held on Monday June 11th 2007
Present; Stuart Campbell, Chairman Mary Stanhope, Hugh Delap, Rowena Wood, Betty Harris, Ray Benfield, Ann Ross, Mandy Knowles and Stephanie Jenkins, Clerk.1 Apologies for absence ; Richard Blamey.
2.Minutes
With the addition of the words “Vice –Chairman” after “Hugh Delap was proposed” in item 2, the Minutes of the meeting of May 14th were agreed to be an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.
3.Planning Matters
Decisions;5 Woodside Cottages; alterations to roof and rear of property. Approved.
Hayes Kop; Conservatory. Permitted
Ranikhet Farm; Pond. Refused
Sharpstone House; change of use of garage to accommodation. Permitted but only as ancillary accommodation. “not to be occupied as an independent dwelling unit” also, no other garage to be built without planning permission.
The Inn; car park extension, retrospective application. Parking is to be discontinued until the soft landscaping scheme has been approved. Lighting has not been permitted. Both conditions are, amongst other reasons, a consequence of the Inn’s listed building status
Morris’s Stores; a note has been received from B&NES Planning stating that the controversial glazing bars have been replaced.
On-going Items
Tennis Club; Lighting. Going to Committee on June 13th with Officer recommendation to approve.
PC Responses since May meeting
10 The Glebe; alterations to the front of property. Approve.
Hill House; Conservatory and internal alterations. Defer to listed buildings recommendations.
New Applications
The Old Brewery; erection of first floor extension to side and of freestanding wall. Ann Ross to take responsibility for this application. Recommendations to be circulated to Parish Councillors. HD pointed out that, although an immediate neighbour, he had received no notice of this application from B&NES.
Combe Bottom Cottage; extension. Referral from Limpley Stoke. As yet no documentation has been received and the public access site has proved inaccessable.
The Clerk was instructed to obtain contact details for West Wilts Planning Department from Limpley Stoke’s Clerk and to request documentation.Flat above the Surgery; change of use to temporary Post Office. RW had consulted with local residents (B&NES Neighbour notification had again been inadequate) and found that, although everyone agreed on the importance of establishing a temporary Post Office in the village, there was considerable anxiety about parking issues on Brewery Lane. The question of security, with large sums of money involved, was also raised. RW suggested that, despite her dislike of white lines, it might be necessary to prevent parking on the stretch of lane from the High Street as far as the entrance to West View Orchard. Councillors (with the exception of AR and HD who are associated with the application) discussed the application at considerable length and agreed to support RW’s proposal, as a Post Office was seen as vital to the social needs of the community. It was also agreed that the Planning Department needed to liaise with Highways over the residents’ concerns about parking. SC was asked to write to the School, the Surgery and Shop requesting that their staff are encouraged to park well away from the crossroads and Brewery lane. A further suggestion that the doctors’ parking space, soon to be re-sited back on Brewery Lane, should be re-designated as a “disabled” space was not agreed. HD was asked to take the concerns about security to the Shop Committee to ensure that money would not be kept on the site overnight and that a notice to that effect would be prominently displayed.
SC asked HD to find out whether the Younghusband Trust had in fact offered the use of the building free of charge as he wished to write a letter of thanks from the Parish Council if this was so.
MK had received concerns from residents about the ease of access to the temporary Post Office, particularly for the elderly, involving, as it does, a flight of steps. HD stated that the idea of a ramp had been investigated, and might be feasible in the temporary/short-term situation.
The Clerk was instructed to place a copy of the Parish Council’s response to this application on the noticeboard and to send a copy to Tasos Papaloucas (B&NES Highways). RW was asked to deliver copies to those neighbours whose views had been sought.General Items
Village Pump Area; RW, RB and Martin Walker are to meet to discuss this project.B&NES Planning Committee; Neil Butters, District Councillor had informed the Parish Council that he is not a member of the new single Planning Committee which will have to deal with all the major applications as well as all the disputed applications within the B&NES area. The Committee is split on party political lines and the only rural representatives are in the far west of the district. SC stated that, with weaker local representation, it will be important to foster a strong relationship with Neil Butters and to be prepared to make more insistent representations to B&NES.Neighbour Notification; the Clerk was asked to compile a list of all the recent applications where inadequate neighbour notification had meant that the Parish Council had needed to take action.
