North Nibley Parish Council

2011



MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL, HELD ON MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2011, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.30PM.

Present: Mr. D Purnell (Chairman).

Mr K Brown; Mrs K Glancy; Mr S Hale; Mr K Larkin; Mr D Palmer; & Mr L Smitherman.

District Councillors: Mrs J Cordwell & Mr P Smith.

County Councillor: Dr. J Cordwell.

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

Burial Clerk: Mrs M King

  1. To Receive and Accept Apologies for absence.

There were no apologies.


  1. Declaration of Interests.

The Chairman invited members to declare any interests. There were none.

  1. To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the Meeting held on 3 October 2011, as a true and accurate record.

The Minutes had previously been distributed to all members and displayed on public notice boards and the website. All members agreed the Minutes should be signed, as a true and accurate record. The Minutes were duly signed.


  1. The Council noted Matters arising from the Minutes that were not covered by agenda items.

The Clerk’s Update Note, which had been issued prior to the Meeting, informed the Council he had:

  1. been informed by Enforcement at Stroud Planning Authority, that enforcement procedures have begun on Bird Farm, following the DCC meeting on 11 October;

  2. followed up Mrs Glancy’s discussions with Mr Locke & Miss Murphy (Mount Pleasant Trees). He had spoken with Miss Murphy who has offered to donate a copper beech tree in memory of Mrs. Edna Purnell. Miss Murphy agreed to contact the Clerk nearer the time for planting (late November/ early December) and arrange to deliver the tree. The Council need to decide a suitable date for planting in early December and agree the exact positioning;

  3. attended a meeting (Working Group looking into e-consultation on planning matters); and had been briefed on the new arrangements. Attendees were advised by Phil Skill (Stroud Planning) that paper copies of planning applications will continue to be sent to the Parish Council until April 2012. The Council will be expected to have arrangements in place by 1 April 2012, to accept the web only version and be fully engaged in e-consultation;

  4. met Lisa Walker from the Community Pay Back Team on 12 October. She has advised that the labour costs of making changes to the Garden of Remembrance would be three days (£300). The Council will have to provide all materials. The Clerk advised that the Council should delay making a decision and doing further work on this matter until it is clearer on Cemetery finances and other Cemetery maintenance issues;

  5. received a quote from Wotton Tarpaving for repairs to the Cemetery footpath, over an area including the damaged parts. This was £1,032.83 plus VAT. The Clerk had requested Mr Colin Grimes to quote for repairing the damaged areas only. A quote has been received for £385 (no VAT);

  6. joined Mr Purnell & Mrs Glancy in carrying out a Health & Safety assessment of the Cemetery;

  7. instructed Ian Hall (Garden Supplies) to carry out work to tackle the issues identified in the report;

  8. received from Mr Palmer, examples of how Wotton under Edge Town Council have provided Information Boards around the town.

  9. obtained details of how Wotton TC produced and financed their Information Boards. He had also been informed that an A1 size Display Unit (34” x 24”) from the manufacturer who supplied the Wotton Boards will be in the range of £730 to £810, plus VAT.

  10. applied to Severn Trent Water Ltd. regarding the installation of a water supply at the Council’s Breakheart Hill land. He had been advised that it is possible to get a supply there, although the pressure will be low. (But sufficient for a water trough). He had received a quote for making the connection to the mains water supply. The Council will need to get a contractor to lay a service pipe from the trough to the highway boundary;

  11. put an entry into the next edition of “On The Edge” in the hope that parishioners will “shout loudly” about the present standard of broadband services in the area;

  12. attended a meeting on 13 October, set up by Mr Brown with Defra to discuss how the Parish Council and the Nibley Knoll Trust could maximise their income from Grants. Mr Brown reported back that he had not yet heard from Defra;

  13. received from Mr Palmer the Tree Report. The Report (February 2004) was used as a basis for part of the H&S assessment of the Cemetery;

  14. discussions with Mrs King and is now in receipt of a Book on “North Nibley United Charities”. The book provides a history of the Trust going back to 17th Century. The various charities were united in 1920 and registered with the Charity Commission. According to the Charity Commission document there should be 3 trustees. Currently Mrs King & Mrs James are the named Trustees. The balance held at the bank is £217.53. It would appear that the last time money was distributed was in 1973. In response to questions it was further explained that money from the Charity can only be used to assist the poor in the Parish;

  15. further discussions with Mrs King and discovered that the Smith Deposit A/C with Lloyds TSB Bank was money left by a Miss Smith to maintain the grave of her uncle & aunty, Mr Henry & Miss Amy Bennett. Mrs King reported that the grave is in good order.

  16. ordered the glass trophy gift for Ann James and brought it to the Meeting. Due to problems with including an inscription of the Monument, he had changed the item from a Bristol Blue paperweight to a Jade Facet Rectangular award.

  17. spoken to Julian Wilson (Gloucestershire Highways) about grit bins. Mr Wilson agreed to look at the ones where problems have been reported. The Clerk made a further request for a bin on Frog Lane and Mr Wilson agreed to meet the Clerk to further investigate this. Mr Wilson had advised that as Frog Lane is a secondary route, these are normally gritted and are not therefore supplied with grit bins. Elsewhere grit bins have been withdrawn from secondary routes.

  18. been informed that Peter Wilson (Neighbourhood Warden Service) is being moved to a different area in Stroud District and will be replaced by a new Warden. The Clerk had written to Mr Wilson to thank him for his support. The letter was copied to Councillors.


  1. The Chairman closed the Meeting for public discussion and invited questions.

There were no questions.



