Chaffcombe Parish Council Minutes November 2016

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Chaffcombe Parish Council held in the Village Hall on Monday 21st November 2016 1. Attendance and Apologies Those present: Mrs J Miles (Chairman) Mrs M Butler (Vice Chairman) Mr R Bale Mr K Dunthorne Mr S Robinson Mrs S Morley (Clerk) 2 Members of the public

Apologies - Mrs L Vijeh (County Councillor); Mrs S Osborne (District Councillor)

2. Public Voice - There were no public comments or questions.

3. Report by County Councillor Mrs Vijeh's monthly reports had previously been circulated by email. There were no further questions.

4. Report by District Councillor - Mrs Osborne sent her apologies..

5. Minutes of the last meeting The minutes of the last ordinary of the Chaffcombe Parish Council held on Monday 15th August 2016 were agreed and signed.

6. Matters arising from these minutes (a) Sign in the Pound - Mrs Butler has contacted the artist who painted the original picture on the sign in the Pound. He is happy to do another one. The new painting will be saved digitally and when ready with the lettering, it will be displayed under glass to preserve it for longer. (b) Replacement tree in the Orchard Plot - It had been agreed at the last meeting to plant a drooping mulberry. However the tree conservation officer at SSDC felt this is not a good choice because they are short lived, but that an ordinary mulberry would be a good choice. This will cost £60 to £80. Councillors agreed to plant a mulberry tree. It will be planted in the spring because it is now too late in the year for planting. Two village residents have offered to plant the tree.

7. Planning Applications App 16/03746/FUL Proposal Demolition of garages and erection of 2 storey extension Location The Old Rectory, Main Street, Chaffcombe Chaffcombe Parish Council considered the above application. One councillor commented that the extension looks like a house for the future by the back door. There were no other objections to the proposal.

App 16/03608/FUL Proposal Change of use of land to residential and erection of triple garage / store Location Barn, The Firs, Chaffcombe There were no objections to this proposal.

Cricket St Thomas Golf Club - A meeting was held at the Golf Club on Monday 19th September to discuss the recent proposal for work to improve the Golf Course at the junction of Knapps Lane and Redscript Lane which involves landfill material. The previous application to South Somerset District Council (16/02424/FUL) was withdrawn and a new application is to be made to the County Council. The meeting was attended by members of Chaffcombe Parish Council, members of the steering group of Chaffcombe residents, Cudworth Parish Clerk and a resident, Chaffcombe Parish Clerk, the

Landscape Architect and the owner of the Golf Course. The meeting was very productive and a useful discussion was held.

New Application - 16/04887/COL Proposal Application for a certificate of lawfulness for the existing use of building for B2/B8 use. Location Goldenhaye Landfill Site, Goldenhaye Lane, Cricket St Thomas, Chard Not in Chaffcombe Parish but adjacent to it. Councillors had no comments or objections.

8. Highway Matters (a) Road Closures - There have been four temporary road closures since the last meeting: 1 BT to repair a resident's phone; 1 to dig a drain by the water meadow; 2 by the water board to repair a main. (b) Damaged bridge by phone box - The work on the bridge has been assessed and the work is to be done hopefully by the end of the financial year. Money for work should be covered in part by an insurance claim. (c) Unsuitable for HGVs sign - Mr Dunthorne has been in touch with Highways regarding large vehicles travelling through the village and causing damage, particularly in Knapps Lane where a wall was damaged and a wing mirror broken. The company causing the damage have admitted liability and apologised. It is not possible to have a weight limit sign due to various legal constraints. However Highways have suggested un "Unsuitable for HGVs" sign. It was agreed to request 4 of these signs: 2 at Crossways (one into the village and one on the road to Cricket Lane), 1 at Cricket Cross at the top of Cricket Lane in Cricket Malherbie, and 1 at the top of Knapps Lane at the junction with Redscript Lane. ACTION - The Clerk

(d) Drains - The drains are inadequate for the large amount of rain over the last couple of days. This can be alleviated by ensuring that the drains are kept clear of leaves and debris. The drain in Knapps Lane by the Water Wheel has been unblocked but still appears to be partially blocked. It was suggested that putting a camera down may be helpful to find out the true situation. Mrs Osborne is arranging another area road tour this winter and it will be worth mentioning it then. It was also suggested that we contact the Somerset Rivers Authority who produce The Stream newsletter. They are carrying out enhanced gulley clearing and may be willing to come and look at the problem. ACTION - Mr Dunthorne (e) Salt Collection - Bags of salt can be collected at the SSDC Yeovil Depot on Saturday 3rd December 2016 between 09:00am and 1 p.m. ACTION - Mr Robinson (f) Grit bins - The two bins in Chaffcombe need to be topped up. 1 opposite the Old Rectory (TA20 4AH) and 1 at Tolleys Barn, Lydmarsh (TA20 4AD). ACTION - The Clerk

9. Flytipping The new email address to report flytipping is: [email protected].

10. Footpaths The PPLO has not sent a report for this meeting. All footpaths have been walked and there are no problems to report.