Pond at Woodwick House; following the refusal of the Ranikhet Farm pond application, RW was asked to check the position of the pond recently created at Woodwick House.Removal of Post Box ; Councillors were told that Peter Davies has asked the Post Office to remove the collection box set into the wall of his property. Concern was expressed that a replacement box might be smaller, unable to admit A4 sized envelopes and that the village might lose its 5.15pm collection time. SC suggested that the wall to the surgery might provide a suitable site for a new box. RW offered to check with the Planning whether the box would have any degree of protection.SC and the Clerk were asked to write to the Post Office (copy to Don Foster) requesting a central location, a suitably large collection box and a 5pm collection time (plus Sunday collection).4.Freshford Mill
Meeting with Planners; RW reported that she, SC, HD and the Clerk had met with Ludek Majer (B&NES Planning Officer on May 16th (Full Minutes of this meeting follow these). LM was sent a set of Minutes with a request for acknowledgement, which has not yet been forthcoming. The Clerk was instructed to seek LM’s approval of the Minutes again before publishing them on the website.
Meeting with YRD; SC and HD had met with Phil Desmond and Adam Hopkins of YRD on June 8th at YRD’s request. They wished to inform the Parish Council of changes in their plans involving the bathouse and the re-configuration of residential accommodation in building H1. Natural England have reportedly supported the re-siting of the bathouse in the leat bridge section of H1. The rest of the building will consist of 4 x 3-bedroom houses; the atrium-type glass of one roof section will be redundant and four (instead of three) smaller pod-type windows will be installed . Total number of housing units remains at 21.Planning have agreed that the no-precondition demolition work can start in two/three weeks. Councillors reiterated concern about the flood compensation issues and Mr Desmond indicated that there would need to be a fresh review of flood risk. SC is to report on any consultations with the Environment Agency regarding flooding issue and also on feedback from his Bat contacts.
The Clerk was asked to inform Hinton Charterhouse Clerk of the proposed changes, as Building H1 is in Hinton Parish.
RW is to check whether YRD are liaising with Ludek Majer.SC stated that the next edition of the Bulletin would carry the information that Staples Hill would be the route for the demolition and construction vehicles once work begins.
5. Parish Plan
HD reported that steady progress continues. The afternoon and early evening of Friday, June 22nd have been confirmed for a public display, in the Memorial Hall, of the work done by each group. This will give members of the public the opportunity of understanding what has been done and to contribute to the final stages of the Plan.
6. Village Shop and developments re Post Office ClosureHD reported that the Freshford Shop Action Group have been unable to come to a sale and purchase agreement with the owners.
Plans are well underway to set up a temporary part-time PO, operating from the flat over the Surgery. As mentioned in Item 3 above, a Planning Application for change of use has been submitted. Access is not ideal, but this will only be a temporary measure.
The action group is still searching for a permanent home for the new shop and PO. This could be in the flat above the surgery, in which case the problems of access would need to be addressed, while two further sites being looked at in more detail are alongside The Inn and alongside the Village Hall.
7. Affordable Housing
HD reported that there had been no progress. A meeting has been arranged for June 22nd with Mischi Wilk, Head of Strategic Housing Development, to look at ways of persuading Planners of the need to find an exception site or sites. John Mutter has not been able to obtain a response from Tim Aldred about the possible use of his land. HD is to attempt this.
8. Footpaths, Walls and Trees
Footpath/alongside Limpley Crest; MS reported that the owners now had cut back the hedge B&NES will remove the tree stumps from the path.
Footpath/Pipehouse; contact with Rentokill (AR) ongoingDark Lane/collapsed wall; another section of the wall (with a different owner) has collapsed and the lane is, again, closed to traffic. RJB is to be asked to contact Highways asking that the road should be opened again within a specific time-frame, rather than being allowed to drift on.9. Highways and RailwaysTraffic Appraisal Project; following the presentation to Councillors given by Ben Hamilton-Baillie, SC stated that the Parish Council needed to make a decision whether, in principle, the scheme should be taken forward and what the next steps should be if this was agreed. Councillors should focus on whether they felt the scheme would genuinely benefit the community. Questions of funding could be addressed at a later point, given that it would probably be necessary to implement the scheme in stages. Councillors agreed that the presentation had been interesting and inspirational and felt that, if the majority of the residents were to be similarly enthused, it would be better to have another full-scale presentation, rather than relying on people individually reading and responding to the report. There would undoubtedly be a cost element to this, but Councillors felt it would be worth paying for. RW suggested a public meeting at the Memorial Hall in early September. RJB(absent from the meeting) had suggested to the Chairman that, before a public meeting, the Parish Council, Hamilton-Baillie and Highways should meet to discuss the scheme. Councillors felt that, having decided that they believed the scheme to be beneficial, it was important to test the general public view before doing anything else. MK asked how the meeting would best be publicised and it was agreed that the next Bulletin should carry an article stating that everyone was aware of the ever-increasing traffic problems within the village (it was one of the major items of concern to emerge from the Parish Plan questionnaire), the Parish Council was addressing the problems and was asking people to come and listen to some possible solutions. The Clerk was asked to obtain dates when the Hall would be available and pass these to the Chairman ASAP.
