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Guidance on Clearing Snow and Ice

Worcestershire County Council is continuing to encourage householders to be ‘good neighbours’ and help keep highways safe this winter.

With the experience of recent winters very much in mind and the possible approach of severe weather once again, the Council is keen for residents to help keep highways clear for all users by clearing snow and ice from public footways or pavements fronting their properties.

The Council recognises that popular concern over a ‘compensation culture’ and possible legal liability has discouraged a lot of householders from clearing snow and ice from footways in the past.

In fact, we believe that case-law does not justify significant cause for concern and shouldn’t put people off, provided they take reasonable care.

Any householder who takes reasonable care when clearing a footway and ensures that its condition does not create a greater hazard than before is highly unlikely therefore to be faced with a successful claim from pedestrians who may suffer injury or loss as a result of that clearance.

Reasonable care would include following the government advice on how to clear footways safely shown below, although we are happy for salt in grit bins to be used to clear pavements forming part of the highway.

Government advice from https://www.gov.uk/clear-snow-road-path-cycleway supported by the County Council: Clear snow from a road, path or cycleway You can clear snow and ice from pavements yourself. It’s unlikely that you’ll be sued or held responsible if someone is injured on a path or pavement if you’ve cleared it carefully.

How to clear snow and ice

When you clear snow and ice:

 do it early in the day – it’s easier to move fresh, loose snow

 don’t use water – it might refreeze and turn to black ice

 use salt if possible – it will melt the ice or snow and stop it from refreezing overnight (but don’t use the salt from salting bins as this is used to keep roads clear)

 you can use ash and sand if you don’t have enough salt – it will provide grip underfoot

 pay extra attention when clearing steps and steep pathways – using more salt may help

How to clear the snow properly.

PC advice re Ice and Snow policy 2017

 

 

Minutes of November’s meeting 2017

Minutes

BROCKHILL RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Committee Meeting Thursday November 16th

Minutes of Meeting Thursday November 16th 2017 held at Alestones 

Those Present:

David Dallaway                                                      DD

Lynn Dallaway                                      LD

Sylvia Collinson                                                      SC

Julie Vincent                                          JV

Tish Greenway                                      TG

Gemma Monaco                                  GM1

Gemma Moore                                     GM2

 

Apologies were received from Pattie Hill (PH), Emma Fletcher (EF), James Doble, Stephen Siddle (SS) & Anita Clayton.

 

Guests in attendance: – WCC Brandon Clayton (BC) and WCC Robin Lunn (RL).

 

DD welcomed GM2 to her first meeting.

 

The Agenda:

 

  1. Actions arising from meeting on 27.7.17
  2. Pointers Way progress with Persimmon
  3. Anti -social behaviour near to derelict barns
  4. Update on new Holyoakes Field First School
  5. Carthorse Lane tightening of chicane
  6. Deep dip in pavement at top of Low Field Lane
  7. Murder Mystery Evening
  8. Quiz Night profit
  9. O.B.

 

  1. Actions from last meeting:

 

The litter bin for the pathway adjacent to Greenford Close remained an outstanding issue. PH will be asked to pursue.

The blocking in of the gap under the gate at the top of the steps leading from Brockhill Lane into the Nature Reserve has now been done. PH was thanked for expediting this. There is however another problem at the bottom of the wooden steps. After a period of rain one of our members descended the muddy and slippy steps. When she got to the bottom two steps on the flat that are not covered with anti-slip metal wiring, she slipped and fell. This resulted in her sustaining considerable bruising, a painful coccyx, sprained arm and soft tissue damage. In addition to the two steps not being non-slip, the lowest step leading into the road is also slightly angled pointing downwards so again making it easier for an accident to happen. PH has since spoken to the injured person and will investigate what can be done to improve the safety of the steps.

Adoption of the Nature Reserve continues to be held up, seemingly by Persimmon’s lawyers. It was commented that Persimmon and its staff are becoming increasingly difficult to contact and obtain feedback from. One of our members is threatening to report the procrastination to the press.

DD is now in possession of a copy of the parking covenant for Pointers Way residents.

The website hosting had been renewed with the same supplier but at a substantially discounted rate compared to the previous year.

The support grant of £250 from Worcestershire County Council had now been received. BC was thanked for this generous donation.

RL confirmed that speed measures etc. had now been carried out for the crossing near the junction of Oaktree Lane into Brockhill Park. He now awaited notification of a start date.

JV had duly booked the Batchley Community Hall for the Quiz Night.

  1. Pointers Way progress with Persimmon:

GM1 met Olly Pocock, a Persimmon Planning Officer, a few weeks ago. She led him on a tour of Pointers Way to point out, amongst other things, the appalling state of the land between Burrington Close and Mettis Aerospace. They talked about having a new spur in the path that runs alongside the wasteland, as at present the path leads nowhere. Several residents came out to speak to the officer when they realised who he was, asking him about Persimmon’s plans for the area. Not surprisingly he then endured somewhat of a hard time!

