Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 18.11.21
In the Village Hall, Castle Combe.
Present:
Cllr’s: F. Winup (Chairman).
- Mackelden.
- Blair
- Bettles
- Mrs. J Halliday
- Clegg Littler
- Walker (Cotswold Wardens)
Members of the public – 0
- Apologies for absence
Unitary Cllr N. Botterill, Clerk D. Ryall
- Declarations of interest:
Cllr Mackelden re item 17, Christmas get together.
- Minutes of the meeting held 16.09.21
It was proposed by Cllr Bettles and seconded by Cllr Blair that these were accepted as a true record. This was unanimously agreed by the meeting and were duly signed by the Chairman.
- Matters Arising:
4A. Area Board Meeting and Parish Forum.
Area Board.
The next meeting will be held on 13.12.21. The Chairman said he would attend depending on the agenda contents.
Parish Forum.
All meetings cancelled until further notice.
4B. Parking Review.
Parking statistics
There were 4 bookings in July, 41 in August (29 of which were in the car park), 27 in September, 15 in October (of which 13 were in the car park). The car park bookings were due to parking outside marked bays and inappropriate vehicles.
4C Footpaths
The chairman welcomed Mr John Walker of the Cotswold Wardens and on behalf of the parish thanked him and his colleagues for their voluntary works which are very much appreciated. Their recent activities include clearance of excess growth on the golf course footpath and an offer to lay scalpings once these are made available by the Unitary Council.
They have also used a digger supplied by the Unitary Council to improve greatly the surface of the Crippleshard bridle path, which had deteriorated to a dangerous extent. The stony nature of the surface is such that it will require periodic review, which is the responsibility of the Unitary Council under the 1990 Highways Act.
The Cotswold Wardens have also offered to re-create the barrier originally at the top of the Trim Tram footpath which had been used by horse riders (illegally under the Highways Code) due to the state of the Crippleshard bridle path. Materials are to be supplied by the Unitary Council and the Parish Council will fund any necessary equipment hire such as jack hammers if required.
The Cotswold Wardens also arrange countryside walks, details of which can be found on the Cotswold National Landscape website.
We have been informed by the Unitary Council that the footpath warden Stephen Leonard has submitted an application to close footpath 19 which has effectively been impassable for at least thirty years and is considered to be dangerous in parts due to the steep slope. It runs behind Brook House and several of the houses on that side of the main street. There will be a consultation in due course but this is unlikely to be for another 24 months in view of existing priorities.
4F. Market Cross
The final Minerva invoice has been paid following completion of the potential defects period during which only minor further work was required. The maintenance plan has now been received and will be reviewed in conjunction with our Project Manager David Newton.
4N. Chapel Car Park
The Chairman said he has complained to our solicitors about the lack of progress and reporting on the land registration of the playing fields etc. It is now in the hands of the senior partner.
4O. Financial Standing Orders.
To be reviewed by the Chairman & Clerk.
4R. Second Homes and Holiday Lets.
We await news of potential government legislation.
- Queen’s Green Canopy
The clerk has ordered two sets of trees for hedges and the playing fields.
- Gigaclear
The chairman, Unitary Councillor and clerk met with the new Gigaclear contact Andrew Kerby and emphasised once more that investigations should take place into the use of existing ducting. A full survey will be undertaken. No date yet for installation and we have requested that this must avoid the busy summer months.
- Jackson River Films – Village filming.
Completed without problem and can be removed from future agendas.
5.Finance. Income:
Apple Filming – donation (Mr & Mrs Guise) 100.00
Expenditure
The Councillors checked and reviewed and approved the following invoices:
- Ryall – salary 410.80
HMRC – Tax 239.20
Cllr Mackelden – playground bark chippings 108.00
PFK Littlejohn – audit fee 240.00
Liz Taylor – plants etc 97.80
Shawbrook Bank – transfer 14000.00
Cllr Winup – newsletter printing 33.50
Bobby Van Trust – donation 30.00
Play Safety Ltd – audit fee 164.40
SSE – electricity bill 143.27
Minerva Stone Preservation – village cross 2322.24
Lloyds current account @ 20.10.21 38642.04
Deposit account £15000.00
A further £21000 is now to be switched to the Shawbrook one year 1% fixed rate account as previously agreed. These funds are designated informally as a capital expenditure contingency reserve with approximately two years’ precept being retained on current account.
6.Correspondence
6A. Wiltshire Council – proposed closure of Castle Combe footpath 19 (see item 4C above)
6B. Yatton Keynell PC re revised road signs (see item 11 below) .
