MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL, HELD ON MONDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2011, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.30PM.

Present: Mrs EA James (Chairman); Mr D Purnell; Mr K Brown; Mrs K Glancy; Mrs A Hale; Mrs. P Kelly; & Mr D Palmer.

District Councillor: Mr P Smith.

County Councillor: Dr. J Cordwell.

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

Two members of the public

1. The Council observed a minute’s silence in memory of Mrs Edna Purnell, former Chairman of North Nibley Parish Council, who died on Friday 14 January.

2. To Receive and Accept Apologies for absence.

The following apologies were accepted:

District Councillors: Mrs J Cordwell; & Mr A O’Connor.

3. Declaration of Interests.

The Chairman invited members to declare any interests.

Mrs Glancy declared a Personal Interest in Item 7, bullet point 2.

4. To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the Meeting held on 11 January 2011, as a true and accurate record.

The Minutes had previously been distributed to all members and displayed on 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.

5. The Council noted Matters arising from the Minutes that were not covered by agenda items.

The Clerk’s Update Note, which had been issued prior to the Meeting, informed the Council that:

• the fencing of the Parish Council land at Breakheart Hill is finished. The Council’s thanks were recorded to Mr Ray Smith for getting the work completed;

• the Registration of the Parish Council land at Breakheart Hill has been completed by the Land Registry;

• he had purchased a framed print of a drawing of Tyndale Monument by Claire Failes, for the Council to present to Mr R Smith in recognition of his 20 years service to the Council and the Parish. Mr Brown has arranged for a scroll, setting out Mr Smith’s Service to the Council, to be drawn-up;

• Warren Hill has now been resurfaced;

• he had lobbied Gloucestershire Highways about the need for grit bins at Stancombe and brought to their attention the need to re-fill other bins in the Parish. The bins have recently been replenished;

• the Council’s Bank Account for the Recreation Field loan has been closed;

• he has set-up a Twitter Account for the Parish Council;

• he held a meeting with Peter Wilson (Neighbourhood Warden) when they inspected the fencing to the play area at Innocks Estate. Subsequently he has been advised that the District Council intend to replace the wooden fencing with a metal one;

• Mr & Mrs Orchard have made a financial contribution towards the recent work on the Cemetery hedge adjoining their property. The Council expressed their gratitude.

6. The Meeting was closed for Public Discussion and Questions.

• The Council was asked about what is happening at Breakheart Quarry. The Chairman explained that, although the Quarry is within the Parish boundary, the Council are not directly involved and that Vale Vision, having earlier consulted with the Council, is now progressing with their plans for the Quarry.

• The Council was asked if they would object to a member of the public cleaning-up the telephone box at Pittcourt. The Chairman explained that the box is owned by BT. After further discussion the Clerk explained that there had been earlier correspondence with BT about the Parish Council taking on ownership of the box, but at that time the Council preferred that BT retain a telephone service from that location.

• The Chairman commented that the lay by in New Road (on the right hand side going out of the Village) was in a bad condition, potentially dangerous and in urgent need of resurfacing. Previously County Council Highways had stated that it was not their responsibility as that piece of land was not adopted but was linked to the houses behind the lay by. The ownership of that strip of land is unclear as it may not have transferred to the house owners when they purchased their properties. The Chairman asked District Cllr. Smith to check with Stroud DC, as the houses had been previously in their ownership.

7. The Parish Council considered and commented upon the following Applications received from Stroud District Council:

1. Tree Preservation Order S.11/0039/TPO. An application by Mrs Patterson (40, The Street) to carryout work on trees at Beech House, 44 The Street, North Nibley, covered by a Tree Preservation Order.

Following discussion the Council agreed to make “No Observations” on the application.

B) Listed Building Consent application. S.11/0124/LBC. For the “installation of en-suite shower room into master bedroom” at Forthay, Forthay, North Nibley.

Following discussion the Council agreed to make “No Observations” on the application.

8. A) The Council noted that Planning Consent has been refused in respect of:

• S.10/1765/LBC. The Round House, Whiteway Hill, Dursley. On the grounds that the windows by virtue of their design, construction, method and type of glazing cause harm to the character of the listed building”.

B) The Council noted that Planning Consent has been granted in respect of:

• S.10/2321/HHOLD. Waterley Bottom Cottage, Waterley Bottom. “Proposed balcony, porch, roof lights, alteration and addition of windows and doors”.

The Council noted that their earlier comments (Minute 7(3)/12/2010) in relation to this application had been taken into account by the Planning Department and amendments had been made to the plans, prior to approval.

C) The Clerk brought to the Council’s attention that he had on that day been in receipt, from an applicant, a Planning Application which had recently been submitted to Stroud District Planning Department. He expected that the official plans would arrive shortly and that, whilst he would seek an extension on the period for the Council to comment, this may not be possible. In this case the Council would need to meet earlier for the purpose of considering the application. The Council agreed to a possible meeting date of Monday 21 February at 7.30pm. Because the Village Hall will be closed for building works on that date the Clerk was charged with finding alternative accommodation.

9. District Councillor Mr A O’Connor had previously submitted his written District Council Report. (See attached). In Cllr. O’Connor’s absence Cllr. Smith agreed to take any questions. The Council noted the contents of the Report. There were no comments.

10. County Councillor Dr J Cordwell provided a written report. (See attached). The Council noted the contents of the Report.

Cllr. Cordwell advised the Council that he had a meeting on Friday 11 February to further discuss matters about Wotton under Edge library.

During discussion Cllr. Cordwell was advised that there is a crack in the bridge under the B4060 at Stancombe. He agreed to bring this to the attention of County Highways Department.

11. To Receive and Discuss Reports of Committees and Meetings attended by Parish Councillors.

1. Mr Palmer produced written reports on the following meetings:

• Dursley Parish Cluster Meeting 13 January. (Filed aside).

• Site Panel Meeting of Stroud DC Development Control Committee at proposed site for wind turbines in Stinchcombe Parish, on 3 February. (Filed aside).

2. Mr Brown reported that he had carried out welding on the new gate at Breakheart Hill.

3. Mrs Glancy reported back on the GAPTC Training Event she had attended on 18 January. Mrs Glancy had found the training very informative and helped her to better understand the role of a Councillor and the responsibilities of Parish Council’s.

The Chairman observed that the Council should hold a record of training undertaken by Councillors. The Clerk agreed to contact Councillors to collect this information and set up a suitable Training Record.

The Clerk informed the Council that he had received an invitation from Kingswood Parish Council for Councillors to attend a training event on the Power of Well Being at Kingswood Village Hall on Monday 21 February. Following discussion Mrs Kelly and Mrs Glancy agreed to attend. The Clerk will get details from Kingswood Parish Council.

12. The Council discussed a request from The Local Government Boundary Commission for England for the Council’s views on new division arrangements for a 53 seat County Council.

County Councillor Dr. Cordwell had previously sent Parish Councillors documentation of some proposed divisional arrangements.

Following discussion the Council agreed that it was very important for North Nibley to remain linked to Wotton under Edge, with which it has a long and well established community link and arrangements for a wide range of services (education; medical; dental & retail outlets) as well as clear links for District Councillor representation.

The Council also observed that if the decision was made to reduce County Council seats to 53 this would have significant adverse affect upon their representative’s ability to represent the Parish’s interests and ultimately dilute local democracy. The Clerk was charged with submitting the Council’s views to the Boundary Commission.

13. The Council received and commented upon a request from Stroud District Council for their views on an “initial review of the Identified Settlement Boundaries (in future known as Development Limits) within Stroud District”, as it applies to North Nibley Parish.

Following careful consideration of the information made available the Council agreed that the Clerk should respond as follows:

• The red line in Barrs Lane includes “Buzzards Rise” which had previously been outside the “Development Limits”;

• The other “Development Limits” for the Village should remain unchanged.

14. The Council considered ideas for the Agenda of this year’s Parish Meeting on 4 April 2011. It was agreed that the Agenda should include the following items:

• An Update on the North Nibley Parish Plan. Including how the Action Plan is being taken forward;

• A Report on how the Parish Council have used the Loan to support the Pavilion Project at the Recreation Field;

• An overview on how the North Nibley Parish Council spent its Budget in 2010/11;

• An update on the position of North Nibley Parish Council Land at Nibley Hill/Quarry & Breakheart Hill;

• Information about the forthcoming Election for Parish Councillors;

• An Open Session for Parishioners to raise matters.

• Reports from the Chairman and all Councillors on their work. It was agreed that written Reports would need to be submitted in time to enable the Clerk to put copies onto parishioners’ seats as this would speed up the presentation of this information.

