STAUNTON PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
Minutes of meeting held on Tuesday 10th May 2022
Venue: Corse and Staunton Village Hall Annexe
Time: 7:45pm
Present: Councillors; J. Millar, D. Williams, B. Allen, M. Fuller, D. Peach, B. Buck (Corse Parish Council Representative), B. Lewis (District Councillor), P. Burford (District Councillor), G. Moseley (County Councillor), G. Millar (Clerk) and 7 Parishioners.
1. Chairman’s Welcome
Cllr Millar welcomed all present.
2. Receive Apologies
Apologies were received from District Councillor, Brian Lewis who arrived at 7:52pm.
3. To confirm the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting, held on Tuesday 5th May 2021
The minutes of the previous Annual Parish Meeting held on Wednesday 5th May 2021 were proposed by Cllr Allen and seconded by Cllr Fuller to be accepted as a true record.
4. County Councillor Report
Report provided by County Councillor, Gill Moseley:
Gloucestershire County Council elections, May 2021:
· Last May all 53 County Council seats were up for election
· The Conservatives were returned as the administration, albeit with a reduced majority (a majority of 3 compared to 9 in 2017)
· The full results were as follows:
o Conservatives: 28 (-3)
o Liberal Democrats: 16 (+2)
o Labour/Labour & Co=operative: 5 (no change)
o Green Party: 4 (+2)
o Independents: 0 (-1)
Full Council Meetings
· Since May 2021 there have been five Full Council meetings, including the Budget meeting in February 2022.
· At Full Council meetings, all parties are given the opportunity to introduce motions to be debated – though these are predominantly given over to ‘opposition’ parties.
· Just some of the key issues debated include:
o June 2021: A Liberal Democrat motion calling for 20mph maximum speeds to be introduced in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix
§ This has resulted in the matter being debated a number of times at Environment Scrutiny, with Councillors waiting to see a revised 20mph policy from GCC officers
o June 2021: A Liberal Democrat motion calling for this Council to reject the proposed Voter ID reforms
§ This motion was voted down by the administration and not adopted.
o September 2021: A Liberal Democrat motion calling for the Government’s Planning White Paper to be scrapped.
§ An amended version of this motion was agreed by all parties, and the Council Leader subsequently wrote to the Government outlining the Council’s concerns over the reforms
o September 2021: A Liberal Democrat motion calling for the Council to tackle poverty and deprivation in Gloucestershire
§ An amended version of this motion was agreed by all parties, and the inaugural “Levelling Up Our Communities” conference has been organised for 19 May as a result.
o December 2021: A Liberal Democrat motion calling for the council to repair public confidence in Gloucestershire Highways
§ This motion was heavily amended by the Conservatives. In the debate, attention was drawn to the appalling condition of many of our roads. Mention was also made of the wasteful use of highways worker time in not repairing obvious defects close to those on their schedules whilst on site.
o February 2022 – Budget meeting.
§ Full Council approved a budget of £521m for 22/23 – an increase of £38million on 21/22 (£483)
§ £10.2 of this increase came from the 1.99 per cent increase in council tax, and a further £3.7 million from the social care precept on households (equating to £42 per Band D household per year).
§ Some budget highlights include: £150m for school buildings, £100m for highways, £20m for cycle routes, £14m additional investment in children’s services, £9m to support adults living with a disability and £1m for measures to tackle the climate emergency.
o February 2022 – The following amendments were accepted to the budget:
§ Liberal Democrats: An additional £250,000 to progress 20mph schemes, £100,000 for a Traffic Regulation Order reserve specifically for road safety schemes and £33,000 to scrap the proposed increase to residential parking permits.
§ Green Party: £120,000 to establish a recycling shop pilot at one of the county’s recycling centres and £45,000 to pay for a biodiversity management officer.
§ Labour Party: no accepted amendments.
o March 2022: A joint motion outlining Gloucestershire County Council’s support for the Ukraine in the face of the illegal invasion by Russian forces.
