DRAFT MINUTES OF AN ORDINARY MEETING OF MARTLEY PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 7th JUNE 2010 AT THE MEMORIAL HALL
Present: Cllr. Mrs. D. Goodyear Cllr. Mr. M. Nott Cllr. Mr. T. Fearnehough Cllr. Mr. T. Gale
Cllr. Mrs. K. Metcalfe Cllr. Mr. R. McHugh Cllr. Mr. N. Stammers
In attendance: Mrs. S. Williams (Clerk).
There were 4 members of the public present.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
The Democratic Period/Public Question Time
Parishioners present queried the map, plate for the milestone and the pot hole at Paynes Bank. The Clerk is to pursue all of these items. The meeting was opened at 8:02pm.
However, it was acknowledged that public question time would remain running until 8:30pm.
21-10 Apologies: No apologies had been received.
22-10 Declarations of Interest: Councillors were reminded to check their register of interests were up to date. There were no declarations of interest made.
23-10 Minutes: The minutes for the Annual Parish Council meeting and the Annual Parish meeting were both approved as true records of the meetings.
24-10 Outstanding actions from previous minutes: The Clerk confirmed there were no outstanding actions.
25-10 Councillor vacancy applications: Mr Clarke of Newtown was co-opted as a new Councillor.
26-10 Progress reports:
(a) The Clerk
Worcester Highways are now looking into the graffiti on the Hillside sign as opposed to the Street Scene Team.
MHDC Environmental Services are to investigate the obstruction to Martley 773 route.
The Clerk has contacted Highways with an urgent request for a street cleaner for the centre of Martley to help move the mud that has come down recently and has also requested that the collected mud be taken away before the rain falls and carries the mud back out onto the road.
MHDC Business Rates Team will confirm which businesses are now eligible for discretionary rural rate relief and they will also explain why the criterion has changed for 2010/2011.
The Clerk has encountered some confusion as to which agency authorises the cycle events. The Clerk will investigate further and report back at the next meeting.
(b) Lengthsman
The Lengthsman has helped clear the mud from the centre of the village. The lengthsman contract will roll for a further 3 months until the end of September 2010.
The Clerk is to look at whether the time for the lengthsman clearing the village can be claimed back from Highways. The Clerk will ask the lengthsman to look at the dip in the road at Hipplecote and to cut the grass at the end of Pudford Lane and Horn Lane. The Clerk will also request that the footpath from the referral unit to the village is cleared, it was noted that this work has been started.
(c) Weighbridge
The work on the weighbridge is almost complete. The Clerk has had a quote from E-On which is either £76.89 cheaper per quarter than British Gas for a 1 year contract or £78.43 cheaper per quarter than British Gas for a 3 year contract. The Clerk is to arrange a 3 year contract with E-On and cancel the electricity from British Gas.
(d) Speed signs
Worcester County Council has asked that Martley PC do not purchase a VAS at present until the speed limit review is completed. The Clerk is to ascertain when the review is due to be completed.
(e) Training
Will take place on Monday 14 th June 2010 in the Library at 7.30pm with CALC.
27-10 District and County Councillors’ reports:
District Cllr Williams noted that only 1 parishioner was present at the annual parish meeting, which was disappointing. Cllr Williams then reported the following:
At our AGM I was elected to go on the Executive committee as portfolio holder for Economic Development, which covers:
Children and young people, community safety, concessionary fares, economic development, economic prosperity, emergency planning, leisure and culture, old people and tourism.
Snap up a discounted compost bin for Spring
Worcestershire County Council and Herefordshire Council are once again offering staff and residents the chance to get discounted compost bins delivered direct to their front door.
The home compost bin scheme is back for the new season and prices remain the same as last year.
On offer is a choice of a green or black bin from £12 for a 220 litre compost bin (£7 + £5 delivery) or £15 for a 330 litre compost bin (£10 + £5 delivery). Residents can get a second bin half price and when ordering more than one bin residents only pay one £5 delivery charge.
A wider range of compost bins are also available plus wormeries and Bokashi systems and composting accessories to help people to continue composting or try it for the first time.
Composting provides a free source of nutrients to help the garden grow and it also prevents waste going to landfill. As the weather starts to improver, householders will have more garden waste, such as grass cuttings. Garden waste can be mixed with other ingredients e.g. egg boxes, scrunched up paper and vegetable peelings, to create excellent compost.
Bins can be ordered online by visiting http://hw.getcomposting.com or by calling 0844 571 4444. For more information, visit the website’s Home Composting.
Update on the SWJCS
Over the past 12 months this Council has continued to progress work on a planning strategy for Worcester, Malvern Hills and Wychavon that was called the South Worcestershire Joint Core Strategy (SWJCS).
