Trudoxhill Parish Council Meeting Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 6th May 2021 at 7.30pm (Virtual Meeting)
Present: D Francis (DF) (Acting Chair), C Kenyon (CK), S Salmon (SS), R Masson-Taylor (RMT), Doug Valentine (DV) Joined at item 21/218 - T Pace (TP) (Chair)
Cllr Michael Gay (MG), Chris Galpin (CG), Terry Scobal (TS), Clare Midgley Jewitt (CMJ)
Clerk: Sam Winstanley
21/214 Apologies T Pace – Delayed, will join when available, requested DF to serve as acting chair, DF accepted. 21/215 Disclosure of Interest S Salmon – the planning application, item 21/217.3 is a neighbour. 21/216 Minutes of the last meeting DF proposed that the minutes of the last meeting be approved. CK seconded the motion. RESOLUTION: The draft minutes of the April meeting were accepted as a true and accurate record.
Meeting suspended to take questions or comments from the Public
CMJ – Requested a few minutes to address the council on the subject of teenagers. As a family village Trudoxhill has grown and now has more than 30 children over the age of 6. Proposed a discussion on how we can provide services and facilities to occupy teens for the future, so as to avoid any potential negative outcomes from curiosity and boredom. As an example, Frome’s Victoria Park has a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA). CMJ noted there were grants available for such projects, was happy to volunteer to lead the parish’s efforts and requested that an item be added to next month’s agenda to discuss in full. The council responded positively and agreed to add to the agenda for next month for full discussion.
CG – noted his presence was to join the discussion on item 21/217.3, to which he has no personal objection.
Cllr Gay reported as follows:
• Made representation in addition to the council’s comments on the planning application for the illuminated totem sign at Nunney Catch. Can confirm the request to have this referred to the planning board has been accepted. • End of virtual meetings – Legal challenge from the PGA was rejected and the government said it will not find time to discuss extending emergency powers. That means meetings from now on must be in person. Councils must make risk assessments for the venues used and any concerns should be discussed with the monitoring officer. • A motion at MDC was passed to allow residents an indicative vote on the unification options. CG hopes everyone will use the opportunity to demonstrate they want their opinion to be noticed.
• MG met with Mendip officers on governance on risk and opportunity in Mendip and has attended the first meeting of the Climate Emergency scrutiny group. • Lastly, MG would like to suggest that even though the deadline has passed, if any resident has not done the census, they can still do it and he urged them to do so.
21/217 Planning 21/217.1 2021/0374/LBC – New front door at Chapel House, Foghamshire Lane
There were no objections to this application. SS and RMT noted it was a marked improvement. RESOLUTION: After discussion, Councillors voted unanimously to approve the proposal.
21/217.2 2021/0696/VRC – Removal of Agricultural ties at Hill View and Forest View , Foghamshire Lane to Gare Hill
There were no objections to this application. It was noted that removing the tie should allow renovation of the properties, which have fallen into disrepair, to be financially viable. RESOLUTION: After discussion, Councillors voted unanimously to approve the proposal.
21/217.3 2021/0830/FUL Conversion of stable building to 1 bed retirement dwelling, Smithwicks Lane
Both DF and RMT suggested they were in favour. CK noted it was a good application, having no increase in size of the building and a sewage treatment plant planned, however raised a question over whether this sets a precedent on giving residential use on agricultural/equestrian land. The council discussed previous planning applications and decided each application should be treated individually. TS was invited to comment, he noted that the use of the lane would decrease, as currently he comes and goes multiple times a day to feed the horses. In addition, he confirmed that there was a covenant on the planned property that restricted the ownership to over 60s. RESOLUTION: After discussion, with one abstention due to interest, Councillors voted unanimously to approve the proposal.
21/217.4 2021/0853/FUL Erection of 4 new dwellings Nr. Theobald Arms
RMT noted that the land is currently wasted and this would improve the usage. SS went to look at the land, after receiving full plans from the developers, and found the land needs improvement and investment and that it is not agricultural land. SS noted there was no affordable housing in this plan, RMT noted that more space is needed to make affordable housing economically viable. DF noted that the houses were very small and RMT also noted that neither the location nor the outlook were hugely desirable. CK noted the pub would stay, and was not part of this application and questioned why it was being done separately or whether it would ever be done. SS noted the plans she was given had the pub renovated to a high standard as a family home. MG noted that the developers had spoken to him and that the pub would be renovated, but that the council must look at each proposal as it comes. The council asked the clerk to enquire about the rest of the development when sending the response. RESOLUTION: After discussion, Councillors voted unanimously to approve the proposal.
21/218 Finance 21/218.1 Financial Report
The clerk reported that ’20-’21 year accounts were complete and is awaiting final bank statement before sending to internal audit. There are no outstanding checks, invoices or payments. The clerk will publish a finalised copy of the accounts on the website and bring a copy for the chair’s signature to the next meeting.
