AGM - At the AGM of Breinton Parish Council on May 23 Tony Geeson was welcomed as a new councillor following his election. Jackie Morris was co-opted onto the council to fill one of the two vacant seats. Pat Churchward was similarly co-opted, agreeing to return to the council until someone else can be found to replace her. The other (elected) members of the parish council are Liz Morawiecka, Lorraine Lewis and Richard Weaver. Coun Morawiecka was re-elected as chairman.

The footpaths officer and internal auditor continue to be John Wade and Tom Davies respectively. The chairman’s annual report explained that it had been a very busy year, particularly with all the issues raised by the Local Development Framework (LDF). Coun Morawiecka thanked everyone for all their hard work in this but advised that these efforts must be maintained to protect the heritage and environment of Breinton and Herefordshire. A member of the public expressed his gratitude to Coun Morawiecka for her hard work effort during the previous year and these sentiments were echoed by everyone at the meeting. The parish councillors agreed the annual accounts and signed the annual governance statement so that these documents are in order for the clerk to send them to the external auditors. To comply with new procedure the clerk has had to open a PAYE scheme for the parish council which is already proving to be “an encumbrance it could do without”. The dates of the parish council meetings through the forthcoming year were agreed and will be posted onto the parish noticeboards. Herefordshire ward councillor Bob Matthews gave an update on the footpaths and cycleways around Kings Acre and John Wade provided councillors with further details on footpaths throughout the parish. There was further discussion over the LDF though members of the parish council are also working elsewhere to oppose the amount of new housing currently proposed by Herefordshire Council. Security patrols are being carried out at Breinton Springs but police have advised members of the public to remain vigilant and to report details of any incidents they observe to the police. The AGM closed at 9.30pm and was followed by the annual parish meeting.

Anyone interested in becoming a Breinton parish councillor can contact the clerk on 01432 340129.