Stert Parish

This is to advise that because of lockdown we have postponed our next PC meeting from Jan 18 until Feb 22.
We intend to hold this meeting virtually by Zoom. More details about this will be published later.

MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF STERT PARISH COUNCIL  

held in Stert House on 30th October 2020  

Present:    

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

The meeting was held in Stert House with councillors observing social distancing.

This Special Meeting was convened to agree the PC’s response to Planning Application 20/08044 for the change in use of part of the land purchased by the Elderfields south of Stert from agricultural to equestrian and for the erection of a stables building. 

1. Apologies for absence  

There were no apologies.

2. Declaration of Interest  

There were no declarations of interest.  

3. Planning application 20/08044

LB presented the results of the email survey conducted on 27th to 30th October. Of the 46 people who had expressed an opinion, 41 objected to the application, 5 had no opinion and there were no supporters. 37 objected due to increased traffic down the narrow lane, 19 were concerned that the change in use would lead to further commercialisation, 15 were concerned about damage to the ecology and light pollution and 13 objected due to the lack of services (power and water). 

The PC voted unanimously to uphold the views of the village by objecting to the planning application.

The following response to WC was agreed at the meeting:

Stert PC objects to the application. The PC conducted an email survey of the entire village and there was a high response:

• 41 residents considered the PC should object.
• 5 had no opinion.
• No-one supported the application.

The PC is unanimous in upholding the views of the residents.

The principal objections, which reflect the views of the village, are as follows:

1. TRAFFIC. The access road is shared with walkers and horse riders on the Wessex Ridgeway. It is steep and narrow in places and will be under more pressure from the heavy traffic arising from the agricultural machinery contracting business from the barn under construction on the site, see 20/05021/APD and see www.meagri.co.uk. 

In addition, the applicants stated at a village meeting that they plan to run an equestrian business from the site (buying and selling event horses), this must necessarily generate even further heavy traffic and the village road infrastructure is unable to cope with this. 

In particular:

• The turning from the A342 in and out of the village is dangerous for heavy agricultural equipment and horse boxes.
• The acute angled turning by Fullaway Cottage is too sharp for heavy vehicles, especially tractors and trailers which endanger Fullaway Cottage and walkers and horse riders.
• The lane on the slope leading down towards the site is narrow without passing places. The tarmac surface is too weak for heavy traffic.

Access to the site should be assessed by the Highways department.

2.  NO VIABLE SUSTAINABLE FARMING ENTERPRISE at the site, contrary to what the applicants state. The applicants state that they wish to have the horses in close proximity to the farm whilst they are working on the land.  However, this is misleading since the land remaining for agricultural purposes will only be 6 hectares (15 acres), made up of pasture land which hardly constitutes a viable and sustainable farming enterprise.  There are no welfare facilities on site for working the farm for this extended length of time.  It is obvious to many residents that the addition of horses to the site will only lead to a future application for a permanent dwelling on the land – which the application makes no mention of, but was disclosed as an objective at a village meeting with the applicants on 7th Sept.

3. NO SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY OF WATER AND ELECTRICITY. Horses need both.The application makes no reference to how services/utilities to the land will be achieved for the welfare of horses, other livestock and those working on the land.  There are real concerns regarding the use of generators and the noise pollution these create, along with the transporting of water bowsers to the site.

4. ECOLOGY. The clearing of the adjacent copse (during the nesting season) to facilitate the construction of 20/05021/APD has already put severe pressure on the wildlife and general ecology of the area. The building of the stables will exacerbate the problem and increase the light pollution to the detriment of the barn owls and bats frequently spotted here. A full environmental survey is required.

5. NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OPEN COUNTRYSIDE. As mentioned above the applicants seek to run 2 businesses from the site.There is concern about possible future development of expanded equestrian business activities, which change of use would permit. The PC sees this as overdevelopment of the natural landscape.

To conclude, there is some concern amongst the village that the planning application does not fully reflect the intentions of the applicants.

CB reported that he had received an email from Katie Elderfield requesting copies of all the emails sent in by residents, However, the PC agreed that it should treat these responses as confidential. Those who wished their views to be made public would be encouraged to post their views on WC’s planning website. The PC was of the opinion that by posting these minutes on the notice boards and website it had fully disclosed the results of the survey.