§ Supported by all councillors, the resolution included the commitment to support all refugees arriving in Gloucestershire.
o March 2022: A Liberal Democrat motion on policing and anti-social behaviour, noting the Police and Crime Commissioner’s abandonment of his commitment to employ an additional 300 police officers during his first term in office.
§ An amended version of the motion passed and the PCC has subsequently been invited to provide a presentation to Full Council on how he intends to deliver on his manifesto commitments.
Significant GCC announcements 21/22
· June - £620,000 approved for 500 double charging points around the county – with the first 25 meant to have been installed in Gloucester and Cheltenham in 21/22 (though, it is not believed that this has happened yet).
· June – approval of pilot schemes for on demand bus services in the centre of The Forest of Dean and in The Cotswolds following a successful bid to the DfT’s Transport Rural Mobility Fund (securing £1.352 million), due to start Spring 2022, although it is not believed that these have started yet.
· July - £2m community recovery fund launched (Build Back Better Fund), with each councillor allocated £40,000 to hand out during their term in office. Bids are welcome for this fund over the term of my office.
· August - £500,000 Market Towns fund launched, with the aim of boosting the recovery of Gloucestershire’s market towns and high streets. (Applications closed in 2021 with 67 bids approved for across the county)
· September – the County’s Bus Service Improvement Plan is launched, which is submitted to the DfT for funding under the Bus Back Better strategy. It was announced in April that GCC had failed to win any money under this scheme.
· October – work begins on segregated cycle path between Gloucester and Cheltenham along the B4063. A cycle route is proposed for Newent to Gloucester in the Local Transport Review, but little progress has been made by GCC in spite of pressure from the local cycling group.
· March – second tranche of School Street schemes launched, following Lib Dem budget amendments passed in 2020 and 2021. Will see four schools added to the two schemes already running, where the street outside the school is closed during drop off and pick up times to encourage safe active travel to school. Not particularly relevant to the Forest of Dean as most schools are not in suitable residential areas.
· April – Ofsted reports back that Gloucestershire County Council’s Children’s Services have been upgraded from Inadequate to Requires Improvements. While a positive step – moving out of a form of special measures – there is still much work to be done to ensure vulnerable children in the county are well looked after.
· A working party to investigate the sewage pollution in our waterways was called for by the Liberal Democrat Group during the previous term of office and I am pleased to say that this group is now in operation. It aims to bring pressure on the authorities responsible, to act in a way that safeguards our watercourses.
Highways Local Funding.
Staunton PC requested help with speed reduction measures in Chartist Way and clearly there is a demand from residents for speed reduction measures. There is still a discussion to be had about the concerns between , councillors and residents and the Local Highways Manager, and I have reraised the matter again recently with him.
Bids for funding in this year’s allocation need to be considered as soon as possible.
5. District Councillor Report
District Councillor, Philip Burford reported that it has been a challenging year for the Forest of Dean District Council recovering from the Coronavirus Pandemic and getting employees back into the office and are behind on critical work streams.
Projects such as solar panel and insulation installation have been undertaken recently within the Forest of Dean District Council.
It was also noted that planning matters and land searches are currently taking a lot longer.
The Local Plan consultation responses to the preferred option were negative, now it is anticipated that a new preferred option consultation will begin in July.
Monies received from the Levelling Up Fund were also noted. £20m is to be spent between Cinderford, Five Acres and Hartpury College.
It was also noted that a meeting has been arranged for next week to discuss the upcoming plans for The Swan.
6. District Councillor Report
Report provided by District Councillor, Brian Lewis:
I don’t believe this year can be characterised particularly, as one of achievement.
But there were a number of appointments and arrangements made:
A Champion for Children and Young people,
An Honorary Freewoman of The District,
An Animal Welfare Champion,
Additional Positions to chase Government hand-outs and
The Platinum Jubilee for the Queen arrangements.
There were two key issues that the Council is still dealing with:
1. The Five-acre site development. This has been under negotiation and debate for a very long time. However, the site has at least now been acquired for the sum of one pound, and one day we are told, produce a new Leisure Centre and perhaps other benefits yet to appear.
