Baydon Parish Council

MONDAY 27th February 2017

AT 8.00PM IN THE BYPA HALL, MANOR LANE

Present:- Councillors: Tamsin Witt (Chairman), Kevin Howell, Amy Bryan, Brian Billington, the Clerk, Charlotte Booth, WC Cllr James Sheppard, and 10 residents.

MINUTES

1.  APOLOGIES

None received

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllr Billington registered his interests on the Wiltshire Council website.

Cllr Witt declared an interest in planning application 16/06794/FUL (agenda item 8b).

 

3. MINUTES OF LAST PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on:

16th January 2017 (Baydon Parish Council Meeting) – All Cllrs agreed that these were an accurate record.

Mrs Debbie Moxon wanted it noted that her comments re ‘widening the pavements’ had been misunderstood, and she had meant to keep the pavements and pathways clear of foliage and parked cars.

1st February 2017 (Extraordinary Meeting) - All Cllrs agreed that these were an accurate record.

4. POLICE REPORT

Police Report for February 2017 was received on 9th February and was posted on the Baydon Website. Two local crimes were reported:

09/01/2016 – Criminal damage to a vehicle, Baydon.

06/02/2017 – 2 x sheep in lamb killed by unknown dog, Baydon

 

5. NEW COUNCILLORS AND ELECTION

The full council requires seven councillors and three to be quorate.

With councillor Cockcroft’s resignation and Cllr Howell’s intended resignation the council will still be two councillors short of full council. Cllr Witt expressed her thanks to John Cockcroft for all the hard work he put into the Parish Council both in time and practical activities.

a)     To co-opt Sarah Chidgey

Proposed by Cllr Howell and seconded by Cllr Billington

b)    To co-opt James Lawrence

Proposed by Cllr Bryan and seconded by Cllr Howell

The Declaration of Acceptance of Office will be signed following the meeting.

c)     Roles were divided between the councillors individual or to form small committees.

·        Planning – Cllr Billington

·        Footpaths – Cllr Lawrence

·        Traffic Calming – Cllrs Witt (Lead), Lawrence, Chidgey

·        Playground – Cllr Howell

·        Red Lion Committee Representative – Cllr Howell

·        Allotments – Cllr Bryan

·        Parish Steward – Cllr Bryan

·        Village Plan – Cllr Witt

·        Emergency Plan – To be postponed

·        Parking – Cllr Chidgey

·        Hedgerows  - Cllr Lawrence

·        Beating the Bounds – Cllrs Billington and Chidgey

6. SUSPENSION OF MEETING FOR PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Mr Tom McGowran commented that Manor Lane had, in recent years, become a rat-run especially at peak times and he felt some drivers were driving at an inappropriate speed. The problem he feels is primarily in an E/W direction and through stopping some drivers to question why they were using this road he learned that GPS highlights this as a route to Aldbourne. He suggested using London and Bristol models to deal with this problem, and proposed the road could be blocked at both ends except for authorised vehicles, or alternatively stop traffic turning left at the buildouts. He has researched the subject and believes speedbumps would not be successful as often cars speed up in between and they are noisy. He highlighted that three cats have been recently been killed on the road and asked the PC to look into the problem.

Cllr Lawrence suggested perhaps a one-way system would work ensuring cars couldn’t turn left at the buildouts. Blocking the road would not be suitable for residents or people attending the BYPA events. Mr Mike Whale added that he felt one-way would prove hazardous in trying to turn right at the buildouts.

Cllr Witt suggested putting this issue on the agenda for next month’s meeting.

James Wyatt made some comments on behalf of Julie Wyatt regarding correspondence received from Mark Farrell about the Red Lion pub. He noted Mr Farrell is Julie Wyatt’s ex-partner and a Harassment Information Order has been issued against him. He claimed the information provided in Mr Farrell’s letter was out of date and irrelevant. The Clerk responded that there was a legal obligation to record correspondence received, and any information provided would be investigated before being taken at face value.

7. CORRESPONDENCE

All correspondence was circulated to the councillors.

16th January 2017 – Email from Lydia Hogan asking to volunteer to litter pick as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Award. A response was sent asking for a schedule to put this in place.

20th January 2017 – Email from Lisa Strode asking for the stones outside Tubbs Cottage, Finches Lane to be moved as they are potentially dangerous to cars parking there. The Clerk responded that the rocks were there to prevent people parking on the verge, and that the verge has been damaged due to cars parking there.

2nd February 2017 – Mark Farrell via the Baydon Website, providing details of the original purchase price of the pub and a consequent sale of land reducing the current value. This was circulated to the councillors and the committee.  

