Local Emergency Plan
We can’t assume that the floods in July 2007 and the snow falls this winter were a “one off” event, so we have put what we learned to practical use before it happens again.
If you have read the Parish Plan you will be aware there is plenty of practical work to be done within the Parish. Their is a detailed Action Plan which shows what has been suggested, what has been achieved so far and where we are looking for people to take on particular tasks. Many of these are relatively short term activities, and most can only be achieved through the efforts of residents in the parish.
Please contact a member of the Parish Council if you would like to help.
Down load the Parish Plan here
Information available from Longney and Epney Parish Council under the model publication scheme
Members
There were no new nominations in the resent election and the Parish Councillors will therefore remain the same.
John Chamberlayne > Details
Paul Dempster > Details
Susannah Finzi > Details
Roger Godwin > Details
(Chairman) Tel:07774220066
Janice Williams > Details
LONGNEY AND EPNEY PARISH COUNCIL
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF LONGNEY AND EPNEY PARISH COUNCIL
WILL BE HELD ON MONDAY 21 JUNE 2010 AT 8p.m. AT LONGNEY SCHOOL
AGENDA
Apologies
Declaration of interest in any item on the agenda
Police Report
Minutes of the May Meeting
Matters arising
County Councillor’s Report
District Councillor’s Report
Planning
Correspondence
Responsibilities of Parish Councillors
Village Plan:
- a) Garden group
- b) Highway maintenance
- c) Emergency warning system
- d) Village design statement
- e) Website updates
Any other matters for discussion
Date of next meeting
Archive of Parish Minutes
2010 minutes as PDF's
April 20010
February 20010
January 20010
2009 minutes as PDF's
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
Older minutes are available from the Parish Clerk >
LONGNEY AND EPNEY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON
MONDAY 17 MAY 2010
A MEETING OF LONGNEY AND EPNEY PARISH COUNCIL was held on Monday 17 April 2010, at 8p.m. at Longney School
PRESENT: Cllrs. Chamberlayne, Dempster, Finzi, Godwin, and Williams; District Cllr. Littleton; and one resident
THE CHAIRMAN welcomed re-elected Councillors, and congratulated District Cllr. Littleton on his re-election to Hardwicke Ward
APOLOGIES: County Cllr. Blackburn
ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Chairman: Cllr. Godwin, proposed by Cllr. Finzi, seconded by Cllr. Dempster; Vice Chairman: Cllr. Finzi, proposed by Cllr. Godwin, seconded by Cllr. Williams; Responsible Financial Officer: Cllr. Finzi, proposed by Cllr. Dempster, seconded by Cllr. Godwin; Internal Auditor: Mrs. M. Bullock, proposed by Cllr. Williams, seconded by Cllr. Godwin; Footpaths Officers: Cllr. Dempster and Cllr. Finzi, proposed by Cllr. Godwin, seconded by Cllr. Williams; Snow warden/Snow plough operator and Emergency warden: Cllr. Godwin, proposed by Cllr. Finzi, seconded by Cllr. Williams; Clerk: Colin Squire, proposed by Cllr. Godwin, seconded by Cllr. Dempster. Cllr. Godwin thanked Councillors and the Clerk for their work over the past year
DECLARATION OF INTEREST IN ANY MATTER ON THE AGENDA: None
POLICE REPORT: None available at this meeting
FINANCIAL STATEMENT/ANNUAL RETURN: Councillors approved the accounts for the year 2009/10, and the Annual Governance Statement on the Annual Return was completed
THE MINUTES of the Meeting of Monday 12 April 2010 were agreed and signed as a true record of the meeting
MATTERS ARISING:
HIGHWAYS: A meeting had taken place between Cllrs. Finzi and Godwin and John Kay and David Portlock from GCC Highways re: Waterend Lane. Obstructions to the culvert have been removed, and it is proposed that the ditch will be dug out and the culvert under the road will be enlarged
PARKING IN LONGNEY: Numerous e-mails have been exchanged between Cllr. Godwin and P.C. Mackie, which are reported as taking up too much Police time. Cllr. Godwin has e-mailed Inspector Fagan who has a responsibility for road safety, but no reply has been received to date
LITTER ON BANK OF THE RIVER SEVERN: The Environment Agency has removed the large collection of litter from the river bank north of Longney Crib
DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT: District Cllr. Littleton reported that the proposed Scheme of Delegation is unlikely to come into effect in the near future. A new Government bill is expected to make County Councils responsible for flood defence. The planning application for Ellis House is likely to be approved, following Highways’ acceptance of the proposed new access. Cllr. Littleton will make further enquiries regarding the need for change of use approval and a full flood assessment
COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT: No report was given at this meeting
CORRESPONDENCE:
SDC - PARISH AND TOWN COUNCIL ELECTIONS: Councillors agreed that discussion needs to take place in advance of the next election about future nominations for Parish Councillors
GCC - PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY, DOG WALKING: Cllr. Dempster reported that dog fouling is particularly bad on the footpath towards the river from Lynch Cottage. Cllr. Williams will make enquiries about possible signage/ways to deal with this problem
GAPTC - NEW POWER FOR LOCAL (PARISH AND TOWN) COUNCILS TO BOOST AFFORDABLE RURAL HOUSING: Discussed and agreed that this is relevant to ongoing discussions re: affordable housing currently proposed for Whitminster. A subject for further discussion at the next Severn Voice Meeting which will take place in Longney
GAPTC - NEW FINANCIAL GUIDANCE: Suggested that this should be kept for reference
GLOUCESTERSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY - NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD ENGAGEMENT: Cllr. Finzi will complete the questionnaire
COMMUNITY FIRST - INSURANCE: Discussed and agreed that the premium should be questioned re office contents £2500, and computer reinstatement of lost data (£500), when a copy of computer data is kept on other premises
VILLAGE PLAN:
