Draft

CHEW MAGNA PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Minutes of the Meeting held in the Upper Hall of the Old School Room

on Tuesday 5 January 2010 at 7.30 pm

Present: Jon Wheatley (Chairman)    Rodney Andrews   Paul Cornelius   Nick Hasell   Anne Slade  

   Nick Scholefield      Colin Timson      Meryl Leach   Ian Cox      Jacky Morgan

Ward Cllr. Malcolm Hanney

Item 1 Apologies

Councillor Davis was unable to attend due to the inclement weather..

Item 2 Code of Conduct - Register of Councillors’ Interest

The Council formally acknowledged the new guidance for granting dispensation on participation in Council deliberations where more than 50% of the Council had a prejudicial interest or abstentions would distort the political balance.

Action: Clerk to circulate the guidance to Cllrs.

Interests were declared in the following agenda items:

Item 4 – The Chairman as a trustee of the Richard Jones Foundation charity.

Item 8 – Planning application 09/20, Cllr. Slade is the house owner.

Item 9 d) – The Chairman whose business sub-contracts work to David Littlewood who tendered for the ground maintenance and footpath clearance contracts.

Item 3Minutes of Previous Meetings

The minutes of the meeting held in November were agreed and signed off by the Chairman.

Item 4 Village Agent Scheme

Chris Head, Chief Executive of Community Action explained the scheme, which currently is a pilot project funded by B&NES covering 10 Chew Valley parishes, and introduced Mary Douglas-Jones who is the Agent for Chew Magna. Based at the Mill, Tunbridge Road in Chew Magna, the role of the Agents is to help people who are isolated through age, illness, language, geography etc., liaising with CAB, the Fire Service, Police and Parish Councils. Continuation of the service beyond the initial 12 months depended on B&NES’s budget and a business case demonstrating the cost effectiveness of Agents and whether other organisations were willing to provide funding. The Council supported this initiative, suggesting the mobile library staff and village postman could be useful sources of information for the Agent, and that sustainability might be an area where the Agents could play a role.

Actions: Chairman to meet with Mr.Head to involve the Chew Magna Agent in forthcoming discussions with the Doctors to mitigate the problems that will be caused by the planned relocation of the Surgery to Chew Stoke. Councillors to contact the Village Agent regarding any parishioners who might benefit from some help. Clerk to provide to the Agent points of contact for the parish charities.

Item 5 Youth Issues

a) Fred Cotterill, Member of the Youth Parliament for B&NES, briefed the Council on the paramount need for improved, inexpensive and flexible public transport in the Valley, and also to Bath and Bristol. This was the key enabler for participation in youth activities, and for work, education and leisure. The MPV car recently obtained by Target 80 could be a step in this direction. Activities and facilities for teenagers for sports, art, drama, music etc. as well as social meeting places, should be concentrated in just one or two places, to achieve economies of scale and encourage good usage and quality. Ward Cllr. Hanney explained that in total just over £3M p.a. was currently being spent by B&NES on transport subsidies, bus passes and Youth Services, and that these areas perhaps should be better aligned. The Council thanked Fred for his propositions and invited him and other youngsters to contact Cllrs. Slade and Cornelius with their ideas and also attend Parish Council meetings to promote proposals.

b) Work days as part of B&NES Youth Offending Team restorative justice programme - Alex Morris from B&NES Youth Offending Team had e-mailed the Council to find out if the parish can offer work days of useful service suitable for their programme for reparation activities within local communities. The Council believed there were several suitable projects.

Action: Clerk to respond informing Mr. Morris that Cllr. Slade was the point of contact and suggesting that the re-painting of the railings in the village might be the first project.

Item 6 Public Participation

No matters were raised.

Item 7 Matters Arising

a) Affordable housing project – The Chairman and Cllr. Cox had not yet completed their approaches to the landowners of the most suitable sites, but would do so by the next meeting. Three of the nine non Council members of the Focus Group (Liz Hawkes, Andy McCellan, and Lynette Cox) no longer wished to participate. The Council agreed to invite Ailish McKendry and Sophie Batt to join the Group.

