Minutes of the Meeting of Freshford Parish Council
held on Monday November 2nd 2009
Please be aware that these Minutes have not yet been formally approved. This will not happen until the next Parish Council meeting, December 7th
Present; Hugh Delap, Chairman
Stuart Campbell, Claudia Towner, John Adler, Nick Stevens, Guy Ritchie (who was not present for the discussion and vote on the planning application Item 6a), Mandy Knowles and Stephanie Jenkins, Clerk.
District Councillor Neil Butters was present towards the end of the meeting.
Also present, four members of the public, three in connection with a planning application (item 6a) and one to speak on Station car parking (item 8h)
1. Apologies for Absence; received from Rowena Wood, Mary Stanhope
2. Declarations of Interest; Nick Stevens declared an interest in planning application 09/03701/FUL, Rosemary House, and absented himself from discussion and voting on this item.
3. Minutes ; the minutes of the meeting of October 12th 2009, which had been already posted on the website in draft form, were agreed to be an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.
4 Finance
Payments to be made in NOVEMBER, approved
Ian Croker, Street Cleaning, £210.97
Mazars, Annual Audit Fee, £178.25
Countrywide Grounds Maintenance, balance owed, £230
Stephanie Jenkins, Clerk’s Expenses, April-Sept, £96.83
Receipts
David Richardson, Autumn Bulletin Sponsorship, £160
Street Lighting; the damaged lamp on The Hill had been repaired by SEC at a cost of £32.45. The Clerk reported that she had been pursuing SCP Products Bristol for a cheque.
Funding the Glebe/Cemetery footpath lighting scheme; it was agreed that the Clerk and Chairman should approach Somer Housing to see whether, firstly, the land running between the former council houses and the garages is owned by them and, if so, whether they might be prepared to contribute towards a lighting scheme in the interests of residents’ security. They were asked also to point out that the safety railings alongside the path are in need of repair.
Grass Cutting; the Clerk reported that, with the final payment of £200 + VAT, the PC’s contract with Countrywide Grounds Maintenance had ended. Councillors agreed to James Lock’s request to stack tree pruning material neatly on the Tyning bank ready for a bonfire when that area has its annual clearance in the new year.
Audit Completion; the Clerk told Councillors that she had received notice of a satisfactory audit completion from Mazars. She would post the statutory details on the notice board. An additional fee of £20 had been charged because of the need to alter one set of figures and, as these had been passed by the internal auditor, the Clerk stated that she would be asking him to deduct this amount from his fee.
5. Correspondence
Great Western Ambulance Service; Annual Review
Open Space Society; magazine
CPRE Avonside; Annual Report, AGM Agenda
Cotswold Conservation Board; Result of parish Member ballot
Wiltshire Council, notification of consultation on Core Strategy
Letter from Station Road resident; to be discussed under item 8h, Railways
Somer Times, Housing newsletter
6. Planning MattersDecisions; none
New Applications
Rosemary House 09/03701/FUL; the Architect, David Thurlow, told Councillors that, although technically a resubmission, the design for the new house was a completely new one, with much lower elevations. No change of use would be involved and, because of the natural landscape, the building would only be visible from very limited viewpoints. He emphasised the very positive reactions from neighbours and the degree of “greenness” of the design. For the guidance of Councillors, SC had produced a brief resume of the Planning Guidelines contained within the Local Plan; Policy GB1 dealt with the issues of the Green Belt and the “very special circumstances” needed for development to be allowed; Policy HG6 covered residential development in villages defined as R3 settlements and their Housing Development Boundaries. He told Councillors that they should consider whether, in their view, the points in favour of the applicants’ scheme would outweigh the Planning Policies. Councillors discussed the matter, questioning the architect and the applicants. A vote was taken and the unanimous decision was to Object for reasons of Planning Policy.
On-going Items
Sharpstone House, (09/02697/CA); alterations to damaged boundary wall; RW had raised the question, with Lisa Bartlett, Planning Manager, as to why the Parish Council had not been informed of the alterations to this application prior to its being granted permission. The communication had been acknowledged but, as yet, no explanation had been provided.
Shop Signage, Freshford Lane (09/03453/AR; awaiting planners’ decision.
Bristol Airport expansion scheme (09/02339/CONSLT); ongoing
The Inn/ internal alterations; ongoing
General Items
Guide to Councillors on background and system for Planning Applications; ongoing.
