Agenda for the Meeting of Charlton Parish Council at 7:30pm on Thursday 9th March in the Old Schoolroom, Ryden Lane
You can download the agenda here:
https://charlton-worcestershire.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AGENDA-12-1.pdf
Members of the Public are welcome to attend.
Update on “20’s Plenty for Us” project in Charlton
Following the overwhelmingly positive response from Village residents to the survey distributed by the Parish Council, a resolution was passed to petition Worcestershire County Councillor Mike Rouse (Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways & Transport) to make an order for a reduction of the speed limit throughout our village to 20MPH. This request was sent in November 2022 and was supported by the results of the survey plus speed data from the VAS situated on Canada Bank which showed that some 44% of vehicles passing the sign were travelling at more than 30MPH, together with the findings of a survey carried out by West Mercia Police Road Safety team which recorded vehicle speeds downhill on Canada Bank at Charlton with an 85th percentile figure of 38MPH. (i.e. the speed at or below which 85 percent of the drivers travel on a stretch of road)
Following pressure from the Parish Clerk for a response, we have now received the attached letter from Councillor Rouse, which appears to be a standard response as there is no reference to Charlton Parish Council and addressed “To whom it may concern”.
The Parish Council is not satisfied with this response and will be addressing the issue with our County Councillor, Elizabeth Eyre, at the next meeting of the Parish Council at 7:30pm on Thursday 9th March. Concerned residents are invited to attend this meeting.
You can download Councillor Rouse’s response here:
https://charlton-worcestershire.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Mike-Rouse-Response-1.pdf
Charlton Emergency Flood Plan released
West Mercia Local Resilience Forum has released an updated version of the Charlton (Merry Brook) Rapid Response Catchment Community Plan.
The Merry Brook catchment is classed by the Environment Agency (EA) as a Rapid Response Catchment, from its source to the confluence with the River Avon. The classification reflects the flashy character of the brook and the threat it poses.
In the event of heavy and prolonged rainfall, the depth and speed of flood water will have the ability to destroy infrastructure, lift and carry vehicles away and pose a significant threat to life. A number of properties in the Village may be at risk of flooding, hence the development of the plan, which aims to provide a Community framework for the management of the risks identified by flooding:
? Property
? Highway Infrastructure
? Associated Health Risks
There is an automated flood gauge located on the Merry Brook as it goes under the B4084. Charlton residents can sign up to receive automated warning messages from the flood gauge by emailing:
floodresilience@environment- agency.gov.uk
stating “Charlton Gauge Sign Up” as the subject and including their name, address, email and/or telephone number. Alternatively residents may call 0203 0259742.
The full emergency plan can be downloaded at:
Ultrafast Broadband Update
Engineers from Openreach are working in Charlton today (Wednesday 8th February) checking the gulleys and conduits through which the current telephone cable reaches each house. Once they are satisfied that there are no blockages, a length of blue rope will be visible where the conduit reaches each house. This will be used to pull the fibre optic cable through when the installation programme begins.
Update on Community Transport Project
Recently all Villagers received a survey form from Charlton Parish Council relating to a project to gauge interest in the possibility of setting up a minibus service to either Pershore or Evesham on a twice-monthly basis to be run in conjunction with the Parish councils of adjacent villages.
Unfortunately, the number of positive responses received from Charlton residents was insufficient to justify the costs of setting up the service. None of the other Parish councils we spoke with was able to join with Charlton to co-fund a service. At the recent meeting of Charlton Parish council on 12th January the decision was reluctantly taken to terminate the project.
For Villagers who don’t drive or have access to their own transport, Pershore Plus Volunteer Centre does run a Social Car Scheme which can help people to get to where they need to go, whether that be a hospital appointment or the shops. Their drivers will make pick-ups from home and wait up to 2 hours for the return journey.
