Minutes of the Council meeting held Monday 12th November 2009
In the Village Hall at 8p.m.
Present: Cllrs, Andrews, Betts, Colston, Halewood, Lewis, Martin (Chairman), Pike, Watson and Witty. Dist Cllr Butters from item
9.121. 5 Members of the public in attendance
9.116 To accept apologies for absence:
None
9.117 To confirm minutes of meeting held 12th Oct 2009:
The minutes of the meeting were agreed as a true record and were accordingly signed by the Chairman.
9.118 To report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda:
None
9.119 Declarations of interest in any matter on the agenda:
None
9.120 Planning:
(1) Decisions received:
a) 09/03216/FUL & 09/03217/LBA Church Farm House, High St, Wellow. Internal and external alterations for the erection of single storey extension following demolition of existing 1970's extension. REFUSE
b) 09/03239/FUL Under Hayes, White Ox Mead. Dismantle, relocate, extend and reclad existing agricultural storage building etc PERMIT
c) 09/03450/TCA Manor Barn, Farm Lane, Wellow Prune Fraxinus excelsior and Birch. NO OBJECTION
d) 09/03449/TCA The Manor House, High St, Wellow Prune Norway Maple and Horse Chestnut. NO OBJECTION
e) 09/03533/TCA St Julian's School, Wellow. Fell 2 Ash. NO OBJECTION
(2) New applications:
None
9.121 Finance:
(a) The Chairman requested approval of the financial report prepared by the RFO. This was agreed unanimously.
(b) The Chairman referred to item 9.107 (meeting Oct 2009) and enquired of any progress. Clarification was provided to members of the Youth Club Committee who felt that the Parish Council should bear the extra £150.00 costs incurred as a result of services provided on their behalf. Cllr Halewood proposed that this should indeed be the case. The motion was defeated by a majority vote and the Youth Club Committee asked to reconsider their position.
(c) Again referring to item 9.107 the Chairman introduced a letter he had received subsequent to the last meeting confirming the offer to transfer funds from The Residents Association in the sum of £516.75. Members were unhappy with the suggestion that these funds could be subject to an objection from members of the public and it was agreed to write back suggesting that the matter of disposal of excess funds should be determined by the Resident's Association members and that in the event of a decision to pass these to the Parish Council, they should come without condition. AM
(d) The Chairman advised that a meeting of the Finance Committee should be arranged before the year end to agree a budget submission and if members have any schemes identified for which they would like funding to be allocated, they should advise the RFO. All
9.122 Core Strategy: The Chairman reported that he had been indisposed and was not able to attend the consultation meeting with B&NES. Cllrs Colston and Halewood have attended a consultation through their membership of the Chamber of Commerce and Cllr Halewood volunteered to prepare a draft response to the document and submit to the Chairman. DH
9.123 Parish Plan:
(a) Cllr Witty advised that following the award of funding for a community minibus the first meeting of the steering group was to be held Thursday19th at 7pm. Cllr Butters advised of possible developments regarding the provision of a service to link with the Park and Ride and it was agreed to consider this as part of the overall scheme.
(b) Cllr Watson advised of the receipt of further drawings as result of the site visit which he had circulated prior to the meeting. It was generally agreed some of the proposals had some merit while others caused dismay. Cllr Watson proposed that we should advise the Highways representative of our concerns and seek changes which should be presented to our next meeting with the Strategic Director of Customer Services in attendance. This was unanimously agreed.
(c) Cllr Lewis advised of delays to the commencement of the improvements to the children's play area which was now expected to start 1st December and be completed by the year end. He also advised of a failure to obtain any further funding in the annual round from B&NES.;
9.124 Community composting: Cllr Witty advised following the comments recorded in min no 9.96 she was able to report that the allegation that material had been deposited on land adjacent to the site was denied. As far as new proposals were concerned, she advised that the Composting Committee were considering the installation of raised beds for children to use and some seating but there was no proposal to install further storage facilities. Cllr Watson expressed his opinion that the area was generally unattractive and that planting a mixed species hedge and some trees would improve the appearance. Cllr Witty undertook to advance the matter with The Composting Committee.
9.125 1, West End Cottages: Cllr Colston advised of an exchange of emails in which Mr. Owen was asking for more time to make a decision on whether to proceed or not. Members agreed that the Parish Council had been accommodating in the extreme on this matter and that the time had come to seek a conclusion to the matter. It was proposed that we advise Mr. Owen that a definitive decision was required by the year end and that in the meantime that he should ask his tenants to cease using the entrance. This was agreed unanimously AC
9.126 Christmas tree on The Batch and carol singing: Cllr Andrews advised that arrangements have been confirmed for The Bristol Salvation Army band to play for the parish on the evening of 21st Dec. Arrangements concerning the safety of the public would be considered by Cllrs Andrews, Lewis and Martin. The Chairman requested approval to purchase a suitable Christmas tree which was agreed. Cllr Betts advised of a possible source of a donated tree. HA, GL AM.
9.127 Correspondence:
a) The Chairman read a copy letter from Dunkerton Parish Council to Avon & Somerset Police Authority re discharging of firearms on land in Wellow Parish. It was agreed to seek information from Dunkerton PC on the outcome. AM
b) The Chairman read a letter from Forest of Avon re winding up. This was noted with regret.
c) The Chairman advised of a notification from Cotswold's AONB Board regarding appointment of replacement parish member. The successful candidate was Ms Hazel Bleaken from Hawkesbury Parish.
9.128 Chairman's report: The Chairman advised that following his plea in the parish newsletter he had one application for the post of Clerk to the Parish Council and subject to contractual arrangements, the new Clerk will commence 1st January 2010.
9.129 Any Other Business:
(a) Cllr Colston advised that he had been invited to tour the new hospital at PSJ 20th Nov. The Chairman advised that he had toured the new facility and that an invitation was available to anyone else who would like to see the facilities. Cllr Witty expressed a wish to attend. AM
(b) Cllr Betts advised of the poor state of the road adjacent to the Fullers Earth Works in the adjacent parish and of Combe Hay Bridge which is permanently underwater. AM
9.130 Date of next meeting: Confirmed as Mon 14th Dec 2009, 8pm in the Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 9.36.
AM 11.11.09.