The Annual Parish Meeting
THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING IS A PUBLIC EVENT
WHERE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE INVITED TO ASK
QUESTIONS OF THEIR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ON
THE PARISH COUNCIL, THE BOROUGH COUNCIL AND
SHROPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL. ALSO, THE MEETING
IS NORMALLY ATTENDED BY THE LOCAL POLICE AND
REPRESENTATIVES OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
EG. PITCHFORD VILLAGE HALL AND THE GODOLPHIN
EDWARDS RELIEF IN NEED CHARITY.
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The Parish Council of the Acton Burnell, Pitchford, Frodesley, Ruckley & Langley Group of Parishes
Chairman: Eric J Plant, Stoneleigh, Acton Burnell, SY5 7PA,
Tel: 01694 731294
Clerk: Eric T Jones, 7 Kingston Drive, SY2 6SD,
Tel: 01743 247985. Mob.07974 081530 e-mail: et_jones@btinternet.com www.shrop.net/actonburnellgroupparishcouncil
THE PARISH COUNCIL OF THEACTON BURNELL,PITCHFORD, FRODESLEY,RUCKLEY & LANGLEY GROUP OF PARISHES
www.shrop.net/actonburnellgroupparishcouncil
THE NEXT ANNUAL PARISH MEETING WILL BE IN MAY 2009.
THESE ARE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD IN MAY 2007
The Parish Council of the Acton Burnell, Pitchford, Frodesley, Ruckley & Langley Group of Parishes
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETINGFOR THE ABOVE PARISHES HELD IN PITCHFORD VILLAGE HALL ON TUESDAY MAY8th 2007 .AT 7PM. APM-07-1THOSE PRESENTMr E Plant (Chairman of The Group Parish Council) ChairmanS A B Councillor Mr T Barker S C C Councillor Mr P NuttingMr M Price Chairman Pitchford Village HallMr R Preston Godolphin relief in need charityPC Larry SmithC S O Dave BaronMr E Jones Clerk to The parish CouncilMrs W Smith, Mrs C Culliss, Mrs J Lewis Mr J White, Mr R Morgan, Mr K Faulkner, Mr A Argyropulo. Mr John Davies. APM_07-2THE MINUTES of the previous Annual parish meeting (May 2006) were read by The Clerk. Approved by those present and signed by The Chairman APM-07-3MATTERS ARISING There were none raised after The Chairman said that most would be covered during various reports that were to be made. APM-07-4 PARISH CHARITIES . The clerk reported that a copy of The Charity’s accounts to December 31st.2006 was in the hands of The parish Council.Mr Roy Preston gave a report on the activities of the charity over the past year and again asked that he be approached about needy persons in The Parishes.Mr Preston referred to the ill health of Mr Huxley who had been a trustee of the charity for 30 years or more . Mr Huxley has retired and The parish Council has appointed Mrs Jeanette Plant of Acton Burnell to fill the vacancy. APM-07-5PARISH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS . Distributed and presented by The Clerk were adopted without comment APM-07-6POLICE REPORT. The Chairman first referred to the impending retirement of PC Larry Smith .He thanked and congratulated Mr Smith on his Policing of the area over the past years.Mr Smith suitably replied.The area remains low in crime . The most serious over the past year was serious vandalism in Acton Burnell Church yard. Introducing C S O Baron PC Smith said that his replacement would probably not be appointed for a little while. In the meantime C S O Baron would have all the backing he needs in policing the area..C S O Baron hoped to make his presence known in The parishes two or three times a week. APM-07-7PARISH COUNCIL REPORT Mr Plant referred to the sad death of Councillor Mrs Chaplin during the year and congratulated Mr T Barker who had been elected to fill the vacancy Out of about twenty planning applications made in The parishes during the year two had been refused. One at The Swan Public House and one at Cottage Farm House, Frodesley the latter now subject to a revision and likely to be approved.There have been complaints about the house being built adjacent to N0 4 Acton Burnell and it is understood to be the subject of Negotiations between SABC and the applicantThe issue of light pollution from Concord College has improved over the year and it is envisaged further improvement will follow. The early part of the year also saw the end of an appraisal of Acton Burnell Conservation area. The main changes were added protection to some buildings in The Village.The legal opportunity to impose on the spot fines for certain offences in The Parishes was not taken up by The PC.A proposal at the 2006 APM that the Parish Council should take over the running of Pitchford Village Hall was debated at length. There was a decision NOT to take this action.A recent plea by The Village Hall committee for financial assistance to upgrade the kitchen is subject to a request for more information.The Council reported complaints that a highway through Oaklands Farm, Pitchford was obstructed and that Notices on the gates of North Lodge were in breach of planning