A few days later workmen cleared the wasteland and deposited topsoil to make it look better. Several more speed bumps have been installed along Burrington Close to slow down traffic since the next phase of the housing development has now started. Two new dog litter bins have been installed and the lamp posts, which had not been working, now have electricity connected to them. A new path with kerb stones has also been constructed. GM1 informed us that the Marketing Suite is now open for ‘Meadow View’ as the new development is called. Plans for the site are now on show there. RL expressed surprise that the next phase was now imminent as it was not scheduled to start until after the new school had been built. He asked to be notified the moment the first brick was laid and will contact Kevin Dicks, RBC’s Chief Executive, with regards to the section 106 money that is paid by the developer to the Council for the benefit of the area. (See also item 4. Below)

GM1 was congratulated for her ‘never say die’ attitude in the pursuit of obtaining action by Persimmon.

 

  1. Anti-social behaviour near to derelict barns:

We have received reports from residents, walking their dogs on the land near to the derelict barn on the edge of Pointers Way, of youths on scrambler and quad bikes who were causing a disturbance and setting fire to the barns. Firefighters and police have attended the scene on several occasions. The owner of the land has been contacted by Richard Waterhouse, Redditch Community Safety Projects Officer. It is hoped that the owner will repair existing or install better fencing, as at present the entrance to the barn is still easily accessible.

A scrambler bike rider has also been seen riding up to the fields surrounding the barn. He appears regularly from Wheelers Lane and roars up Cookridge Close wearing no helmet and without lights, even though it is normally dusk or night time when he ventures out on to the public highway. On occasions he has also been seen speeding down the public open space from the barns down to the Red Ditch, an area regularly used by walkers. PH has informed us that the police are aware of this and have been patrolling regularly.

The issue of the young scrambler bike riders in the Nature Reserve appears to have been resolved satisfactorily following a visit by PCSO Edward Wood to one of the residents in Plumstead Close.

  1. Update on new Holyoakes Field First School:

RL had met with the Head Teacher of Holyoakes Field First School on 27th September to discuss the building of the new school. We had been told at July’s meeting that there were problems with the land where the entrance to the School should be, as it did not belong to Persimmon. RL said that he had been told at a planning meeting that this was not a problem as Persimmon still own enough nearby land to be able to divert the entrance slightly. BC said that he thinks that the entrance will be in Dovecote Close but will inspect the plans at the Town Hall this week. RL said that now that we know that Phase 2 is due to commence and the Marketing Suite has been erected, he will be able to contest how the developer has been granted the authority to proceed, when the school hasn’t even been started and as the plans state it should be built before the next wave of houses. It may be that the Marketing Suite has been set up, but the houses will be sold from plan. RL said that a colleague of his, Nigel Wilson, has a good rapport with Persimmon and would ask him to see if he can find out when the building of the school would commence.

  1. Carthorse Lane tightening of chicane:

BC has been in touch with a new WCC Engineer, Paul Green, who has informed him that the work to tighten the chicane in Carthorse Lane has been agreed and should be completed before Christmas. There will also be some ‘Slow’ signs painted on the road on both approaches to the chicane.

  1. Deep dip in the pavement at top of Low Field Lane:

RL was reminded that the dip in the pavement near Rhymes Nursery still had not been repaired. He was under the impression that the pavement had been investigated and repaired. RL will now report back to the Highways Department and progress the matter.
Murder Mystery Evening:

SS had informed JV by email, as he was not available to attend the meeting, of details for the Murder Mystery evening. JV said that the event will be held on two consecutive evenings, Friday March 9th and Saturday March 10th 2018, at Alvechurch Village Hall. The two performances would be for the benefit of four separate organisations or charities and consequently, if we sold all our allocation, we would receive a quarter of the total proceeds. Ticket prices are expected to be £8 per person and attendees will be able to bring their own drinks, although tea and coffee will be available. The capacity of the hall with the audience seated is 80, so teams of 8 people at each of the 10 tables will be set up. The aim will be, therefore, to sell a total of 160 tickets over the two nights. BRA’s target sales would therefore be 40 tickets. Clearly the fewer the tickets that are sold overall, the less are the shared proceeds. Members are asked therefore to keep one of dates free to support what will be a most enjoyable evening and provide additional funds for the Association.. All members will be contacted about the event early in the New Year.

  1. Quiz Night Profit:

The Quiz Night held on October 16th was a success, thanks to our Quiz Master DD and his assistant LD. Six teams of six and one of four people had an enjoyable evening with a variety of topical questions put together well by our host. A bar was served by two of our members, Matt Collinson and John Dallaway, and that, together with ticket sales and raffle ticket proceeds, raised a profit of just over £200. JV had sent out letters of thanks to our raffle prize sponsors and arranged for an article to be printed in the Standard Newspaper.

DD did however express his disappointment regarding the number of members who attended this annual fundraising event. The profits go a long way towards enabling us not to have to charge a membership fee. Of the seven teams, two were organised by DD and consisted totally of non-members.  JV and BC both provided a team and the team of four people included SC, TG & RL. That meant at least five of the seven teams were organised by committee members and councillors.

