January Minutes

2019/62

Apologies for Absence

None.

Members had been provided with an Advice Note pertaining to Apologies for Absence.

2019/63

Declarations of Interest and Dispensations to Participate

None.

2019/64

Minutes of Council Meetings

a)    The minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 17^th December 2019 were approved for accuracy and adopted (proposed Cllr Carey, seconded Cllr Pomeroy).

b)    The minutes of the meetings held on 16^th April 2019 and 21^st May 2019 were discussed.  Cllr Morland stated that the minutes which had been issued with the agenda were different from those which had been circulated in November and reviewed in December. It was noted that his apology for attendance at the April minutes had been missed.  The Clerk confirmed that this had been added in.  Cllr Morland also reported a discrepancy in respect of Cllr Pitney, who was recorded as absent in one set of minutes and present in another. The minutes of the meeting held on 16^th April 2019 were approved for accuracy and adopted (proposed Cllr McCaw and seconded Cllr Clayton). Cllr Morland spoke in respect of the May minutes, reporting that the same situation appeared to have occurred and drew attention to the planning applications, stating that the application which had been added for Breach Lane did not refer to the fact that Wiltshire Council had been asked to take enforcement action as the application was retrospective. He also reported on the addition of an application relating to Brookmead, which he was unsure of. The minutes of the meeting held on 21^st May 2019 were approved for accuracy and adopted (proposed Cllr Carey, seconded Cllr McCaw). Cllr Morland voted against the proposal and asked for this to be recorded as he was unhappy with the accuracy of the minutes.

2019/65

Wiltshire Council Report

Wiltshire Councillor Horace Prickett had presented apologies for absence and provided a report, which had been circulated to members and is appended to the minutes.  Cllr Morland referred to enforcement notices issues on 100 Frome Road, noting that he had repeatedly asked for copies of the notices.  The Clerk would chase for the notices from Wiltshire Council. Cllr Morland also spoke to the item reporting on Trowbridge Town Council’s (TTC) shared SID proposals, referencing that the Parish Council would take part in this project.  It was noted that this would be discussed under agenda item 2019/66 c) and TTC informed of the decision accordingly.

2019/66

Highways/Environment

a)    Reports from Councillors on matters of concern:

a.        Cllr Jackson had contacted Wiltshire Council regarding the condition of Wynsome Street, which had been confirmed as satisfactory by WC although some repairs had been carried out.  The Chair confirmed that WC had inspected the road and identified no remedial works, confirming it was regularly inspected.  Members reported that a deep groove was now in the road and requested a site meeting with the Highways Engineer to take this forward as they were concerned at the condition of the road in general.

b.       Cllr Carey reported that the pavement between the end of Goose Street to the North Bradley border was very narrow and difficult to walk along. The pathway needed to be trimmed back along both sides and this would be referred to the Parish Steward for action.

c.       Cllr Pomeroy reported that a fence along the top of Hollis Way had come down and would need replacing. 

d.       Cllr Carey requested that definitive footpaths be listed as an agenda item for the March meeting so that any required work could be listed and reported.

b)    Members had been provided with options and costings for the potential purchase of a Speed Indicator Device for the parish (£3,175.00).  Cllr Carey asked members to consider the costs of maintenance and replacement, highlighting the reduced costs in these areas for a shared purchase as suggested by Trowbridge Town Council.  Cllr Heydon suggested that the benefits of having a SID in the village could be ascertained by buying into the TTC model with a purchase being considered at a later date.  The cost of £610 per parish per annum being charged by TTC was noted, with the unit being present in the parish for 2 months of the year. Cllr McCaw referred to the low number of volunteers involved in the village speed watch, which was making regular sessions difficult. Cllr Morland reported on Chapmanslade’s device, which had been situated in the same location in the village throughout its use.  He informed members that new rules issued by Wiltshire Council meant that the on costs of the devices were reduced.  He stated that providing the right site was identified there was no reason not to have more than one device.  Members noted that there could be potential difficulties with the battery life although this would be mitigated by the use of a solar powered device.  Cllr Heydon proposed that the Parish Council proceed, in principle, to sign up to the TTC model for one year, review the impact and decide whether to purchase a device thereafter.  This was seconded by Cllr Carey and resolved. The Clerk was asked to clarify the length of the contract and report back if a one-year contract was not possible.

