MINUTES OF A MEETING OF PUBLOW WITH PENSFORD PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 8th JUNE 2015 AT 7.15 pm AT THE MEMORIAL HALL PUBLOW LANE PENSFORD
Present: Chairman: Mrs J Stephenson Vice-chairman: Mr T Heaford
Mrs J Gully, Mrs L Cains, Mrs J Jones, Mrs T Jones, Mr P Baxter, Mrs S Grimes, Cllr P May, Mr S Filer, Mrs D Custance
Clerk: Mrs J Bragg
There were Ten Members of the Public Present.
1) Welcome Sally Jenkins – Greenfeasts: The Parish Council welcomed Sally Jenkins who attended to introduce Wild Things Farm which has evolved from the original “Greenfeasts”. Sally has for the last couple of years been developing plans for a new community supported farm on Stanton Lane, along with her partner Tom. After much consultation with the communities of Stanton Drew and Pensford, along with plenty of research and site observation, they have now planned how they hope to develop the farm. They will be producing vegetables, eggs, beef and pork, with the physical support of local volunteers.
They also intend to provide activities for children/teenagers, adult workshops and occasional community events. Recently they were given approval for building a barn to create essential facilities for this enterprise. Work on this is due to start soon. Sally showed the Parish Council a map of the land which Wild Things Farm now own. It is an area of 17.3 acres to the West of the Viaduct. Part of it is known locally as The Downs and has important community history as SNCI – Site of Nature Conservation Interest. A Consultation was undertaken with over 80 households from 2 neighbouring parishes completing a survey. The Farm Plan is to provide Weekly Veg and Seasonal Fruit plus occasional meat & Honey. Also Employment and Training. The approved Barn will provide storage for machinery. Working & Office space. Hatching/brooding room, propagation space and a Hygienic food processing room. Managing the Farm will need long working hours 365 days a year and the next stage will be an application for a temporary dwelling for 3 – 5 years leaving no permanent mark on the landscape.
A Member of the Public attending the meeting said that The Downs used to be open land and she would like to see footpaths used frequently years ago adopted and that it was a shame The Downs was not registered as Common Land. Sally confirmed that she would look at the possibility of a permissive path, but focus at the moment would be on restoring the land.
Avon Wildlife Trust have been spoken to, there is no direct involvement with Folly Farm which is not far from Pensford.
Member of the Public re-iterated comments made previously that this appears to be a an easy way of getting a property to live in.
2) Members of the Public: A member of the Neighbourhood Planning Committee reported to all at the meeting that the Committee is made up of volunteers who spend a lot of time on the Plan. He firstly asked the question can the Committee continue to enjoy 100% support from the Parish Council and secondly if there are any concerns regarding the Neighbourhood Plan can they please be directed to the Neighbourhood Planning Committee. At this point of the meeting a member of the Parish Council said that he wished to speak to the Neighbourhood Planning Committee. He was invited to attend the next meeting on July 1st 2015.
3) Apologies for Absence were received from Mr J Kelly.
4) Minutes of an Annual & Monthly Meeting held on Monday 18TH MAY 2015 after being circulated and read were signed as a correct record.
5) Matters Arising from the previous minutes:
At the May meeting Mr Baxter informed the Parish Council that “Your Vote” achieved 48% of the votes at the Elections. Chairman reported that the correct figures from BANES were 4000 votes cast existing members 68%, Your Vote candidates 32%.
Presentation of Community Award Certificate: A date is still needed.
Community Bus Donation: Donation to be arranged.
6) Items for Discussion:
a) Update on District Matters: Cllr P May: Cllr May reported that BANES for the first time controlled by a single party. “The Conservatives”. Cllr May is the Joint Chair for the Whitchurch Neighbourhood Planning Committee and is the District Councillor for Publow & Whitchurch.
Cllr May as a new Councillor has not had any Executive Role but has been accepted for the Committee which looks at Health & Well being. Cllr May has been given a Cabinet Assistant role with the specific task of looking at finances and corporate efficiency.
Issues: It is too early for anything formal to have emerged from the Council as yet. However at Local level there has been a number of complaints about the Traffic on Pensford Hill. Cllr May has spoken to the new Transport Cabinet Member requesting an A37 review of the transportation and infrastructure. It has been confirmed by the Leader of the council that earlier requests made by Cllr May were in the manifesto. Cllr May obtained accident figures from the Council and these have been passed to the Clerk. Cllr May has also spoken with Peter Dawson Cabinet Member and Strategic Lead Officer of Highways.