  1. The Council considered and commented upon the following Planning Application:



The Clerk advised the Council that it had previously commented upon a Listed Building Consent Application (S.11/1817/LBC) for these premises, at the Meeting on 3 October 2011, when the Council agreed to “not object or support the Application”. The details of this Planning Application were the same as the LBC application previously commented upon.

Following further consideration and discussion the Council agreed to make the same comments on this application.

Following discussion the Council decided neither to object or support the Application and to make the following comments:

  1. That the dry stone wall formed at the front of the premises should be in Cotswold stone;

  2. That it is presumed that the stable block will be for private use and not as a part of a commercial business;

  3. That the proposals for a new vehicular access provide a safer arrangement.



  1. A) The Council noted that Planning Consent has been refused in respect of:

B) The Council noted that Planning Consent has been granted in respect of:





  1. The Council received the Cemetery Report.

  1. Following discussion the Council agreed to sign-off the Health & Safety Assessment of the Cemetery, undertaken on 16 October. The Assessment was duly signed.

The Council agreed the following actions highlighted in that Assessment:

  1. The Clerk reported back that following the H&S Assessment he had appointed Garden Supplies to carry out a programme of work to address the immediate issues identified. Approval had been given for up to 9 hours work.

The Clerk also pointed out that the access to the new area of the Cemetery was not as straightforward as previously believed. He advised the Council that it was probably necessary to develop an access at the Wotton end of the Cemetery and this would require the removal of the Garden of Remembrance wall.

The Clerk suggested and the Council agreed that he should draw up a Draft Plan of longer term Maintenance for the Cemetery, for discussion and agreement at the February 2012 Meeting of the Council.



  1. Finances. A Finance Paper was issued in advance of Meeting.

The Council received and discussed the Finance Paper which had been issued in advance of the Meeting.

  1. Mr Smitherman suggested and the Council agreed, that it would have been helpful to the process of setting a Budget and Precept, if the Council held an Informal Meeting on Finance matters. It was agreed that in future years this would be built into the programme of Council Meetings. However, for this year it was accepted that the discussions would need to progress on the Finance Paper before the Council.

The Clerk advised the Council that he had developed the 2012/13 Budget on the basis of a nil increase in the Precept. The Clerk advised the Council that in the current year a Band D Council tax payer contributed the following per annum:

He advised the Council that any additional expenditure they identified, would require discussion and agreement on how those items should be funded.

During discussions several Councillors expressed a view that the Precept should not be increased for 2012/13. A minority view was given that the Council should increase the Precept by a small amount, in line with inflation rates.

Following further discussions it was agreed that additional maintenance costs identified from the Cemetery H&S assessment (see Item 8 above) would need to be, in part, met from any increase in the Burial charges.

It was agreed that the cost of purchasing a laptop, projector and any other IT equipment, (estimated at £850), would be funded from the Parish Council’s Deposit Account.

The Council discussed the potential purchase of an Information Board. (See Minute 10/10/2011). The Council were reminded that this issue had been identified in the last Parish Survey, when parishioners were generally in favour of the idea. The Clerk reported that the costs of an A1 size board (34” x 24”) from the suppliers to Wotton Town Council, was in the range of £677 to £852 plus VAT. The Clerk advised the Council that he was also seeking costs from another supplier. It was suggested to the Council that the costs of the Board could be in part offset by obtaining sponsorship and advertising from local businesses.

Following further discussion the Council did not include additional costs for the Information Board in the Budget for 2012/13.

Following discussion the Council voted and agreed by 6 votes to 1 to accept the Proposed Budget, with appropriate amendments (see 9(1) above).

The Council also agreed to maintain the 2012/13 Precept at £12,000.

  1. The Council discussed and, after receiving advice on the position of Draft Budgets for years 2 & 3, agreed to set the Draft Budgets for 2013/14 & 2014/15 in accordance with Annexes C&D.



  1. The Council received the Paper on Burial Fees for the Cemetery, following agreement to bring this matter forward from the September Meeting. During discussion Councillors pointed out that Cemetery maintenance costs could be expected to increase over future years, as a result of maintenance issues recently identified. Councillors expressed the importance of maintaining the Cemetery in good order. It was accepted that the Cemetery costs are in part supported by the Precept, as it is a service provided by the Parish Council. Several Councillors stated that the rates charged should be increased and brought closer into line with the current rates of other Cemeteries in the area.

Following discussion it was proposed and the Council voted by 5 votes to 1 with one abstention, that the Burial Rates should be increased by 20% with effect from 1 April 2012, bringing the charges in line with Wotton under Edge Cemetery.



  1. The Clerk advised the Council that during a recent visit, Peter Wilson (Neighbourhood Warden) had brought him the Jubilee Field sign which had become detached from its mountings. The Clerk advised that the sign required refurbishment. He had obtained an estimate from Cole & Sons, Builders at a cost of £40 to £50. The Council agreed to approve the work.



  1. The Council received, approved and raised cheques for the following Invoices:



  1. District Councillor Mrs J Cordwell submitted her written District Council Report. (See attached). The Council noted the contents of the Report. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Cordwell.



  1. County Councillor Dr J Cordwell provided a written report. (See attached). The Council noted the contents of the Report. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Dr. Cordwell.



  1. The Chairman invited Councillors to report on Committees and Meetings which they had attended.





  1. The Council was advised that the lease on the Recreation Field is due for review in June 2012. It was agreed that representatives of the Council would arrange to meet with Recreation Field Trust.



  1. The Clerk advised the Council that dates for future Parish Council Meetings were set to May 2012. He proposed dates to take the Council to December 2012. Following discussion dates were agreed and the Clerk was asked to publicise those dates.



  1. The Council received a written report on Correspondence received by the Council.





There being no further business the Meeting ended at 9.50 pm



The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 5 December 2011 at 7.30 pm.











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