways.

Unlike a spanking new development with its bespoke drainage system, Chedworth's system has inevitably evolved in a more piecemeal fashion but the road drainage system has only ever been designed to deal with water from the roads, not with the additional run-off from adjacent properties.

It was suggested that inadequate drainage at the top of the hill, possibly augmented by run-off from the Village Hall car park, has placed an impossible burden on the drains in Cheap Street which floods houses in the vicinity of the upper railway bridge from the rear. Simultaneously the amalgamated run-off from several other roads roars toward this area from the other direction. This torrent veers hard right to enter Mrs Davidson's field where it percolates into the permeable ground. A saturated mass of subsoil is heavy and if unstable may slip downhill as has happened in several parts of the valley including here where it is crossed by a public footpath.

The responsibility for land drains lies with Cotswold District Council, road drains with Gloucestershire Highways (which is a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and W.S. Atkins) and footpaths with Gloucestershire County Council Public Rights of Way. The Parish Council therefore faces quite a challenge in getting so many different agencies and individuals to devise a solution. We are also aware of the intense competition for funding for drainage improvements in the wake (excuse pun) of last July's floods. And our already overloaded drainage system must be taken into full account in any consideration of further development in the village.

The time has come to again rap the knuckles of those who abuse or misuse our noticeboards. The Parish Council provides these boards primarily to enable it to fulfil a legal requirement for the public display of certain notices which include notification of meetings, elections and audits. The deal is that if the public allow the Parish Council to meet this statutory duty then the Parish Council will permit the public to use the remaining noticeboard area.. Recently a proliferation of large notices and a developing trend for advertising events far from Chedworth have not left enough space for Parish Council notices.

The Parish Council is happy to provide this facility for the community - but please stick to the rules. If you wish to advertise goods or services on a long-term basis then please keep it small; the smaller your notice the longer it is likely to remain in position. Please remove posters after the event and do not obliterate essential community information such as PC notices and the Church service schedule.

The Annual Parish Meeting will take place on Monday March 10th at 7.30 at the Village Hall. This event approximates to an AGM and provides a forum for open discussion. People may be aware of some of the projects proposed for improving village facilities and services which have resulted from Parish Plan consultations. We have to decide whether to actively encourage the development of a living, working, diverse community or to let it stagnate. This meeting will provide a platform for all opinions.

The far less exciting monthly PC meeting will be held on Monday March 17th in the Village Hall games room at 7.30pm. A councillor will be on hand from 7.00 pm for anyone wishing an informal chat.

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.

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 5p per sheet for photocopying.

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.

Grants for Dry Stone Walling

The Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty gives grants of up to 50% for dry stone wall repairs. This covers a limited list of parishes, to which Chedworth has recently been added.

Up to 50% grants are therefore now available from the Cotswold Conservation Board at Northleach for the repair of dry stone walls within the Parish, and the grant percentage may be higher if the wall benefits the wider public, e.g. it's next to a road or a footpath.

You can download an application form from their web site or you can contact Jonathan Gahan (Dry Stone Walls Project Officer) by email or on 01451 862000.

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.

• 28th October 2008 12:00pm
• 11th November 2008 4:00pm
• 28th November 2008 11:30am
• 11th December 2008 4:00pm
• 29th December 2008 11:30am

Chedworth Parish Councillors

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 (Clerk)	Brookvale Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AB Tel: 01285 720313 Email: parishcouncil@chedworth.org.uk	Parish Clerk
David Broad	Brookvale Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AB Tel: 01285 720313	District Councillor, works in Motor Trade
Andy Miles	Apperley Fields Road Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4NQ Tel: 01285 720775	Planning Consultant
Lindy Gallagher	27 The Hemplands Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4NH Tel: 07939 058 006	Healthcare Development Manager
Tom Watt	The Haven Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4AJ Tel: 01285 720604	Writer & Broadcaster
Paul Cundick	Umona, Fields Rd Chedworth Cheltenham GL54 4NQ Tel: 01285 720654	Administrator