CASTLE COMBE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the remote Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 21.01.21
via ZOOM
Present:
Cllr’s: F. Winup (Chairman).
- Mackelden.
- Bettles.
- Blair
- Mrs. J Halliday
- Mrs. H. Reeves.
- Ryall (Clerk)
Unitary Cllr. P. Whitehead
Members of the public – 5
- Apologies for absence
Cllr J. Prior.
- Declarations of interest:
Nil
- Minutes of the meetings held 19.11.20
It was proposed by Cllr Blair and seconded by Cllr Bettles that these were accepted as a true record. This was unanimously agreed by the meeting and will be signed remotely by the Chairman.
- Matters Arising:
4A. Area Board Meeting and Parish Forum.
Area Board.
The next online meeting is 6.30pm on 10.02.21
Parish Forum.
All meetings cancelled until further notice.
4B. Parking Review.
- i) Road Markings.
Cllr Winup confirmed that the existing road surface marking & the yellow lines will not be repainted until March 2021.
- ii) Parking statistics
Cllr Winup said that nothing has been received due to a change in personnel at Wilts Council and he is progressing the department concerned.
4C Footpaths
Cllrs Bettles and Blair reported they had been unable to repair the School Lane footpath due to insufficient scalpings to repair this and the Whitegates turning circle.
Cllr Bettles said he would check the fallen tree has been removed from the footpath to Nettleton Mill.
The Chairman said there has been no further response from Stephen Leonard re the dangerous Cripple Shanks bridlepath despite a villager recently breaking a leg. Cllr Whitehead said that the injured person had a responsibility of care as it would be obvious that the footpath was dangerous. Cllr Winup repeated that the Unitary Council has responsibility under the 1990 Highways Act. He said the barrier & notices on the Trim Tram footpath have been torn down and is again being used by horse riders due to poor state of the bridle path. Cllr Whitehead said money for repair was doubtful and it should be put on the outstanding work schedule. He said he would investigate further and asked that all previous information was sent to him.
The Chairman said the blocked footpath 19 is in the hands of Wiltshire Council following the complaint from Mr Evans.
4F. Market Cross
Cllr Winup said the estimated final cost remains at £87370 of which £4062 (retentions etc) is not yet payable. The one year defect period expires February 2021. He said David Newton (project designer) has not finalised the maintenance plan and documentary research due to family illness.
4M. Speeding on the Hill.
The Chairman said investigation into speed indicator devices were impractical on the hill. The only volunteers to the Speed Watch proposal were from Mr & Mrs Mead.
The Clerk said had received a good response from Andy Cook the Chairman of Chippenham Wheelers and British Cycling South West. He has informed all affiliated clubs the South West of the dangers in Castle Combe and is arranging it to be included in the national magazine. He said the problem is that cyclists who are not in any club are often unaware of dangerous areas.
4N. Chapel Car Park
The Chairman said there was no progress on first registration but the Land Registry had agreed with the solicitors to treat it as a special case.
4O. Financial Standing Orders.
These have not been reviewed by the Clerk & Chairman due to the COVID restrictions.
4P. Colour Slides.
The Clerk said these have now been returned having been restored, digitally copied and printed.
4Q. Notice Boards.
The Charman said replacement from any source was expensive and that restoration was more cost effective at £16.00 but one of the iron supports has rotted though and needs replacement.
4R. Second Homes and Holiday Lets.
Cllr Whitehead said he would have further discussions with the new planning director.
- Finance. £
Income
Beyond Screen Prod – film donation. 250.00
Damaged cheque – 001554 7.50
Damaged cheque – 001571 52.86
Expenditure
The Councillors checked and reviewed and approved the following invoices:
- Ryall – postage Dufaycolor slides. 7.50
Mrs.Winup– donation 2 Christmas hampers. 100.00
Cllr Winup – waste bins & fixings. 109.20
SSE – quarterly charge. 160.32
- Ryall – salary 410.80
HMRC – tax 239.20
Dorothy House – donation Adrian Bishop 100.00
Cllr Winup – wooden knobs & bolts 15.94
Ian Partridge – Dufaycolor slides restoration 155.00
Cllr Winup – newsletter printing 52.86
Cllr Winup – bolts, paint & batteries. 30.88
Cllr Winup. Warden litter bin – replacement 321.38
Lloyds Bank current account @ 15.12.20 £30904.73
Shawbrook Bank deposit account. £1000.00
6.Correspondence
6A.Wilts. Council – Elections.
The Clerk said the Council should be aware that elections could take place in May2021. Cllr Whitehead said that this is a possibility but is dependent upon the COVID situation and he thought the Government could delay them by one to two months.
6B. Wilts Council – briefing note 21-01 future of Chippenham consultation.
The Clerk said this proposes a new road to be constructed to the North, East and South of the town and appears to have little impact on Castle Combe and the neighbouring villages.
