About Wrinehill

 From the Minutes of the last Parish Council meeting it was disclosed that Cllr Berrisford gave a report to the parish council on the closure of the landfill site in Newcastle-under-Lyme.  This seemed surprising given that it was the Chair of  Betley Parish Council - who was also the Borough Councillor for Thistleberry (where the landfill site is located), was a member of the WQL Liaison Committee and who also chaired the 'Inquiry' into the health impacts of the site on the local community.  There appeared to be no written report circulated or appended to the Minutes so it is unclear what was said at this meeting, and the Minutes did not record what was actually said.   Mention had been made in the past, that odours detected in the parish were coming from the Landfill site in Newcastle.   This would be highly unlikely.  It would be more likely that they were coming from the sewage works behind the Village Hall- certainly detected from the bow...

 The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) is currently promoting the Civility and Respect Pledge in an effort to improve the behaviour of Chairs, Clerks and Councillors, particularly in Parish Councils. And what I am hearing from other councillors - mainly women - not to mention my own experience of being a Parish Councillor in Betley, change is long overdue. The Civility and Respect Pledge that councils and other related institutions and organisations such as Borough Councils and County Councils, Churches, is not a big thing.  In the main it calls for a an awareness of bad behaviour, inequality, sexism and misogyny, with a view to amending how that behaviour is played out especially in the work place and elsewhere. The pledge asks for common sense (in the main) adjustments: 1.  Has put in place a training programme for councillors and staff (no) 2.   Has signed up to the Code of Conduct for councillors (in a manner of speaking) 3.  Has good govern...

  It would be helpful to have some idea who Mr Jacob Lovatt is.  Perhaps his cv could be circulated/published.  For example, if this was a replacement for a Wrinehill councillor, does Mr Lovatt live in Wrinehill?  And, similarly, who was the other candidate? It was unfortunate that an election did not take place and that yet another co-option was made to this Council.   It was noted that only the Council 'voted'  for these candidates.  This implies that the Parish did not have a say  in the selection process.   It needs to be noted that the Parish Council is not a Village Committee and it should not be treated and used as a Friendship Group either.   Given that  £8000 has been reserved for 'an election' should one be called. (and a national election is not due to take place until 2029!)  a lack of funding cannot be an issue.  It would be also be interesting to know if the Borough Council received any submiss...

  Following recent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted to Betley Parish Council, concerns have been raised about both the Council’s response and the way in which the FOI requests have been perceived and recorded in the official Minutes. 1. Inaccurate Wording in the Minutes The minutes of the 29 July 2025 meeting record that: ‘…additional Freedom of Information requests from the same member of the public who had submitted previous requests.   Many of the questions were a repeat of previously answered questions.” This statement may reflect what was said at the meeting, but it is not factually correct to say the questions had been ‘answered.’   Several of the FOI questions were repeated because earlier responses were incomplete, unclear, or contradicted existing records. The queries re the ROW footpath project are a case in point. Replacing ‘answered’ with ‘asked’ would make the record accurate. The public has a right to expect that official Minutes a...

Parish councils are the envy of other local authorities, because they are given powers to do so much; they can also raise a precept (supposedly within reason) which unlike other local councils is not capped. so there is no reason for any Parish Council not to be a 'power house' for achievements' which would improve the plight of rural communities.   Keele Parish Council achieved the building of a bypass around its village when national funds were very tight and very difficult to secure.  So it seems that success depends upon he calibre of those in charge of the parish - ie the Parish Council. Below is a list of  the legal Powers and Duties of Parish Councils.  It might be that this list is not definitive, and depending on need, more powers could be accommodated which were community oriented.   However, as can be seen from the list several might now be defunct -  did Betley Wrinehill or Balterley ever have bath or wash houses?  Did it have a p...