I am sure the Leisure Centre will eventually provide a welcome local facility, however I am concerned at the level of financial burden this will be, to the Council once it is completed. Such facilities rarely run at a profit, and the Council are already struggling financially.
2. The Forward Development Plan
A quick reminder as to what happened:
At the start of the year the Council proposed a development Strategy which proposed the expansion of some existing Towns, and the addition of houses to some villages and the creation of an entirely new Town. This was proposed in order to try to ensure that there was a guaranteed future land supply. In the past land Strategies have a habit of failing. This leads to uncontrolled development.
Unfortunately, the Council, without any consultation, let it be known that one of their internally favourite sites was Churcham.
Their plan has been in disarray ever since.
More recently Councillor Burford over the last 3 months has led an effort to prove that the housing supply can be resolved by adding the required building to all the villages in the District. This has now been abandoned as it is has been declared as unsustainable.
Now another Strategy is sought, this is the current status of the project. Very little progress has been made.
In my opinion the most important challenge to the Council for the future will be to find a solution to this conundrum.
Finally, the finances of the Council are not good. The future does seem to be uncertain with question marks going forward as to how the Council will fund the future.
Personally, I don’t think anything will improve until a new leadership of the Council emerges, or more likely this is resolved in the election next May 2023.
The last elections provided a very diverse political makeup of the council. I think this is at the heart of problematic leadership.
My hope is that if there is a more politically coherent vote in 2023 then this will produce a more successful leadership.
7. Staunton Police Report
Report provided by PCSO Tania Shuttleworth:
Police Report for the Parish of Staunton for the period to 5th May 2021 to 4th May 2022.
Crime Figures
Offence 2021/22
Violence 15 (This now includes Harassment/ Coercive or controlling behaviour)
Burglary-Dwelling 1
Att Burglary – Non Dwelling 0
Theft of/from Veh. 0
Theft – Other 1
Criminal damage 2
Fraud/Forgery 0
Drugs 0
Others 0
Totals 19
The above figures are those incidents, which have been reported to the police. If a crime is not reported then it does not appear in the stats, which in turn means that as far as the Police are aware is has not occurred. This causes problems in prioritising matters. Please report everything that occurs and ask for a crime number if a crime has been committed, not just an incident number.
Road Traffic Accidents
Location Damage Injury Fatal
A417 1 0 1
Others 3 0 0
Totals 4 0 1
These figures only represent accidents that have been reported to the police. There are probably a lot more that do not get reported to us.
Incidents
The number of incidents reported within the parish for the last 12 months are as follows:-
Emergency - 18
Prompt - 19
Remote - 4
Scheduled - 9
Contact - 16
Partner - 1
Total - 141
Now everything has started to get back to normal we will be visiting with the Neighbourhood Engagement Vehicle. Our first visit was on 2nd Feb where we had 1 member of the public attend, hopefully this will increase over time
School visit will hopefully resume again also.
We have made a few visits to members in your community who have been diagnosed with Dementia/Alzheimers, these diagnoses are becoming more common so if you do have concerns about anyone you know please try and seek help for them.
Neighbourhood team
The neighbourhood team that covers your area are:
Sgt Alex Kear
Pc Julia Nock
Pcso Tania Shuttleworth
Pcso Tracy Garcia – cote
8. Chairman’s Report
Report provided by Cllr Millar:
This is a quote from my report of May 2021…. Perhaps looking to the future months, we can begin to feel that a return to seeing each other face to face might not be so bad after all. Now here we are a year later having resumed our face-to-face meetings in July, re-established in our familiar village hall surroundings. This does allow us to welcome more parishioners, with more participation & debate.
We also welcomed our newly elected County Councillor Gill Moseley in July; she has been very proactive in supporting the serious issues which face our villages. These are of course vehicle speeding problems, poor public transport & housing over development with developers having no thought to sustainability. So let us hope the future lies with improvements of all these problems.
We are planning our next fundraising quiz night in July; we have responded to a request from the newly formed ‘Friends of The Swan’ who are working to reopen The Swan public house as a Community Hub…. we wish them well.
