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, June 11th
2012 at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Present:
Cllrs Andrews, Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Doman, Prentice, Wheeler and White. Seven
members of the public in attendance.
Agenda:
12.076 To
accept apologies for absence.
There were no apologies.
12.077 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in May 2012 minutes
Cllr Betts declared an interest in
the planning application at Bubblers Dytch but it was felt that, since she had
no financial interest, it was not necessary for her to withdraw when that item
was discussed.
12.078 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on May 14th 2012.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on May 14th 2012 were approved unanimously.
12.079 To
report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda.
Cllr Doman said that he had been in
touch with the contractor in connection with the play area but that nothing had
been finalised. It was agreed to carry
this item forward to the next meeting. PD
Cllr Betts said that, because of
helping to organise the Diamond Jubilee even, she had been unable to look into
the costings involved in repairing the Village Hall driveway and erecting a gate. It was decided to carry this item forward to
the next meeting. SB
12.080 Planning
1.
New applications
Rear of 1 to 7 High Street,
Wellow. Application 12/01928/FUL
– internal and external alterations to barn, stables and forge to create two
dwellings
Cllr Caudle said
that the application was fine and Cllr
Clarkson agreed with her. Cllr Caudle
mentioned that there were nesting birds there but it was clear that B&NES
were aware of them. The Council agreed
to support the application.
Since application
12/01931/LBA referred to the same plans
but was for listed building consent it was agreed that the Council would
support that too. PC
Bubblers Dytch. Application 12/01857/FUL – erection of 2
detached 2-storey houses with attached garages following demolition of the
existing single storey house
Cllr Caudle said she was against the proposals and
gave a number of reasons:
·
The proposed high stone walls would be out of keeping with
the rest of the village and would interrupt the views over the valley.
·
The narrowness of the gap between the two buildings would
effectively make this into a single building, out of keeping with the
surrounding buildings
·
The local plan for Wellow decrees that there should be no
flat roofs and no other building in the village has one. The proposed roof is
not only flat but is to be constructed of sedum which will look particularly
bare in winter and when viewed from the north.
·
The south side consists of a glass wall which would be very
large and incongruous when viewed from across the valley.
·
The square footage of the proposed buildings, around 3000 sq
ft each, represents gross overdevelopment when compared with the size of the
plot.
·
There is no mention of stabilizing the site, particularly as
this is an old landfill site.
Cllr Betts expressed
additional concern about there being no provision for oil tanks. There was also
the possibility of subsidence caused by the streams which run underneath the
site.
Cllr Wheeler wondered
whether a redesign would be viewed more favourably and Cllr Andrews replied
that one house might be acceptable.
Alex Martin, from the
floor, said that the proposal was completely out of keeping with the rest of
Wellow and urged the Council to ask District Cllr Butters to take this to
committee, particularly in view of his perception that B&NES were minded to
give approval.
Cllr Caudle was asked to
respond to the Planning Department giving the Council’s reasons for not
supporting the application. PC
Wellow Farm, The Square. Application 12/02161/LBA – internal and external alterations
to include restoration of the annex, reinstatement of doorway to basement steps
and wall alongside, alterations to partitions and doorways at first floor,
replacement of modern windows with stone mullioned patterns and existing and
repointing of external elevations.
Cllr Clarkson said that
she could find no objection to the proposal.
It looked a good design and would not be visible from the road. The
Council agreed to support the application. PC
2.
Decisions received
The Council noted that
the planning applications in respect of Elmlea House, Under Hayes and Manor
Barn had all been permitted.
Despite the Council
having supported the application in respect of Springhill House, the
application was refused.
12.081 Finance
a.
The Council approved the payments in respect of street
cleaning, the Clerk’s salary, the internal audit, the annual service of the
church clock and grass cutting at the church.
b.
The financial report to June 11th was unanimously
approved.
c.
The internal audit , carried out by Richard Holland using
the figures provided by the Clerk, were
approved and the Clerk was asked to send the relevant documents to Mazars, the
external auditor. GW
d.
The update re the Millennium Fund was deferred until the July
meeting as Cllr Andrews had been very busy having being involved with the
arrangements for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. HA
e.