  1. O.B.

JV informed Committee Members that Robin Dennis, one of our members who has a bicycle sales business, has most generously donated a brand new small girl’s bicycle for us to auction again this year. Bidding will start at £40 and will have a cut- off date of Thursday December 14th. This will make an ideal Christmas present for a lucky little girl. The contact details are on our website and on the posters displayed on our notice boards. Also JV will request EF to email all members with the details.

JV was talking recently to a disabled lady who rides a motorised wheelchair around Brockhill Park/Wetlands. She was having difficulty to get her wheels up on the tarmac surface on the bridge, as it has dropped at the one end. RL said that he will put in a request for the tarmac to be raised.

GM2 told us that the pond, at the side of the pathway leading off Carthorse Lane by the post box, is full of overgrowth and rubbish which needs clearing out. BC said that this is a job that is done over the winter.

 

 

Actions from this meeting:

  • PH to chase up the long outstanding request for a litter bin on the pathway adjacent to Greenford Close.
  • PH to pursue the possibility of making of safety improvements at the bottom steps leading from the Nature Reserve down on to Brockhill Lane.
  • RL to find out when the building of the Holyoakes Field First School will commence.
  • RL to chase the investigation and repair of the deep dip on the left hand side of the pathway leading from the top of Low Field Lane near to the last barn conversion by Rhymes Nursery.
  • BC to view the Meadow View Housing Development plans at the Town Hall, to confirm where the entrance to the School will be situated.
  • JV to run the auction of the donated bicycle.
  • RL to request the repair of the sunken tarmac on the Brockhill Park/Wetlands bridge.

Meeting ended at 9.35 pm.

 

 

 

BROCKHILL RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION BRAND NEW GIRLS BICYCLE AUCTION

Fund Raisers

Date extended – the cut off date is now Wednesday 20th please, submit all offers to Julie

mail julievincent1@sky.com or

Telephone:- 07870 880128

 

We are holding an Auction for this Bicycle which has been kindly donated by one of our Members, Robin Dennis.
The proceeds will help with our running costs.
Bidding starts at £40 and the Auction will close on Friday December 14th 2017. Offers can be made by e mail julievincent1@sky.com or Telephone:- 07870 880128

ANGEL GIRLS BIKE WITH 12in WHEELS & STABILISERS, finished in pink.
• BMX sloping top tube design frame
• side pull front and rear calliper brakes
• Adjustable brake levers
• stabilisers INCLUDED
• 8.5in frame for inside leg 13.5 to 16in

Minutes of meeting

Minutes,

Minutes of Meeting Thursday July 27th 2017

Please find minutes of our latest meeting.

BROCKHILL RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Minutes of Meeting Thursday July 27th 2017 held at Alestones

 

Those Present:

David Dallaway

Lynn Dallaway

Sylvia Collinson

Julie Vincent

Tish Greenway

James Doble

Stephen Siddle

 

Apologies were received from Pattie Hill, Emma Fletcher and Margaret Mole.

 

Guests in attendance: – RBC Anita Clayton, WCC Brandon Clayton (both in attendance from 8 pm) and WCC Robin Lunn (in attendance from 8.40 pm).

 

 

The Agenda:

 

  • Actions arising from previous meeting on 13.2.17
  • Welcome to new committee members and discussion of their roles
  • Update on new Holyoakes Field First School
  • Website hosting
  • Pointers Way and progress with Persimmon
  • Salters Lane traffic calming measures and new crossing near junction of Oaktree Lane into Brockhill Park
  • Carthorse Lane speeding issues
  • Deep dip in pavement near to Rhymes Nursery
  • Murder Mystery Evening
  • Quiz Night
  • O.B.

 

Actions from last meeting:

 

As Robin Lunn was unable to attend the last meeting, David Dallaway emailed him on 16th Feb requesting updates on outstanding matters from our 13th July 2016 meeting.

 

The litter bin for the pathway adjacent to Greenford Close has still not been installed. Pattie Hill would again be asked to pursue this.

 

Pattie Hill had arranged for RBC to carry out an excellent job in blocking in the gaps on either side of the gated entrance at the top of the steps leading from Brockhill Lane to the Nature Reserve. However, there is now an additional request for blocking in of the gap under the gate itself as it is sufficiently large to allow even large dogs to pass through it and descend on to Brockhill Lane.

 

David Dallaway is now receiving names and postal details of new recruits and leavers from Sylvia Collinson thus enabling him to keep the members list up-to-date.

 

David Dallaway had emailed Pattie Hill and Robin Lunn again recently to seek confirmation as to whether adoption of the Nature Reserve had taken place. In addition he had enquired as to whether Persimmon still owns the strip of Public Open Space land between Pink Green Lane and Cookridge Close. Pattie had responded to say the matter had been referred for clarification to Ruth Bamford, RBC’s Head of Planning and Regeneration.

 

All members had been contacted ahead of the AGM asking for volunteers to join the committee. This had resulted in the recruitment of four new committee members – Emma Fletcher, Margaret Mole, Gemma Monaco and Stephen Siddle.

