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, October 8th 2012 at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Present:
Cllrs Andrews, Betts, Caudle, Clarkson, Doman, Karthauser, Prentice, Wheeler
and White along with six members of the public. District Cllr Neil Butters also
attended.
Agenda:
12.124 To
accept apologies for absence
There were no apologies for absence.
12.125 Declarations of interest in any
matters on the agenda or in July 2012 minutes
There were no declarations of
interest.
12.126 To confirm minutes of meeting
held on September 10th 2012.
The minutes of the Parish Council
Meeting held on September 10th 2012 were approved unanimously.
12.127 To
report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda.
The Chairman said that there had
been no further developments regarding the shop next door to the Fox and
Badger.
The Parish Clerk of Combe Hay has
referred the flooding problems near Combe Hay Bridge to Council Connect.
The Clerk has reported the uneven
access to the car park to Council Connect and has received a reference number
in respect of it which has been circulated to the Parish Council.
It had not been possible for Cllr
Wheeler and the Clerk to determine the requirements regarding the cutting of
the playing field.
12.128 Localism Act
The Parish Council agreed to adopt
the Code of Conduct previously circulated by B&NES and ALCA.
The Clerk agreed to contact
B&NES regarding the format of the Declarations of Interest and how we
should submit them. Once the format was clarified, Councillors agreed to submit
the forms within 2 weeks.
12.129 Wellow Sport
The Chairman had circulated a
document prior to the meeting. He
reminded the Council that the Sports Committee is setting up an open meeting in
the Village Hall and that he will ask them to have it prior to the next Parish
Council meeting.
IF the plans being proposed
by the Wellow Sports Committee are to be implemented in 2013, ie for the
excavation to commence in September 2013, the Committee needs a decision from
the Parish Council in December 2012. For
Councillors to be sufficiently informed to make a decision at the December
meeting, the Chairman proposed that the Parish Council hold a session during
the hour prior to the November Parish Council meeting (ie from 7pm to 8pm), at
which parishioners are invited to present their concerns/support for the plan
directly to the Councillors. The Wellow Sports committee will be invited to
make a short presentation at the beginning of the session. Councillors will
follow up any issues prior to the December meeting so that they are sufficiently
informed to make a decision on the proposals at the December meeting.
Cllr Andrews asked whether this was
too short a timescale but the Chairman replied that the Sports Committee had
identified a timeline of actions prior to commencing excavation, such that they
needed to have a decision by December. One of the largest issues will be
fundraising, and the Committee will need to be confident that they have
sufficient funds raised by May 2012.
The Chairman’s proposals were agreed
to unanimously.
12.130 Planning
1.
New applications
12/03905/FUL and
12/03906/LBA: Rear of 1 to 7 High Street, Wellow.
Cllrs Caudle and Clarkson
explained that a resubmission had been necessary as a bat survey needed to be
carried out. The outcome of that survey
is that there is no problem regarding bats and since the Parish Council had
already approved the plans it was agreed that we should continue to do so.
Cllrs Caudle and Clarkson
agreed to inform the Planning Dept at B&NES accordingly. PC/DC
12/03947/LBA:
Church Farm
Cllr Caudle said that the
revised proposals were better than the original and it was agreed that the
Parish Council would continue to support the application. Cllr Caudle will respond accordingly. PC
12/03804/LBA: Manor House
Cllrs Caudle and Clarkson
said that the work proposed looked beneficial and was all internal. The Parish Council agreed to support the
application unanimously. Cllr Caudle or
Clarkson agreed to respond accordingly. PC/DC
12/03944/FUL: Forget-
Me-Not Cottage, Twinhoe.
Cllrs Caudle and Clarkson
felt that the proposal represents a very sympathetic extension. The Parish Council agreed to support the
application. Cllr Caudle or Clarkson to respond accordingly. PC/DC
2.
Application for Variation
of Conditions
12/04299/VAR: West End
Cottages
Cllr Clarkson explained
that the variation was for an extra flight of steps to be carved from the road
to the intended property to avoid having to cross neighbours’ land to gain
access. She felt that this was a sensible
proposal as it also removed a potential safety hazard.
Cllr Karthauser said he
understood that the owners of the neighbouring property were not happy to grant
access rights.
Cllr Betts raised a
concern about the lack of clarity about the exact position of the boundary with
the road leading to the village hall. While not affecting the planning
application, Cllr Caudle or Clarkson would seek to identify the exact boundary
and ensure that there was a common understanding with the owner. PC/DC
3. Decisions received
The decision giving
permission regarding Summerfield was duly noted.
The decision regarding
Corner House, again receiving permission but not on the agenda as it was
received shortly before the meeting, was also noted. However, Cllr Clarkson agreed to seek clarification
from B&NES regarding what had actually been granted. DC
Richard Holland, from the
floor, suggested that Planning Officers did not give enough weight to the views
of the Parish Council when making their decisions. Councillors were similarly
frustrated.
District Cllr Butters
reminded Councillors of the process for taking planning issues to the Development
Control Committee. If the Parish Council had a strong view for/against a proposal, then the Parish Council should
contact him with a request that, if the officer was minded to go against the
wishes of the Parish Council, then he would request that the application go to
the Development Control Committee. District Cllr Butters can only make a request to the Chair of the Development
Control Committee, who will make a decision based on the case put forward by
the Parish Council and the planning officers.
