MINUTES OF RICHARDS CASTLE (SHROPSHIRE) PARISH COUNCIL EXTRAORDINARY ANNUAL MEETING HELD AT 7.30 PM ON TUESDAY 7 MAY 2024 AT THE VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT: Cllr. H Salwey (Chairman); Cllr. D Ayres; Cllr. A Cowell, Cllr. A Hall; and Cllr. R Smith.
IN ATTENDANCE: R Hewitt, Clerk. One member of the public was present.
24/1 Election of Chairman – Mr H Salwey was elected unanimously and signed the declaration of acceptance of office.
24/2 Apologies – Cllr. V Hawkins (Vice Chairman) and Cllr. A Wright.
24/3 Declarations of Members Interests and requests for Dispensation – None.
24/4 Election of Vice Chairman – Cllr. V Hawkins was elected unanimously.
24/5 To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting – The minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024 were approved as a correct record.
24/6 Ward Councillor Report
Ward Cllr. V Parry’s apologies were noted.
24/7 To invite views and discussion from members of the parish
There were no matters raised.
24/8 Planning
24/01391/LBC Rectory Farm, Richards Castle, SY8 4EE. Erection of open porch over side entrance door. Listed building consent. There was no objection to the listed building consent application.
24/01370/FUL Proposed Holiday Let Accommodation East Of The Cedars 1, Wheatcommon Lane, Ashford Carbonell. Conversion of existing domestic outbuilding into holiday let. There was no objection to the planning application.
24/01298/FUL Overton School, Overton Road, Ludlow, SY8 4AD. Formation of multi use games area to include installation of 3m high fencing. There was no objection to the planning application.
24/01548/AGR Rectory Farm, Richards Castle, SY8 4EE. Access to fields for equipment and livestock to avoid driving through domestic curtilage. For information only. The application was noted.
Shropshire Council have refused planning permission for 24/00493/FUL Lewis Fencing. 24/00823/AGR Fairoak does not fall within ‘prior notification’ and would require formal approval by submission of a full planning application.
24/9 Report from Representatives who have attended meetings of other Organisations on behalf of the Parish Council – There were no reports.
24/10 Financial items
a) i. Risk schedule – Approved.
ii. Insurance renewal – The long-term insurance agreement was renewed with Zurich Municipal.
b) The following payments were approved: Hitrees, environmental maintenance at Station Road, Woofferton (£1,020.00); Zurich Municipal, parish council insurance (£214.00); SALC, affiliation 2024-25 (£199.76); Eyelid Productions, website support 2024-25 (£100.00); and Clerk re: Sign-It, Queen’s Green Canopy (£90.00).
24/11 New playground and septic tank at the village hall
There were no updates or recommendations from the working group.
24/12 Highway Items/ Amenity Items/ Footpath Items
a) Environmental maintenance grant (EMG) funded projects in 2024-25: It was agreed to commission work as set out in the EMG application, apply for a grant of £1,500.00 from Shropshire Council, and contribute £1,500.00 of match funding from parish council funds to achieve the £3,000.00 budget.
b) Highway / Amenity and Footpath items: Resurfacing is recommended for Park Lane. Sections of Wheatcommon Lane are very poor also. Dropped gullys and pothole by Policeman’s Corner have been raised with the highway authority.
24/13 Consultation on proposed charges for collection of garden waste
The consultation was noted.
24/14 Consultation on proposed closure of Shropshire Council’s empty homes function
The consultation was noted.
24/15 Consultation on Shropshire Council’s community governance reviews
The consultation was noted.
24/16 Shropshire Local Plan Examination: Further Consultation on Additional Material
The consultation was noted.
24/17 Clerk’s Report
The 2024-25 precept (£6,000.00) has been received from Shropshire Council. The new parish council laptop with Office 365 has been ordered with a 512GB hard drive as agreed previously. The larger drive means the cost has increased by £50.00 to £1,138.32. A request has been made for the Herefordshire PC to contribute to the cost of the Queen’s Green Canopy (£573.41). A submission was completed for the dog control order consultation. Community Policing priorities have been confirmed with West Mercia Police. A request will be made to publicise the beacon event to commemorate D Day at the May pub night.
24/18 Matters raised for next meeting (no discussion)
There were no matters raised.
24/19 Next Meeting – The next scheduled meeting of the parish council is at 7.30pm on Tuesday 11 June 2024.
The meeting closed at 8.25 pm.