Wellow Parish Council
Clerk
Geoff White
Myrtle
Cottage, Wellow, BA2 8QS
Tel: 01225 830159
Minutes of a meeting of the Parish
Council on Monday 10th October 2011 at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Present: Cllrs
Andrews, Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Prentice, White and Witty. District Cllr
Butters also attended.
Seven members
of the public in attendance.
Agenda:
11.122 To accept apologies for
absence.
Apologies had been received from
Cllrs Doman and Wheeler
11.123 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in September 2011 minutes
None
11.124 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on September 12th 2011.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on September 12th 2011 were approved unanimously.
11.125 To report matters arising from
the minutes and not on the agenda.
None
11.126 Election of Chair and Vice-Chair
In view of the fact that
two councillors had tended their apologies, the Chairman
suggested that this item
be deferred until the November meeting.
This was agreed.
11.127 Planning
1. New applications
a. 11/03923/TCA: Manor Stables, Farm Lane, Wellow. Fell
London plane tree and replant
Cllrs
Clarkson and Caudle said that they had inspected the tree concerned and that
they had no objections. Cllr Betts said
that, from a health and safety point of view, the tree should be removed. It
was unanimously agreed to support the application.
b. 11/04002/TCA Tumble down Cottage, Wellow. Pollarding of apple trees, ash and field maple
The Council voted
unanimously to support the application.
c.
11/03806/TCA Holly Tree House, High
Street, Wellow. Crown thin by 25% Norway
maple and crown thin by 20% weeping willow.
The Council voted
unanimously to support the application.
d.
11/0403/TCA The Manor House, High
Street, Wellow Various tree works
Cllr Witty asked for
confirmation that the trees in question were to be trimmed rather than
removed. Cllr White said that Jane
Brewer from B&NES had no objection to the proposals. The Council voted
unanimously to support the application.
e.
11/03705/FUL Bourne Farm, Double Hill,
Shoscombe Extension to existing agricultural slurry
lagoon
Cllr Caudle said that the
proposed extension was well away from the footpath there and so she could see
no objection. The proposal was agreed to
unanimously.
2.
Other planning issues
a.
Blacksmith’ Cottage
The
Chairman read out the response from the owners of Blacksmith’s Cottage
regarding their solar panel.
It
was agreed that this matter had been resolved and was now closed.
b.
Trekking Centre
The
Chairman said that she had not been able to follow up the suggestion that Frank
Shellard be invited to address the Council.
Cllr
Caudle updated the Council regarding the agricultural application and explained
that B&NES had ruled that planning permission would need to be sought.
It
was mentioned that we should refer the question of the layby to District Cllr
Butters.
Cllr
Witty mentioned the village walk and it was agreed that we should meet at the
Fox and Badger at 9.30 am on Saturday, October 15th.
c.
Vegetable growing opposite Ford Farm
It
was agreed that, as Cllr Doman had tended his apologies, this item would be
deferred until the November meeting.
d.
Forge Cottage
It
was agreed that the Clerk would ascertain whether or not planning permission
would be required for the newly created parking space. GW
11.128 Village Wear and Tear
New items
The Chairman said that we should
address the problems with the drains at the east end of the village after the
proposed walk,
The verges outside Weavers Orchard
should be cut but Cllr Clarkson said that her husband cut them once a month
anyway,
Cllr Witty expressed concern that
the road beyond the former stoneworks was narrowing and suggested that we
inspect it. Cllr Betts said that it was
more than likely that the stretch of road in question was in the parish of
Combe Hay. The Clerk was asked to
contact the Parish Clerk at Combe Hay accordingly, GW
Reference was made to a possible
unstable tree near Combe Hay. The
Chairman said that she would get in touch with Geoff Pike about it, HA
Stuart Cole, from the floor,
mentioned a loose gate at the play area.
Cllr Betts said that she would have a look at it,
SB
It was reported that some tiles had
been removed from the hut in the cemetery.
Cllr Betts agreed to look at the
beech tree on the playing field.
11.129 Finance
·
Outstanding payments were approved and the cheques and
invoices duly signed.
·
The financial report for October was approved.
·
The Clerk said that the external audit had been carried out
by Mazars and that our accounts had been found to be in order
·
It was agreed that the playing field maintenance contract
for 2011 to 2012 would be approved after it had been checked by Cllr Betts
·
It was agreed that the reserve account should be discussed
as an agenda item in November
·
The Clerk was asked to obtain a list of Council owned land
from the previous Chairman GW
11.130 Broadband
District Cllr Neil Butters read an
email he had received from Helen Moore at B&NES re broadband. He said that broadband issues would be
discussed at the next cabinet
meeting.
