MINUTES OF A MEETING OF PUBLOW WITH PENSFORD PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 14th OCTOBER 2019 AT MEMORIAL HALL PUBLOW LANE PENSFORD
Present: Chairman: Mrs J Stephenson Vice-chairman: Mr T Heaford
Mrs J Gully, Mrs T Jones, Mr T Jones, Mr M Daniels, Mr S Filer, Mrs S Grimes, Ms J Flower & Mr P Baxter, Cllr Paul May (B&NES) and Mrs H Richardson (Clerk)
There were 9 Members of the public present.
1. Members of the Public: – A resident requested that former resident Frederic William Smith’s name be added to the War Memorial and also be included with the “names of the fallen” read out at the annual Service of Remembrance. Details would be sent to the Clerk.
-Quotes would be sought for the Cleaning of he War Memorial and grant funding investigated again.
– The Memorial will be tidied up before Remembrance Day and foliage cut back (JG & MD).
Trees overhanging the Pavement would be reported to Fix my Street.
It was noted that the wall behind the War memorial was in need of repair, but that it belongs to a house which is currently up for sale.
2. Apologies for Absence were received from Mrs D Custance.
3. To receive notification of any Members’ personal or prejudicial interest in any item on the Agenda: None.
4. The Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 9th September 2019 were agreed as a true and fair record.
5. To Receive an update on District Matters.
(i) Cllr Paul May reported that B&NES have dropped out of the JSP following the inspectors report, it is likely that B&NES will still work with the other authorities to allocate strategic housing sites. There was no indication that the proposed ring-road would be dropped but given the Councils emphasis on the Climate Emergency a two mile stretch of ring road through greenbelt may not be its best strategy.
(ii) He had met with Paul Garrod regarding the proposed changes to the Village Green. He asked that we resubmit proposals to consider, but made it clear that there would be no funding from B&NES.
(iii) Highways works at the Belluton Junction had not been considered in the recent improvements, but could be included in the WECA forward funding plan.
(iv) The Members Allowance had been reinstated and so applications would be welcomed for parish projects (eg War memorial or Play equipment)
(v) He had raised the issue of the School Loading Area on the wrong side of the road, but the school were satisfied as long as they have a dedicated area.
(vi) He commended the Parish Councils strong response to the Resourceful Earth planning application with concerns about increased HGV movements to and from the site. He would speak at the planning Committee meeting on behalf of the Parish Council and other residents.
6. To receive any updates on current matters:
a) Appointment of Clerk: It was reported that Mrs Helen Richardson had been appointed as the new clerk. The Staffing Panel was the first point of contact and support for the clerk and one of her first priorities would be to ensure that the Councils policies & procedures were in place.
Thanks were expressed to the Councillors that had stepped in to cover the Clerks absence specifically Cllr Sue Grimes & Cllr Tony Heaford. Thanks were also extended to Steve Grimes.
b) Bristol Airport Expansion: North Somerset Council planning Committee have still not confirmed the date for the hearing for the Airport expansion. The Parish Council’s main concern is that the increased numbers will result in an increase of night flights particularly through the summer, and the routes are not known until Cap16 changes are implemented. It was resolved that the Parish Council would write to North Somerset Council in opposition to the expansion plans and send a copy to Sarah Warren (B&NES cabinet member) to ensure that B&NES are aware of the concerns held by the rural villages.
c) Remembrance Day: Arrangements were now in place for Remembrance Day, but the bureaucracy demanded by B&NES this year was extreme and disproportionate to the size of the event. It was agreed that the Parish Council would write to B&NES to their express concern that changes to the procedure had meant that the time and effort required to meet their criteria could be viewed as prohibitive for future events.
A reminder to arrive prior to the 11am start would be put on the Website, the Parish Magazine and on Facebook. Residents also had to be warned that the bugler will be loud.
d) Allotments: Cllr Mike Daniels reported new tenancy agreements had been issued. Next meeting 2 November, venue to be confirmed
e) Village Hall Committee: Nothing to report
f) Finger Posts: It was reported that the forge that had previously been used to renovate finger posts had closed and so other solutions were being considered. The finger posts have sunk in the ground and so lifting equipment would be required to reposition the posts. Repainting them in situ was being considered, but there were concerns about road safety. Further investigations would take place.
g) Fly Tipping: It was reported that an incident of Flytipping had occurred dropping rubbish through the Parish from Stanton Lane, through Publow Lane, and then on through Compton Dando to the A368. The Ward Councillor reported that Spencer Fraser (B&NES Officer) was extremely efficient at dealing with such issues for future reference.
h) Village Green: A meeting request had been sent to B&NES highways to discuss the proposal to redesign the configuration of the Village Green.