6th February 2017 – Letter from Cllr John Cockcroft, resigning his post as councillor.

8th February 2017 – Email from Richard Bayliss regarding untidy hedgerows on Aldbourne Road just outside the 30mph signs.

8. PLANNING

a)  Application:                  15/03264/FUL

                              Location:                        Russley Road, Baydon

     Comments:         The buildings which have been erected are not in compliance with the planning permission received.

Cllr Billington had been to the site and noticed the newly erected buildings were on the opposite side to the agreed planning. Felicity Harper, the current owner, explained these buildings are temporary and she is in contact with Wiltshire Council regarding various aspects of the plans. She is waiting for the Council to come and discuss these issues with her. These temporary buildings will then be removed. WC has given an eight week deadline. It will be reviewed in the April meeting.

b) Cllr Witt stepped out of the discussion due to a personal interest

Application:                                16/06794/FUL

Location:                                      Land at Top Field Farm, Aldbourne Road,                 

Comments:         An appeal hearing is to be held on 18th April and comments must be received by 17th March. Cllr Lawrence had examined the plans and the updated version and he feels that the original issues had not been addressed. Cllr Bryan agreed that the situation was the same. Cllr Howell added that it needs to sustainable as it is outside the village boundary and in an AONB.

Action:                 The Clerk to respond on behalf of the PC that there is no proof of justification of business viability and no changes seem to have been made.

9. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION

9.1 Community Area Transport Group Update (CATG)

Cllr Witt proposed moving items 9.5 and 9.6 to this point of the meeting as Cllr Sheppard was not able to remain for the whole meeting. All Cllrs agreed.

a) Pedestrians in Road Sign, Ermin Street, near the cricket field (Community Issue Number 4860). This is currently with Martin Cook at Highways and we are waiting for the sign to be erected.

b) 30mph limit requested to be moved further out of the village in Aldbourne Road. Highways have put this on hold as they do not think it should simply go ahead because the Parish Council have agreed to pay for it. They question the effectiveness of moving the 30mph limit.

Cllr Witt explained that the white gates were there with the understanding the speed limit would match it. She adds it was approved by CATG but they are backtracking on this agreement. The CATG chair is waiting for the report from Highways. Cllr Sheppard added that if CATG approved this then they should be held to it, and he suggests Cllr Witt locate the minutes and take them to the meeting.

There is a CATG meeting on 9 March and Cllr Witt will push this point.   

c) The lack of pathway on Aldbourne Road near Ridgeway View forces people to step into the road (Community Issue Number 4687). This was raised about a year ago following a serious accident. CATG have been asked who owns the verges, why a pathway was not included in the Ridgeway Development Plans, how far the hedge can be over the road and general guidelines regarding the situation. The issue was closed at the last CATG meeting despite none of these questions being answered. Cllr Witt was not at the meeting so could not object.

 

Cllr Howell commented stated that the Ridgeway View plans had not stipulated a footpath, and that there was no easement with the owner’s boundary being flush with the road. The owners of the properties behind which Ridgeway View sold their land for the development hence the path and frontage changes at their properties were stipulated by planning and that the hedge is regularly maintained. The verge is not owned by highways or Wiltshire and the land owners have not been approached regarding a path. No formal accident report has been provided.

 

Cllr Witt feels that WC should have responded as nothing has been heard in a year since raising the issue. Cllr Sheppard will check this would be within the planner’s powers and to contact the lead officer on that development. It is essential that the hedge is maintained on the edge of their property boundary. 

Action: Cllr Witt will re-open the issue with CATG in the next meeting. Cllr Sheppard will contact Martin Cook.

d) Buildouts on Ermin Street Project. Update following the PC decision not to go ahead with the Western Chicane. The chair of CATG asked Highways for a report as to why they think the project will not work with only half the project. Cllr Witt proposes to request more time as the funding expires at the end of the financial year.

Cllrs Chidgey and Lawrence asked for clarification concerning the previous decisions, and it was explained that both Highways and the Independent Safety Advisor thought the proposed Western buildouts were safe, and yet some immediate neighbours believed it would be unsafe for the Normans to exit their drive. Cllr Howell had parked his car at the position of the buildout for 30 minutes and noticed cars and the bus straddled the centre line by half a cars width at the point of the Normans drive. He then parked on the drive to check sight lines and came to the conclusion that the front of the car would be nearly on the white line before they could see left and hence high collision risk (if the sight lines remain unchanged). Hence he believes the current scheme places a resident in significant danger.