On a sadder note, we have lost a well-known face within our villages, Robert James
(Better known as Robbie) was a gardener & handyman to many residents of Corse & Staunton. He tragically died on the night of May 7th as a result of a road accident on his journey home to Ledbury.
He helped SPC in many ways such as supporting Bas with the maintenance of the speed signs & keeping the white village gates clean & tidy …. his attention to detail in all his work is irreplaceable. Now sadly missed by many of us, Bas & I will be attending his funeral on May 28th at Bromsberrow church.
With thanks as always to our hardworking team of litter pickers led by Irene & John Carroll, who have also recently cleaned the village gates for us as well. Also, thanks to the year-round grass cutting by Stan Cotton alongside his careful maintenance of the memorial bench for the late Mike Bradbury.
Finally, I would like to offer my thanks for all your support, professionalism & commitment to your roles as Parish Councillors during this year, alongside the expertise of our highly skilled Clerk keeping me/us in order!
9. Reports from Local Groups
Cricket Club
Report provided by Graham Bruce:
Last season almost saw the return to normality with a full fixture list but sadly no cricket teas which to me was a big disappointment. The 2020 season should have seen the club celebrating its 125th anniversary but these were put on hold due to the pandemic and were held last year. On the Playing front it was a fantastic season with the first team winning their league and being promoted to the West of England Premier League Glos/Wilts division. We are now one of the top 5 clubs in the county which is a fantastic achievement. This promotion means we will have some away games in Wiltshire. Indeed, our first fixture is against Warminster. We will also entertain Cheltenham 1st XI. All the other teams performed well in their respective leagues and the ladies X1 continues to thrive. I am very pleased to say that a Corse and Staunton Cricketer has been selected for Gloucestershire ladies. Cerys King has come through our junior ranks, plays for both the ladies and men’s team and over the winter toured with Gloucestershire in Sri Lanka and scored her maiden century for the County. Junior Cricket continues to thrive with over fifty youngsters regularly coming to Friday night training and we hope these numbers will increase this season as we are re -introduce training for 5-year-olds.
Football Club
No report provided.
St James’ Church
Report provided by Malcolm Harley:
Year 2021/2022 proved a little more successful than the previous year, however, there still seems some reluctance for community members to join in with services and events.
The moving on of Steve and Debbie Godsell has made Service organising a little tricky for John L. H. However, he has done a splendid job for the benefice, and we wish to record our grateful thanks to him for that and all he does for the community.
We have been fortunate to receive a substantial sum from our insurers which has allowed us to replace the items that were stolen during the early stages of lockdown, also given us a little in hand to allow the progression of the fabric refurbishments.
We were able to run our usual fundraising event this year, namely our BBQ with Auction of Promises, and our Annual Harvest Supper. The first steps to running similar functions are in place for the coming year.
Our pressing issues last year have been twofold, firstly the Chancel Roof repair, which we offer our thanks to David Williams for all he has done in this regard, organising the faculty, and works to go out to tender.
Secondly, we agreed to join with Corse and Hartpury in an attempt to have the 3 Churches bells refurbished. For this, again we are indebted to David, who together with Jim Chapman are going through hoops to try obtaining a National Lottery Heritage Grant, and grants from other grant funding bodies.
SCATS
Report provided by Christine Stanbanks:
Due to circumstances SCATS have not been able to do anything, However we are looking forward to producing our ..deferred production of ` Dick Whittington" in December.
From all at SCATS,
Many thanks for your support over the years....Thank You
Scouts
Report provided by Tim Brown:
It’s good to report that we continue to be a successful and thriving group.
We have a strong team of 13 adult leaders made up of 5 scout, 6 cub and 2 Beaver leaders plus we have 5 young leaders helping each week.
Current numbers: 22 scouts, 18 cubs and 20 Beavers.
There is a big waiting list for Beavers but few are Beaver age at the moment.
Unfortunately, like all similar organisations, COVID took its toll on our group and in March 2020 scouting stopped for 14 months. We started back in April 2021 running ZOOM meetings which were surprisingly really good fun and were well received by our young people.
We made Mug Cakes, Pizza’s in a mug, made pancakes on the end of a baked bean tin, made oil lamps, did scientist experiments, ran scavenger hunts and ran quizzes.
