|
|
|
JUNE STOKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE MEETING STOKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 16TH JUNE 2011 IN THE STOKENHAM PARISH HALL PRESENT: COUNCILLORS: R. FOSS A. GOODMAN D. HILLIER MRS A. LOCKWOOD C. ROGERS MRS D. STEER MRS L. WINROW J. BAVERSTOCK (District Councillor) J. BRAZIL (County Councillor) Also in attendance: Clerk – Mrs G. Claydon Pc Mutton - Apologies APOLOGIES: COUNCILLORS B. IRELAND – Work MRS. C. NUTTALL-SMITH - Personal The Chairman advised that since being elected last month Mrs Fox had been unable to take up her post as co-opted councillor due to personal reasons. As all documentation had been completed and forwarded to the Monitoring Officer Parish Council must go through the process of advertising a vacancy even though a co-opted position still stands vacant. 1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Councillors were invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interest, including the nature and extent of such interests they may have in any items to be considered at this meeting. They were also reminded to consider whether in the light of recent activities any items within their Register of Interests should be updated.
2. OPEN FORUM Mr Vale advised that whilst he was investigating a complaint with regard to removal of trees he had visited the Chillington burial ground and was concerned the wall needed attention. The Clerk will see if she can contact the owners. As tree warden had been passed the complaint in relation to concerns of felling from a member of the public. His opinion was that the tree in question was old and probably had completed its full term. It had stood in the middle of an agricultural field and this field is now into crop with peas. The tree had no listing protection and with Great Hill Wood planted nearby and such other woods around he felt it did not constitute a loss to the community. Mr Vale also requested that he be considered for co-option as a councilor. Chris Hyson attended to update parish council on a positive CCA meeting the previous night wherein they have received many good suggestion, together with directions of thought for action from Cllr Mrs Winrow and Dist. Cllr. Baverstock. Keith Boxwell also in attendance with his wife Ann had updated the plans to include showers as agreed in debate and these are now being revised. The CCA next meeting is 5th July and an open evening will be held at Chillington village hall where the plans and other information will be available for inspection and the committee welcome any comments. At this meeting they will be making it clear to the community that this the last opportunity for comment in order that the Committee may move forward. This information will also to be shown at the summer fair. The CCA were interested to know what likelihood there was of the money coming from the Grist Mill development to Helmers Field. The revised form of plans is for one shower and one heater but if they then provide four showers with four heaters plus further electrics and solar panels this would need further funding. The Chairman asked whether the CCA were actively trying to find further funds from other places and this was affirmed. Keith Boxwell noted that once they have costing of the plans they can work towards knowing what further funding they require. Cllr. Ansell asked fr the times of the 5th July meeting, 7p.m. and again 27th July 6-9p.m. for the open day. Cllr Hillier asked whether there were any other groups who wanted access to such money and CCA did not know. Mark Taylor the owner of 1 Clay Park Beesands which is adjacent to the Beesands café attended to make comments on the planning application. He asserted that the decking breached their privacy and a District letter dated 7th April said such should not be used. There had also been a licencing application to extend opening times and he asked parish council to consider his loss of privacy, additional noise or disturbance and odours or fumes. Mrs Hutchings the applicant advised that the decking is larger in area but lower in height. She noted that it had been suggested that they can look over the neighbours hedges into their living room but this was not so. The next door neighbour of 1 Clay Park had discussed with the applicants concerns with hours of 8am – 9p.m, 7 days a week and had only found out this information the last Friday. He went on to state he used the front garden frequently as it is large and runs down to the back of the cafe premises. Mrs Hutchings further explained that they had implemented an earlier application which was approved in April 2008 by installing the bio tank and had approval through the inspector that this opens such planning and therefore it had not expired. The original plans had demolition and rebuilding with the decking higher and slightly smaller with steps up as it was too steep. Due to the recession it is too expensive to implement the full scheme at present but they want to provide a local shop and tourist destination for all to eat local food looking out to sea, definitely not up at the neighbours. The hours are on the planning application form and are the maximum which she ticked for possible future use but at present they only do daytimes. They kept this provision in because each time applying for