MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL, HELD ON MONDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2011, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.30PM.

Present: Mr. D Purnell (Chairman).

Mr K Brown; Mrs K Glancy; Mr S Hale; .Mr K Larkin; Mr D Palmer; & Mr L Smitherman

District Councillors: Mrs J Cordwell & Mr P Smith.

County Councillor: Dr. J Cordwell.

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

Prior to the Meeting, the Parish Council met at The Cemetery to investigate at first hand the matters raised at the August Meeting. (Minute 14/08/2011)

1. To Receive and Accept Apologies for absence.

The Meeting accepted apologies from District Councillor Mr A O’Connor.

2. Declaration of Interests.

The Chairman invited members to declare any interests. There were none.

3. To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 August 2011, as a true 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.

4. 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:

1. the rest of Wood Lane had been cleared, making it more accessible for all.

2. the Stroud Planning Authority had not yet made decisions on the Bird Farm planning applications (S.11/1125/FUL & S.11/1126/FUL). A Planning Site visit was arranged for Tuesday 6 September. Mr K Brown would represent the Parish Council;

3. he had not received any approaches regarding how we should celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee in June 2012 following the Parish Council article in On The Edge. He has advised the powers that be of the Council’s intention to light a beacon;

4. he had written to the head teacher at North Nibley School regarding the tree in memory of Mrs. Edna Purnell. A reply was awaited;

5. Mr Palmer attended two meetings with Councillors from other parishes to discuss the Appeal which has been lodged against the decision of Stroud DC to refuse planning permission for the proposed Wind Turbine site at Berkeley Vale. Because the current North Nibley Parish Council had not made a resolution about their views on this matter, the Clerk was unable to offer the Council’s support to the Joint Submission to the Planning Inspector, made by other parish councils. The matter is on the Agenda (Item 8).

6. he had consulted with other councils to find out how they are responding to the Planning Authority’s proposed e-consultation. The matter is on the Agenda (Item 12).

7. having previously responded to a request for information from Mr Neil Carmichael MP about broadband and mobile ‘phone reception in this area, the Clerk has received an invitation for a Councillor to attend a meeting with Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for the Department of Media, Culture and Sport and GFirst to hear about local efforts to help develop faster and enhanced broadband services in the Stroud area. The Meeting is at 19.00 on 15 September at the Imperial Hotel Stroud. A Councillor is invited to attend.

8. he had some information about Community Pay Back Teams and their possible use in The Cemetery.

5. The Council were made aware of the following Planning Applications and were invited to comment:

1. S.11/1475/FUL. Erection of 1 dwelling on land at Millend, Millend Lane, North Nibley. Following discussions the Parish Council Supported the Application for the following reasons:

The construction of the proposed building on this site would improve the appearance of this area. The Council suggested that the following conditions should be placed on any Approval:

• That the hedge between the proposed building and the existing next door property, should be repaired and maintained.

• That a new access for vehicles to the existing property (Millend House) should be made a condition of any Planning Permission. The Application fails to address how vehicles will access Millend House, once the new building is erected.

• That the wall should be put into and maintained in good order.

2. S.11/1659/HHOLD. “Demolition of existing garage and outhouse and construction of kitchen/dining room”. 20, The Street, North Nibley.

Following discussion the Council agreed to make No Observations on this Application.

3. S.11/1608/HHOLD. “Single storey extension”. Brookside, Stancombe, Dursley.

Following discussion the Council agreed to make No Observations on this Application.

4. S.11/1653/DISCON. Discharge of conditions from Planning Permission. Hunts Court Garden, & Nursery, Forthay.

Following discussion the Council agreed to make No Observations.

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

• S.11/1367/CPL. 14, Warren Croft. Certificate proposed lawful use/Development for loft conversion.

7. The Chairman closed the Meeting for public discussion and invited questions.

There were no questions.

Mr Palmer, referring back to a decision taken by the Council at their Meeting on 4 July (Minute 5/07/2011. S.11/0797/FUL), pointed out that, in his opinion as only 3 out of 7 Councillors had voted to support the application, with one Councillor abstaining, a majority of the Council had not voted for the proposition. He added that the Council had previously adopted a practice of making “No Comment”, unless the Council had a sound planning reason to “Support” or “Object”. He suggested that, should the Council in future face an equality of votes, the Chairman should use his casting vote to dismiss the proposition.

The Clerk advised the Council that in his opinion the Council had acted correctly. He reminded the Council that in the situation of an equality of votes the Chairman has a second or casting vote and it was entirely up to the Chairman how he voted. (LGA 1972, Schedule 12, para. 39(2)). This was also in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders.

8. The Council discussed the Appeal by Next Generation Ltd. against the refusal by Stroud DC of planning permission for the proposed Berkeley Vale Wind Park, Stinchcombe. The Council had received an invitation from Stinchcombe Parish Council to join with Stinchcombe Parish Council, Alkington Parish Council and Hamfallow Parish Council in objecting to the Appeal by Next Generation Ltd.

Mr Palmer had previously reported back in writing on the two meetings at which he had represented the Council. (See reports aside).

Following discussion the Council agreed, by a vote of four for, two against and one abstention “North Nibley Parish Council does not support the Parish Councils of Stinchcombe, Alkington and Hamfallow in their Objection to the Appeal by Next Generation Ltd.”

The Clerk was requested to write to Stinchcombe Parish Council advising them of the decision.

