Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council Held At

L07/2016

SHILLINGSTONE PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD AT 7.30PM ON THURSDAY 7th JULY 2016 AT THE CHURCH CENTRE, BLANDFORD ROAD, SHILLINGSTONE

PRESENT: Councillors M Webberley (Chairman), T Kennard, C Oakley, P Watts and P Aaron; NDDC Cllr S Jesperson, ROW officer G Rains and three members of the public and the Clerk M Wilson

88. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Received from Cllrs Cooper, Turnbull and Ridout

89. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: None declared

90 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: The minutes of the meeting held on 2nd June 2016 were approved and signed.

91. PUBLIC SESSION TO RAISE ISSUES: Lesley Gasson expressed concerns over the continuing absence of a planning application from the Station Project. These concerns are shared by everyone on the parish council. Cllr Jesperson gave a reassurance in relation to the re-opening of Haywards Bridge, scheduled for October. It will be a long time after that before the road to Child Okeford will be closed again to repair Lamb’s House bridge. Both communities will be consulted on the timing of any necessary road closure. LG also raised concerns about the long term future of Church Field. She reported that some people in the village might consider trying to buy the land for the community. It was noted that the Neighbourhood Plan, if approved, will afford protection to the area as a Local Green Space.

92. COUNTY/DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT: The combined report had been circulated. This included an update on the Community Infrastructure Levy. She confirmed that repairs to Haywards Bridge are on schedule

93. FOOTPATHS: i) Footpaths officer report: He has cleared footpath 35and advised the Rangers of one or two other issues requiring a qualified chain saw operative ii) Trailway and Station: The Station Project has removed the vegetation from Lambs House bridge against specific instructions from the Rangers. Their individual members are still making wild assertions about what they are going to do to with trees etc going forward.

94. PLANNING i). Clerk to report on outstanding applications: NDDC has rejected the application in Church Field claiming permitted development rights for a barn. If this is to proceed then a full planning application will be required. ii). To consider any new applications received before the meeting: a) 2/2016/0740/FUL – DJ’s Motors, Cookswell, DT11 0QZ – change of use of ground floor from car showroom to retail (A1), erect a single storey extension; convert first floor to create two additional dwellings, erect first floor extension and form car parking: The Chairman opened the meeting to allow comments from local residents affected by this latest application for the site. Their concerns focussed on a number of areas, some of which could be regarded as potentially valid grounds to object, others were more general in nature. Their concerns covered - the Design and Access Statement which refers back to the original Highways report. Close examination reveals misleading and inaccurate statements eg it refers to a “relatively straight and level” highway, which is clearly not the case. It does not record the true level of accidents (4 in 4 years) because these may not have been recorded because of no personal injuries. They also have concerns over the size of vehicles making deliveries to the site and the need for north bound lorries to veer into the southbound carriageway to be able to enter the site. It was thought a site visit by councillors would reveal to them the dangerous nature of the site - given the absence of a pavement opposite the site, there is no safe pedestrian or wheelchair access - contact with contractors on site has indicated widespread levels of contamination. Whilst this is not unexpected, it is hoped NDDC will enforce its own planning condition and ensure development of the site is halted so that appropriate mitigation measures can be deployed - the long opening hours of 6 am to 11 pm will impact on wildlife in the area, including otters and kingfishers. It is acknowledged that the DJ’s motor sales business had no restriction on hours or operation, but in reality it operated between 8 am to 6 pm maximum. 248

- there is a colony of bats on the garage that is to be demolished - there will be a considerable loss of amenity to the immediate property to the south, nos 38 & 39 Cookswell. The refrigeration units, commercial and domestic rubbish bins will be immediately adjacent to the boundaries of these properties, with inevitable noise and smell. It is doubtful that the acoustic fence required by NDDC will prevent a loss of amenity. In addition, access to all four of the proposed flats will be via the exterior metal staircase to the first floor. This will quadruple traffic on the staircase which is noisy and immediately overlooks the house and garden of the immediate neighbours. - the access/egress arrangements to the new flats also have a negative impact on the flats themselves. Residents will have to walk through the car park/delivery area and pass the outdoor bin area to get to their homes. This is less than ideal. The Chairman thanked the residents for their input. After further discussion it was agreed to object to the new application. The objection would be based on the parish council’s submission to the last application, but updated to reflect concerns over loss of amenity and other matters. The wording of the objection is shown below as appendix 1 to these minutes b) 2/2016/0900/house – Broughton House. Lanchards, DT11 0TF – erect car barn/garden room and extend hard standing – no objections iii). To consider applications to carry out works to trees in the conservation area received before the meeting: None received iv) Neighbourhood Plan –update: NDDC’s 6 week consultation period ended on 1st July. Details of the Examiner appointed after reference to the Parish Council will be announced next week. NDDC expects the Plan to be determined without the need for a public hearing, but this remains to be seen

95. FINANCES: i) To approve cheques for payment as per schedule: The following payments were approved: SO – Shillingstone cricket club – grass cutting - £100.00 2022 – SSE – pavilion electricity - £95.34 2023 – DAPTC – subscription - £344.68 2024 – Sturminster Newton Town Council – lengthsman October 2015 – March 2016 - £2196.00

The clerk reported that both bank mandates have been updated successfully.

