Minutes of the Meeting of Freshford Parish Council

held on Monday February 2nd 2009

Present; Hugh Delap, Chairman

Stuart Campbell, Rowena Wood, Nick Stevens, Claudia Towner and Stephanie Jenkins, Clerk.

1. Apologies for Absence; Mary Stanhope, Mandy Knowles, Ray Benfield, Guy Ritchie and Neil Butters, District Councillor.

2. Declarations of Interest; SC as member of Shop Committee (item 7c). It was noted that various other Councillors had made or promised donations to the shop project.

3. Minutes ; the minutes of the meeting of January 5^th 2009 were agreed to be an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.

4. FinancePayments needing to be made in February

Ian Croker, Street Cleaning, £203.78

CPRE, Annual Membership, £29

SEC, Non-routine maintenance, £18.65

Southern Electric, supply third quarter, £339.68

Receipts

James Long, Masons, added inscription fee, £60

Bridget Baker, Railings Renovation project, £1674

Reconciliation

Councillors inspected the Bank reconciliation for Sept-Dec 08 as agreed by Clerk and Chairman.

Grass Cutting/Maint. Contract

The Clerk reported that this had been awarded to Countrywide Grounds Maintenance; £800 +VAT for grass cutting with additional £300+VAT for one-off clearance of Tyning Bank and annual tidy of shrubs etc in Cemetery. Our letter of appointment had been signed by them and returned.

Annual Precept Budget

Councillors had received copies of the proposed budget for 2009-10 prior to the meeting alongside figures for the current financial year. The donation made (£5K) to the Village Shop Project meant that the Council’s reserves had been considerably reduced and so it was agreed to add £1000 to the precept to begin the rebuilding process. It was unanimously agreed to request the sum of £12855, an increase of 4% on last year’s precept.

Street Lighting

Photocells; The Clerk reported that finding a satisfactory photocell that would fit neatly into the street lamps and also provide a flexible “turn-off” time had proved harder than anticipated. It was possible that such a photocell might be considerably more expensive than the standard (off at midnight) variety. It was agreed that, should this be the case, the majority of lights would be fitted with the standard photocells with, perhaps, the lights leading up from the station having the more complex photocells, enabling them to be kept on until the last train had arrived. Residents would be given advance warning of the need to carry a torch after midnight.
Demolished Light; the Clerk stated that, despite her best efforts, and with no help from our insurers, it had not yet been possible to make contact with the driver of the car involved. The woman had not replied to a letter requesting insurance details, nor had HSBC, thought to be the insurers, replied to a letter advising them of the Parish Council’s wish to make a claim. It was agreed that a stronger letter should be sent using registered delivery. The Clerk and NS to liase on this.

Insurance

The incident with the light had made it obvious that, as far as property is concerned, the Parish Council is underinsured. The Clerk told Councillors that the lights, if they were to be replaced, had a total value of £56K, which would add approximately £235 to the premium of £495 charged by Allianz. This was without adding other assets such as the war memorial, the cemetery gates, fence and wall and the newly acquired railings by The Inn. She had investigated another company, Came and Co., claiming to have arranged, with Norwich Union, specific Parish Council insurance and had been impressed by their standard cover, which was superior to that offered by Allianz. Came and Co. had stated that their premium for a similar policy, underwritten by Norwich Union, would only be £407. She was instructed to obtain quotes for next year’s Insurance, once replacement values had been set on assets. 5. Correspondence

West of England Partnership; Joint Waste Core Strategy Consultation Document

Severnside Community Rail Partnership; Progress Report

Clerks and Councils Direct; newsletter and yearbook

Land Registry; Registering Your Land, guide for Parish Councils

ALCA; newsletter and legal briefings

Wiltshire Council; notification of new Local Development Framework

Ray Benfield; letter of impending resignation from the Parish Council.

B&NES, Council’s Civic Reception, invitation for Chairman and guest.

B&NES Planning, Tree Works notification, Hermitage Cottage

Timberline, Equipment catalogue

6. Planning Matters

Decisions; 3 The Orchard (08/04444/FUL); Permitted with the condition; All external walling and roofing materials to be used shall match those of the existing building in respect of type, size, colour, pointing, coursing, jointing, profile and texture. The Officer’s report noted that the increase in volume was 15%, so within permitted limits.

New Applications; The Old House (09/00202/FUL) change of dormer window to become French window providing access to roof terrace; after looking at the plans and discussing the application RW was asked to respond for the Parish Council, “no objection”.

