Inevitably, the Covid19 pandemic has had an impact on the operation of your parish council, but I am pleased to report that the council has continued to meet as planned, using Zoom for our meetings. The council has also tried very hard to keep momentum behind its major development activities, and to maintain its “daily business”, as well as organising support for vulnerable people in the parish.
In a number of areas, such as the updating of parking restrictions on Cranham Gate and new restrictions on our part of Coopers Edge, progress has slowed but is now moving forward.
We have worked closely with Tewkesbury Borough Council on the provision of the sports facilities for Coopers Edge, all of which are within our parish. The expectation is that after a suitable organisation has been appointed to run the facilities, they will open at the start of the next winter sports season.
Improvements have been made to the play area adjacent to the parish hall and its surroundings to make it safer for users. We remain committed to improving the environment elsewhere in the parish through the planting of flowers and shrubs; and our partnership with Ecclesiastical Insurance will bring further enhancements in the area next to their new premises.
We will return to our programme of engaging with our residents, to improve the quality of life for our parishioners, and most importantly continue to work with the Hucclecote surgery as they seek far better premises.
As restrictions are eased, we look forward to users of our parish hall returning, and our hall’s new kitchen will also prove attractive to future hirers.
This is the last of my three years as chairman of the council, and I would like to thank my fellow councillors and our staff for their support, enthusiasm, and hard work over the years – which has been so evident over the challenging last twelve months. As someone who grew up in Hucclecote, it has been a privilege to be your chairman.
I commend this report to the parish.
Andrew Pugh, Chairman.
May 2021.