CASTLE COMBE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 15.11.18
in the Village Hall, Castle Combe
Present:
Cllr’s: F. Winup (Chairman).
Mackelden
Bettles
Prior
Mrs. H. Reeves
Ryall (Clerk)
5 Parishioners.
- Apologies for absence:
Cllrs. B. Blair, Mrs. J. Halliday and Unitary Cllr. Baroness J. Scott.
- Declarations of interest:
Cllr. Bettles – 4G. Estate Yard Licence & 7. Planning Appln – Barn conversion behind Gables Cottage Cllr. Prior – 7. Planning Appln. – Upper Combe Farm, demolish existing buildings and erect new.
Council – 6A precept.
- Minutes of the meeting held on 27.09.18
These were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.
- Matters Arising:
4A. Area Board Meeting and Parish Forum.
Area Board.
Cllr Prior attended the meeting on 8.10.18. and reported that there was little of interest for the Council with presentations being given by the fire brigade and police and discussions about parking in Chippenham. The Chairman said he would attend the meeting on 04.02.19.
Parish Forum.
Cllr Winup said he attended the meeting on 24.10.18 which was very well attended. A presentation was given on the Chippenham neighbourhood plan which will take 3 years to prepare and require a referendum. It was rumoured that the Forum could be linked to the Area Board and that the very successful Parish Steward system was under threat. Both of the latter were very unpopular with the Forum members. He said he would attend the next meeting on 20.02.19
4B. Parking Review.
- i) Car park Signage.
Cllr. Winup said discussions with Wilts Council about the proposed new car park signage will be deferred until the village cross costs are finalised as the Parish will have to find 25%.
After the recent parking chaos in the village a meeting is to be arranged with Cllr Baroness Jane Scott.
- ii) Parking statistics
The Chairman said that 38 were booked in August, 16 in September and 10 in October giving a total of 171 for the last 6 months.
4C Footpaths
The Chairman said the repairs to both ends of the School Lane footpath were outstanding and another small delivery was made to Cllr Bettles to add to the Whitegates turning circle. Cllr Bettles said the amount was insufficient and he is liaising with the Parish Steward to obtain further quantities. The Clerk said when further scalpings were available the Cotswold Wardens would repair the Roman Bridge footpath.
4E. Defibrillators.
Cllr Winup said the UCC unit was now likely to be on the garage of the Old Smithy, Nigel & Anne Roberts. He said the training will take place in the evening on 24th & 31st January in the village hall.
4F. Market Cross
The Chairman said that at a recent meeting to discuss the funding shortfall of £17300 Historic England recommended that the work on the defective column be included in the application. They were hopeful they would be able to cover the shortfall in total and asked for a copy of the specification which David Newton will send. If this application is unsuccessful the column repairs will be deferred and the Council input increased. He said the updated cost estimate is now £77900 including a 10% contingency and income £60600 including £20000 from the Council which as agreed could be increased to £25000 if necessary.
4G.Estate yard Licence.
The revised license was signed by Cllrs Mackelden & Winup and witnessed by the Clerk, D.Ryall. It was handed to Mr D. Bettles foe signature by the estate.
4I. Village Welcome Pack.
Cllr J. Halliday has agreed to issue a revised version before the January meeting..
4J. White Lines – lower village issue 5660
The Chairman said that this was in abeyance pending funding availability.
4M.Speeding on the hill & the School Lane junction.
The Chairman said that the recent traffic measurement statistics necessary for a 20mph speed limit have been issued to CATG for consideration. The revised signage at the school lane junction should also be in this application.
6A GDPR
Cllr Winup said there are no issues and that it was controlled by Cllrs. Blair & Winup, the nominated Councillors and the Clerk. The meeting agreed it should be removed from the agenda.
8B. Winter Salt
The Chairman thanked Cllr Bettles for collecting 2 tons from the Wilts Council Chippenham depot. and storing it. The Clerk said he had progressed Wilts Council about refilling the grit bins but was unable to get a firm date. The Chairman said that if Highways fail to deliver before the winter sets in the Council will have to ensure they are full.
WW1 Centenary Commemoration
Cllr Winup reported the ‘there but not there’ silhouette was in place at the War memorial . The meeting agreed that a donation of £50 be made to the Royal British Legion who had again provided a wreath. He said that the flowering cherry whip had been planted in the churchyard and the meeting agreed that a brass plaque with appropriate wording be obtained.