Doctors’ Parking Bay; the Parish Council has informed B&NES’ Highways of their preferred solution to this contentious issue and the Clerk was asked to place a copy of this on the noticeboard. SC stated that he would personally deliver copies to those residents who had expressed their individual concerns.
Station Planting Scheme; the Clerk confirmed that no money had been received from Heart of Wessex Line towards the costs.
Station Lighting; RW reported that the lights now go off at 00.45am
Noticeboard; RW still pursuing the completion of this work.Additional Parking at the Station; it was decided to leave this matter on hold until later in the year.
10. Correspondence
Open Spaces Society; Newsletter, notice of AGM
Post Office Ltd; notice of closure, details of alternative facilities available.
CPRE; Fieldwork magazine.
Cotswold Conservation Board; appointment of Parish members, grants and project details.
West of England Partnership; Joint Rights of Way Improvement Plan/ consultation.
Avon & Somerset Police Authority; Local Policing Summary leaflets
Standards Board for England, copies of the Code of Conduct (these were distributed to those Councillors present)
Cotswold Conservation Board, Cotswold AONB management Plan Review & Strategic Environmental Assessment Second Consultation.
Action for Pensioners; Newsletter.
ALCA; Newsletter, “Get Involved” leaflets, Legal Briefings.
BULLETIN; proposed new layout. SC stated that he had been approached by Alan Cunningham with a mock-up of a “newspaper-style” Bulletin, complete with columns, headlines and captioned photographs. Councillors agreed that it certainly made an impact and SC was asked to liaise with Alan Cunningham, who had offered his expertise on the project.
11. Finance Payments needing to be made in JUNEIan Croker, Street Cleaning, £196.68
Peter Davies, Internal Audit, £100
Melanie Everard, Balance on Station Landscaping, £2040.94
Stephanie Jenkins, Clerk’s quarter salary, £687.50
Alison Cavaliero; sweets for fete prizes, £21.04
Income
Cemetery Fees; £190
SEC All-In Annual Lighting Maintenance Contract
The Clerk proposed that no radical changes were made for the current financial year, but said that she would shortly be having a meeting with SEC’s Lighting Engineer and I would seek his advice about the best future arrangement. Councillors agreed.
She would also ask about the feasibility of using some form of low-level lighting for the footpath running along the back of The Glebe to the Memorial Hall.
Audita. Internal Auditor Replacement; the Clerk stated that Graham Jenkinson had told her that, on reflection, he would not be willing to take on this role. Limpley Stoke have, for some time, been employing a small firm set up to offer an internal audit oo parishes’ and town councils’ accounts and she had then spoken to their Clerk to find out how satisfied they were and what costs were involved. Limpley Stoke Clerk stated that they had been extremely pleased with the service provided and that, last year, the fees for preparing the accounts for full audit, including two visits to the Clerk, had been £350. This would be a considerable increase on the honorarium of £100 currently paid to Peter Davies, but the Clerk felt that, with the increasing complexity of the regulations and the large fees incurred should any mistakes be made, this would be money well-spent. Councillors discussed the matter and it was agreed that, as Peter Davies was willing to undertake one last year’s internal audit, the Clerk should contact the professional company and set up a meeting to investigate charges for Freshford.
b. Accounts for 2006-2007; Councillors had already received copies of the accounts for the year and an opportunity to question the Clerk, via email, on any issues lacking clarity. HD had asked about the Parish Council’s Assets and the way in which these were presented and was told that these had been set out by Peter Davies, following what he felt was best practice. The Clerk suggested that they were left in that format for a further year and, if the option of employing a professional for future internal auditing duties was pursued, his advice could then be taken. She stated that the government-appointed auditors had never queried the matter. Councillors then responded to the list of questions set by the Auditors on the Audit Commission’s Annual Return form and these were duly answered and the form signed as required by the Chairman and Clerk.
New Printer
Councillors agreed to the Clerk’s request for a new printer and she was authorised to spend up to £150 for one which could also provide photocopying and scanning facilities.
Cemetery; it was agreed that burial charges should be reviewed later in the year.