War Memorial; listing status, ongoing
7. Core StrategySC had provided Councillors with a very comprehensive summary of the B&NES Core Strategy consultation document, response due by December 11th. Policies dealing specifically with rural communities, like Freshford, place the villages in one of four groups under the umbrella heading “Policy C Settlements”. Under this heading, some settlements would become the focus for “small-scale” development, depending largely on existing facilities and infrastructure, but limited by geographical confines. SC felt that the plans were unlikely to remove the current protections enjoyed by Freshford, but he hoped to persuade the Planners that a small extension to the Housing Development Boundary, specifically for accommodation for the elderly, might be included. He suggested that a formal response to the document be prepared by the Parish Council’s Planning Policy Sub-committee and presented for approval at the December meeting of the Parish Council. Councillors agreed to this and thanked SC for all his work.
8. Updatesa. Freshford Mill; HD reported on the very successful Parish Open Day at the Freshford Mill site. A large number of residents had attended and the feedback generated had been very positive. The Parish Council was awaiting a meeting with the case officer for the development, Mark Reynolds, to review the progress made in discharging the planning conditions. SC stated that bats were already present, some thought to be breeding, in the new bat house.
b. Affordable Housing; NS had provided Councillors with the minutes of the recent meeting with all the various parties involved in the scheme. As it would be the first time they had worked together on such a scheme, B&NES and Wilts Councils would need to draw up a formal agreement, if the joint initiative were to be taken forward. In the meantime, Councillors from the two Parishes were to meet to assess possible sites to be passed to the Planning Departments within B&NES and Wilts for further consideration. NS stated that this meeting had already taken place and a total of 56 potential sites, including all those previously considered by Freshford PC, within the two parishes had been identified. Once the Planners had approved a proportion of the proposed sites, a joint presentation would be made at a public meeting for residents of both Parishes.
c.Community Shop ; HD reported that the shop was still running very successfully. SC is to deliver a presentation on the process of setting up a village shop to the Planning Policy for Rural Areas Meeting, part of the consultation process on the draft B&NES Core Strategy.
d. Communications and Funding; NS told Councillors that the new notice boards should be in place by the end of the month. The Secretary of the Horticultural Society had requested that the boards should not be locked, for ease of putting up publicity notices. Councillors felt that this would not be possible and it was agreed that the keyholders for the separate boards should be well publicised.
Funding for possible Communal Hub, based on improvements to the Freshford Memorial Hall. HD told Councillors that a meeting with all interested parties would be held on 5/11/09 at the Freshford Inn to discuss the feasibility of embarking on such a venture, what services/accommodation would be required and the timing necessary to bid for funding under the Communitybuilders Scheme (£75 million available, in a mix of grants and loans) . A formal vote was taken (proposed SC, seconded JA) for the Parish Council to support the concept of a “Community Hub” located on the present village hall site. This was unanimously agreed.
It was agreed that the suggestion that the Parish Council might take over responsibility for the Hall car park should be left until preliminary talks had established whether a Hub scheme was likely to progress.
e. Police Matters; JA had provided Councillors with the Minutes of the Police Parish Forum Meeting (21/19/09). Items of specific interest were identified as; the possibility of delivering a quarterly “Police Newsletter” along with the Bulletin; the availability of a new, hand-held speed tracking device (replacing the more inaccurate radar speed guns) to produce data on traffic speeds through the village; the willingness of the Community Police Officers to provide weekend or evening sessions, if Parishes felt that the current, daytime, slots were not proving effective; the concern felt by police about the opportunities for “distraction burglaries” which would be provided in the Digital Switchover period. JA to investigate further the conditions for the provision of speed guns. MK to approach the new Community Officer suggesting that he might speak to a public meeting on the subject of Distraction Burglaries in the new year. This to be published in the next Bulletin. The next Forum Meeting will be on January 13th and the next PACT Meeting on November 23rd at Hinton Charterhouse.