 

David Dallaway had requested a copy of the parking covenant from the Pointers Way resident who had contacted us. Unfortunately there had been no response to the request. Sylvia Collinson said she would see if a copy could be obtained from her son who lives in Cookridge Close.

 

In the absence of Pattie Hill, it was not known whether she had thanked the member living in Brockhill Lane for the fence repair he had carried out himself. James Doble commented on what a good job the member had done.

Julie Vincent had duly booked the Batchley Community Hall for the A.G.M.

 

Julie Vincent arranged to borrow litter picks and bin bags from RBC for the Litter Pick on Saturday July 8th. The event had proved successful with the consensus of opinion being that there was markedly less litter this year than last. A picture and small article had been included in The Redditch Standard on 21st July. David Dallaway commented that the number attending the pick was very disappointing when considering our overall membership level of more than 350.

 

Welcome to new members and discussion of their roles:

An informal meeting to welcome the new committee members had already been held chez Dallaway on 8th May. Emma Fletcher, Gemma Monaco and Stephen Siddle had all attended and apologies were received from Margaret Mole. Of those only Stephen Siddle was present at this evening’s meeting. We explained three vacant positions existed, that of Chairperson, Membership Secretary and Events Co-ordinator. He asked what the Membership Secretary’s role involved and David Dallaway explained that he had taken on the duties of updating the spreadsheet of members’ contact details following the resignation of Doug Wilks. Stephen Siddle said that he was familiar with spreadsheets and would be happy to take on this role if required.

 

Update on new Holyoakes Field First School:

Parents were informed in April that the school would not be able to move to its new premises on Pointers Way until at least January 2019. Robin Lunn announced that since then it has been discovered that not all the land actually belongs to Persimmon Homes. Apparently some is owned by a farmer and a German company. James Doble clarified the legal position regarding Section 106 and planning applications. Brandon Clayton was attending a meeting with Persimmon the next day and would raise our concerns about the delay and let us know the outcome.

 

Website hosting:

We decided at our last meeting there was a need to find a cheaper website host as the current one had become uncompetitive. Sylvia Collinson confirmed that the required advanced termination notice had been given to the current provider. Stephen Siddle had mentioned, at our informal meeting in May, that he had a contact (David) through his drama group who would be able to accommodate our hosting needs at no cost. Emma Fletcher, our new website administrator, has already researched some other hosting sites. As we use WordPress at the moment we probably need to ensure that any new hosting site has this option included. Emma will arrange to meet with David and Sylvia Collinson’s son Jules, the previous administrator. They will compare the services kindly offered by David and those of the other companies that Emma has looked at. We need to have the new host provider set up by September when the current contract expires.

David Dallaway explained that the profits from the annual Quiz Night just about covered the current costs of maintaining the website. Brandon Clayton very generously offered a grant of £250 from his WCC fund to be used towards our running costs.

 

Pointers Way and progress with Persimmon:

Gemma Monaco had sent Persimmon Homes South Midlands a fairly extensive report containing photographs highlighting the current poor state of the Pointers Way estate, especially around Burrington Close and the public open space area and boundary facing towards Mettis Aerospace. Their response indicated that they had recently appointed additional resource in order to ensure that estate completions were completed in a more timely manner and this development would be a priority for them. Hopefully some progression/completion of the public open space area and also the footpaths should be seen fairly soon, particularly as phase 2 is scheduled to start in the autumn.

Gemma has been unable, however, to obtain clarification as to who is responsible for the barns. She hopes to elicit this from Persimmon’s MD at a forthcoming meeting. As an interim measure Gemma had yet again tried to get in touch with Kate Tait, Strategic Planning Director of Persimmon Homes, but she was proving to be a particularly hard lady to track down! Brandon Clayton said that he was likely to see Kate at a forthcoming meeting with Persimmon. Julie Vincent asked if he could find out about the land that Persimmon had agreed to sell to those residents whose houses backed on to waste land in Carthorse Lane and Longmoor Close, as several of our members are concerned.

 

Salters Lane traffic calming measures and new crossing near junction of Oaktree Lane into Brockhill Park:

Robin Lunn told us that he has discussed a new crossing with the Highways Department at WCC for which approval has been granted. Hopefully more details of the design of the crossing will be available at our next meeting.

 

Carthorse Lane speeding issues:

 

Gemma and Phil Moore had contacted us regarding speeding vehicles in Carthorse Lane. Whilst it was appreciated that traffic calming measures were in place, they were deemed inadequate. Of particular concern was the pedestrian crossing point by the postbox and community notice board. A meeting at this location was held on 18th July attended by around 40 people consisting of residents, David and Lynn Dallaway, Robin Lunn, Brandon Clayton, Richard Clewer of the Highways Agency and Police Community Support Officer Edward Wood. The following week a door knocking exercise was carried out in Carthorse Lane, and roads there off, by Robin, Brandon, Gemma Moore and a couple of other residents plus David and Lynn Dallaway and Tisha Greenway. Residents were asked for their opinion on three options: –

 

  1. Block off Carthorse Lane with bollards where the chicane is currently situated, thus turning the road into two cul-de-sacs with access to the west via Blackwell Lane and to the east via Butlers Hill Lane.
  2. Modify the chicane to make it more effective of causing vehicles to slow down (it is currently possible for drivers to negotiate it without slowing down or having to turn their steering wheel).
  3. Do nothing and leave things as they are.

