Annual Parish Meetings for the parishes of Longdon, Queenhill and Holdfast held at 7:30PM on Monday 8th April 2024 at Longdon Village Hall, GL20 6AZ
Longdon Minutes
Present: Trish Mullins (Parish Council Chair), six parishioners
In attendance: David Hunter-Miller (Clerk), Jennie Watkins (District Councillor), Tom Wells (County Councillor), two other members of the public
1. Chairman’s welcome
Trish Mullins opened the meeting and welcomed attendees.
2. Apologies for absence
Apologies were noted from Parish Councillors Jim Unwin and Phil Jones.
3. To approve the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on the 22nd May 2023
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.
4. Matters arising from those minutes (if any)
There were no matters arising.
5. To receive the annual report of the Parish Council by the Chairman
All Councillors are volunteers, only the Clerk is paid, and he does not work full time. Parishioners are encouraged to be understanding and patient.
We have a maximum of 9 Councillors; 7 in Longdon, 1 in Queenhill and 1 in Holdfast. Currently have 8 Councillors so 1 vacancy (officially for Longdon). Please let us know if you would like to join us. We would very much welcome that. We had elections in May 2023 where 7 members were elected and we have since co-opted Carl Taylor-Hall.
All meetings of the Parish Council are open to the public -there is a specific section on the agenda where any member of the public can ask questions or comment on matters to be considered by the Parish Council. Meeting dates are published on the website.
What have we been doing in the last year? It has been a very busy year – and the first for a while with a wonderful Clerk.
‘Highways’ is a standing item on our agendas. There are TWO issues that dominate our discussions – traffic on the B4211 through Longdon, Yard Bridge and Buckbury AND flooding, particularly on the Queenhill loop road. We have been working with our County Councillor, Cllr Wells, and our District Cllr, Cllr Watkins, and with Worcestershire Highways, on this.
B4211 – I must reiterate that the surveys from the Vehicle Activated Signs confirm that MOST vehicles are under the speed limit. The VAS have been instrumental in reducing speed. We are trying other ways to mitigate the effects of traffic.
White gates – with financial support from Cllr Wells and the Police and Crime Commissioner, we have purchased “white gates”. Will be located at the northern and southern 30 mph signs in Longdon. Anecdotal evidence is that these help to reduce speed by making it clear to drivers that they are coming into a built up area.
Speedwatch – we had agreement some time ago that we could have a Speedwatch Area. We have a number of volunteers (and thank you very much to them). The process has been slow, but we are hopeful that – soon – we will have own volunteers monitoring the traffic.
Flooding – in Queenhill and Holdfast, a major issue is flooding, and Cllr Radford has been liaising with MHDC Highways and WCC. This includes looking at the balance of responsibilities between the authorities and local landowners for keeping drainage gullies etc clear. We have managed to get some blocked gullies cleared but have some frustration with the lack of cooperation between the various authorities.
A438 – more recently, the speed of traffic on the A438 (the southern boundary of our parishes) has been brought to our attention and we are working with our neighbouring parish (Eldersfield) on this.
Streetlighting – a major costs over the last few years has been the electricity for the sole Longdon streetlight in the Badhams. Really not sustainable. Before we took ANY decisions, a Councillor visited every house in the Badhams – so that we didn’t inadvertently miss anything that might affect our decision.
We also took the opportunity to remove the redundant streetlight in Orchard Ridge that hadn’t worked for many years.
Village Green – we have regular inspections of the Play Area and act on any findings of these reports to keep all users safe. This year we have taken down the hedging and put in new fencing at the “western end” of the Village Green to allow views of the Malvern Hills – and I hope people are taking advantage of this. We have also removed trees from the “eastern boundary” and have replaced the fencing that was fighting gravity. I hope everyone agrees these are great improvements. We have new signage as well. We took the opportunity to replace the fencing at the Village Hall at the same time. We are in the process of refurbishing the goalposts – but that’s next year’s news.
Parish Leaflet – we’ve produced a parish leaflet, principally aimed at new residents, but good for everyone and we will keep this updated.
Planning – we comment on all planning applications in the three parishes (and some just outside e.g. for gravel extraction). There are very strict rules about the issues that can be the basis of an objection, but we do make comments where we feel the development or changes are inappropriate.
