The Parish Council will meet at 7pm at the Kempsey Community Centre.
The public can listen in and ask short questions before the meeting starts — but can’t speak once it’s underway.
🧾 The Headline Items
1. Another Resignation
- Councillor Anstey has quit, leaving yet another empty seat.
🔸 Comment: Turnover on the council remains high, raising questions about stability and effectiveness.
2. Persistent Problems: Fly Tipping and Food Waste
- Multiple complaints from residents about rubbish and food waste dumped around Pixham Ferry Lane — again.
🔸 Comment: This problem keeps returning to every meeting, with no lasting fix.
3. Community Café Refurbishment – £14,500 Spend Proposal
- Council plans to spend up to £14,500 refurbishing the kitchen and seating area at the Plovers Rise Pavilion to create a Community Café.
- Three councillors (including the Chair) would be allowed to approve and spend the money.
💸 Concerns:
- This project has already been delayed and one grant bid for it was rejected last month.
- Now they plan to spend public money directly before funding is secured.
- No clear business plan or evidence of public demand.
👉 In short: The council looks set to plough thousands into a café project that may not yet be financially viable.
4. New Bridge Project – £20,000 Grant Application
- The council wants to apply for a £20,000 grant from Severn Waste Services to build a new bridge in The Rocky (a local green space).
🔸 Comment: This is the third time the “Rocky Bridge” has appeared on agendas — still no clear timeline or cost breakdown.
5. Legacy Grant Applications Update
- More discussion about the council’s three long-running grant bids:
- £80k for the pump track (BMX area)
- £80k for a youth cabin / IT hub
- £40k for solar panels and insulation at the Youth Centre
🔸 Comment: None are yet approved. Months of effort — no funding in hand.
6. Finances and Budget Review
- Routine approvals for:
- Paying monthly bills
- Reviewing the quarterly budget
- Checking bank reconciliations
🔹 Positive: Accounts are being monitored, but no sign of cost-cutting or tightening after months of rising spending.
7. Committee Updates (What’s Going On Behind the Scenes)
- Finance & General Purposes: Ongoing management of budgets and insurance.
- Environment: Updates on Love Kempsey (tree planting and bulb schemes).
- Community Centres: Oversight of hall and youth centre maintenance.
- Infrastructure: Reviewing a request from a construction consultancy (Calfordseaden LLP).
- Commons & Recreation: No major new proposals listed.
- Planning: Expected to review local housing developments and applications.
8. Chairman’s Report
- Focus on recruiting new councillors (likely due to more resignations).
- An E-bike project update — details unclear but likely another local transport initiative.
- Kempsey Times newsletter – next edition being planned.
9. Confidential Session: “Kempsey Live” Event
- Council will exclude the public and press to discuss a “Hire Agreement” for the Kempsey Live event (local festival).
🔸 Comment: This likely concerns financial or contractual details, but it’s unclear as no public money is being used, as its a private commercial event.
⚠️ Quick Summary – “What Residents Should Know”
| Topic | What It Means for You | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 💰 £14,500 Pavilion Café spend | Major new outlay approved before securing external grants. | Risk of wasted money if café proves unviable or underused. |
| 🌉 £20,000 “Rocky” Bridge grant bid | Another application for a bridge project delayed since summer. | Repeated delays and unclear total costs. |
| 🗑️ Fly tipping & waste | Still unresolved at Pixham Ferry Lane. | Same issue appearing month after month with little action. |
| 👥 Cllr resignation | More turnover and fewer councillors to handle workload. | Suggests internal tension or burnout. |
| 📑 More confidential items | “Kempsey Live” discussions kept private. | Transparency concerns when events involve public funds. |
🧩 In Plain Terms
The October agenda shows a council still stuck on repeat — revisiting projects from August and September that haven’t moved forward, while introducing a big new £14,500 spending plan for the café at Plovers Rise.
Meanwhile, basic local issues like fly tipping remain unresolved, and another councillor has resigned, reducing continuity.
It’s another month where big spending plans outweigh measurable progress, and residents might fairly ask:
“Where’s the delivery for all this money and meeting time?”