Vice-Chairman felt it important to consult with parishioners regarding concerns regarding the A37. Cllr May confirmed that in a meeting with the Leader of the Council he was advised that the A37 will be put into the manifesto to be dealt with by a Cabinet Member.
b) Traffic & Safety Pensford Hill & A37: Clerk reported that traffic accident reports for the A37 over the last three years had been received from the Police.
On the A37 Hursley Hill at the “No Right Turn” into Hursley Lane an operation was undertaken on Friday 5th June 2015 to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to motorists not complying with the No Right Turn. The operation was organised by PCSO Bragg and Special Constable Sergeant Phil Davis along with two other assisting Special Constables and one PCSO Between 16.20hrs and 17.25hrs six offending motorists were dealt with by issuing Non Endorsable Fixed Penalties with a £50 Fine attached to each.
Chairman reported that a Speed Camera will be located at the 40mph on Pensford Hill.
c) New Signs for Village: Mr S Chiffers has emailed Mrs Cains asking if the Parish Council can offer assistance to the cost of new signs for the Village. It was suggested that the RFO should be spoken with. A suggestion was made that the children at the Primary School could design a Logo for the new signs. It was pointed out that they had previously designed a logo for the Neighbourhood Planning leaflets and maybe this design could be used. Mrs Cains will progress this.
d) Footpaths Update: Footpaths Officer has cleared footpath CL17/14 from the High Street to the field adjacent to the School. Concerns were raised regarding the start of the path from Priestdown at Publow and the path going to Woollard is not numbered. Steep step access from the road is in bad condition and requires re-stepping and a rail or barrier at the start to prevent falling or coming to quick on to the road. Also the path between Bluebell Cottage and The Old School House had been cleared. All concerns have been passed to Sheila Petherbridge in PROW who has confirmed that she will look at the Blackrock Lane and Priestdown Lane Area. Sheila asked the Parish Council for help with Landowner in relation to a path in Blackrock Lane CL17/26. Parish Council believe the landowner could be Richard Flower. Clerk to pass details on.
e) Church Street: Chairman reported that cars continue to turn into Church Street at the No Entry by the Post Office. There are two No Entry in situ. Also cars have still been seen to come out of Wick Lane and turn right up to the A37 in the wrong direction. This was pointed out at the recent meeting with BANES. Clerk will raise the issue again. It was noted that the ivy has been cut back around the signs by Waterside Cottage.
Clerk reported that she had responded to the Informal Consultation from BANES in relation to the Proposed No Waiting at Any Time Markings around the Village.
A Parish Councillor asked who made the decision regarding the reply. Clerk reported that based on comments made at the last meeting she formulated the reply, copied it to the Chairman and sent it back to BANES. A copy of the reply to BANES will be circulated to the Parish Council.
f) Acker Bilk Seat: Benches looked at by Mrs Gully and Mrs Stephenson at Fountain Forestry were not thought to be of good construction. Cameley Parish Council had been contacted regarding their bench which has metal legs and wooden struts to sit on. It was suggested that maybe would could get a Blacksmith to make a metal frame. Matter to be progressed.
Seat in Woollard: It was confirmed that this seat is in need of repair. Mr Holmes will be asked to take a look at it.
g) Banes ALCA AGM: The AGM of the BANES Area Group was held on the 27th May 2015 and attended by Mr Heaford. Tribute was paid to the recent death of Peter Duppa-Miller. Mr Heaford was nominated and elected as Chairman. The Vice-Chairman position remains vacant. ALCA Secretary Deborah White will stand in until a Secretary is appointed. The next Parishes Liaison Meeting takes place on Wednesday 17th June 2015 and a request has been made for all Cabinet Members to attend. Mrs Grimes will attend the Parishes Liaison Meeting on behalf of Mr Heaford.
Mr Heaford confirmed to Cllr May that there is no Parish Council in Bath City at present although it has been suggested in the past that parts of Bath should be “Parished”.
h) Planning Sub Committee: Prior to the meeting Mr Baxter had emailed the clerk to say that he would like to be on the Planning Sub Committee. Chairman informed him that at the Annual Meeting representatives had been appointed and they will form the Planning Sub-Committee for the next year. Mr Baxter reported he has an interest in Planning as he has worked as Vernacular Conservation Builder.
At this point in the meeting the question arose again as to why the Parish Council “Don’t Vote” on representatives but chose to appoint them.
Mr Baxter pointed out that Mrs Cains should have declared an interest when reporting that the Community Bus were seeking a donation from the Parish Council as her children attend the Bus.