Boundary Commission review of MHDC wards and the South Worcestershire Development Plan – we have already provided full responses and will continue to monitor these. The SWDP is going through consultation (years!).
Noticeboards – trying to improve communication. Have installed new noticeboard in Queenhill and a smaller version in Holdfast to help communication.
Precept – we held our precept between 2021/22 and 2022/23 with no increase. However, faced with so many increases in our costs (maintenance, public liability insurance, salary costs), we had to increase our precept for this coming year. We will always ensure our council taxpayers get good value for money. [£13,056 to £13,970 rise of 7%].
Lengthsman Scheme – we have a new Lengthsman, Jeremy, who works for us to keep verges and road signs clear. Any issues, please let David know and we will see if we can address them.
Sole Trustee – the PC acts as Sole Trustee of the Village Hall Charity. We are still working through how this works, and I would like to thank Councillors, David, and the Village Hall Committee for their patience as we all learn together. The PC was able to mend the fence (!) and to help with the cost of the boiler refurbishment by giving a £1k grant from our reserves.
Longdon United Charities – Rev Chris Moss wrote to the PC asking to dissolve the Charity, but the PC has agreed to take this on. We have appointed 3 new Trustees (and would like another volunteer). Currently awaiting transfer of funds.
Future – Purchase of play equipment particularly for younger children. If you are interested in developing this idea, Cllr Cook would love to hear from you (don’t need to be part of Council).
Speed Limits – Recently received an email that started with the sentence “I understand it is the Councils responsibility to keep our roads safe”. We cannot amend speed limits or move the boundaries. We do, however, work with the authorities on these. We would love to install more VAS but they cost £2k each plus they need to be looked after.
Pavements along the B4211 (officially called footways) – meetings with WCC showed that some of the verge was highway. However:
• There is a minimum width requirement for footways. The adoptive verge gets quite narrow in places and does not meet the minimum width. Some additional land would need to be purchased;
• 2 BT posts would need to be relocated – not insurmountable, but a cost;
• Substantial work to construct a new footway including new carriageway kerbing – well beyond our PC budget.
• WCC do not want us to provide any sort of temporary surface as we – and they – would be liable for any claims made.
It costs £350 per square metre for the footway, on top of that is the cost of purchasing land (width) and the cost of traffic management for the work to be completed. David did a “quick extrapolation on WCC’s estimated costs” – cost of footway construction is around £35-40k. WCC will keep us informed if this funding becomes available. This is as far as the PC can take things currently.
Thanks to all Councillors who work so hard and those who are not councillors but who contribute so much to the work of the Council (in particular, Judith and Mark Hopkins-Brown, Andy Young, Deb Gray (Pathway Warden). Important to note that parishioners do not have to sit in meetings or be a Councillor to make a huge difference to the work of the Council.
Trish Mullins
Chair of Longdon, Queenhill & Holdfast Parish Council
6. To receive a report from the District Councillor
Jennie Watkins provided a report as follows:
• Jennie had enjoyed her first year as a District Councillor and working with Longdon, Queenhill and Holdfast Parish Council.
• Currently priorities in the parish include; working to resolve issues with empty homes, land/highway drainage matters and collaboration with the organisers of AppFest.
• The Neighbourhood Development Plan briefing session for local parishes had been a great success and similar events would be planned in the future on a variety of topics.
• A new District Councillor allowance may be available to support future projects in the parish.
Jennie Watkins
Malvern Hills District Councillor
7. To receive a report from the County Councillor
Tom Wells provided a report as follows:
• Tom has enjoyed working to support Parish, District and County Councils in Worcestershire for over 27 years.
• Tom was pleased to have been able to offer financial support to various parish council projects including the village gateways at Longdon (to be installed shortly).
• The new demand response bus service covering Longdon was now in operation and covers travel to Worcester, Upton, Malvern and Tewkesbury. Residents can book their journey by phone or by using the App. Very positive feedback had been received from those already using the service.
• Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) had been identified at County Hall and investigations were ongoing. County Council meetings were now held on rotation through each district in Worcestershire.
