Minutes of the Council meeting held Monday 14th September 2009
In the Village Hall at 8p.m.
Present: Cllrs Andrews Betts, Halewood, Lewis, Martin (Chairman), Pike, Watson and Witty. Dist Cllr Butters (from item 9.95) and 7 members of the public.
9.89 Apologies for absence.
Received from Cllr Colston
9.90 To confirm minutes of meeting held 13th July 2009.
The minutes of the above meeting were agreed as a true and correct record and were accordingly signed by the Chairman.
9.91 To report matters arising from the minutes and not on the agenda.
None.
9.92 Declaration of interest on any matter on the agenda.
Cllr Pike declared an interest in item9.93 (2b).
9.93 Planning:
(1) Decisions received:
a) 09/012280/LBA The Manor House, Wellow. Internal alterations for the installation of a shower room. CONSENT.
b) 09/01485/LBA & 0901717/FUL Wellow Farm House, Wellow. External alterations for the removal of fence and replacement with random stone wall. CONSENT.
c) 09/01674/FUL & 09/01675/LBA Upper Twinhoe Farm, Upper Twinhoe. Alterations for the conversion of barn into holiday accommodation. WITHDRAWN.
d) 09/01960/FUL Summerfield, Wellow, Conversion of garage into self contained holiday accommodation etc. PERMIT.
e) 09/02401/TCA The Water Mill, Mill Hill, Wellow. Fell willow. NO OBJECTION.
(2) New applications:
a) 09/02607/FUL Manor Court Cottage, High St. Wellow. External alterations to dormers etc. Cllr Watson proposed the Parish Council SUPPORT this application, being in keeping with its surroundings. This was agreed unanimously.
b) 09/03134/HEDGE Under Hayes, White Ox Mead. Remove 160 meters of hedge. The Chairman advised members of a conversation he had had with the applicant which revealed that the application was incorrect in various details. He was expecting advice of withdrawal or further communication, neither of which had transpired. It was agreed that we were unable to make a decision until clarification was received.
c) 09/03198/FUL Upper Twinhoe Farm, Upper Twinhoe. Conversion of barn into holiday accommodation (Resubmission). Cllr Watson proposed that the Parish Council SUPPORT the application on the grounds that it was of a minor nature, sympathetically handled and consistent with establishing small business' in the parish. This was unanimously agreed.
d) 09/03171/FUL Land and buildings, Rear of 1-7 High St. Wellow. Conversion of barn, stables and forge to form 3 dwellings.Cllr Halewood proposed that the Parish Council OBJECT IN PRICIPLE to this application on the grounds that there were factual errors in the application, it was of poor design and of traffic generation from the site immediately adjacent to the primary school. This was unanimously agreed.
9.94 Finance
The RFO requested approval for the report circulated in advance. This was approved unanimously.
9.95 Parish Plan
a) Cllr Witty advised members of the award of £15000 for a community minibus and proposed the establishment of a small working party to decide on the way forward. This was unanimously agreed. MW
b) The Chairman advised members of a positive meeting held with the B&NES Strategic Director of Customer Services to discuss our dissatisfaction with the situation we now find ourselves in consequent upon the appointment of a new senior manager in highways. The Director is to attend a site meeting scheduled for Thursday 24th Sept at 6pm. AM. MW.GL.DH
c) Cllr Lewis advised members of a public meeting held in the village hall to give members of the public the opportunity to comment on the proposals for new play equipment which had been poorly attended. Work is scheduled to commence in October with completion due in the Spring of 2010. Gratitude was expressed to Jenny Barr and Ruth Brown who had coordinated the application on our behalf.
9.96 Community composting
Cllr Andrews advised of a number of concerns passed to her by residents regarding the appearance of the site, alleged disposal of unwanted material on land belonging to others and press reports that further building work was planned. Cllr Witty, the nominated representative of the Parish Council on the Composting Committee was asked to advise on what she knew but was unable shed any light, there having been no meetings to which she had been invited. She was asked to convey the concerns to the Composting Committee and report back. MW
9.97 1, West End Cottages
As Cllr Colston was not present, the matter was deferred to the next meeting.
9.98 Correspondence
a) Letter from BT re Telephone kiosk on The Batch. The Chairman advised of a letter received from BT regarding the adoption of the telephone box which is Grade 2 listed. It was agreed to seek further advice from adjacent parish councils and possible the B&NES ALCA Group.
b) Letter from B&NES re Chairman of The Council's Community Award. The Chairman read a letter from The Chairman Of B&NES Council requesting nominees for his community volunteers' award. Anyone wishing to nominate someone should contact Wellow PC Chairman.
c) Letter from Cotswold AONB re appointment of replacement parish members. The Chairman advised that a voting paper had been received from The Cotswold AONB Board with two nominees seeking election. It was unanimously agreed to record our vote for M Dunningham.
d) Letter from B&NES re diversion of footpath BA25/21. The Chairman advised of a Public Path Diversion Order received for the above path. As this council had previously supported the application, it was agreed that no further action was required.
e) Letter from B&NES re Love Food Hate Waste campaign. It was agreed this should be passed to the Wellow Futures Group.
f) Note from St Gregory's School re development plans. The Chairman referred to a note he had circulated on a proposal for a sixth form college to be built on land adjacent to the Park and Ride site at Odd Down. He is to attend a consultation meeting on Tuesday 15th Sept.
9.99 Chairman's report
a) Audit The Chairman advised of a conversation had with the external auditors regarding signatories to the annual submission. This matter will be resolved with the appointment of a new Responsible Finance Officer.
b) Shop waste collection. The Chairman advised of a meeting he had attended with the shop committee at which the matter of charging by B&NES for waste collection was discussed. Apparently the matter has been resolved without further input.
c) Community Farm project at land opposite Prince of Wales, PSJ The Chairman advised of a meeting he had attended in PSJ regarding the establishment of a community farm on land within this parish by the youth group. This has already attracted grant funding and support from other sources. Norton-Radstock College has also expressed an interest in using it for running courses. Assurances were given that no building work requiring planning permission was contemplated and that traffic implications would be addressed. The organising group has promised to keep this council advised of progress.
d) Highways matters, Ford Farm etc. The Chairman advised of a note received from B&NES regarding various issues including the proposal for a scheme to address the problems at Ford Farm without giving a date for when the work may be done. The council discussed alternative solutions for the verges at the top of Bath Hill and it was agreed to ask B&NES to restore the verges to their original width.
e) Mobile library The Chairman advised of a proposal to amend mobile library routes and visits which has caused great concern in the area. Local representative and activists have been involved in raising concerns and a petition has been presented by the prospective Liberal Democrat candidate for Wansdyke to B&NES who have already promised to undertake a review of proposals including maintaining the status quo but nothing has been received by this council.
9.100 Any Other Business.
None
9.101 Date of next meeting,
Confirmed as Mon 12th Oct 2009, 8pm in the Village Hall. The meeting closed at 10.10pm
AM 21.09.09