The Parish of Miserden
Miserden Parish Council meets a minimum of 10 times a year.
Full council meetings are open to the public, and we welcome all from the community to come along but ask they follow the Standing Orders.
Agendas are posted on the website as well as the MPC notice boards in Miserden and Whiteway a minimum of 3 clear days before the meeting.
If you have an issue or concern you would like discussed at an upcoming meeting, please contact the parish clerk, Gwen Durland, via e-mail clerk@miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk at least 7 calendar days prior to a meeting for your item to be included on the next agenda.
Meetings are usually held in Miserden Village Hall, but on occasion may need to take place at Whiteway Colony Hall.
Please check our website prior to attending to verify venue.
Meetings take place on the last Tuesday of the month, promptly at 6:00pm* *note new time starting in the 2024-25 year.
1
2
3
A Look Back 2023 2024
The council started the fiscal year in with the Coronation of His Majesty, King Charles III.
To celebrate, the parish council organised a bring-and-share picnic at Miserden Village Hall. Members of the Whiteway Colony, The Camp, Sudgrove, Wishanger and Miserden all joined in, with some in attendance from other villages such as Elkstone and Sheepscombe.
The children had a great time climbing trees and romping in the field behind the hall, while the grown-ups toasted His Majesty and had a great time catching up with one another.
Nicholas and Sara Wills stopped in for a catch-up with everyone, then Nicholas read a special message from the Lord Lieutenant, commemorating the day.
Whilst a much more subdued event than Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, those that attended reported having a really lovely time.
In honour of the Jubilee and the subsequent Coronation, Miserden Parish Council has been consulting with arborists, Gloucestershire Highways and the Miserden Estate as to which site is appropriate and which types of trees will be selected. We want the trees to be in an area where the community can appreciate them, sit under them as they grow, and be a tribute to our monarchs for years to come, so we’ve got to do it right!
4
One project that’s been on the cards for a couple of years has been the restoration of our iconic red phone boxes in the parish. Although they are no longer in use for telephones and haven been for quite a few years, these ‘defibrillator kiosks’ as they are also known have seen years of use but had began to decay in the elements. Finding the right tradesperson for the restoration project hadn been as easy as the council first thought, owing to availability and cost effectiveness of the contractor. This past year it was decided to use Pete Lee, a local tradesman who the council felt not only gave the parish a good deal for the money, but did a quality job, and using the official paint colours of the traditional phone boxes, was able to restore three decrepit phone boxes into repaired and refreshed bright red with golden crowns!
The Camp
We thank you all for your patience, and hope you agree the result was worth it!
5
Miserden
Whiteway
The historic Swedish Houses on Honeycombe Lane in The Camp came under threat this past year.
The prefabricated timber homes were built to address the housing crisis after World War II. Although the houses originally had a design life of 60 years, according to the district council, they required major investment to bring them up to modern energy efficiency and quality standards. The six homes in The Camp were on the list by Stroud District Council to be redeveloped.
Miserden Parish Council, along with our 2023-24 District Councillor Julie Job, and our County Councillor, Sue Williams, flew into action and registered the collective opposition to the plan.
Most of the homes in The Camp are now privately owned which means the council-owned properties under review for demolishing would have, in effect, ruined the adjoining privately-owned homes.
Whilst it was agreed that affordable housing is lacking in many parts of the Cotswolds, this plan was ultimately deemed by SDC as unsuitable for The Camp for the foreseeable future.
The fifth of November brought clear skies to our patch this year for a spectacular bonfire night celebration put on by the Miserden Estate. The large bonfire, complete with Guy Fawkes effigy atop, lit up the skies and warmed the crowds before a breathtaking fireworks display.
The Estate gave proceeds from the event to Miserden C of E Primary School. Miserden Parish Council also made a large contribution to the school again this year, and have pledged to continue supporting our local school in any way we can.
6
In January, the parish clerk presented the draft budget for 2024-25. Some suggestions were made for reducing expenditure were approved, including migration to new web host, discontinuing subscriptions to certain software providers and subscription to GRCC. It was further agreed to utilise earmarked reserves to support expenditure on projects in 2024-25.