Tom Wells
Worcestershire County Councillor
8. To invite the public to raise any matters of interest
No additional questions were received.
Queenhill Minutes
Present: Trish Mullins (Parish Council Chair), one parishioner
In attendance: David Hunter-Miller (Clerk), Jennie Watkins (District Councillor), Tom Wells (County Councillor), seven other members of the public
1. Chairman’s welcome
Trish Mullins opened the meeting and welcomed attendees.
2. Apologies for absence
Apologies were noted from Parish Councillors Jim Unwin and Phil Jones.
3. To approve the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on the 22nd May 2023
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.
4. Matters arising from those minutes (if any)
There were no matters arising.
5. To receive the annual report of the Parish Council by the Chairman
All Councillors are volunteers, only the Clerk is paid, and he does not work full time. Parishioners are encouraged to be understanding and patient.
We have a maximum of 9 Councillors; 7 in Longdon, 1 in Queenhill and 1 in Holdfast. Currently have 8 Councillors so 1 vacancy (officially for Longdon). Please let us know if you would like to join us. We would very much welcome that. We had elections in May 2023 where 7 members were elected and we have since co-opted Carl Taylor-Hall.
All meetings of the Parish Council are open to the public -there is a specific section on the agenda where any member of the public can ask questions or comment on matters to be considered by the Parish Council. Meeting dates are published on the website.
What have we been doing in the last year? It has been a very busy year – and the first for a while with a wonderful Clerk.
‘Highways’ is a standing item on our agendas. There are TWO issues that dominate our discussions – traffic on the B4211 through Longdon, Yard Bridge and Buckbury AND flooding, particularly on the Queenhill loop road. We have been working with our County Councillor, Cllr Wells, and our District Cllr, Cllr Watkins, and with Worcestershire Highways, on this.
B4211 – I must reiterate that the surveys from the Vehicle Activated Signs confirm that MOST vehicles are under the speed limit. The VAS have been instrumental in reducing speed. We are trying other ways to mitigate the effects of traffic.
White gates – with financial support from Cllr Wells and the Police and Crime Commissioner, we have purchased “white gates”. Will be located at the northern and southern 30 mph signs in Longdon. Anecdotal evidence is that these help to reduce speed by making it clear to drivers that they are coming into a built up area.
Speedwatch – we had agreement some time ago that we could have a Speedwatch Area. We have a number of volunteers (and thank you very much to them). The process has been slow, but we are hopeful that – soon – we will have own volunteers monitoring the traffic.
Flooding – in Queenhill and Holdfast, a major issue is flooding, and Cllr Radford has been liaising with MHDC Highways and WCC. This includes looking at the balance of responsibilities between the authorities and local landowners for keeping drainage gullies etc clear. We have managed to get some blocked gullies cleared but have some frustration with the lack of cooperation between the various authorities.
A438 – more recently, the speed of traffic on the A438 (the southern boundary of our parishes) has been brought to our attention and we are working with our neighbouring parish (Eldersfield) on this.
Streetlighting – a major costs over the last few years has been the electricity for the sole Longdon streetlight in the Badhams. Really not sustainable. Before we took ANY decisions, a Councillor visited every house in the Badhams – so that we didn’t inadvertently miss anything that might affect our decision.
We also took the opportunity to remove the redundant streetlight in Orchard Ridge that hadn’t worked for many years.
Village Green – we have regular inspections of the Play Area and act on any findings of these reports to keep all users safe. This year we have taken down the hedging and put in new fencing at the “western end” of the Village Green to allow views of the Malvern Hills – and I hope people are taking advantage of this. We have also removed trees from the “eastern boundary” and have replaced the fencing that was fighting gravity. I hope everyone agrees these are great improvements. We have new signage as well. We took the opportunity to replace the fencing at the Village Hall at the same time. We are in the process of refurbishing the goalposts – but that’s next year’s news.
Parish Leaflet – we’ve produced a parish leaflet, principally aimed at new residents, but good for everyone and we will keep this updated.
Planning – we comment on all planning applications in the three parishes (and some just outside e.g. for gravel extraction). There are very strict rules about the issues that can be the basis of an objection, but we do make comments where we feel the development or changes are inappropriate.