It was pointed out that Mr Baxter should have declared an interest when discussing the BANES proposal for Yellow Lines in Church Street.
At this point of the meeting Cllr May made the suggestion that “Declarations of Interest” should be added as a standard item at the beginning of each meeting. This will give protection to all who may have a direct pecuniary interest in any item on the Agenda.
i) Neighbourhood Planning Update & Approval of Terms of Reference: Two successful Open Drop In Sessions had been held. There were lots of suggestions put on Post It notes under each Topic Heading. All of the post it notes had been collated and a spreadsheet of all comments produced. A copy of this will be made available around the Parish. The comments will help re-shape the Questionnaire which it is hoped will go out in September/October 2015. New members have joined and there are now 20 members to move the Plan forward. The next meeting takes place on Wednesday 1st July 2015.
Terms of Reference: The Terms of Reference had been sent to the Parish Council for their approval. Chairman had read them and suggested amendments were the meeting dates of the Committee and to change Mr Kelly’s position from Treasurer to Responsible Financial Officer.
j) Memorial Hall: The Committee are in need of a Plan to move forward with fund raising. It was suggested that the Memorial Hall apply to The Community Trust for a grant for a specific project namely a new boiler or improvements to the building. Comments made by the Parish Council were that the facade of the building is not welcoming from the main road.
The recent Quarterly Inspection of the Children’s Play Area had been undertaken with recommendations and repairs which need action. Hire costs were discussed by the Parish Council and it was reported that the hire costs are high compared with other village halls. Many hirers also choose to use other Village Halls because of the Bar Set Up and the fact that they can run their own bar has an impact on any fund raising event. A suggestion was made to add £1 per household on the Parish Precept. This cannot be done as the Precept has been frozen for the past two years.
The Parish Council will continue to support the Memorial Hall and a meeting will be arranged with the Memorial Hall Chairman.
k) Being a Good Councillor Course Update: Mr Baxter attended this course on Saturday 6th June 2015 and reported an interesting meeting.
Mr Baxter reported that the Course was very specific about Parish Council Voting procedures.
Parish Council agreed that if there were a contentious issue on the Agenda they would undertake a Vote however normal practice voting has not been necessary.
Chairman confirmed that she would seek clarity regarding the rules on Voting at Parish Council. ALCA will also be contacted.
D.P.I’s need to be defined.
7) Clerks Progress Report:
Register of Members Interests: All have been copied. One Copy placed on PC Files and the other has been sent to Returning Officer at BANES.
Traffic & Safety: An email has been sent to Stefan Chiffers asking if the White Lines can be highlighted in Church Street and further NO ENTRY signage put up anywhere.
Hursley Hill: Another incident of fly tipping occurred this was reported to Highways at BANES.
Highways Issues:
Rubble in Publow Lane: A further email has been received from a Member of Public as the rubble remains. Anthony Davies Highways Inspector has been contacted about it.
Wick Lane: Bags of rubbish by the old Doctors Surgery were reported
Wick Lane Sign (outside of Waterside Cottage): Covered in Ivy. Highways will take a look and if necessary raise an order for it to be cleared
Policeman’s Lane: Reported to Highways as it is overgrown.
Bus Stop – Hillcrest adjacent to the main A37: The large cracks in the wall by the bus stop and the fact that they appear to be getting worse was reported.
Footpath from Garage to Nursery Corner and up to Whitley Batts: Highways Inspector has again been asked if this path can be cleared and the foot way improved. Also responsibility of the wall has been raised.
Highways Inspector has confirmed that he will take care of all of the above.
Flood Risk Management Strategy Briefing Workshop: This takes place on Wednesday 17th June 2015 at the Civic Centre, Market Walk, Keynsham 10am till 12pm. Mrs Gully & Mr P Baxter will be attending. Clerk has confirmed their attendance.
Flood Representative: Clerk replied re: Flood Representative Position to BANES informing them that Mrs Gully & Mr Baxter wish to be the Flood Representatives for the Parish. BANES have replied with the following “To let you know that we are only assigning one Flood Rep per Parish in order to simplify our communications. Obviously if you want to have two people within the Parish looking at Flooding issues this is great but it makes our job a little simpler if we just have one point of contact. I hope you can appreciate our position? I was going to suggest that I just record Jenny Gully’s details.
This shouldn’t stop Paul carrying out the role and working alongside Jenny, as this is really important, but we would prefer to liaise with just one contact). Mrs Gully will therefore be the point of contact.”
