Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on Tuesday 17^th February 2004 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall, Alfrick.    UNCONFIRMED

Chairman, Mr C Tolley

Mesdames, S Clarke, C Williams, B Hickling, (County Councillor),

Messrs, A Biggs, P Brown, P Gilbert, G Lowe, L Higginson, J Goldsmith (Footpaths Officer), G M Brewin (Clerk).

Mrs M Scott,

Visitors: Mr A Saunders, Housing Enabling Officer, PC. A Naulls, and fifteen parishioners.

The chairman opened the meeting by reviewing the status of the affordable housing project and acknowledging the large number of letters that the council had received on this matter.

Mr Gilbert Brooke of Alfrick spoke and made an offer of land for a housing scheme and also offered, subject to all the necessary approvals, an additional area free to the parish for the location of a new Village Hall. His proposal was greeted with applause and the chairman Mr Chris Tolley thanked him for his generous offer.

The chairman said that before the council could give its approval to any site it was necessary for all other proposed sites to be reviewed by the planning authorities and he hoped that this could be done within the next month. Council members had visited two housing schemes built by Elgar Housing at Clifton and Abberley and these were considered of a very good standard and appropriate to their environments.

Mr Saunders reported that the list of those interested in houses in Alfrick and resident in the parish had risen to 24.

PC Naulls reported on recent police activity in the area which included two traffic offences and 1 act of theft.

The chairman closed this informal session at 8pm.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 20^th January 2004 and circulated in advance to members were approved as a correct record and signed by the chairman.

The clerk reported that the had written to the WCC Countryside Officer regarding the excessive use of un-maintained roads by road vehicles, and to the Head of the Worcester Division of the West Mercia Constabulary and to Elgar Housing regarding vandalism at Lulsley. Acknowledgements have been received from the first two recipients.

Parish Lengthsman Scheme

23 Parishes in the Malvern Hills area have applied to join the scheme. Insurance is the major worry. A revised agreement will be produced. There will be a meeting for Parish Clerks at County Hall on 2nd March to discuss this.

Ragwort is poisonous to animals. It will be regulated by Conservators on Malvern hills and commons in accordance with a new Act of Parliament which will be enforced from 20th February 2004. The sooner it is pulled the better. It is recommended when hand pulling to wear protective gloves & trousers.

Are to work with Education Services in future to ensure good delivery of Special Needs.

County Council Cabinet have approved a Council Tax levy of 5.1%

Workwise;

Is a scheme designed for people living or working in rural areas. Where transport does not meet need, users may loan a 50cc moped for up to 6 months with insurance cover. A small contribution will be requested for wear & tear.

Skills On Show,

The County Arts Event, will take place at County Hall 10-11 July 2004.

There were no reports from the District Councillors

Review of the current situation;

Subsequent to the discussion prior to the meeting the council reviewed the situation with Mr Saunders. It was agreed that the priority was to review two other sites with a Planning Officer as soon as possible. No decision could be made until this had been done. The chairman would work with Mr Saunders on this.

It was agreed that the clerk should acknowledge the letters of all who had written to the council on this matter and inform them of the current situation.

The clerk was asked to write to Mr Brooke and thank him for his generous offer of land for affordable houses.

The clerk had circulated details to members of a letter from Mr and Mrs Hill to the chairman indicating that they were unhappy with the fact that their previous letter on this matter had not been read to the meeting by the clerk as they had requested. The chairman said that with the large number of letters received on this matter it was not appropriate to read them individually as the objections they raised were substantially the same in each case. The clerk advised members that he had made a mistake in his note to members in that he had ascribed the contents of a telephone conversation with him to Mrs Hill when in fact this conversation was with another parishioner. He apologised for causing a misunderstanding by this.

'106 Agreements' ;

Reference was made to '106 Agreements' in connection with this type of housing. The clerk was asked to obtain details of these.

Donation to the Village Hall - Mr L Higginson as chairman of the Village Hall Committee thanked the council for their offer of meeting the cost of the Affordable Housing presentation but said that they were happy to waive the fee on this occasion.

Renew subscription to Local Government Review - £12.50

W-CALC - Clerk's attendance at Clerks' Gathering 12/02/04 - £10

A R Thomas - clearance of Lulsley Footpath 14 - £211.50

P Gilbert - Parish Plan expenses - £7.86

All approved.

Confirmation- Parish Lengthsman Scheme; the clerk would be attending a meeting at County Hall on 2^nd March and would report to the next meeting.

There were no items for planning approval.

The clerk would attend the meeting at Suckley on 23^rd March to express the council's positive views on this project. It was noted that an initial sum of £100 would be reasonable.

Mr P Gilbert reported on the fifth meeting of the Steering Committee on 9/1/04. Copies of the minutes of these meeting is attached to these minutes as appendix- a

The first public presentation and consultation will take place in the Village Hall, Alfrick on 27^th, 28^th & 29^th February. Friday evening 5-9pm, Saturday 9am-6pm & Sunday 9am-12am A further invitation to attend will be printed and delivered to every house in the parish in the week beforehand. All were invited to attend.

From junction with Folly Rd fit additional steps to improve access to Footpath 12. Turn left at top of steps and strim this footpath as reqd through to junction with Lulsley Rd. C 2085 alongside Alfrick Court. Just past Green Street Barn move signpost for Path 8 to within 1 metre of road and strim as reqd to stile. Clear away any growth obstructing stile on opposite side of road Path 17

Alfrick to Knightwick Rd.

At commencement of nature reserve Path 4 is on right with Bridleway 4 other side of hedge. Fit step where 4 joins 3 coming downhill from left. Install plank over stream crossed immediately after turning right. Continue to Path 9 which has been cleared on approach to Broad Dingle. Move old stile to edge of wood where it can be seen and re-site adjoining way leave post. Going east from road where Path 4 turns left there at copse on right about 100 metres slightly uphill, this is Path 9 extended and leads into Path 11 other side of copse. On right hand side of copse at broken stile and signpost, strim a path straight through this copse and renew stile and fix wayleave post at exit when these are delivered.

Go through Brookbatch Farm via Path 40. At path's junction no 43 comes down field on left from C2250 and crosses stream. Fix new plank across stream.

Highways; The clerk was asked to remind the Highways partnership of the problems of overhanging hedges restricting the roadway at Stichens Hill.

Details are attached to the agenda. Specific items; Representatives on the Village Hall committee (2 seats, 1 filled at present by Mrs M Scott) Mrs Scott has resigned from the Village Hall Committee. It was agreed that Mr A Biggs and Mr L Higginson would represent the parish council on this. Other major items have been covered in the agenda.

Annual Parish Meeting; For some years the length of the Annual Parish Meeting has been limited by the need to hold the parish council meeting immediately afterwards. It was decided that the Annual Parish Meeting should have the time needed to enable those attending to meet and discuss outstanding matters and will now be separate from the council meeting. It will be held in the Village Hall on Tuesday May 11^th from 7.30pm and it is hoped as many as possible will attend.

Date of the next meeting;

The next meeting of the council was confirmed as 16^th March January 2004 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

The meeting closed at 9.10pm.

Chairman ..............................................................................................................