THE ANNUAL MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY, 12 MAY 2014, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.30PM.

Present: Mr. D Purnell (Chairman).

Mr K Brown; Mr S Hale; & Mr K Larkin.

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

County Councillor Dr. Cordwell arrived at Item 16. Two members of the public were present for part of the Meeting.

1. The Council received and accepted Apologies for absence from: Mrs Burton, Mr Palmer & Mr L Smitherman. Apologies were also received from District Councillors Mrs J Cordwell & Mr P Smith.

County Councillor Dr. Cordwell had advised that he would arrive late due to an earlier attendance at Alkington Parish Meeting.

2. Election of a Chairman of the Parish Council for year 2014/15.

Mr Purnell was nominated by Mr Larkin and seconded by Mr Brown. The Council agreed to his election.

3. Election of the Vice-Chairman of the Parish Council for year 2014/15. Mr Brown was nominated by Mr Larkin and seconded by Mr Purnell. The Council agreed to his election.

4. The Council elected the following Councillors to Committees & Groups at which the Parish Council will be represented during 2014/15.

Following discussion it was unanimously agreed that the following Parish Councillors should represent North Nibley Parish Council on Committees & Meetings:

• Stinchcombe Hill Trust: (Mr Purnell);

• North Nibley Recreation Field Trust Committee: (Mr Larkin);

• Village Hall Management Committee: (Mr Hale);

• Parish Footpaths: (Mr Palmer);

• William Purnell Educational Charity: (Mr Purnell);

• Tyndale Monument Trust: (Mr Palmer);

• Stroud South Cluster Group Meeting: (Mr Smitherman); and

• Police Community Coordinating Committee: (Mr Brown).

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

5. The Council approved and signed the Minutes of the Meeting held on 7 April 2014, as a true and accurate record. The Minutes of the April 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.

4. The Council noted matters arising from the Minutes that were not covered by agenda items. The Clerk referred to his Update Note, which had been issued prior to the Meeting and he provided additional verbal information. The Clerk:

• had contacted Sarah Macaulay-Lowe (County Rights of Way) to follow up on Wood Lane. She had advised that the Geotechnical expert they used originally did not transfer across to Amey and had not carried out the report requested. County Rights of Way need this report to justify the need to delete the path from the Definitive Map on grounds of too much expense. As a result the Council is basically “back to square one”. Sarah will be contacting the expert based within Amey, although his priorities are more towards roads than Public Rights of Way. Sarah will make him aware of the importance of a report and she hopes to be able to get him out on site to report on this for them. The Parish Council requested that the Clerk should follow up this matter with some urgency as during strong winds the trees were a threat to walkers in Wood Lane. It was pointed out that there is no signage to deter people from using Wood Lane. Only the detour for the steps.

• was yet to agree a meeting date with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to review his year’s performance. Later it was agreed they should meet on 2 June.

• Reported the Village Clean-Up Day on Saturday 12 April had been very successful, thanks to the number of volunteers who turned out.

• Reported that Treecreeper Arborists are intending to carry out planned work on the trees in the Cemetery during week commencing 19 May.

• had received two offers to plant a replacement flowering tree in the Cemetery. It was agreed that Mrs King should be invited to plant a tree in memory of the late Mr King.

• Is in the progress of completing the actions from the Parish Meeting.

• had completed the Council Accounts for 2013/14 and passed them to Mr Kennett for Internal Audit. The Accounts will need to be signed-off by the Council at their June Meeting.

• Has submitted the Council’s final PAYE submission for 2013/14 to HMRC.

• Reported that repairs have been completed to the St Martin’s Churchyard wall. The repairs to the earlier collapse, have yet to be carried out.

8. The Chairman closed the Meeting and invited members of the public to raise issues and ask questions.

There being no questions/issues, the Chairman re-opened the Council meeting.

9. The Council was shown details of and commented upon the following Planning Applications:

• S.14/0813/FUL. Bassett Court, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 6DQ. Erection of 15 no. dog kennels for use as boarding kennels, including change of use of agricultural yard to exercise area. The Council discussed the application with the applicants who attended the Meeting. The applicants provided additional information on their application and responded to the Council’s questions. The Council agreed to make “No Comments” on the application.

• S.14/0414/FUL. Agricultural Building, Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Gloucestershire. Change of use of land to mixed use as agricultural and for use as a small camping ground. Change of use of existing building to shower/wc block.

The Council discussed this Application and agreed to recommend to Stroud planners that should the application be approved:

(1) the numbers of caravans/ camper vans and campers should be restricted to the levels mentioned in the application;

(2) The Council were concerned to know how waste and foul water are intended to be disposed of from the proposed wc and shower facility.

• S.14/0412/FUL. Storage Barn, Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Gloucestershire. Change of use of land to composite mixed use agricultural and equestrian use. Erection of a new barn and outdoor menage. Formation of a new access and associated works.

The Council discussed this Application and decided to Object to this Application for the following reasons:

These plans and associated application (S.14/0414/FUL) create an over intensification in the use of the land. The creation of 10 stables and the associated traffic which that would create would, in the Council’s opinion, produce a traffic hazard on what is already a well used and minor road. The road has several blind spots which would be made even more hazardous by the creation of a new entrance to this site on a bend in the road.

