DRYBROOK PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 18th March 2025 at 7.00pm at The School Room, Holy Trinity Church, Drybrook
Present:
Parish Councillors: John Print (Chairman), Cathy Blake, Richard Moore, Dave Middlemiss, Tracy Grainger, Joanne Bridges, Mark Lake, Pat Weaver and Su Griffin
Also present: County Councillor Terry Hale
April Seabrook (Clerk)
2 members of the public
- Apologies for absence
Cllr Pam Caton and District Councillors Shaun Stammers, Trevor Roach & Jackie Fraser
- Members of the public issues (15 minutes Standing Orders suspended)
A resident complained about the speed of the traffic through the village and was informed that a speed check was going to be carried out on Thursday 20th March and further speed checks would be randomly carried out around the village.
She also asked if a VE Event was going to take place and was told that the Friends of Pan Tod would be holding an event and lighting the beacon.
- County & District Councillor Reports
Although District Councillor Jackie Fraser could not attend the meeting she sent in the following report;
Drybrook Garden
We have cleared the weeds and have ordered the trellis (to hide the recycling bins), and this will be installed in the coming weeks, we will be making wooden planters rather than planting directly into the ground and have invited Drybrook school children to come along to help fill the planters in a few weeks.
Public Toilets
I have raised the issue of the public toilets again, as it appears the repairs have not been done, I hope to have an update for you soon.
Local Government reorganisation.
A lot of work is being done on options for a unitary structure, with lots of options being discussed, the following options are currently under discussion by the principal authorities for a unitary structure in Gloucestershire.
Unitary council for the whole county
2 unitary councils – 1 comprising of Gloucester city, Forest of Dean and Stroud and the other comprising of the districts of Cheltenham, Cotswolds and Tewksbury.
At present there is no agreement among the 7 principal councils and work continues to identify which structure(s) will be in the proposal to be submitted by 28th November this year.
There is no information at present from Government regarding the future structure of Town & Parish Councils, which is poor to say the least. We must get the best deal possible for the Forest of Dean.
County Councillor Terry Hale reported that the County Council had planted the two Rowan trees in the car park.
- Declarations of Interests
None
- Requests for Dispensations
None
- Minutes of the Meeting held on 18th February 2025
It was resolved to accept the minutes of the meeting, which was held on 18th February, as an accurate record of the meetings, and were signed by the Chairman.
- Planning matters
- a) P0189/25/FUL – Deldora, Drybrook Road, Drybrook – Erection of a single storey side extension and internal alterations to create a home office.
Decision: No objections
- b) P0092/25/FUL – Land adjacent to F&F Coleman & Sons Sawmill, Highview Road – Erection of a self-build single storey dwelling and associated garage and parking.
Decision: No objections
- Annual Inspection Report for Bracken Road Playing Field
Councillors received the Annual Inspection Report for Bracken Road Playing Field and noted that all items were categorised as low risk or very low risk. Council also agreed to use the same contractor to carry out the annual inspection of the play equipment in the future as they use for Roebuck meadow. Action: Clerk
- Bank Accounts
Council reviewed and agreed that they were content with the bank accounts.
- Direct Debits and Standing Orders
Council approved the two Direct Debits paid to NEST monthly amounts vary and EE monthly amount £28.48 and a Standing Order paid to Big Box Little Box monthly amount £130.00 all of which are issued from the Council’s bank account.
- GAPTC Annual Subscription
Council agreed to pay the annual subscription of £1,015.12 to GAPTC. Action: Clerk
- Handy Man
Council agreed to hire a handy man to work 7.5 hours per week for £15 an hour.
Action: Cllr John Print
- Public Footpaths
Council agreed that Cllr Su Griffin would take responsibility for the public footpaths.
- Insurance Cover
Council reviewed their insurance cover and agreed it was fit for purpose.
- Donation Request from the Friends of Pan Tod
Council agreed to give a donation of £895 to the Friends of Pan Tod for their VE Event. Action: Clerk
- Internal Audit Report
Council received the Internal Audit Report and noted the following comments:
4:19 Internal audit carried out on 15/5/24 but was not reviewed by Council. Recommend that it is noted in the minutes that Council has considered the internal audit report, notes any recommendations and agrees upon any remedial action necessary.
5:22 the published asset register shows a total asset value of £29,361 but the AGAR Accounting Statements Box 9 shows a total of £146,655.
Recommend that Council ensures that the total of assets held is correct and that this matches that shown for the total of Fixed Assets on the AGAR and the 2023/24 figure is restated if necessary.
- Dustbin Speed Stickers
Council agreed to purchase dustbin speed stickers at a cost of £200. Action: Cllr John Print
- Councillor Reports
Cllr Mark Lake reported that following the last heavy rainfall he checked on the drains around the village and found that they had all been cleared except for one which we reported to the County Council.
