1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Mr T Tuck, PC Sara Stephenson & PCSO Thelma Mead.
2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Mrs Cottier declared an interest in item 11(a)
3 APPROVAL OF LAST MONTH'S MINUTES
The Minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman as a true and accurate record of last month's meeting.
4 QUESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM PARISHIONERS
There were none.
5 COUNTY/DISTRICT COUNCILLOR
Mr Hobhouse reported there had been a misunderstanding about the timing of the Speed Watch training. Mr Westcott said the team were unhappy with what had happened and they would not be doing any more with this until the Autumn. Mr Singer reported that Mr & Mrs Pesaro were back from holiday and Mr Hobhouse agreed to contact them regarding the clearing out of the ditch behind Sonlie.
Mr Lewis apologised over the non-collection of the waste last Monday. Some residents in the High Road were lucky but others were not. Both Mr Lewis and the Clerk sent numerous emails to the District Council and got various excuses in reply. Mrs Cottier said it had been extremely annoying that they were told to put the put the rubbish back out again on Tuesday but it still wasn't collected until Wednesday. Following on from this Mr Lewis reported the Sort-it programme was now underway and hopefully everyone now has their information pack. If there are any still without they should ring the Clerk and if any resident is unhappy about the bins they are going to receive they should ring the number on the information pack. If they are not happy with the response they should contact Mr Lewis directly. Mr Singer asked who had undertaken the survey as some people have been told they are not suitable for wheeled bins that quite obviously have rear access. Mr Lewis said a young lady from SSDC walked the village to carry out the survey. Mrs Cottier asked if residents were going to be offered discounted compost bins. Mr Lewis said a leaflet should have been included in the information pack and he would follow this up.
6 HIGHWAYS
The Clerk reported that the new speed awareness signs have now been erected but the one at the Hazelgrove end of the village was immediately as you come off the A303 and as most people cut through Wolfester Terrace they would not see it. She had contacted Highways to see if they could move the sign further down by The Lodge and angle it so it could be seen by everyone. Highways had confirmed that repeater signs were illegal where there were street lights and therefore we would not be able to have these. Regarding the yellow backing plates for the 30mph signs this had been put on Highways list but it was dependant upon budgetary constraints.
Mrs Goodland reported very poor visibility at the Hazelgrove roundabout due to the tree in the middle of the roundabout. The Clerk confirmed she had contact the Highways Agency about this last year and they wouldn't do anything about the tree as it was multi-stemmed and so couldn't lift the crown. Mr Lewis said it would be appropriate to contact them again as there had been a serious accident yesterday and the roundabout was closed for 2 hours. It was also suggested that we report the speed of traffic entering the roundabout from the dual carriageway and ask if they have any plans to reinforce the rumble strips approaching the roundabout or erect warning signs. It was agreed the Clerk would contact the Highways Agency regarding these matters.
Mrs Cottier raised the matter of the Podimore traffic lights and the time factor on some of the lights which will cause a problem. Mr Crawford said we will have to see how this works.
7 LOCAL PLAN/VILLAGE DESIGN
Mr Crawford reported he had received an email from Mark Dillon of South Somerset Homes regarding the affordable housing scheme. Seemingly the developer who had the option on Mr Anstey's field has agreed to give it up and Mr Anstey and his family have agreed to sell it for affordable housing. Hopefully we will hear more about the rest of the sites that are being looked at soon.
8 CRIME/NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Mr Westcott reported it had been a quite month but there had been a certain amount of police activity within the village which he had not been informed about. Mr Crawford confirmed that a police helicopter and police cars with strong lights had been up at Sparkford Copse approximately 3 weeks ago late at night. Mr Hobhouse said he would look into the matter.
Mr Westcott reported there were now 92 member households. A successful barbeque had been held which raised £289 and over 70 people attended. Half of the proceeds would go to the Sparkford Playing Field Association and the other half to the Neighbourhood Watch.
