This is the report submitted for the February Pyonear; it covers updates from December and January, as I missed the deadline for the January edition.
Last month I arranged for an officer at Welsh Water to come out and look at the issues around flooding in the centre of the village, especially where flood water is compromising the foul system and causing all sorts of trouble. In December he’d confirmed that, after my initial reports, he would be installing watertight seals to the chambers as necessary, but following the site visit (which I was grateful that the Parish chairman also attended) we also have an undertaking to work with officers at Hereford Council to get the drainage resolved. As with the works around Dilwyn last year, it’s vital to get this properly coordinated; not just to limit the time roads are closed/altered.
In Westhope, I have confirmation that works will be done on the drainage on Westhope hill to address the risk of ice forming at the bottom, which has been a long-standing danger spot. This work has been delayed very slightly from the end of January to February, to allow review of the plans, and in consultation with the parish council chairman. We continue to work on the drainage problems in Ledgemoor; by the time this is published I hope to have had confirmation that works have been successful.
I have for a while been campaigning that the Lugg Internal Drainage Board, which governs the flood/drainage issues for most of the immediate river, including the Wellington brook downstream from Canon Pyon, will survey the brook in Canon Pyon so it can be included in the model funded by the Environment Agency. This is all hellishly bureaucratic! But without that being done, it is going to be very difficult to obtain funding to resize the culvert under the bridge, because of concerns that it will simply exacerbate the problem in Wellington. I’m very happy to have now had that approved at a recent Board meeting - one step closer to getting this problem properly fixed. Alongside that, I’m glad to see that the parish council was successful in obtaining funds from Herefordshire Council to address various flooding / drainage issues around Derndale after the new flood risk team attended in the summer. The drainage scheme is a great opportunity to get better value for money for local communities to address ditching and drainage issues.
Although not directly Canon Pyon, I’ve been busy regarding the works on the A4112 bridge up above Dilwyn; I’m glad it was delivered early, even if only a day, and I’m delighted that we are now getting the remedial work on the all the rat runs repaired, and indeed taking the opportunity to address some more drainage issues while roads are resurfaced.
I’ve recommended a number of roads for repair; most notably the centre of Kings Pyon, Ram Road (which has as I write this been closed), and the road from Westhope to Wellington. I’ll continue to press for them to be included in the works for the year ahead.
The news from Herefordshire council continues to be dominated by cost concerns, as Westminster focuses funding away from rural areas. It is outrageous, scant reward for the turnaround of the Herefordshire finances over the last few years, and there will be consequences to what we can deliver, especially as most of the council spending is on statutory, ie non-discretionary, services. We are currently working through the budget, and I am extremely keen to keep the grant scheme that allow parish councils to do work on the ditches, hedges, footpaths etc.
But this means that again – despite us delivering savings in our operational activity, council tax will have to go up again this year. I am extremely disappointed by this and continue to resist the default assumption that it will go up each year.
However there are lots of bits of good news coming through – the highlight being the huge turnaround in Children’s Services, which only a few years ago was at risk of being “taken over” by central government given the failings in it. It has now been awarded a “Good” status, with leadership scored “Outstanding”. I’ve seen the hard work that went into that from the staff all the way through to the Cabinet Member and Leader, and it is a worthy recognition of a turn around of a vital service.
We also have confirmed who will take over from Balfour Beatty. The new firm is M Group, but the most important point is that when they take over in the summer, they will be working on a different basis from the current contract, which will give us much better control as to what is done. To change the operating model was an early decision after the local elections in 2023, but has taken a while to come through; I’m excited to see the benefits coming on-line.
Please do get in touch if there’s anything I can help with, or even something you would just like to discuss. I can be contacted on 07884 268624 or [email protected] While I do urge you to follow me on Facebook for updates, please don’t message me via Facebook Messenger – there are clear examples of some of those not going through.