PC Minutes 5th February 2018xxx

PC Minutes 5th February 2018xxx2020-03-07 12:43:40900

CREECHST MICHAEL PARISH COUNCIL

Minutesof the Meeting of the CSM PC held at 7pm on Monday 5thFebruary 2018

Inthe Lower Committee Room of the Village Hall.

Present; S Hutchings, (Chair),S Greenhalgh (Vice Chair), A Birch, P Brown, S Harris, G Lucas, CSampson and I Wright, (Parish Councillors). Steve Altria (Clerk).TDBCllr K Durdan. One member of the public attended.

18/19. Chairs Welcome.The Chair welcomed all.

18/20. PublicSpeaking. MrsWinchester asked what route the No 29 bus would take when the road atDurston is closed shortly for relaying.

Action.TheClerk undertook to ring First Bus (tel 211180) and inform her (Clerksnote �” First Bus have yet to decide).

18/21. CreechCastle Highway Improvement Scheme.David Mitchell, Technical Lead Projects and Studies, SCC Highways andthree colleagues presentedtheir plans to upgrade the Creech Castle junction and PCllrs madeobservations. SCC have considered 5 options and intend to apply tothe Enterprise Partnership for 70% funding for the preferred schemewhich is essentially an enhancement of the existing arrangements withadditional lanes and better cycle and pedestrian crossings. It wasnoted that there would be no right turn from Town into Bridgwater Rd(towards Hamilton Rd), an additional lane along the Toneway, twolanes when turning left from West Monkton towards Hankridge, a longerwaiting lane for those turning right from Hankridge when travellingtowards West Monkton and three lanes in Bridgwater Road (fromHamilton Rd direction) with the turn left slip along the Tonewaytowards Taunton removed.

Thefocus of PCllrs response was on the need for safety improvement worksbeing put in place in CSM ahead of the works starting particularly asit is likely the Creech Castle work will be timed alongside theplanned J25 improvement work which is going to be undertaken over a 2year period. It was accepted that 2 years of disruption will furtherincrease rat running between the A38 and A358 as drivers seek toavoid the works. SCC agreed to walk through the village to understandthe difficulties, to consider what could be done and agreed tosupport the PC in principal to develop a village traffic managementplan (though no commitment on the availability of resources wasgiven). A discussion was held on the safety of cyclists andpedestrians and the need for an crossing on the A38 at Bathpool, theimpact on the Sainsbury roundabout and where traffic may be displacedfrom.

Actions.The Clerk to arrange with Highways a walk through of CSM.

18/22.Apologies.PCllrsY Guest, D Knight, K Reed and senttheir apologies and the reasons given were accepted. SCClr D Fothergill.

18/23.Declarations of Interest.(1)Declarations of Individual Members. None.

18/24.District Councillors’Report.

DDadvised he had nothing further to report beyond the two emails he hadpreviously forwarded – the first from Newgale Comms on behalf ofHighway England Ltd which provided a A358Taunton to Southfields DuellingScheme Consultation Stakeholder Pack and notice of a futureclosure of Hyde Lane(near the cottages) by Wessex Water in order to Wessex Water canreplace the water supply pipes. The closure is set for 5thMarch for 27 days.

18/25. CountyCouncillors’ Report. DF had provided the Clerk witha report in his absence;

(1)Ofsted report into SCC Childrens Services: Ofsted’slatest report into SCC’s Childrens Services was published on 29January; this report followed two previous inadequate ratings. Thereport found improvements and gave SCC an improved rating of‘Requires Improvement to be Good’ with Adoption Services rated as‘Good’. The aim is to be Good at the next assessment andOutstanding shortly afterwards.

(2)Family Support Service:The decisions required to deliver SCC’s new Family Support Serviceare progressing through the democratic processes. The Family SupportService will join together the existing early help service, Getsetand SCC’s public health nursing services (health visitors andschool nurses). Contact publichealth@somerset.gov.uk

(3)Adult Social Care precept: Inthe face of a national social care crises the Government has allowedLocal Authorities to add up to 3% to help meet the cost of providingAdult Social Care. In a County, which is recognised as having asignificant ageing population, Adult Social Care already accounts forover 40% of the SCC’s total budget.

