THIRTY members of Staunton & District Over 60s Club visited the new Bull Ring at Birmingham with its masses of shops, but a more relaxing trip out by coach was taken later to Hartpury Church, where Jim and Holly provided a lovely coffee morning in the Old Chapel. The next meeting will be local when Staunton Garden Centre will be the venue and in June the local school children will be joining members for their annual anniversary service.

A large charity sale will be held tomorrow (Saturday) from 10am to 2.30pm in the lounge at Johnstone Close. Organised by the Over 60s Club, 25 per cent of the proceeds will go to the club funds and 75 per cent to Sheppard House, Newent, towards its new bathroom extension. Nanette Bevan, club leader, would be grateful for any gifts and help. The stalls will include cakes, groceries, books, crockery, toys, bric-a-brac and white elephant, there will also be a tombola and raffle. Refreshments will be served, including lunches. Please contact (01452) 840640 or 840618 for collection if needed.

Lucky winners in Corse & Staunton Village Hall 100 Club March draw were: 1 Mr P Blackford, 2 Mr G Barber, 3 Mrs E Gough, 4 Mr G Dickenson; April draw: 1 Mr N Davis, 2 Mr J Rowlatt, 3 Mr S French, 4 Mrs R Harley.

A number of concerned parishioners were present at the 99th annual parish meeting of Staunton Parish Council held in the lounge at Johnstone Close.

In his annual report, chairman Coun Clive Dent said they had experienced a very eventful and sometimes stimulating 12 months. The problems caused for the owners of listed Chartist bungalows, as well as the development of Corse Grange, had stimulated considerable interest and activity by both parishioners and councillors alike and whilst the outcome may not have been what we hoped for, they have seemed to bring the communities closer together where they share a common interest.

As a result, a residents' group appears to be emerging and the chairman said: "I wish it every success, I hope it becomes a credible organisation that can work effectively with both parish councils in the future, then at least something of value will have emerged from the turmoil we have experienced recently."

The chairman praised district councillor Michelle Grant, without whose strong support the small concessions eventually made by the Forest of Dean District Council regarding the listed Chartist bungalows would not have been achieved.

Another positive development has been the agreement with Corse Parish Council to keep more closely in touch regarding issues effecting both parishes and to attend each others meetings and exchange minutes.

Coun Dent welcomed both the chairman of Corse Parish Council, Coun Pat Lewis, and the clerk, Norman Davis, to their meetings and had no doubt both communities would benefit. Continuing his report Coun Dent said the parish council had met six times during the year and 19 applications for planning had been dealt with, three had been withdrawn, eight granted, one refused and seven are awaiting decision.

Coun Dent said he had become increasingly concerned over the year at the advice being given to elected members of the Forest of Dean District Council by their planning service.

He said: "Experience suggests that where an applicant has the means, and appeals are likely to follow a refusal, the district council's concerns about having costs awarded against them result in a more flexible attitude towards policies and their interpretation, when reaching a decision, consequently a more laissez-faire style of decision making emerges that is difficult to comprehend."

Coun Dent has written to the district council in more detail regarding this.

The precept for the coming year, set at £3,500, remains the same as the previous year and he assured parishioners that their council is not increasing expenditure this year.

The council continued to encourage and support local organisations with grants of £366 being made to Staunton & Corse CE School, Staunton Parochial Church Council and Corse & Staunton Playing Fields Association and £100 was made to Corse & Staunton Youth Club in recognition of its Young Gloucestershire Youth Work award.

The chairman expressed his appreciation to all those individuals and organisations who are continually putting something back into the community.

There had been further improvements to the roads locally, especially Mill Lane, which was long overdue and the council is encouraged by the resurfacing work currently being undertaken in the area around Sladbrook, but must continue to press for further remedial work in other areas of the parish. Three new councillors were welcomed to the council last June and have already made valuable contributions to the work of the council. They are Michael Bradbury, Roy Chaffey and Andrew Wilkes.

Last, but by no means least, he thanked Jane Cox, parish clerk, for all her work.

PC Simon Bailey gave his report, crime figures were very slightly down for the year May 2003 to May 2004, but are of reported crime to the police. He asked the public to report everything that occurs and ask for a crime number and not just an incident number. There were 13 reported accidents in the parish, 11 of them on the A417. The mobile police station had been used to good effect in and around the parish.

Julia Mounsor had been appointed as police and community officer for Newent and has already been on patrol around the parish.