planning it is expensive and the business is however seasonal. She noted that the pub down the road often has parties till 2a.m.. At the cafe there is no music, no alchohol and therefore she saw no nuisance. They were not aware of any complaints or disturbance from noise or fumes and Environmental Health found nothing and in fact gave them a 5 star rating which is highest a business can obtain. With regard to loss of privacy, Mrs Hutchings suggested that unless one was 9/10ft tall you cannot see over the screening the other neighbour has installed, even someone were to stand on the tables they could not see the bedroom nor living area. However from the road you can see more. The Chairman noted he had been down and looked at the property and Cllr Mrs Winrow enquired about licencing as people at a table had a bottle of wine. The applicants did apply for a licence but Mr Taylor made objections and suggested such restricted times between 1-2p.m. and all servings to be in small portion sizes so they withdrew this. Mark Taylor noted he met the licencing manager on site who suggested portion amounts. Mrs Hutchings concluded that both neighbours had purchased their properties after they obtained plans for the café and in fact she visited Mr Taylor at his previous home to discuss their proposed plans so he was well aware of the business and its intentions. Mr Vale asked for a point of clarification as to why this application was necessary anyway as an application was consented in 2008 for a café shop so he was confused as to why this has to be revisited in detail. Dist Cllr Baverstock noted that the current retrospective application was due to variations in the former application. 3. MINUTES The Minutes of the: (a) full council meeting dated 19th May 2011 were approved by all present and duly signed as a true and correct record (b) 4. CO-OPTION OF COUNCILLOR Applications received for co-option were made available for consideration:
The Declaration of Acceptance of Office and Undertaking to Observe the Authority’s Code of Conduct was received and completion of the Register of Interests documentation and signature will be carried out in due course. 5. PLANNING & PLANNING MATTERS The applications below were considered at this meeting and the following observations submitted to District: Cllr Mrs Steer left the meeting whilst the following matter was discussed and a decision reached. Cllr. Foss arrived. Mr Taylor and his neighbour left the meeting.
The Hutchings family left the meeting. PLANNING CORRESPONDENCE
6. CHILLINGTON COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION To discuss and form a policy with regard to a letter received from Chillington Community Association requesting that Open Spaces Section 106 monies from the development to the rear of Penn Cottage and Helmers Field also be added to the £100,000 allocated to the hall and used towards the cost of building a new hall at Helmers Field. Dist Cllr. Baverstock ran through a number of issues that he raised at the CCA meeting the previous evening. Parish Council he suggested needed to give support or otherwise to the proposed location of the village hall due to the fact that the LDF mentioned a site for a hall between Stokenham and Chillington. Some people in Chillington feel it should be within the development site whilst the CCA feels it should go on the existing hall footprint. The situation is that Parish Council are the elected representatives of the people in the parish which includes Chillington people. The Association he continued however is not an elected body. A parishioioner could stand up in a meeting and state they wanted a hall past Oddicombe bend but District need to be convinced by the CCA that the hall is appropriately sited. Dist Cllr. Baverstock had suggested to the CCA that during their open consultation/forum that those attending are questioned about design and also whether they are in favour of where the hall is positioned. Part of the agenda item talks about open space s106 from other developments being added to funds allocated towards the hall and used towards the cost of building. Strictly speaking District response is ‘no’, open spaces is more often defined for swings, slides and access etc. That being said it is recognised that this particular project is going to need funds and the District Councillor suggested that a small shower unit was included within the plans then it could be suggested that this supports play facilities within the field. This would enhance the argument that some open spaces money can go towards hall rebuild. Dist. Cllr. Baverstock was happy to do this as he felt the s106 monies had a designation but that it could be linked to sporting activities. However he would sooner suggest to the CCA that grants are obtained from other authorities and not too much reliance placed on s106 monies being involved with the building. It was explained that there was previously a suggestion to place a larger better equipped hall between the villages but time had moved on and it was now felt two halls served the area better. It was AGREED that the siting for the Chillington Hall within Helmers Field was the most appropriate location. Further discussion took place on what happens to the provision of hall space in the Helmers Development, what plans there were to raise money locally, sponsorship in view of the local businesses and resident. The hall is opened daily for a limited time and if all the s106 money for open spaces went into play equipment it could be used 24 hours a day unsupervised. If there is a decision to use the monies for a different reason as to what it was obtained for Dist Cllr. Baverstock advised it could become difficult with the auditors. Parish council were cautioned not to make any decisions on the open spaces money as it was sensed the development at Helmers had caused an impact locally and there remained an opportunity for CCA to ask the community their views on use. It was AGREED to defer any decision on where open space monies were applied until parish council were advised further. 