(4)Delayed Transfers of Care: Despitea huge increase in hospital admissions over Christmas SCC have, forthe first time, beaten their national target in this area to assistin the safe discharge of patients from the four main hospitals. Inone week alone Social Services provided over 500 care packages forsafe discharge from Musgrove Park Hospital

(5)Domestic Homicide Reviews: Aresponsibility of SCC is the management of the process offacilitating multi agency participation DHR. Since 2011 ten have beenundertaken. Each review examines a death when it has been the resultof harm perpetrated by an intimate partner / person or member of thesame household. The purpose is to learn lessons and identify goodpractice which can be applied to reduce and prevent domestic violenceand homicide. All reviews are published and are available athttp://www.somersetsurvivors.org.uk/domestic-homicide-reviews/

(6)Investing in Schools: SCChave recently launched an investment programme in education withtwenty four new or replacement schools and nineteen other majorbuilding projects at existing schools over the next few years. The £140 million of investment will be focused on the Primary Schoollevel but also includes secondary, nursery and early year’sprovision. The first major announcement is a £9 million investmentin Selworthy Secondary School providing a large number of specialistplacements for pupils with complex health issues.

(7)Library Consultation: isnow available for communities, businesses and individuals toparticipate. Drop In sessions are running across the network duringthe consultation period as well to enable further informationsharing. Feedback from those who are affected by any potentialchanges in the service is being encouraged. No decisions will betaken until the results of the consultation have been fully analysed.The consultation runs to 22nd April and further details can be foundat http://somersetlibraries.co.uk/consultation/

(8)Somerset Road Safety Strategy: In2017, 22 people were killed in fatal collisions on the Counties roadsand although it is the lowest annual total each death represents apersonal tragedy. This consultation runs until 8th March and can befound at http://www.somersetconsults.org.uk/consults.ti/system/home

(9)Highways England consultation: HighwaysEngland are currently running two consultations. The A303 Sparkfordto Ilchester consultation can be found athttp://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/a303-sparkford-to-ilchester/andthe A358 athttps://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/he/taunton-to-southfields-duallingscheme/

(10)Apprenticeships in Somerset: SCC’sYoung Peoples Strategy provides practical apprenticeships. So far theCouncil has employed 121 and needs assistance in spreading the wordto increase these numbers further throughout the County.Apprenticeship roles exist in various departments and can be foundthrough the Somerset Jobs webpage.

(11)Trading Standards: SomersetTrading Standards (a Division of Somerset County Council) areoffering ‘Pop Up Business Advice’ on Tuesday 27th February 27thbetween 10am-1pm at the Red Brick Building, Morland Road, GlastonburyBA6 9FT. Anyone wishing to attend can book a place athttp://www.bwcpopupcafe.eventbrite.co.uk/

18/26.Minutesof the 8th January Mtg. (Thesehad been previouslycirculated to Cllrs). The minutes of the meeting were agreed withoutany amendments being made. These were then signed and dated by theChair as an accurate record of the meeting.

18/27.Mattersarising from the minutes of the 8thJanuary Mtg.

TheClerk reported;

18/2.Allotments.The Clerk confirms that the documentation had been provided to theAllotments Society. A cordial meeting had taken place with thelandowner and agreement had been reached on rent for the next fouryears. There is still a disagreement regarding year five so this hasyet to be resolved. As the year is half way through the allotmentsociety had now paid this year rent and in turn the Clerk recommendedthe PC authorise payment to the landowner. It was noted and agreedthat the Society wish the PC to retain a central role.

18/5(1)/17/204.StrategicHousing land availability assessment (SHLAA).As KD had offered to ask TDBC (RB) to respond to TDBCllr D Durdansreferral of the PC request to have the SHLAA updated at its nextreview (to ensure that the field on the Langaller Road was no longerendorsed as potentially developable) the Clerk asked DD as the PC hadstill to hear from RB if he would follow this up.

Action.KD/DD to ask TDBC (RB) to reply.

18/5(2).S106 Annual report. TheClerk confirmed he had circulated the TDBC report to each PCllr.

18/6(8) M5Tunnel.DF had asked if Highways had been in touch yet regarding takingforward the idea of using the unused tunnel at Langaller forpedestrians. The Clerk advised that they had not yet and DF offeredto follow-up with Highways.

Action.Clerk to ask DF to follow up with Highways.

16/221.FloodingSign. Action.DK and AB to meet with Ruishton Flood Group to determine best wayforward. C/F.

17/220(9) FlyTipping. He had informed Planning Enforcement that materials were being dumpedin a field off Long Lane (RofW10/29) Langaller as ‘no change ofuse’ had been obtained by the land owner this was thought to be amatter for planning enforcement. Planning Enforcement had since beenchased for an update report and had responded that the matter was forEnv Health colleagues. After chasing EH for a reply twice they askedif the flytipping was taking place with the land owners permission asif so the matter was responsibility of SCC planners. At this pointand as two months had passed the Clerk had told PE and EH to decidebut one need to visit the site.