On-going Items

Freshford Mill, Variation of Condition 32 (provision of bat house) 08/01778/VAR; decision still awaited.
Parking at The Inn/ internal alterations/outdoor marquee; Case officer, John Dando had stated that these were under investigation by the Enforcement team.
Tennis Club Lighting; RW had informed officers that ducts had been laid under the courts and this had been part of the application for the lighting, but had received no response to this comment.
Ranikhet Pond; the Chairman is to contact Cotswold AONB over their lack of involvement in the decision to grant approval.

General Items

Gas Pipe/ Dark Lane; as yet no reply from Ian Lund.
Meeting with Planners; it was agreed that it would be a useful exercise to discuss the new planning rules with the Planners. RW to set up the meeting. SC to obtain details of the “Permitted Development Rights in relation to Microgeneration”.
Signage; see item 10

7. Updatesa. Freshford Mill

Ongoing Matters; still to be arranged (RW), a meeting with Nick Jeanes about site access. No progress yet with the awaited verge-cutting or with a response from the ecology officer about the bats.

Water main Connection; RW reported that notice had been given that this will take place between 20/04/09- 19/06/09, necessitating road closure.

b. Affordable Housing; NS stated that, following their meeting with Loiuse Davidson of English Rural Housing, Limpley Stoke Parish Council would be discussing the matter at their February meeting.

c. Community Shop; with construction underway, SC stated that search for a manager was the next priority. RW reported that the road surface on Abbey Lane had been damaged and this was thought to have been caused by the digger leaving the site. RB to be asked to pursue the matter with B&NES Highways.

d. Footpaths, Walls and Trees; a short length of “AxfordWall” had collapsed on Station Road. HD reported that the Cotswold Wardens had agreed to repair it.

e. Street Cleaning and Dog Matters; MK’s report to the meeting had stated that the Dog Warden had visited the village a few days ago. HD stated that, as a result, a number of small preventative signs had been put up and the Warden’s advice had been to ease up on the use of the “polo circles” for the moment.

f. Railways; after discussion about the consequences of enlarging the car parking facilities at the station, RW was asked to pursue the matter with Network Rail. HD reported that the “Welcome to Freshford” sign had fallen/been taken down. RW to follow up. 8. Parish Plan Implementation

Shared Space; RB reported that a further meeting had been held with B&NES and the School to progress ideas for improving safety at the crossroads and along Freshford Lane. A drawing, clarifying the proposed improvements to the lay-by and the footpath to the school will be sent by B&NES. At the same meeting RB had also drawn the Highways’ Officers’ attention to the difficult crossing point at the bottom of The Hill. RB invited any Councillors interested to a meeting on February 18^th at 7pm where the people who were on the “Getting About” group involved with the Parish Plan have all been personally invited to hear details of the progress made and the solutions proposed. It is intended to use this group as a sort of sounding board for what has happened so far before spreading the word more widely.
Railing Renovation; work due to start next week, weather permitting.
Communications and Funding; NS reported that the application for a grant to replace/install three notice boards made for the Parish Council by the Friends of Freshford had been successful. GR reported on the progress of the proposed wider version of the Bulletin. HD would continue as Editor with support from GR. The layout would be allowed to evolve, according to the extra articles generated (outside the purely Parish Council matters) and the possibility of creating a consistent graphic identity and adding some colour input were being investigated and costed. For the “on-line” version, HD and GR would need to meet with Dan Towner to discuss the practicalities. It is envisaged that the Bulletin will become self-funding ,through advertising, and this will be the subject for further discussion within the Communications Group.

GR stated that he was investigating funding opportunities for the renovation of the scout hut and also reviewing and updating the existing list of funding sources. Any additional funding sources or project ideas needing funding would be welcomed. CT suggested, as projects; improving the playground equipment for the younger age group, once the Play Pathfinder scheme is completed; a cycle bridge across the river; a village walks booklet and implementation of shared space ideas. SC stated that he was in the process of enlarging and reprinting a “Welcome to Freshford” booklet that he produced some years ago, which contained a circular walk. NS told Councillors that he had a comprehensive selection of local circular walks which could easily be printed as a collection and RW stated that the Tourism Board currently had funding available for such projects, although this was due to finish at the end of the financial year (March) It was also agreed to ask the Friends of Freshford whether they were still planning to reissue their useful Village Booklet. NS had investigated the costs of providing a printing facility within the new community shop and SC was asked to take this to the next Shop Committee meeting to gauge members’ views, as a printer would need to be incorporated into the existing space at an early stage. RW stated that there could be funding for this through Business Link (NS to follow up).HD reminded Councillors that he would need copy for the next edition of the Bulletin by the end of February.