Boundary Commission review of MHDC wards and the South Worcestershire Development Plan – we have already provided full responses and will continue to monitor these. The SWDP is going through consultation (years!).
Noticeboards – trying to improve communication. Have installed new noticeboard in Queenhill and a smaller version in Holdfast to help communication.
Precept – we held our precept between 2021/22 and 2022/23 with no increase. However, faced with so many increases in our costs (maintenance, public liability insurance, salary costs), we had to increase our precept for this coming year. We will always ensure our council taxpayers get good value for money. [£13,056 to £13,970 rise of 7%].
Lengthsman Scheme – we have a new Lengthsman, Jeremy, who works for us to keep verges and road signs clear. Any issues, please let David know and we will see if we can address them.
Sole Trustee – the PC acts as Sole Trustee of the Village Hall Charity. We are still working through how this works, and I would like to thank Councillors, David, and the Village Hall Committee for their patience as we all learn together. The PC was able to mend the fence (!) and to help with the cost of the boiler refurbishment by giving a £1k grant from our reserves.
Longdon United Charities – Rev Chris Moss wrote to the PC asking to dissolve the Charity, but the PC has agreed to take this on. We have appointed 3 new Trustees (and would like another volunteer). Currently awaiting transfer of funds.
Future – Purchase of play equipment particularly for younger children. If you are interested in developing this idea, Cllr Cook would love to hear from you (don’t need to be part of Council).
Speed Limits – Recently received an email that started with the sentence “I understand it is the Councils responsibility to keep our roads safe”. We cannot amend speed limits or move the boundaries. We do, however, work with the authorities on these. We would love to install more VAS but they cost £2k each plus they need to be looked after.
Pavements along the B4211 (officially called footways) – meetings with WCC showed that some of the verge was highway. However:
• There is a minimum width requirement for footways. The adoptive verge gets quite narrow in places and does not meet the minimum width. Some additional land would need to be purchased;
• 2 BT posts would need to be relocated – not insurmountable, but a cost;
• Substantial work to construct a new footway including new carriageway kerbing – well beyond our PC budget.
• WCC do not want us to provide any sort of temporary surface as we – and they – would be liable for any claims made.
It costs £350 per square metre for the footway, on top of that is the cost of purchasing land (width) and the cost of traffic management for the work to be completed. David did a “quick extrapolation on WCC’s estimated costs” – cost of footway construction is around £35-40k. WCC will keep us informed if this funding becomes available. This is as far as the PC can take things currently.
Thanks to all Councillors who work so hard and those who are not councillors but who contribute so much to the work of the Council (in particular, Judith and Mark Hopkins-Brown, Andy Young, Deb Gray (Pathway Warden). Important to note that parishioners do not have to sit in meetings or be a Councillor to make a huge difference to the work of the Council.
Trish Mullins
Chair of Longdon, Queenhill & Holdfast Parish Council
6. To receive a report from the District Councillor
Jennie Watkins provided a report as follows:
• Jennie had enjoyed her first year as a District Councillor and working with Longdon, Queenhill and Holdfast Parish Council.
• Currently priorities in the parish include; working to resolve issues with empty homes, land/highway drainage matters and collaboration with the organisers of AppFest.
• The Neighbourhood Development Plan briefing session for local parishes had been a great success and similar events would be planned in the future on a variety of topics.
• A new District Councillor allowance may be available to support future projects in the parish.
Jennie Watkins
Malvern Hills District Councillor
7. To receive a report from the County Councillor
Tom Wells provided a report as follows:
• Tom has enjoyed working to support Parish, District and County Councils in Worcestershire for over 27 years.
• Tom was pleased to have been able to offer financial support to various parish council projects including the village gateways at Longdon (to be installed shortly).
• The new demand response bus service covering Longdon was now in operation and covers travel to Worcester, Upton, Malvern and Tewkesbury. Residents can book their journey by phone or by using the App. Very positive feedback had been received from those already using the service.
• Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) had been identified at County Hall and investigations were ongoing. County Council meetings were now held on rotation through each district in Worcestershire.
Tom Wells
Worcestershire County Councillor
8. To invite the public to raise any matters of interest
No additional questions were received.