Cllr Tracy Grainger reported that they were having an Easter raffle in Brierley and were hoping to hold a fete on the recreation ground towards the end of the summer.
Cllr Dave Middlemiss mentioned again that the handheld speed cameras will be monitoring the traffic around the village.
Cllr John Print informed Council that the Roebuck Meadow play area was now complete and the wall and gate fixed and wanted to thank Tony, Brian and Jeff for all the work they had carried out clearing the area and fixing the wall and gate.
He also stated that there had been a couple of complaints about the Precept going increasing by 27.5% this year and that a statement explaining why this was required and next year the increase will not be so large.
Cllr Cathy Blake reported that she and Cllr Mark Lake had met with the ecologist and operational manager of the Quarry to discuss the proposals for reopening it. They were informed that no decision had been made, if it did reopen it would only be for 7 to 8 years and that they would be happy to attend the Annual Parish Meeting.
Cllr Su Griffin stated that she had received some complaints about the garage, especially the lighting and at one point around the perimeter the pavement is too narrow to walk on.
- Clerk’s Report
The Clerk reported that she had:
Received a phone call from a company that had sold two sets of green gates to the Council to put at the entrances to the village. One set of gates was erected; however, the other set couldn’t be erected due to the very narrow pavement and no verge at the end of Drybrook Road. The company is now closing down and so they wanted to know what to do with the set of gates which they had stored, I asked them to deliver them to the Clerk’s home, which they agreed to do free of charge. The gates have been delivered to the Clerk’s house.
Informed the Chief Finance (s151) Officer of the Forest of Dean District Council that the Parish Council will no longer pay the utility bills for the public toilets, as they do not own the building, and that the utility companies will be informed to forward all future invoices to the District Council.
Have paid the donations of £250 to Brodys Trust, CANDI and Dene Magna School.
Have informed E.ON that the Parish Council will no longer be paying for the electricity for the public toilets, and that the account will now be taken over by the Forest of Dean District Council. A confirmation email has been received from E.ON and as the account is in credit the Council will be receiving a refund.
Informed the Forest of Dean District Council that the Council had no objections to the application for a New Premises Licence for Overbrook Service Station, Drybrook Garage.
Order a new grit bin for Ruardean Woodside, which will be delivered to Cllr Mark Lake’s home address.
Have informed Water Plus that the Parish Council will no longer be paying for the water for the public toilets, and that the account will now be taken over by the Forest of Dean District Council.
Cancelled the sanitary bin service for the public toilets.
- Accounts/Finance
- Council agreed the following payments and receipts:
Payments made since last meeting.
| Payee | Details | Method | Amount | Power | Budget |
| Cash | Petty Cash | CHQ (18/02/25) | £100.00 | LGA 1972 s111 | General Admin |
| Water Plus | Water @ public toilets | DD (27/02/25) | £13.14 | LGA 1972 s111 | Public Toilets |
| Newmark | Rent for Brierley bus shelter | BACS (28/02/25) | £6.00 | LGA 1972 s111 | General Admin |
| Big Box Little Box | Monthly storage rental | S/O (28/02/25) | £130.00 | LGA 1972 s111 | Projects |
| April Seabrook | Salary | BACS (28/02/25) | £683.48 | LGA 1972 s112(2) | Staff Costs |
| PCC Holy Trinity | Annual room hire fee | BACS (28/02/25) | £300.00 | LGA 1972 s111 | General Admin |
| Brodys Trust | Donation | BACS (04/03/25) | £250.00 | LGA 1972 s137 | Grants/Donations |
| Dene Magna School | Donation | BACS (04/03/25) | £250.00 | LGA 1972 s137 | Grants/Donations |
| Play Inspection Co | Annual inspection of Bracken Rd field | BACS (05/03/25) | £270.00 | LGA 1892 s8 (1)(i) | Recreation Areas |
| Netwise | Upgrade to website & emails | BACS (05/03/25) | £28.21 | LGA 1972 s142 | General Admin |
| EE | Mobile phone | DD (06/03/25) | £28.48 | LG(FP)A 1963 s5 | General Admin |
| Playdale | Erection of new play equipment | BACS (07/03/25) | £11,518.67 | LGA 1892 s8 (1)(i) | Projects |
| CANDI | Donation | BACS (07/03/25) | £250.00 | LGA 1972 s137 | Grants/Donations |
| Glasdon | Grit bin | BACS (07/03/25 | £159.73 | LGA 1972 s112 | Projects |
| Petnor Apparel | Hi-vis vests | BACS (10/03/25) | £84.00 | LGA 1972 s111 | General Admin |
| TOTAL | £14,071.71 |