Neighbourhood Watch; RB reported that the Police Co-ordinator had agreed to attend the Annual Parish Meeting and give a presentation. Councillors asked that RB extend a formal invitation. Police records indicate that there are still two Neighbourhood Watch contacts in Freshford, but it was not possible to release their names
Pre-School Plans; CT reported that the Ofstead inspection was awaited. Thanks to publicity in the Wiltshire Times, a donation of toys and pre-school equipment in excellent condition had been received.
Playground Improvements; CT reported that work on this should start at the end of February and that B&NES have agreed that the contractors can install the new cycle stands as part of the project. She had been contacted by Claire Sands, B&NES Youth Services, who wanted to come out and deliver leaflets about the Play Pathfinder Project. CT’s response had been that, until the final plans were definitely in place, this would be a premature move. Claire Sands had agreed to pursue this.
Use of Brown’s Field; HD reported that an inspection of the Scout Hut had indicated that it is structurally fairly sound. The roof and the kitchen and toilet facilities would need repair, but, apart from that, it would be a question of redecoration .CT stated that from her conversations with Claire Sands (7f), it would seem that there could well be funds and support from B&NES Youth Services for a venture like this.
Natural Environment; HD reported that a meeting was being arranged with GR and Candy Harrison. There had been no response to the idea of “garden-sharing” proposed in the last Bulletin.

9. Highways

SC stated that work to repair the dangerous damage to the Mill bridge was scheduled for February. Meanwhile safety barriers and tape had been installed as a temporary measure. He would be pursuing the matter if there had been no action by the end of the month.

RB stated that Highways had assured him that the GPS “narrow lanes” data for Freshford had indeed been passed on to Navteq..

He had also been told that the work at Park Corner, scheduled for last November, would take place within the next three months.

10. Signs and SignpostsFollowing discussion at the January meeting, NS had done extensive research into the rules governing the provision of signs on the highway, advertising tourist attractions and local businesses. He had established that, whatever the status of the road, these signs need planning permission, but that there is no requirement for the planners to consult Parish Councils. Councillors agreed that this was an anomaly and it was decided to raise the matter informally at the next ALCA meeting. (HD to action) 11. Planning Policy Meeting

SC had provided Councillors with full minutes of the recent meeting with members of B&NES Planning Policy Team, (available from the Clerk). He felt that it had provided a very positive starting point for the Policy Group’s deliberations and that the Planners left the meeting with a much clearer and more practical view of Freshford’s services and facilities and the limitations imposed by its infrastructure.

12. Community Service by Offenders

CT told Councillors that her parents’ village had used offenders on a Community Service programme to repaint their village hall and do restoration work on their war memorial. She had contacted the local Probation Service and established that they were keen to set up projects in the Bath area. Councillors discussed the possibilities and difficulties associated with such a project. There was strong concern expressed about the kind of offender participating in these programmes and the security issues involved. CT was asked to investigate the level of the risk assessments undertaken by the Probation service and the veto options available to the PC in the event of a project being set up. Possible projects discussed included work on the Scout Hut.

13. AOB

Freedom of Information Act; NS informed Councillors that Freshford Parish Council is now officially compliant with the Act, with details of the information held by the PC available on the website. He warned that Councillors should be aware that any document passing between them, including emails, would be open to scrutiny if a member of the public requested specific information.

Emergency Planning; HD had alerted Councillors to the fact that, unlike a number of local Parish Councils, the PC has no official emergency planning in place. He had contacted B&NES’ Emergency Planning Unit who would be prepared to come to the Annual Parish Meeting to talk on the subject and offer advice on the necessary steps to take.

Changes within the Parish Council; Councillors expressed considerable regret at the news of Ray Benfield’s intention to leave the PC after April. His valuable contributions in a number of areas will be greatly missed.

Stuart Campbell had also requested to reduce his duties from April, standing down as Vice-Chairman and relinquishing other roles, whilst remaining on the Council. His willingness to remain as Chairman of the Planning Policy Group and assisting with Development Control matters was noted with satisfaction.

17. Date of next meeting; Monday March 2^nd 2009

Freshford Village Website (PC Minutes 2nd February 2009)