- Finance- £
Income
TELVA magazine donation 100.00
Expenditure
The Councillors checked and reviewed and approved the following invoices:
- Ryall – salary 410.80
HMRC – tax 239.20
D.Ryall – printer cartridge 23.39
Cllr Winup – newsletter printing 83.16
Cllr Winup- soldier’s remembrance figure & etching 36.74
Playsafely Ltd – playgrounds audit 159.60
SSE – electricity supply 225.87
Lloyds Bank account @ 30 October 18 38007.30
Deposit account Shawbrook (William Prior Heritage Fund) 20000.00
- Correspondence.
6A Wilts Council – Precept 2019-20
The Chairman proposed that in light of the current financial uncertainty the precept be increased from £5250 to £5500. This was seconded by Cllr Mackelden and unanimously agreed by the meeting.
6B. Wilts Council – Bus passes – older person
The Chairman said that as from 01 Jan 2019 not all bus passes will be renewed automatically as there are about 20000 in circulation that have not been used. If a pass is not renewed the person will need to contact Wilts Council. The meeting agreed that this information should be included in the newsletter, web site and displayed on the notice boards.
- Planning applications
P.C. Approved:
The Manor House Hotel– replace sign
Upper Combe Farm – demolish existing buildings and erect new including house.
Corbetts Cottage – pollard Beech 20%
Gables Cottage – pollard Thuja 30%
Upper Manor House – fell 2 ash
P.C. Under Consideration:
The Barn behind Gable Cottage UCC – increase height of access.
P.C. Objected.
Nil
Unitary Council under Consideration.
Upper Combe Farm – demolish existing buildings and erect new including house.
The Barn behind Gable Cottage UCC – increase height of access.
Unitary Council – Granted
The Manor House Hotel – replace sign
Corbetts Cottage – pollard Beech 20%
Gable Cottage – pollard Thuja 30%
Upper Farm House – fell 2 A
Unitary Council Rejected.
Nil
- Unitary Councillor
Unitary Cllr Baroness Jane Scott has suggested a meeting with Wilts Council to discuss the village parking problems.
- CC Circuit & Playing Field
CC Circuit
Cllr Mackelden said there was no date for the next liaison meeting but expected it would be during the winter period. He said that after the recent problem of illegal substances at the circuit the police are more cooperative and carrying out more speed checks etc. The planning application for the new main entrance near Kents Bottom is still work in progress.
.Playing Field.
Cllr Mackelden said that the Cc Colts continue to maintain the field well and had recently cut the hedges around the field.
- Play Areas
The Chairman said the recent ROSPA audit had given both areas a good report with only minor deficiencies which will be fixed when money is available. Cllrs Reeves and Mackelden agreed with his comments.
- Highways
The Chairman said if there were any other problems not on Cllr Halliday’s recent report would the Council please let her know. The outstanding items on her list are:
Marker posts on the river bank
Road signs at Westway Lane junction are obscured by tree branches.
Road signs at the Gib obscured by trees
Pot holes on the B4039 at the Gib
Broken road edging on the B4039 at Gib Hollow
- Village Environment.
Cllr Prior said there are no major problems and hedge cutting had started around the village.
- Whitegates
Cllr Reeves said that the movement of the bus stop was a great success and the weekly rubbish collection arrangement had almost eliminated the fly tipping.
- TV. Committee.
The Chairman said that the system had no problems recently.
- Village Hall
The Chairman said the defective interior lights had been replaced and that he was arranging for a heating engineer to service the boiler. The other quarterly checks are complete.
- War Memorial refurbishment
The Chairman said a quote of £1650 had been received which the meeting agreed should be rejected.
He said a DIY job by the Council would be more cost effective. He thanked Mr.Wheeler for repairing the rear of the memorial.
- St Andrews Christmas tree Festival (10th – 16th December)
The meeting agreed to take part in this event and spend up to £20 on decorations and they accepted Cllr Reeves offer to set up decorate the tree with Cllr Halliday. Cllr Bettles said he would find a five foot tree on the estate.
- Mulled Wine Social evening.
The meeting agreed to donate £125 to this event which had been very successful last year with villagers attending from Whitegates & the Upper Village.
- Date of next meeting.
This was confirmed as Thursday 17th January 2019 at 7.30 p.m. in the Village Hall.