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