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 May 2011 at 8.20pm in the Village Hall.

 

Present: Cllrs Andrews, Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Dolman, Prentice, Wheeler, White and Witty. District Cllr Butters also attended.

Six members of the public in attendance.

 

(Prior to the meeting Stuart Cole reported that the kerbs by Blacksmiths Cottage and near the church had still not been repaired by B&NES.   He also mentioned that a number of walls, which Alex Martin confirmed were the responsibility of the Parish Council, were in need of repair. He suggested that the bench near the church be varnished and that he would be happy to do it.  The Clerk said that such benches should have a weathered look.  It was agreed that Councillors would make a point of looking at the bench and that this would be an agenda item in June.)

 

Agenda:

 

11.066             To accept apologies for absence.

                        None were received

 

11.067             Declarations of interest in any matters on the agenda or in February 2011 minutes

                        None

 

11.068             To confirm minutes of meeting held on February 14th 2011.

District Cllr Butters requested an amendment in respect of Bubblers Dytch and furnished the Council with a printed addendum.  It was agreed that this should be added to the minutes following which the minutes were unanimously approved and signed.

 

District Cllr Butters urged the Council to look closely at the Localism Bill.

 

11.069             To report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda.

                        None

 

 

11.070            Planning

 

Decisions received:

The Chairman drew attention to the following decisions received from B&NES:

 

11/00585/LBA: Blacksmiths Cottage 3A High Street Wellow Bath

Description of Proposal: External alterations to existing extension and excavation works.                                                                                                      PERMIT

 

11/01154/FUL and 11/01155/LBA: Weavers farm. Internal and external alterations for the extension and conversion of existing barn to holiday let.

                                                                                                   WITHDRAWN

 

                       

11/01294/FUL: Corner House.  The Council has written to B&NES expressing their support for this application.

 

New applications:

 

No new applications have been received.

 

 

11.071             Finance

The Council unanimously approved all payments. 

 

However, it was decided not to go ahead with the purchase of a flag for Armed Services Day in June. The intention had been to fly it from the top of the church tower but Cllr Wheeler pointed out that the wording on the flag would be unreadable from the road.  It was felt that a Union Flag would be a better option.  The Chairman said that she had a number of flags at home one of which might be suitable.  She would investigate before any purchases were made.

 

The financial report was accepted unanimously.

 

            

11.072             Parish Plan

(a)   Traffic calming

Cllr Betts asked whether a note could be put in the newsletter regarding the proposed parish signs.  We needed to locate the Millennium Funds but as so many of the original committee had either passed away or moved from Wellow this was proving difficult.  Doubts were expressed as to whether the bank would divulge information to people who were not officially authorised to receive such information.                        SB                                           

 

(b)   Play Area

Cllr Betts reported that she had spoken to Ruth Brown of Magic Box regarding the fact that the play area had not been officially handed over to the village.

 

She said that signage should be erected to say how many children should be on a given ride at any one time.  During the Royal Wedding celebrations it had been noticed that far too many children were on some of the rides and that this could pose a safety hazard.

 

Cllr Betts said that she would contact Gordon Lewis who had been a member of the previous Council with responsibility for the play area, for an update.

 

The Chairman emphasized the need for a definite handover and District Cllr Butters said that, should we experience any problems, we should get in touch with him for help.

                                                                                                                        SB

 

 

11.073             Speeding in Manor Close

The Chairman referred to a letter received from Ms Gerti Sturm, a resident of Manor Close, and a member of their committee, in which she said that there were numerous incidents of speeding.  This was particularly noticeable early in the morning when some of the newly arrived younger residents were leaving for work. Visitors to Manor Close who were, perhaps, not aware of the numbers of elderly people living there, were also inclined to travel too fast.  Ms Sturm had asked whether suitable signage could be erected drawing attention to the presence of elderly people.

 

It was pointed out that Manor Close is subject to the same 20mph speed limit as that which operates in the rest of Wellow.

 

Cllr Betts said that we were due to have a Community Police visit on May 19th and it was agreed that she and Cllr Caudle would attend in order to raise the matter.

 

Cllr Witty suggested that we produce a leaflet for distribution in Manor Close but it was agreed to speak to the police first.        

                                                                                                                     SB/PC

 

           

11.074             Any Other Reports

 

The Clerk asked whether we should enter the Village of the Year competition but it was decided that we shouldn’t at this stage.

 

The Council expressed their thanks to Duncan Hammerton who had been in charge of the Royal Wedding celebrations.

 

11.075             Date of next meeting             

 

Confirmed as Monday June 13th at 8pm in the Village Hall.

The meeting closed at 9.20pm.

 

 

 

Geoffrey White

Parish Clerk

May 13th 2011