He proposed a smaller build out on both sides of the road (with priority to those exiting the village) to funnel traffic into the middle of the road rather than onto the wrong

Cllr Lawrence asked if an informal meeting could be held with the councillors to help them to get up to speed with the situation. Cllr Sheppard thought this would be a good idea. Cllr Lawrence also added that he thought children crossing the road with the speeding cars is more of a concern for him.

Cllr Sheppard has emailed Highways to request an extension in order to keep the funding. He should have an answer by the end of the week.

Cllr Witt will raise this issue in CATG on 9 March.

e) BYPA Hall Signs (Community Issue Number 5080) will be discussed in the next CATG meeting on 9 March.

f) 30mph sign not flashing, Ermin Street (Reported Oct 2016 service request 826352). We are just waiting for a response. Cllr Sheppard will chase this.

9.2 School Parking/Road Safety Scheme

a) Flashing school warning signs not working (reported October 2016. Service Request 826363). No response has been received and Cllr Witt asked the school secretary to contact Highways as extra support.

b) Taking Action on School Journeys Project update. The application for this has been submitted and they are waiting for the feedback on this application.

c) Parking at pick-up/drop off – proposed actions/solutions. The school head teacher has postponed the “host a teacher” scheme for the time being.

9.3 Clerk’s Report 

1) The 2017 election will be announced on 15 March, and all nominations must be in by 4pm on 4 April. If there are more candidates than seats (i.e. 8 +) there will be a poll on 4 May. If less candidates are nominated (i.e. less than 7) they will be declared elected unopposed.

All councillors who wish to remain on the council need to put in a nomination and they have to be handed in, in person (or a nominated person) to the office in Devizes

2) On February 3rd the Clerk attended the first training session of the CiLCA course which was useful. There are a couple of books which the council should have in order to check legality of their actions etc. which will come to about £150. Cllr Bryan agrees these texts are essential and recalls this was mentioned at the New Councillor training.  

Regarding the payment, the course payment was £264 and was agreed in the January meeting and paid from the 2016/17 budget. Can the £250 line in the 2017/2018 budget be used for the qualification? Not many clerks have this qualification and there are advantages for the council.

All councillors agreed with the proposals.

3) The nomination to make the Red Lion an Asset of Community Value. Wiltshire Council take eight weeks to make a decision as to whether it will be listed, and in the meantime a letter has been sent from Wiltshire Council to Julie Wyatt at the pub for her to make any comments on the nomination.

Julie Wyatt commented she had not received the letter, so the Clerk will ask WC to resend the letter to her. Cllr Sheppard asked to be included in on any correspondence regarding this situation.

4) The new bin was erected in Manor Lane by the permissive path to the Alpaca farm on 27th January. The bin collections started on February 8th and going forward will happen on the first Tuesday of every month.

5) The ‘Locality’ Fund is Government Funding which can be used to produce a new Village Plan. They can provide between £1000 and £9000 for this but this will have to be used before the end of the financial year. 

Cllr Chidgey asked what the value of a village plan is. Cllr Sheppard explained it identifies priorities, as well as areas which should not be developed on. Cllr Howard added they can also be used to help identify priorities for local businesses.

Clerk to find out the procedure for applying for this grant.  

9.4 Red Lion

Cllr Howell will be the Parish Council Representative on the Save Baydon Lion Team.

a) The group has been called ‘Save Baydon Lion’ which is a not-for-profit group of volunteers investigating community ownership of the pub and not a Parish Council led activity. There are nine active members on the committee all with different experience. They have met three times since the meeting on 6 February.

In these meetings they have set a constitution, and opened a Treasurer’s Account. Each team member has put in £20 which will be used for the website http://www.savebaydonlion.uk/index.html and for advertising in order to garner support.

Thirty people from the 6 February meeting left emails to show interest in investing in the enterprise and next week there will be a door-to door leaflet drop to raise awareness, banners will be put up around the village, and a meeting is planned with the local MP.

They need to ascertain whether the pub is a viable business, and have started producing feasibility studies and business plans. They also need to ascertain how much are people ready to invest, and then how to proceed. They want people to contribute time, money and experience and are hoping for investment from the village and further afield.

b) The team have asked the Parish Council to match their start-up funding of £200. The Clerk provided budget reports for 2016/17 and budget for 2017/18 and it was decided following a discussion that any donation should wait until the next financial year. It was also pointed out other requests for funding in the village are normally for specific items rather than simply a specified amount.

It was agreed that specific items could be funded from the grants budget line, with receipts.  