The council felt community services such as traffic calming and road safety projects, tree planting and parish asset refurbishment should be the focus in the face of cuts elsewhere and that it was important to maintain the council’s General Reserve to provide flexibility in the future.
It was therefore unanimously agreed to approve a budget of £17,594 based on a requested precept of £12,057- representing 6% on the previous year.
The council also unanimously approved the adoption of three important governance documents in January:
A Social Media Policy, the district-led Biodiversity Pledge and action plan and The Civility and Respect Pledge.
Led by the National Association of Local Councils, they explain:
“Throughout the sector, there are growing concerns about the impact bullying, harassment, and intimidation are having on local (parish and town) councils, councillors, clerks and council staff and the resulting effectiveness of local councils.
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC), One Voice Wales, the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and county associations have responded to this by setting up a Civility and Respect Working Group to oversee the Civility and Respect Project.”
All councillors attended training sessions with GAPTC regarding the new Civility and Respect Pledge and unanimously took the pledge as a whole.
All of the council’s governance documents, pledges and plans can be found on our website.
7
A Look Ahead: 2024-2025
After the 2 May election was over, Miserden Parish Council had their first meeting of the new council on 8th May. As with every year, the first meeting of the fiscal year is the Annual Meeting of the Council, (not to be confused with an AGM) where a new Chairman and ViceChairman are elected, and all councillors sign their acceptance of office declarations.
This year saw a very different council from years past!
As Gideon Duberley has moved out of the parish, and Richard Dangerfield stepped down due to other commitments, the remaining council and the clerk tried their best to let everyone know of the upcoming election and to get nominations for the ballot.
As luck would have it, our five seats were uncontested and the councillors and councillors-elect did not have to wait for a nail-biting ballot count. MPC is also very fortunate to get two new councillors who both have years of experience as councillors.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the long-serving Chairman of the council, Cllr Martin Ractliffe who has served faithfully as Chairman for 22 of the 24 years he has been on the council felt it might be time to step back from the role, and withdrew his name from the vote for Chairman.
We are so grateful for Martin’s decades of service, and even more grateful he is staying on as councillor and sharing his wisdom and experience!
8
At the first meeting, Cllr Kevin Allin was elected by the council as Chairman for the 2024-2025 year, with Cllr Tim Shields being elected as Vice-Chairman.
Kevin had been serving as Vice-Chairman previously, but despite his full schedule, he has already shown great enthusiasm in the new role and looks forward to more community involvement.
The council has also implemented ‘Special council interests’ this year. Each councillor has taken an aspect of the work of the council as a focus (see the biography page for who has chosen what).
It is hoped that this way the work can more evenly be distributed and therefore more efficient as a council, as well as the parishioners knowing which councillor is on the case for anything which may arise. (You can, of course, always approach any councillor with questions or concerns, or alternatively contact the clerk, Gwen Durland, who can pass the information on to the appropriate councillor if she can’t solve the query immediately.)
9
Flax field near Sudgrove
Community Drop-In Day
The first item on the council’s project agenda this year is to hold a ‘Community Drop-In’ day in Whiteway Colony Hall on 15 June from 10am-15:00.
Along with many of the parish councillors, Gloucestershire County Councillor Sue Williams has committed her entire day to meeting with the parish, listening to your concerns about road safety, traffic calming, and any other issues the parish may have. We also aim to have PCSO Nicky Wood on hand to discuss safety and crime prevention in light of recent break-ins.
What we hope to gain from this community consultation is to identify all the areas of concern particularly traffic ‘hot spots’ for dangerous drivers, speeding, and dangerous roads.
We will have information at the hall detailing available options for the community, along with the costs of implementation. We feel it important to consult with you, the residents and tax before spending any money to make sure we can tackle the biggest problems in the best way possible.
Please take this Road Safety survey https://forms.office.com/r/Vbi8kt1jLA or alternatively, scan the QR code with your phone:
Paper surveys will also be available at the Shop & Post Office in Miserden.
Keep an eye out for future surveys in the Parish Post which can be torn-out and dropped by the Post Office and Shop, or put through the letterbox of the clerk at Arreton Cottage, Miserden.
The surveys will also be available to fill out online via the miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk website.
