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, January 14th 2013 at 8pm in the Village
Hall.
Present:
Cllrs Andrews, Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Doman, Prentice, Wheeler and White
along with some eighty members of the public.
Agenda:
13.001 To
accept apologies for absence
District Cllr Butters sent their
apologies
13.002 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in November minutes
Cllr Betts expressed an interest in
the planning application regarding Bubblers Dytche and said that she would
withdraw when that item was discussed.
13.003 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on December 10th 2012.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on December 10th2012 were approved unanimously.
13.004 To
report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda.
Cllr Wheeler said that he had had
further discussion with B&NES regarding the play area and that he expected
everything to be finalised within the next four weeks. TW
The Chairman said that the
Neighbourhood Plan Survey was now closed and that he would present some
findings at the February meeting. HP
Cllr Karthauser said that the ford
was still silted up. The Clerk said that
he had already reported this to Council Connect but agreed to get in touch with
them again. GW
Cllr Clarkson said that, as a result
of her enquiries, the majority of people were in favour of siting the “Jubilee
Bench” by the ford. It was agreed that
this should be an agenda item in February.
13.005 Drainage
in Wellow
Cllr Betts said that the drains at
Popes Lane were not effective. The
Chairman observed that the recent unusually heavy rains had caused many
drainage problems, and notably across the village playing field and onto Hungerford Terrace and down the village hall
drive, leading to flooding of the basement in the property at the bottom of the
village hall drive – the Granary. The Clerk said that B&NES had already
been called out to clear the basement at The Granary.
The Chairman proposed that we seek
to fully understand the drainage problems associated with the village playing
field, to ask B&NES and CURO and other professional advice about to achieve
the best all round response. He suggested that the Parish Council may have to
pay for advice and works to the field and drive. This was agreed to
unanimously. Cllr Doman to follow up. PD
13.006 Vehicular Traffic over the Packhorse Bridge
Cllr Doman said that he had been
approached by a Wellow resident who said that she had been told that vehicular
traffic was not allowed to use the bridge.
Cllr Doman said that he had made some enquiries and found that the road
over the bridge was, in fact, listed as a C class road and so traffic was
allowed to use it.
13.007 Planning
New applications
12/05281/FUL: Resubmission re
Bubblers Dytche (Cllr Betts withdrew)
Both Cllr Caudle and Cllr Clarkson
agreed that the resubmission is very similar to the original one although the
new proposal is slightly smaller and there is a larger space between the
proposed properties but slightly closer to the road.
Cllr Clarkson said that the proposal
meant that the plot would be overcrowded.
Cllr Wheeler confirmed that,
although the property appears to be single storey at the front it is, in fact,
on two storeys at the rear.
Cllr Caudle said that our response
should be the same as that to the original application, and we should ask
District Cllr Butters to propose that this application go to committee. The Chairman formally proposed this which was
passed unanimously. Cllrs Caudle and
Clarkson were asked to respond to the Planning Department and to ask District
Cllr Butters to refer this application to the Planning Committee. PC/DC
13/00063/TCA: Tree work at Hillscroft
Cllr White said that the trees
concerned were not visible from the road but were blocking the light into the
house. The goat willow is not subject to a preservation and is pressing against
an adjacent wall. She has been advised
by Wildwood that the intention at present is to leave the roots in situ which
will result in new growth. She suggested
that a better plan would be to remove the tree completely, including the roots,
and to replace it with an indigenous species such as an oak. Cllr White agreed to respond accordingly. JW
Decisions
It was noted that permission had
been given regarding development at the rear of 1 to 7 High Street.
13.008 Finance
The financial statement
for January was approved as were a number of payments.
The Clerk gave an update regarding
the Millennium Fund and gave notice that the Parish Council would have to
decide at the February meeting what any money would be used for. He asked that councillors provide costings
for any proposals made at that meeting.
This was necessary as one of the signatories to the original account had
informed the Clerk that he would not give his permission for the release of
funds unless this was done.
13.009 Wellow
Sports
The Chair reported that a complaint
had been received about the impartiality of some councilors, including the
Chair, in dealing with the Sports Proposal, and asked the Clerk to provide more
details. The Clerk reported that the complaint is being dealt with
independently, by the Secretary of the Bath & North East Somerset Local
Councils Association. The Secretary will respond and take
appropriate action. Meanwhile, the Secretary has pointed us to the relevant
sections of the Localism Act – Chapter 6, section 25, subsections 1 and 2.