The Clerk explained the procedure for staging a bye-election
in view of Cllr Witty’s resignation. Cllr Wheeler suggested that, in addition
to the notice in the Square, should we ask Richard Holland to email list of
contacts about it. The Chairman said that, as there had been a notice in the
Parish News and that it was distributed to every household, this was
unnecessary. The Council agreed.
12.082 Draft proposal for a Wellow Tennis Club
The Chairman said that he had
received a letter from a parishioner
about the proposal and that he would forward it to the committee behind the
tennis plans.
The committee were planning a
meeting for the June 13th. inviting all those who had attended the
initial public meetings..
Cllr Andrews said that she would go
through the documents in her possession to see whether there were any deeds to
the Playing Field.
The Clerk was asked to retrieve the
various documents held for us by NatWest Bank.
Cllr Andrews agreed to convey information
about any documents to the committee.
HA
12.083 Village Wear and Tear
Cllr Caudle said that she had
received communication regarding the flooding along Stoney Littleton Lane. She
said that she had reported the problem to B&NES who had promised to look
into it.
The ownership of the bank opposite
David Halewood’s house was raised.
Although B&NES cut the grass on the adjoining banks this one is
always left. The owners of the property
above it do not feel that it is their responsibility. Alex Martin suggested
using the Parish Council’s strimmer to cut it back.
Stuart Cole said that B&NES had
been spraying weed killer on various verges.
It could be unpleasant and he asked whether B&NES could let us know
when they were planning to do it. GW
Cllr Wheeler felt
that it was unnecessary to spray on Mill Hill and Station Road and he
suggested that B&NES be asked not to do so in future. TW
Cllr White agreed to look at the
tree in Farm Lane which Stuart Cole had said was unsafe and to report it to
B&NES. She also agreed to look at the possibly dangerous tree along the
Village hall Drive and also the fir tree along by the Dewey family’s house
which was spilling over on to the footpath. JW
12.084 Traffic calming
Cllr Wheeler said that he had been
assured that all the traffic calming work would be completed by the end of the
month and that he would keep a close watch on progress.
12.085 Parish Archive
Cllr Andrews mentioned that some of
the documents due to be stored in the Bath Records Office pertained to the
Burial Board and that we should let the Clerk to the Burial Board see it before
it was stored. This was agreed to. HA
12.086 Any other reports
Diamond Jubilee
Cllrs Andrews and Clarkson drew
attention to the great efforts made by everyone in connection with the Diamond
Jubilee celebrations. Cllr Andrews said that a profit of £913 had been made.
Cllr Clarkson drew attention to the expenses which had been incurred and asked
whether the Parish Council would agree to donating the £200 float that she had
been given rather than having to deduct it from the profit. It was suggested that a commemorative bench
could be bought which could be sited down by the ford.
The Chairman asked how much this was
likely to cost and was told that it would be expensive. He asked that a definite price be found for a
good quality bench, perhaps made of oak, and that its possible purchase should
be put on the July agenda. DC
He said that he would put a note in
the Parish Newsletter to try and ascertain what the village as a whole thought
of the idea. HP
In the meantime, Cllr Andrews was
asked to give the Clerk a cheque for the amount of profit so that it could be
put into the Parish Council’s own bank account. HA
Footpaths
Cllr Caudle referred to a letter
received from B&NES regarding the possible extension and re-routing of the
footpath which currently terminates behind Sue Hewlett’s house. She noted that a response was required by B&NES by June 27th and it was
agreed that she, along with Cllr Doman and Alex Martin, would write it. PC
Vehicles on the
Playing Field
Cllr Wheeler drew attention to the
fact that a car and trailer had been parked on the Playing Field. It was agreed that steps should be taken as a
matter of urgency to re-instate the posts and to obtain the keys from Alex
Martin. SB
Correspondence
The Clerk drew attention to the
Annual Report from the Council for the Protection of Rural England which was
circulated and to the forthcoming PACT meeting in Freshford. Some posters
regarding it were distributed and he said that he would put a copy of the notice
up in the Square. GW
12.087 Date of next meeting
The date of the next
meeting was confirmed as 8pm in the Village Hall on July 9th 2012.
The meeting adjourned at
9.05pm.
Geoffrey White
Parish Clerk
June 12th 2012