AN ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY 7 OCTOBER, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.30PM.

Present: Mr D Purnell (Chairman).

Mr K Brown; Mrs J Burton; Mr S Hale; Mr K Larkin; & Mr D Palmer.

District Councillors: Mrs J Cordwell.

County Councillor: Dr J Cordwell.

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

Three members of public.

The Chairman opened the Parish Council Meeting.

1. The Council invited apologies. An apology was received and accepted from Mr L Smitherman

2. Declaration of Interests. The Chairman invited members to declare any Interests relating to this Meeting. There were none.

3. The Council approved and signed the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 2 September, as a true record. The Minutes of the September 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:

• Bird Farm: Enforcement Order. Following research the Clerk had discovered that Parish Councils cannot make complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman. This route is open to parishioners, including Councillors acting in their private capacity. The Clerk, as requested, had drafted and submitted questions for the Environment Committee on 12 September. He was later informed by Stroud DC that the Environment Committee cannot deal with planning questions; and Development Control Committee (the appropriate Committee for Planning matters) is unable to deal with questions. The Clerk sent an email on 11 September advising Councillors of this matter. The Clerk had been awaiting feedback from Mr Peter Woodcock (Stroud DC Monitoring Officer), but in the meanwhile, at the Chief Executive’s suggestion, the matter had been referred to Legal Services. It had been the Clerk’s intention to resubmit the Council’s questions to the Full Council Meeting on 10 October. (Deadline for questions was 12 noon Monday 7 October). Throughout w/c 30 September the Clerk had been chasing Legal Services for a progress report. On 2 October, subsequent to the Update, Mr Martin Evans (Stroud DC Legal Services Dept.) contacted the Clerk. He reported that:

1. He (Mr Martin Evans) had written to Mr & Mrs Bird advising them that they are in breach of the District Council’s Enforcement Notice;

2. That they (Mr & Mrs Bird) have 7 days to remove the caravan (By Friday 4 October);

3. Failure to do so would lead to action by Stroud DC which would include 3 options (1) Prosecution for failure to comply with the Enforcement Order; (2) An Injunction taken out through Courts against them; (3) Stroud DC taking direct action to remove the caravan;

4. Mr Evans has requested the Enforcement team to check on progress made in early w/c 7 October; 

5. Depending on the position reported he will, as necessary, take action under (3) above.

Mr Evans agreed to update the Clerk on Monday afternoon. By the time of the Parish Council Meeting the Clerk had been unsuccessful in contacting Mr Evans.

The Council requested the Clerk to contact Mr Evans and express their concerns that as the caravan had not been removed, immediate action should be taken by Stroud DC to implement legal action. The matter of questions to the Full District Council would be reconsidered at the November Parish Council Meeting.

• Construction Works at the Cemetery. The Clerk had held a site meeting with the Contractor and agreed that works will start on 12 November. ( Agenda Item 12 (1))

• The Island flower borders. Mrs King had made arrangements for a local gardening contractor Jenny Wren to take on this task. Councillors indicated that there were people willing to carry out this task on a voluntary basis. The Clerk was requested to check that Jenny Wren had already been asked to do the tubs. If so we would advise her that a Councillor would be doing the task on a voluntary basis from next year.

• Pre-Budget Meeting. The Clerk advised the Council that the date of the Meeting, has been moved to 11 November.

• The Council had agreed that a date should be set for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to carry-out Half Yearly checks of the Accounts. This has been set for 11 October.

• The damage to flowers on a grave at the Cemetery has been reported to the Neighbourhood Warden who has agreed to watch out for anything unusual when he is in the area.

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

• S.13/1869/HHOLD. “Homewaters”, Pitt Court, North Nibley, Dursley, GL11 6EH. White PVCu conservatory and associated baseworks, including modification to the existing decking to the rear (North East elevation).

Following a full discussion the Council agreed to make “No Comments”.

• S.13/1942/HHOLD. “Old Orchard”, Forthay, North Nibley, Dursley, GL11 6EJ. Ground floor extension.

Following a full discussion the Council agreed to make “No Comments”.

• S.13/1974/HHOLD. Waterley House, Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Dursley. Erection of 2.75m mesh chain link fencing to perimeter of tennis court.

Following a full discussion the Council agreed to make “No Comments”.

