David Hunter-Miller

Annual Meetings – 9th May 2019

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The Parish Council is holding its Annual Parish Meeting and Annual Meeting of the Council at 7:30PM on Thursday 9th May 2019

The Annual Parish Meeting is not a formal council meeting but a meeting of the parish electors. The Parish Council invite the public and press to hear reports from the Chairman, District and County Councillors, the Police and neighbourhood groups. It also enables electors to have their say on anything they consider is important to the people of the Parish.

The Annual Meeting of the Council is where we elect a chairman and appoint committee members and representatives to other bodies.

Agenda 09 May 2019 – Annual Parish Meeting

Agenda 09 May 2019 – Annual Council Meeting

Village Hall Committee Report

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Village Hall Committee report to Parish Council 28th March 2019

Annual General Meeting March 2019

All six current Trustees who put themselves up for re-election were elected. They were Melanie Clarke, Lynne Pemberton, Colin Pemberton, Lynda Payne, Anthony Bunce, and Sarah Dykes.

Melanie Clarke was re-elected Chair; Lynne Pemberton Secretary; Colin Pemberton Bookings Officer and PRO; Sarah Dykes was appointed Treasurer.

The audited accounts showed the accounts contained £1,590 at the end of December 2018. There was a deficit of £1,257 compared to the previous year, reflecting investment in new curtain poles (£686) and professional cleaning of the hall (£432) and increased electricity bills. EasyFundraising had now raised £559 from 21 supporters who shop online.

In her annual report, the Chair said the hall going from strength to strength with another upbeat and successful year.

There were now three regular, well-established, evening classes using the hall each week. Pilates on a Monday, Hatha Yoga on Tuesdays and ballet classes for children on Wednesdays.

The hall continues to be an attractive venue for birthday parties & family celebrations, wakes and wedding receptions. It is also continuing to be used for business meetings & sales presentations, training courses and seminars.

The burglar alarm contract with ADT has been ended in favour of a cheaper service from SSS of Inkberrow.

Ordinary Meeting, March

The Eco-lighting project to replace all the fluorescent strip lights throughout the hall with energy efficient LED lights was the main item of business.

Three quotes were considered from Buzz Electrical of Evesham (£2,693); John Hornberger (Worcester) £2,924; Abbey Appliances of Evesham ((£3,920)

The Committee:-

  1. unanimously chose Buzz Electrical at £2,693 to do the work.
  2. indicated that it would be happy to put in £534
  3. agreed to apply to the Parish Council for a grant of £500
  4. agreed to submit a bid for £1,359 from the New Homes Bonus fund currently lodged with the parish council
  5. acknowledged with grateful thanks a donation of £300 towards the cost from County Councillor Anthony Hopkins

The Committee is also beginning research into another major project to replace the current heating system with an energy-efficient system.

-Colin Pemberton PRO

Gooms Hill Fibre Broadband

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Many Abbots Morton residents now have access to faster broadband speeds because of recent uprgrades to fibre-optic, however Worcestershire County Council had confirmed that 12 premises at Gooms Hill would not have access to the new fibre broadband as they are fed from a different cabinet at Radford.

If there was sufficient demand for fibre broadband at Gooms Hills a community project could be pursued, with some businesses potentially eligible for up to £3,000 grant funding towards the cost of upgrading.  If you would like further details or to discuss please contact the Parish Clerk.

Parish Paths Warden’s Report

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Report on Activity 2018

Introduction
I was appointed as Path Warden for the parish of Abbots Morton in early 2018. This report details the activities I have undertaken in that role during the year. It should be read in conjunction with the attached table.

Monitoring the footpaths
During the year I have monitored all 58 footpaths on at least two occasions apart from those on land associated with an investigation into a report of an aggressive dog which I was advised to avoid. In total I have carried out 166 visits to individual footpaths on more than 20 different days, representing over 60km travelled.

For the most part the footpaths were well maintained and easily passable. The table shows 10 paths where there are ongoing issues that were not resolved on the last occasion I monitored the path (also noted).

During the year I cleared vegetation on 541 and 543 on several occasions as well as around the stiles on 529 and 530. In addition I improved the signage at the north end of 547.

Other Activities
As well as monitoring the footpaths I attended Parish Council meetings on two occasions. Firstly in March to brief the Council on my role and listen to any points they wished to raise. Secondly in July to offer advice over making some of the footpaths more accessible.

I also attended training provided by Worcestershire CC regarding the role of the Path Warden and the safe use of strimmers.

Work carried out by Worcestershire CC
During the year the County Council has invested in the footpaths in the Parish by replacing a culvert and bridle-gate towards the west end of 558. They have also supplied two kissing gates for a landowner installation on 554 (south of Slade Wood) and organised a section of summer vegetation clearance following on from a report that I made.

Officers have recently carried out an inspection at New Farm regarding the report of aggressive dogs and found that suggested actions including moving the cages have not been taken. This issue is ongoing.

Summary
I have thoroughly enjoyed the task of Path Warden and have already been out in the Parish on several occasions this year.

Noel Fowler
March 2019

PPW report 2018