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Minutes of the Meeting of Freshford Parish Council held on Monday May 12th 2008 Present;  Stuart Campbell, (outgoing Chairman),Betty Harris, Hugh Delap (incoming Chairman), Rowena Wood, Ray Benfield, Ann Ross, Mandy Knowles, Nick Stephens and Mary Stanhope. Also present were 5 members of the public; Mr & Mrs King, Mr & Mrs Martin King, Mr Edric Worsnop. i Apologies for absence ; Stephanie Jenkins (clerk), Neil Butters District Councillor ii Declarations of Interest ; Rowena Wood, Ranikhet Farm Planning Application Ann Ross, Affordable Housing in PipehouseMary Stanhope, flooding in Church HillStuart Campbell, Village Green/SchoolAll members should check the Register of Interests & declare any conflicts or gifts if appropriate.  1 Election of new officers & parish councillorNew Chair: Hugh Delap – proposed by Stuart Campbell, seconded by Rowena Wood.New Vice Chair: Stuart Campbell – proposed by Rowena Wood, seconded by Mary Stanhope.New Councillor: Nick Stevens – proposed by Hugh Delap, seconded by Ray Benfield.All proposals were approved unanimouslyRay Benfield will serve for 1 more year. 

2 Minutes    

The Minutes of the meeting of April 7th were agreed to be an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.

2a: Matters arising3; Planning; RW to remind Penny Murray about supplying her comments made to the PC in January in written form concerning her planning application for Cornerstone. SC to compose a notice for the notice boards for SJ to display in all 3 boards.4; HD, SC met Phil Desmond and Mark Chaplin of Ypres Rose. Mtg with Mark Reynolds of B&NES planning tba. – Ongoing.  SC has sent an e mail to Dan Merritt (temp ecologist) regarding establishing the new bat house, PC concerned about excessive disruption to the bats. Now been passed to Tony Crouch of B&NES.Ongoing – SJ to obtain new drawings from Mark Reynolds.5; Parish Plan - see later6; HD has sent a letter supporting Hinton PO - had an acknowledgment.8; MK Rubbish collection, Pound Wall & Godwin’s field for oak trees – ongoing.Play area RW to follow up, ongoing.9; Church Hill flooding: SC reported on outstanding work; BT cables, redundant gas pipes. B&NES can only fund reinstatement as before.  A large concrete pipe will be placed under the road with an inspection plate, BT cables on top.  The PC has suggested that there be a grid outside MS’s gate to check the water is flowing freely.  SC is awaiting a reply from David Boff, B&NES’s engineer in charge.  There is ongoing uncertainty in the village about responsibility for the delay in repairing the duct and re-opening the road.  The PC has limits of responsibility but is trying to move the situation forwards, however the ultimate responsibility lies with B&NES. SC will write a statement for HD to approve to fix on the notice boards which will explain this.14; Dog Warden; MK had met the warden last week.  She had suggested “polo paint” around offending mess in key areas which has worked in other villages to deter owners from letting their dogs foul the roads etc. MK will monitor the situation, spray as appropriate & leave literature in the PO. Fouling can be subject to a £25 on the spot fine.  Any extra bin installed would need to be emptied.Picture map; New owners of The Forge had changed their minds, the map will now be fixed up next to the board on Young Husband House subject to the Trust’s approval.Surgery Support: HD had a reply from Don Foster on House of Commons paper.  3 Planning Matters – R W Decisions; 08/00689/FUL- Sharpstone House - Erection of store/summerhouse to provide ancillary accommodation – Refused. Reason - The proposed development represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt and due to its siting and design would detract from the character and appearance of this part of the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Conservation Area. New Applications - for PC response at meeting;08/01113/FUL – Rowan House Conservatory. – all neighbours notified and contacted by PC. David & Rosemary Martin-King, neighbours and Peter & Sue King, applicants, attended the meeting. Rosemary Martin King issued photos and read a statement illustrating her concerns and opposition to the scheme. SC asked if RMK knew the angle of view from her garden to the top of the proposed Summerhouse – she did not.Peter King also addressed the meeting saying the scheme was about to be changed to have a lower roof and would be contacting David Cox the planning officer.  RW said the PC would then wait until the next meeting when the correct drawings would be available. Planning – on-going items; 08/00823/FUL - Ranikhet Farm - Construction of a conservation pond (resubmission) – Lucy Corner, B&NES ecologist, had issued a report to say she did not consider the application in its current form to be acceptable. She has subsequently issued a report to say she would be happier with a smaller pond (as opposed to lake) – only one pond either in position of this current application or in the far SE corner of field (where it was positioned in earlier application which was refused last year). Applicant has now issued a new drawing to planning giving two possible sites and sizes of the ponds. SC still unhappy about the apparent lack of consultation with Cotswold AONB authorities, location of borehole and damage to the field in the investigations.  AR to draft a response to Sarah James, the planning officer, stating that the PC is now opposed to the application due to the above reasons.    Planning – general items  Bus link to BradfordOn-going  4 Councillors Areas of Responsibility HD HD had issued a table showing all Portfolios/tasks to be undertaken by PC members. See separate sheet. 5 Freshford Mill RW Stuart and Hugh met with Phil Desmond and Mark Chaplin of YRD at end of April. SC confirmed that YR have been open with the PC about their actions.  Meeting now to be set up with Mark Reynolds, Planning Officer, to work through what B&NES is going to do regarding enforcement of conditions attached to planning consent, i.e. demolition and what will be built. RW to arrange mtg, SJ to take notes.Y Rose have done further demolition works on site. All matching planning consent apart from Buildings C & D, because of raised levels regarding the flood risk – this may be an improvement. – Phil Desmond told SC and HD work needed to be done because of structural condition of buildings – but this was not allowed for under conditions of consent.  YR have been waiting for B&NES to confirm structural requirements but slow progress.PC role is to check the implementation of the planning consent & will approach B&NES to inform them demolition has taken place. RW Drawings – SJ to liaise with Mark Reynolds for these.SC to contact Ecology officer re new bat house – SC to confirm 6 Parish Plan HDThe Parish Plan is now available in hard copy form and having been distributed to all those directly concerned in its production (which includes Parish Councillors) they are available to anyone in the parish applying to the clerk, and all will be viewable on the www.freshfordvillage.com website.The next step is for the PC to determine the priorities from amongst all the recommendations the Plan contains and to find from within the wider community people who are willing to be involved and become project ‘champions’.  For the next few months this is likely to be the PC’s most important exercise.The PC will set its own priorities; the Plan is a consultative document and should be reviewed on a rolling programme; items to start, continue with some, start & finish others.  The success will depend on encouraging enthusiasm in others and managing the human and financial resources, the PC will have to be flexible in accepting offers of help, e.g. Bridget Baker has offered to help with fences etc.  MS to liaise with BB.Comments:  HD: Start by demonstrating it represents the community and communicating about housing etc, elderly housing will be needed to reflect the ageing population of the village, funded by private enterprise.  Keep 20-30 people involved.  Extend communications to set up a central “online” diary to avoid clashing events. HD to speak to Dan Towner (IT) & Liaise with NS re thinking outside the box.NS: PC will need a strategy, may need a facilitator. Should involve groups that already exist.SC: PC involvement will be at 3 levels – possible, probable, or unlikely.RW: PC should respond in Sept/Oct to the village.MS: Parish Councillors are already busy, will need extra help.MK: A framework is needed to draw up a shopping list 7 Village Shop HD  The search has begun in earnest for funds to build the shop; part of this exercise will involve discussions with the Charity Commissioners on the possibility of obtaining charitable status. At the same time discussions are taking place with the architect on the most cost-effective design.A meeting has also taken place with Martin Walker, chairman of the Village Hall committee, to discuss the ways by which the adjacent facilities could work together to best effect.