Robin Lunn is currently evaluating the results of the opinion poll.

 

Deep dip in the pavement near to Rhymes Nursery:

Following our last meeting in February, Sylvia Collinson emailed pictures of the dip to Robin Lunn. He was under the impression that the pavement had been investigated and repaired. We told him that it had not and he will now report back to the Highways Department and get this looked at.

 

Murder Mystery Evening:

Stephen Siddle had discussed with the Alvechurch Dramatic Society, of whom he is a member, the possibility of our being able to invite members to a Murder Mystery Evening. David Dallaway had expressed reservations about holding this event solely for Association members as around 70 attendees would be required to make it viable. Historically we have struggled to obtain good turn outs at our quizzes, AGMs and litter picks. However it was felt it would be an attractive proposition if we could combine the evening with one or more other organisations. The performance would be held at the Alvechurch Village Hall in February next year. We are hoping that this will be of interest to our members as it will be an enjoyable and good fund raising event.

Quiz Night:

We discussed holding the annual Quiz Night in October again. James Doble said that he would be able to provide a sound system and David Dallaway said that he could provide the quiz questions. Some of the profits arise from our bar and snacks sales and we will therefore stress to members attending that there will be no admittance to people bringing in their own food and drinks. Julie Vincent will organise the booking of the Batchley Community Centre.

 

A.O.B.

Nobody had any further issues to raise.

Actions from this meeting:

  • Pattie Hill to request a litter bin for the pathway adjacent to Greenford Close.
  • Pattie Hill to request the blocking in of the gap under the gate at the top of the stairs in the Nature Reserve.
  • Pattie Hill to seek clarification from Ruth Bamford as to whether the Nature Reserve has now been adopted.
  • Sylvia Collinson to investigate whether her son could provide a copy of the parking covenant governing Pointers Way residents.
  • Brandon Clayton to raise with Persimmon our concerns regarding the delay in the building of the new Holyoakes Field First School.
  • Emma Fletcher to meet with Stephen Siddle’s contact David and Sylvia Collinson’s son Jules regarding the website hosting.
  • Brandon Clayton to enquire with Persimmon about the current position regarding the sale of land to Carthorse Lane and Longmoor Close residents whose houses back on to current waste land.
  • Robin Lunn to pursue with the Highways Department the repair of the deep dip on the pathway by Rhymes Nursery.
  • Julie Vincent to book the Batchley Community Centre for the Quiz Night

The meeting ended at 9.25 pm.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday August 24th. This will mainly be to discuss further arrangements for the Quiz Night.

Carthorse Lane – Speeding Traffic issue – Meeting

News

Last Tuesday the 18th July, residents held a meeting to discuss speeding traffic issues on Carthorse Lane.

The turnout was good and a solution was discussed.

Robin Lunn the County Councillor has sent through his  – we will arrange for them to go onto the Residents Board as well in Brockhill.

In summary, Richard Clewer the Highways Agency representative is going to speak to the Traffic Management Team to explore the possibilities of blocking off the road by the footpath so Carthorse Lane in effect gets split into two with no access to through traffic. This idea was supported by everyone there and as such Robin & Brandon Clayton (another County Councillor for Brockhilll) will be starting the consultation process with residents on Tuesday evening at 6pm.

Robin will be conducting a door knocking exercise to establish the views of residents regarding the road blocking proposal.

The door to door consultation will now take place next TUESDAY (25th) night at 18:00 not Monday.

Abandoned Terrapin in the pond

A while ago I was walking the dog around the ponds, I noticed something in the pond nearest to Turnpike Lane, that I thought looked like a turtle or terrapin but I wasn’t sure and my husband thought I was mad until he walked the dog last week and a gentleman took a picture and kindly mailed it into us, so here he/she is

We are looking into what we can do for the Terrapin, but in the meantime he is living in the pond happily.

Please can we remind you that releasing unwanted exotic pets into the wild is cruel and illegal. Most exotic pets are unlikely to be able to survive in the wild in Britain and non-native species could pose a serious threat to our native wildlife. It is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) to release, or to allow to escape, any species that are not normally native to the UK.” Quote from the RSPCA 

Welcome to the new Cygnets, well done to the Swans

Wildlife

swans2

Swans2017

The swans are now the proud parents of 4 cygnets, although I have been informed that one has had to be taken to a sanctuary as it was poorly.

Please help to protect them by keeping your dogs away from them.

Here are some feeding tips for the swans, although in this weather they normally do not need anything extra:

Grain, such as wheat, and vegetable matter, especially lettuce and potatoes, can be fed to swans. Food should be thrown into the water to avoid encouraging the birds onto the bank.