f. Footpaths, Walls and Trees; MS had previously circulated Councillors with an update on current developments. Plans for a bench (provided by the Cotswold Wardens) to be installed (by B&NES at no cost) on land where the footpath to the Hall leaves Freshford Lane are well advanced. Permission is currently awaited from Highways. The proposed gate onto the playing field behind the Hall is similarly nearing installation. MS asked that Stuart Ballard, B&NES Footpath Officer be thanked for all his efforts on Freshford’s behalf. The Clerk to write to him once the gate is in place. MS reported a complaint from a resident about bikes creating hazards on the footpath behind the Glebe. She wondered whether reinstating a gate at the point where the path enters the cemetery land might prove an effective speed control. Councillors felt that such an action might also create a problem for other older, less mobile residents and that the bike usage needed to be monitored before any action taken.
g. Street Cleaning and Dog Matters
Village Groundsman; as agreed at the last meeting, Ian Croker had started to cut back along the pavement from the Hall up to Culverwell Cottage, but it had proved a difficult task as the undergrowth and old wood were too tough for his equipment. It was agreed that he should do no more than his equipment permitted and the landowners made aware that the duty to maintain a clear footpath remained with them.
The Pound; further suggestions for use of space had been to place a post box there and to clear the site, place a notice giving historical details and then to leave it clear. On balance, Councillors felt that the “sculpture park” idea was still the favourite option. NS to raise the idea again with the school as a project.Dog Matters; MK reported that, at last, the provision of waste bins appeared to be approaching settlement. B&NES have agreed to fund three of the five new bins proposed (Tyning Green, High Street and Ashe’s Lane), whilst Friends of Freshford will very kindly pay for two bins in the Memorial Hall area. B&NES have agreed that all these bins can be emptied as part of their regular waste collection arrangements. The PC would need to organise concrete bases for the two bins by the Hall.
MK had also been “polo spraying” problem areas, but pointed out that some of the problems ion the playing field were due to foxes rather then dogs!h.Public Transport; Sheila Little, resident on Station Road spoke against the current proposals for the extension to the car park. The PC had also received a letter from Jill Wood from Station House. Their reasons for opposing the scheme were that the extra spaces would rapidly be filled by non-resident drivers and the traffic on the narrow lane would increase exponentially. HD reminded the meeting that passenger numbers were of vital importance for keeping the station open and that potential travellers who lived on the outskirts of the parish needed car parking. It was agreed to investigate the following aspects; the current station usage statistics; the possibility of a traffic count on Station Road, to assess traffic levels; the feasibility of a “residents only” scheme for the new parking area.HD told Councillors that First Great Western had agreed enthusiastically to the idea of reinstating the old Freshford sign at the station.
i. Roads and Traffic; NS reported that the new HGV signs had not yet appeared.
Traffic Report; NS told Councillors that, as yet, there had been no response from B&NES following the submission of this paper. The SIPV Group would be meeting again (3/11/09) for further discussion on taking the matter forward.
Gully outside the old Post Office; work to raise the level of the drain is under consideration. At their request, NS had given contact details of Nic Sperring, B&NES Highways, to Mr and Mrs Davies whose house is subject to flooding when there are problems with this gully.
j. Children and Youth;.CT reported on a very satisfactory Ofsted inspection of the Pre-School. She had received notification of funding available for Early Years Groups from B&NES, one category of which, Children’s ability to access the outdoors, would be particularly relevant given the plan to create a Pre-School garden on part of the playing field. She had met with Martin Walker to discuss the matter of signage – both Pre-School and Playground (acknowledging the Play Pathfinder funding received)
k. Green Energy; HD reported on a visit he had made to a small scheme at Alhampton near Bruton. This has a capacity of 12 kW and cost around £100K to install. He stated that Limpley Stoke are pressing ahead with investigations of the possibilities of producing energy from the weir on the Avon. Councillors agreed to follow their progress and to remain aware of the potential at Freshford Mill.
l. Emergency Services; the Clerk told Councillors that, since the Fire Service had failed to follow up on the contacts promised in a phone call in late September, she had written again to the Chief Fire Officer asking that he use his influence to progress matters.
9. A.O.B.Avon Valley Parish Alliance; HD reported back on the first meeting of the group and asked Councillors for formal approval of membership. The aim of the alliance will be to identify and represent the interests of the valley as a whole and he felt that it could prove a valuable lobby group. After some discussion about the levels of commitment involved in joining such a group and the issues which might be dealt with, NS proposed that Freshford Parish Council should become a member. This was seconded by JA and passed.
10.Date of next meeting;