A meeting of Dorstone Parish Council was held in Old School Hall Dorstone on Wednesday December 11th 2019 at 7-30pm Present; Councillor T Usher, Chairman, Councillor M Hession, Councillor T Arnott, Councillor B James Councillor A Phillips, Councillor D Phillips & Mr C Hendy Parish Council Clerk. Apologies; Councillor L Aubrey-Cosslett, Family Commitment, Ward Councillor J Hewitt, unwell No declarations received The minutes of meeting November 27th 2019 were approved and signed Reports received from; a) Ward Councillor + leaders report b) Golden Valley Police + fire station Planning a) Application Number: Planning consultation 193465 Site: The Palace Dorstone, Hereford. Hr3 6AP Proposed new garage Permission granted with conditions Neighbourhood Planning Questionnaire circulated, completion date January 22nd 2020, it was agreed councillors would complete the questionnaire and return to the clerk by January 6th 2020, information would be collated and discussed at the next meeting Finance a) Clerks salary £125 b) Lengthsmen account £460 c) Majesty’s Revenue & Customs £94.56 All payments authorised d) Resolved to request a Precept of £6500 for 2020/2021 Herefordshire Association of Local Councils information circulated. Meeting in January on Community Resilience Plans, Councillor D Phillips was co-ordinator in Dorstone and he agreed to attend Footpath D02, a report of injury to walkers by dogs ; “On the way up as they passed through the farm yard at Llan Farm, three dogs came running out and nipped at their calves. No blood was drawn. However, as they came down, although prepared, they were attacked again and this time there was blood drawn and reported quite a bit of it, the farmer was informed however the incident had not been reported to the police,” The report had been passed to the Chairman and Parish Footpath Officer. Councillors discussed the report and resolved the chairman and Parish Footpath officer visit Llan Farm and discuss the report with the land owner Speed of Traffic through Village; Councillor L Aubrey-Cosslett was not in attendance, agreed to defer to next meeting Climate Emergency: Councillor Usher reported on Herefordshire Council’s recent declaration to be carbon neutral by 2030 and referred to the Dorstone Neighbourhood Plan Policy DNP RE1, Renewable Energy, which included creating a climate change champion. Councillor Arnott reported on the recent installation of a ground source heat system, there were probably other examples of low energy systems which information on cost/benefit could be shared in the parish. The clerk had today received information about Fownhope Climate declaration which he would circulate. Councillor Usher outlined a draft declaration which could be discussed at the next meeting Dorstone Parish Council hereby commits to support Herefordshire Council’s “Climate Emergency” declaration to become carbon neutral by 2030 by supporting, coordinating and encouraging parishioners and parish organisations in their efforts to achieve this ambitious goal. Appointment of Climate Change Champion to be discussed at the next meeting Herefordshire Council a) Fraud offences targeting the elderly, this had been circulated on Dorstone Facebook and the DFR weekly newsletter. b) Phosphate levels River Lugg, advice to developers about the issue of phosphate levels in the River Lugg Special Area of Conservation (SAC) catchment which had been circulated to parish councils Marches renewable energy grant scheme. A new grant that’s available through Herefordshire Council’s Renewable Energy Grant Scheme, MarRE. Parish Councils, Voluntary/community, charities and not for profit organisations can apply for 50% towards the cost of a renewable energy installation such as solar PV, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, wind and hydropower. Funding is only available for retrofitting of renewable technologies on existing buildings so not for new builds and cannot be granted retrospectively for projects already completed or underway. Parish Councils etc. will have to fund the remaining 50% themselves. This has been circulated to relevant organisations in the parish. Future use of telephone kiosk; raised by Councillor Usher/Councillor Arnott. Whilst the previous council had accepted an offer by a parishioner to organise a working party to repair/repaint the kiosk, to date this has not happened. Parish Council had agreed to spend £100 on materials; the red paint had been supplied by BT. Councillor Arnott agreed to co-ordinate the repair/repaint following this a decision on the future use would be made. Update on provision of sandbags At a meeting attended by the chairman and clerk Balfour Beatty indicated they would not supply sandbags. The clerk reported the current Dorstone sandbag stock bags had deteriorated, no requests received for bags this year despite the bad weather. After discussion it was agreed not to replace the current stock of sandbags Western Power Be winter ready information circulated Donation Policy It was agreed to request applications under the donation policy 2019/2020 Meetings 2020, Agreed to hold meetings 2nd Wednesday of the month with possibly no meeting in August unless required. Date of next meeting January 8th 2020 No further business the chairman closed the meeting at 09.25pm