Pershore Plus Volunteer Centre’s offices are located at:
1 Billing House, Cherry Orchard, Pershore, WR10 1EY (behind Pershore retail market)
You can find out more about the services that Pershore Plus Volunteer Centre can offer at:
http://pershorevolunteers.org.uk/
or by telephoning 01386 554299
Fladbury KIT – January 2023
The latest edition of Fladbury KIT is available for download here:
https://mailchi.mp/5e4d913170f7/kit-january-16680299?e=3501a6f3e4
This edition contains information on how to recycle your Christmas tree on Saturday 7th January on Fladbury village green, the Fladbury Festive Five run on 8th January and a request for cakes and prizes for the event, details of Church services to be held this month, the new date which has been fixed for The Five Village Prom that had to be postponed from October due to the issues with the Fladbury church tower – it is now 10th March 2023, details of regular group meetings and much more.
Statement from County Councillor Elizabeth Eyre regarding possible pollution of the River Avon
Following discussions with representatives from the Environment Agency, County Councillor Elizabeth Eyre has issued a statement regarding the quality of the river water between Pershore and Fladbury, surveys of the fish population in this stretch of the river, and some future actions to be undertaken including further conversations with representatives of the Environment Agency and Severn Trent Water.
You can download and read the full statement from Councillor Eyre here:
Community Transport Survey
Charlton Parish Council, along with others in the district, is investigating the feasibility of setting up a twice-monthly minibus service to allow residents of Charlton, Cropthorne, Fladbury, Lower Moor and Wyre Piddle to visit either Pershore or Evesham town centres on an alternate basis. You would have approximately 2 hours for shopping and other activities before the return journey. The cost for the round trip is currently being calculated, but the intention would be to keep this below £5.00, with a discounted fare for holders of a Concessionary Bus Pass issued by Worcestershire County Council. This would be a pre-booked service, and all passengers would need to be registered with Pershore Volunteer Centre (free of charge). Parish Council members will be available to help with the registration process if required.
Every household in Charlton will be receiving a survey form asking the following short questions:
- Do you currently have difficulty in getting to Evesham or Pershore? Yes / No
- Would you consider using such a minibus service? Yes / No
- How often would you use such a minibus service?
- Would you prefer the minibus to take you to Evesham or Pershore?
You can either return your completed form to either of these members of the Parish Council or submit your response via email before Friday 2nd December.
Please return to:
Roger Davies, 11 The Hollies, Charlton or email to: rogerldavies@btopenworld.com
Or,
Richard Sims, 2 The Hollies, Charlton or email to: richardroysims@gmail.com
Thank you
Your Name:_______________________________________________
Your Address:_____________________________________________
Your Telephone Number:_____________________________________
Results from “20’s Plenty for Us” Village Survey
Survey forms were delivered to every household in Charlton during September, some 250 houses.
48 responses were received (19% of all houses in the Village)
28 responses were in favour of a 20MPH limit throughout Charlton
12 responses were in favour of a 20MPH limit on The Strand, The Green and Canada Bank (the main route used by through traffic)
6 responses favoured no change to the current 30MPH limit throughout the Village
2 respondents spoiled their survey forms
Thus, 83% of all respondents favoured a reduction in the current 30MPH limit
As a consequence of these results, members of Charlton Parish Council passed a resolution at the council meeting on 10th November to petition Worcestershire County Council to pass an order reducing the speed limit in the Village to 30MPH. A letter has been sent to Councillor Mike Rouse, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways & Transport with this request.
If anyone wishes to reinforce this request you can write directly to Councillor Rouse, his email address is:
You could also write to our County Councillor, Elizabeth Eyre, to express your support at:
Update on installation of Full Fibre Broadband in Charlton
Despite our regularly chasing Worcestershire County Council and being
reassured that the installation of Full Fibre Broadband is progressing
as planned, we have now been advised that this has been delayed.
Openreach inform us that they have seen extremely high demand for
projects and that there has not been the capacity for them to work on
all these at the same time. However, their teams are managing to work
through the projects. The good news is that it is still going ahead and
we have seen Openreach engineers in the village undertaking checks to
make sure they can pull new cables through the existing ductwork.
.
The Openreach Rural Engagement Manager has apologised for not making us
aware of this delay sooner and says they are confident that they should
complete the project before mid-August next year at the latest. He also
mentions that whilst they are confident that they should complete the
project before this date they would not want to commit to an earlier
time in case of unforeseen obstacles they may come across during the
build.
We will keep you updated when we hear more.