Minutes of the Meeting of Freshford Parish Council

held on Monday October 12th 2009

Present; Hugh Delap, Chairman

Rowena Wood, Nick Stevens, Mary Stanhope, Mandy Knowles and Stephanie Jenkins, Clerk.

Gitte Dawson attended the first part of the meeting and was invited to speak on the new planning application regarding signage at the Galleries Shop.

1. Apologies for Absence; received from Stuart Campbell, Guy Ritchie, John Adler, Claudia Towner and Neil Butters, District Councillor. Councillors expressed their delight at the news of the safe arrival of baby Helen Rosa Towner.

2. Declarations of Interest; no new declarations were made.

3. Minutes ; the minutes of the meeting of September 7th 2009 were agreed to be an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman. The Clerk told Councillors that she had been unable to post the unratified September Minutes on the website as agreed because of a virus threat to her computer, which had yet to be resolved.

4 Finance

Retrospective payment approved

Duncan Copeman, new notice boards, £296.30

Payments needing to be made in OCTOBER, approved

Ian Croker, Street Cleaning, £210.97

Mandy Knowles, petrol for strimmer, £9.86

Open Spaces Society, Annual Subscription, £40

SEC, Routine Maintenance of Street Lights, July-Sept, £177.49

Andy Pickard, engraving on new notice boards, £271

Hugh Delap, £135.80, printing of Autumn Bulletin

Hugh Delap, £196.14, printing of Highways Report

Southern Electric, supply, July-Sept., £332.47

Receipts

B&NES Street Cleaning Funding (Sept)£303.49, + October £303.49 Bath Stone Mines, funding for summer edition of Bulletin, £158.20 Limpley Stoke PC, share of expenses for Affordable Homes public meeting, £8.62B&NES, half precept, £6427.50Extra Costs re Notice Boards; NS reported that there were a number of smaller bills outstanding for locks, fixings etc, but that, thanks to an additional amount donated by Friends of Freshford and an anonymous donor,for which grateful thanks were expressed, no further costs would be incurred by the Parish Council.Bulletin Funding; It was agreed that the amount charged to the Sponsor of each edition would include the sum of £20 towards the annual website costs. The Clerk was asked to invoice David Richardson for £160 for the recent Autumn edition.

Street Lighting; the Clerk reported that SEC’s quote for the projected lighting scheme on The Glebe/Cemetery/Memorial Hall footpath had been at £11K without VAT. This was considerably more than had been anticipated and she felt that, unless the Parish Council could find substantial external funding, the idea would have to be shelved.

The light on The Hill, damaged by a lorry, had been repaired by SEC engineers. A bill for the work would be pursued with SCP Products, owners of the lorry.

Grass Cutting; the Clerk reported that she had received an email from Stuart Jones of Countrywide asking if the Parish Council felt prepared to pay a balance of £200+VAT in final settlement of their contract. This was agreed.

Cemetery Water Supply; the Clerk stated that she had, so far, received no complaints from residents about the proposal to remove the supply that had been mentiones in the recent Bulletin. It was agreed that no decision should be taken immediately.

5. Correspondence

Timberline Play Systems, Catalogue

AED Locator, invitation to a meeting of the Chew Valley Defibrillator Project

Cotswold AONB, newsletter

B&NES Waste Services, recycling literature

Bath Preservation Trust, Annual Review and notice/Agenda etc for AGM

B&NES Planning Services, option to receive notice of applications electronically rather than current hard copies

Email; October newsletter from Chief Superintendent Gary Davies

Email; Advert for vacant position of Charity Trustee for Community Action

Lib Dems, Bathavon South newsletter

B&NES Transportation and Highways, Newsletter

ALCA, newsletter, Annual Report and Accounts, Legal briefings

Wiltshire Council, Waste Control Policies DPDs

6. Planning Matters

Decisions

Shop Signage, Freshford Lane (09/02518/AR); although permission had been granted for the fascia sign, B&NES had refused permission for the freestanding sign in the corner of the field, under delegated powers. The Parish Council had supported this application and had, erroneously, believed that its support would have meant automatic referral to the Chairman of the Development Committee for a decision on whether the application should be taken to that committee. However, it had since been made clear that a support recommendation on its own is not enough; full planning arguments must be provided, as they are when a recommendation is to refuse.

Sharpstone House, ( 09/02630/FUL); change of use of existing store/summerhouse into ancillary accommodation. RW told Councillors that the applicant had withdrawn the application.

In response to the PC’s previous query about the likelihood of there being two sites for ancillary accommodation (the garage and the summerhouse) if permission were granted, the case officer had stated that, had permission for change of use been granted, the applicant would have been required to enter into a 106 Agreement with B&NES, cancelling the earlier permission on the garage.