permission.Neither of these matters has been resolved to date. Negotiations with The Post Office regarding closures have not been totally satisfactory. The bottom line at this time is that “no final decisions have yet been made”The Local MP Mr Kawczynski is supportive of efforts to keep Acton Burnell Post open and for the retention of card accounts at Post Offices. The PC was represented at the AGM of Shropshire. Assoc. of Local Councils by two delegates, who reported a successful meeting with considerable time being spent on the unitary council issue.The PC did itself debate “Unitary Council for Shropshire and was advised by our Local County Councillor Mr P Nutting.NO representations, as a Council were made, it being thought preferable to allow members to do so individually. The road improvements completed during the year have proved satisfactory and it was generally thought that The County Council and its contractors did an excellent job. These sentiments were related to The County Council Having persisted with this issue for many years The Parish Council has finally been rewarded. Unfortunately Mr Huxley has resigned as The Parish Council appointee on the Godolphin Edwards Relief in need Charity, due to ill health. Mr Plant paid tribute to Mr Huxleys work.. The vacancy has been filled by the appointment ofMrs J Plant. Mr Plant thanked all the members of the parish Council along with the clerk for their service to the community APM-07-8SHREWSBURY & ATCHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL REPORTMr T Barker gave his first report to The Annual parish meeting in his capacity as Borough Councillor for the Lawley wardMr Barker said contact with him was easy and he invited the electorate to discuss its concerns with him.Mr Barker spoke of the problems concerned with waste management . Recycling has become a part of our life and would continue to grow.The introduction of fortnightly bin collections was inevitable and it was anticipated the recycling rate would grow as a result of the move.New waste bins supplied to The Council will have a Chip fitted but there were no plans to activate them . Bins without this facility were not readily available.Mr Barker answered questions about road signs for horses and speed limits The issue of disabled parking spaces at Shrewsbury station although unfortunate it was the result of European legislation over which The Borough Council had no control Mr Barker also spoke of his interest in The Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Such areas border on to The lawley ward. APM-07-9SHROPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL REPORT County Councillor Mr Peter Nutting said the unitary issue would be sorted within three months. Although The County has voted in favour of a unitary council for Shropshire ,it was well known that he personally was against and he was working with SABC to prevent itThe driving force for a unitary council was largely finance and whereas SABC have £50m in the bank. S C C Has a debt of £200m . Although The County Council was recognised as an efficient council it did fall down on two issues.One was waste management and the other highway maintenance.The lack of highway maintenance was the result of insufficient funding. Monies so allocated were being diverted to other areas, particularly social services. Society has come to expect a high level of social service. Requirements are growing and it is becoming more difficult to provideMr Nutting answered a number of questions from the floor. APM-07-10PITCHFORD VILLAGE HALLA report was given by Mr M Price Chairman of The Village Hall Committee Vacancy’s exist on the committee and Mr Price asked for more enthusiasm from committee members and members of the public.Over relatively recent past years the hall has slowly declined because of the closure of Acton Burnell School. Children are being schooled at Church Preen, Longnor and Church Stretton . Parents consequently have a natural affinity with the places where their children attend School.There is also a difficulty in competing with Concord College. On a more positive side Mr Price said the financial situation of the hall was good. Its main source of income , the tote, was fully sold.The window replacement has been completed. Work is required in the kitchen area and that is being processed. APM07-11TREE WARDEN.Mr Argyropulo spoke about the roll of tree wardens in The parishes And cited the recently published draft “Tree and Landscape Strategy” as an indicator of the importance of looking after trees and the landscape. APM-07-12PARISH PLAN. There was no one available to give a report , but it was agreed that The Village Views newsletter had been published regularly over the year and seemed likely to continue. APM-07-13CONCLUSION The Chairman then concluded the meeting with a thank you to those attending, particularly those who had given a report. Chairman Clerk.
