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, May 14th 2012 at 8pm in the Village Hall.

Present: Cllrs Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Doman, Prentice and Wheeler. Eight members of the public in attendance.

Agenda:

12.063 To accept apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllrs. Andrews and White and from District Cllr Butters.

12.064 Declarations of interest in any matters on the agenda or in April 2012 minutes

None declared

12.065 To confirm minutes of meeting held on April 17th 2012.

The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on April 17^th 2012 were approved unanimously.

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

Cllr Betts said that the chicanes had been cleared and seeded.

Cllrs Caudle and Doman agreed to follow up the correspondence regarding footpaths which had been received from B&NES.

12.067 Planning

1. New applications

The Old Rectory, Bulls Hill. Application 01726 – removal of limbs on lime tree

The Council had no objection to this application.

Church Farm. Application 01725 – felling of trees

Cllr` Caudle said that no reasons had been given in the application. She felt that we should object until valid reasons had been forthcoming. This was agreed unanimously.

Hillscroft. Application 01892 – felling of trees

Cllr Caudle said that no reasons for the felling of trees had been given and so the Council should oppose the application until such time as valid reasons were forthcoming. The Council agreed.

Forge Cottage. Application 01782 – erection of first floor extension

The Council agreed to support the application. Cllrs Caudle and Clarkson were asked to respond accordingly. PC / DC

2. Decisions received

The Council noted that the tree work at Greenhayes had been approved and that the installation of voltaic cells at Little Croft Farm had been refused.

3. Other planning matters

The Chairman reported that two letters had been sent to B&NES by residents opposed to the development at Manor Barn as holiday lets.

To give residents as much notice as possible about planning applications, the Council will circulate details of planning applications via Richard Holland’s email distribution list.

12.068 Finance

a. The Council approved the payments in respect of street cleaning, the Clerk’s salary, and ink cartridge and flag.

b. The financial report to May 11^th was unanimously approved.

c. The update re the Millennium Fund was deferred until the June meeting as Cllr Andrews had tended her apologies.

12.069 Draft proposal for a Wellow Tennis Club

The Chairman said that he had been to a meeting in connection with the proposed tennis club and that those involved would initially like to ascertain the Council’s views.

Cllr Caudle said that a check should be made to see whether there is a covenant in place in respect of the proposed site which would exclude the formation of a club. Since the land had been donated for the use of the village as a whole this might well be the case. Cllr Betts said she would look into it. SB

Cllr Clarkson asked whether non-members would be able to play. Andy Smith, one of the proposers, speaking from the floor said that this was the intention but that it was still early days and Chris Wordsworth, another proposer, agreed.

Mr Smith said that the school was very interested in the proposal and went on to mention floodlighting. Jean Horler, from the floor, said that she would be against any form of lighting that affected her but Mr Smith replied that floodlighting is very localized these days.

Cllr Wheeler said that he was strongly in favour of the formation of a tennis club.

The Chairman said that, at this stage, the issue was whether the Council were in favour of the committee’s continuing with their plans to consult more widely within the parish. Cllr Betts said that the village as a whole should be consulted first to ascertain whether a tennis club was actually wanted. Mrs Horler expressed concern about the possibility of tennis balls going over on to farm land which could pose a hazard to animals. It was mentioned that there would be a very high fence around any courts.

It was agreed that the committee could continue with their planning and consulting and bring the results back to a future parish council meeting.

12.070 Village Wear and Tear

It was suggested that some of the grass verges should be cut prior to the Diamond Jubilee. Cllr Betts said that she would identify the areas concerned and would ask Andy Elvin to do the necessary cutting. SB

It was said that the Parish Council should establish ownership of the play area in the light of various reports as to its condition. It is still not entirely clear whether the owners are still B&NES since the site has never been officially handed over. The Council needs to look at the latest report and then ask B&NES to formally hand the play area over. TW

Cllr Doman said that he knew a contractor who regularly does work on play areas and that he would ask him to look at the play area to ascertain what needed to be done. It was agreed that Cllr Doman should do this. PD

Once the play area has been sorted out Cllr Wheeler has agreed to inspect it monthly. TW

The Clerk was asked to contact Council Connect regarding the grill over the drain at Pope’s Lane. It keeps getting clogged up. He was also asked to remind Council Connect about the tree wall outside Church Farm as it is in a bad state of repair. GW

12.071 Traffic calming

B&NES have now committed to installing appropriate signs to make the 20mph speed limit enforceable and that this is likely to happen before the end of June. Cllr Wheeler said that new 20mph signs would be erected with repeating signs and delimiters on exit.

Nick Jeanes had confirmed that roundels would be painted on the road surface and both the east and west ends and on Bath Hill. It was also intended to paint a white line from the shop westwards on the north side of the road to indicate a pavement. Cllr Caudle said she was against a proliferation of signs but agreed that the white line would be of benefit.

It was pointed out that there is no white line indicating give way where Stoney Littleton Lane meets the main road through the village but that there should be one. Road Narrows signs and Slippery Road signs are to be removed. The Ford sign adjacent to the Ford itself should also be removed. The 7.5 tonne restriction sign in the centre of the village could also be removed.

The Council agreed to ask Nick Jeanes to go ahead with the plans. TW

The Chairman suggested that any Welcome to Wellow signs should be deferred until the Millennium Fund money becomes available.

12.072 Village hall driveway

The Chairman drew attention to the suggestion from Cllr Betts about fitting a lockable gate on the Village Hall driveway just a little way in from the road. Cllr Betts agreed to look into costings both for a gate and for re-surfacing the driveway. SB

12.073 Parish Archive

The Council agreed to accept joint ownership of the Parish Archive. The Chairman said that he had already drafted a suitable letter in respect of this. HP

12.074 Correspondence

The Chairman referred to the flood risk questionnaire. It was for individuals to respond if they wanted to.

12.075 Any other reports

Cllr Clarkson whether a float could be made available in connection with the arrangements for the Golden Jubilee. She suggested a figure of £200. This was agreed and the Clerk was asked to make the necessary arrangements. GW

It was agreed that village tidying would take place on Sunday May 20^th. It was agreed that interested parties should meet outside the Fox and Badger at around 10.50. Richard Holland agreed to circulate the details.

12.076 Date of next meeting

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 8pm in the Village Hall on June 11th 2012.

The meeting adjourned at 9.50pm.

Geoffrey White

Parish Clerk

May 21^st 2012