9.5 Parish Steward Scheme

The Parish Steward was in the village on 30th January and will next be on site on March 27th and April 27th.

The top priority jobs are:

·        Tapering of hedges

·        Cleaning road signs

·        Clearing the pavements and buildouts.

Some of the clipping carried out by the Parish Steward is not very effective and Cllr Bryan will speak to him about it.

Drain clearage also needs to be addressed opposite 15 Fiveways as the drain is sinking.

9.6 Allotments

a) Some additional support is needed to make the allotments more viable. There is a tree overhanging some plots and the roots are affecting some others. Therefore plot 14 is not viable.

Cllr Howell asked if there was a waiting list for plots as this would make a difference. There is no waiting list and the plot is ‘worth’ £20 p.a.

The Allotment Committee is keen for the work to go ahead as they believe the allotments do bring money in but both Cllrs Chidgey and Lawrence believe this would be a waste of money to work on the tree if no one is waiting for the plots and the plots only bring in £20 p.a. Cllr Howell suggested if someone requests a plot then the work should be done.

Cllr Bryan wants to discuss the issue with Pittams to get a cost or see if someone from the allotment committee could do the work. She will meet with the Committee and identify which trees are causing the most problems.

b) The mole problem is now hazardous on the pathway and the playground.

Action: Clerk to get some quotes. It was suggested Bernie Gribble might know somebody.

c) It was agreed the Chair should be the contact on the website for general allotment queries but the Clerk is the contact for contracts. 

d) Renewal of plots for 2017/2018 will be sent out in the next 2 weeks by the Clerk.

Action: Clerk to check what the going rate is for allotments.  

 

9.7 Emergency Response Team

This item has been postponed.

9.8 Christmas Lights

Upon inspection when the Christmas tree was erected on The Green 5 transformers and 3 sets of lights were no longer working and need to be disposed of. It was decided that any new lights and transformers would be purchased in October in time for Christmas.

9.9 Hedgerows

In response to an email received regarding hedgerows on the Aldbourne Road it was decided that Cllr Lawrence would draft a letter to the landowner, Mr Lloyd, and circulate to councillors before sending. If there is no response or action it will be passed to WC who will then charge for the work.

9.10 Parish Assembly

Agreed by all councillors:

a)     budget for refreshments - £60

b)    hall hire – the school have waived their charges for village functions. The Clerk to book the school hall if possible for the meeting.

9.11 Little Crickets

Update regarding their OFSTED Report which has come back as ‘Good’. The children have shown high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Fraza Jane Robins, the Chair of the Baydon Pre-School wrote to Cllr Witt about concerns at the low numbers of children and there will be a fund raising event on 25 March as well as advertising for more children to enrol. 

9.12 Items for the Baydon Scene                                                                     

Items to be sent by March 19 to the Baydon Scene:

1)    Election Details (Clerk)

2)    CATG Update (Cllr Witt)

3)    Parish Assembly and AGM (Clerk)

4)    Congratulations to the little Crickets from Baydon PC (Clerk)

5)    Plots available at the Allotment  (Clerk)

10. FINANCE                                                                                                                      

10.1 Signatories for Bank Authorisation                                                                  

Cllr Bryan has been set up as a third signatory and is waiting for the pin sentry and pin number.

10.2 Income                                                                                                                                                                                       

Cricket Fund (interest)

£0.24

 

10.3 Bank statements                                                                                                             

Barclays Community

£14,736.92

General reserve

£19,500

Cricket Fund

£1,204.92

Petty Cash

£20

PC Total

£35,461.84

 

 

            10.4 Payments approved between meetings                                                                                   

idVerde

£20.60

Castle Water

£20.32

                       

10.5 Payments for approval    

Land Registry docs for Asset of Community Value

£6

Clerk Expenses (phone/travel to CiLCA)

£24.70

WALC ‘Local Councils Explained’ book

£49.99

SSE

£21.58

C.Booth (cartridges for the parish printer)

£34.99

 

All approved

10.6 Moving money to the Reserve Account

£15817.05 was transferred from the Community Account to the Reserve Account.                                                                                                                     

11. ITEMS TO NOTE

11.1 Co-option

Sarah Hancock has attended the meeting today with a view to being co-opted onto the council in the next meeting. 

12. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING

12.1 Traffic Issues on Manor Lane

12.2 Village Plan

12.3 Save Baydon Lion Updates

 

Meeting was closed at 21:56

 

Signed                                                              Tamsin Witt (Chair)        Date 

 

 

 

 

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