9 PLANNING DECISIONS
Only one planning decision had been received:
06/01281/FUL - erection of wooden garden shed, Limetree House, Ainstey Drive.
The Clerk reported that none of the conditions that SSDC had agreed had been included on the determination of planning. It had been backdated to January 2006 and stated the shed shall be used for purposes ancillary to domestic use only.
Mr Lewis stated he had emailed Simon Gale and Andy Foyne asking why, after he had asked for it to go to Committee, they then agreed the conditions that Parish Council had requested and two that he had asked for these are then omitted from the determination. He is definitely following this up as he feels they have reneged on the agreement of the conditions and this is why he agreed for it to be delegated to the Planning Officer.
Mr Crawford asked who decides whether a planning application goes to Committee. Mr Lewis reported that he has to be given planning reasons for it to go to Committee and then he will consult with the Chairman of the Area East Committee and the Case Officer. Mr Crawford asked if in this instance the Case Officer or Chairman came back to him giving reasons why it was not going to Committee. Mr Lewis said yes he had been told all the conditions that the PC requested and that he had asked for would be agreed to as far as this application was concerned. Mr Lewis was under the impression these would appear on the planning consent. He will follow this up as to why he was misinformed. The Clerk was also asked to contact Simon Gale stating the PC was unhappy about the misinformation to our Ward Member. A copy would be sent to the Chairman of the Area East Committee.
10 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
No planning applications had been received.
Mrs Goodland mentioned the building work which was being carried out by the new residents at The Lodge. A large concrete base has been put down in front of the arch and red bricks have started to be erected which is not in keeping with the listed building. A similar base has been put down in the rear paddock. It was agreed the Clerk would contact James Meyer asking him to visit to ascertain what is happening.
11 MATTERS ARISING
a) Playing Fields
The Clerk said she had contacted Cluttons as she still had not received the new lease for the playing field. Cluttons said it was in the hands of the Diocese solicitors and they had no information that there were any problems but would look into it. The Clerk confirmed she had sent letters of explanation to the three residents in Twines Close stating new leases would be drawn up and the PC would not ask for their buffer zone rent until this happened but that Mr Perry had given a cheque for £25 to the Clerk in payment of his rent.
b) Parish Path Guide/Stewardship Scheme
Mr Crawford welcomed Peter Keenleyside to the meeting and thanked him for giving up his time to speak to the Parish Council. Mr Keenleyside explained that the Parish Paths Stewardship Scheme replaced the P3 Scheme which finished 4 years ago. There were benefits to the local people to come out and help to carry out rights of way maintenance with the District Council assisting. It would improve their practical skills; give them exercise in the fresh air and social aspects of meeting people. It also allows local residents to appreciate the work that the local council does. It also helps build relationships between the District and Parish Councils and local landowners. It only takes one person 5 minutes to cut back brambles whilst they are out walking, whereas it would take much longer to arrange for someone to come out from District Council.
At the moment there is a group in Marston Magna which consists of 2 main people with other volunteers coming in when necessary. They have taken part in vegetation clearance and stile building. There is also a group in North Cadbury consisting of 15/20 people and they have had 5/6 training sessions.
Mr Keenleyside said that setting up a group in Sparkford would mean having 1 or 2 regular people going out once a month - one morning or afternoon a month is sufficient. One would be Group Leader to communicate via the Clerk to District Council and liaise with the other volunteers. The group would need to be covered by public liability insurance which, if the Parish Council is not covered in their insurance, could be arranged with the District Council meeting the costs. The District Council would also supply tools/materials as long as there was somewhere secure to store them.
