Fair question - and one that set me looking back through eight years of Parish Council minutes.

What I found was that the actions varied between the necessary but routine and the very significant.

At the routine level, it included liasing with public bodies like the (County) Council or the public utilities to give them much more of a push than an individual person could manage. Over the years, BT, the Police, Midlands Electricity and several Council departments have qualified for attention, often in response to Parishioners’ prompting. The Parish Council also makes annual contributions to the cost of upkeep of our village halls and the churches’ and chapel’s grounds. As a statutory consultee we endeavour to make Council planners aware of local issues that may affect new developments. We aim to make our voice more and more likely to be respected as we continue to take a proactive and professional stance with these bodies.

But there are also larger projects: the Council has overseen or worked in partnership with others for the purchase of the Buryfields playground, the development of Chapel Lane playing field (and purchase and installation of its equipment) and the redevelopment of Storridge Village Hall. These projects have taken hours of Parish Councillor time and a great deal of commitment.

Yet, the Council and Councillors have hidden their light under a bushel and have not sought recognition. Invisibility goes with the territory!

The down side of this is that, apart from some specific attempts to gather Parishioners’ views, this very invisibility can lead to dangers of being unrepresentative of local opinion.

Who reads the notice boards or goes to Cradley Post Office and Stores to read the agenda or minutes of the Parish Council? I certainly did not.

Now, the Parish Council is required by law (The Freedom of Information Act 2000) to take more positive steps to communicate with its electorate. The Parish Council was required under the Act to have a scheme in place by the end of February 2003. Our apologies for being rather late with this publication! We have published a list of all the information that is available to you (and how you can get hold of it) in the Post Office.

Especially as this is the first issue of the "Reporter", we would like to hear by note, email or phone call how later issues could be improved. Because every household gets a copy, there is a better chance that more people will wish to take an active interest in influencing the Parish Council’s activities.

We certainly hope so!

We are concerned about all costs and every Councillor understands their duty to control costs wherever possible. However, the first thing to notice is the increase in establishment costs, including insurance, the Clerk’s salary and the other expenses of running the administration of the Parish Council. The major cause of the increase is the Council catching up with new legislative requirements on Parish Councils and the recognition that our Clerk is a professional and must be paid for hours worked. This applies to the increase this year over last and the continuing higher level of next year.

Another area where expense has gone up is in projects. We have had a significant carry over of expenses committed in previous years to this year. However, the budget for next year contains a provision for expenses on projects identified by the consultation processes involved in preparing our Parish Plan. Clearly there is no point in having a Parish Plan unless it is put in to action! We will soon be reviewing the elements of the Plan to set priorities and seek out all available outside sources of funds..

Finally, all other expenditures are little changed from year to year, although insurance costs, in particular move inexorably upwards The precept (£17,500) – the sum which Herefordshire Council adds to the Council tax rate bill- has been set at less than expected expenditure, so as to continue to run down the reserves (savings). If all expenditures happen as planned, the reserves will reduce to about £15,000.

Parish Councils like all statutory bodies are beset by new legislation. A good number of our councillors have been on training courses giving guidance on these matters and this has been followed by lengthy and painstaking sessions assessing the implications for Cradley and Storridge. As a result we have agreed Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and in response to the Freedom of Information Act, a publication scheme. Our new "Reporter" is just one outcome of the latter changes.

Changes have been made to the way we run our meetings. We aim to create more opportunity for you to ask questions and to raise issues. The timing of "public question time" within the main Council meeting is varied to suit the issues of the moment. We encourage statements as well as questions and whilst meetings must be run efficiently we are taking a flexible approach on the time allocation. Planning Meetings agendas have also included opportunities for you to speak where items have been of general concern. In addition to the normal council meetings we have held Open Meetings to help tackle specific issues where responsibilities lie outside the Parish: in July we held one on traffic issues and in August a neighbourhood meeting on a drainage issue.

We have been fortunate in having people freely volunteering their services. We have a new Tree Warden, two new Footpath Officers, and the Playing fields’ Working Party is benefiting from the co-opting of three people from the Chapel Lane area. Rolling up our sleeves has brought its own rewards: the councillors’ hedge cutting party brought out a well-equipped response from the neighbourhood, getting the job done in no time. NB we are planning a weeding party in the spring!

Working in partnership is the way forward for Parish Councils. During the year Community First gave considerable support to the Parish Plan team, we have found the support of Alison Dawe our Community Police Officer invaluable, and Ledbury Youth First made a difference last summer for some of our young people.

In January 2004 Herefordshire Council agreed our Village Design Statement. It will now be used by Herefordshire Planners as supplementary planning guidance on all planning applications within the parish.

Coming into effect on 1^st April 2004 is our latest venture, to take on the responsibility (and the funds) from Herefordshire Council for a Parish Lengthsman. We believe that the local knowledge and local accountability will have a positive impact on the hedges and ditches of the lanes that are so much a feature of the parish.

The Parish Plan is currently with Herefordshire Council for their comments and proposals on partners. Once these are known we shall be pressing forward with the Action Plan. We shall be positively encouraging participation from interested people within the parish.

Aquila, in the view of many, has been failing in its responsibility for supplying our electricity. Mr Kenton Bradbury of Aquila will be at our meeting on Tuesday 9^th March Come and hear what he has to say.

Housing Needs: Ruth Lovelace of Herefordshire Council will be discussing the benefits of a Housing Needs Survey with us on Thursday 13 May. Your views will be welcome.

Council in Action

We meet as a Parish Council usually every second Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm, except in December. You are more than welcome to come along to hear what we are discussing. In the winter we meet in Storridge Village Hall and in the summer in Cradley. Meeting Agendas are always displayed on the notice board at Storridge Village Hall, Finchers Corner, the Butchers, and at the Post Office at least 3 clear days before each meeting.

Planning meetings are also open to the public. The frequency and timing of these meetings is in response to volume of applications and the needs of Herefordshire Planning Department. Generally there will be a planning meeting immediately prior to the normal monthly council meeting starting at 7.00pm.

*The Parish Meeting: this is your meeting which the Chairman of the Parish Council chairs. This year it will be held in Storridge Village Hall on 27 April at 7.30pm. It is an opportunity to reflect on the year that is past, learn more about the Parish and its People, and what opportunities might be available in the coming year. There will also be a guest speaker with a topic of general interest. Separate notices will be issued nearer the time