Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting
Held at 6.30 pm on Wednesday 13th April 2016 in Walford Village Hall
Present: Frank Myers – Chairman.
Councillors: Murray Alston, Dave Berry, Shane Carlson, Dave Berry, Karen Chinn, Simeon Cole, Heather Evans, Sophie Hurley, Martyn Jenkins, Angus McIntosh.
In attendance: Clerk – Catherine Murray and several members of the public.
Ward Councillor Paul Newman, Localities Steward – Kevin Williams.
- The Chairman gave his introduction, welcomed those present to the meeting and explained the purpose of the APM.
- The minutes from the APM held on 8th April 2015 were approved.
- Presentations were given by:
- Andrew Blake from Wye Valley AONB:
Andrew explained who the AONB are and what they do. He spoke about the Wye River Festival, which in 2014 was a great success and outlined the plans for 2016, handing out a schedule of events.
He explained that National Grid has installed the mains cable through Walford Parish. National Grid has also created a grant scheme for areas where there are major pylon lines, so that steps can be taken to mitigate the impact of these. Wye Valley AONB is going to approach local organisations to see what can be done to support localised tree planting, wood creation, hedge planting, re-directing Rights of Way and enhancing the special qualities of the landscape; they have 5 years in which to apply for a grant. This is a great opportunity for Walford.
Q: Can anyone apply?
A: It can be done through the AONB.
Q: Will all the results for the River Festival go into the local press?
A: Yes.
- Diane Pearson – West Midlands Ambulance Service Community Response Trainer: Gave a demonstration on using an IPAD 1 defibrillator.
The machine must be registered with the Ambulance Service and the Ambulance Service is given the code for the defibrillator box, which can be changed each time the code is used, if required.
Q: Is there any recommendation of the best way to deal with changing the code?
A: It is up to the organisation using the defibrillator.
Q: Is there a definitive time on how soon to get the defibrillator to the patient?
A: As soon as you can, but ideally 3-4 minutes, until then CPR should be started and kept going.
Q: Who will attend the incident?
A: If someone is not breathing, an ambulance and response car.
If something happens on one of the hills in the Parish they can phone the Mill Race, where the unit is located and ask someone to go up to the incident with the defibrillator.
Q: Given that there is a long delay, how many shocks will the unit give?
A: The unit will give 4 hours continuous operation or 4 years guaranteed use.
Q: Will the external box charge the unit?
A: No, the charged box is to heat the unit, as the batteries don’t work when it is too cold.
A visual check should be carried out once a week and the pads have a 2-3 year shelf life. Once it has been used, the pads need to be checked and replaced. Perhaps the publican at the Mill Race can be asked to check the unit regularly.
Q: Is it the same procedure when someone has a pacemaker?
A: Yes, but not on top of the pacemaker.
Q: From what age can the unit be used?
A: From 8 years old upwards. There is a switch inside to set the unit to child mode down to 12 months, but the unit should not be used on those under 12 months.
- Annual Reports:
- The Chairman summarised the Parish Council Annual Report, which had been circulated and copies of which were available at the meeting. A copy is also available on the website and from the Clerk. The Chairman commended the councillors and the clerk and highlighted the main achievements of the Parish Council, including the Community Support Scheme and work on the War Memorials.
- Ward Councillor Newman gave his Annual Report, which had been circulated and copies of which were available at the meeting. Herefordshire Council has been doing its best to maintain quality services. Cllr Newman has attended all the Herefordshire Council and Walford Parish Council meetings and tries to assist at a local level, engaging with the community and getting involved with local clubs etc. He is also involved with Walford Primary School, where the children are fantastic and a great credit to all their parents and carers.
- Open Forum:
There were no further questions from those present.
The Chairman thanked those present for attending and said he hoped there would be further progress in the next year.