c)     Members had been provided with costings for the provision of additional dog waste bins and the Clerk reported that a) Wiltshire Council had confirmed bins could be purchased direct from them for £105 per bin and b) that she was waiting for Idverde to confirm costs for installation and collection.  Members were asked to consider suitable locations. Cllr Boorman reported that there were issues with existing dog bins not being used and suggested that some signage be purchased for play area/school and hot spots, as a one off cost rather than an ongoing revenue charge.  Members felt this was an issue of behaviour rather than facility and considered publicising the issue in the Village News and handing out leaflets and talking to dog owners.  Cllr Eaton suggested that sponsors could be found in the parish and it was agreed that this could also be advertised in the Village News and on social media.  The Clerk was asked to obtain costs for appropriate signage and clarify the service costs relating to the provision of additional bins.  This would be listed as an agenda item for the February meeting.

2019/67

Planning Applications

Members received and considered planning applications received after the issue of the agenda:

20/00379/OUT – Land south of Trowbridge, Southwick, Wilts – Outline planning permission with all matters reserved except access for the erection of 180 residential dwellings (Use Class C3); site servicing; laying out of open space and associated planting; creation of new roads; accesses and paths; installation of services; and drainage infrastructure – Deadline for response 21 February.

20/000044/FUL – Field no 5834, North of Frome Road, Southwick – Change of use to equestrian and erection of stables and hay store/tack room. Provision of manure compound – Deadline for response 14 February.

Planning Application 20/00379/OUT – referred to the February meeting.

Planning Application 20/00044/FUL – extension requested.

If an extension was not granted the Clerk was asked to arrange a Planning Meeting for the first Tuesday in February at 6.30 pm (4^th February).  Cllr Morland proposed that Cllr Prickett be asked to call in the application relating to Land south of Trowbridge.  This was seconded by Cllr McCaw and resolved due to the key, strategic nature of the application. The Clerk would inform Cllr Prickett accordingly.

2019/68

Planning Decisions, Appeals, Enforcement and other matters

No information to report.

Cllr Morland asked for any information relating to the appeals running at Poplar Tree Lane.  It was confirmed that there was no update and the Chair reported that another static caravan had arrived on the site.  The Clerk was asked to write to the Planning Inspectorate to inform them of this and clarify the current situation with regard to the case.

2019/69

Finance

a)     Members noted the Financial Position Statement, which had been circulated to members with the agenda papers.

b)    Members had been provided with a report on the current level of Earmarked Reserves following the agreed audit of accounts since 2016 by the Chair and Clerk.  Cllr Morland referred to the discrepancy in the Neighbourhood Plan fund and the Clerk confirmed she would liaise with Cllr Eaton in regard to this. He also queried the VAT implications and the Clerk confirmed that she was working on checking that all the VAT which should have been reclaimed had been received.  Cllr Morland also queried the status of the General Reserve Fund, which was clarified as being set at 4.5 months’ net expenditure as per Best Practice guidance.  Cllr Carey asked for Solar Farm Fund Community Grants to be listed as an agenda item for the February meeting.  It was confirmed that the unallocated funds would be listed as Unallocated Reserve in the overall financial summary.

c)     Members considered a report from the Parish Clerk regarding the potential purchase of a specialist accounting software package and the recommendation that the decision be deferred until the close of the financial year was approved. The Clerk would list this as an agenda item for the April meeting.

d)    Payments as below listed were approved (proposed Cllr Eaton, seconded Cllr Jackson):

2019/70

Budget and Precept 2020-2021

Members considered the Council’s budget for the financial year 2020-2021 (information previously circulated).  The precept for 2019/20 was confirmed to be £22,000.  Members resolved to maintain the level of precept paid by residents and therefore set the precept at £22,012 representing a Band D equivalent of £29.05 (proposed Cllr Carey, seconded Cllr McCaw).

2019/71

Governance Documents

Members had been provided with the current adopted Standing Orders and considered whether to proceed to adopt a newer model (model documents and current Financial Regulations previously circulated). It was proposed by Cllr Carey, seconded by Cllr Curry and resolved that no revision to the existing documents were required.   

