Parish Council meetings

Thursday saw a couple of parish meetings - one with the chair of Randwick as I will miss next week's Parish meeting and we wanted to catch up on stuff - then it was on to Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish where they had a presentation from Leyhill Prison Officers about the services they could provide to Parishes re the environment - fixing walls, clearing areas etc.

Photo: View of Highfield, Whiteshill

Here's some bits and pieces re those meetings:

- Parish councillor vacancies - Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish will have a vacancy for the Parish Council as Cllr Rob Walker is stepping down and Cllr Mark Rees is stepping down from Randwick Parish. The posts will be advertised soon.

- Lower Street repairs are completed and good - how many years did they take????!

- Concerns have been raised re a section of Bread Street where the road seems to have moved a bit. I have already written to Highways expressing concerns and requesting an investigation as part of the road slipped some years ago into a garden - it would be worse this time as it could be someone's living room.

- the Parish gave support to cover the road closure costs of the Bread Street party; many reasons but also it could be an opportunity to support the relaunch of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

- no further news on Orange's proposal for a mast at Ash Lane (see earlier blogs)

- Stroud Valleys Project - I alerted Parishes to the funding crisis and I think both will write letters of support to SVP (see earlier blog on this). I have also now also had conversations with SVP staff and others to see if other emergency funding can be found from the Town or District Council - the latter being more hopeful in that they have money that could make a difference - but both would be good - we cannot let this charity fold.

- I am still chasing up that boundary wall at Westrip Lane Hawthorne Rise / Red House Farm - it is leaning evermore dangerously and needs attention (see earlier blogs on this).

- The County's response re the footpath that comes out opposite the Randwick Scout Hut (next to Cashes Green School) on Cashes Green Road is unsatisfactory. They seem to imply that a route down that slope cannot be found - the alternative is to block it off with Colditz style fencing and force peopel around the long way - this is a route well used and could be made safer - I think the Parish are planning to push this more (see earlier blogs on this).

- The Right-of-way near the junction between Redhouse Lane and Westrip Lane has produced some anonymous comments on the previous entries regarding this - indeed most comments on the blog are anonymous as it is quickest and easiest to leave a comment like that - anyhow this writer makes some very useful points and having now spoken to the Parish Council about those points, they would be interested in still looking at ways an improvement can be found - I'm wondering if the anonymous comment may be able to phone or email me as I think it could be useful in progressing this: philip.booth2(at)virgin.net or 755451.

Anyway that is enough for now - minutes of the Parish meetings will be out soon.