• S.14/0620/CPE. Southend Farm, Bradley Road, Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 7PB. Barn 1: Stone store, Barn 2: Furniture Store, Barn 3: Furniture Store.

The Parish Council discussed this Application at their Meeting on 12 May. As far as the Council is aware the statements in this Application are accurate.

• S.14/0899/LBC. Forthay House, Forthay, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 6EA. Removal of large modern porch to return house to nearer original appearance.

Following discussion of the application, the Council agreed to make “No Comments”.

• The Council were informed of the current plans by Friends of North Nibley School (FONNS) to erect an outdoor learning area at the North Nibley Village School. The Clerk had been advised that FONNS had checked with Stroud DC and that planning permission had not been required and that local householders had been consulted about the plans. FONNS were bringing the matter to the Council’s attention as a matter of courtesy. Councillors observed that the structure is nearing completion. Referring to an email from FONNS Councillors expressed some concern about plans to cover the structure “by a colourful acrylic structure”. It was agreed that the Chairman would contact the FONNS representative to discuss these matters further and report back to the Council. The Clerk advised the Council that the structure was due to be opened by Charles Berkeley on 6 June.

• The Clerk brought to the Council’s attention a planning application in adjoining Alkington Parish Council. The application (S.14/0929/FUL) is for a Solar Farm at Upper Huntingford Farm. The farm is on the Gloucestershire boundary with South Gloucestershire and whilst any development is unlikely to be visible from this parish it would add to the accumulation of solar farms in this area. The Council agreed that this application would also be relevant should an application for the proposed solar farm at Upper Wick Farm go ahead to planning.

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

• S.13/2657/HHOLD. Millmans Farm, Wotton Road, North Nibley, Wotton-Under-Edge. Alterations to farmhouse and single storey extension.

• S.13/2757. Hay Barn, Nibley Green, North Nibley. Construction of barn for hay.

9. The Council noted that the following Planning Application has been withdrawn.

• S.14/0366/FUL. Bird Farm, Stancombe, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire GL11 6AY. Application for the erection of three poly-tunnels.

9. The Council received and discussed a District Councillor’s Report submitted in her absence by District Councillor Mrs J Cordwell. (Filed aside).

9. County Councillor Cordwell’s Report was delayed until later to enable Dr Cordwell to be present. (See after Item 17).

14. The Chairman invited Councillors to report on any Committees and Meetings which they have attended since the last Meeting.

• Mr Brown reported on a Meeting he had attended to discuss and seek a solution to removing a large beech tree which had fallen across and obstructed a bridlepath at Hookey Lane.

15. The Chairman invited Mr. Brown to report on changes to the Defra Grant arrangements for the Parish Council land on the Knoll. Mr Brown reported that the Council’s Single Farm Payment would end this year. Further payments would no longer be made to owners of small parcels of land and this would effectively end the Council’s income from this source. However Natural England had already suggested that the Council’s land and Knoll Trust land on the Knoll should be counted as a single parcel. As landowners can legitimately parcel together areas of land to enable the continuation of grants, it was suggested that the Parish Council & Knoll Trust land on the Knoll should be linked. This would enable both parties to receive future grants. The Council agreed that Mr Brown should investigate the potential for a license arrangement whereby this could continue. Mr Brown agreed to report back to a future Council Meeting.

15. The Council agreed to re-approve the current Parish Council Standing Orders which were first approved at the February 2014 Meeting.

15. The Council agreed that the current Parish Council Financial Regulations should continue unchanged until revised Regulations are presented and approved by the Council at the July 2014 Meeting.

13. The Council received and discussed a Report from County Councillor Dr J Cordwell, submitted in his absence. (Filed aside).

18 The Council received and made the following decisions on the Finance Report.

1. The Council approved Parish Council Insurance Premium Renewal from 1 June 2014.

2. The Council noted that the half-yearly repayment of the Pavilion Loan was paid by Direct Debit to PWLB on 1 May 2014.

3. The Council noted that the first half of the Precept was credited to the Council’s Current Bank A/C on 1 May 2014.

4. The Council noted that the Parish Council’s End of Year Accounts have been submitted for internal audit. The Clerk, referring to the Bank reconciliation Report, advised the Council that Council Reserves had reduced by around £2,000 as a result of the Capital Expenditure on the Cemetery.

5. The Council approved the Invoices and drew up cheques for the following items on the enclosed Payments Schedule:

• Came & Company (Broker Network Ltd.). Parish Council Insurance Premium for 2014/15. £ 272.95.

• Mr G Ayres. Repairs to St Martin’s Churchyard wall. £750.00.

19. The Council received and approved the Cemetery Report.

• The Council received and approved the proposed headstone and wording in respect of the memorial to Mrs. Margaret Marshall’s grave.

• The Clerk reported that the plinth for a seat in memory of late Stephen Willcock, has been installed in agreement with the Council.

• The Clerk reported that Treecreepers Arborists Ltd were due to start work on the Cemetery trees on Thursday 22 May.

19. The Council received, for information, the Correspondence and Messages written Report (attached).

There being no further business the Meeting closed at 9.10 pm.

The Chairman informed the Council that the next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 2 June 2014 at 7.30 pm.