Mr Westcott asked if the District Council were supportive of dog friendly stiles and reported on the field behind Twines Close where there were dog friendly stiles to get into the field but not one to get over the railway. The Clerk confirmed that last year she had contacted Network Rail regarding installing a dog friendly stile but the request had been refused outright. Mr Lewis had also been in contact with them but received the same response. Mr Keenleyside said that Marston Magna were currently in negotiation with Network Rail to install two dog friendly stiles and were hopeful of a good outcome. He would inform the Clerk if they were successful so Sparkford could also pursue installing one. Mr Lewis stated that if we got permission and decided to take it on as our first project he would be willing to come out and help install the stile. The Clerk also confirmed that Mr Tuck had confirmed his willingness to assist in this scheme at last month's meeting.
Mr Crawford said that to proceed we would need 2 or more people to volunteer. Mr Keenleyside stated the District Council will go out for the first 2/3 times to assess how confident the volunteers are in carrying out takes on their own. Mr Singer asked if it could be something the Copse Trust would be willing to take on. Mr Crawford said he couldn't talk for them as they already had a lot of work they carry out but would raise the matter at their next meeting.
Mr Crawford thanked Mr Keenleyside for coming and said it is now up to us to see if we can start setting up a group.
Before he left Mr Keenleyside gave the Clerk the names and addresses of the two contacts in Marston Magna and Bruton who had published Parish Paths Guides.
c) Entrance to Ainstey Drive
The Clerk confirmed she had emailed Simon Gale after the last PC meeting to ask why the DC condition had not been met. She had received no reply and again emailed over a week ago, attaching a copy of her first email. She still has received no response from Mr Gale either in regard to the questions raised or even an acknowledgement. However, when she had been at the entrance of the Drive today talking with a lady from SSDC who had come to see about new street signs Mr Templeman came over and said someone from SSDC had been taking photos of the driveway last week and had told him that it complied with the condition. Mr Singer reported that there had been another near miss the other day when a car came out of Ainstey Drive at speed before 8am and had had to take evasive action to miss hitting a car coming down Church Road.. It was agreed that the Clerk contact Simon Gale again (cc Mike Lewis) and also Highways to see if they are intending installing kerbs either side of the Drive.
The Clerk had also received information from Phil Poulton, SSDC Arborist, that when he spoke to the Director of Greatworth about when the tree planting and landscaping scheme would take place he was told "what you see is what you get". Mr Poulton said the landscaping scheme that was submitted was virtually worthless. Despite this the conditions of the permission say that this work shall be carried out in the first planting and seeding season following the occupation of the buildings or the completion of the development, whichever is the sooner. The Clerk was asked to raise this issue and find out at what stage is the signing off of the development as if it has already been signed off South Somerset District Council will have gone against their own conditions.
12 PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS
a) Clerk's salary & expenses
The Clerk's salary of £120.52 and expenses of £7.50 were agreed.
13 CORRESPONDENCE
a) Request from CVS for grant
It was agreed to pay the CVS a grant of £30.
b) Sparkford PCC
A request had been received from the Sparkford PCC for their annual grant. This was agreed.
c) CAB Invitation
An invitation to a luncheon buffet on 11th July had been received. Unfortunately no-one was able to attend and the Clerk would contact them with this information.
14 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The Clerk reported she had attended the Somerset Funding Fair in Bridgwater last week and had got some very useful information. In particular the Lottery "Grants for All" would be extremely helpful in raising money for the Playing Field, Parish Paths Guide, village hall repairs etc as they offered grants ranging from £300 to £10,000. Should anyone be interested the Clerk had lots of information/pamphlets.
15 QUESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM PARISHIONERS
There were none.
16 QUESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM COUNCILLORS
Mr Bartaby reported that the village hall was due to be redecorated this month if they managed to secure funding.
Mr Lewis asked that when Mr Crawford next contacted Mark Dillon that he mention that if Mr Anstey's field was to be used for affordable housing they would probably need to use floats as a base to create a raft as this is what Jeremy Windsor is having to do with his new house. Mr Crawford confirmed he would pass on this information.
17 ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA
There were none.
18 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The date of the next meeting will be Monday, 7th August at 8.00pm.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.30pm.
KB/04/07/06
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