8 Affordable Housing HD

 There has been no movement this month on Affordable Housing, other than to report to the Annual Parish Meeting.  A copy of this report, together with the accompanying table and map, can be seen at http://www.freshfordvillage.com/pages/affordable_housing.php . Discussions must now resume with B&NES (Housing and Planning) and Western Challenge HA on the potential of Site 20, opposite the Village Hall, and those in Pipehouse.  The latter have been rejected in the past on the grounds of remoteness from the traditional centre of the parish.  Because no nearer sites are available, if the demand for Affordable Housing is to be met, then those reasons for refusal will have to be reviewed Somer should be persuaded to consider the garages at the Glebe as a potential site, Highways may object due to loss of garages, leading to increased on street parking.  

9  Footpaths, Walls and Trees MS & MK

Cemetery Inspection;  ongoing.  War Memorial Grants and Quotes for repairs; RB to chase RJB regarding who should pay for this: PC or FoF.Pound Clearance; MK to ask Ian Croker to bag up rubbish for collection. A plaque on the wall could explain the original function of the Pound in village life. AR to meet MK to discuss design and siting of a wall plaque following response by Bob Sutcliffe at B&NES. Axford’s Wall, Station Road; The Axford’s Wall—MS has contacted Steven to see what response he had obtained from the family re: the Cotswold Wardens taking on this renovation. As predicted they are all delighted and after further thought have decided that they do not need anything to be put down in writing before work commences. MS has inspected the land above the wall to see where their land boundary is as Steven Axford had informed her that it is marked by a wire fence adjoining the Limes property and chain link fence across from there forming a triangle. However the nettles are now too high to penetrate and the chain link appears to disappear all together. However MS now have a fairly good idea of where it should run. Establishing this land is important as they need somewhere on his land to burn all the green rubbish. The other problem is that the land has no access except by putting a ladder up the crumbling wall on the Station road side. MS has asked Arlum Arbaney who owns the rest of the field if he would be agreeable to the wardens driving up his field track if they need to dump off any equipment before they re-park somewhere else. That also (i.e the parking of 5/6 Wardens’  cars) has to be looked into. Arlum is quite happy about that as long as the Wardens contact him with possible dates when and if they need to use this access. As MS was waiting to hear back from Arlum She had not as yet gone back to the Wardens but will do so shortly. MS to follow up

Trees

 

Planting as a response to a B&NES’ initiative Councillors agreed that two oaks on Ham Field would be an attractive addition. MK to approach the Godwins (landowners) to see if they would approve of this - ongoing.

