AN ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY 5 AUGUST, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.30PM.

Present: Mr K Brown (Chairman). Mr D Palmer; & Mr L Smitherman.

District Councillors: Mrs J Cordwell & Mr P Smith.

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

1. The Council received and accepted the following apologies for absence. Mr S Hale; Mr K Larkin; Mr D Purnell and County Councillor Dr J Cordwell. The Chairman, on behalf of the Council, asked Cllr Cordwell to convey the Council’s best wishes and a speedy recovery to Dr Cordwell, following his recent knee operation.

2. Declaration of Interests. The Chairman invited members to declare any Interests relating to this Meeting. Mr Brown declared a personal interest in Item 12 (1). It was decided that the first item under this Agenda item should be delayed until the September Meeting.

3. The Council approved and signed the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 1 July 2013, as a true record. The Minutes of the July Ordinary Meeting had previously been distributed to all members and displayed on the 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 by the Chairman.

4. The Council noted matters arising from the Minutes, not covered by agenda items.

The Clerk referred to his Update Note, which had been issued prior to the Meeting. He advised that:

• the Council’s End of Year Accounts have been signed off by Grant Thornton, the external auditor;

• a reply has been received from Mr Corker (Senior Enforcement Officer), to the Council’s email enquiry about what is happening on the Enforcement Order at Bird Farm. Mr Corker reported that “I have written formally to Mr & Mrs Bbird pointing out that they are in breach of the enforcement notice and have been for over 2 months now. I have urged them to remove the caravan from the land as required otherwise I will have no option but to instruct the Council’s Legal Dept  to pursue a prosecution”;

Following discussion by the Council the Clerk was requested to contact Mr Corker to find out what progress had been made.

• the Chairman & the Clerk met with Trustees from Nibley Knoll Trust on 18 July to discuss how the Trust and the Parish Council should proceed, regarding the registration of the area of land adjoining Wood Lane. (See Agenda item 8);

• the Clerk contacted Mr Sullivan from Stroud DC who agreed to ensure that the Parish Council is invited to attend future meetings of the Safer Stronger Communities Partnership;

• Mr Brown has let the Council land at Breakheart Hill for horse grazing at a rate of £60 per calendar month. The first payment has been received and arrangements are being made to set up a standing order.

• following Mrs Glancy’s resignation from the Parish Council the Clerk contacted Stroud DC to notify them of the vacancy. The “Notice of Vacancy” was duly displayed for 14 days. Stroud DC subsequently advised the Council as there had been no request made for an election the Parish Council should move to co-option. The Clerk has advertised the Vacancy on notice boards inviting interested parties to register their interest by 12 August. This matter will be on the September Agenda for the Council to decide who to co-opt for the period to May 2015.

• Parish Council Meeting dates for 2014 have now been set;

• the specification, inviting 4 local builders to tender for works at the Cemetery has been issued. Tenders were due to have been received by 4 August 2013. The Clerk reported that two tenders had been received by the due date.

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

• S.13/1573/FUL. Road Green House, Road Green, North Nibley, Dursley. Full Planning Permission to erect an agricultural and horticultural storage building. Following discussion the Council decided to make the following comments. Should the application to erect an agricultural and horticultural storage building be approved, a condition should be placed on the building to prevent it from being converted to a residential building at a later time.

6. The Council noted that the following decisions have been made by Stroud Local Planning Authority:

• S.13/1169/HHOLD. 4, Highlands Drive, North Nibley, Dursley. Permission to replace existing dormers, with two new dormers; and replacement of existing chimney to front elevation. The Parish Council had considered this Application at its July Meeting and made “No Comments”.

• S.13/1051/FUL. North Nibley Village Hall, Innocks Estate, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 6DP. Permission to install solar PV panels on roof facing front parking area. The Parish Council had considered and “Supported” this Application at its July Meeting.

7. The Chairman closed the Meeting for Public Discussion and Questions. There were no questions. The Chairman re-opened the Meeting.

8. The Clerk provided a verbal report on the outcome of the Meeting between the Chairman and Clerk with the Trustees of the Knoll Trust about the ownership of the bank adjoining Wood Lane. He reported that the Trust intend making an application to register the land. The Council representatives had agreed to support the Trust in taking this matter forward. Mr Brown reported that he had been in discussion with Natural England about the level of grant being paid to the Council for its land on Nibley Knoll. An increased level of grant has been agreed.

9. The Council received a written District Council Report from District Councillor Mrs J Cordwell. (See filed aside). Cllr. Cordwell advised the Council that young people from the parish were using the Wotton Town Council funded Youth Centre facility. She gave notice that she would like to apply for a Council Grant in the 2014/15 round of grants. The Clerk agreed to make an application form available at the appropriate time. The Council asked for some statistics to show the number of parish residents using the facility. Cllr. Cordwell also provided information about the “Paws on Patrol” scheme.

10. There was no County Council Report from County Councillor Dr J Cordwell this month. Dr Cordwell was unable to attend the Meeting as he was recovering from an operation.

11. The Chairman invited Parish Councillors to report on any Meetings they had attended:

• Mr Palmer had previously submitted a written report on his attendance at the Gloucestershire Association of Parish and Town Council AGM. (See aside).

• Mr Brown had held discussions with a Highway’s representative about finding a replacement snow plough operator.

9. Parish Council Finances.

1. The first item was adjourned to the September Meeting. The Council approved payment of the second invoice on the attached Payments Schedule; and drew up a cheque for payment.

2. The Council approved a 1% increase in the Clerk’s salary (Spinal Column point 19) back dated from 1 April 2013, in line with the recently agreed National Salary Award for 2013/14. (The increase will increase the salary from £8.919 per hour to £9.009 per hour.)

3. The Clerk reported that the Council’s End Year Accounts for 2012/13 had been signed off by the auditors.

9. The Chairman invited the Clerk to report on the Cemetery. The Clerk reported that he had sent the building specification for the proposed work at the Cemetery to four local builders. He had received two tenders by the deadline of 4 August. The Clerk agreed to send the tenders to Councillors for their comments. The Clerk also informed the Council that he had instructed Garden Supplies to carry out some maintenance work at the Cemetery.

9. The Council received a written report (See aside) on Correspondence & Messages received. The Clerk informed the Council that Christine Sweet, the new Village Agent, had been invited to address the next Council Meeting on 2 September.

There being no further business the Meeting closed at 8.35pm.

The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 2 September 2013 at 7.30 pm.