The events take place in Pant Memorial Hall and offer locals a space to get together and socialise. There’s no entrance fee but organisers are grateful for any donation or contribution to the costs of putting on the events.

Currently, the Pop-Up Pubs are being organised on a ‘Bring your own’ basis meaning everyone can enjoy their favourite tipple, whether mocktail or scrumpy! Organisers have also used the events to raise vital funds for local organisations and charities.

Please support the volunteers who are putting on these events and follow their Facebook page for more information and to see future dates. The next one is Friday 3 July from 7pm.

Everyone welcome.

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AGENDA

1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

2 PUBLIC SESSION.
(a) POLICE REPORT
(b) SHROPSHIRE COUNCILLOR REPORT. Report from Cllr Duncan Borrowman
(c) MATTERS RAISED BY THE PUBLIC. A period of 15 minutes is set aside for
Members of the public to speak on any matter on the Agenda, or to request items to
be placed on a future Agenda.

3 DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST OR BIAS. In accordance with section 29 of the
Localism Act 2011 Members are personally responsible for deciding whether or not they should disclose
an interest where a matter arises which directly relates to them. They should not participate in any
discussion nor vote on the matter and must not remain in the room unless granted dispensation to do so.

COUNCIL IN SESSION

4 HIGHWAY MATTERS. Matters relating to the A483 and other parish roads.

5 PLANNING. To consider the following application: 25/02497/OUT/ Barley Meadows Bradford Estates.
26/00881/FUL – Rossett Cottage, erection of a garage – Granted

6 MINUTES. To approve Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on the 28.5.2026

7 POLICY REVIEWS. Deferred from last meeting: 1. Financial Risk Assessment.
2. Climate Emergency Action Plan.

8 CORRESPONDENCE.

9 LLANYMYNECH KGV FIELD – Matters relating to a) parking. b) Update on Ropewalk.

10 ROCKWELL WILDFLOWER MEADOW. To arrange inspection visit.

11 FINANCIAL MATTERS: To approve Accounts for payment as below totalling £3045.34

12 JOINT USE RECREATION FIELD PANT. Update.

13 LLANYMYNECH LIMEWORKS HERITAGE SITE. To arrange a meeting.

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Families travelling this summer will benefit from free bus travel for children as the Chancellor ramps up efforts to help with the cost of living.

The Chancellor is committing more than £100 million to fund the free fares scheme and also continuing to support bus services. Every child aged five to 15 in England will travel free on participating local buses throughout August – with unlimited journeys, no registration required, and at no cost to families.

It is part of a scheme called ‘Great British Summer Savings’. The Chancellor will set out more details today on how the Government will support families and businesses this summer.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We know many hard‑working families are still feeling the squeeze and too often think they have to hold back.

“By giving every child free bus travel throughout August and cutting tariffs on everyday food items, we’re putting money back into people’s pockets and making life that bit easier.

This government is focused on practical steps that help right now — easing pressure on household budgets, supporting parents during the school holidays, and backing British businesses.”

It comes as the government prioritises protecting households and businesses from rising costs, and the announcements today will build on the work to cut energy bills, protect motorists and crack down on unfair profiteering.

This month the government has delivered £117 off energy bills on average, increased the minimum wage again and frozen rail fares and prescription charges, thanks to the choices the Chancellor made at the Autumn Budget.

As the war in Iran puts pressure on prices at home, the government has stepped in with a tax cut for hauliers to keep our shelves stocked and economy moving, extended the 5p fuel duty freeze to protect motorists at the pump, and emergency relief for families in rural communities who have been hit by a sharp increase in the price of heating oil.

The Chancellor will say that in an era of global conflict, this government has the right economic plan, as economic indicators showed the UK beating the forecasts again this week. The UK was the fastest-growing economy in the G7 at the start of this year, and Monday the IMF upgraded our growth forecast for 2026. Yesterday we saw inflation falling faster than expected, thanks to the action taken at the budget to keep energy prices down.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “My number one priority is protecting households from rising costs. This summer I want every family to be able to enjoy themselves, that’s why we’re launching the Great British Summer Savings Scheme, and why we’re helping kids with free bus travel throughout August.

“As the war in Iran pushes prices up at home, my economic plan is the right one. I will continue to make the right choices, to protect households and businesses, and build a stronger and more secure Britain.”

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: Free bus travel for every child in August means parents can plan days out, visit loved ones and make the most of the holidays without the added financial pressure.

“We’ve already seen what’s possible – in the West of England, the Mayor’s free travel scheme is making a real difference, particularly for young people in the most deprived communities. That’s exactly the kind of impact we want to deliver for families right across England this summer.

