Minutes of Annual PC Meeting, 16th July 2018

MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STERT PARISH COUNCIL 

held in Stert House on 16th July 2018

Present:

• Clive Boyes (CB),  Chairman
• Alick Edwards (AE),  Dty Chairman
• Lucy Barker (LB),  Councillor/Treasurer
• Chris Lawrence (CL),  Councillor
• William Howkins (WH),  Councillor/Clerk

1. Apologies for absence

WC’s Cllr. Philip Whitehead sent his apologies.

2. Declaration of Interest

CL stated that he was a consultee by WC regarding the planning application for Claironailes.

3. Election of Chairman and Deputy Chairman

As both CB and AE agreed to continue as Chairman and Deputy Chairman for another year, CL proposed they be reelected and this was seconded by LB and they were therefore duly elected.

4. Minutes of previous meetings

The Minutes of the PC meeting held on 4th June 2018 were approved (proposed by CL and seconded by LB) and signed by the Chairman.

5. Treasurer’s Report

LB reported that since the last meeting, she had paid £20 to Stert PCC as a donation for use of the church for the village meeting with Philip Whitehead about Devizes Parkway station. She had also spent £47.94 on a gift of 6 bottles of wine for Neville Burrell in lieu of fee for carrying out the internal audit.

The PC’s account balance stands at £2864.85 (confirmed by WH in the passbook).

6. Planning

6.1  Claironailes. Mr. Kevin Lynch, the new owner of Claironailes had submitted a planning application to WC to add an extension to the existing cottage, to build a new carport and to build an additional garage/storage building. The PC had met Mr. and Mrs Lynch on two occasions to review their plans.

At the meeting with Mr Lynch on 16th July, CB, WH and CL had raised their concerns about the size and height of the proposed extension and told Mr. Lynch that they thought it unlikely that it would be accepted at Monday’s PC meeting. He was advised to withdraw the application and resubmit a new application more sympathetic to the village surroundings.

At the PC meeting, after careful consideration,  the PC unanimously opposed the application on the following grounds:

• the plan area of extension is too large (2.5 times the original building)
• the roofline is too high and extends across the whole width of the Old Police Cottage property resulting in a loss of outlook
• the proposed building severely impacts the village landscape
• the proposed building design and materials are not in keeping with neighbouring buildings and not sympathetic to Stert’s rural setting
• the second building is remote from the main building and requires a third entrance to the property: this will entail cutting down a significant section of the hedge and felling of several trees

CB reported that he had spoken with WC’s planning officer just before the meeting who told him that the plans as submitted would not be considered a viable application, and Mr. Lynch’s agent had been informed of this in writing. It was therefore agreed to wait with sending in the PC’s objections pending confirmation that the application had been withdrawn. (This was later confirmed to WH the following day).

6.2  Hartlands. An application had also been submitted to WC by Mrs Susan Phelps for the replacement of the temporary fence in front of Hartlands with a permanent deer-proof wrought iron fence.  The new fence will be of good quality and in keeping with the village surroundings and the application was therefore supported by the PC. (WH to notify WC accordingly.)

7. Telephone box

Mr. Neville Moody will start the work on the telephone box in due course when he has completed his backlog of prior work orders. 

8. Neighbourhood Watch

WH had received an email from PCSO Georgina Dodd concerning police patrol routes. He had replied requesting that patrols be reinstated through our village as a preventative measure. The necessity of this was queried by CL. WH will take the matter up with PCSO Dodd and report back at the next meeting.

9. Tinkfield Recycling Centre.

WC has appointed Mr. Dean Thomas to monitor progress of the works at Tinkfield to ensure its compliance with the planning application. Work on the bund is presently in progress.

10. Potholes in village lane

WH said he had met the Parish Steward,  Mr. Dan Stockwell, on 26th June, and complained about the poor job WC had done to repair the deteriorated surface adjacent to Barn Cottage. He assured WH that the repairs were a temporary measure until a proper repair could be scheduled. WH will meet him again when next he visits Stert on 24th July.

11. AOB

11.1  The footpath through the field below Stert House between Barn Cottage and Springfields become overgrown with nettles and also the hedge is seriously overgrowing the footpath. LB was asked to have a word with the owner of the field, Mr. Martin Arthur, as he was probably unaware of his responsibility for clearing the footpath.

11.2  As requested at the Annual Parish Meeting, WH will contact Mr. Simon Fisher of Devizes Development Partnership to request an update on progress, if any, with Devizes Parkway Station.

11.3  CB brought up again the subject of having a defibrillator in the village. The apparatus costs about £1,500 and annual running costs for the periodic replacement of batteries and pads are also substantial. CB reported that Urchfont had 3 units in their village (organised by Nicky Mitchell) and Clock Inn Park were seriously considering having a unit of their own. It was agreed that CB should invite Ann Harris from the Clock Inn to brief us on what it would take to instal a unit in Stert at our next PC meeting.

12. Next Meeting

The next PC meeting will be held in Stert House on 24th September 2018, at 6.30 pm.