2019/72

Community Governance Review

Cllr Eaton reported he had attended a meeting at Wiltshire Council and members noted the report in the Wiltshire Times.  The work relating to the CGR continued. Members noted the current strategic planning work being undertaken by Wiltshire Council. Cllr Morland stated that the proposals from Trowbridge Town Council did not meet the statutory provisions for CGR’s and were premature.  It was confirmed that these comments had been made and the Clerk would re-circulate the submission which had been sent to Wiltshire Council to members.  Confirmation would also be sought from Wiltshire Council that the initial submission made would be treated as the PC’s formal response to the consultation at Wiltshire Council.  The Clerk was asked to add a list of formal correspondence issued in the Parish Council’s name to the Correspondence agenda item in order that members could more easily track sent items.  (Note – not to include routine email correspondence).

2019/73

Project Plan

Members received an update on the below items, which was noted:

a)   Review of Governance Documents – Current Standing Orders circulated

b)  Review of Risk Assessments – Agenda item February (deferred due to budget setting)

c)   Review of accounting system – Agenda item January

d)  Identification of earmarked funds within PC accounts – Complete

e)  Review of filing and archiving –documents in Village Hall need review

f)    Review of electronic files and filing - Complete 

g)   Website provision – In hand

2019/74

Correspondence

a)   WALC re: Buckingham Palace Garden Party – no nomination to be submitted.

b)    Barbara Johnson re: Flooding in Brookmead – the Chair read out an email   relating to flooding issues.  The points she raised were noted. Cllr Morland mentioned the outline planning application for land south of Trowbridge and referred to the flood mitigation documents which would need to be contained in the plans.

c)    Lichfields re: Southwick bypass – the Chair read out a letter which had been received by the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (NPSG) from Lichfield on behalf of its client, Redrow Homes.  This contained an offer to meet with the Council to discuss the proposals for the short bypass which had been suggested by a resident and discussed at a previous meeting. Cllr Eaton reported that all potential developers would be invited to meet the Steering Group at the appropriate time.  He clarified that the proposal referred to was not a bypass but was a road which would cut through Southwick, a proposal that had a number of significant issues not least the cost of building a relatively short length of road. It was confirmed that the proposal referred to had been sent to the NPSG for consideration. It was noted that the proposal from the resident had been published in the Village News and on the website.  This was noted to be one person’s opinion.  It was therefore confirmed that the proposal was not generated by the Parish Council but by one resident of the parish. Cllr McCaw referred to a meeting of the North Bradley Parish Council which had discussed a bypass, which would need 3,000 homes to be built to pay for this.  She suggested that if a bypass was required the Parish Council should work with its neighbours to achieve this.  Cllr Eaton confirmed that the NPSG was working on strategic plans to move traffic.

Members confirmed that they did not wish a meeting to be arranged with Redrow Homes at the current time as it was felt this would be premature, but confirmed that the NPSG would meet with all developers at the appropriate time. The Clerk would reply accordingly and circulate a copy of the letter from Lichfields. Cllr Eaton offered to liaise with the Clerk if required.

2019/75

Neighbourhood Plan

Cllr J Eaton reported that AECOM had been conducting a site review of all sites which had been nominated.  A complete audit had been carried out and a report was expected shortly. Cllr Eaton had met with them on Friday and felt that a thorough job had been done, confirming that this work had been funded via the central government grant.  The report would identify the best possible sites, discount any which were unviable and put forward a list of best options.  It was confirmed that the report was independent. The level of development being considered was confirmed as being in single figures, which would include affordable housing.

Cllr Boorman referred to the need for a West Wilts bypass and the fact that HGV’s would be re-routed via the village given the impact of policy decisions on traffic in Bath.  Cllr Eaton confirmed that the neighbouring parishes who were working jointly on the CGR would work together on this item as well, all being similarly impacted. Cllr Morland reported that the new weight limit on the Cleveland Bridge, Bath would also redirect heavy traffic through the village. The level of traffic being generated by new building and the potential development of an incinerator at Westbury would further exacerbate traffic problems. Cllr Morland reported that consideration was being given to requesting a weight limit on the A350 through Westbury in order to try and divert the traffic from the town centre.

2019/76

 Councillor reports

Matters not appearing elsewhere on the agenda – for information only:

Cllr Clayton – reported that there had been over 50 cars parked in Hollis Way earlier that afternoon as a result of the school run and noted that a number of cars had left their engines running.  He suggested that contact be made with the school to ask parents to turn their engines off whilst waiting. Cllr McCaw reported that a school had sent its year sixes out to leaflet those cars with engines running. She would raise this with the Head Teacher and report back. Cllr Eaton referred to the speed and volume of delivery vehicles. 

2019/77

Date of next meeting

Tuesday 18^th February 2020 at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall.

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 9.30 pm.