Wellow Parish Council
Clerk
Geoff White
Myrtle
Cottage, Wellow, BA2 8QS
Tel: 01225 830159
Minutes of a meeting of the Parish
Council on Monday 9th January 2012 at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Present: Cllrs
Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Prentice and Wheeler. District Cllr Butters also
attended.
Eight members
of the public in attendance.
Agenda:
12.001 To accept apologies for
absence.
Apologies were received from Cllrs.
Andrews, Doman, White and Witty
12.002 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in December 2011 minutes
None
12.003 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on December 5th 2011.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on December 5th 2011 were approved unanimously.
12.004 To report matters arising from
the minutes and not on the agenda.
The Chairman expressed his thanks to
Cllrs Wheeler and Andrews for their work in making arrangements for the
Christmas tree and for the carol singing respectively.
Cllr Wheeler said that thanks were
also due to Andy Elvin who had helped both with the erection and removal of the
tree.
The Chairman said that, as Cllr
Andrews had tendered her apologies, the item regarding the Millennium Fund
would be deferred until February.
12.005 Planning
New applications
1.
St Julian’s Church:
installation of stainless steel roofing to replace the stolen lead.
Cllr Caudle said that
using stainless steel would be perfectly acceptable as it is specially coated
to make it look like lead. Part of the
north roof is already constructed from stainless steel.
The Council approved the
application and Cllr Caudle agreed to write to the Planning Department of
B&NES accordingly. PC
2.
West End Cottages:
Construction of new building (resubmission)
Cllr Caudle recommended
that this application be refused because of a number of issues, including lack of safe on-street
parking, property appearance: the proposed building was larger than the
existing cottages along the row, the fenestration does not match the other
cottages, dormer windows at the back
which are not present in the rest of the terrace and a sun room inappropriate
for a Conservation Area.
The application still
refers (incorrectly) to four bedrooms and off-street parking. The Council said
they would prefer to see a higher level of sustainability in the building, with
more passive solar gain, renewable energy generation and collection and use of
rain water for instance.
The Council agreed to the
proposal and Cllr Caudle agreed to write to the Planning Department of
B&NES accordingly. PC
12.006 Village Wear and Tear
Cllr Betts said that the drain at
Popes Lane was waterlogged. The Clerk
was asked to report this to Council Connect. GW
Cllr Wheeler said that Mill Hill
still flooded after any rain as the drain at the top of the hill was
insufficient to cope with the amount of water.
The Clerk was asked to report this to Council Connect. GW
Stuart Cole, from the floor, said
that he had found the bar which fits across the top of the barrier leading into
the car park. The Chairman asked whether the bar was actually needed. Cllr Wheeler pointed out that the bar would
act as a deterrent to travellers but Erica Smith, from the floor, said that the
bar needed to be removable as the car park was used by refuse collectors for
turning their lorries round. If the bar
was fitted permanently, they would have to reverse back into the High Street.
The Clerk said he would contact
B&NES about this. GW
Now that the work has been completed
along by Footman’s Cottage, the pavement can be repaired. The Clerk agreed to contact B&NES
accordingly. GW
Concern was raised about the amount
of dog fouling in the village. The
Chairman said he would put a note about it in the next newsletter. HP
Concerns were raised about the trees
at Court Farm. Stuart Cole said he would
give the Clerk full details so that the Clerk could write to the owners.
12.007 Finance
a.
The Council approved the payments to Stewart Cole and to the
Clerk in respect of salary, the purchase of a print cartridge and the purchase
of extra keys for the noticeboard.
b.
The Council unanimously approved and accepted the financial
report which had been circulated before the meeting.
c.
Following the presentation of the budget by Mike Clarkson,
as requested at the December meeting, the payment of a grant to the Wellow
Community Bus Group of £400 pa was approved. Payments will be paid annually and
will not be tied solely to the provision of free travel for senior citizens.
d.
Having answered any questions, the Council approved the
Precept drawn up by the Chairman with assistance from Alex Martin, Richard
Holland and the Clerk. The Clerk said he would send the necessary form to
B&NES. GW
Richard Holland, from the floor,
asked about the grants which are paid to the Village Hall and the shop. He explained that these payments are made
automatically and are not made in response to requests. The Chairman said that they would be approved
at the February meeting.