7. FUTURE OF LOCAL PUBLIC AUDIT It was AGREED to accept the proposal within the consultation that the County Council appoint an independent examiner. 8. RELAXATION OF PLANNING RULES FOR CHANGE OF USE FROM COMMERCIAL TO RESIDENTIAL
It was AGREED after consideration that parish council respond highlighting their concerns that this is an urban policy being applied to a rural area. Parish Council were mindful of the need to retain business premises in an area that was sought after for residential. 9. STOKENHAM SCHOOL PORTABLE SHELTER FOR WATCHING SPORTS It was AGREED that it was not felt support could be given to this request for a grant towards a portable shelter. 10. COUNCIL WEBSITE It was AGREED Cllr Mrs Steer would co-ordinate a meeting of the parish council working party and return to full council with proposals. 11. PARISH COUNCIL NEWSLETTER It was AGREED to approve the draft newsletter for printing. No-one volunteered to take over the creation of such newsletter and writing of the monthly article for the Parish News and this needs addressing soonest. 12. REPORTSSLAPTON LINE FORUM Cllr Goodman noted that he had attended this meeting and it was suggested that the forum would like to put put up maps highlighting walks around the area to keep people/tourists in Torcross and using the businesses. A possible site for such would be on the end wall of the Torcross public conveniences and it was mentioned that perhaps Parish Council would relinquish their noticeboard space for such? Leaflets are also to be produced and placed around the shops/eateries around Torcross. COLERIDGE ASSOCIATION OF PARISH COUNCILS This is a grouping of parish councils that come together quarterly to learn from each other and exchange views on common problems. The format sometimes has a speaker although not this time as it was the AGM and chairmanship was passed on from Stokenham to Strete in the usual rotational way. Thereafter parish reports were given and anything of interest is discussed in further detail. Matters arising around the parish:
Cllr. Brazil arrived. CLERK’S REPORT
13. DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT Council activity has been around training and all councillors have been subjected to intensive training sessions that go on to cover all activities of the council. It is obligatory to attend some of the training sessions to ensure an understanding. He noted there had been a lot of talk about young people this evening and he had been appointed again as Champion of Young People at District. The Scrutiny Committee that he is chair of is looking to go out to parishes to involve them in decision making and listen to various ideas that parishes may have that will improve performance of District Council under Localism and Big Society. He also noted that he is hoping shortly to call a Beesands Village Green meeting. 14. COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT With cuts in services and budgets the Coleridge Association of Parish Councils carries more weight due to its grouping of parish councils and he suggested would become more relevant. Looking at the figures for County they have a surplus again and have therefore devolved some money down to District areas so South Hams District will be getting an extra £32,000 and the County Committee meeting in July will approve this. Perhaps such monies can be used for verge cutting as it is currently 4 times a year so perhaps they could take it back to 6 with the £32,000. Finally next Wednesday 22nd June he has asked the Highways Officer to meet at the Stokenham Parish Hall car park at 2p.m. and walk through Chillington to highlight concerns. 15. FINANCE AND CHEQUES Balances were provided and the below cheques were noted and agreed for signature: 001816 Eclipse Internet - £37.76 001817 Insurance company changed to Came & Co. and annual renewal now - £832.00 001818 HMRC – Tax and NI £260.23 001819 G. Claydon – June 2011 £1025.40 001820 Concorde Copiers – Photocopier £21.47 001821 Helping Hands – Kellaton Bus Shelter maintenance £298.78
Current Account: £13691.31 Savings Account (1) : £19123.98 Savings Account (2) : £4915.00 Received: Website: £326.00 16. POINTS OF INFORMATION Points of information on the table - None. 17. NEXT MEETING The next full parish council meeting will be held on Thursday 21st July 2010 at 7.30p.m. in Stokenham Parish Hall. The next planning committee meeting will take place on the first Monday in July, if plans received make it necessary to call such. Meeting finished: 10/06p.m. Signed ……………………… Dated: 21st July 2011. Chairman.
|