Action: Clerk to issue invitations.

b) Quarterly Playground inspection report – The side goal post requires replacement/repair and ground bolts on spring rocker require tightening. The Council agreed GB Sports & Leisure should carry out the necessary maintenance, after Cllr. Cornelius had ascertained whether an existing spare goal post stanchion, held by Councillor Andrews, could be used.

Action: Cllrs. Andrews and Cornelius to determine the suitability of the stanchion and inform the Clerk.

c) Chew Valley Area Partnership - The Council agreed there should be a meeting within the next month with Valley Parish Councils opposed to the Partnership, to explore topics where concerted action and lobbying could be beneficial e.g. planning, transport, youth activities, expansion of the Mendip ANOB etc.

Action: Clerk to invite representatives to a meeting in Chew Magna, from the following Parish Councils: Chew Stoke, Pensford, Publow, Bishop Sutton, Clutton, East and West Harptree, Ubley, Norton Marleward, Stanton Drew and Compton Martin.

d) Planned Relocation of the Surgery to the Radford Site – The Chairman read out to the Council the response he had received from the Chief Executive of NHS B&NES (formerly PCT) which confirmed that funding for the new surgery was not conditional on any specific location or timescale. The Chairman considered the response was unsatisfactory as it did not provide answers to the questions raised, nor did it address the Council’s concerns. The majority of the Council supported the aspiration of establishing a Pharmacy in Chew Magna and the Chairman continuing to facilitate a last ditch effort to find an alternative solution to the relocation.

Action: The Chairman to brief Ward Cllr. Hanney on the latest development.

Item 8 Planning

a) Applications in circulation:

09/19 Randon, 5 Broadcroft – Erection of two storey rear extension following demolition of existing single storey rear extension. Responses had to be sent to B&NES by 31 December, and the Council’s was agreed by e-mail out of committee. The plans represented more than a 60% increase in volume. The Parish Council had raised an objection on these grounds.

09/20 Slade, Ruan House, Chew Hill – Erection of two storey side extension following demolition of existing garage and conservatory. The majority of Cllrs. supported the application but reference to the views of neighbours would be included in the Council’s response to B&NES. Agreed unanimously.

09/21 The Winford Red Limited, Unit 3, Littleton Mill, Chew Road – Erection of business unit following demolition of unit 3. The Council had no objections to the re-build, but would like the design/materials of the building (prefabricated/metal) to be reviewed. Proposed Cllr. Andrews, seconded Cllr. Hasell.

09/22 Perry, Greenleigh Farm, Well Road – Reconstruction and rebuilding of former barn to form holiday cottage. The Council supported the application but would comment that the car parking area did not seem adequate. Proposed by Cllr. Timson, seconded by Cllr. Andrews.

09/13A BIA – Outline plans for expansion of the airport – Notification by North Somerset Council of amendments to planning application. Cllr. Timson reported that North Somerset Council would make its decision on 10 February. BIA is offering to contribute funding towards alleviating traffic problems and highway improvements once passenger numbers reached 10,000.

b) Results:

09/18 Taylor, Willow Cottagw, Church Lane – Erection of a single storey rear extension. Permitted.

09/19 Randon, 5 Broadcroft – Erection of two storey rear extension following demolition of existing single storey rear extension. Refused.

c) Core Strategy - Draft responses were tabled for consideration by Cllrs.. The Council was generally content with the draft.

Actions: Cllrs. Morgan and Scholefield to provide to other Cllrs. and the Clerk their contributions on Nature Conservation and the Environment within the next 5 days. Cllrs. to provide any amendments to the draft responses to the Clerk, again within the next 5 days.

d) Trees

Action: The Chairman, Cllr. Morgan, Cllr. Andrews and Jane Brewer, B&NES arboricultural officer, to meet to discuss whether the trees at the cricket pitch needed to be removed/re-planted for safety reasons.

Item 9 Finances

a) Expenditure approved:            Cheque No.