11.131 Parish Forum
It was agreed that Cllr
Wheeler be asked to attend parish Forum meetings. HA
11.132 Jubilee
The Chairman said that a
sub-committee should be elected to plan the Jubilee
celebrations. Cllr Betts said that there would be a public
meeting in January.
The possibility of having
a beacon was discussed but Cllr Witty suggested
illuminating the church
and ringing the bells instead. A beacon
would have to be
purchased and they were
expensive, around £300.
Richard Holland would be asked to
publicise these decisions and Cllr Witty agreed to provide him with the
details. MW
11.133 Tree Planting Grant
Cllr Prentice suggested possible
sites for tree planting. He suggested
the playing field, the car park and the field behind the church. The Clerk was asked to email the organisation
behind the tree planting to update them.
He was asked to enquire whether the project was linked to the Jubilee. GW
11.134 Firework Display
Cllr Betts reported that the
school’s PTA had asked for permission to hold a firework display on November 4th.
She said that this was a courtesy
request but there were no objections and so Cllr Betts agreed to follow it
up. She pointed out that local farmers
and the residents whose properties back on to the playing field would need to
know.
11.135 Park and Ride Consultation
The Chairman referred to
a letter received from B&NES.
It was asked whether the
Park and Ride at Odd Down could run on Sundays.
At
present this only happens
around Christmas time. District Cllr
Butters said he would
bring this up at the transport
meeting to be held on October 11th.
Cllr Witty said that
Roger Symonds at B&NES would see whether the village minibus
could be funded to
provide a service to the Park and Ride on Friday and Saturday
evenings.
The Chairman would follow
this up and copy to District Cllr Butters. HA
11.136 Chairman’s Business Awards
Cllr Witty agreed to follow this up MW
11.137 Britain in Bloom
Cllr Prentice agreed to follow this
up HP
11.138 Parish Plan
a.
Neighbourhood Watch – deferred to November
b.
Village Tidying
Mike Clarkson, from the floor, asked
whether this could be done before Christmas rather than in the spring.
Cllr Prentice said that the central
part of the village was clean and tidy and that we should concentrate on the
edges.
Cllr Clarkson said that she had
cleaned the phone box and that her husband would paint it. The Chairman said that we should check with
BT before doing anything.
Cllr Prentice said we should look
into making the phone itself operational.
It was agreed that Village Tidying
Day should be on November 19th and that we should meet outside the
pub at 10am. Cllr Wheeler would be asked
to organise it but the Chairman agreed to put a note in the Parish News. HA
Cllr Witty agreed to provide details
to Richard Holland so that he could put the details on the website. MW
c.
Petanque Piste
Cllr Betts agreed to send all the
necessary details to District Cllr Butters by October 15th. District
Cllr Butters said he was sure that the £500 grant would be forthcoming. SB
d.
Village shop
Cllr Witty said that she had
attended a one-day workshop re grants but wouldn’t know any more until the
spring.
She said she was due to attend the
Village SOS Road Show with Erica Smith in Bristol.
The problem with improving the shop
is that we do not actually own it and so asked for other suggestions. Cllr White asked whether any grants could be
used for the bus.
The Chairman pointed out that the
volunteers at the shop are not keen to be involved and that there are no
younger volunteers.
Cllr Prentice suggested that we
apply for any grants anyway – we could always refuse them if necessary. Cllr Caudle agreed and this suggestion was
passed.
e.
Traffic calming signage
Cllr Betts asked whether the Council
wished to continue its efforts to upgrade traffic calming. It was agreed that
Cllr Wheeler should contact the police about it.
Cllr Caudle said that we should get
on with the signage. She wondered whether we could use the logo which is on the
village bags. It was agreed to make this
an agenda item in November. GW
f.
Core Strategy
District Cllr Butters highlighted
one or two items from the core strategy with reference to Hicks gate and
Brislington.
None of the councillors expressed
any desire to follow up B&NES proposals in any detail.
11.139 Any
other reports
Cllr Witty asked about empty properties.
The need for snow patrols was mentioned.
11.140 Next
Meeting
The next meeting was confirmed as
Monday, November 14th at 8pm in the
Village Hall. The meeting closed at 10.20 pm.
Geoffrey
White
Parish
Clerk
October 16th
2011