96. THE CROSS – update: The Clerk is working the required bureaucracy with NDDC, Historic England and the Diocese

97. PLAY AREAS, RECREATION GROUND AND PROPERTY CHECK i) To appoint Councillor to inspect play areas, recreation ground and property in July: Cllr Kennard. ii) To note Councillors reports and decide any action: The clerk and Chairman walked the sites following the annual inspection. The clerk will write up a summary of the necessary repairs. The wood chip safety surface could do with a proper rake. iii) Trees: Nothing to report iv) Pavilion: A painter has been appointed but is having trouble making progress due to heavy usage of the pavilion by the cricket club, so there may not be much progress before September. Pitmans work is still awaited. Cllr Watts asked if emergency repairs to the pavilions carried out recently by Billy Ellis and Joe Meakin could be acknowledged in the next parish magazine – the Clerk will arrange. Cllr Watts also reported that the padlock for the cricket nets had been thrown away and that the combination on the lock for the gates had been changed by person or persons unknown. A new lock with additional keys will be purchased by the Clerk. The clubs will be reminded to lock the gate after use. v) Allotments – water pump: The Clerk and Cllr Kennard met the contractor from Affordable Drainage on site. A replacement pump will be difficult to source at a sensible price. A replacement pump will not solve the problem of a lack of water in dry summers as the borehole runs dry. He has quoted £1,500 to run a pipe from the tap on the new allotments under the road and have a similar push tap arrangement. After a discussion it was agreed to proceed with this quote and review water charges for the allotments.

98. CORRESPONDENCE: Notification of an application from Loose Reins for a licence to sell alcohol had been received – no objections; the Clerk is attending a meeting on 20th July arranged by DCC Highways to hear about plans for more work to be transferred to parishes – he will report back; next Chairman’s meeting is also on 20 th July – 6.30 pm in Durweston village hall

99. TO AGREE ITEMS FOR NEXT AGENDA: Routine items, plus insurance and risk assessment . 100. NEXT MEETING: This will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 4th August 2016 at the Church Centre. Cllr Oakley gave his apologies 248

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10.05 pm.

Appendix 1 – Planning application 2/2016/0740/FUL – DJ’s Motors. Cookswell, DT11 0QZ

The parish council objects to the application on the grounds of severe loss of amenity for neighbours and residents. Specific points are i) the location of refrigeration units, commercial waste bins and domestic waste bins immediately adjacent to the neighbouring property to the south. The smell and noise will have a significant impact in the house and garden of No’s 38 and 39 Cookswell. It is unlikely that the acoustic fence required by NDDC will provide adequate mitigation. ii) access to all four of the proposed flats will be via the exterior metal staircase to the first floor. This will quadruple traffic on the staircase which by nature of its construction material is noisy and immediately overlooks the house and garden of the immediate neighbours. iii) the access/egress arrangements to the new flats also create a negative impact on the flats themselves. Residents will have to walk through the car park/delivery area and pass the outdoor bin area to get to their homes. This is less than ideal. iv) the long opening hours of 6 am to 11 pm will impact on residents generally in the locale and also the wildlife in the area, including otters and kingfishers. It is acknowledged that the DJ’s motor sales business had no restriction on hours of operation, but in reality it operated between 8 am to 6 pm maximum.

It has also been reported to the parish council that there is a colony of bats in the garage building scheduled for demolition. We hope NDDC will investigate and act appropriately.

The parish council has other general concerns. It expects NDDC to ensure that conditions attached to application 2/2015/0905 will be replicated, in particular the lighting scheme and contamination controls. Verbal reports from contractors on the site working for the developers indicate widespread contamination and the parish council expects NDDC to proactively insist that development is halted in line with its own conditions relating to 2/2015/0905 until appropriate mitigation plans have been agreed and fully implemented.

It is also appropriate to highlight inconsistencies and misleading comments and inaccuracies in the report of the Highways consultant referred to in the Design and Access Statement. For example, given assertions that the road by the site is “relatively straight and level” one wonders if this was merely a “Googlemaps desk top analysis”? There is also no viable pedestrian or disabled access to the site given the absence of pavements. Whilst arrangements for delivery lorries might appear adequate, if long lorries arrive from the south they will need to drive onto the opposite side of the road to make the left turn into the site. This is a dangerous site and the accident history is understated due to lack of personal injury in the four accidents that have happened here in the last four years, according to local testimony.