This builds on the work we’re already doing to make buses better for everyone – from the £3 bus fare cap and the landmark Bus Services Act, to our £3 billion investment in local services and frozen rail fares for the first time in 30 years. We’re making sure public transport works for people, not against them.”

Free bus travel for children will run from 1 to 31 August and covers participating local bus services across England. This could save a family with two children who make a weekly return trip at a £1.50 child fare £27 in August.

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Agenda

ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN. To elect a Chairman for the ensuing year, and to sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

2 ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN. To elect the Vice Chairman.

3 RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL OFFICER Appointment and Acceptance of Office.

4 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

5 DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST OR BIAS. In accordance with section 29 of the Localism Act 2011 Members are personally responsible for deciding whether or not they should disclose an interest where a matter arises which directly relates to them. They should not participate in any discussion nor vote on the matter and must not remain in the room unless granted dispensation to do so.

6 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION A period of 15 minutes is set aside for members of the public to speak on any matter on the Agenda, or to request items to be placed on a future Agenda

7 SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL REPORT. Shropshire Cllr Duncan Borrowman to report.

8 POLICE REPORT.

9 ELECTION OF COMMITTEES. Present Committee Members as follows:
Burial Committee – Cllrs A. Bond. A. Brown, and S. Brown.
Bryn Offa P. Field Management Committee – Cllr A. Brown and Pollitt.
Emergency Planning – Cllrs Bond, C. Hadfield and R. Hitch.
Footpath Committee – All Councillors.
Llanymynech Village Hall Representative – Cllr Pollitt.
Oswestry Area Committee – Cllr. C. Hadfield.
Pant Memorial Hall Representative – Cllr. B. Robinson.
Parish Path Wardens – Cllrs. Bond, A & S Brown, R. Hitch, and B. Robinson.
Planning Committee – All Councillors.

Play Equipment/Health & Safety Committee – I. Pollitt, P. Roberts, B. Robinson,
and vacancy.
Playing Fields Association Representative – Cllr I. Pollitt.
Quarry Liaison Committee – Cllrs A. Brown, C. Hadfield and B. Robinson.
Tree Warden – Cllr P. Roberts and B. Robinson.
Three P’s (Parish Paths Partnership) Cllrs. A. Bond, A. & S. Brown.
Wind Farm Committee – Cllr C. Hadfield.
Rockwell Wildflower Meadow – All Councillors.

10 HIGHWAY MATTERS. Matters relating to the A483 and other parish roads.

11 MINUTES Approve Minutes of the Meeting held on the 26.3.2026

12 INTERNAL AUDITORS REPORT 2025 – 2026. a) Annual Governance Statement 2025-26 (section 1 of the AGAR) – To consider and approve. b) Accounting Statements 2025-26 (section 2 of the AGAR to be signed) c) To consider and
approve Exercise of Public Rights – to note the dates (3rd June – 24th July) the notice will be published accordingly.

13 FINANCIAL MATTERS AND ACCOUNTS.
a) To receive Bank Statement for Councillor’s signatures.
b) To approve the accounts for payment as list below totalling £7,693.76
c) To note receipt of Precept amounting to £33,000 and Neighbourhood Fund of 1,799.02

14 PLANNING. 26/01678/FUL – Underhill Farm, Pant. Demolition of existing single storey extension and erection of new one and a half storey extension to southwest end of house and erection of new single storey extension to northwest end of house.

15 CROSS GUNS INN. Report on the Community Right to Buy.

16 LLANYMYNECH ROPE WALK REGISTRATION. Clerk to report on progress.

17 PANT JOINT USE RECREATION FIELD. Update on Shropshire Council response.

18 POLICY REVIEWS. 1. Financial Risk Assessment, 2. Climate Emergency Action Plan.

19 LLANYMYNECH TENNIS CLUB. Permission for bench.

20 RODNEY’S PILLAR. Request for letter of support.

21 COUNCIL IN PRIVATE SESSION. In accordance with s1(2) Public Bodies (Admission of Meetings) Act 1960, members of the public and press be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that the following items to be considered involve the likely disclosure of confidential information.

22 Parish Council Assistant Clerk.

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Her talk encouraged members to consider many of the cleaning and beauty products they used on a daily basis – invariably not giving much thought to how potentially harmful they can be – and to seek alternative brands that were kinder to the planet, or even make their own from natural ingredients.

