Loxwood Parish Council
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LOXWOOD PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Council Meeting held in the North Hall, Guildford Road, Loxwood on Monday, 5th November, 2012 commencing at 7.30 p.m. Present: Cllr. Dr. Clare Thornton-Wood (Chairman) Cllr. Mrs. Wendy Andrews Cllr. Mr. Simon Bates Cllr. Mrs. Annette Gardner Cllr. Mr. Serge Ireland Cllr. Mr. Martin Loxton In Attendance: 6 Members of the Public. Cllr. Mr. Chris Duncton (County Councillor) Cllr. Mrs. Philippa Hardwick (District Councillor) 129. MEETING OPENING AND WELCOME FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND 100 CLUB DRAW. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. The 100 Club Draw – the winning number was 34, Jean Lightman. 130. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – to receive both apologies and reasons for absence. Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr. Mr. Andrews and Cllr. Mr. N. Thomas (Chichester District Councillor) as he had to attend another meeting at Northchapel. 131. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS – to receive disclosures of personal and prejudicial interests from Councillors on matters to be considered at the meeting. Cllr. Mr. Loxton declared a personal interest in the flooding topic as he lived close to where the sewage was coming out of a pipe. 132. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – to receive and note questions, comments or representations made by members of the public. Some residents wished to speak about the Community Led Plan Survey and Neighbourhood Plan, others wished to speak about the Flooding problems. 133. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING – to resolve that the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 1st October, 2012 be signed as a correct record. Cllr. Mr. Ireland Proposed; Seconded Cllr. Mr. Loxton and AGREED :- The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on the 1st October, 2012 were a correct record of the proceedings thereat. The minutes were then duly signed by the Chairman. 134. REPORT FROM WEST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCILLOR, CLLR. MR. CHRIS DUNCTON. The Cabinet Member for Education was to visit Loxwood School at about mid-day on the 29th November, 2012 to look at issues that may arise such as how to fit in more pupils. Maintenance was also a big issue as well. Hopefully some of those issues would be raised with him. It would be possible for Members of the Parish Council to also attend. Cllr. Mr. Duncton encouraged the Council to put in its order for winter salt as soon as possible. -46- LOXWOOD PARISH COUNCIL Parish Council Meeting 5th November, 2012 There were to be two elections on the 15th November, 2012; for the new Police Commissioner and also a County Council election in Midhurst as the councillor for that area had now moved away. Foxbridge Lane was going to be closed from tomorrow for about four days for major works. Plaistow and Ifold Parish Council was organizing Officer visits to discuss Day Care. Plaistow were going to stage the event and invite other local parishes to come along to listen. Cllr. Mr. Duncton hoped this event would be held shortly. Cllr. Mr. Duncton then left the meeting as he also had to attend a meeting at Northchapel. 135. REPORT FROM CHICHESTER DISTRICT COUNCILLOR, CLLR. MRS. PHILLIPA HARDWICK. The Planning Policy Team is in the process of revising the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012. Chichester District Council adopted the current statement of Community Involvement on 24th November, 2009. The update will bring the SCI up-to-date before the Council consult on the draft Local Plan in March, 2013. In order to do this CDC is running a public consultation on the draft SCI. This started on Friday, 19th October and will end at 5.00 p.m., Friday, 16th November, 2012. The SCI will set out how we as a local planning authority will involve people in the planning process. Once adopted, all public involvement in the planning process must meet the requirements set out in the SCI. The draft SCI can be viewed from an easylink from the homepage on the Council’s website http://www.chichester.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5086. At this stage the key objective is to gain understanding of current and future accommodation needs in the study area. This work will inform the emerging Chichester Local Plan. At its Cabinet meeting on the 6th November CDC will consider :- Plaistow & Ifold Area designation decision (along with Wisborough Green and Lynchmere) first stage in the path to obtaining a neighbourhood plan under the new Regulations is to get the designation from the Local Planning Authority. There had been no objections and officers are recommending designation. Loxwood would be a couple of months behind. Funding for Neighbourhood Planning Support 2012-2013. From a £10m government fund to help Councils to assist their communities, CDC is entitled to apply