Holdfast Minutes
Present: Trish Mullins (Parish Council Chair), one parishioner
In attendance: David Hunter-Miller (Clerk), Jennie Watkins (District Councillor), Tom Wells (County Councillor), seven other members of the public
1. Chairman’s welcome
Trish Mullins opened the meeting and welcomed attendees.
2. Apologies for absence
Apologies were noted from Parish Councillors Jim Unwin and Phil Jones.
3. To approve the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on the 22nd May 2023
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.
4. Matters arising from those minutes (if any)
There were no matters arising.
5. To receive the annual report of the Parish Council by the Chairman
All Councillors are volunteers, only the Clerk is paid, and he does not work full time. Parishioners are encouraged to be understanding and patient.
We have a maximum of 9 Councillors; 7 in Longdon, 1 in Queenhill and 1 in Holdfast. Currently have 8 Councillors so 1 vacancy (officially for Longdon). Please let us know if you would like to join us. We would very much welcome that. We had elections in May 2023 where 7 members were elected and we have since co-opted Carl Taylor-Hall.
All meetings of the Parish Council are open to the public -there is a specific section on the agenda where any member of the public can ask questions or comment on matters to be considered by the Parish Council. Meeting dates are published on the website.
What have we been doing in the last year? It has been a very busy year – and the first for a while with a wonderful Clerk.
‘Highways’ is a standing item on our agendas. There are TWO issues that dominate our discussions – traffic on the B4211 through Longdon, Yard Bridge and Buckbury AND flooding, particularly on the Queenhill loop road. We have been working with our County Councillor, Cllr Wells, and our District Cllr, Cllr Watkins, and with Worcestershire Highways, on this.
B4211 – I must reiterate that the surveys from the Vehicle Activated Signs confirm that MOST vehicles are under the speed limit. The VAS have been instrumental in reducing speed. We are trying other ways to mitigate the effects of traffic.
White gates – with financial support from Cllr Wells and the Police and Crime Commissioner, we have purchased “white gates”. Will be located at the northern and southern 30 mph signs in Longdon. Anecdotal evidence is that these help to reduce speed by making it clear to drivers that they are coming into a built up area.
Speedwatch – we had agreement some time ago that we could have a Speedwatch Area. We have a number of volunteers (and thank you very much to them). The process has been slow, but we are hopeful that – soon – we will have own volunteers monitoring the traffic.
Flooding – in Queenhill and Holdfast, a major issue is flooding, and Cllr Radford has been liaising with MHDC Highways and WCC. This includes looking at the balance of responsibilities between the authorities and local landowners for keeping drainage gullies etc clear. We have managed to get some blocked gullies cleared but have some frustration with the lack of cooperation between the various authorities.
A438 – more recently, the speed of traffic on the A438 (the southern boundary of our parishes) has been brought to our attention and we are working with our neighbouring parish (Eldersfield) on this.
Streetlighting – a major costs over the last few years has been the electricity for the sole Longdon streetlight in the Badhams. Really not sustainable. Before we took ANY decisions, a Councillor visited every house in the Badhams – so that we didn’t inadvertently miss anything that might affect our decision.
We also took the opportunity to remove the redundant streetlight in Orchard Ridge that hadn’t worked for many years.
Village Green – we have regular inspections of the Play Area and act on any findings of these reports to keep all users safe. This year we have taken down the hedging and put in new fencing at the “western end” of the Village Green to allow views of the Malvern Hills – and I hope people are taking advantage of this. We have also removed trees from the “eastern boundary” and have replaced the fencing that was fighting gravity. I hope everyone agrees these are great improvements. We have new signage as well. We took the opportunity to replace the fencing at the Village Hall at the same time. We are in the process of refurbishing the goalposts – but that’s next year’s news.
Parish Leaflet – we’ve produced a parish leaflet, principally aimed at new residents, but good for everyone and we will keep this updated.
Planning – we comment on all planning applications in the three parishes (and some just outside e.g. for gravel extraction). There are very strict rules about the issues that can be the basis of an objection, but we do make comments where we feel the development or changes are inappropriate.
