AN ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY 4 APRIL 2016, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 8.45 PM.

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; Mrs L Reeves; & Mr K Tucker.

County Councillor: Dr J Cordwell.

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

There were 2 members of the public present for part of the meeting.

The Chairman opened the Parish Council Meeting.

1. The Chairman invited apologies. Apologies were received and accepted from Councillor Mr L Smitherman.

2. Declaration of Interests. The Chairman invited members to declare any Interests relating to this Meeting. Councillors Brown, Palmer & Purnell all declared an interest in Item 5.

3. The Council approved and signed the Minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 7 March 2016, as a true record. The Minutes of the March Ordinary Meeting of the Council 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:

• he had met with a representative of the Ambulance Service who has accredited the Council’s defibrillator at the Village Hall;

• he has spoken with Theresa Eames and agreed that CPR Training events should be run independently of First Aid training; Outline plans are now in place for CPR events in April which will be advertised at the Annual Parish Meeting;

• he has instructed Chris Terrett (David James & Partners) to take forward the sale of Breakheart Hill land as agreed by the Council in March. The Clerk has received a draft of the Terms of Engagement which he passed to Councillors Purnell, Brown & Larkin for comments before he signs them off. The Clerk has also instructed Loxley Solicitors to deal with the legal matters;

• following news that Stroud DC is discontinuing their support of the Council’s website, the Council’s application for a grant from Transparency Fund has been approved. The grant should be adequate to enable the Council to set up and equip a new website. The Clerk agreed to put the matter on the Council’s May Agenda for further detailed consideration of the way forward;

• he informed the Pre-School Group of the Council’s decision on their grant application. As a result the Group have resubmitted an application for educational equipment at a cost of £199, which has been approved.

• he has written to Severn Trent Water to challenge their invoice for Breakheart Hill water rates. The Clerk was still awaiting a reply.

• The vacancy for a Clerk has been advertised in On The Edge & with GAPTC. Closing date of April 25th.

4. The Council considered and comment upon the following planning applications:

• S.16/0402. Waterley House, Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Dursley. Householder Application. Replace existing store and parking with new single storey extension, convert and lower existing outbuilding and construct new detached garage/log store. Following discussion the Parish Council agreed to make “No comments”.

Councillor Palmer left the Meeting whilst the following planning application was discussed.

• S.16/0557. HHOLD. Mount Pleasant, Forthay, North Nibley, Dursley. Householder Application. Two storey extension, internal alterations and external cladding to existing property. Demolition of existing garage and erection of replacement in South corner of garden.

The Chairman Closed the Meeting to enable a parishioner to make comments about the application. The Clerk brought to the Council’s attention comments provided to him from a neighbour of the applicant. The Chairman re-opened the Meeting.

Following a full discussion the Council agreed to Object to the application on the following grounds:

The property is outside the settlement boundary, in the hamlet of Forthay. The development should therefore be considered under “other forms of residential development” (page 111 of Stroud District Local Plan (November 2015)).

The property overlooks other surrounding properties as it sits in a prominent position on higher land. The proposals involve extending the lounge and first floor bedroom windows closer to the rear boundary and the insertion of a new full height glazed window in the rear elevation. In addition the laying out of an extensive terraced area partly on the site of the proposed demolished garage which is approximately 2 metres higher than the adjoining property at 2 Forthay. In the opinion of the Parish Council this will give rise to serious overlooking of and loss of privacy to the adjoining property. The repositioned garage being flat roofed and in a prominent position will also detract from neighbours amenities.

The Parish Council were of the opinion that the following Local Plan Policies apply:

Delivery Policy ES3. Criterion 1 requires that “permission will not be granted to any development which would lead to, or result in an unacceptable level of ...... loss of privacy or an overbearing effect”. The Council’s view is that there will be an “unacceptable level of loss of privacy and an overbearing effect”.

Delivery Policy CP14. Criterion 7 requires that there should be “no unacceptable adverse affect on the amenities of neighbouring occupants”. The Council’s view is that these developments will create such adverse affects.

Delivery Policy HC8. This policy requires the applicant to “not adversely affect your neighbour’s amenity”. (Paragraph 4.56). Following consideration of the application it is the Council’s view that the location of the new garage; and the changes to the north-west facing elevation of the house will adversely affect the neighbours.