District Cllr Butters
would not expect that the Parish Council would take this route for every application,
but the Parish Council should alert him if it was concerned about a significant
application.
12.131 Neighbourhood Plan
The Chairman gave an
update but said that the questionnaire was ready to be distributed and the pass
code had been distributed. The aim would
be to have the questionnaire sent out and responses collected in four weeks.
Sufficient copies will be printed, and he asked other Councillors to share the
distribution and collection of these to residents who needed them.
12.132 Finance
a.
The Council approved the payments in respect of street
cleaning, the Clerk’s salary, and the purchase of new boots for the village
sweeper. Richard Holland reminded the
Clerk that the various grants should also be paid now as we had received the precept
and this was agreed to.
b.
The financial report to October 8th was unanimously
approved.
c.
The Clerk informed the meeting that the funds had been
received from Mogers in respect of the Wellow Residents Association. He had already banked the money.
It was agreed that the Clerk would
put a notice on the notice board explaining what had been done and inviting
anyone who did not agree with the plan to inform him. GW
12.133 Village
Hall
Cllr Doman said that, in
consultation with Cllr Wheeler, he had obtained a quote for the replacement of
the bollards and advice about the condition of the driveway.
He said that installing 20
galvanised posts with 4 lockable ones would cost £1045 + VAT. The Clerk
reminded everyone that we are able to reclaim VAT.
Cllr Betts suggested that we defer the
installation of the bollards until we know the outcome of the Wellow Sports
proposals but Cllr Doman felt that we should proceed immediately. This was put to the vote and it was
unanimously agreed to proceed, not only with the installation of the bollards,
but also to any repairs or alterations to the kerbstones which have become
damaged by traffic onto the field. PD
Richard Holland, the Parish
Council’s internal auditor, pointed out that we should obtain three quotes but,
with his experience, he felt that this quote offered good value, and agreed
that it is reasonable for the council to proceed with this quote.
Some discussion ensued regarding
access to the keys for the lockable bollards, but no decision was made.
Cllr Doman and the contractor had
inspected the road leading to the village hall, and decided that only small
part of the driveway needs resurfacing. None of the road was unsafe or created
a risk to safety. It was decided to not to make any repairs to the road at the
moment, and the issue would be re-visited as part of the development of the
playing field.
12.134 Traffic Calming
Cllr Betts gave an update regarding
the signage and said that, despite this, there were still difficulties in
setting up a Community Speed Watch, not least that that the police have now
said they have to do some preliminary assessments to establish the need. The
Parish Council continues to pursue this.
District Cllr Butters said that he
would try and clarify the situation before the next meeting, particularly as
B&NES are intending to introduce 20mph limits across Bath. NB
In order for the 20mph speed limit
to be enforceable, the 20mph signs at the entrance to the village have to be
visible – and there is a problem with foliage obscuring the signs. Cllr Wheeler
has contacted all but two of the relevant landowners to ask them to agree to
their foliage being cut back so the signs are kept visible – and all had
agreed. He will seek agreements from the remaining two landowners, but is not expecting
any opposition. He will then contact the
appropriate authorities in B&NES to see if B&NES will clear foliage
from the signs – at least a one-off exercise. The Parish Council will probably
have to take on responsibility for keeping the signs clear in the future. TW
The bollards in the chicanes at the
west entrance to the village have been destroyed by a lorry. Cllr Betts asked
what action is being taken to restore them. The Chairman agreed to follow this
up. HP
12.135 Village Wear and Tear
Cllr Caudle drew attention to the
broken road sign at the bottom of Farm Lane.
The Clerk said that he would repair it and this was agreed. GW
Stuart Cole, from the floor, said
that the flooding in Stoney Littleton Lane had been sorted out. He also
reported that some of the walling along the road by Hungerford Terrace was
crumbling. The Clerk agreed to meet him
so that he could see what the problem was and then to report to Council Connect
accordingly. GW/SC
Cllr Betts said that there was a
problem with a blocked drain at the west end of the village. Cllr Doman agreed to look into it and take
appropriate action. PD
12.136 Obnoxious smells in the vicinity of Wellow
The Council referred to
correspondence received on this issue.
Cllr Doman said that the smells
arose from the spreading of chicken excrement every so often from the chicken
farm in Braysdown. Any smells in Wellow
depended upon the wind direction but since the owners were doing nothing
illegal there was no action which the Parish Council could take.
The Clerk agreed to write to the
complainant accordingly. GW
12.137 Any other reports
Cllr Betts asked Cllr White what
percentage of children at St Julian’s Church School were from Wellow. Cllr White said she would let her know as she
didn’t have the exact figures available. JW
Cllr Clarkson said that the phone
box in The Square was in need of renovation and that she would contact BT about
it. The Council also agreed that BT
should ensure that the phone was operational to cater for walkers and others. DC
12.138 Next Meeting
It was confirmed that the next
meeting will be on Monday, November 12th, at 8pm in the Village Hall
with the possibility of an extra meeting regarding Wellow Sports at 7pm.
Geoffrey White
Parish Clerk
October 10th 2012