The purpose of the SWJCS was to work out where major housing developments could potentially go and it was drawn up in response to a government request that South Worcestershire find room for 24 500 homes by 2026. During 2009/10 our planning team spent a lot of time looking at potential sites in the district and organising public events to understand what employment, community uses and roads would be needed to accommodate the additional homes. A lot of good information was collected, however in May 2010, following the introduction of the new government structure, it was announced that local councils could decide how many houses to accommodate, rather than work to meet a government target.
We will now be using all the information we collected through our work on the SWJCS to draw up our own local development plan. We, together with parish councils and residents, will work out what areas are priorities for development, where affordable homes are most needed, and we will then work to ensure that any additional developments take into account key issues such as road links and the need for local amenities.
End of year performance
The last quarterly performance report for 2009/10 was presented to the Executive Committee on May 25 th. It summarised all the key achievements from the last 12 months and highlighted areas that require ‘watching’ or ‘acting’ on during 2010/11. Below is just a taster of what the report included:
Future concerns include the impact of the continued economic downturn and how the council will effectively manage a reduced government grant.
All in all 2009/10 was another successful year. We have maintained our excellent performance and achieved our core aims, all whilst keeping our costs low. This has been no mean feat, but thanks to the hard work of staff and clear leadership from Senior Management.
County Cllr Davies was not present at the meeting and no report was made.
28-10 Planning:
New
10/00674/R3C Martley Pupil Referral Unit – Retention of double mobile.
10/00678/OUT The Crown – Outline application for up to 49 dwellings (21 affordable). Consultation initiated today on MHDC website so will be looking for a response by 28/06/2010, however, have no paperwork as yet. PC will meet to pen a response before 28/06/2010.
Pending
10/00501/HOU New House Farm, Hope House Lane – Refurbishment of former dwelling to form ancillary living accommodation.
10/00455/FUL Hawksnest Barn, Easinghope Lane – Reconstruction of earth dam.
10/00262/FUL Brook Court, Martley – Retention of lake dam and relief channel. Provision of new footbridge for public right of way over Laughern Brook.
10/00571/CCO Rodge Hill Farm – Condition 6 of previous application.
10/00581/CCO Rodge Hill Farm – Condition 6 of previous application.
Withdrawn by applicant
10/00357/HOU Black Hames, Hillside – Erection of garage with home office in roof space.
Permitted
10/00431/LBC The Coach House, Lingens Farm – Convert barn to dwelling.
10/00334/FUL The Coach House, Lingens Farm – Proposed barn conversion.
Refused
There were no refusals.
29-10 Standing Orders: Were agreed and accepted for 2010.
30-10 Finance:
(a) There were 6 cheques totalling £1763.97 approved.
(b) The electricity charges for the weighbridge were discussed and agreed earlier in the meeting.
(c) A discussion took place regarding the rural rate relief application made by The Post Office. The Parish Council voted (1 Councillor supported the application, 5 were against and 1 Councillor abstained) as a result the Parish Council will not be supporting the application this year.
31-10 Correspondence:
Items for decision/discussion
1. MHDC Invitation to Envirosort
Items for information
2. CALC Update Issue 2010
3. CALC Update Issue 16 2010
A late item was referred to. Notification of public meetings at:
Hallow Village Hall on Wednesday 23 June starting at 7:00pm
Ombersley Memorial Hall on Wednesday 30 June starting at 7:00pm
The meetings are to provide information regarding the refurbishment of Holt Fleet Bridge which is due to start late September this year. The Clerk will put a notice up in the village.
32-10 Urgent decisions since the last meeting: The Clerk is to agenda the service costs of the church clock for the next meeting.
33-10 Councillors reports and items for future agenda:
The Clerk is to contact Highways regarding the overhanging tree on the opposite side of the road to Martley Court. A few yards before The Chandlery on the left hand side (Martley side).
The Clerk is to contact Highways regarding the double white lines on Prickley Green leading to the right and not the left and the surface dressing not covering the surface.
The Clerk is to chase the outstanding requests for dropped curbs in Martley.
The Clerk is to speak to Festival Housing regarding Vale’s contract within the village to see if the grass should be picked up and whether it covers weather conditions.
The Clerk is to arrange for a reminder in The Villager that parking on pavements causes unnecessary dangers.
The Clerk is to write to Yarrintons Coaches asking them to be mindful of how they position the coaches when parking them in the lay-by on Hillside.
34-10 Date of next meeting: The next meeting will be held on Monday 5th July 2010.
Meeting finished at 9:48pm.
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