6C. FOI Subject Access Request
Under investigation
Planning applications
P.C. Approved:
Combe Cottage – change of use from shop to dwelling.
9, Westway Close – pollard Birch tree.
The Cottage UCC – demolish conservatory, replace with garden room with bedroom over.
The Sycamores, UCC – fell Ash & 30% reduction Birch.
Weavers Cottage – fell 5 Ash trees.
East Combe Farm – fell 3 Ash trees.
Park Lane Cottage – 30% reduction Beech tree.
Upper Combe Farm – fell 3 Ash trees.
P.C. Under Consideration.
Park Lane cottage – single storey underground extension.
Fuchsia Cottage – UCC – fell Cypress tree.
Upper Combe Lodge – 30% reduction of 15 Sycamore, 2Elm & 2 ash trees.
Lower Colham Mill replace door & window with French doors.
PC Rejected – Nil
Unitary Council under Consideration.
All tree applications only one cleared since September.
Combe Cottage – change of use from shop to dwelling.
The Cottage UCC – demolish conservatory & replace with garden room with bedroom over.
Unitary Council – Granted
Middle Cottage – replace upper windows & porch canopy.
Weavers Cottage – fell 5 Ash trees.
Unitary Council Rejected. – Nil
- Unitary Councillor
Unitary Cllr Whitehead said that COVID infection rates appear to have plateaued and it was clear that tiers 2 & 3 didn’t work and that tier 4 and lockdown do. He said hospitals were full and coping, the lockdown is working and infection rates are half the national average. The vaccines have been rolled out to over eighty year olds and in the next weeks should be moving down to the over 75 year level.
The budget has been agreed and balanced even though less Council & Business tax will be received
and funds have been put aside to cope with latent demands like mental health etc.
- CC Circuit & Playing Field
CC Circuit – Cllr Mackelden reported that the circuit is closed and no liaison meeting arranged.
Playing Field – Cllr Mackelden reported there is continued interest in an all weather pitch with lighting which the Chairman said would need a special meeting to seek the opinion of local residents and the potential light pollution etc.
- Play Areas
Cllr Mackelden said the additional wood chippings were required which would be better layed in the spring. Cllr Bettles said the mower has been repaired and he would cut the grass when the weather permitted.
Cllr Reeves reported that the Whitegates area was fine and the football net was good but needed pegs to fasten it down and the sanitiser appears to need refilling. Cllr Winup said he would check both items.
- 1 Highways
Cllr Halliday reported that:
20mph speed limit being ignored by some drivers and similar with 30/40 limits on the B4039.
The Steward has clears gullies & grips on every visit. Gullies also cleared on the B4039
Large & small camper vans parked on the carpark for a month.
2 lots of antisocial behaviour on the car park.
Reported litter on the B4039 between The Gib & Yatton Keynell.
Black bags dumped at Quarry corner and there are large potholes at the junction.
Street sweeper cleaned all areas in December.
The Whitegates footpaths will be cleared of moss etc when the weather improves.
.Damaged plant tub at Westway Close is being pursued through Wilts Council /Hills.
Village steward diverted from the village to help with flooding & snow clearance.
12.Village Environment.
Cllr Prior reported that:
He has removed the fly tipping in Chapel Lane and no more had appeared elsewhere.
The car park noise had reduced since lock down and he has bought a larger CCTV sign.
The walls and hedges at the top of the hill look much better since the owners have spent considerable time repairing & maintaining them.
He will not lay any of the scalpings, about 3 tons, in Cllr Bettles yard until it is drier.
- Whitegates
Cllr Reeves reported that:
There were sewage problems on part of the estate which the water board have cleared but could reoccur. The footpaths/pavements are slippery with algae and moss which requires clearing.
- TV. Committee.
The Chairman reported that:
Subscription requests have been issued of £30 domestic properties and £72 holiday lets.
There will be high maintenance costs this year but should breakeven with the bank balance of £5710
The top mast amplifier still requires replacing.
- Village Hall
The Chairman said the hall is closed for lockdown and has a bank balance of £10123 plus £347 cash.
He estimated that the roof repairs will exceed £4000 and a grant might be sought.
16 Ash Tree Die back.
Cllr Halliday said she was vey concerned by the number of trees of all types being cut down in the village and suggested on each planning application a request was made to the applicant to replace with an appropriate tree.
The meeting unanimously agreed to the proposal and the Clerk was asked to add this to each response.
- Coronavirus update
The Chairman said the latest Wiltshire stats were 362/100K population compared with 629/100K nationally. Most older villagers have received the first vaccine and he has written on behalf of the Council to the Jubilee surgery thanking them for the excellent service.
- Date of next meeting.
This was confirmed as Thursday 18.03.2021 at 7.30 p.m. probably by ZOOM video link.