For more information see Swan Feeding

Brockhill Residents’ Association Minutes of A.G.M. held April 10th 2017

Minutes

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Batchley Community Centre on Monday April 10th 2017

In Attendance:

Committee: Sylvia Collinson, David Dallaway, Lynn Dallaway, James Doble, Tisha Greenway, Julie Vincent.

 

Members: Matt Collinson, Les Cook, Scott Davies, Robin Dennis, Emma Fletcher, Andrew Freeman, April Freeman, Rosie Hallahan, Graham Haynes, Marion Haynes, John Hinks, Claire Ivins, Margaret Mole, Steven Mole, Sheila Pentecost, Mike Vincent, Jean Vranic, Dan Williams, Jean Wood, Katrina Woodford.

 

Councillors: RBC Pattie Hill, WCC Robin Lunn, WCC Graham Vickery.

 

Each member of the Committee introduced themselves to the meeting.

 

APOLOGIES:

 

Apologies were received from Jo Barrett, John Dallaway, Stuart Darn, Paul and Lorayne Kimberley, Peter Merricks, Louise Morey, Stephanie Shepherd, Stephen Siddle, Andrea Stevens.

 

ADOPT MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGM:

Members had been reminded by email that the minutes of last year’s AGM were available on the Brockhill Residents’ Association Website. They were duly adopted.

 

RECEIVE AND, IF APPROVED, ADOPT THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING 28TH FEBRUARY 2017:

David Dallaway summarised the year’s accounts stating that we had made a loss of £156. This was mainly attributable to spending £185 on the printing of membership leaflets. Total income was £272 generated by October’s Quiz Night (£222) and the child’s bike auction (£50). We are grateful to Wayne Preece for running the quiz and to all those members and companies who donated prizes for the raffle. We were indebted to Robin Dennis for providing a child’s bike for the auction, this being the second he has now donated.

After the printing of leaflets, the next highest cost was website hosting at £153. The provider, Just Host, is proving to be expensive and a cheaper alternative will be sought at next renewal in September. The hire of Batchley Community Centre for the quiz and the AGM costs around £10 per hour. The total cost of holding an AGM exceeds £30. We currently have limited sources of income, particularly as membership of the association remains free. This was a deliberate decision taken on formation as we wished to maximise the number of people opting to join. Andrew Freeman suggested that perhaps members could make voluntary donations to improve the funding position.

 

The year’s loss of £156 had reduced our year-end bank balance to £596.

DD told members that we would like a Community Notice Board for Pointers Way. In a meeting last year with Kate Tait, Strategic Planning Director for Persimmon Homes Ltd, she had implied that her company were likely to look favourably upon a funding application via their monthly grants scheme. However the maximum grant is £1,000 and the total cost of a board is around £2,600. We therefore feel unable to commit to this project until other suitable finance raising opportunities for the balance of required expenditure are found.

The accounts were duly approved and adopted by those present.

 

RECEIVE A REPORT ON THE YEAR’S ACHIEVEMENTS:

David Dallaway first referred to the future objectives outlined at last year’s AGM:-

 

Growth of membership: 1,500 new membership leaflets were printed at a cost of £185. These were then hand delivered by ourselves, to save money, to all houses on Pointers Way and to those across Brockhill whose residents were not already members. This resulted in an increase in numbers of approximately 150, giving a current total membership in excess of 340.

 

Development of community facilities: Committee members and Councillor Robin Lunn met with Kate Tait of Persimmon Homes on 11 March last year. Robin and fellow councillor Graham Vickery have attended subsequent meetings with Persimmon to ensure that this progresses satisfactorily.

 

Funding of a third community notice board for Pointers Way: This had already been covered in the report on the accounts above.

 

Quiz Night: This was held on October 8th and was well attended. Quiz Master Wayne Preece provided an excellent workout for our brains with a varied selection of subjects. We had some great raffle prizes as well as a prize for the winning team of wine and chocolates.

 

New post box for Pointers Way: Royal Mail has been contacted but unfortunately they have no immediate plans. Their regulatory requirements state they must ensure there is a post box within half a mile of at least 98% of all ‘delivery points’ (usually a customer’s letter-box) nationally, and this distance is measured as the crow flies. The four nearest boxes to the new development are situated in Carthorse Lane, Appletree Lane, Batchley Road and Hewell Road, all of which are more than half a mile’s walk away (we can’t fly like crows!). We will continue to monitor the situation.

 

“Open spaces” naming competition and “Walks around Brockhill” leaflets: These are carried forward as objectives for the coming year.

 

Adoption of roads: All bar those on Pointers Way have now been adopted. The last three, Turnpike Lane, Wheatcroft Close and Vowchurch Close, were adopted on March 15th this year. We will now liaise with our councillors to ensure that the roads on Pointers Way are adopted as soon as is practicable.

 

Growth of relationship with Persimmon Homes: Our three councillors, Robin Lunn, Graham Vickery and Pattie Hill, continue to promote this.

 

Safety improvements around gate at top of steps leading from Brockhill Lane to the Nature Reserve: Work has still not been carried out and we will continue to pursue this via Pattie Hill.