12.008 Footpaths
Cllr Caudle said that she had been
unable to carry out the planned walks and, since Cllr Doman had tendered his
apologies, it was decided to defer this item to the February meeting.
12.009 Traffic calming
The Chairman said that he had been
unable to make contact with Adrian Clark at B&NES over the Christmas and
New Year periods. District Cllr Butters
offered to help if need be.
Mike Clarkson, from the floor, said
that he had been able to obtain the speed guns requested earlier. Should motorists be caught speeding via these
guns they would receive a letter from the police drawing attention to it but
would not be subject to prosecution.
District Cllr Butters asked about
the legality of these speed guns and Cllr Wheeler stressed that Wellow needed
the correct signage before we even considered using the guns. After quite lengthy discussion it was agreed
unanimously that the Council should arrange for the correct signage to be in
place before making use of the speed guns.
Without the correct signage any
prosecutions for speeding would be unsuccessful. The Chairman will consult with
the police and with B&NES before any further action is taken. HP
12.010 Diamond Jubilee
Cllr Betts said that an open meeting
was planned for January 19th to discuss arrangements for the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee.
The Chairman asked her how the
Golden Jubilee celebrations had been funded and she said that she would have to
talk to Anthony Weale about this as he had been the main organiser. SB
Cllr Clarkson asked whether any of
the proceeds from the quiz nights at the Fox and Badger could be used but
Richard Holland explained that these events were held to raise funds for
charity and the beneficiaries were already identified. He didn’t feel it would be right to divert
any of the funds for an event of this nature.
Cllr Wheeler expressed the view that
the Parish Council would want to help but it was agreed to wait until firm
proposals could be made after the January 19th meeting.
12.011 Buckingham Palace Garden Party
It was agreed that the Chairman and
his partner should be nominated for the Garden Party ballot. The Clerk will
make the necessary arrangements. GW
12.012 Proposed tennis courts on the playing field
Chris Wordsworth has initiated
discussions around installing tennis courts on the playing field, which is
owned by the Parish Council. Cllr Betts said that the cost of the installing a
tennis court on the playing field had been investigated in the past, and had
been estimated to be in excess of £40,000.
She felt that an all-purpose court, marked out for a variety of games,
would be benefit more people than just a tennis court. She would like the
Parish Council to be involved at an early stage.
Cllr Betts said that Mark Watson
and/or the Halles had drawings/plans from the last time this was considered.
The Clerk was asked to ensure that Chris Wordsworth knew about these. GW
12.013 Correspondence
The Chairman drew attention to the
fact that any plans for community events should go via the Parish Council to
ensure that they were covered under our Public Liability Insurance.
The Clerk said that he had ordered
copies of the booklet “Planning
Explained” from the Council for the Protection of Rural England and that he
would distribute them to Councillors when they arrived.
Cllrs Clarkson and Wheeler agreed to
look at the booklets on mineral extraction provided by Somerset Council and
would decide whether any response was needed.
The Chairman asked Councillors to
respond to the on-line consultation being carried out by Avon and Somerset
Police. DC / TW
12.014 Any other reports
District Cllr Butters referred to
the application for the Boules Court and explained the procedure. Erica Smith
agreed to send him a copy of the original application, duly completed.
District Cllr Butters also referred
to the plans surrounding the Mobile Library and both the shop next door to the
Fox and Badger and the Community Centre in Manor Close were mentioned as
possible locations to enable book swapping to take place. He asked that Councillors respond to the online
consultation being run by B&NES.
The Chairman referred to the
inspection which had been carried out on the playground equipment. Cllr Betts said that she had forwarded the
documents to Cllrs Wheeler and Witty for them to look at. Cllr Wheeler said he would look into the
matters raised in the report and, following advice from Richard Holland, said
that he would liaise with B&NES where necessary. TW
The Chairman read out a letter he
had received from Alex Martin in which he thanked the Parish Council for the
present he was given upon his retirement as Councillor and Chairman.
12.015 Date of next meeting
This was agreed as Monday, February
13th at 8pm in the Village Hall. There being no further business the
meeting was adjourned at 9.38 pm.
Geoffrey White
Parish Clerk
January 10th 2012