Minutes of the Meeting of Frilsham Parish Council held in the Clubroom on Wednesday 27th July 2016 at 7.30pm.

Present Cllr. M. Allum (Chairman) Cllr. J. Goodenough Cllr. G. Barber Cllr. D. Benning Cllr. C. Kettlewell Cllr. D. Ward Mr. B. Lyon (Frilsham Future Implementation Group) Mr. David Slack Mrs. H. Pratt (Clerk) District Councillor Pask (arrived late due to an earlier meeting).

Apologies: District Councillor Webb.

1. Receive Declarations of Interest. 1.1. Declaration of any councillor’s interest in agenda items. There were no declarations of interest in items on the agenda.

1.2. Receive any changes to the Register of Interests. There were no changes to the Register of Interests.

3. Approve minutes of the following meetings. 3.1. Wednesday 16th March 2016. The minutes of the meeting held on the 16th March 2016 were approved as a correct record of the meeting and signed by Cllr. Allum.

3.2 Wednesday 20th April 2016. The minutes of the meeting held on 20th April 2016 were approved as a correct record of the meeting and signed by Cllr. Allum.

3.3 Wednesday 18th May 2016 (Annual Meeting of the Parish Council). Cllr. Benning commented that he had voted with “no objection” on planning application 16/00586/FUL for Manderley and that the outcome should read “4 members voted in favour of objection, 1 no objection and 1 abstained”. With this amendment, the minutes were approved and signed by Cllr. Allum.

4. Matters arising from the minutes not covered elsewhere on the agenda. 4.1. Grit Bins. Issues were raised about the positions of grit bins on Rectory Hill and that the bin at the top of the hill has a broken lid. These points were raised with WBC and the bins were moved slightly down the hill, however the lid on the bin at the top has not been rectified. The grit bins belonging to WBC are in the process of being transferred to the Parish Council, but given that the lid was raised as an issue with WBC prior to the transfer process starting it was felt worth raising with WBC again. It was agreed that the Clerk would raise the matter with WBC with details of the original report.

2016/17

Signed: Date: 4.2. Antisocial Behaviour. Councillors asked about the antisocial behaviour and whether this was still an issue. It was reported that matter was being addressed.

4.3. Litter on the roads. It was noted that the road sweeper had been seen in Frilsham on the 12th July 2016. Generally, it was felt that the roads looked quite tidy.

5. Beechfield Lane. Cllr. Benning reported that the work on Beechfield Lane, replacing the surface with crushed concrete had been carried out successfully, with only a few minor issues. A few days prior to the work taking place, concern was raised due to a significant volume of water (from a leaking water main at the junction of School Lane and Hatchets Lane) which ran down Beechfield Lane and into “Swallowtails”. Frilsham Parish Council thanked all of those involved with getting the work done and in particular Fiona and Hugh Miller who persuaded residents to accept the proposal and contribute financially. It was noted that whilst Sovereign had verbally acknowledged a letter from the Parish Council about the work (some of the properties on Beechfield Lane belonging to Sovereign), no reply had been received. The Clerk will chase this up. The first meeting of a newly formed residents’ association for Beechfield Lane has been arranged to take place on 7th September 2016. The main aim of the residents’ association will be to maintain Beechfield Lane.

6. Emptying of bins around the Clubroom. Emptying of the bins around the Clubroom continue to cause problems. The dog waste bin and the litter bin by the Playground should be emptied by ISS under a contract from WBC; this is at the request of Frilsham Parish Council. Both these bins are supposed to be emptied on a weekly basis, however on average this is only happening 40% of the time. When the invoice for emptying these bins arrived, given the poor service it was queried with WBC, and it was agreed that Frilsham Parish Council would pay half of the cost; however, a replacement invoice has never been received. The litter bin by the gate and the bin at the corner of the Clubroom have probably been confused by history. The bin on the corner was originally a bin on the wall of the Clubroom and emptied by Veolia when they used the Clubroom carpark for a mid-morning break. At this time both bins were emptied regularly. The bin on the corner of the Clubroom then broke and was replaced by an ordinary bin. Veolia continued emptying this bin most of the time until earlier this year and it now hasn’t been emptied since May. The bin by the gate is emptied 90% of the time. Caroline Booth (WBC) has been contacted a number of times about the service. Despite various maps, WBC still has a map showing a bin to be emptied by Veolia in the middle of the carpark, rather than at the entrance or at the corner of the Clubroom. The Veolia contract is managed by a different team. It was agreed that the Clerk will work with Mr. Lyon to resolve the issue and discuss the situation with Caroline Booth (WBC) and Sue Tarn (WBC) to determine who should be emptying which bins. It was agreed the Parish Council would pay for an additional bin to be emptied if this is necessary.

