9thJuly08

ADOPTED
WEST MONKTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on Wednesday 9th July 2008 at 7.30pm in the Committee Room, West Monkton Village Hall
Present: Cllrs Reeves (Chairman) Day, Ellis, Haskins, Gage, Perris, Cavill, Tully.
In attendance: Mrs P A Cavill, Clerk

97/08 Apologies
Apologies were accepted from Cllr M Besley (holiday).

98/08 Adoption of the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 10th June 2008
The minutes, having previously been circulated, were adopted and signed as a true record: proposed by Cllr Ellis, seconded by Cllr Perris. It was resolved to adopt the minutes of the meeting held on 10th June 2008 as a true record.

99/08 Matters arising from the Minutes; Clerk’s report
The Clerk’s report, having been circulated prior to the meeting was taken as read.
Discussion followed. Cllr Tully noted that week commencing 14th July the Play area grass was scheduled to be cut, and the seating area at Sidbrook cross roads.

The meeting was closed.

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
 A letter from the daughter of a parishioner was read to the meeting, which addressed the scarcity of allotments and the lack of a pedestrian crossing at Milton Hill/Dyers Lane.
 A resident of School Road has reported that the key to the allotments was not working, the combination lock number had been changed; and the seat in the Spital Row bus shelter was unsatisfactory.
 A resident had complained about the proposed increase in precept to fulfil the requirement for the Parish Council to support the Village Hall proposed extension.
 It was reported that activity at the field opposite The Orchards, Noah’s Hill, was taking place without permission. Part of the hedgerow had been removed and two large wood and wire gates had been installed. A large stretch of hard core had been laid from the entrance to the other side of the stables. Vehicles had been parked on the site out of sight of the road for extended periods of time.
 It was reported that the man hole cover on the A3259 outside the butchers was still rattling every time heavy vehicles went over it, and now the road around the edges of the cover was beginning to give way.
 It was reported that the quality of the recent resurfacing work around the Parish was very poor. The surfaces now had dips and bumps, and a lorry had left the road on the bend by Burlinch leaving the road surface carved up and in a dangerous condition.
 The frequency of dog bin emptying was questioned - the bin on Greenway was overflowing.

The meeting was reconvened.

100/08 Items raised by the Public during Open Session
 The letter from the daughter of a parishioner will be acknowledged. It will be explained that the ‘park’ suggested for conversion to allotments is part of the Safe Routes to School maintained by SCC. The Parish Council is aware of the allotments need. Further ways of achieving the suggested crossing will be pursued - SCC (Safe Routes to School), and opportunities available to sponsor a lollipop lady. The difficulty to be overcome is that the cost could be prohibitively expensive, although there are dropped pavements either side of the road at the crossing location.
 A letter will be sent to the resident of School Road explaining that the combination lock is a matter for the allotments society to sort out amongst themselves. The bus shelter at Spital Row is narrower than the conventional dimensions of a bus shelter. Therefore there is not room to put in a seat, and the present installation, put in at the request of local bus shelter users, is a perch seat, that being the only sort that could fit.
 SCC Highways will be contacted re the manhole cover.
 The dog warden will be contacted to empty the dog bin on Greenway. Cllr Tully requested this email should be copied to the SCC Portfolio Holder for Highways.
 It was noted that J Hardy, TDBC Enforcement Officer seemed to have the matter in hand regarding the stables at the top of Noah’s Hill. Application forms will be sent to the owner to provide him with the opportunity to legalise the process, since the works done needed planning permission.
 The money the Parish Council is required to commit to support the Village Hall grant application to SCC/TDBC can only be raised through the Precept. The Parish Council has statutory powers to levy a precept in order to fulfil its function. The counter arguments, reported to have been raised by Members of the Public, are that they do not wish to support the Village Hall proposed extension, as they deem it to be unnecessary, since there is an underutilised Community Centre in Heathfield Drive, also the Church Room, also space could be made at the back of the Church itself. It was noted, by way of comparison, that in order to install a MUGA, which would be part funded through the precept, all the residents would have to be consulted and there would have to be a 60% return to the consultation, all responses would have to be in favour. It was noted that the Village Hall in the Parish of West Monkton is unusual in that it is not owned by the Parish Council, but is a totally separate entity which has separate Charitable status. The Parish Council reiterated that it does not accept the statement from the Village Hall committee that users are mostly local, quoting the MP Jeremy Brown who was reported as saying ‘he was often in the Village Hall, although not on any business to do with the Parish’; also the Hall has stated that it needs the external bookings for its financial viability. Report from Cllr Perris is a separate agenda item, see later.

101/08 Allotments
Cllr Haskins reported that the waiting list is back to 6 again. He believes the demand could continue to be sustained as more people decide to grow their own vegetables. All the allotments are now being cultivated. The two tenants who have two allotments each may need to be approached regarding giving one up to meet the demand. It was agreed that for the sake of clarity, the tenancy agreement will be re-issued to all tenants in January 2009 for the year ahead.
The availability of land for more allotments was discussed. There are not many options; a personal approach will be made to one individual who may be in a position to assist.

102/08 Internal Audit/appointment of auditor/CiLCA/The Annual Return
After brief discussion, and in view of his very good service, the Parish Council resolved unanimously to adopt Mr Tony Bullen as the Internal Auditor for another year.
The requirements of the Internal Audit were explained, and the report made by Mr Bullen on the Internal Audit for year ending 31st March 2008 was considered. As a result it was resolved to move the balance of the funds in the NS&I account to the business account at the Alliance and Leicester, leaving only the minimum amount in the NS&I account. In the event of that account offering more interest than the Alliance and Leicester, the Parish Council could respond very quickly, and monies could be moved back into it.
The Clerk explained the Annual Return, the processes undergone to complete it, and the documents required to support it.
As part of the CiLCA Portfolio requirements, the Clerk submitted a paper outlining her CPD plans for the year ahead. The paper had been distributed with the meeting papers. Councillor Cavill declared a personal interest and did not speak or vote. The Parish Council considered the paper and resolved to accept the proposal that a training budget of £500 should be included in the considerations when the precept for 2009/10 is discussed in November. The motion was proposed by Cllr Ellis, seconded by Cllr Haskins and agreed with one abstention.
The second item on the Internal Audit report was considered, the Clerk’s salary. The Clerk and Cllr Cavill, who declared a personal and prejudicial interest, left the room. In view of Mr Bullen’s comment in his report, it was resolved that the Clerk would be put onto LC1 spinal point 18 with immediate effect.

103/08 Local Initiatives Budget SCC, and Parish Path Liaison Officer
Cllr Tully explained the background to the initiative. The Area Panels had been disbanded. The money from them had been allocated to individual County Councillors, on top of the existing Community Chest funds they hold. Cllr Tully is required to be even handed in his allocation of the money across four parishes. The minimum allocation is £1000. The money could be used to gain other sponsors. After some discussion it was agreed to see if funds could be accessed to allow the purchase of some land for allotments.

104/08 Official reports
Cllr Perris reported on the Village Hall proposed extension. Although the Parish Council has agreed to support the project financially, in order that the requirements will be met for the grant application to be made by the Village Hall to the SCC/TDBC joint funding, as yet the Parish Council has not the information it requested. Cllr Perris reported that he had been told that a business plan was submitted with the application to TDBC. Apparently there is some difficulty in accessing this document from the computer in which it is stored, but it will be sent to Cllr Perris.
There was some discussion following this report and it was resolved that a formal letter should be sent to Ken Goodwin noting that the information still not provided is required to justify the precept, and noting that there is some evidence to suggest that raising the precept may have an adverse effect on fund raising from the residents of the Parish. The comments by some Parishioners who did not want to support the Village Hall proposed extension by means of increased precept were noted.
It was noted that the Parish Council is aware that the Village Hall will not get the grant from SCC/TDBC without the financial support from the Parish Council.
Some concern was expressed about the relationship of the project and the present economic climate.
The Parish Council’s position is stated in Minute 47/08. The matter will be discussed again in September after more information has been gathered.

Cllr Cavill reported on the Phone Boxes under threat of removal from the Parish. It looks as though TDBC will exercise its local right of veto as part of the Deane wide campaign not to allow the phone boxes to be removed. A decision soon would be welcomed as the level of damage to the red box in The Street is increasing.
Cllr Cavill reported on the opening of the Chinese seat at Hestercombe, complete with fire crackers and Chinese dragons. He noted that two other places were opened at the same time, the Octagonal summer House - also on the Cheddon Fitzpaine Parish side of the stream, and the rustic seat which faces the grand waterfall and is on the West Monkton Parish side of the boundary stream.

Cllr J Reeves reported on the site meeting to Viridor. He said it was a good and informative visit and a pity that not more Councillors had been able to attend, as it is a significant operator in the Parish. The site employs nine people and is virtually self funding through the sale of recycled materials. After sorting, everything possible is baled in a large multipurpose baling machine. Steel goes to South Wales, plastics go to China, fabrics go the Birmingham, and paper goes to India and Pakistan. Shipping the freight is free as it is done on return trips for commercial container vessels that would otherwise be empty. It was resolved that a note of thanks should be sent to P Daniels.
Cllr Reeves reminded the Parish Council that the closing of the West Monkton Post Office will be marked by a gathering on The Street at 4.30pm on the day of closure - 11th July.

Cllr Tully reported on the closure of small schools, which he was opposing. The other item, the LIB, was considered under Minute 103/08.

Cllr Ellis reported on the opening of the West Deane Walk and the Landscape Seminar. She had represented West Monkton Parish Council at both events.


105/08 Planning applications registered at TDBC
Cllr Perris left at the commencement of this item at 9.40pm, stating the reason being that he had work to finish for the next day.
48/2008/032 Ms K Purchase Erection of single storey extensions to north and east elevations at The Lodge Sidbrook West Monkton. Likely issues - none listed.The Parish Council supports this application, it looks a tasteful job in keeping with the area. Materials should match original.


48/2008/034 Mrs F Wadsley Erection of ATM pod at Sainsbury’s Hankridge Farm Retail Park, Taunton. Likely issues - none listed.48/2008/034. The Parish Council request that there should be high resolution CCTV coverage of the area around the pod for the protection of the public, and reduction of crime.
48/2008/035A Mrs F Wadsley Display of 3 non-illuminated ATM pod panels signs at Sainsbury’s supermarket, Hankridge Farm Retail Park, Heron Gate, Taunton. Likely issues - none listed. The Parish Council has no comment
48/2007/036A Mrs F Wadsley Non-illuminated Sainsbury sign pole mounted above roof at Sainsbury’s supermarket Hankridge Farm Retail Park, Heron Gate, Taunton. Likely issues - none listed. The Parish Council objects to this application. The sign is located to attract the attention of travellers on the motorway M5. The Parish Council considers that the sign will be a distraction to motorway drivers and as such constitute a dangerous hazard. The sign is out of character with the other buildings on the retail park, and would set an unwanted precedent.
48/2008/037 Mrs F Wadsley Retention of a temporary café in the Sainsbury car parking area for 10 weeks at Sainsbury’s Hankridge Taunton. Likely issues - none listed. The Parish Council has no objection as long as it does not exceed 10 weeks, because the car parking is already an issue and this structure makes matters worse.
48/2008/033A Two externally illuminated fascia signs and 22 others at Sainsbury's petrol station. The Parish Council would wish to have the illuminated fascia signs screened to avoid contamination of the night sky.
48/2008/039 Erection of replacement filling station at Sainsbury's Hankridge. The Parish Council has no objection in fact the road arrangements are an improvement on existing.
PC/4/08/08/017/BM Installation of portable cabin for use as office, fuel storage tank, and document etc storage containers, layout of car and lorry parking areas and skip storage area at Priorswood Household Waste Recycling Centre and depot, crown Industrial Estate Venture Way Taunton, Somerset. Application made to SCC. (Town and County Planning Act 1990 SCC have responsibility for waste and minerals). The Parish Council supports this application.


106/08 To note Planning decisions made by TDBC
48/2008/023A Display of non-illuminated brand wall signage at Sainsbury’s Hankridge Farm. Consent given: no adverse effect on visual amenity. Conditions: no advert w/out permission of owner; no danger to visibility; all adverts to conform to visual amenity of site; structures maintained in safe condition; removal when required to be done safely.
48/2008/024 Erection of sprinkler tank with adjoining pump house and waste compactor unit Sainsbury’s Hankridge Farm. Permission granted improving sustainability of business. Conditions: begin w/in 3 years; use approved materials for surface of tank; waste compactor unit materials need approval; trees and shrubs to be retained unless approval given.
48/2008/025A Car Park signage at Sainsbury’s Hankridge Farm. Consent given no adverse effect on visual amenity. Conditions: same as above.
48/2008/026A Internally illuminated replacement totem sign at Sainsbury’s Hankridge Farm. Consent granted: no adverse effect on visual amenity. Conditions: same as 027A.
48/2008/027A Four internally illuminated building signs at Sainsbury’s Hankridge Farm. Consent given - does not adversely affect visual amenity. Conditions: adverts and land shall be kept clean and tidy; structures maintained in safe condition; no advert without consent of owner; no obscuring visibility of signs etc; no flashing lights.
48/2008/028 Erection of covered balcony with timber supports and staircase to side and single storey extension to rear Aginhills Farm, Monkton Heathfield. Consent granted: extensions in keeping, no nearby neighbours affected, tress not affected. Conditions: begin w/in 3 years; use approved materials. Notes to applicant include ref to keeping footpath open for public use.
48/2008/030 Installation of one temporary single classroom unit to replace expired unit, plus installation of one temporary double classroom unit to replace single temporary unit at West Monkton Primary School. TDBC has lodged no objection with SCC.
The decisions taken were noted.

107/08 To consider Communications as listed
The list of communications had been circulated prior to the meeting. Communications were noted and journals distributed.

108/08 To receive and approve Receipts and Payments
Receipts
nil
Payments
Bus shelter cleaning for June
Mrs David £20.00
Ms Newland £30.00
Miss Kimber £20.00
Clerks salary for June £458.22
Clerk’s expenses June £155.65
Internal Audit 07/08 fee, Tony Bullen £128.40
Water - allotments Dec - June £13.43

It was resolved to accept the receipts and payments as shown above, proposed by Cllr Haskins and seconded by Cllr Ellis and agreed unanimously. Cllrs Haskins and Ellis signed the Receipts and Payments sheet.
The financial sheet was explained and it was resolved unanimously to adopt the sheet as presented. It was signed by the Clerk and the Chairman.

109/08 To note the dates of forthcoming Parish Council meetings
The meeting dates as published on the agenda were noted.

110/08 Outstanding items
New Editor Village news. It was resolved to send a card wishing the previous editor well in her new life in Dubai.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10.12pm.


Signed Chairman……………………………… Date……………