 

Creation of new path at the traffic Island in Brockhill Drive/Lily Green Road: This was finally created after three years awaiting funding from WCC Highways Department. Our thanks go to Robin Lunn for achieving this. We are hoping for the creation of another path at the Brockhill Drive/Appletree Lane traffic island, later this year.

 

Re-installation of staggered barriers at the Salters Lane end of Brockhill Park: The old barrier with gaps each side is still in situ.

Re-installation of litter bins around Brockhill Park: Now completed.

 

David Dallaway then summarised other achievements since the last AGM:-

 

A Litter Pick took place last spring with about 20 members and their dogs doing their bit to clean up the neighbourhood. We collected eighteen large bags of litter.

 

Many members have found our Facebook page useful and informative in respect of local security issues, lost pets and other local news. James Doble commented on the large number of people who have frequented the site. We now have two committee members monitoring it.

 

We continue to display leaflets and notices of interest to the local community on the two notice boards provided by RBC and WCC.

 

We have continued to report to our local councillors any safety issues and damaged trees that we notice when walking around Brockhill. Wherever possible they attempt to ensure our needs are met.  

 

We have had new dog waste bins provided and also litter bins replaced when needed.  

 

We have reported litter and fly tipping and also anti- social behaviour around Brockhill Park by the basketball court. We have also reported to the Housing Department at RBC that a tent had been erected in the park recently. We will continue to monitor this unwelcome presence.

 

We had noticed a large number of cigarette butts around a lamp post outside Rhymes Nursery in Lowfield Road. Pattie Hill visited the Nursery’s Head to complain about the litter and this has now been resolved.

 

ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

 

To comply with the Constitution, one third of the existing Committee must resign each year, albeit they may then offer themselves for re-election. Angie Preece, who has not been able to attend any meetings for some time, wished to stand down. Sylvia Collinson was resigning from her role as Treasurer but, if re-elected, wished to remain as a Committee member. Emma Fletcher had kindly agreed to take over the administration of the website and offered herself for election to the Committee.

 

David Dallaway asked if any of those present wished to volunteer their services. Margaret Mole said that she would be happy to join the Committee.

 

Emma and Margaret were duly elected and Sylvia re-elected to the Committee.  

 

April and Andrew Freeman kindly offered to allow us to use their business for our photocopying needs in the future.

 

OUTLINE OF FUTURE OBJECTIVES:

 

James Doble outlined the coming year’s main objectives:-

 

Arrange another meeting with Kate Tait, of Persimmon Homes, to find out more about the building of houses in the next phase of the development. We have been informed by Holyoakes School that the new premises will not be ready for them to move into until at least January 2019. Members who live on the Pointers Way Estate, near to where the school will be situated, have expressed their concerns about parents parking by their properties. We will endeavour to keep our members informed of any parking restriction plans by the WCC Highways Department, who we are in touch with constantly via Robin Lunn and Graham Vickery.

 

We also intend to ensure that part of the Section 106 monies will be used to provide a property for use by the Residents’ Association for meetings and events. This will obviate the need for our having to pay to hire Batchley Community Hall. James explained to the members that a trust would be set up for the Residents’ Association and income would be generated by letting of the property for functions. The venue would also be used to hold our own meetings and events.

 

As already discussed earlier, we would like to raise money for the erection of a notice board on Pointers Way Estate. It was suggested by Andrew Freeman that we might consider asking for voluntary donations from members. As the Association grows we should be able to hold more fund raising events.

 

Again as discussed previously, we will continue to pursue the erection of a post box on Pointers Way.  

 

We will continue to try and grow our membership by delivering membership leaflets to any new occupants of whom we become aware. Existing members are encouraged to help recruit their neighbours and recommend our website and Facebook page so people are aware of what we do.

 

We are still planning to compile a ‘Walks around Brockhill’ leaflet, to encourage residents to get to know their neighbourhood. In conjunction with this, we also intend running a ‘Naming of Open Spaces’ competition. This will also help us define more clearly any areas that are in need of attention or repair. In turn this will assist the Councillors, when reporting any work that needs to be done to the relevant departments, without any confusion as to the location.

 

Following the success of last year’s event, we are intending to arrange a Litter Pick for early July. This will be held on a Saturday morning starting from the notice board in Brockhill Park. Litter picking grabbers and bin liners are provided by RBC. We will send emails to members with the date once arranged.

 

We have asked Robin Lunn for a crossing to be installed in Salters Lane at the entrance to the park. This is a popular place for children to cross over to Oak Tree Avenue to get to the playground and, as a number of cars speed around the bend, we feel that it is an accident waiting to happen. We do not want to wait for one to occur in order to get a safe crossing for our Brockhill children.

 

A.O.B.

 

Mike Vincent informed the meeting that he was concerned about what looks like a sink hole that has formed on the uphill pathway leading to Lowfield Lane, near to the barn conversions and Rhymes Nursery. There is a large dip in the path which a pushchair or wheelchair would have difficulty in avoiding. Robin Lunn asked the Committee to send him a photograph and he would pass it on to the repair team.