The Council discussed ways in which the Meeting could be best publicised in order to maximise attendance. It was left for the Clerk to take these forward.

15. The Council discussed ideas about the future use of Parish Council land at Breakheart Hill.

Mr Brown put forward a number of suggestions on how the land could be best used in the interests of the Parish. He also explained that further work would need to be carried out in order to bring the quality and security of the property up to the required standards.

Now that the boundaries have been established further fencing is necessary,. The land needed clearing and levelling, including the area that might be an ancient rabbit warren. There is still a lot of scrap materials on the land which required removal. Mr Owen’s animal feeder is still on the land. The Clerk commented that in his earlier correspondence with Mr Owen (14 July 2008 &13 May 2010) he had advised that property left on the Council’s land should be removed by Mr Owen and that “such removal should be done by arrangement with the Parish Council”.

It was suggested that the Council could make contact with the Vale Vision Project to see if there is any potential for them to use the land for Community benefit.

A further suggestion was put forward that the Council should consider selling the land and utilising any proceeds for the benefit of the Parish. It was recognised and accepted that this could be a longer term solution but before doing so the Council would need to establish if there were any conditions precluding a sale. Following discussion and consideration of various ideas the Council agreed:

That the land should be advertised and let for horse grazing on a short term lease at a rate of around £40 per horse per month. In order to take this forward it was also agreed:

• the land should be cleared of scrap and levelled, and reseeded;

• arrangements should be made for fencing the land, which had recently been registered;

• stock fencing should be erected along the length of the recently erected fence so that a hedge could be planted. The Council will need to explore if the hedge planting could be carried out in conjunction with Stroud Valleys Project;

• the remainder of the field, including the security of area around the woods, needs to be checked out; and

• the Clerk should contact the County Countryside Archaeological Advisor to check on the status of the circular earthworks on the land;

• the Clerk should advertise horse/pony grazing in the Gazette and On The Edge.

16. The Council discussed what arrangements it should make for a “Parish Spring Clean”.

Following discussion it was agreed that subject to no other events in the Parish the Clean-Up should be on Saturday 2 April (9.00am to 12noon). The Clerk was asked to arrange the event and advertise it widely across the Village.

17. The Council received a request from Wotton under Edge Swimming Pool Club for “an annual contribution towards the running costs of the pool”. During discussion it became apparent that there is little evidence of use by North Nibley residents and the Council, whilst sympathetic to the request, would need some evidence to support such a payment. The Clerk advised the Council that the budget for grants in 2010/11 had already been spent and should the Council want to contribute, payment would need to come out of 2011/12 Grants & Donations made in June 2011. The Council agreed that they could not make a grant this year neither could they make a regular commitment. It was agreed that the Swimming Club should be invited to apply in May 2011. The Clerk was asked to respond to Wotton under Edge Swimming Pool Club.

18. Parish Council Finances.

1. The Council received and accepted a Quarterly Report of the Finances of North Nibley Parish Council.

2. The Clerk advised the Council that it has over £6,000 in Current A/C and just over £2000 on Deposit. He reminded the Council of his earlier advice (February 2009) that the Council that it should hold at least 3 months expenditure “for a rainy day” in case income didn’t materialise as expected. Also that the Council needed to set aside sufficient money to pay for Parish Council Elections in May 2011. He was pleased to report that both of these issues have been addressed. The Clerk recommended that the Council transfer £3500 into the Deposit Account. The Council agreed to the transfer of £3500 from their Current Account into their Deposit Account. .

3. The Council considered and approved payments for the following Invoices and drew up and signed cheques to make payments:

• The Village Hall Management Committee. For hire of the Hall for period July 2010 to December 2010. (£54.00) (LGA 1972 s.134(4))

• The Clerk. For the purchase of framed print for Mr Ray Smith, in recognition of his service to the Parish Council. (£55.00) (LGA 1972 s.15(5))

• A G Woodward & Sons. Invoice for fencing of Breakheart Hill land. (£300.00) (LGA 1894 s.8)

19. The Council received a verbal Cemetery Report from the Clerk. The Council agreed the wording for a Memorial to Mrs Tallboys to be added to the family headstone.

19. The Council received a written Report on details of Correspondence received by the Council since the last Meeting.

The Meeting ended at 9.45 pm.

The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 7 March 2011 at 7.30 pm.