Sadly, only about 50% of our members joined in with the ZOOM meetings but those that did really got stuck in, helped by parents of course.
We started back face-to-face in September after completing risk assessments and having all the required COVID kits on site and available to all.
Numbers were slightly down from pre-covid to start with and though some youngsters didn’t return we are now back to full strength.
After missing 2 summers we are currently planning our 2022 summer camp in the New Forest at Braggers Wood Scout Camp Site in Dorset. It is a stunning area and it is where we camped the year before COVID in 2019.
We try to encourage our youngsters to take part in at least 2 church services each year. These are the Service of Remembrance at Staunton Church and St George’s day at Maisemore – St George being the patron saint of scouting.
Being part of any organisation has its commitments and the leaders feel that these two services are part of that commitment. We do appreciate parents encouraging their youngsters to attend.
We have a small but enthusiastic executive committee led by Richard Padfield that supports our group with fund raising and ensuring we have enough funds to run a successful scout group. Running our group doesn’t come cheap so we appreciate the work done by the executive committee.
Our major outlay is as always Capitation which this year was £3507
This is the sum we pay to the Scout Association - this year £57.50 per youngster.
Fund-raising this past 2 years has been difficult, but we were able to generate the following:
£400 Ashleworth Show
£340 Christmas Raffle
£89 Bags 2 School
£100 Staunton Parish donation
£100 Corse Parish donation
We were also able to claim £10k from the COVID recovery fund and our treasurer is busy claiming gift aid for the donations made these past 2 years. In 2019 we were able to reclaim £2740
Brownies
No report provided.
Playing Fields
Report provided by Graham Bruce:
I hope you all agree that the Playing Fields are a credit to our villages. Obviously this is down to a few dedicated volunteers who give their time freely to maintain the fields,play area and Pavilion. Following the storms, a number of trees were lost and were made safe and cleared away by these volunteers.
The field continues to be used by the football and cricket clubs (see separate reports) and the cycle club utilise the club room after their weekly rides. We were asked in the autumn if the Pavilion could be used to hold a regular Community Coffee morning as the villages had lost the garden centre where parishioners could meet for a coffee and chat. We were very pleased to accommodate this request and these mornings have been a success. Incidentally we make no charge.
One continuing problem is that not all dog walkers are responsible in clearing up after their dogs and speaking from experience it is no fun cleaning our mowers!
Although financially we are on a sound footing having benefitted from grants due to the pandemic however, we cannot be complacent. All our equipment is well loved, our tractor is almost 60 years old and will not go on for ever. Other costs incurred this past year were repairs to some of the play equipment and the surface of the play area which cost in excess of £1500. Also, we had some major repairs to the pavilion, primarily electrical work bringing the building up to current standards which cost over £2000. The major source of income still remains the rent charged to the sporting clubs and the 200 club (record year last year and it is not too late to join this year). Many thanks for your continued support, it is greatly appreciated, and the committee hope you will be able continue this support. We are also approaching a number of local businesses for sponsorship which should help supplement our income.
Staunton and Corse Academy
Report provided by Jon Tibbles:
The last few months and years have been challenging due to the Covid pandemic. Paradoxically, now that the press coverage has died down, the school is having more of a difficult time with staff and children off. As you would expect, the staff have stepped up, covered each other’s classes, shared good practice about remote learning and referred and cared for children with mental health/wellbeing conditions.
Throughout this time, we have been busy redesigning our curriculum to ensure the progression in every subject is clear, effective and age appropriate. Details can be viewed on our website under the curriculum tab. A few changes in the Local advisory Board of Governors has enabled each subject to be monitored and scrutinised. In addition, we have worked very effectively with our partner schools in the Multi academy trust. This collaboration and sharing of ideas has been particularly productive in helping us to provide the very best education.
On the pupil wellbeing front, we have invested in OPAL, an Outdoor Play and Learning scheme. The opportunities that children have during the 20% of the school day when they play have increased enormously and we welcome any pallets, tyres, tarpaulins, cable reels to help us provide these creative play times. Noticeably, the number of disagreements between children have petered out too.
