This last year has been a period of increased stability with the ongoing commitment of our six councillors and very capable parish clerk.
We have strived to make progress on the past problems of drainage and ditching which have led to significant road flooding. We have been successful in obtaining grants from Herefordshire Council for drainage work and Lengthsman schemes over the last year. This has helped us do essential ditching work at perennial problem spots at Lower Breinton, by the Pigeon Barn Development, and at the bottom of the hill at Wyecliff Court Farm. These ditches have recently been cleaned, hopefully leading to reduced flooding during periods of heavy rain.
Many other ditches and grips have been cleared through the drainage and Lengthsman grant schemes this year, but there is more to do. We will be signing up for the drainage and Lengthsman grant schemes again this year as they do make a significant contribution to the finances available to do this type of work.
The ditches and grips on the upper part of Breinton Lane have also received substantial clearing and maintenance work by Manor Farm who carried out this work independently. I will take this opportunity to thank them for this contribution to or parish drainage network.
This year we also benefitted from the Herefordshire Council Public Rights of Way (PROW) grant scheme. This will be contributing towards materials to repair of a footpath gate on the south side of Upper Wood and replacing four footpath fingerpost signs around the parish. We will be applying for this year’s PROW funding grant to further maintain or footpaths.
With the last year being very windy we have had a few trees and tree branches down across footpaths. These have been dealt with by the landowners although sometimes with a bit of persuasion from Herefordshire Council PROW team.
Utilizing the various grants from Herefordshire Council we have maintained stable financial reserves which enabled us to again maintain the same level of parish council precept on the council tax, with no increase.
Planning issues have again been a major part of our activities. A significant change to the national Planning Policy Framework by the previous national government led to loosening of the permitted development rules for agricultural buildings being converted into up to five residential dwellings, under Class Q. Subsequently, we have had three such applications in the parish, one which we considered to be largely beneficial, one that has reverted to full planning permission, for which we have expressed concerns over foul water and surface water management, and one at Warham that we object to in principle. This proposed development had full planning permission refused after a site visit and planning committee meeting by Herefordshire Council, but has now been “rubber stamped” under Part Q.
One sad event has been the passing of our long-standing Ward Councillor, Bob Matthews. Bob had attended our parish council meeting just a few days before he passed away, and was working the issues which he believed in, right to the end. Bob was certainly a character and led a determined opposition to Herefordshire Council on issues he did not agree with.
The passing of Bob led to a vacant position for Ward Councillor and led to an interim local election. This election was won, by a large margin, by another independent, Charlotte Taylor, having communicated her position well on many local issues. “Charlie” was then thrown in at the deep end at Plough Lane to represent the three parishes of Breinton, Stretton Sugwas and Credenhill. Since Bob’s passing, she has attended our parish council meetings and ably represented our concerns within Herefordshire Council departments.
One such case is the planning issue at Breinton Lee, off Kings Acre Road. The proposed building of 45 houses there raises a significant risk of surface water flooding to existing houses on Kings Acre Road and Breinton Lee. The principle of “do no harm” will, we believe, be impossible to achieve due to pooling surface water being displaced from the proposed site.
Looking forwards, the proposed Western Bypass, and the associated housing development, represents a major threat to our parish. When elected, the current national government immediately set about rewriting the National Planning Policy Framework to significantly increase the number of new houses to be built. For Herefordshire this led to an increased requirement from 16100 new homes to 27260.
Even prior to the increase in housing requirements for the county the late Bob Matthews, along with others, had made a case for a new town development in the south of the county, close to rail or motorway links. This would accommodate incremental development opportunities without the flood risk, pollution and congestion issues of building in Hereford. Herefordshire Council have made it clear that they do not support the new town development strategy as it does not support the proposed Western Bypass. Thus, the Western Bypass and the building of a 10,000 house settlement, which is linked to road building funding, are linked. You do not get one without the other. The 10,000 houses would have to be built adjacent to the proposed Western Bypass route.
The new National Planning Policy Framework released by the current national government has caused Herefordshire Council to abandon its draft Core Development Plan, now with the need to completely rewrite it. The initial drafts will not be available until late in 2026 at which point the impact on our parish new housing requirement should be communicated. We currently are considered as Open Countryside with limited housing development requirements. With the need for land to support approximately 7750 new houses beyond that currently allocated west of Hereford, the risk is clear.
At the appropriate time Breinton Parish Council will begin to rewrite its Neighbourhood Development Plan to restore protection removed by the current National Planning Policy Framework. The intention will be to have it released as the Herefordshire Council Core Development Plan is released. There will be new surveys for housing and transport etc circulated to parishioners to support this effort.
Lastly, it would be remiss of me not to mention the sad leaving of Tony and Nicky Geeson to pastures anew in Leeds. Tony was a past Chair of Breinton Parish Council and Nicky a major source of local knowledge in history, natural history and many other subjects in our parish. They both contributed immensely to our current Neighbourhood Development Plan, and they will be missed. We wish them well in their new environment hope they enjoy their time being close to their family.
John Hull
Parish Council Chair May 2025