7. Matters for Discussion/ Decision:
a) To consider the draft care & support charging and financial assessment framework consultation from B&NES: The Parish Council had been asked to publicise the above consultation to residents. Concern was raised as B&NES have an elderly population but also a large student population that does not contribute by way of Council tax towards the provision of social care to support the other residents. Proposals have been suggested that Universities should pay a contribution towards local services, but Universities were resisting saying their students spend a lot of money within the community.
b) To confirm arrangements for the Litter Pick on Sunday 3rd Nov: Residents are invited to meet at 9.30am at the Memorial Hall. Litter pickers, rubbish bags and Hi Vis Jackets will be provided.
c) To approve the new Standing Orders – amendments were agreed to the standing orders (draft 1) that had been previously circulated. With these amendments the Standing Orders were approved. The Standing Orders would be updated with the agreed amendments and circulated.
It was agreed that the Clerk should go ahead and purchase recording equipment for the Council. (previously approved)
It was agreed that the complaints procedure should be reviewed at the next meeting.
d) To approve expenditure for Councillor Training: Expenditure was approved for the following training:
Cllr Jane Flowers: Being a good Councillor 26/10/19 – £60
Cllr Jenny Gully: Being a good Councillor 23/11/19 – £60
Cllr Mike Daniels: Allotments Management 13/11/19 – £100
8. Reports:
a) Clerks Progress Report had been circulated.
b) Chew Valley Forum: It was reported B&NES are holding a consultation on permits for Streetworks. PC Stuart Peard reported that vans were being targeted in a number of vehicle break-ins in the area. The new leader of the Council gave a presentation on the priorities for the new Council Administration and confirmed the emphasis would be the Climate Emergency
The B&NES rural transport group gave an update on the work of the group. A report from the CPRE was given on the threat posed by the Airport expansion.
The Parish Council agreed that they should put forward a representative to join the B&NES Rural Transport Group.
Cllr Tony Jones Left the meeting
c) Parishes Liaison Meeting – Not attended.
9. Planning:
a) APPLICATIONS TO CONSULT:
i) 19/04172/FUL. Cedar Lodge, Hillside Villas, Pensford Hill, Pensford. Erection of a single storey side extension to existing annexe. The Parish Council resolved that they had no objection to this application. It was noted that it was very close to the neighbouring property, but the neighbours had not complained.
ii) 19/04105/LBA. The Grange, Stanton Road, Pensford. Internal & External refurbishment works and regularisation of historical unauthorised works. The Parish Council resolved that they support this application.
b) DECISION NOTIFICATION
i) 19/03279/CLEU. Nursery Farm, New Road Pensford. Erection of a detached garage (Certificate of Lawfulness for an existing development) LAWFUL
ii) 19/02873/REM. Nursery Farm, New Road Pensford. Removal of Condition 2 of application 06/01454/FUL (Erection of 1800mm high stone facing wall behind existing hedge on the garden perimeter with side access gate as amended by revised plans received 17th July 2006) PERMIT
iii) 19/02944/CLPU. Westleigh, Publow Lane, Publow. Installation of a caravan in garden (Certificate of Lawfulness for proposed development) LAWFUL
10. Financial Matters:
End of Year accounts & Annual Return.
i) The internal Auditors Report was received and accepted.
ii) The Accounting Governance Statement was approved
iii) The Annual Return for YE 31 March 2019 (Unaudited) Sect 2 was approved & Signed
iv) The Certificate of Exemption was agreed & signed. (Gross expenditure does not exceed £25,000)
Financial Report
v) the financial Report was accepted and the 6 monthly budget report was circulated.
vi) To approve Payments to be authorised prior to October meeting:
Mr S Wilcox Remote Support Service Contract £72 (cheque reissued)
Mr D Lowe Petrol & Strimmer Service £81.12 (invoice 0028)
vii) To approve Payments to be authorised at October meeting:
DPM Lucas Village Green cutting 13/9/19, 27/9/19 £40.00
Mrs Helen Richardson Reimburse – USB WIFI adapter £14.99 (£2.50 VAT to recover)
Mrs Helen Richardson Clerk October Salary £703.55
Mrs Helen Richardson Imprest tbc
Name tbc Donation – Bugle Player £30
British Legion Donation – Wreath £60
PKF Littlejohn LLP External Audit (Administration Charge) £96 (£16 VAT to recover)
Other Financial Matters
viii) It was resolved that the bank mandate would be amended to include Cllr Paul Baxter and Cllr Steve Filer as bank signatories.
11. Items of Report to carry forward to the next Meeting: 1st draft of the 2020-2021 budget
12. To Note Future Meetings: Chew Valley Forum meeting 25 November 2019, 24th Feb 2020
Interagency Meetings: 16th October, 12th November 2019.
DATE OF NEXT PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: Monday 11th November 2019
The meeting closed at 21.47 pm