10
Tree Planting
Led by Cllr Martin Ractliffe, the council hopes to obtain a tree planting grant from Cotswold National Landscape to procure and plant not only the trees we lost to ash dieback, but as many trees as appropriate in our parish.
Cllr Ractliffe also plans to lead community tree planting days where young and old alike can get involved.
Litter Picking
One item of concern to the council as well as many residents is the amount of roadside litter we have in our beautiful little patch. Bullbanks, Wishanger Lane and Calf Way are common stretches in which inconsiderate litter bugs discard everything from paper coffee cups to crisp packets, takeaway rubbish, and more worryingly, alcohol tins and bottles. As most of the branded rubbish isn’t sold in our local shop, it is thought the litter is being spread by those not from but rather passing through the area, such as on their way to a work site, or even weekend visitors.
The council will be hosting a parish-wide litter picking day where volunteers from the villages and hamlets will be allocated an area, given high-vis vests, litter pickers and refuse bags to all tackle the problem head-on. We would then like to invite the volunteers back (to either the Colony Hall or Village Hall) for a earned hot meal.
Keep an eye out for flyers on the notice boards, The Parish Post, as well as the news page of our website for details. as they become available.
11
The Parish Post
The Parish Post is a publication that the residents of Miserden Parish are particularly proud of. It is primarily the official newsletter from Miserden Parish Council but has grown and evolved into a much loved magazine, with the entire content contributed by residents of the parish.
With articles about people and their experiences together with professional advice on subjects such as gardening, farming and archaeology, The Parish Post has become an eagerly anticipated publication which many recipients like to collect.
Published quarterly, The Parish Post claimed runner-up position in a national contest for newsletter of the year, and since then has gone from strength to strength, and is delivered to every household in the Parish of Miserden.
Our editor, David Harris, has been doing a wonderful job collecting and editing articles and photographs for every issue, but has asked the community for more submissions. These can be in the form of news, sharing photographs of interest, historical photos, and stories from the area, or perhaps you have a positive or inspirational story to share of a neighbour or someone in your village that you would like to highlight.
If you would like to contact David with your idea for a submission, he can be reached by emailing editor.parishpost@hotmail.co.uk
12
THE MISERDEN PARISH
The Camp, Miserden, Whiteway, Wishanger & Sudgrove
2011 Census: 420
2021 Census: 463 (66 0-15, 238 16-64, 159 65+)
April 2024 Electoral Roll: 392
Tiers of Government
Local: Miserden Parish Council
District: Stroud District Council
County: Gloucestershire
Miserden Parish Council is an independent council consisting of five elected councillors, each elected for a term of four years. In the event a councillor cannot fulfil their duties for the entire term of office, the remaining council may co-opt a councillor to fill the seat until the next election.
MPC has one member of staff, the parish clerk. The clerk is a contracted and employed position paid in line with the National Joint Council for Local Government Services.
USEFUL CONTACTS
Stroud District Council
Council tax, recycling & rubbish bins, planning permission, housing, licensing, dog warden, fly tipping
Gloucestershire County Council
Schools & education, public health, social services, libraries, bus passes, Blue Badges
Gloucestershire Highways
Roads, potholes, road signs, road closures, flooding
Report online: stroud.gov.uk
Main: 01453 766 321
Adult Social Services: 01452 426868
Children’s Social Services: 01452 426565
Main: 01452 425 000
Report it and get updates: fixmystreet.gloucestershire.gov.uk
08000 566 321
Miserden Parish Council www.Miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk
Cllr Kevin Allin – Chairman
kallin@miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk 01285 821283
Cllr Tim Shields – Vice Chairman tshields@miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk
Cllr Martin Ractliffe
Cllr Laura Cobb
Cllr Vanessa Price
mractliffe@miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk 01285 821322
lcobb@miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk 0777982889
vprice@miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk
Clerk Gwen Durland clerk@miserdenparishcouncil.gov.uk
SDC Cllr Pete Kennedy (Painswick Ward)
GCC Cllr Sue Willliams
cllr.pete.kennedy@stroud.gov.uk
susan.williams@gloucestershire.gov.uk 01452 770 928
SDC Neighbourhood Warden Mark Dodd community.safety@stroud.gov.uk
PCSO Nicky Wood
Nicola.wood@gloucestershire.police.uk