Starting off with the theme of recycling, Kelly gave an overview of the myriad recycling symbols we encounter on packaging and what they meant. Confusion over what a symbol was directing the consumer to do could mean that an item would not be recycled correctly, as could the common practice of ‘wishcycling’. This is where consumers have the best intentions and want to recycle but, in their enthusiasm to ‘do the right thing’, they put items in the wrong receptacle which means they end up at the wrong recycling site.

Many cleaning and beauty products are contained within single-use plastic or other packaging that is hard to recycle. Kelly’s statistic that the equivalent of 2,000 rubbish trucks of plastic was being dumped into our oceans every single day was a sobering thought for the ladies. However, recognising that trying to make more eco-friendly choices is often overwhelming, Kelly expertly guided them though the options. These included choosing products from the supermarket shelves that were more environmentally friendly, buying in bulk, or using refill shops. Also, some beauty brands will take back empty packaging.

Looking at the alternatives that are now widely available, Kelly explained how members could swap common single-use beauty products – such as cotton buds, disposable razors and face wipes – for more eco-friendly ones. Similarly, there are now products available that can replace items such as sponges, scourers, cling film and paper towels. The ladies agreed that navigating what was eco-friendly, and what was not, was sometimes a minefield. However, by making small changes to their buying habits, they could contribute to fewer items ending up in landfill and less plastic in our oceans, thereby benefitting and improving our environment. To help them in their endeavours, Kelly ended her talk by demonstrating how to make a cleaning solution from natural ingredients which they could take home to try.

The competition was an Easter table decoration. Linda Elliott took first place, Janet Jones was second and Sandra Hayward was third.

New members or anyone who is interested in coming along and finding out more about Pant WI, please get in touch at pantwi1931@gmail.com. Meetings are usually held on the first Thursday of every month at 7.15pm at Pant Memorial Institute. However, in May, members will be visiting The World of Wedgwood in Stoke-on-Trent.

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Following in the steps of many other communities that have faced losing a well-loved village pub, the community has banded together to try and raise the money to make an offer to pub chain, Admiral Taverns, to buy the freehold of the Cross Guns pub.

Invest now!

The villagers have about a month to raise around £300,000 to make a bid for the pub and have created a community business to allow people to invest and buy a share of the property.

The Community Benefit Society that they have formed is a type of co-operative which will allow everyone who invests to become a part-owner of the business and ultimately decide how it is run.

According to the business plan, the Cross Guns will aim to provide an inclusive, welcoming café during the day with a more traditional country-pub vibe at night.

As a community enterprise, the Cross Guns will be owned, managed and ultimately controlled by local people who use the Cross Guns rather than a national pub chain.
According to the group behind the bid, this is the most likely way of securing the future of the pub and creating a community hub for the village.

Said Sarah, a local resident and one of the directors of the group: “Over the years, our village pub has had a number of owners and managers who have operated the pub but perhaps not served the needs of the local community as well as we would have liked them to. In recent years, the owners of the building haven’t had the returns from the business to invest in it to the level we think is necessary. Our priority will be to create a community hub local people can be proud of.”

The current fundraising target is £348,000 and the group says that one of its top priorities if they can buy the pub is to invest in improved toilets, including disabled facilities. As an Asset of Community Value listed with Shropshire Council, the Cross Guns can currently only be sold to a community business. After April however, the vendors can sell to anyone else, so the community is being urged to make their investment as soon as possible to show that they want to bid for the pub. If the bid is unsuccessful, investors will receive their investments back.

Sarah added: “If the community doesn’t buy the Cross Guns, we won’t be able to control what happens on the plot. Given the current environment for the hospitality sector, it’s possible that a developer will offer to buy the property and try to get planning permission for an alternative use. Worst case scenario, it stands empty for years, like the Four Crosses pub just down the road.”

Anyone interested in investing or finding out more can visit the website www.crossguns.org.uk/investors to read the share prospectus and see the vision for the Cross Guns.

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As usual, members of the public in the Parish are welcome to attend to raise issues of local interest and to find out more about what the parish council does.

Please see the agenda below to see what’s being discussed.

AGENDA

1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

2 PUBLIC SESSION.
(a) POLICE REPORT and to agree future priorities for Parish.
(b) SHROPSHIRE COUNCILLOR REPORT. Report from Cllr Duncan Borrowman
(c) MATTERS RAISED BY THE PUBLIC. A period of 15 minutes is set aside for
members of the public to speak on any matter on the Agenda, or to request items
be placed on a future Agenda.

3 DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST OR BIAS. In accordance with section 29 of the
Localism Act 2011 Members are personally responsible for deciding whether or not they should disclose an interest where a matter arises which directly relates to them. They should not participate in any discussion nor vote on the matter and must not remain in the room unless granted dispensation so to do.