The school is in a good place at the moment, and we are privileged to have so many excellent staff, Governors, parents and PTFA, all willing to support the children. To all of those who help I offer my grateful thanks.
Village Hall Committee
Barbara Buck reported that Covid was financially tricky for Corse and Staunton Village Hall, especially when needing to meet regulations. However, refurbishments have been undertaken, with £2,000 spent on the removal of a tree after recent storm damage. Wi-Fi also due to be installed soon.
Many groups have been held throughout the year, with Platinum Jubilee events being planned as well as an Autumn fayre.
Staunton and Corse PPG
Report provided by Sarah Bryant:
Staff Changes
Dr Roger Whittle has retired from the practice after 24 years of service and will be greatly missed by staff and patients alike. The practice currently has an advert for a salaried GP and the interest has been surprisingly good given the current challenges regarding recruitment within the wider NHS. The recruitment drive also includes a nurse practitioner and dispensers, both qualified and trainees.
Dr Brenton Fisher joined the practice as partner in July 2021 having been a partner in his previous practice in Worcestershire. Dr Fisher is the practice representative for the Primary Care Network (PCN) of which we are an active member.
We were sad to see the departure of Kate Ferreira, Dispensary Manager, who has left the practice for pastures new. We have successfully appointed Louise Tweney who brings a wealth of practice management and dispensary experience.
Access
The practice has been open to patients for face-to-face or telephone consultations since the Covid rules changed in July 2021. There is still a requirement for staff and patients to wear face masks however social distancing has now been dropped. We will therefore reinstate further seating in the waiting room.
The practice has been short on space for some time and we are currently considering some internal changes that would allow us to make better use of the space we have. The PPG will be kept informed of any changes, alongside plans being on display within the waiting area.
Service Provision
Long Term Conditions
Long Term Conditions (LTC) is a group name given to conditions including COPD, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia and rheumatoid arthritis where individuals require an annual health review. We have redesigned this service to provide a more streamline and time efficient service for our patients focusing on health promotion.
Patients are invited in their birth month for a 30-minute review with either Vicky or Pauline, our Health Care Assistants who will check their blood pressure, weight, offer health promotion advice and take any necessary blood tests. Depending on the LTC, patients will then either receive a further appointment with a specialist practice nurse, for example diabetic patients will see Karina or a phone call or text from Pam Adams, the Clinical Pharmacist once their medications have been reviewed.
NHS Health Checks
The NHS Health Check is a prevention programme which aims to reduce the chance of a heart attack or stroke in people aged 40-74. The check also identifies early signs of diabetes.
Initially patients are invited for a 20-minute appointment with either Pauline or Vicky our Health Care Assistants who will check blood pressure, weight and take blood. They will also offer health advice on physical activity, diet, smoking cessation and alcohol use. Blood results are reviewed by Jenny, Advanced Nurse Practitioner who completes the NHS Health check by text; advising the patient of their results and provides any information.
All patients not currently with a Long-term Condition, for example diabetes or cardiovascular heart disease are invited every 5 years for the check, please be aware that there is a backlog of checks and if you have any specific concerns you should make an appointment to see your usual GP.
Sustainability
As part of our overall review to become a greener practice, we are looking at ways of reducing our carbon footprint. We are asking patients to ensure we have an up to date mobile number and email address as this will be our preferred way of contacting patients. During the pandemic we saw a big shift in how technology could benefit patient care and we are keen to retain this way of communicating with our patients. Flu clinic invitations and long-term condition reviews will be sent as either a text message or via email in the first instance. We will of course contact patients via more traditional methods if email or SMS is not suitable.
And finally…
A huge thank you to our loyal patients who have been supporting us throughout the past couple of years. We have had numerous messages of support, biscuits, cakes, fruit and flowers. It has been really touching to see the kindness of people during such difficult times.
10.Public Question Time
No items raised.
11.Closure of Meeting by Chairman
Cllr Millar thanked all for attending and formally closed the meeting.
The meeting finished at 8:53pm
Signed: Date: