NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL |
2016 |
AN ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY 7 MARCH 2016, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.30PM.
Present: Mr D Purnell (Chairman). Mrs J Burton; Mr S Hale; Mr K Larkin; Mr D Palmer; & Mr L Smitherman.
District Councillors: Mrs L Reeves; & Mr K Tucker.
County Councillor: Dr J Cordwell.
The Clerk: Mr R Symons.
The Burial Clerk: Mrs M King.
There were 3 members of the public present for part of the meeting.
The Chairman opened the Parish Council Meeting. He welcomed Rachel Pratt, the new Neighbourhood Warden for the area. Rachel explained her role and how she can assist the Council and parishioners. Rachel’s arrival in post will be advertised through notices and “On The Edge”. The Chairman thanked Rachel for her time and said the Council looked forward to working with her.
The Chairman invited apologies. Apologies were received and accepted from Councillor Mr K Brown; & District Councillor Mrs J Cordwell.
Declaration of Interests. The Chairman invited members to declare any Interests relating to this Meeting. Councillors Palmer & Purnell declared an interest in Item 11.
The Council approved and signed the Minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 1 February 2016, as a true record. The Minutes of the February 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.
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:
the Council had received a reply from Peter Holmes (Gloucestershire County Council) with reference to the Council’s concerns about School Transport arrangements for North Nibley pupils attending KLB. The reply clearly stated that the County Council rejected the Parish Council’s pleas and would not consider the matter further. The Council agreed that there was nothing more they could do and that further action, if any, was down to individual parents to lodge an appeal to GCC:
the Defibrillator was installed on 27 February and is now operational;
he is making contact with Theresa Eames and planning CPR Training events for March/April;
he had spoken to Chris Terrett at David James & partners about how to take forward the sale of Breakheart Hill land as agreed by the Council in February. The matter will be covered under Agenda Item 10 of this meeting;
he had submitted the Council’s application for Foundation Status under Local Council Awards Scheme (LCAS) and was pleased to inform the Council that Foundation Status has been awarded;
he had contacted Matt Lloyd (BT/Openreach), and advised him that the owners of Corner Cottage, Warren Hill are willing to permit access and agree a wayleave for the new cabinet to enable improved Broadband to be brought to the Village. He agreed to take this forward and provide the Clerk with an update on progress which can be given to the Annual Parish Meeting in April. The Clerk has also reported on progress in March edition of OTE;
Councillor Brown has spoken to the owners of the house in Smarts Green and agreed action to remove obstructions to the highway;
upon receiving news that Stroud DC will be discontinuing their support of the Council’s website, he has made an application for a grant from Transparency Fund to help Council set up and equip a new website.
The Chairman closed the Meeting for Public Discussion and Questions.
The members of public present had no questions. The Chairman re-opened the Meeting without further discussion.
The Council considered and commented upon the following Planning Application:
S.16/0298/HHOLD. “Amberwell”, Pitt Court, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 6EB. To erect a 7 metre x 1.5 metre high dry stone wall across the drive adjacent to the highway boundary with a 5 metre x 1.5 metre sliding gate to secure the premises.
Following discussion the Parish Council agreed to make No comments.
S.16/0376/FUL. Iona, Pittcourt, North Nibley, Dursley. Full Planning Permission. Replacement dwelling.
North Nibley Parish Council discussed this application. Following discussion the Council agreed to make the following comments:
The Council agreed that the present bungalow is haphazard and overall a replacement building is desirable.
However, the Council considered Stroud District Local Plan (November 2015) policy on “Replacement dwellings” (Policy HC5). It noted that the second criterion requires that a house outside defined settlement development limits should meet the following criteria namely “the scale, form and footprint of the replacement dwelling is smaller than, or of a similar size to the existing building”.
This property is outside defined settlement development limits for North Nibley. The Council noted the increase in overall size from a single storey bungalow to a two storey house. It also noted according to the “Design & Access Statement (4c)” the current footprint is 135 sq. metres and the proposed is 165 sq. Metres, a 22% increase. The Council do not consider that this is permissible through criterion 3 of Policy HC5.
Furthermore, whilst there is no distinctive character to buildings in this area of the Parish, the Council consider the proposal to “clad the roof in a dark grey metal profile sheeting giving a clean contemporary finish” as being inappropriate materials for roofing to buildings in this hamlet within the Parish.
S.16/0360/FUL. Katharine’s Farm, Swinay Lane, Wotton under Edge. Full Planning Permission. Continue work experience project on a permanent basis (extend existing temporary permission S.14/0385/FUL).
Following discussion the Parish Council agreed to make No Comments
The Council received a written District Council Report from District Councillor Mrs Cordwell. Mrs Cordwell was unwell and unable to attend the meeting. In her absence the Chairman thanked Councillor Cordwell for her report.
The Council received a written County Council Report from County Councillor Dr J Cordwell. Following discussion Cllr. Cordwell explained that discussions about the future of Gloucestershire Devolution were being delayed by proposals from Oxfordshire about linking Cotswold District to West Oxfordshire District. The Chairman thanked Councillor Cordwell for his report.
The Chairman invited Parish Councillors to report back on meetings they had attended. There were no reports.
Breakheart Hill. The Clerk presented his paper on progress towards selling Breakheart Hill land; and invited the Council to take decisions on how to further progress the sale. (See paper).
Following discussion of the paper the Council agreed with the paper and instructed the Clerk to progress the sale using David James & Partners as sales agent; and Loxley Solicitors as the Council’s legal team. It was agreed that:
a restriction should be placed on the use of the land, so that it could only be used for agricultural, horticultural, private equestrian or small holder purposes.
the sale should be through Formal Tender
a Reserve price should be set at £25,000.
David James & Partners costs would be 2.5 %, plus VAT. The Council should be able to recover the VAT cost for this sale. There is also a “buyer’s administration fee of £350, plus VAT”, but this would be paid by the purchaser;
That Andrew Baskerville at Loxley Solicitors should be instructed to deal with the legal matters; Loxley’s costs are estimated at £1,000 plus VAT.
this is the best time of the year to proceed with the sale. .
the Clerk should proceed with sale arrangements using David James & partners as agents for the sale and Loxley Solicitors as the Council’s legal advisers.
The Council receive a paper from the Clerk on the applications for Parish Council Grants in 2015/16 Budget Year.
Councillor Mr. Palmer declared an interest on his application. Councillor Mr. Purnell declared an interest on the Chapel application.
Cllrs. Palmer & Purnell left the meeting. Following discussion and agreement of the Chapel & Mr Palmer’s application Cllrs. Palmer & Purnell returned to the meeting.
The full Council discussed the other seven applications. The following awards for grants were made by the Council:
(1). North Nibley Pre-School. £200 for Educational equipment
(2). North Nibley Village Hall. £100 towards the cost of heavy duty matting inside front doors of entrance hall.
(3). “On The Edge”. £250 To maintain the production of newsletter on a monthly basis.
(4). North Nibley Friendship Club. £50. To fund & take members out to lunches; on trips; and coffee mornings.
(5). Breakheart Community Project Ltd. Nil. The Council decided not to support this application.
(6). Northnibley.org. (Mr D Palmer) £67. To pay half year cost of webspace & domain names for northnibley.org.uk & north-nibley.co.uk
(7). North Nibley Chapel £500 Contribution towards the purchase of folding tables and storage trolley.
(8). Cotswold Vale Talking Newspaper. £50. To update information materials to inform users of additional services.
(9). Stroud CAB. £100. To support provision of outreach advice delivered through drop-in surgeries in Wotton under edge.
It was agreed that Grants should be awarded at the Annual Parish Meeting on 4 April 2016.
Finances.
The Council received and noted the latest statement of the 2015/16 Budget.
The Council approved the invoices and drew up cheques for items on the enclosed Payments Schedule.
North Nibley Village Hall: Hire of Hall period 13 April 2015 to
7 December 2015. £124.00
Severn Trent Water: Breakheart Hill water rates. £41.59
Severn Trent Water: Cemetery water rates. £18.55
The Council received and approved an application for a headstone to be erected on the grave of the late Ron Thomas.
The Council noted that the Clerk had tendered his resignation and would be leaving the Council following the June Meeting. The Clerk was requested to advertise the vacancy in “On the Edge” and with GAPTC.
The Council received for information details of Correspondence received. (See attached paper).
The Chairman reminded Councillors that the Village Clean-Up Day is arranged for 19 March.
There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.55 pm.
The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday
4 April 2016, to follow the Annual Parish Meeting (7.00 pm).