These two sections make it clear that Councillors are allowed to express a view
on a subject before making a decision on it. There does not appear to be
any pecuniary interest, or other conflict of interest. As such, it seems
reasonable that all councillors are acting with an open mind, and
should be allowed to continue.
The Chairman asked all councilors to
confirm that they still have an open mind about the Sports Proposal, that they
have not pre-judged the issues to vote on, and that they are acting in the best
interests of the parish. All councillors confirmed this.
The Chairman gave a brief history
regarding plans to increase use of the playing field.
In December 2011 a public meeting
was held to consider building one or more tennis courts in Wellow, for public
use. 15-20 people attended this meeting, and subsequently a smaller group began
investigating how other villages had done this, sources of funding, location in
Wellow, etc.
By May 2012, the discussions
included other sports, and were focusing on the playing field as the most
suitable location. In May 2012 the Wellow Sports Group submitted their draft proposals
to the Parish Council. The Parish
Council own the playing field, and their approval would be needed. Various
issues were raised, drainage, the legal position, lighting, noise, traffic,
membership fees, and costs/funding, as well as does Wellow want a tennis club?
At that stage the Parish Council saw the opportunity to improve sports
facilities in Wellow, but also many issues to be resolved and asked the Group
to sound out the views of parishioners, and bring a revised proposal back to
the Parish Council.
This they did, and in December 2012
the Group presented updated plans to an open day, when everyone was invited to
see and discuss the proposals. About 70 people attended.
Following this the Chair of the
Parish Council held a public meeting to hear and discuss the proposals. About
80 people attended this. The main outputs of this meeting were :
·
Everyone supported the concept of “more sport is better”
·
Most people supported the sports being proposed – tennis,
boules, cricket, netball, outdoor gym and running
·
BUT there was concern about the size of the two courts being
proposed – the visual impact of the fencing and lights,
·
And concern over the lighting
·
And concern about the possible negative impact on Magic
Box/Wrigglers
Following the public meeting, the
Wellow Sports Group brought a final proposal to the 14th December
Parish Council meeting. Wellow Sports
proposed the construction of two tennis courts with floodlighting and a
pavilion, a running track, a reduced size football pitch with some leveling, an
outdoor gym and cricket nets. The
Chairman had originally intended that the Parish Council would reach a decision
in December but deferred it until January to enable councillors to establish
for themselves the facts of the proposal, to possibly visit other
tennis courts and to seek the views of the village.
The Chairman reported that, although
he had received numerous messages of support he had also been presented with a
petition with over 90 people against the proposals. He asked each councillor in turn to give
their views.
Cllr Karthauser said that despite a
great deal of consideration and discussion he was still undecided.
Cllr Betts said that she thought
that a referendum should be held so that everyone would have a chance to
express a view.
Cllr Andrews said that she had been
upset by some of the comments she had heard.
She highlighted one or two negative aspects but said she had been
heartened by the support expressed by young people. She said that when she finally voted she
would try and reflect on whether the proposals would be good for Wellow rather
than expressing a personal view.
Cllr Caudle that she was concerned
about the scale of the project and that a referendum would be the best way
forward.
Cllr Wheeler stressed that the
playing field is meant to be a sports field.
He pointed that tennis is a game that can be played by all ages and
mentioned the social aspect of sports.
He supported the provision of sports facilities for young people but
felt that, as most of the members of Magic Box were from outside Wellow, their
influence on a decision should be minimal.
He supported the idea of a referendum.
Cllr White said that while she was
always able to reach a decision on matters presented to the Parish Council she
felt unable to do so on this occasion.
She felt that, as we live in a democracy, we must consult the village.
Cllr Doman said that while it seems
to be generally agreed that Wellow needs sports facilities this particular
proposal should be put to a referendum.
The Chairman said that no decision
had yet been reached regarding sports facilities in Peasedown St John, and so
we cannot assume that there will be tennis courts there. He said that drainage was an engineering problem,
but that it was resolvable.He felt that the views of Magic Box needed to be
“taken on board” in particular the safety of the children during construction
should the project go ahead. The purpose of the proposals were to encourage
more sport, and arrangement’s to ensure that the school and Magic Box had
suitable access to the facilities would have to be made.
Cllr Caudle referred to the Parish
Council’s conditions attached as an appendix.