- a) GARDEN GROUP: No further information
- b) HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE: Dealt with under matters arising
- c) EMERGENCY WARNING SYSTEM: Cotswold Wireless had agreed to inform Cllr. Dempster by text message when programme maintenance might cause disruption. This can be circulated by text if considered necessary
- d) VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT: With Cllr. Godwin for completion
- e) WEBSITE UPDATES: Councillors’ acceptance of office will be announced
- f) VILLAGE POUND: No further information
PLANNING: A variation of condition for Bellamy House, Longney for renewal of permission for a further three years, had been circulated. There had been no new planning applications or permissions
OTHER MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION:
ROADSIDE VERGES: Cllr. Finzi will contact Highways regarding mowing the verges now that the cowparsley is in full growth
GLOUCESTERSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST: Rosie Woolley had contacted the Clerk to report that two barn owl boxes will be placed in the Parish, funded by residents. She questioned biodiversity targets in the Parish Plan, about which she also contacted Cllr. Finzi
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARISH COUNCILLORS: A list of possible responsibilities will be circulated for Councillors to consider which they will take on. No Councillor will be available to attend the School Fte to represent the Parish Council
COMPUTER MAINTENANCE: Help with the Parish Council computer had been offered. This was discussed and agreed that it was unnecessary unless a problem cannot be solved internally
DATE OF NEXT MEETING: The next meeting of Longney and Epney Parish Council will take place at 8p.m. on Monday 21 June 2010 at Longney School.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS THE MEETING CLOSED AT 10.12p.m.
Road repairs
In February 2010 Gloucestershire Highways issued information on “Operation Road Rescue” outlining their three steps to tackling the weather damage our roads have suffered this winter.
“Worst First: fixing dangerous potholes first
Patch: Using more machinery and material for bigger damage
Resurface: Re-prioritising our resurfacing programme.
Please be patient and drive with care.”
The Parish Council have been in direct contact with the Highways manager responsible for the maintenance of our roads and he is aware of the worst areas of new and existing damage within the parish.
The “report a pothole or blocked gully” system remains in place.
Start here http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/pothole
or phone 08000 514 514 and report it.
Fly tipping
Clearing away fly tipping from ditches, verges and gateways is the responsibility of Stroud District Council. However they don’t have the capacity to patrol the area regularly so it is up to residents to report fly tipping or other major dumping issues such as burnt out or abandoned cars.
Report flytipping www.stroud.gov.uk/reportit 01453 754 424
Litter
Collecting our black plastic sacks and green boxes at the gate once a week is the responsibility of Stroud District Council, but cleaning up the litter in our grass verges and gateways is not.
Plastic bottles, cans, confectionery wrappers continue to litter the parish despite a grand “Don’t drop litter in our parish” poster campaign by the children at Longney School in the summer of 2009.
This is a case of prevention being much better than cure. Please don’t drop litter in the first place, because some other resident of the Parish is going to have to pick it up.
A few residents take the matter into their own hands and collect rubbish from the verges and putting it in plastic sacks outside their own homes where the weekly Council truck will pick it up. If you are prepared to help, please contact George Barnes on 01452 723912 or barne154@btinternet.com.
Taking into account some issues raised within the Civil Contingencies Act we have decided not to rely only on rapid and effective help from outside, but to put in place some capability to take action locally as well. The Parish has developed its own Emergency Plan which amongst other things designates parish-based coordinators to take particular actions in the event of an emergency which affects the parish.
This Parish Emergency Plan is not a substitute for actions taken in these situations by District, County or National emergency services, but experience has shown that locally focussed preparation and action can be immensely valuable.
By “emergency” we mean an event such as -
Flood, regardless of source;
Major power failure (not scheduled) likely to last more than 6 hours;
Water cuts (not scheduled) like to last more 6 hours;
Major interruption to road access (snow, flood, accident, bridge breakdown);
A major hazard (e.g. burning vehicle with a dangerous load within the Parish or an adjoining Parish);
Getting information out to residents which may be urgent and managing the situation from a single central local point is a vital part of this plan. All residents who have already given permission for their phone or email to be used for this purpose can now be sent a text, voicemail or email message in the event of an emergency. The system has already been used to good effect in the snowy conditions in January 2010.
For a copy of the local emergency plan download the pdf below.
Flooding and Snow - Local Action
Prompt commonsense actions (getting sandbags where they are needed, marking flooded or closed roads clearly) can prevent damage to property and some of the more immediate inconvenience of flooding.
We can’t assume that the floods in July 2007 were a “one off” event, so we have put what we learned to practical use before it happens again. Roger Godwin (Chairman of the Parish Council) is our Parish Flood Warden, and has a stock of sand and sandbags at Yew Tree Farm in Longney. He is also responsible for the use of the snow plough within the parish which was used to excellent effect in January 2010.
If you believe you are in danger of flooding and may need sandbags contact Roger Godwin on 01452 720938 or 07774 220 066