Boundary Commission review of MHDC wards and the South Worcestershire Development Plan – we have already provided full responses and will continue to monitor these. The SWDP is going through consultation (years!).
Noticeboards – trying to improve communication. Have installed new noticeboard in Queenhill and a smaller version in Holdfast to help communication.
Precept – we held our precept between 2021/22 and 2022/23 with no increase. However, faced with so many increases in our costs (maintenance, public liability insurance, salary costs), we had to increase our precept for this coming year. We will always ensure our council taxpayers get good value for money. [£13,056 to £13,970 rise of 7%].
Lengthsman Scheme – we have a new Lengthsman, Jeremy, who works for us to keep verges and road signs clear. Any issues, please let David know and we will see if we can address them.
Sole Trustee – the PC acts as Sole Trustee of the Village Hall Charity. We are still working through how this works, and I would like to thank Councillors, David, and the Village Hall Committee for their patience as we all learn together. The PC was able to mend the fence (!) and to help with the cost of the boiler refurbishment by giving a £1k grant from our reserves.
Longdon United Charities – Rev Chris Moss wrote to the PC asking to dissolve the Charity, but the PC has agreed to take this on. We have appointed 3 new Trustees (and would like another volunteer). Currently awaiting transfer of funds.
Future – Purchase of play equipment particularly for younger children. If you are interested in developing this idea, Cllr Cook would love to hear from you (don’t need to be part of Council).
Speed Limits – Recently received an email that started with the sentence “I understand it is the Councils responsibility to keep our roads safe”. We cannot amend speed limits or move the boundaries. We do, however, work with the authorities on these. We would love to install more VAS but they cost £2k each plus they need to be looked after.
Pavements along the B4211 (officially called footways) – meetings with WCC showed that some of the verge was highway. However:
• There is a minimum width requirement for footways. The adoptive verge gets quite narrow in places and does not meet the minimum width. Some additional land would need to be purchased;
• 2 BT posts would need to be relocated – not insurmountable, but a cost;
• Substantial work to construct a new footway including new carriageway kerbing – well beyond our PC budget.
• WCC do not want us to provide any sort of temporary surface as we – and they – would be liable for any claims made.
It costs £350 per square metre for the footway, on top of that is the cost of purchasing land (width) and the cost of traffic management for the work to be completed. David did a “quick extrapolation on WCC’s estimated costs” – cost of footway construction is around £35-40k. WCC will keep us informed if this funding becomes available. This is as far as the PC can take things currently.
Thanks to all Councillors who work so hard and those who are not councillors but who contribute so much to the work of the Council (in particular, Judith and Mark Hopkins-Brown, Andy Young, Deb Gray (Pathway Warden). Important to note that parishioners do not have to sit in meetings or be a Councillor to make a huge difference to the work of the Council.
Trish Mullins
Chair of Longdon, Queenhill & Holdfast Parish Council
6. To receive a report from the District Councillor
Jennie Watkins provided a report as follows:
• Jennie had enjoyed her first year as a District Councillor and working with Longdon, Queenhill and Holdfast Parish Council.
• Currently priorities in the parish include; working to resolve issues with empty homes, land/highway drainage matters and collaboration with the organisers of AppFest.
• The Neighbourhood Development Plan briefing session for local parishes had been a great success and similar events would be planned in the future on a variety of topics.
• A new District Councillor allowance may be available to support future projects in the parish.
Jennie Watkins
Malvern Hills District Councillor
7. To receive a report from the County Councillor
Tom Wells provided a report as follows:
• Tom has enjoyed working to support Parish, District and County Councils in Worcestershire for over 27 years.
• Tom was pleased to have been able to offer financial support to various parish council projects including the village gateways at Longdon (to be installed shortly).
• The new demand response bus service covering Longdon was now in operation and covers travel to Worcester, Upton, Malvern and Tewkesbury. Residents can book their journey by phone or by using the App. Very positive feedback had been received from those already using the service.
• Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) had been identified at County Hall and investigations were ongoing. County Council meetings were now held on rotation through each district in Worcestershire.
Tom Wells
Worcestershire County Councillor
8. To invite the public to raise any matters of interest
No additional questions were received.
The meetings closed at 8:39PM.