Wellow Parish Council
Clerk
Geoff White
Myrtle
Cottage, Wellow, BA2 8QS
Tel: 01225 830159
Minutes of a meeting of the Parish
Council on Tuesday 17th April 2012 at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Present:
Cllrs Andrews, Betts, Clarkson, Doman, Prentice, Wheeler and White. Six members
of the public in attendance.
Agenda:
12.047 To
accept apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from Cllrs.
Caudle and Witty. The Chairman confirmed
that Cllr Witty had now formally tendered her resignation.
12.048 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in March 2012 minutes
Cllr Clarkson declared an interest
in the Weaver’s Farm planning appeal.
12.049 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on March 12th 2012.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on March 12th 2012 were approved unanimously.
12.050 To
report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda.
The Chairman asked that the item
regarding the distribution of minutes be carried forward to the May meeting.
Cllr Betts said that she and others
from the Horticultural Society had cleared and tidied the chicanes at the
entrances to the village, and they would be planting seeds there.
Stewart Cole said that he had
reported the pothole in Henley View to Council Connect.
Cllr Wheeler said that Erica Smith
had purchased a Union Flag for use on St
George’s Day and for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
There has been no further progress
in connection with the shop next door to the Fox and Badger but Cllr Andrews
was able to give the Chairman a file of documents relating to the shop. Cllr Betts said that the Village Hall was not
a suitable venue for the storing of Parish documents.
Various options regarding the shop
were discussed and Alex Martin, the previous Parish Council Chairman, gave a
brief history. Cllr Clarkson suggested that we approach the owners with a view
to their gifting the shop to the village.
The Chairman and District Councillor Neil Butters agreed to follow this
up with the owners.
Cllr Andrews said that she had yet
to fix a date when interested parties could go through the parish records but
it was agreed that she would do so after the meeting.
Cllr White said that there was
nothing definite yet decided regarding the provision of fruit trees.
12.051 Planning
1.
New applications
Greenhayes: Cllr Clarkson
said that she could see no reason why the proposed tree pruning should not take
place. The Council agreed unanimously to
support the application. Cllr Clarkson
will inform the Planning Department accordingly. DC
Under Hayes: Cllr Clarkson gave the Council full details of the
proposals and said that the area affected would be landscaped and that the new
buildings would be screened. The Council voted unanimously to support the
application. DC
Home Farm: Cllr Clarkson said that the proposed installation of
photo-voltaic cells was relatively small, generating 4Kw from an array less
than a metre high. The proposed site is near the house on sloping land and well
screened. The owners are willing to plant a hedge to the north of the
installation to provide further screening. The site is hidden from neighbouring
properties. Cllr Clarkson proposed that
the Council support the application and this was agreed unanimously. DC
Elmlea House: This
application was previously refused as it was felt that it was too large. A new
proposal has been designed by Mark Watson. None of the neighbours have objected
and it was agreed unanimously that the Council would support it. DC
Manor Farm Barn: Cllr Clarkson said that the
proposed changes would not involve any alteration to the external appearance of
the building. The building itself would
only be visible from the existing house. The Council voted unanimously to
support the application. DC
Weavers Farm: Cllr Clarkson withdrew as her house overlooks the
property to which this planning application relates. The Chairman drew
attention to the list of reasons given by B&NES for refusing the
application. He said that he could see
no reason to add to them. Wellow Parish Council did not respond to the original
application as it was felt that any decision should be left to B&NES.
Cllr Clarkson resumed her
seat.
2. Decisions received
Old Works, Railway Lane: The removal and replanting of a
tree on the site has been approved by B&NES. The Council noted the decision.
12.052 Access to West End Cottages
Cllr Andrews referred to the
exchange of emails between herself and the owner of Number 1, West End
Cottages, Robert Owen, a copy of which had been circulated previously.
Cllr Betts said that she was against
access being provided to 1 West End Cottages and to the proposed new building
alongside it via the Village Hall drive. The original access had been agreed to
as parking was not perceived to be a problem and it only related to No 1, not
to any new build. The agreement was
never finalised and so lapsed. It was unanimously agreed that Wellow Parish
Council would not agree to granting access via the drive.
Cllr Wheeler expressed concern about
the possibility of lorries trying to gain access up the driveway during
building works. Cllr Doman suggested
that the bollards at the top of the driveway which were designed to prevent
vehicular access to the playing field should be re-instated. The Chairman
suggested writing to the owners of those properties which back on the field
advising them that the bollards would be installed and this was approved
unanimously.
12.053 Finance
The outstanding payments were
approved as was the Financial Report up to April 12th.
Cllr Andrews has made some progress
regarding the release of monies from the Millennium Fund and would continue to
follow this up.
The Clerk reported that he had
received the documentation from Mazars regarding our annual external audit and
Richard Holland confirmed that he would continue as our internal auditor.
The Clerk said that he had completed
the necessary forms for the Council to reclaim VAT.
12.054 Village Wear and Tear
Cllr White said that there was a
need for litter bins outside the Village Hall.
Cllr Betts said that there used to be some but that they were removed
because of abuse. There is a bin at the
bottom of the driveway.
It was agreed that we should provide
a sign outside the Village Hall asking people to put their litter in the bins
by the village hall.
Stewart Cole said that the
kerbstones near Footman’s Cottage had not been repaired and the Clerk agreed to
remind Council Connect about it.
12.055 Unsightly rubbish behind the Old Vicarage
Garden
The Council’s attention was drawn to
two piles of rubbish which have appeared on the stables site. There is an old
pile of doors and various items which have become overgrown and a pile of
plastic sacks. These piles look
unsightly and give a poor impression of Wellow to anyone using the footpaths
which run nearby. Some concern was also
expressed regarding the possibility of their being toxic materials in the old
pile such as asbestos.
Richard Holland suggested that we
write to the tenant, with a copy to the Diocese of Bath and Wells who own the
land in question, to ask that the rubbish be removed. He gave the details to the Clerk who said he
would follow it up. GW
12.056 Improvements to the area round the Ford
Cllr White reported that, in
conversation with a local resident, the suggestion had been made that we clear
space around the Ford to provide picnic tables. Cllr Wheeler said that, while
he would be against picnic tables, he would have no objection to the provision
of a suitable bench. It was pointed out
that B&NES own the land but the Chairman agreed to put a note in the Parish
News asking for volunteers to look after the space. HP
12.057 Footpaths
The Chairman referred to the letter
from Graeme Stark regarding the footpath leading to the field behind Brunel
House. He suggested that the Council
write to him to say that we agree with his proposals. This was agreed
unanimously. GW
12.058 CPRE Village of the Year Competition
The Chairman referred to the letter
from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England but it was decided not to
enter.
12.059 Traffic Calming
Cllr Wheeler said that Nick Jeane’s
from B&NES expected that all outstanding work re signage would be completed
by the end of May after which time the Police will enforce the speed limit.
The main area of concern is at the
west end of the village. The possibility
of erecting an electronic sign informing drivers of their speed was mentioned.
Nick Jeane’s is due to meet with the traffic calming sub-committee next week.
District Cllr Butters mentioned that
the Two Tunnels would be opened on October 6th 2012.
12.060 Correspondence
The various magazines and
leaflets were distributed to Councillors.
Cllr Andrews said that the problems
at the cemetery at a recent funeral were not caused by the Burial Board.
District Cllr Butters referred to
the plans for one or more tennis courts in the village. The Council agreed in principle to support
the idea.
The Chairman said that we should
seek clarification from Gigaclear regarding the costs of installing a faster
broadband in Wellow. B&NES are
already involved in the pilot scheme with Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Torbay
Councils.
12.062 Date of next meeting
The date of the next
meeting was confirmed as 8pm in the Village Hall on May 14th 2012.
The meeting adjourned at
9.40pm.
Geoffrey White
Parish Clerk
April 25th 2012