Wellow Parish Council
Clerk
Geoff White
Myrtle
Cottage, Wellow, BA2 8QS
Tel: 01225 830159
Minutes of a meeting of the Parish
Council held on Monday, December 10th 2012 at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Present:
Cllrs Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Doman, Prentice, Wheeler and White along with
eight members of the public.
Agenda:
12.156 To
accept apologies for absence
Cllr Andrews and District Cllr
Butters sent their apologies
12.157 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in November minutes
None
12.158 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on November 12th 2012.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on November 12th 2012 were approved unanimously. It was
suggested that the pub and the shop next door to it should be added to the
Right to Bid list.
12.159 To
report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda.
Cllr Caudle felt that we should
consult a barrister for legal advice re the playing field deeds. The Chairman proposed that we should seek a
legal decision and this was approved unanimously. PC
Cllr Karthauser said that any
approval from the Parish Council regarding Wellow Sports could have conditions
attached, eg subject to planning permission and status of the covenant.
Cllr Wheeler said that there had
been no further developments regarding the play area but that he would pursue
the matter again. TW
12.160 Legal Status of Playing Field
See minute under previous
section.
12.161 Village Hall
Cllr Doman said that the new
bollards had been galvanized and would be fitted before Christmas.
12.162 Right
to Bid document
It was agreed that the pub and
adjoining shop should be added to the original list suggested at the previous
meeting.
12.163 West
End Cottages
The Chairman said that he and Cllrs
Caudle and Doman had met with the builders, who are building a new building
onto 1 West End Cottages. In order to
not upset neighbours, they are using the car park in Station Road to park their
vehicles, but will need access at the front for loading and unloading
materials.
The builders have asked for access
half way up the drive, to allow cars to reach access to a space to park on the
land. The builders have had the land valued with and without vehicular access
and the difference amounted to £20,000.
Discussion ensued as to what access should be allowed, and for what
payment. Cllr Doman questioned whether the Parish Council would be allowed to
grant access given the covenant on the field – the covenant applies to the
field only, not the drive. Cllr Caudle
suggested that the Parish Council could grant a licence for access rather than
selling it.
Alex Martin, the previous Chairman,
said that NALC had advised that the Parish Council could grant access and that
a figure of £10,000 had been mentioned.
He further advised that Alistair Colston, a councillor at the time, had
dealt with it although no agreement had been reached with the owners at the
time.
Mr Martin also reminded the Parish
Council that they are not allowed to hold reserves greater than one year’s
precept unless the money was allocated for use for a specific purpose.
Cllr Prentice proposed that we grant
access for an annual fee rather than for a one-off payment and this was agreed
to unanimously subject to legal advice.
Cllr Karthauser asked whether this
would set a precedent in terms of the residents of Hungerford Terrace and
others wanting access to the rear of their properties which backed on to the
field. The Chairman replied that he did
not think this would arise as it would require access along the playing field
and not just in the lane.
12.164 Planning
No new applications had
been received.
The Council noted the decisions that
had been notified in respect of Cranborne, Glebe Cottage, Hillscroft and Church
Farm all of which had been approved.
12.165 Neighbourhood Plan
The Chairman reported that 102
questionnaires had been completed on-line so far. Cllr Betts said that she had
a further 3 paper ones and the Chairman said that he had 10 and so 115
questionnaires had been completed in total.
A total of 110 printed
questionnaires had been distributed and Cllr Karthauser said that a deadline
should be set after which no more questionnaires would be accepted. It was decided to set January 10th
2013 as the deadline. A note would be
put in the newsletter. HP
The Clerk said that he
would display a suitable poster. GW
12.166 Finance
The financial report to
December 10th was approved as were the payments.
The Clerk said that he
had completed all the paperwork regarding the Millennium Fund and that he had
written to all the signatories seeking agreement to release the funds. There was nothing more we could do at this
stage.
12.167 More Trees
Cllr White gave an update and it was
unanimously agreed that we accept the tree on offer. JW
12.168
Traffic calming
Cllr Betts reported that 6 people
had had training on the use of a speed gun and that on December 13th
a further meeting was planned to take place with Michael Rich, Speedwatch
Co-ordinator to take it forward.
The Chairman agreed to put a notice
in the forthcoming newsletter asking for a further 3 people to undertake
training. HP
Gertie Stern, a resident of Manor
Close, asked whether roundels could be painted on the road outside manor Close
indicating a speed limit of 20mph but no decision was reached about this.
It was agreed that we would ask
B&NES to tarmac the chicanes. HP
12.169 Village
Wear and Tear
Cllr Clarkson said that she had been
approached by Jean Horler regarding the buildup of silt under the ford. The Clerk agreed to report it to Council
Connect. GW
Cllr Betts and Cllr Karthauser asked
that we ask Nick Sperrin at B&NES about drainage problems at Popes Lane and
Hassage Hill.
Stuart Cole, a member of the public,
mentioned the flooding of The Granary.
12.170 Purchase and siting of a bench
This relates to the profit made from
the Diamond Jubilee celebrations
Cllr Karthauser said that he had
received a suggestion to site a bench outside the school at the top of Mill
Hill.
Cllr Clarkson said that, following
her survey, 6 people had suggested a bench be sited by the ford and another had
suggested somewhere between the Square and the shop. Cllr Betts said that a suitable site might be
by the bus stop along the High Street, (not the one in the Square)
Alex Martin pointed out that we
would have to seek permission from B&NES where the land belonged to them.
Cllr Clarkson will publish three
options in the parish newsletter, seeking an opinion.
DC
12.171 Any other reports
Cllr Karthauser asked that the Right
to Bid legislation be put on the January agenda.
Cllr Caudle confirmed that the carol
singing on the Batch would take place on December 20th.
12.172 Next Meeting
It was confirmed that the next
meeting will be on Monday, January 14th 2013 at 8pm in the Village
Hall.
Geoffrey White
Parish Clerk
December 23rd 2012