PARISH COUNCIL: At its October meeting, the parish council, chaired by Cllr Tony Wilkins, heard from Mr Stephen Wright that work on the Parish Plan was progressing well. There had been four workshop/coffee mornings in the village, at which about 150 people attended. The questionnaire was being prepared from all the information obtained, and would be distributed in January. A meeting would be held with local farmers to obtain their views, and a newspaper would be distributed throughout the village within the next three weeks.

Mr Wright reported that the Cotswold Wardens had some money from the Countryside Fund which they wanted to spend in the next couple of months on rebuilding collapsed stone walls alongside public footpaths within the village. They had suggested about 70 metres of wall along Whitehouse Lane, and the cost of rebuilding was about £60 a metre. The owner of the wall had agreed to contribute to the cost, and Mr Wright asked if the parish council would be prepared to make a contribution. This was agreed in principle, the amount being dependent on the total cost of the works.

Arrangements had been made for the gents' outside toilet at the sports pavilion to be cleaned at the same time as the ladies' toilet, and at a cost of £10 a week for each one. Cllr Hawkins felt that it was out of all proportion to be spending £1,000 a year out of a precept of £6,000 on cleaning two toilets, and other councillors agreed, but he did not dispute the amount being paid for the work or its necessity. Since the toilets were open to the public the district council should be asked to contribute to the costs of cleaning.

The chairman reported that the county council was dealing with the problem of the overflowing drain in Back Street. It would repair the broken pipes lower down Back Street first, and go on from there as necessary. He had made it clear that there could well be problems in at least two other places further up Back Street - just below the school and again from the Dower House down.

Cllr Sabin reported that the new surfacing of the road from Armscote to the main Stratford-Shipston road was a waste of money. It had not been top-dressed, and would probably not be done until the spring, by which time it would be as bad as it was before the resurfacing.