Redundant Bus Shelter: Quotes are being prepared.
Quarterly Play Area Inspection Report: The latest operational play area inspection report has been received from BANES and forwarded to the Chairman of the Memorial Hall who has asked if Clerk can contact BANES Parks & Green Spaces Officer and ask them to carry out the work and invoice the Memorial Hall accordingly.
St Thomas a Becket Churchyard: Re: Notification from the PCC in relation to the Insurance Policy being cancelled as of 15th May 2015 and the responsibility will now be passed to the Council Clerk is trying to make contact with Tracey Mock at Haycombe to clarify the current position of ownership. Telephone messages had been left but so far no update received.
Clerk reported that contact had in fact been made prior to the meeting and transfer of ownership to the Local Authority is in hand. A risk assessment will be carried out before Council Staff can undertake any work on the Churchyard.
8) Planning:
Applications to be discussed:
15/02049/FUL Mr Britton Emndale 9 Police Lane Pensford. Erection of single storey rear extension. The application has been reduced from a two storey extension to a single storey. Parish Council Support.
Outcomes:
15/01128/FUL Hareclive Properties Ltd Redevelopment of Car Sales Site. WITHDRAWN.
15/01759/TCA Mr & Mrs Baxter The Former St Thomas a Becket’s Church, Church Street. 1 x Holly – Fell. NO OBJECTION
9) Financial Matters:
Payments OVER £100.00 to be authorised:
Mrs J Bragg Clerk Salary May 637.52
Memorial Hall Neighbourhood Planning Events 125.50
Parish Magazine Neighbourhood Planning Adverts 144.00
KC Printing Neighbourhood Planning Printing 190.80
Payments to be authorised:
Church Room Neighbourhood Planning Room Hire 50.00
Alan Ford Stationery Items N/Planning Events 26.62
ALCA Good Councillor Training 60.00
ALCA File Dividers for Councillors 5.50
Mrs J Bragg Clerk Imprest+ 2 x Ink Cartridge 51.78
PCAA Subscription 50.00
Paul Holmes Footpaths Clearance 9.5 Hours 76.00
Receipts to Note:
BANES Public Rights of Way 821.82
Neighbourhood Planning Payments: All payments in relation to Neighbourhood Planning were not signed. It was reported that costs in relation to Neighbourhood Planning cannot be backdated therefore until formal approval of the Grant Application has been made Parish Council stated that payments cannot be authorised.
The Payment for the Parish Magazine will also be questioned as advertising the Neighbourhood Plan is a Community item and not an advert. Clerk to follow up with the Neighbourhood Planning Committee.
10) Any Other Business:
Log Cabin, Woollard Lane: A member of the public has asked for an update on this. Clerk to forward Cllr P May latest correspondence received before the Election.
Dug Outs on Memorial Hall Playing Field: A member of public has spoken to a Parish Council Member with concerns that the dug outs are too close into the field and they are therefore being used for anti-social behaviour. It was suggested that this matter be taken up with the Football Club or the Memorial Hall Committee.
Village Day: Cllr L Cains is organising a Village Day through the PSA at the Primary School. It will be held on July 18th at 12 Noon. Any help or donations would be most welcome.
Tennis Club: The re-surfacing of the courts is not finished yet, however matches continue to be played.
High Street: It was confirmed that the High Street and Old Road still remains as a short cut through the village. Clerk informed Cllr May that Traffic & Safety have verbally confirmed to a Parish Council member that a 20mph will be granted. No confirmation has been received so far.
Waterside Cottage: Problems with overhanging vegetation along the pavement from this property were reported. Clerk to follow up.
Pensford Hill: Overgrown brambles are pushing pedestrians to the edge of pavement walking up the hill. Clerk to notify Highways.
Junction A37: BANES are reported to have been digging in various locations of the village. Also the junction of the High Street and the A37 continues to deteriorate. Clerk to contact Highways.
New Chairman to the Council: The new Chairman of the Council is Cllr Ian Gilchrist. Cllr Gilchrist will be invited to attend a future Parish Council Meeting.
Tea Party in the Tower: Jane Flower is organising this.
11) Notice of Future Meetings:
CPRE AGM Thursday 11th June at 7.30 pm Bath City Football Club Twerton Park BA2 1DB
West of England Rural Network AGM 25th June 2015 at 3pm
Neighbourhood Planning Meeting Wednesday 1st July 7.30 pm at Memorial Hall
DATE OF NEXT MEETING MONDAY 13TH JULY 2015 AT 7.15 pm