 

Sheila Pentecost asked the Councillors what advice they could give her about a car parking problem in Marchwood Close where she lives. Her neighbour shares a drive with a house opposite Sheila’s. As they have two cars to park, and there is only room for the one car on the drive, they park with part of the second car on the pathway opposite Sheila’s drive. This causes her problems when she is reversing off her drive. Sheila’s own drive is shared with the neighbour on her other side, so there isn’t room for her to manoeuvre and reverse park her car on her drive, so she has to drive it on forwards. This means that she has to reverse off her drive, but it is difficult to do this when there is a car parked on the path. Sheila said she thought it was illegal to park on the path. Graham Vickery said that people would be unable to park safely outside their houses in narrow closes if they didn’t park partly on the paths. He said it was a ‘double edged sword’, because if the authorities became involved, they would paint no parking lines on the road thus preventing anybody from parking on the road or paths. Consequently people would only be able to park on driveways, which are often not large enough for more than one car. This would lead to more problems. Pattie Hill advised Sheila to report it to the police when she is blocked in and to keep ringing them until they took notice!

 

Katrina Woodford and John Hinks also told us of their concerns with parking where they live in Appletree Lane, near to a bend in the road where Bootpiece Lane joins. There are no ‘Give Way’ lines on the road and everyone assumes they have right of way. They complained about a work van which is parked near the bend which makes matters worse as it obscures the traffic. Katrina asked if the rules about having a caravan or any commercial vehicle on a driveway had changed since the adoption of the roads. She herself had needed to get permission to put her horsebox on her drive when they first moved in, before the roads were adopted.

 

April and Andrew Freeman told us of their concerns about possible parking problems by parents collecting their children from the new Holyoakes School when it opens. Robin Lunn said that parking restrictions would be in place before the school opens. They also have concerns about whether the construction traffic will be going up Cookridge Close or Burrington Close. This is something we will ask about when we meet with Kate Tait of Persimmon Homes.

 

Scott Davies and Rosie Hallahan, who live in Elrington Close on the Pointers Way Estate, asked how long it would take for the roads on their estate to be adopted. They were concerned about this because they knew how long it had taken for the older parts of Brockhill to be adopted. They used to live in Wheatcroft Close whose adoption took fourteen years. They asked if there would be a problem with the adoption as their close has a block paved road. James Doble said there had been no problem with the adoption in Wheelers Lane where he lives, which is also block paved, so it should be fine.

 

Matt Collinson asked the Councillors if they knew what was intended to be built on the Pointers Way land that had been designated for commercial buildings, a shop, offices etc. on the original plans. At present the area is an awful mess, with rubbish being dumped on it. He said everybody knows that it will end up with more houses being built there as it isn’t suitable anyway for commercial buildings, which is what Persimmon Homes knew all along! We will await with interest to see what becomes of it.

 

Matt also asked if it was known whether there would be a path across the field adjacent to Plumstead Close and Pink Green Lane, to connect Pointers Way with the rest of Brockhill. This would be useful for children and their parents walking to the new school, especially given the potential car parking problems. “We need to encourage people to walk,” he said. James Doble said that as the path passes over Persimmon’s land, the Council could ask for connectivity of land to be put on the Masterplan.

 

Mike Vincent asked who owns the fence on public open space in Appletree Lane near to Dairy Lane. The fence is in need of repair as it is partly falling down. It is situated between the field, which he believes is owned by Persimmon Homes North, and the Public Open Space which has been adopted by RBC. Robin Lunn said that he would find out for us.

 

Mike also suggested that a dog waste bin is placed on the grass area where dogs are walked at the rear of Pennyford Close/ Carthorse Lane. There is a pathway leading off Carthorse Lane to this wide grassy area and, at present, full doggy bags are hanging from the trees!

 

Graham Haynes reported damage to grass verges by parked vehicles and delivery vans in Appletree Lane. Pattie Hill advised photographs be taken of the damage and sent to the Landscape & Maintenance Department of RBC.

 

Jean Vranic asked why the Council didn’t clean up the duck and goose excrement around the ponds at Brockhill Park. Pattie Hill said that this was nature.

 

Margaret Mole asked whether we had considered having the Cold War nuclear bunker, situated on the hill between Pointers Way and Weights Lane, preserved. Pattie Hill said that she thinks it has been protected on the Masterplan. David Dallaway said that when walking his dog recently, he had seen items of clothing strewn across the area around the bunker. He believed they were the same clothes that were left in the Nature Reserve by a person sleeping rough last June.

 

Dan Williams informed us that he had come across anti-social behaviour from gangs of youths around Brockhill Park. He found this to be very intimidating, especially when walking with his young children. Dan said that the yobs were smoking cannabis.

Pattie Hill said she had been told of anti-social behaviour in Brockhill Park, around the basketball court and had confronted the youths herself but to no avail. She had been spat and sworn at, but had established that the offenders were not local. Lynn Dallaway wondered what was attracting them and whether a drug dealer was operating in the park area. Pattie advised that PCSO’s were making further enquiries. Pattie added that if we come across anti-social behaviour, we should dial 101 and the police will divert their patrols to the area.

 

The meeting ended at 8.50 p.m.