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The annual general meeting and annual parish meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th May at 7.30 and 8.00 p.m. respectively in the Hall. If you have anything that you would like to raise as being of concern to the Village the APM is your opportunity to do so.
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The Councillors are:
| Tony Gould, | Firwood, Wyke Champflower | 01749 812287 |
| Gerald Jeanes, | Gatcombe House, Stocks Lane | 813121 |
| Peter Knowles, | 20 Park Hayes | 812149 |
| Margaret Loten, | 6 The Old Sawmills | 812922 |
| Paul Moore, | 11 Bellfield | 812392 |
| Neville Park, | The Old Village Store & P O | 812338 |
| John Wright, | The Post House, Leigh Street | 812317 |
| Parish Clerk - Jackie Longley, | Doors Hill Farm | 812050 |
| Cemetery Clerk - Mary Mears, | Brookfield, The Old Sawmills | 812415 |
Cemetery. The funding of closed churchyard maintenance, and the contribution from District Council in the form of a burial grant is currently under discussion and review. It has been agreed that a Burial Grant will be paid for the current year, and the Parish Council will place the mowing contract. It is anticipated that the high standards achieved last year will be maintained.
Planning. A number of planning applications were dealt with during the year, and reports on these were duly recorded in the published minutes. There are currently three planning matters which may be of concern to the parish.
Web Site. The council determined to continue funding the village web site, which was one of the first in the area. It should be emphasised, however, that it is only really viable as a live, as opposed to an historic, site, if it is regularly updated with events, reports, opinions, and perhaps advertisements. It is being arranged that the Parish Clerk will be responsible for updating, and items for inclusion should be forwarded there.
Footpaths and Roads. The footpaths are at present, all closed to the public whilst the danger of Foot and Mouth Disease exists. In due course, it is the intention of the council to replace existing stiles at a rate of one or two each year with more people friendly designs, subject to the agreement of the landowners. The deterioration of the roads has been noted to County and District representatives, but a bare minimum has been achieved in necessary repairs.
General. There have been some misgivings about the behaviour of groups of teenagers in the village, including damage to outside projects in the school grounds. The bus shelter is used on occasion for group assemblies, which is no harm in itself, but when damage or nuisance is caused then lines have to be drawn.
The Council are enquiring what facilities/monies are available to provide some services and have asked a Youth officer to address the Parish Meeting. All teenagers, and parents of teenagers, are particularly invited to attend. Parents, it is felt, are in the best position to know the whereabouts of their children in the evenings.
The Parish Warden scheme is to go ahead with a proposed start date in May. Two wardens (37 hr. week, hours chosen by a steering committee) will cover the five villages of Coleford, Holcombe, Stoke, Leigh, and Mells. Their duties are not to duplicate Police work, but to monitor and help as required in the villages. It is anticipated that this will become clearer as it evolves.
Fly tipping appears to be on the increase on back roads in the Parish. Any information or vehicle numbers should be reported to Mendip.
The Rural White Paper has been published and has great expectations from parish councils. The emphasis is on giving greater power to the people, with parishes being encouraged, and assisted, to produce Village Design Statements in order to influence planning decisions. Training for councillors and staff is proposed, and money will be made available. The council looks forward to further developments.