On Tuesday evening I chaired the August meeting of West Felton parish council. Below is the summary report I have sent to the parish magazine:
With Marian Hesketh on holiday, David Walker chaired the meeting.
With a high number of people away we discussed whether meetings in August were wise. The Clerk said that she could use her time better to manage the back office workload. Most councils don’t meet in August or September. We will look at this again at a future meeting including the need for a good scheme of delegation if this happens. The police weren’t able to attend so we received a report on crimes in the area. There were no other reports from Shropshire Council or any outside bodies or meetings.
On planning matters the Threshing barn at Woolston Road was on the agenda again. In previous months the Parish Council had objected to the design and character in the context of The Mound , moat and church yard and the removal of the footpaths. Last month we received representations from the developer to ask us to consider withdrawing our objections, having altered the design and were protecting the footpaths. We also heard from a resident about the location of a manure heap. We modified our objection to support the application, but asked that Shropshire Council protected the footpaths and the setting of the Mound by condition. This month the application returned with revised drawings, a relocation of the manure heap and more comments from consultees. The resident had withdrawn their object as their concerns had been addressed. So the Parish Council deleted those references from their previous decision. The Council is in favour of the application and still wishes to see the footpaths and the setting controlled by condition.
The Parish Council received updates on the School Expansion project, the Bench at Grimpo, Bus Shelter seating and Smartwater. Notice was received of the overnight closure of two sections the A5 – at Queens Head, and between Mile End and Whittington roundabouts. The closure will be for 2 weeks from the 30th of September starting at 8pm. The diversion will be through West Felton, Whittington and rejoining the A5 north of Gobowen.
Smartwater signage is being upgraded at no cost to the parish. David Walker is meeting Tim Williams on the 21st to help upgrade the signs. Residents had also asked for Smartwater kits and David agreed to take them some kits. If you would like a free kit then please contact the Clerk.
Cllr David Walker, Vice-Chair.