In this issue:
- Hold the date – Annual Parish meeting on Tuesday 12th May
- Precept and Council Tax – no increase to our precept request this year, thanks in large part to our wonderful volunteers
- We need your help – please share your skills with the community
- Sellack Memorial Trail Update – Information Boards coming soon
- Looking after our community assets – Coronation Bench salvaged and continued improvements to the picnic site
- Community Safety – Police community van and property marking available
- Drainage and footpath improvements and tell us what you think
Hold the date – Annual Parish Meeting for Sellack Parish residents
The Annual Parish Meeting will take place on Tuesday 12th May, 7pm at Sellack Parish Hall but what exactly is it and how can you get involved?
Well, it is not a council meeting, but an annual statutory meeting of the parish electors.
The purpose is to give the Parish Council, and other local organisations an opportunity to let local residents know what they have been doing over the past year. The meeting is also an opportunity for electors to have a say on anything you consider valuable to the people of the Parish.
The meeting can also be an opportunity for local groups, clubs, societies and other voluntary and statutory organisations, to provide an exhibition and/or have representatives from the group address those present at the meeting about the work they do and what they are involved in. Do you know of any local groups or organisations that might like some exhibition space? Please let us know as soon as possible.
The Annual Parish Meeting is for all electors of the Parish. Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting however, only registered electors of the parish may speak during the meeting.
There will be an Open Forum at the meeting when electors can put questions to the Parish Council. Notice of questions would be appreciated and should be sent to the Parish Clerk in advance of the meeting by emailing clerk@sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk
Please pop it in your diary and come along and talk to us. We also promise there will be cake!
Precept and Council Tax
We are pleased to inform you that the Parish Council has determined that there will be no increase in our requested precept amount for 2026-2027, with it remaining at £14,500 for the year. The precept, effectively a local tax, is how we obtain funding from residents of Sellack and appears in your annual council tax bill. We have been able to avoid an increase through careful stewardship of our finances and spending, successful grant applications and thanks to the valuable volunteering of many residents for which the council are grateful. Unfortunately, this will still show as a slight percentage increase on your council tax bills, due to the reduction in our tax base this year.
Some of our work is visible. For example, you may have noticed recent activity by the Parish Lengthsman to clear drains and ditches, to reduce flooding and road damage where possible. This was made possible through a grant provided to us by Herefordshire Council.
The Sellack War Memorial Trail, which many of you will have walked, will soon have two attractive Information Boards. We are also making improvements to the Backney Bridge Picnic Site which, together with the adjoining common which borders the River Wye, has just been recognised as an important natural habitat for certain bird and other species.
These projects, and others, are only made possible through the efforts of our volunteers. We look forward to being of service for the forthcoming year.
We will be completing our annual governance review and internal audit of our finances in May and you can view all of these documents for this and previous years on our website at sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk/accounts/
We Need Your Help
We always welcome new volunteers to help us maintain the parish assets for all to enjoy, including painting benches, tending the war memorial, carrying out litterpicking and supporting our volunteer days at the picnic site. Please contact us to find out more and share your skill, talent and time for the benefit of the local community. These are always sociable gatherings so what better way to get to know your local community.
The Parish Council also currently has one vacancy for a Parish Councillor. Looking for ways to make a difference in your local community? Want to get more involved in local decision making?
Find out more at sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk/new-parish-councillors-wanted/
Sellack Memorial Trail Update
We mentioned in our previous issue that we were planning to install two Information Boards along our new Memorial Trail. We are hoping to install these near St Tysilio’s Church, on Church Road and also at Upper Grove Common. We will share photos of the installation on our Facebook page and in a future issue of the newsletter.
You can download our guide to the trail on our website, at sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk/the-parish/war-memorial/
Looking after our Community Assets
Backney Bridge Picnic Site (BBPS) – ‘The picnic site offers fabulous views of the River Wye and the adjoining common where we are blessed with wonderful flora and fauna. Here you can observe kingfishers, sand martins, herons, little ringed plovers, grey and yellow wagtails to name a few. We will soon be organising a nature walk with experts to help us all appreciate our surroundings.
Working with volunteers we are clearing unsightly brambles and weeds and allowing natural wildflowers to re-emerge. We will also be planting two Japanese cherry trees (“sakura”) which are famed for their blossoms. We also hope to plant a third cherry tree at Upper Grove Common. These trees are a gift from the people of Japan in ‘recognition of the relationship that exists between our two countries’. You can find out more at japanuksakura.org
The picnic site is a real gem in the heart of our community. Do come and enjoy it. Plus, our next Volunteer morning is on Saturday 16th May.’ Cllr John Marshall, Chair of the BBPS Working Group
Benches – in our last issue of this newsletter, we told you about our fabulous Queen Elizabeth Coronation bench in the parish. The bench was located at a bus stop, near Caradoc, but was removed in order to carry out urgent repairs. Thanks to the help of a local volunteer, we were able to transport the bench for repair and galvanizing, and it looks better than ever (see before and after photos). In our last issue we asked for resident views on where to relocate the bench, so that all of our residents could benefit from its use. We are now considering placing the bench at Upper Grove Common, along with a cherry tree that has been gifted to us.
Community Safety
Did you know the local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) team bring the community police ‘Safer Neighbourhoods’ van to Sellack Parish Hall once a month? They’ll be visiting between 2-4pm on 6th July, 7th September and 9th November.
Free tool marking – Do you have tools and equipment that you keep in sheds/garages/work vans?
The Police are happy to come and mark your property via a special pen which clearly displays the name or number of your property and your postcode. This will be by appointment only at your home. Please pop along to the police van to find out more.
Personal fraud and how to prevent it – some useful tips are available at westmercia.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/prevent-personal-fraud/ but you can also pop along to the van and ask for advice.
Drainage, Footpaths and Lengthsman Grants
It’s possible you’ve seen our Lengthsman out and about on our roads and footpaths in recent months. Thanks to a grant from Herefordshire Council and using some of our Parish council budget, we have been able to fund improvements across our drainage network and have also been working closely with landowners to continue our mission to replace all stiles in the parish with more user friendly gates, with eight new gates being fitted along popular public footpaths within the parish. We now have the opportunity to apply for more funding from Herefordshire Council and are keen to hear what you think. Please contact us to let us know of any footpaths that need improving – this could be clearance work or repairs to footpath furniture, such as gates and waymark posts. Please also get in touch if you have ideas for future drainage works in the parish. We would welcome responses on this by no later than 12th May, when it will also be raised and discussed at the Annual Council meeting. Please do come along if you can.
Stay in touch
We hope you have found this update useful. Please stay in touch, get involved and have your say by:
Visiting our website, where you can subscribe to free updates at https://sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk
Following us on Facebook (search for Sellack Parish Council)
Coming along to one of our Parish Council meetings – there is always an Agenda item, where local residents can raise any issues (to be discussed at a later meeting, if necessary), or just come and listen.
Our next ordinary Council meeting is on Tuesday 12th May 2026 (following the Annual Parish meeting, at Sellack Parish Hall).
Emailing the Clerk, Claire Vaughan with any queries or comments via our Contact page.
If you would like this newsletter in large print or audio, please contact our Clerk.