PARISH COUNCIL -- Mark Tansley, the Herefordshire Council northern divisional planning officer, attended the meeting of Weobley Parish Council in July to give members the latest thinking on planning issues and to guide them as to what responses parish councillors could most usefully make when commenting on submitted plans. A question and answer session, after his introduction, proved useful. Three parishioners had put their names forward to fill the vacancy on the parish council and it was decided to ask Steve Wood to join the council. Footpaths officer Malcolm Lloyd reported on the latest situation regarding the local footpaths, pointing out that most were ''clear paths'', thanks largely to the owners of the ground. His 'Weobley Walks', which he leads every Saturday morning at 8am, had restarted, and his excellent guide to the local footpaths, costing £1.50, is now available at several village shops. He expressed his gratitude to Chris Harrison for helping with the Parish Paths Partnership (P3) scheme and recommended the council continue in the partnership. Members agreed.

Chris Harrison's concern for the well-being of the youth of the village had been expressed in a letter to all councillors and it was agreed to give him what support the council could. He was disappointed the cricket club could not continue due to lack of regular support.

Herefordshire Council has been operating what it termed a 'Parish Lengthsman Scheme' whereby each selected parish receives funding based on the length of roadways in the parish. This payment enables the officer appointed to run the scheme to organise minor works on highways, such as verge cutting, sign cleaning and gully clearing. As the county's backlog of such works is considerable, it is hoped greater parish participation would prove of benefit all round, both in speed of response and cost effectiveness. A report on the scheme was presented to the meeting and it was agreed the council should apply to give it a trial. Council clerk Lynne Pugh agreed to run the scheme. The deadline for applications was August 17, with a decision on which councils would be accepted to be made tomorrow and operation beginning on October 1.

The next meeting of the parish council is scheduled for September 25.