16/58. Overgrown vegetation on TDBC owned Land in front of 2-32 Crufts Meadow.PB had reported that TDBC had been progressing some of theimprovements agreed at a site meeting held on 17thMay. As a result he had asked TDBC again for an update on theirintentions and he had arranged for a site meeting on the 14thFebruary between the Canal Society and TDBC Open Spaces in order toplan progress.

Action.The Clerk to brief CS.

17/125 Dog Bins. The Chairmanhad identified two sites for the bin and is now to establish the landowner’s permission.

Action. The Chairman to getpermission to site, the Clerk to await Chairman’s advices and thenask DLO to install.

17/207. Defibulator’s. TheChair is in the process of replacing the backboards in the TelephoneBoxes. Heartstart Somerset had visited and inspected the box atCreech Heathfield again in order to write the specification forelectrical works from so quotations can be obtained fromelectricians.

17/224(5) LarkfleetGrant Fund.The Clerk reported he had bid to Camb Community Foundation thatmanage the Larkfleet Fund in January as requested asking for fundingto purchase gazebos and tables. He had received a reply asking forthe Council adult safe guarding policy by return. This he had draftedand circulated to PCllrs for agreement.

Action.It was agreed the Clerk could submit the adult safeguarding policy toCCF/Larkfleet.

17/228.“Missing Link” on the approach to canal bridge 26 at the bottomend of Ryesland Way. FA’Chad advised that he ascertained that the Canal Society own the“missing Link” on the approach to canal bridge 26 at the bottomend of Ryesland Way and that he had asked them if they would surface.

17/232.Creech St Michael Website. That KRhad agreed to put in an appeal in the next edition of the Creech Newscalling for volunteers to help identify, collect and upload contenttimely on a voluntary basis.

18/14(1)WestView.The Clerk confirmed he had informed SCC Highways that the surface atthe junction with Hyde Lane is breaking up. GL advised that he hadseen orange markings which suggested that it had been inspected andwork was to be done.

18/15.YouthClub. As agreedhe had spoken to SCC Youth Officers to explore if there werealternative providers for running an open access club professionally.As they were confident there are he had placed an advert asking forinterested companies to make contact. No commitment had been givenbut the panel (CS/KR/Judith Hodge/Clerk) would meet again and takestock. It is noted that funding was an issue so he had drafted a bidto SCC asking for some funding and as the annual deadline was the23rdFeb asked for Council agreement that he could submit the bid. Thiswas agreed.

18/17(1). Mergerof West Somerset DC and Taunton Deane BCandits replacement with a new authority.

TheClerk advised he had written to the Sec of State again restating thePC objection to the merger as an evaluation of all the options by theBoundary Commission had not been undertaken and that it appears to bea political decision already taken. An acknowledgement and areassurance that all responses would be considered before a decisionwas taken by the Sec of State had been received.

18/17(4) HopkinsField Fencingto rear of West View. The Clerk had reported as requested by GL toDavid Wilson Homes that the fencing alongside their site is in poorcondition and had asked DWH to reinstate. GL had since received acall and the Clerk an email saying the matter would be attended to bycontractors in the next few days.

18/28.Planning. (1). The following planning applicationswere considered;

Date

Ref

Application

Outcome

8/1/18

14/18/0001

Ham,Field opp Broomhay, White St. Replacement of access gates anderection of poly tunnel.

Tosupport.

12/1/18

4/40/18/0001

HamSewage Treatment Works, Ham Lane, CSM.

Constructionof a Motor Control Centre (MCC) Kiosk and cake reception buildingat existing sewage treatment works.

Tosupportnowthe access track is being built subject to anundertaking that all vehicles are to use the track once open.

(2)4/38/17/0205Junction25, M5, Taunton,SCC had written advising that the following planning applicationwouldgo before its Regulation Cttee on 8thFeb but had then subsequently deferred it to a later date;Construction of a new road scheme including the widening andenlargement of Junction 25 roundabout, the widening of Toneway overapprox. 200m length from J.25, the construction of a new roundaboutto the SouthWestern corner of the Gateway Park & Ride site andthe construction of linking sections of road to J.25 and theA358/Ruishton Lane junction, junction alterations, provision ofpedestrian and cyclist facilities and associated street furniture onland at Junction 25, M5, Taunton.