Sharpstone House, (09/02697/CA); alterations to damaged boundary wall; Conservation Area permission granted. RW stated that the Parish Council had objected to this application with supporting planning reasons. Subsequently the applicant had submitted amended drawings, showing that the wall would be rebuilt in its existing position, although higher. A request from the PC that they be consulted on these changes had been ignored. RW had since asked the planning officer to confirm that the conservation permission has only been granted for the wall and not the new gate featured in the earlier application.

Parking at The Inn- discharge of landscaping condition; RW reported that, finally, after almost a year, B&NES landscape architect had been in discussion with the landlord and had visited the site. Her view had been that the way the site has now “greened” would be acceptable to B&NES and no additional formal planting would be necessary. She had asked that the rubbish present in the car park be removed.

Greenacre, Warminster Road (09/00060/RF) appeal; The Appeal had been dismissed by the Inspector on strong Green belt and AONB reasons

New Applications

Shop Signage, Freshford Lane (09/03453/AR; RW explained to Councillors that this application was identical to the previous (see under decisions) and that, should the Parish Council wish to support it, as they had done before, strong supporting planning arguments would need to be attached. Gitte Dawson, representing the Shop Committee, told Councillors that it was imperative that the application should be viewed by the full planning committee rather than a decision being made, subjectively, by an individual officer. After discussion, RW was asked to collate a supporting response, based on the unanimous view of the meeting that the shop was already providing a valuable and vibrant centre for the village, in line with all the targets set by the Local Plan and Central Government. The sustainability of such a scheme depended on attracting as much trade from as many sources as possible and hence a sign, which by its nature needed to be visible, was necessary.

On-going Items

Bristol Airport expansion scheme (09/02339/CONSLT);

The Inn/ internal alterations;

General Items

Solar Panels; HD’s view was that, following contradictory rulings, particularly in conservation areas, clear guidance was needed from B&NES Planning Department.

Guide to Councillors on background and system for Planning Applications; ongoing.

War Memorial; RW reported that she was still awaiting formal notification of listing.

7. Emergency ServicesThe Clerk reported that, in response to the Parish Council’s recent letter, she had received a phone call from Avon Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, assuring the PC that note had been taken of the concerns expressed. It was intended, shortly, to send a fire crew out to the Freshford Mill site to reconnoitre the difficulties of approach and to set up an incident plan. On the issue of Fire prevention methods in the less accessible areas of the village itself, once the relevant Fire Officer had returned from leave, a site meeting would be arranged and Councillors would be able to point out specific concerns. The Clerk was asked to pursue this matter. 8. Green Energy

HD told Councillors that Limpley Stoke PC have begun investigating the potential for generation of electricity at the old Limpley Stoke Mill site. He suggested that, once the Freshford Mill development is complete, it might be an interesting idea for the PC to encourage the management company to take up.

9. Avon Valley Parishes Alliance

HD told Councillors that he would be attending the first meeting of this association on October 13^th. There would be no fixed agenda and the intention was to compare common problems and resources, with particular reference at this meeting to the threat to Bathampton Meadows by the recently approved Park and Ride scheme; a corollary to this might well be the re-opening of the prospect of an A36/A46 link across the river. Another topic for discussion might be the generation of hydro-electricity (see item 8) and how, by parishes joining together, the costs might be reduced.

10. Updatesa. Freshford MillOngoing Matters; RW reported on a number of ongoing matters; the Parish Councillors tour of the site had taken place on October 6^th. RW to write with thanks. The open visits for parish residents are to be on October 17^th. It was agreed that contact should be made with the B&NES Case Officer, Mark Reynolds, to update and review the progress with the discharge of the conditions attached to the planning permission for the site. RW to arrange a meeting.

b. Communications and funding; NS reported that the three new notice boards are almost ready for installation and Councillors agreed on a Sadolin finish for the oak joinery. Thanks to a generous anonymous donation and one from the Friends of Freshford, the additional installation costs had been met. Councillors thanked Nick Stevens for the time and effort spent on this project.

GR had reported on the recent meeting of the Village Communications Group . Among items discussed were a design update for the website, a new template for the now very successful Bulletin, (which will continue to be published both in hard copy and on the web), fund-raising events and the provision of a subscribers’ database. Residents could sign up for this and would also receive “parish news flashes”. Dan Towner and John Adler are to work on this project which will involve an outlay of about £100 by the Parish Council. Councillors agreed to this.