to a grant to assist with such funding. District Councils are being offered £5,000 once a Neighbourhood Plan Area had been designated and a further £25,000 on successful completion of the Neighbourhood Planning independent examination. This programme ends in April, 2013. In January the new funding procedure for 2013/14 will be announced. -47- LOXWOOD PARISH COUNCIL Parish Council Meeting 5th November, 2012 At its 4th December Council Meeting it would consider the Plaistow Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Proposals including a Review of the Conservation Area Boundary. The All Parishes Meeting had been arranged for Monday, 26th November, 2012 at East Pallant House, so please save this date. Outside speakers will be attending from West Sussex County Council to feed back on the investigations into the recent flooding; from the South Downs National Park Authority regarding the Local Plan; John Ward will also provide an update on the latest financial position, including business rates and council tax; the Chairman of the Community Forums Task and Finish Group will feed back on the results of the consultation and the recent decisions made by Council. 136. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT. The Chairman had received a letter from the Folk Society advising that they were going to hold an event at the North Hall during the May Bank Holiday weekend (3rd to 6th May) that would involve people camping outside in tends and caravans (about 100 people) entry only with pre-booked tickets. This groups were talking with the District Council about noise and environmental considerations such as refuse. The Chairman has received correspondence from a couple that were very interested in the footpath called Knepps Lane. She had asked their permission to pass this to Cllr. Mrs. Gardner as the Footway Officer. A resident was collecting historical information about this footpath and would be submitting this. Recruitment of Clerk – only two requests for the information packs had been received and the closing date was Friday, 9th November; one person lives in the village. She wondered whether the closing date should be extended and if the Council thought it necessary to advertise in the local newspaper. Cllr. Mr. Loxton stated that to do the job properly there was a need for a great deal of knowledge and skill such as drafting and financial. The applications received this week should be circulated to the Chairman, Cllr. Mr. Ireland and Cllr. Mrs. Gardner and if none were considered suitable an advertisement should be put in the local press. 137. TO FORMULATE A RESPONSE TO THE CHICHESTER DISTRICT COUNCIL HOUSING NUMBERS CONSULTATION AND COSTS OF PLANNING CONSULTANT. The cost of the Planning Consultant would be £750.00 including V.A.T., to be split between the four North East Parishes provided all four Councils agree. Cllr. Mr. Ireland Proposed; Seconded Cllr. Mr. Loxton and UNANIMOUSLY AGREED :- That this Council agrees to pay one-quarter of the Planning Consultant invoice of £750.00. Discussion ensued regarding the draft Cluster letter and the proposed Council response by Mr. Rollinson in response to this consultation. Cllr. Mr. Andrews had e- mailed a suggestion that these reasons were no longer valid because there was a greater opportunity in the southern part of the District to take more houses and that -48- LOXWOOD PARISH COUNCIL Parish Council Meeting 5th November, 2012 this would be more suitable, sustainable and there was more employment. Cllr. Mr. Loxton did not think that this would strengthen the case because there were so many other matters of concern and he wondered whether that would dilute the argument being put forward. The District Council would get a large number of responses and therefore the response should be precise otherwise they would not take it into account. Cllr. Mr. Andrew’s point was taken, but it was not considered that it added to the argument of the report. Mr. Colling had made some amendments to this that were gone through in detail and it was agreed to amend the numbers on the penultimate page to 14 – 25. This was AGREED. Cllr. Dr. Thornton-Wood Proposed; Seconded Cllr. Mr. Loxton and UNANIMOUSLY AGREED :- That the Council agreed to the response by Mr. Rollinson should be sent, but to include the proposed alterations. These alterations to be conveyed to Mr. Rollinson tomorrow in order for the Council’s response to meet the deadline of the 6th November. Cllr. Mr. Loxton Proposed; Seconded Cllr. Dr. Thornton-Wood and UNANIMOUSLY AGREED :- That the Council agreed to put its name to the Cluster letter. 138. CHICHESTER DISTRICT COUNCIL STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. This was being revised in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012. This will set out how Chichester District Council as a local planning authority will involve people in the planning process. Representations on the Draft Statement of Community Involvement could be made until Friday, 16th November, 2012.