(3)Planning–CSM.NeighbourhoodPlan. The Clerk advised the Section 14 consultation period had now closedhaving been completed on 2ndFeb. A drop in had taken place in the Village Hall Cttee Room onFriday 8thDec (2pm to 6pm) and on Saturday 9thDec (9.30am to noon) and unmanned displays had been in the VillageHall entrance and Baptist Church Hall until 2ndFeb. Letters had also been emailed to all the statutory bodies asidentified by TDBC, local employers, residents who had replied to thevillage survey and anyone who had submitted a planning application inthe Parish in the past year. Details are also available to view ordownload from the website www.creechstmichael.net/NHP/and reminders and announcements posted on the village facebook site.A report summarising the responses was now expected next week fromWYG and this would be distributed to PCllrs and the NP Panel ahead oftheir next meeting on the 20thFebruary and he asked PCllrs that he receive comments ahead of themtg. TDBC had responded making a number of points includingsuggesting that a Community Action plan be included and objectiveevidence be submitted to support the green wedge designation of thenorth of CSM. It was decided to ask the Plan Panel to draft a firstversion of the plan and to commission WYG to collect and submit theevidence for extending the green wedge.

TheStrategic Env Assessment (SEA) and Habitat Regulation Assessment(HRA) commissioned by TDBC are underway and these are expected at theend of this month.

SGand the Clerk had met again with Ruishton NH Planning Panel on the30thJan as part of our joint working with local PC’s. Ruishton arepreparing a note of the meeting which will be distributed oncereceived. The issues they raised are the same as for CSM withspeeding and volume of traffic being their top priority too. Ruishtonhave just had their consultation results in and are now conducting aHousing Needs Survey. Ruishton are expecting developers to submitconsiderable housing applications post HE Ltd decision on the routefor the A358/A303 (they prefer the pink route but with the orangeroute to a full junction on the M5). Ruishton is happy to advise onflood protection and asked if they can work on the detail of cycleand footways networks together. This was agreed to.

The Clerk also advised that he hadsubmitted an application for ACV status for the field off LangallerRoad. TDBC had advised that they are undertaking a review of theirACV policy and a decision would follow after its completion and hadasked for more evidence of public use. This was reflected upon andfelt difficult to provide beyond that already stated.

ActionClerkto circulate Sect 14 summary report from WYG and note of meeting withRuishton NH Plan Panel on their receipt.

18/29.Finance. Thedraft minutes of the Finance Sub Ctte held on the 23rdJanuary had been previously circulated.

(1)Chequedrawn since last meeting. Chequeno 284 amount £42.34 payable to B Gas forPavilion Electricity supply 7thDec -7thJan 2018.

(2)Accountsauthorised for Payment.The Clerks and Caretakers Wages, HMRC and SCCPension Fund payments,

SRAltria (Clerks Jan Expenses) £73.30, Bibby Factors Bristol Ltd (RecPark 3d Security 2.1.18-28.2.18) £210,

ExmoorLuxury Loos (Toilet hire Dep for PIP) £321.60, Water2Business (WaterSupply to Rec) 28.7.17-11.1.18) £11.04,

TDBC(Grass Cutting 17-18 season) £2088.19, John Miller (allotment fieldrent 4.9.17-3.9.18) £500.00, A Birch (reimb of costs for Fish nChip/Bingo Senior Citizens Lunch) £812.46, 1610 Ltd (Dep forclimbing wall at PIP18) £100, Comm Council for Somerset (Memb Fee2018) £40.00, K Hutchings (Caretakers Expenses) £122.48.

(3)Invoices received but not paid; EDF(Rec Park Garage electricity for Oct-Jan agreed with EDF to cancel),British Gas (Electricity at Rec Park pavilion electricity (disputedand referred to ombudsman for decision £90.00 and Opus (Electricityat Rec Park pavilion electricity) in credit £20.00.

(4)MoniesReceived and banked since the last meeting; RuishtonFC (Football 4th/18th/25thNovember) £60.00,

SouthWest Lottery (Lottery proceeds) £7.00, CSM Allotment Society(Allotment Site Rent 4.9.17-3.9.18) £500.00 , Tone Youth FC (14thJan u14&16s pitch fees). PIP18 Food Vendor Alfies Ices £100,Pizza Emporium £150.00, Layz Ricks £150 and Somerset Pig Roast £150.00. PIP Stalls(Selway/Lansdell/Thornton/Colemen/Clarke-Heathfield/ £10cash) £60.00.

TheClerk advised he had also spoken to Western Power DistributionPlymouth about receiving a one off payment in lieu of annual paymentsbut had been advised this was only on offer to private house owners.