T. Hillard (Road sweeper’s salary)          £385.97    1373

M-L Hales (Clerk’s salary)           £551.53    1374

HM Revenue & Customs (Quarterly NICS & PAYE payment)         £273.50    1375

M-L Hales (Clerk’s expenses –Postage £19.86 Quarterly telephone £103.50)      £123.36    1376

Viking Direct (Cartridges for printer/scanner/copier)         £61.72    1377

Proposed by Cllr. Slade, seconded by Cllr. Timson.

b) Receipts

B&NES Road Sweeping Scheme (December payment)         £348.92

B&NES Ward Councillors Initiative       £1475.00

B&NES Road Sweeping Scheme (January payment)         £348.92

HM Revenue & Customs (VAT rebate)         £641.12

c) 2010/11Precept

The Council discussed the projected underspend for 2009/10 and draft budget figures for 2010/11. To allow Cllrs. more time to study the figures, the Precept would be decided at the next meeting.

Action: Cllrs. to consult Cllr. Andrews regarding any amendments they would like to make.

d) Re–tendering of ground maintenance and Footpath clearance contracts. The tendered prices for the ground maintenance contract were David Littlewood £3450 and GT Grasscare £1500. Countrywide Ground Maintenance declined to tender. The Council decided to place the contract with the lowest tenderer – G.T. Grasscare. Proposed by Cllr. Slade, seconded by Cllr. Cox. The Council chose to place the footpath clearance contract with the second lowest priced bidder on the grounds that Mike Reed, who is the current contractor, had proved very reliable and flexible, and his work had been excellent. The tendered prices were David Littlewood £15.50 per hour; Mike Reed £16.00 per hour; and GT Grasscare £17.00 per hour. The lowest bidder was not locally based, and the choice of Mr. Reed would maintain local employment and contribute to the parish’s sustainability efforts. Proposed by Cllr. Andrews, seconded by Cllr. Cox.

Item 10 Transportation, Highways and Footpaths

a) Village Car Park – B&NES had been outbid on the purchase of the land previously owned by Punch Taverns, which has been bought by the new owners of the Pelican.

Action: The Chairman and Ward Cllr. Hanney will meet the new owners to discuss the situation.

b) Parking restrictions in the village – Cllr. Andrews would finalise the Council’s proposals for changes to the current street parking restrictions. Several Cllrs. believed the High Street should be considered holistically by B&NES rather than as a number of separate measures. There were difficulties with all the ideas for improving the priority system at Spratts Bridge.

Action: Cllr. Andrews to submit the Council’s proposals to B&NES, highlighting the Council’s concerns.

c) Footpath off the Stanton Road near Chew Court

Action: Clerk to ask Mike Read to clear footpath CL 3/20.

Item 11 Correspondence

a) Chew Valley Leisure Centre – The Manager had written to each Cllr. seeking views on the facilities and future programmes, as part of the consultation for the re-formulation of the long term business plan.

Action: Cllrs. to respond individually to the Manager.

b) B&NES’s had requested information on the owner of clay pit and land at North Wick for their survey on Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological sites.

Action: Clerk to notify B&NES that the owner of the site is Frank Bell, Waterloo Farm.

Item 12 AOB

a) BALCA Meeting on 16 February – No Cllr. will attend.

Action: Clerk to provide agenda items for the Parish Liaisons meeting to Peter Duppa-Miller.

b) Parish Liaison Meeting 24 February – The Chairman and Clerk would attend.

c) PACT Meeting on 13 January - Cllr. Slade would attend.

d) Annual Parish Meeting – The Council agreed to defer the meeting to 13 April as 6 April fell in the Easter holiday period. The theme would be parishioner participation, to encourage both the young and old to become involved in parish matters. The Living History film would be shown.

e) Flood relief co-ordination – Cllr. Leach reported that she had gained 5 volunteers to co-ordinate activities and services during a flood event.

f) Quartet Grant for Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition leader - Elli Connah, B&NES youth worker, had confirmed to Cllr. Slade that she no longer had the resources to find an expedition leader.

Action: Cllr. Slade to write to Cllr. Chris Watts, B&NES Cabinet Member with responsibility for Children’s Services.

g) The Pound

Action: Cllrs. Timson and Hasell to propose a plan for restoration work, for discussion at the next meeting.

The meeting ended at 10.15 p.m.

Marie - Louise Hales, Parish Clerk               8 January 2010