Michaelchurch Escley, Newton, St. Margaret’s, Turnastone & Vowchurch.
Our parishes lie in the Golden Valley and in the foothills of the Black Mountains in Herefordshire. The Escley Brook and the River Dore run through our parishes to the west and east respectively.
The land to the west rises in a series of ridges and valleys towards the Black Mountains, whilst in the east the land is flatter before rising again on the east side of the Golden Valley. The whole is characterised by great natural beauty.
The population of the parishes is approximately 600 within an area that measures very roughly 5 miles east to west and 4 miles north to south.
The city of Hereford lies about 10 miles due east, whilst the Welsh border town of Hay-on-Wye lies a similar distance to the north-west.
Our parishes are served by the Vowchurch & District Group Parish Council.
News:
Vowchurch & District Group Parish Council Newsletter
The Clerk has received numerous complaints regarding verges not being cut around Newton St Margarets. The cut is due to be completed imminently. The Locality Steward has asked the Parish Council to remind local residents not to interfere with the contractors cutting the verges – all verges will be cut on safety grounds and as per the Parish Councils request. Contractors will not and should not be taking on board any requests from local residents whilst on site.
We live in a beautiful part of the country, please do take advantage of our footpath network but also follow the countryside code – Respect other people, Protect the natural environment and Enjoy the outdoors. Please remember to always keep your dogs on a lead around livestock and pick up any dog mess as this can carry risks of infection. If holiday let owners could politely remind their visitors of their responsibilities whilst enjoying the countryside it would be appreciated.
The Parish Council now has a Facebook page, we are hoping to keep this updated with any relevant issues from the Parish Council along with County and local news. Please ‘like & follow’ and spread the word: Facebook name – Vowchurch group parish council.
The next Parish Council meeting will be on Thursday 18th July 2024 7.30pm in Vowchurch & Turnastone Memorial Hall. Please come along, there is always on opportunity on the agenda for open discussion where you can raise any concerns.
The Parish Council has a new email address, please contact Linda, the Clerk at clerk@vowchurchgroup-pc.gov.uk
Linda Cowles
Parish Clerk
Tel. 01544 321906
Email. clerk@vowchurchgroup-pc.gov.uk
Website. http://www.vowchurchgpc.org.uk/
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B4348 Speed limit
Some eight or more years ago the Parish Council had applied for a speed limit on the B4348 by the junctions of the Bacton turn (B4347) and the Poston Mill turn. The traffic Management team at HCC rank all applications for speed limits across the county each January so if there have been incidents on a given stretch it moves up the priority ranking. However, length of time since initial application also counts, and this year we had the first step in assessment with strips placed both on the B road and on the C1206, the road running through Vowchurch and Turnastone, for since our initial approach we had added an application for a speed limit on this stretch. To our surprise the majority of vehicles were recorded at 40 mph on the B road and slightly less, 37mph, on the C road. We had a ‘teams’ meeting with the Traffic Management team to discuss these results, and a subsequent site visit. We await their recommendations, so this is an ongoing matter.