21/218.2 Accounts for payment
• Clerk’s Salary – £159.75 • Kevin Gale, Grass Cutting – £100 • Dean Press - £176 • Paul & Nicola Warden, Footpaths – £250 • PKF accountants, admin charge for late AGAR - £96 The clerk reported after multiple attempts, PKF refused to withdraw the charge
21/218.3 Insurance Renewal
The clerk asked the council to confirm their understanding that there is a 3 year insurance deal in place, which they did, and noted that this is the final year and the clerk will look for competitive quotes for the coming year.
21/218.4 ’21-’22 Budget
The clerk presented the budget for ’21-’22, noting that there was a £400 deficit. After discussion on a few cost items, councillors identified that the May budget item for events was a special one last year, and would not be needed this year and it was agreed to cut this from the budget, which balanced the budget. SS questioned whether the regularity of grass cutting was necessary, especially in reference to longer grass being better for local wildlife. DF noted that longer grass takes more effort to cut, so very little time is saved. DV questioned the budget item for footpaths, since DF had offered to do it voluntarily this year; the clerk reported that footpaths had been paid in arrears, so this saving would be seen next year. SS proposed to approve the budget, TP seconded the motion. RESOLUTION: The ’21-’22 budget was approved, the clerk will publish a copy on the website.
21/219 Reports To receive reports and updates on:
21/219.1 Highways (SS)
SS met with S Davis about Nunney Catch. There is less traffic but local residents would like double yellow lines in addition to the bollards. 3 options were offered to Nunney council – 1) double yellow lines with bollards and between entrance and exit and an official parking bay. 2) No double yellow lines. 3) Monitor situation and feedback comments from residents. Nunney responded that they would prefer option 1 with double yellow lines on the other side of the road in addition. SS noted that the bus stop was omitted. S Davis asked the council to discuss with Nunney and put forward a joint request. RMT
noted that it is currently legal to park on the road, which remains dangerous, so the project must be seen through. MG recommended ensuring the bus stop is marked clearly, agreed with RMT that lorries should not park there, and noted that with the new quarry site planned, there will only be more lorries and traffic using Nunney Catch, so urged the council to put forward a strong scheme to control the parking. SS will continue to work with Nunney.
21/219.2 SpeedWatch (SS)
SS reported that speedwatch is catching a lot of motorists coming from the south and suggested perhaps a 40mph buffer zone heading into the 30mph might help. TP asked what the speed limit is on Foghamshire lane, which was reported to be 60mph, and expressed that the milk lorries are particularly fast. SS suggested taking the name of the milk lorries and following up with the business owner, to which TP agreed.
21/219.3 The Village Hall (TP)
TP reported that a new fridge had arrived for the bar and that the hall had invested in a projection system which will open up opportunities for corporate hire, film nights, childrens entertainment and more. The hall is now able to host in person meetings with virtual attendance side by side. TP reported the boiler is functioning again and that the parish fete plans are progressing well.
21/219.4 Traffic Calming Measures (DV)
SS took S Davis through the village and found 2 good sites for SIDS on highways land. SS will ask the village what they would like and where and will knock on doors to gather input. All council members in attendance expressed their support for moving forward with the project and were glad to hear suitable sites had been identified.
21/219.5 Environment Agenda (SS)
SS is working on ideas to involve the community for launching the environment agenda.
21/220 Correspondence and Emails Received 21/220.1 Footpath FR21/75
DF reported that this footpath runs behind Laurel Farm and between the houses on West End lane. Mendip are now in touch with the land owner and will continue the work. MG noted that Wanstrow are replacing all styles with kissing ggates to help with access and the clerk reported that Mendip intend to replace the 2 styles in poor repair on this footpath with kissing gates.
21/220.2 Wessex Flood Wardens & SRA Enhanced program of works
The clerk shared the latest outreach from WFW and their intended works to alleviate flood issues. SS and CG asked to be looped in so they can follow up.
21/220.3 Bus Back Better
The clerk shared correspondence from Mendip Bus Partnership about new funding for bus routes. DF noted there was a bus from the Millenium stone on Wednesdays which not many used. MG was
involved heavily with the original routes and offered to liaise with the new program to see if Trudoxhill could be included in a route.
21/220.4 Open Space Society, Village Greens
The clerk shared information about protecting parish open spaces, but DF noted that the parish owns no land to protect.
21/221 Other Business referred to the Clerk 21/221.1 In Person Vs Virtual meetings including tech setup @ Village Hall
The clerk reported that per government regulations, meetings would have to return to in person only. In consultation with other clerks, the clerk had been made aware of a proposal that would allow the council to allow virtual attendance to in person meetings. The council agreed that more accessibility options are better than less and asked the clerk to present full details of how this can be enabled lawfully at the next meeting. CG asked how this might be possible and TP explained that with the village halls new setup, it is possible to have any virtual attendees projected onto a large screen so they can take part in the in person meeting simultaneously.
21/221.2 Response to Somerset Unitary Council Proposals
The clerk reported that they had collated the opinions of the council and crafted a response to the open consultation that encompassed the consensus that whichever proposal was selected, the voices of residents in rural areas should be clearly represented, with funding equally distributed.
21/213 Date of next TPC meeting The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Thursday 3rd June and would be in person at the village hall. The council asked the clerk to recommence hall bookings and MG requested that TP send the village hall committee’s risk assessment to the clerk.