11. War Memorial The War Memorial Trust Bulletin was passed to Mr Robinson. Work will be done on the War Memorial in the spring when the weather is better. A resident complained that the old memorial tokens were not removed before the 11th November. They were however removed before the service.

12. Website It must be noted that the website is for general information and to pass on news and items to people in the Parish. It is not for personal views and opinions and must be monitored. If any personal views are noticed on the website please alert Mrs Butler who will remove them. ACTION - Mrs Butler It was agreed to put up some photographs of the flooding. Highways can be referred to these when discussing flooding. There is also a short video of the floods. Mr Dunthorne to let Mrs Butler have the photos and video and Mrs Butler will put them on the gallery. ACTION - Mr Dunthorne, Mrs Butler 2

13. Correspondence (a) Recycling and Refuse Collection Christmas collections - on notice board (b) Somerset Waste Partnership Monthly Briefing - October 2016 - on notice board (c) Somerset Waste Partnership changes to services at Recycling sites from 3rd October 2016 (d) Surviving Winter - appeal to donate Winter Fuel Payment from Somerset Community Foundation - on notice board and web (e) Appeal for donation from Somerset Community Justice Partnership and appeal for volunteers - on notice board (f) South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau - appeal to train as an adviser and appeal for grant - on notice board (g) Appeal to stand for election as a Somerset County Councillor at next election on 4th May 2017 - on notice board (h) The Stream magazine - on notice board (i) Consultation on South Somerset District Council Historic Environment Strategy by 25th November 2016 (j) Offer by the Centre for Sustainable Energy (Bristol) to give a presentation on smart meters - this was discussed and it was decided not to invite them to give a presentation. (k) Consultation on a proposed new Public Space Protection Order for public land across South Somerset to replace 3 Dog Control Orders currently in place (1. dog fouling / 2. dogs on leash within a restricted area / 3. exclusion from a designated area at Ninesprings Park in Yeovil). Comments by 8th Jan 2017. This will be scanned and sent to all Councillors who will consider appropriate comments. The Clerk will reply by the deadline. ACTION - All Councillors, The Clerk (l) Print Services offered by South Somerset District Council - in foyer.

14. Precept The Clerk presented a budget for the coming year showing that we have a regular carry forward figure. It was noted that there will be additional expenditure next year to repaint the phone box, to make the new sign for the Pound and to buy the new tree for the Orchard Plot. There is also likely to be additional expenditure on the war memorial. Councillors felt it is important to maintain a surplus in case there is a need for an election which would come at a considerable cost. It was also noted that the grant will reduce to nothing within 2 years. Councillors were also mindful of the proposal to extend the referendum principles to small parish councils which would make it very difficult to increase the precept if extra money were to be needed. This makes it all the more important to maintain a surplus. It was agreed to leave the precept at the present level of £3,000.

15. Accounts payments and receipts (a) Balances as at 31st October 2016 - £5,849.09 (b) The following cheques were raised: 000285 - £450.00 - Chaffcombe PCC - maintenance of Churchyard 000286 - £125.00 - S Morley, salary and Clerk's expenses 000287 - £ 30.00 - HMRC - paye 000288 - £ 75.00 - Chaffcombe Village Hall - rent 000289 - £375.00 - John Pudduck - maintenance War Memorial and Orchard Plot 000290 - £ 10.00 - Mary Butler - light bulbs for phone box 000291 - £ 46.96 - Josie Miles - website

16. Matters and items to report 2017/18 Local Government Finance Settlement Consultation Chaffcombe Parish Council sent a response objecting to the proposal in the consultation to extend the referendum principles to all local councils, including small parish and town councils. Councillors believe that to extend the referendum principles to small councils such as Chaffcombe would be very detrimental to local services because the costs of running a referendum would represent such a large percentage of the precept as to make it impossible. 3

Because of the prohibitive costs of a referendum in such a small community, it would not be possible to increase the precept even if there were a good reason to do so, hence local democracy, accountability and choice would be severely restricted.

17. Date of next Ordinary Parish Council Meeting

The next ordinary meeting of Chaffcombe Parish Council will be on Monday 20th February 2017 at 7.30 p.m. at Chaffcombe Village Hall.

The meeting ended at 9.00 p.m.

Josie Miles / Chairman