 Tyning Horse Chestnut: MS & HD visited the tree surgeon working on the horse chestnut opposite the war memorial following a report that the it was being lopped,. Approval had been given by B&NES for the removal of diseased limbs but they had not informed the PC. Land ownership:SC asked that the owners of all land in the village should be identified to help clarify situations such as the above.  This could be done via the Land Registry when required at £12/enquiry.  SJ to action.  AR to copy/enlarge the Village plan & issue to all councillors to mark up ownership of land. Play Area Equipment; RWRequest from Freshford for share of funding B&NES have received for new equipment 10 Highways, Street Cleaning and Railways  RW&RBPark Corner Pump Area; ongoingFingerpost Renovation; ongoingA36 Closure; Councillors agreed that, despite the lack of communication with InterRoute, the levels of traffic had not been as heavy as expected during the first 3 weeks but had become worse as cars cut through Freshford to avoid the Midford Lane Barrier. RW has e mailed NB re the problem Bus to Bradford on Avon; RW reported that this was ongoing. Church Hill Flooding Problem; see matters arising. SC to write a statement re PC responsibility for HD to approve, then it will be fixed to the notice boards. Station Matters RW; Poster; RW stated that she had, again, asked Peter Jobson why the poster was not currently displayed on the Bradford platform and was still awaiting his reply - ongoing.Station Garden Maintenance; ongoing, weeding team to meet mid May – volunteers needed.Meeting with FirstGroup; RW reported that she would be attending a meeting to discuss the installation of “running in” notice boards at the station. Waiting to hear from Peter Jobson    11 Shared Space HD The response at last autumn’s public meeting which was addressed by Ben Hamilton-Baillie and the Parish Plan make it clear that application of the shared space concept to the village centre in particular must be explored further.  A small group of councillors and others from outside, headed by Ray, should draw up a strategy which can be taken forward with B&NES and, where essential and affordable, Hamilton-Baillie Associates.  It may emerge that the scheme will have to be much smaller than has been envisaged.  In any event, whatever emerges will have to be communicated clearly to parishioners so that we retain their enthusiasm. HD has written a report which will be discussed when there is more time.  Perhaps Phil Affleck & Graham Jenkinson could be encouraged to be involved. HD/RB to contact. 12. Correspondence AR Avon and Somerset Constabulary; newsletter from Olivia Pinckney.Clerks and Councils Direct; magazine,B&NES Adult Social Services and Housing; examples of information publications.Wiltshire County Council; Wiltshire Magazine 13. Finance HD & AR                                

Payments needing to be made in MAY

Ian Croker, Street Cleaning, £196.68. Chairman’s expenses, amount to be notifiedAlan Duck, initial clearance of The Pound area, £80Allianz, Annual Insurance, £493.94

Retrospective Payments

Open Spaces Society, copy of “Our Common Land”, £19SEC, Fitting new lamp and bracket, £165.89Memorial Hall, Room Hire and Donation towards upkeep, £150 and £1050

Cemetery Upkeep

Alan Duck will try and get a quote through for the work on the wall. He is waiting to discuss the repairs with Clive Hayward. He will explain what kind of render they intend to use and why.SJ to bring figures from B&NES, West Wilts etc to the June meeting for discussion.

Street Lighting

Photocell work scheduled for May 13th.

Scottish Widows Account

HD to ask Gordon Edwards for advice on a higher interest account for PC reserves to enable SJ to move funds if necessary on her return from holiday.

Audit Preparations

SJ & Peter Davies to spend a day going through the figures to present them at June or July meeting.

14. Pre-Advised AOB

 The PC expressed their thanks to SC for all his hard work during his chairmanship. PC Code of Conduct:  Vernon Hitchman, B&NES lawyer had reminded the PC that the Register of Interests should be updated.  HD asked all to action, SJ will place a copy on all noticeboards.Vernon Hitchman also suggested that parishioners’ attention be drawn to new arrangements for lodging complaints against councils Village fete: Saturday June 14th.  11.00 for setting up of stall for usual treasure hunt map.  Stuart will provide the map. RW to ask Richard Blamey to provide the childrens’ game & Alison Cavaliero to provide the sweets.  15. Date of Next Meeting;  Monday JUNE 16th 
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