2016/18

Signed: Date: 7. Thames Water – replacement water main. Cllr. Benning reported that when the workmen came out to repair the water leak at the junction of School Lane and Hatchets Lane, it was found that the pipe had been repaired twice previously in the same place. It was noted that the time taken to get engineers out to fix the leak was too long. It is understood that Thames Water are in the process of surveying water mains to identify those which it would be most cost effective to replace. It is understood that there is concern over the main from the reservoir in to Frilsham. Cllr. Benning will continue to monitor progress.

8. Drainage. 8.1. Hatchets Lane – storm drain. As a result of the water leak, it became apparent that there are no storm drains on the south side of Hatchets Lane around it’s junction with Beechfield Lane. Cllr. Benning has had a site meeting with Jon Bowden from WBC. It has been proposed that WBC carry out a survey of the all the drains around the junction over the next few months. This action is fully endorsed by Frilsham Parish Council. There is currently a drain which runs under the garden of Mr. Bell’s property; Trenance Lodge. Any new storm drain could connect to this, but concern was raised about the capacity of the pipe. Cllr. Allum commented that the drain from Mr. Bell’s property comes out in his property (Holly Cottage) and that he didn’t believe there would be a problem with the capacity of the pipe. It was reported that Mike Wilson in Frilsham Woodhouse has suffered from flooding issues and is talking to someone in WBC. It was agreed it would be useful to find out who is dealing with this in WBC. 8.2. Drainage Ditch and Culvert from the Clubroom under Hatchets Lane. It has been identified that the south side of the culvert under Hatchets Lane from the ditch alongside the Clubroom needs to be rebuilt; this needs to be carried out by WBC. It was reported that the ditch itself is full of mud. Mr. Slack ( Estate) agreed to get the ditch dug out.

9. Allotments – to consider a field shelter. Cllr. Benning reported that a new tenant has taken over the allotment field with a larger horse than the previous tenant. The horse is too big for the existing shelter and the new tenant would like to erect a larger field shelter, whilst retaining the existing shelter for storage of hay. The proposed new field shelter would come in panels and be bolted together and placed on slabs, such that it could be removed. Cllr. Allum commented that such a structure would need planning permission; field shelters not requiring planning permission must be on skids and moved every 6 weeks. Cllr. Benning will report this information back to the tenant.

10. Superfast Broadband. Gigaclear organised an open meeting in Yattendon. The timescales for Superfast Broadband in Frilsham are no clearer; two different statements were made, one saying by Christmas 2016 the other by April 2017. Gigaclear still needs to work with Yattendon Estate to determine how they will get the cables across Estate land. Mr. Slack reported that he has a meeting with Colin Batchelor (WBC) and the engineering hierarchy in mid-August and offered to report his findings back to the Parish Council.

2016/19

Signed: Date:

11. Yattendon Estates. Mr. Slack reported that Yattendon Estate have started harvesting. Unfortunately, the harvest started with the combine hitting a flint causing a fire and the loss of 25 acres of barley in Streetly. Luckily no one was hurt and no property was damaged. A planning application has been submitted to WBC for the dairy at Frilsham Home Farm to be converted into a brewery and store for classic cars. The classic car rally was a success. A carriage drive will take place from Yattendon on August 14th. The shop continues to increase its trade. In the autumn a number of promotions are planned. The post office is being well used. The possibility of increasing the opening hours is being considered. The Estate is considering possibilities for expanding the Royal Oak to include an orangery and possibly 2 more bedrooms. This year’s village fete raised £20,800.

12. Playground. Cllr. Kettlewell reported that there had been no significant issues; mole hills continue to appear and there had been one incident of dog fouling. Each time Cllr. Kettlewell visited the playground, it was being well used. Cllr. Benning agreed to carry out the inspections until the next meeting. Mr. Slack commented that he had heard of several children who had hurt themselves on the monkey bars and asked whether they were too high. Mr. Lyon commented that they are within Health and Safety guidelines.

13. Website. Unfortunately, there has been no development with the community website. The External Auditor has contacted the Clerk and asked what is being done in order for the council to be compliant with the Transparency Code (requiring various documents to be available on a web site). It was agreed that a short term solution needs to be found, whilst the community site is developed. Cllr. Kettlewell suggested that the possibility of a free “Wordpress” site is explored as a temporary solution. It was agreed that Cllr. Kettlewell and the Clerk would investigate this option.

14. Planning. 2.1. To consider planning application submitted to WBC. 2.1.1. 16/01690/COMIND – Frilsham Home Farm Dairy (Adjacent Parish) Change of use of a former Dairy building to a microbrewery (B2) and classic car storage (B8) with associated external and internal works. Mr. Slack commented that currently West Brewery carry out their bottling and packaging off site. The plan is that this proposal will enable a bottling and packaging plant to be on site; therefore, reducing transport needs. It was unanimously agreed that Frilsham Parish Council has no objection to this application.

2.1.2. 16/01898/HOUSE – Frideswide. Ground and first floor extensions with internal modifications and new entrance porch.

