About Wrinehill

  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...

  Recently, Betley Parish Council passed a resolution at an extraordinary meeting.   The resolution passed, seemingly unanimously since no counter resolutions were recorded, might surprise those residents who take the issue of freedom of speech seriously and responsibly.   The resolution? To consider the possibility of pursuing legal action for  libel — against this blog. According to the official Minutes: “Members considered that the ongoing inaccurate statements being published in the blog, were of a libellous nature, and intended to discredit not only the Parish Council, but also individuals. RESOLVED: (a) That the Clerk makes provisional enquiries into the possibility of taking legal action for libel, against the author of the blog, together with the costs involved.” Surprisingly, no one from the Parish Council contacted the author of the Blog before this public allegation was made.   No evidence was cited, no opportunity was offered to clarify or corr...