PARISH OF CHURCHILL AND BLAKEDOWN
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held
on Wednesday, 15th April 2009 in Blakedown C of E Primary School
PRESENT
8 Parish Councillors
35 parish residents
Richard Fowler, Operations Manager, Safety
Roads Partnership
David Priestnall, Chairman and Trustee, Norman
Dawson Trust
CSO Kate Easthope
R D Gurney, Clerk to Churchill and Blakedown
Parish Council
WELCOME
The Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr
Bob Whiston, chaired the meeting. He welcomed
those present and thanked the Head Teacher,
for making the school available for the meeting.
He explained that this is an opportunity
to hear the views of residents and report
of the meeting will be made to the Parish
Council for any action to be taken on matters
raised.
PRESENTATION
The Chairman announced that Arthur Trow has
decided to retire from mowing the grass around
the War Memorial at Churchill, a task he
has undertaken voluntarily since 1932. The
Parish Council has been grateful for this
and felt that such a remarkable achievement
should not pass without public acknowledgement.
Cllr Whiston presented Mr Trow with a framed
extract of the 1/2500 scale 1924 Ordnance
Survey map of Churchill and a carriage clock,
suitably inscribed. Mr Trow thanked the Chairman
and recounted how, as a schoolboy, he started
working at the big houses in the village
and the importance of keeping the War Memorial
tidy and respectable.
APOLOGIES
These were received from Cllr Peter Dearden,
Martin Hobson and Mark Jones (Parish Lengthsman
and Handyman).
PRESENTATIONS
Safer Roads Partnership. Richard Fowler, the Operations Manager, explained
that the SRP is made up of 13 partners within
the West Mercia Police area; these include
the county councils, fire authorities and
health services. The aim is casualty reduction
– not raising money! Before a camera is installed
there has to be a history of collisions:
the SRP is committed to work for a fixed
percentage hours in each county. The SRP
is funded by each County via Government grants
and any fines go to the Treasury.
In Blakedown there are camera sites at either
end of the village and an intermediate site
is being set up within the village; this
should help to keep traffic speed down throughout
the village. Unlike the SRP, the police are
able to set up cameras wherever they feel
appropriate, eg Belbroughton Road. Laser
cameras do not rely on road markings to assess
speed; for the SRP it is the officer who
assesses the speed, backed up by the laser
camera.
Responding to questions Mr Fowler commented
that there is a leeway of 10% + 2 mph before
action is normally taken; he will talk to
WCC regarding traffic safety at Churchill
crossroads; and the SRP is aware that traffic
problems on the dual carriageway are being
looked at by WCC.
Norman Dawson Trust. David Priestnall gave a brief historical
background of the Trust. Mr Dawson gave very
clear instructions in bequeathed his estate
to the Parish, to be run by a Trust of 5
trustees and specifying how money should
be spent. He died in 2003; his estate was
worth £1.25 million, accumulating some £40,000
interest annually. Grants are from the interest,
but the capital can be used for appropriate
major projects, eg the sports pavilion. In
the two years since the Trust become operational,
grants have been given to the churches, Millennium
Green, school, RBL and RNLI. The current
large application is for the replacement
sports pavilion, for which it will be necessary
to use some capital.
Churchill and Blakedown Parish Plan. Cllr Vicky Swindells reported that the
Parish Plan had progressed well. During the
year a questionnaire had been circulated
to all properties and there had been a very
good response. The general response was that
residents like living in the Parish, although
there were obvious problems with speeding
cars and parking near the station. There
have been two well attended public meetings/exhibition:
the results are now being sorted. The Plan
should be finalized by next Spring. The Tidy
up for Blakedown is on 25th April.
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING HELD ON 16th
APRIL 2008
Copies of the minutes of the 2008 Annual
Parish Meeting were circulated at the start
of the meeting. That these be approved was
proposed by Mrs Hayward, seconded by Mr Long,
and agreed. The only matter arising was to
confirm that there had been a litter pick
in Churchill; 18 residents took part and
20 bin bags of rubbish were collected in
2 hours.
REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
The Chairman referred to the news sheet which
had been delivered to all residences in the
Parish via the distribution network set up
through the Parish Plan Group. This contained
a resume of the work of the Parish Council
during the previous year and is available
on the web site.
EMILY LYTTELTON AND UNITED CHARITIES
Cllr Jim Long, the Parish Council representative
on these Charities, told the meeting that
they are for helping those people who may need
medical attention and/or have some financial
difficulties. Small grants are able to be
paid. Contact details are available at the
Post Office.
OPEN FORUM
Pelican crossings. It was suggested that a second one is needed;
it is supported by the School
Post Office. Residents were pleased that the post office
had not closed and were pleased to note that
the new postmistress has given it a new lease
of life.
Trees at Hingley and Callow site. Val Fletcher commented that many trees,
planted to screen the site/railway from the
residents have been felled without any consultation.
WFDC Tree Officer claimed to have no power,
although they were planted to comply with
a planning permission. Car transporter deliveries
are now taking place. Can the ownership of
the verge in Lynwood Drive be found, so that
more planting can be done? Does the white
building on the site have permission?
Mill Lane. There was a suggestion for a weight restriction
and speed limit along Mill Lane and the need
for a grit box near the Churchill Lane junction.
Pavements. There was concern at the lack of a pavement
in Churchill Lane and the footway along A.456
at The Dingle is subsiding and dangerous.
(The PC has reported this and work has started).
Notification of road works. The Clerk informed the meeting that WCC now
produce a monthly list on their web site.
Cutthroat Lane. WCC had worked on the footpath, but had not
consulted the PC. The end result is not considered
to be satisfactory and should be reported
back to the County Council.
Blakedown Village Shop. It was reported that, from next week, the
shop will be open from 7.30am until 8.00pm
during the week.
The Chairman thanked those who attended and
closed the Meeting closed at 8.55 pm.
Dated this day of 2010 ……………………….Chairman