2016/20

Signed: Date: It was agreed that Frilsham Parish Council has no objection to this application.

14.2. To review decisions made by WBC and appeal decision. 14.2.1. 15/02076/COMIND – Mazelands Farm, (Adjacent Parish). Construction of a solar energy park to include the installation of solar panels, security fencing, transformer housing, access and other associated works. Frilsham Parish Council made no comments on this application which has been refused by WBC. 14.2.2. 16/00540/HOUSE - 12 Beechfield. Single storey rear extension. Frilsham Parish Council had no objection to this application which has been approved by WBC. 14.2.3. 16/00266/HOUSE – Sunnyside. Conversion of garage to habitable rooms. Frilsham Parish Council had no objection to this application which has been approved by WBC. 14.2.4. 16/01063/AGRIC – Fifield Farm (Adjacent Parish). Proposed new agricultural building. Frilsham Parish Council made no comments on this application. WBC has determined that a full application is required. 14.2.5. 16/01144/HOUSE – The Cherries, Beechfield Lane. Extension of existing garage into double. Frilsham Parish Council had no objection to this application which has been approved by WBC. 14.2.6. 16/00942/FULD – Yealand. Erection of a four bedroom dwelling following demolition of existing dwelling. Frilsham Parish Council had no objection to this application which has been approved by WBC. 14.3. Manderlay. Councillor Kettlewell reported that she had seen an exchange of emails from David Fleming of Farm about the proposed development. The emails raised concern that the proposed temporary access route for construction across the parkland was intended to be a permanent entrance. He had asked for the Parish Council to contact WBC planning department about this. Following discussion, it was agreed that it had been made clear by the applicants more than once that this route was intended to be temporary, and that as the Parish Council's submission had specified that reinstatement of the access route should be a condition of any permission, no further action need be taken. 14.4. Replacement Dwellings. There was a discussion about how Frilsham Parish Council considers replacement dwellings and what the impact of smaller properties being replaced with larger ones will be. Mr. Slack commented that Yattendon Estate has a covenant on most of the properties in Yattendon and if extensions are being considered which would make a significant change to the type of dwelling they are potentially turned down in order to maintain the demographic mix in the community.

15. District Councillors Report. The Planning Inspector has now considered the new Local Plan and considered whether the sites identified are fit for purpose and whether the new parking standards are acceptable.

2016/21

Signed: Date: There was a discussion about the possibility of Frilsham writing a “Design Statement” which would ideally be accepted as Supplementary Planning Guidance. The Clerk will circulate Vision and the Stanford Dingley Design Statement.

16. Frilsham Future Implementation Group. Mr. Lyon had nothing to report.

17. Yattendon and Frilsham Sports and Social Trust Mr. Lyon reported that the meeting at which grants are assigned will take place on Tuesday 4th October at 8pm in Yattendon Village Hall.

18. Correspondence. 18.1. Minerals and Waste consultation – completes 5/8/2016 The Clerk ensured members had seen this consultation which had previously been circulated.

19. Finance. The finance report, dated the 27th July 2016 was approved. It was agreed that the Clerk would investigate a separate account for the Clubroom funds to be held in, such that they can be managed more transparently.

20. Any Other Business 20.1. Wall on Dragon Hill. Cllr. Goodenough raised concerns over the stability of the retaining wall on Dragon Hill. Cllr. Kettlewell commented that it had previously been reported to WBC and they had instructed Building Control to inspect it. The ivy has since been taken off the wall and a tree cut down. It was agreed that the Clerk would report this again to WBC with information about the previous report. 20.2. Mud on the side of the road. Cllr. Benning asked Cllr. Allum if he had photographed the mud covering the side of Hatchets Lane. It was noted that the soil on the road becomes the responsibility of WBC and is a waste disposal situation. Questions were also asked about the hedge at this location. Yattendon Estate claim it is not theirs, but have previously cut it. 20.3. Brocks Lane. The large hole from the oil tanker hasn’t been filled in and is now covered in greenery. 20.4. Defibrillator. It was noted that the phone box housing the defibrillator in East Hendred has “DEFIBRILLATOR” around the top of the telephone box rather than the “TELEPHONE”. It was agreed that the Clerk would investigate this as a possible option for the old telephone box in Frilsham now housing the defibrillator. 20.5. Welcome Pack. Cllr. Allum asked whether the Parish Council should consider having a Welcome Pack containing a map of the parish with house names. He agreed to put a sample together for the next meeting. 20.6. Noise on Sundays. Cllr. Goodenough questioned whether noise in the valley was increasing on Sundays. In particular, that from chainsaws etc.

2016/22

Signed: Date: The meeting closed at 9.30pm.

CLERK

Next Parish Council Meetings: Wednesday 17th August 2016 at 7.30pm (Planning) Wednesday 21st September 2016 at 7.30pm.

2016/23

Signed: Date: