Wellow Parish Council
Clerk
Geoff White
Myrtle
Cottage, Wellow, BA2 8QS
Tel: 01225 830159
Minutes of a meeting of the Parish
Council on Monday 5th December 2011 at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Present: Cllrs
Andrews, Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Doman, Prentice and Witty.
Five members
of the public in attendance.
Agenda:
The Chairman announced that Cllr
Caudle had been appointed Vice-Chairman which met with unanimous approval.
11.157 To accept apologies for
absence.
Apologies had been received from
District Councillor Butters and Cllr Wheeler and Cllr White.
11.158 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in October 2011 minutes
None
11.159 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on September 12th 2011.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on November 14th 2011 were approved unanimously.
11.160 To report matters arising from
the minutes and not on the agenda.
The Chairman said that any
discussion regarding planning issues to the east of the village would be
deferred until District Cllr Butters was in a position to report.
The Chairman asked the Clerk to
provide him with a copy of our insurance policies and a list of the documents
held by our bankers. GW
Cllr Wheeler has made the necessary
arrangements with Tim and Louise Bray to provide the village with a Christmas
tree.
11.161 Planning
1. New applications
11/05103/TCA: Church
Farm, High Street, Wellow. Fell three trees, an oak, ash and maple.
Cllr Caudle said that she
had looked at the site and that she had no objection. If the trees were left to grow they would
become too large for it. Cllr Clarkson said that a neighbour feared that
removal of the trees would cause a loss of privacy.
The chairman said that he
had no objection to the proposal either but Cllr Caudle felt that we should
seek some clarification from B&NES before responding. This was agreed. DC
2.
Decisions received
The Council noted that
the proposed development at Bourne Farm had been approved.
11.162 Village Wear and Tear
Cllr Witty said that Combe Hay
Parish Council will be inspecting the tree giving cause for concern on Combe
Hay Lane. She also reported that
B&NES have fixed posts along a narrow stretch of the road to make it feel
more secure.
Cllr Doman said that some drains in
Wellow Lane were blocked by leaves. He
agreed to contact Council Connect about it. PD
Cllr Witty referred to the drain at
Pope’s Lane and the need for a cover. The Clerk was asked to contact Council
Connect. GW
Cllr Witty mentioned that there were
blocked drains on Bath Hill but Cllr Betts said that B&NES had been
clearing them recently so it was felt that no further action need be taken at
this stage.
Stewart Cole, from the floor, said
that a tree opposite the church was causing damage to the wall of and should be
removed. The Clerk was asked to contact
Council Connect. GW
It was reported to the Council that
a resident of Manor Close had fallen over in the car park. Concern was expressed about the state of the
lane leading into the car park off Station Road. The Clerk was asked to report the matter to
Council Connect. Cllr Doman said that,
to be effective, the lane should be planed at then surface treated. Just filling in any potholes with gravel
would not be effective. GW
11.163 Finance
a.
The Council approved the payments to Stewart Cole and to the
Clerk.
b.
The Council unanimously approved and accepted the financial
report which had been circulated before the meeting.
c.
Cllr Andrews said that she had been unable to make any
progress regarding the Millennium Fund. It was agreed to defer this item until
the January meeting. HA
d.
The payment of a grant to St Julian’s PCC of £100 to help
with the production of the Parish Newsletter was approved. It was agreed that a
cheque be written during the meeting
e.
Cllr Witty asked whether the Council would approve a grant
of £100 per quarter to the Wellow Community Bus Group. She asked that any grant be a general one
rather than being tied to any particular purpose. Cllr Betts said that the Council would like
to see the Group’s accounts and budget before agreeing. The Chairman expressed support for the bus
but it was agreed that any decision be deferred until the January meeting to
give councillors a chance to see the accounts.
11.164 Parish Plan – traffic calming
The Chairman thanked Cllr betts for
providing a brief history. In summary:
The developer of the Peasedown
development, Circle, provided £47,500 section 106 funding in 2004.The Parish
Council selected a traffic consultant. Together they devised a “shared space” approach,
which involved elements of cobbling the road to break up the linear feature of
the High St. This approach was supported by the B&NES Highways Officer,
Nick Jeanes, but he was replaced by Adrian Clarke who was less supportive. The
“Shared space” approach was watered down by B&NES, to the extent that the
basic concept was lost. The £47,500 was spent on:
Cobbling put in the road
At the junction of Mill Hill and the
High Street
Around the Fox and Badger
In arcs, on the High Street, at the
drives to some houses
Mini chicanes put in at the west and
north entrances to Wellow, with cobbling and a 20mph sign
20mph signs at south and east
entrances to the village
13th May 2011 B&NES issued a
Traffic Regulation Order for a 20mph speed limit in Wellow
Subsequently (August 2011?) police
issued speeding ticket to motorist for exceeding the limit; motorist appealed
as the signage was not lawful. Presumably, Police will not try to enforce the
speed limit until they are convinced they are likely to get a conviction.
In May 2011 B&NES reported that
the average speed on the High Street reduced by 1mph (from 25-26mph to
24-25mph, which according to Adrian Clarke is “in line with expectations for a
scheme of this nature). ie 4-5mph above the speed limit, and with “half” the
cars going faster than 25mph
Traffic speeds are reduced at the
chicanes to the north of Wellow – but not sure that they are reduced to
20mph. Elsewhere there is little
evidence of any change – ie where people used to go at 20mph, they still do,
but where people went faster – they still do.
The speeding problem seems worse
because of the increased (and increasing) traffic.
The cobbles along the High Street do
not slow cars down, but they do make a significant noise such that residents
keep their windows closed so as not to be woken by early morning traffic.
The cobbles outside the pub serve no
discernable purpose
The Parish Council’s objective is “an effective and enforceable 20mph speed
limit through Wellow village.
Cllr Caudle said that there are
strict regulations concerning signage and that these had not been adhered to by
B&NES. After considerable discussion it was agreed that we should ask
B&NES to put in the necessary signage so that the TRO can be enforced. Once
this is in place, we will ask the police to enforce the limit.
Mike Clarkson, from the floor, said
that he might be able to borrow some speed guns as part of a Neighbourhood
Speedwatch and this was welcomed.
Cllr Witty mentioned the noise which
traffic makes when going over the cobbles. As the cobbles are ineffectual at
slowing cars down, can they come out?
Cllr Betts remarked that the on-road
painted signs needed to be re-done.
The Chairman suggested that we
contact B&NES about these matters and that we publicise the need to observe
speed limits in the Parish News and at the School. HP
We also need to add the Wellow signs
but we couldn’t undertake this until the Millennium Fund monies had been
released.
11.165 Footpaths
Cllr Doman referred to an earlier
letter from Rosemary Todd. As a result
of this David Phillips has kindly agreed to repair the footpaths along Wellow
Brook in the summer.
Cllr Caudle showed a map displaying
footpaths in and around Wellow. The
Chairman asked her and Cllr Doman to consult Parish Online which will provide a
larger scale map. He also asked that
they walk the paths indicated and report back at the January meeting. PC/PD
11.166 White Ox Mead resurfacing
Following an exchange of emails
between the Chairman and District Cllr Butters, Cllr Doman said that Geoff
Pike, who owns the land concerned, has no objection to the work carried out and
so no further action need be taken.
11.167 B&NES’ plans
for travellers’ sites
The Chairman explained that
B&NES had already identified a suitable site which didn’t affect
Wellow. It was agreed that the Chairman
would convey the Parish Council’s approval to B&NES. HP
11.168 Any other reports
Cllr Andrews said that plans for the
carol singing on the Batch were well in hand.
She asked that councillors donate some mince pies and also asked that
the Council agree to pay for sweets for the children. This was agreed.
Cllr Witty said that she had been in
touch with the owners of the shop next to the Fox and Badger. They had
indicated that if were to pay for the renovation we could have 15 year lease
rent free. Alternatively the owners would
carry out the renovation in which case we would have to pay rent of £1000 pa.
The Chairman said that the shop would have to generate income and it was agree
that we would put a suitable article in the Parish News. Cllr Witty would also give Richard Holland
suitable information to distribute by email. MW
Cllr Witty said that, although
B&NES had originally turned down plans for rural broadband, they had had a
change of heart. She will keep the
Council informed of any further developments.
The Chairman reported on the
Neighbourhood Plan meetings. He and Cllr
Clarkson will be attending a further meeting on December 14th. It is his intention to form a steering group
with a view to devising a questionnaire which would identify the needs of the
village with a report to follow in June 2012.
Mike Clarkson, from the floor, said
that B&NES were undertaking a consultation in respect of the mobile
library.
11.168 Date of next
meeting
It was agreed that the next meeting
will take place on January 9th 2012 at 8pm in the Village Hall. The
meeting closed at 9.40pm
Geoffrey White
Parish Clerk
December 6th 2011