8. The Council received a written District Council Report from District Councillor Mrs June Cordwell. There were no comments.

Mrs. Cordwell also reported on the Wotton Youth Liaison Group. (See report aside). Mrs Cordwell said that Wotton Town Council would be contributing £6k towards the project and she invited the Council to consider the financial needs of the Project when they make future Budget provision.

10. The Council received a written County Council Report from County Councillor Dr John Cordwell. Dr Cordwell assured the Council that the decision to retain the 201 Bus Service (Thornbury to Gloucester via North Nibley) had been taken in response to the high number of comments in support. Discussions about other subsidised services in the area continued.

10. The Chairman invited Parish Councillors to report on any Meetings they have attended.

• Mr Larkin reported that he had attended the AGM of the Recreation Field Trust. The “snagging” of matters on the pavilion continued; and the arrangement to erect a gate was in hand. The “Pimms Bar” at the recent Music Festival had raised a substantial amount of money for the Trust.

• Mr Brown reported that he and the Chairman had cleared tree branches at Breakheart Hill and levelled part of the field. He planned to complete the task and reseed the field with grass seed. Following discussion the Council agreed to finance the cost of the grass seed. Mr Brown added that he would be willing to carry out the work for the Council at nil cost.

• Mr Brown reported that following the purchase by the North Nibley Knoll Trust of land on Nibley Hill, there had been a Celebratory Walk to Nibley Knoll by around one hundred people. He added that he hoped that this could be made an annual event and he was looking for ideas on how it should be celebrated in future. He commented about the use of the Hill by mountain bikers and said he believed that some users were dangerous to pedestrians using the Hill.

• In response to a question from Mr Larkin the Clerk reaffirmed that he had contacted Gloucestershire CC (Rights of Way) to remind them that the bollards at the bottom of Wood lane had not been replaced. He informed the Council that he had been assured that the contractors will be replacing the bollards.

10. The Clerk reported that he had investigated what other parish councils were doing in response to the intentions of Stroud DC Planning to discontinue sending out paper versions of planning applications. (See paper aside). The Council agreed that it was inevitable that the Council would need to purchase a laptop computer at some stage. Suggestions were also made about alternative arrangements for purchasing a projector.

It was agreed that for the Council to continue to be effective in commenting upon planning applications it would be necessary to display the applications through a laptop & projector. District Councillor Mr Smith informed the Council that following questions to the Head of Planning, Stroud DC were considering delaying the implementation of the changes until a Working Party of parish & town council representatives had discussed the impact of the decision. It was suggested that the Clerk should write to the Head of Planning to point out the difficulties which the Parish Council would face in the implementation of this change.

It was agreed that the matter should be referred to the November Meeting when the budget for 2012/13 is set. This should enable the Council to have the necessary equipment in place for the new financial year.

10. The Council received a Report on Cemetery Income & Expenditure over the past 11 years (see Paper aside). This was in response to a request made at the August Meeting. The Clerk advised the Council of the fees currently charged by the Council and by the adjoining Councils of Dursley & Wotton under Edge. He also pointed out that the Cemetery is a Parish Council service which has always been part funded by the Precept. Some Councillors expressed the view that the Cemetery should be paying for itself over a 5 year period, particularly as there were some maintenance works to be carried out. Other Councillors recognised that it is not always possible to meet the full costs of the Cemetery from the income generated.

It was agreed that the burial fees should be reviewed, particularly because they had been held at the same level since 2008. The general view was to increase the fees from the start of the next financial year. The Clerk was requested to put the matter on the November Agenda, when finances for 2012/13 would be discussed and agreed.

14. Parish Council Finances.

1. The Council received the Quarterly Financial Report from the Clerk. There were no questions.

2. The Council approved the following Invoices for payment and signed the cheques:

• AG Woodward & Son. Invoice for £60. For clearing Wood Lane. Part invoice only as £150 plus vat is being paid by Gloucestershire County Council, Rights of Way. (Highways Act 1980 s. 43 (1)).

• TW Hawkins & Sons. Invoice for £ 238.80 for contract mowing at the Cemetery period 20 June to 14 July 2011. (LGA1972 s.214).

• Severn Trent Water. Invoice for £16.96 for Water rates for the Cemetery. (LGA 1972 s.214).

3. It was agreed that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman should carry-out a half yearly check of the Council Accounts. The Clerk will contact Mr Purnell & Mr Brown to arrange a suitable date.

15. The Council received and approved an updated version of the Council’s Asset Register. The Register was signed-off by the Chairman on behalf of the Council.

15. The Council returned to matters raised in the July written report on the Cemetery. Prior to the Meeting, the Council had visited the Cemetery to assist their understanding of the issues requiring attention.

Following further discussion it was agreed that:

1. The Clerk will contact The Community Payback Team to obtain a quote to carry out the work on the Garden of Remembrance;

2. The Clerk will obtain a quote for repairs to the Cemetery footpath;

3. The Chairman & the Clerk will meet with Mrs King to examine the Plan of the Cemetery, to plan for a footpath access to the new area of the Cemetery and ensure that this is safeguarded for the future.

4. The Chairman and Mrs Glancy will arrange to carry out a Health & Safety assessment of the Cemetery.

5. Mr Brown would look at the gate to the Cemetery and replace the sleeve into which the catch locates.

15. The Council received for information details of Correspondence received. (See list attached).

There being no further business the Meeting ended at 9.45 pm

The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 3 October 2011 at 7.30 pm.