Minutes of Annual Meeting held in Stert House on 7th September 2020  

Present:    

• Clive Boyes (CB), Chairman
• Chris Lawrence (CL), Councillor
• Ann Harris (AH), Councillor
• Lucy Barker (LB),  Councillor/Treasurer 
• William Howkins (WH), Councillor/Clerk

The meeting was held in Stert House with councillors observing social distancing.

1. Apologies for absence  

Alick Edwards sent his apologies.

2. Declaration of Interest  

There were no declarations of interest.  

3. Minutes of previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting, held on 13th July 2020, were approved (proposed by LB and seconded by CL) and signed by the Chairman.

4. Treasurer’s Report

LB reported that there had been one item of expenditure since the last meeting: £59.94, the usual gift (6 bottles of wine) for our internal auditor, Neville Burrell. This amount is slightly over our budgeted figure. The account  had received interest of £1.39 and a £25 donation for use of the village marquee.

The balance stands at £3,543.98, confirmed by WH in the pass book.

It’s the time of the year when the PC thanks Alick Edwards for the maintenance work he does around the village, cutting the verges, trimming hedges etc. It was agreed to pay him £350, an increase on the £300 we’ve been paying for nearly 10 years. This amount will increase to £400 in the year 2021/2. The PC sees no need to seek alternative quotes as the PC has always felt that AE gives very good value for money and there are many advantages in having maintenance done by a village resident who is able to respond very quickly, if necessary.

At the next PC meeting in December we will need to agree the precept for 2021/2, for which the treasurer needs to prepare a budget. It would be helpful if councillors could advise the treasurer in advance of any possible extraordinary expenses in both this and the next financial year.

5. Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman

The PC unanimously thanked CB for his service as Chairman during the past year. WH proposed and CL seconded that he be asked to stand again as Chairman for the coming year, to which he agreed. He was duly elected. CB said that he had received confirmation that Alick Edwards was happy to continue as Vice Chairman. His tenure for the coming year was proposed by LB and seconded by AH and he was duly elected.

6. Stert Website

WH reported that on 4th August he had sent an email to all Stert residents on the mailing list asking them whether they thought it was justified hiring specialist IT help to make our website conform to the new government accessibility regulations or whether they considered this to be “disproportionate burden” for our small community.  He had received replies from 25 residents all of whom opposed making any changes to the current website. WH had therefore prepared the required accessibility statement claiming disproportionate burden and had posted this on the website. He had emailed NALC’s Katie Fielding asking her to confirm that this would satisfy government regulations. and, in her reply, she appeared to do so. 

The PC offered a special vote of thanks to WH for his work on this.

7. A342 Speed limit

CB reported that he had spoken earlier that day to Wiltshire Councillor Philip Whitehead (PW) about implementation of the speed limit. He said that if CB could confirm that the PC would pay £500 towards the cost of implementation, then he would advise Richard Gamble, Chairman of Devizes CATG, to recommend its approval. CB had sent PW an email to confirm that the PC was ready to make this final payment in addition to the £500 it had already paid for the speed survey. AH said that residents of the Clock Inn Park read the PC’s minutes posted on their notice board and noted the references made to progress with the speed limit.

8. Closure of the Church

CB said that the congregation was not in favour of opening the church under the present government regulations. However, they hoped to be able to open the church by mid October in time to celebrate harvest festival. He thanked LB for her initiative with her roadside plant sale which had now raised almost £600.

9. Lockdown review

AH said that Clock Inn residents were still staying at home. Col. Bob Fram of Valley View had very kindly been collecting prescriptions for residents since the beginning of lock-down. She reported that one resident, Gary Speck, had regretfully died recently of respiratory problems, possibly infected by Covid 19.

10. AOB

10.1 LB, Philip Normington and two volunteers from Urchfont had cleared the bramble growth over the footpath to Urchfont over the railway embankment. She suggested that walkers to take a pair a secateurs with them on their walks to snip off encroaching growth.

10.2. The PC’s Christmas party was set for Friday 18th December.

11. Next Meeting

The next PC meeting is scheduled to be held in Stert House on Monday 14th December 2020, at 6.30 pm.