6. The Chairman closed the Meeting for Public Discussion and Questions. The three members of the public present sought the Council’s support on a matter relating to parking of their vehicles on land adjoining Tyndale Close, behind their houses in New Road. The parishioners outlined their problem and responded to questions raised by Councillors. Following discussion the Council provided some advice on the way forward and agreed to write to Stroud DC on the matter of a parking license.

There being no further matters the Chairman re-opened the Meeting.

7. The Council noted that Planning Consent has been granted in respect of:

• S.13/1573. Road Green House, Road Green, North Nibley, Dursley. Full Planning Permission to erect an agricultural and horticultural storage building.

The Council had considered this application at their August Meeting when “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”.

The Clerk advised the Council that their comments had been taken into consideration and had been referred to in the Decision.

• S.13/1493. Innocks House, New Road, North Nibley, Dursley. Erection of detached garage and study/studio, removal of bay window and erection of two storey extension and two storey extension to rear.

The Clerk advised the Council that at their September Meeting they had decided to make “No Comments”.

The Clerk pointed out that a planning decision remains outstanding for: S.13/1121. Binley Farm.

8. The Council, having received the draft Stroud District Local Plan, considered whether it wished to make any comments. As the Council could only make “representations to the legal compliance of the Local Plan and to the ‘soundness’ of the Local Plan”, it decided to note the Document.

9. The Council received a written District Council Report from District Councillor Mrs J Cordwell. (See filed aside) There were no questions for Cllr Cordwell. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Cordwell for her report.

9. The Council received a written County Council Report from County Councillor Dr J Cordwell. (See filed aside). Councillor Cordwell reported that he had been advised by County Highways that works to old London Road, Wotton under Edge, would be delayed until early 2014, due to instability of the bank. There were no questions on his report. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Cordwell for his report.

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

• Mr Brown reported that the lighting of a beacon on Nibley Knoll on 14 September to celebrate 150 years of laying of the Monument foundation stone and two years of ownership of the land had been a successful evening.

• Mr Brown reported that documents received from the Rural Payments Agency about the Council land at Breakheart Hill contained inaccuracies, which he was challenging.

• Mr Brown reported that he had been in discussion with County Highways into changing snow warden responsibilities to someone else in the parish.

9. The Council received the following Cemetery Reports:

1. The Clerk reported that he had met with the contractors to agree on the construction work at the Cemetery. The work would start on 12 November. At times access to the Cemetery would be restricted to people using the pedestrian entrance only. The contractors have agreed that should there be a funeral during the construction period they will suspend all work. The Clerk will produce suitable notices for display and place information in “On The Edge”. The Clerk continues in discussion with the contractors over arrangements for paying for construction materials and has resolved some of these matters.

2. The Council received a request from The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to erect a “War Graves” sign at the Cemetery. Following discussion the Council agreed on the proposal but suggested that the sign should be no larger than 29 cms. x 15 cms. It was suggested that the sign should be placed on the fence adjoin the main gate.

3. The Council was advised that the Clerk had instructed Treecreeper Arborists to carry out a Tree Safety assessment in the Cemetery, in accordance with the Council’s Five Year Property Maintenance Plan adopted in October 2012 (Minute 10(1)(b)/ 10/2012). The date is to be arranged.

4. The Clerk reported that the tap in the Cemetery required some attention. The Chairman agreed to speak with the contractor when he was on site in November.

13. Parish Council Finances.

1. The Council approved the Invoices and drew up cheques for items on the enclosed Schedule of Payments.

2. The Council noted that the second half of the Precept for 2013/14 had been paid by Stroud DC and deposited in the Council’s bank account..

14. The Council received a written report (See aside) on Correspondence & Messages received.

The Clerk advised the Council of availability of training events through GAPTC.

Following discussion it was agreed that the following nominations should be made:

• Mr Hale to attend “Being a Better Councillor” on 19 November;

• The Clerk & Mr Larkin to attend “Planning Explored” on 3 December

• The Clerk to attend “Clerks More Knowledge” on 10 December.

• Mrs Burton will attend a future “Being a Better Councillor” event in 2014. The Clerk to investigate and advise Mrs Burton.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the Meeting at 9.05 pm.

The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall, on Monday 4 November 2013 at 7.30 pm.