Councillor Palmer returned to the Meeting.

Councillor Brown left the Meeting whilst the following planning application was discussed.

• S.16/0419/FUL. Valley Farm, Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Gloucestershire. Full Planning Permission. Erection of an agricultural livestock building with lean-to and associated works.

The Chairman Closed the Meeting to enable the applicant to make comments about the application. The Chairman re-opened the Meeting.

Following discussion the Parish Council agreed to make “No comments”.

Councillor Brown returned to the Meeting and assumed the Chair for the following item.

Councillor Purnell left the Meeting whilst the following planning application was discussed.

• S.16/0425/HHOLD. Brookside Cottage, Park Lane, Stancombe, Dursley. Householder Application. Replacement annex on site of approved mobile home to provide family accommodation (revised application following S.15/2268/HHOLD).

Following a full discussion the Council agreed to Object to the application on the following grounds:

This property is outside the settlement boundary in an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). The development should therefore be considered under “other forms of residential development” (page 111 of Stroud District Local Plan (November 2015)).

The Parish Council were of the opinion that the following Local Plan Policy applies in this application.

Delivery Policy HC7 is specifically about annexes for dependants or carers. The current mobile home has been unoccupied for a number of years. The application does not provide information about the use of the proposed annexe for either a “dependant or a carer”. It only refers to “family accommodation” which in the opinion of the Council does not meet the test. The Council consider that the justification is therefore not met.

Furthermore the proposed annexe is significantly larger both in height and footprint than the current mobile home.

Whilst the 2 criteria under Policy HC7 are also not met, it is recognised that at the end of the policy there is a caveat which permits “an existing outbuilding to be converted into a self contained annexe”. This does not specifically permit the conversion of a mobile home or its replacement by a new building, especially where it is larger both in height and footprint and therefore should not apply in this case.

Notwithstanding the Parish Council objections above, should the LPA permit this development the Council would expect the LPA, in line with its own policy, to put in place a legally binding agreement to ensure that a new dwelling is not created in an   unsustainable location (Para. 4.52 of Local Plan) and the accommodation to remain ancillary to the main dwelling only at all times.

Councillor Purnell returned to the Meeting and took over the Chair.

• S.16/0616/FUL. Land At, Waterley Bottom, North Nibley, Gloucestershire. Full Planning Permission. Lay area of hardstanding.

Following discussion the Parish Council agreed to make “No comments”.

4. The Council noted that the following planning application has been approved:

S.16/0140/HHOLD. Church Cottage, Frog Lane, North Nibley, Dursley.

4. Finance.

1. The Council approved the following Invoices and draw up cheques for items submitted on the enclosed Payments Schedule.

• Gloucestershire Association of Parish & Town Councils: Annual membership subscription for 2016/17. £ 219.62

• Mr R Symons: Clerk’s salary Quarter 4 2015/16 £1,180.22

• The Post Office: Clerk’s PAYE Quarter 4 2015/16 £295.20

• Mr R Symons: Clerk’s expenses Quarter 4 2015/16. £180.27

• Mrs M King: Burial Clerk’s salary & expenses 2015/16 £77.00

• North Nibley Village Hall: Hall hire January to April 2016 £64.00

2. The Council noted that the Council has been awarded £1,227.99 under the Transparency Fund. Following a brief discussion the Council agreed that the grant should be included in the 2016/17 budget, for use in accordance with need to set up a new Council website. The Clerk agreed to put the matter on the May Agenda.

4. It was agreed that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman should meet with the Clerk to review his last year’s performance.

4. Cemetery report. The Council approved an application for a headstone and wording thereof.

4. The Council received, for information, details of Correspondence received since the last Meeting.

The Clerk advised the Council that the vacancy for the Clerk’s post has been advertised with the closing date of 25 April. The Council discussed arrangements for interviewing and agreed that the interviews should be held on Wednesday 11 May starting at 10 am. The interviews would be conducted by the Chairman, The Vice-Chairman and the Clerk.

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 10.00 pm.

The first Meeting of the new Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 16 May 2016 at 7.30 pm.