6C. Wiltshire Council re 2022-23 precept. The Chairman proposed that this should remain at £5750, seconded by Cllr Bettles and unanimously agreed.
- Planning Applications:
P.C. Approved:
Meadowside UCC – new access land opposite playing field.
No 1 Whitegates – single storey extension.
Barnetta, Dark Lane UCC – reduce poplar by 30%
South Cottage – replace corrugated shed with timber.
Church Cottage – refurbishment & internal alterations.
Manor House Hotel – internal alterations to bedrooms & install 2 hot tubs.
P.C. – Under Consideration:
The Old Rectory – demolish existing extension & replace plus new air source. The Council agreed to support.
The Congregational Chapel – install dormer window.
Woodbury Hill House – convert WW2 RAF buildings to tourist accommodation – updated
application. The Council noted that the ecology report has not yet been updated and that Highways have not yet confirmed agreement to the proposed exit onto the B4039 or a reduction in the speed limit. The Council’s previous objection therefore still applies.
Unitary Council Under Consideration:
Woodbury Hill House – convert WW2 RAF buildings to tourist accommodation – updated application.
All weather riding area etc – UCC
Court Cottage – single storey rear extension. The Council noted that objections have been raised by immediate neighbours including an issue of land ownership.
South Cottage – replace corrugated shed with timber
Church Cottage – refurbishment & internal alterations.
Manor House Hotel – internal alterations to bedrooms & install 2 hot tubs.
The Old Rectory – demolish existing extension & replace.
Unitary Council Granted.
Meadowside UCC – fell 1 cypress,1 Ash tree etc
,, ,, – new access to land opposite playing fields.
No 1 Whitegates – single storey side extension.
Barnetta Dark Lane UCC – reduce Poplar
- Unitary Councillor
Absent.
- CC Circuit & Playing Field
CC Circuit – There are a number of traffic issues which Cllr Mackelden will raise at the next liaison meeting.
Playing Fields – A final draft of the proposed renewal lease is now almost finalised and will be circulated to councillors.
- Play Areas
The ROSPA audits identified no major issues. Cllrs Prior and Mackelden will deal with the minor ones.
Two quotes to repair the rubber edges in the upper playground totalled £1755 and £2230 respectively ex vat. The Rospa report identified the risk as low and that the risk level would reduce by only one point from 6 to 5 (on a scale of 1-25). As the cost would be 30% of the annual precept, the meeting unanimously agreed to defer a decision until the March meeting during which time Cllr Prior would seek a reduction in costs if possible.
The sanitisers in both playgrounds have been replaced.
- 1 Highways
Cllr Halliday proposed that an extra bin be installed in the car park, seconded by the Chairman and agreed unanimously. The Chairman will arrange installation with Highways.
The Parish Steward has dealt with a number of issues but his recent visit was curtailed due to an emergency elsewhere.
Cllr Halliday continues to press the Unitary Council for a tarmac surface on the Whitegates turning circle similar to that requested at Quarry Corner.
Road markings and yellow lines still need attention but are likely to be deferred until the Spring.
Highways have been requested to undertake a repeat speed review at three points in the upper village, namely by Circuit Motors, the bus stop and Whitegates. They have also been made aware of complaints further along the B4039 and at The Gibb.
Yatton Keynell Parish Council has expressed concerns at the number of heavy vehicles using the Westway/West Yatton road. Cllr Halliday attended a meeting at which it was agreed that Highways would investigate potential costs with a view to an approach for funding to CATG (Chippenham Area Transport Group).
- Village Environment.
The meeting agreed to obtain competitive quotes for repair to the War Memorial wall.
- Whitegates
Wessex Water have confirmed that the repair works are complete.
Cllr Clegg Littler advised that the proposed nature reserve is still under investigation.
- TV. Committee.
Cllr. Clegg Littler reported that the revised bank account signatories are now in place and that there have been no recent system problems.
- Village Hall
Two quotes have now been received for the roof repairs and a third is awaited. The owners of the two adjoining properties have confirmed that the roofers may use the top of their wall for access if necessary.
- Coronavirus update
The Chairman said the latest Wiltshire stats were 2403 tested positive in the last 7 days (up 50% on the last meeting and 33% on the national average).
- Christmas get together
Cllr Mackelden requested on behalf of the Social Committee that a donation of £125 be made towards the mulled wine night on 10th December. The Chairman proposed that this be agreed, seconded by Cllr Halliday and unanimously agreed.
- Date of next meeting.
This was confirmed as Thursday 20.01.22 at 7.30 p.m. in Castle Combe village hall.