Cllr Karthauser gave further details
regarding concerns expressed by Magic Box which related to disruption caused by
any construction. The Chairman said
that, should it proceed, arrangements would be made to minimize disruption to
Magic Box.
Cllr Andrews asked
whether a pavilion was really necessary.
At this stage the Chairman proposed
that the Parish Council accept the conditions referred to by Cllr Caudle. This was passed unanimously.
Having heard several councilors call
for a referendum on the issue, the Chairman then proposed that the Parish
Council hold a referendum on the issue. This was agreed unanimously. He outlined the options for the two types of
“referendum”.
We could hold a Parish Poll (the
correct term for a referendum) which would be organized by B&NES. This would cost between
£1,000 and £1500, as it would be run along the same lines as a general
election, with the poll being held 14 to 25 working days after calling a Parish
Meeting. Alternatively, we could run it
ourselves as an informal survey, which would cost under £300, and which could
be held in about 10 days. Neither of these can be binding on the Parish
Council.
Cllr Wheeler suggested that we use
the electoral roll to identify those able to take part but suggested that we
add new residents who would not yet be on the electoral roll. He also suggested that we lower the eligible
age.
Cllr Doman said he would prefer to
use B&NES electoral services. Cllr
Caudle was inclined to agree but felt that the voting age should stay at 18.
Cllr Betts also preferred a Parish Poll.
A vote was taken on whether we
should run a Parish Poll or an informal referendum/survey. It was decided to run an informal
referendum/survey by a vote of 5 to 3 with one abstention.
A further vote was taken on whether
residents aged 16 and over could take part.
This was agreed by a vote of 5 to 3 with one abstention.
It was further agreed that the
question would be based on the original one proposed in December, ie two courts
with lighting, a pavilion, running track, cricket nets and a reduced size
football pitch, along with the conditions that the Parish Council is
imposing. Voters would be asked whether
they were in favour or not.
It was agreed that we should try and
distribute suitable notices by Friday, January 18th. Subject to the availability of independent
invigilators and the availability of a hall tThe poll
would take place on Thursday, January 24th from 7am until 10pm in
the Community Centre in Manor Close or in the village hall. It was agreed that those eligible to take
part would be those on the electoral roll plus any newcomers plus those aged 16
and 17. Cllr Karthauser said that those
under 18 should be asked for proof of age.
It was also agreed that we should
accept postal votes and votes by proxy and Alex Martin kindly agreed to be a
point of contact for those who wished to vote in this way.
The Clerk was asked to appoint
suitable invigilators. GW
The Chairman agreed to design a
suitable flyer which he would circulate to other councillors for approval.
HP
13.010 Right
to Bid
Cllr Karthauser gave a summary of
the provisions of the Right to Bid legislation and offered to keep a
register. His offer was accepted. The Chairman asked him to put a note in the
Parish Newsletter. JK
13.011 Any other reports
Cllr Caudle said that she still had to get a
final interpretation of the covenant and it was agreed that this would be on
the February agenda.
13.012 Next Meeting
It was confirmed that the next
meeting will be on Monday, February 11th2013at 8pm in the Village
Hall.The meeting closed at 10.15pm.
Geoffrey White
Parish Clerk
December 23rd2012
Appendix
For the Parish Council to support
the proposal, the 7 conditions below must be met.
1)
The Parish Council is satisfied that funding for any works is achieved
before commencement of the works
2) The Parish Council is satisfied that the project is financially sustainable, and that financial risks to the Parish Council are minimised and acceptable. (as a minimum, the WSC to provide a business plan)
3)
IF it is determined that the 1958 Deed is valid, then the conditions of
the deed must be upheld. (Current advice is that, if the deed is valid, then
the WSC proposal will need to be approved by
the Charity Commission.)
4)
Planning permission and any constraints applied by planners or Wellow
Parish Council (eg control over the lighting and pavilion)
5)
Some form of legal entity, to be agreed by the Parish Council, will be
formed to contain the liabilities of the sports/tennis and to manage the
sports/tennis. The Management Committee of this legal entity will include
provision for two Parish Councilors. The legal entity will be “not-for-profit”,
and offer limited liability to the trustees.
6)
Provision must be made to meet the "public benefit". (eg
some agreed mechanism to allow those who cannot afford to pay to access the
facilities)
7)
The Parish Council is satisfied that drainage from the playing field
will not be made worse (and efforts should be made to improve it)