(5)Approvalto pay these on receipt of invoices (subject to 2 PCllrs signatures)was approved;

BritishGas (Pavilion Electricity supply 7thJan -7thFeb 2018, EDF (Rec Park Garage (Feb) £tbaand PIP items authorised October and Dec PC mtg).

(6)BankReconciliation 17/18for the period 1.4.17-31.12.17. (Papers circulated prior to mtg) TheCouncil’s receipts for the period are £85,118.61andthe expenditure for the same period is £75,665.68 with anuncommitted balance of £22,000. Following acceptance the Chairmanthen signed the reconciliation and budget report as accurate.

(7)Provisions.Agreed to set aside £2,000 as a provision towards the cost ofsetting up a youth club as recommended by Finance Sub Cttee from theuncommitted balance.

(8)Budget18/19.(Papers circulated prior to mtg). Following the PC decision at itslast meeting to increase its precept by 6% the Clerk presented arevised draft budget as had been requested. This provided forinflation, the cessation of grant from TDBC, o drawing on balancesbut lower figures set aside for the rec park improvements and for theyouth club projects. The budget was agreed and theChairman then signed the reconciliation and budget report asaccurate.

(9)Grantrequest.A request from Life Education was considered. It was agreed toconsult the Headteacher before making a decision.

Action.The Clerk to speak to Headteacher, CSM School and report to Marchmtg.

(10)InternalAuditor.It was agreed to reappoint Bryan Howe as the internal auditor on thesame terms for the year.

18/30.Partyin the Park 14th July 2018. AB reported that the Fish and Chip Bingo event for senior citizenshad gone very well and he thanked all that had helped including theSchool children. A letter of thanks had been received from the schoolfor their unexpected fish and chips suppers. Plans are advanced and afurther meeting is to be held on Friday to progress PIP18. The Clerkreported he had submitted the bid for gazebos and tables.

18/31.Rec Park.SG advised that a meeting would be held to examine how best to take anew pavilion and improvements forward and the Clerk suggested thatthis would be helpful in that plans can then be reported at the APMand reminded the PC would need to be spent before Nov 2019. IWhighlighted the need for the NH Plan to be in line with what waswanted. Action.SG to arrange meeting.

18/32. Highways.

(1). Defects reported. Treegrowing into the culvert o/s the Allotment site, Action. Clerkto report.

(2). Hyde Lane Crossing. PCllrsconsidered three options for the siting a crossing in Hyde Lane (SCCHighways

Option report and maps previouslycirculated) and agreed to recommend option A;a crossing directlyopposite the school.

(3) A358/A303 duelling. Tonote the additional meeting with HE Ltd to take place on 12thFeb. Public and press are welcome to speak but during the actualpresentation by HE Ltd the room will be closed at their insistence.It was noted HE Ltd have a programme of public briefings between 20thJan and 21st Feb at which Parishioners are welcome.

HighwaysEngland Ltd had launched their second round of consultation on the16thJanuary and the Chair and Clerk had attended. Materials provided hadbeen circulated. The SCC deadline for the PC and/or community toinput into their decision making is 15thFeb so the PC meeting should aim to make a decision at its meeting onthe 12thFebruary.

18/33.Footpaths/RofW. Defects.Fred A’Court, the Parish Footpaths Volunteer had sent his monthlyreport (circulated prior to the meeting) for which he was thanked. The surface of the footpath on a raised section of St Michaels Rdunder railings is in need of cleaning. SG highlighted the footpathover the old golf course has a difficult gate to access and suggested was in need of replacement. Barbra Squires of West View hadasked for street lighting. The Clerk reminded PCllrs that SCC StLighting had asked the residents years ago if they wanted Lightingand had been told a clear NO at that time but he would refer therequest to street lighting to consider. A similar request had beenforwarded some months ago.

Action.TheClerk to report defects and request for lighting in West View.

18/34.Matters to be carried forward.TauntonTransport Plan and APM arrangements.

18/35.TheCouncil decided to exclude Public and Press from this pointon the grounds that personalinformation is to be discussed.

Themeeting was closed at 9.20pm.

Future Meetings;

Anadditional PC meeting (closed to the public) to meet with HighwaysEngland Ltd will take place on 12thFeb 7pm.

Thenext scheduled PC meetings are on 5th March and 9thApril at 7pm.

Thenext CSM Neighbourhood Plan meeting is to take place on 20thFebruary 7pm.

Allmeetings to be held in the Village Hall lower Cttee Room. (If VHallbuilding works commence upstairs Cttee room)

SteveAltria, Clerk to Creech St Michael Parish Council. Tel 01823666295. Email clerk@creechstmichael.net