4 HIGHWAY MATTERS.

5 MINUTES. To Approve Minutes meeting held on the 26th of February 2026.

6 PLANNING.

7 COMMUNITY RIGHT TO BID FOR CROSS GUNS, PANT. Report on Pledges.

8 PANT JOINT USE RECREATION FIELD. Progress Report.

9 GROUNDS MAINTENANCE. To agree a quarterly payment for 2026.

10 ROCKWELL WILDFLOWER MEADOW. Report from Clerk.

11 REVIEW OF s106 EXPENDITURE. Llanymynech Village Hall car park.

12 FINANCIAL MATTERS. a) accounts for payment totalling £5,265.71
b) Statement of Expenditure v Budget to March.

13 ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING. Cllrs opportunity to request items for next Agenda.

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The volunteers who operate the George Watson Buck narrowboat based on the Montgomery Canal in Llanymynech have taken the difficult decision not to run weekend boat trips during 2026 due to factors outside their control but have confirmed that the Visitor Centre will still be open at weekends offering light refreshments, canal exhibition and gift shop.

Said Graham Deakin, chairperson at Llanymynech Canal Wharf: “This decision hasn’t been taken lightly, but we didn’t want to promise trips that we might not be able to deliver for our visitors.

“The situation does though give us an opportunity to refurbish our boat during the summer months when it is hopefully drier, warmer and with longer days.

“We recently received a generous donation for £500 towards refurbishment from the Cabin in Llandrinio so we are looking to use that to help us improve the boat for future generations of visitors.

“We have long planned to make 2026 a year to raise funds to refurbish our historic and unique boat, the only narrowboat built by JCB, so we are now launching a campaign to attract 2,026 people to donate a fiver to help us complete a major overhaul of the boat this summer.

“We are aiming to install new windows and toilet on the boat as well as replacing the internal cabin cladding. The work is likely to cost £10-20,000 so if we can recruit local tradespeople and volunteers who would like to become part of this project, it would make it much more manageable.”

Based at the Llanymynech Canal Wharf in the Heritage Area in Llanymynech, the Visitor Centreis in a historic stable block and is an ideal spot for locals and visitors to the area to find out more about the heritage and wildlife of the Montgomery Canal. The wharf is run by volunteers from the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust charity.

A small exhibition outlines the history associated with the Montgomery Canal which was built to carry limestone from local quarries as well as passengers and agricultural goods. The Centre also has a number of second-hand books and small gifts for sale – all proceeds and donations go towards running the Centre and keeping the George Watson Buck ship shape.

Added Graham: “We will continue to offer visitors a space to buy light refreshments and ice creams at weekends from Easter until the end of September and we are upgrading our souvenir shop to give visitors more to experience by the canal.

“We are a small, friendly group here and we’d love to welcome new volunteers to come and find out how they could help.”

The Visitor Centreis now open on Saturdays and Sundays from Easter until the end of September. Opening hours are 1.00 – 4.00pm.

If you can be one of 2,026 people to donate a fiver – please donate online here – https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/Q0JTJS4I and if you are interested in helping in the restoration of the George Watson Buck narrowboat, please email news@themontgomerycanal.org.uk.

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At every meeting, the ladies bring along loose change to support a local charity and the RDA was their chosen charity for 2025.

The association has been providing horse therapy since the 1960s after it was recognised how therapeutic riding could be for those with disabilities and long-term conditions.

Bringing horses and disabled children and adults together empowers them to lead fulfilling lives and thrive. A unique bond is created between the horse and rider and the impact on the rider’s life can be remarkable. It improves their physical and mental well-being, and enhances their communication and social skills. Horses can pick up on the mood of a rider and provide a calming effect, thereby boosting their self-esteem and confidence.

Starting off learning basic riding skills, riders can then progress to countryside challenges, pony games and proficiency tests. There are also dressage, showjumping and carriage driving competitions. Photos of participants proudly holding their certificates and rosettes demonstrated what a vital role the association plays in improving the lives of those with disabilities. It was clear from the short film watched by the members how much is also gained by those who volunteer with the RDA.

At the end of the presentation, President Janet Jones presented a cheque to the Montgomery group for £165.84, raised by the ladies of Pant WI during 2025. The competition was ‘A horse in any medium’ and was won by Caroline Buxton. Janet Jones was second, and Margaret Williams third.

Pant WI meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7.15pm at Pant Memorial Hall. New members or anyone who is interested in coming along and finding out more, please get in touch at pantwi1931@gmail.com. At their April meeting, the theme will be ‘Eco friendly Swaps’ presented by Kelly Kraus.

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