Following registration of the Parish Council’s interest, GR reported on discussions with Roy Banks of Communitybuilders Fund which opens shortly and has £70 million available as grants and loans for sustainable community projects. It would be a suitable fund for the re-development of the Village Hall into a self-financing community centre, offering a range of services in addition to the existing facilities. Roy Banks had advised that this would be well within the remit of the fund. Any application would need to be made by a community organisation, outside the Parish Council. Councillors felt that this was potentially an exciting project, but it would be necessary to have the clear support of the Village Hall Committee and the community at large, including Limpley Stoke. GR and HD are to set up a meeting with Martin Walker and Simon Combe. HD felt that the first step would be to establish exactly what facilities should be provided. RW sounded a note of caution. If the village were to overdevelop itself, the chances of becoming one of B&NES “Hub” villages, with consequent large scale housing development, might increase.

c. Affordable Housing; HD informed Councillors that a meeting with EHRA, Community First and officers of B&NES and Wiltshire had been scheduled for October 19^th, 10am at Limpley Stoke Village Hall. The chief purpose would be to discuss the findings of the recent survey and to plan future action.

Two possible new potential sites, one in the centre of the village and one on Waterhouse Lane had been identified. However these may not meet the stringent criteria in place.

d. Police Matters; it was agreed to invite the new community officer to speak, early in the new year, about the dangers of opportunist burglaries, particularly during the digital changeover period and to advertise this in the Bulletin.

e. Footpaths, Walls and Trees; MS updated Councillors on the progress of the provision of a field gate onto the playing field. Thanks to Stuart Ballard, B&NES Footpath Officer, the costs had been considerably reduced. She was asked to pursue the matter.

MS told Councillors that the Finger post signs were undergoing the promised renovation. One of the historic “Go Slow” signs had been repainted in the original colour.

Benches; SC had kindly offered to renovate the damaged bench at the Crowe Lane/Dark Lane junction. It was suggested that a possible site for a bench on the route up to the Galleries shop might be on the footpath beside the stream. MS offered to investigate the availability of a free bench from the Cotswold Wardens.

f. Street Cleaning and Dog Matters

The Pound; a number of suggestions for its future use had been received. Councillors agreed to pursue the idea of an annual sculpture competition, possibly initially centred on the theme of “cows”, the winning entry to be placed in the Pound for a year. Judging might take place at the summer fete. NS agreed to approach the school to gauge their enthusiasm.

Dog Matters; sites and types of bin for waste collection are still being negotiated with B&NES. MK was thanked, by Councillors, for her patience in dealing with the three departments at B&NES involved, each with its own rules and agendas. Bins not on public land have to be paid for, but can still be emptied, without charge, as long as they are close to the highway. It was decided to request a total of four bins, two provided by B&NES and two paid for by the PC. MK to act on this.Dog fouling was still causing concern on the play area behind the hall. It is hoped that, once the gate to the field is in place, this might improve. One suggestion was that the Dog Warden be asked to visit the school to explain to children the nature of the hazards involved. NS to broach the matter with the school. MK to approach the Dog Warden.

g.Public Transport; RW stated that residents of Station Road had received a full report on the current proposals for the extension to the car park. One resident’s response had been one of concern that the extra spaces would be used by non-residents. She asked if the PC had any means of ensuring that only residents would benefit. Councillors agreed to investigate the possibility of issuing residents’ permits for the new area. The village poster had again disappeared from the station boards. RW again pursuing the matter. Investigations are taking place to see whether the old Freshford station sign can be erected in the new garden area.

h. Roads and Traffic; NS reported that the new HGV signs should be in place in October. The Parish Council had made representations to the Highways Department on the specific placement of signs so that they will achieve the desired effect.

Highways had confirmed that work on the Park Corner scheme, to replace bollards and lay new pennant kerbing, would shortly take place. The PC, with the Friends of Freshford, had agreed to contribute up to £400 to the scheme.

Traffic Report; NS told Councillors that this had been completed and twenty copies printed. A number had already been sent to various departments and officers within B&NES and to adjacent Parish Councils. PDF copies had also been circulated . Councillors thanked Nick Stevens for all the time spent on this valuable document and asked for copies to go also to Mark Reynolds (Planning) and Lisa Bartlett (Manager, PlanningDept) and Andy Thomas (Parish Plans).

i. Children and Youth; CT had reported that the Freshford Guide Pack had closed because it no longer had a leader. The Brownie pack is still functioning but will need a new leader when Elizabeth Chatwin has to retire.

The pre-school hopes to create a small area of vegetable garden behind the Hall and also to clear some of the bank to make a general outdoor play area which could be used by all playing field users.

9. A.O.B.

Field Railings; HD invited any Councillors free to attend the official “opening” of the railings and small presentation to Bridget Baker on Friday October 16^th at 12.30pm

10.Date of next meeting;

MONDAY NOVEMBER 2nd

Freshford Village Website (PC Minutes 12th October 2009)