WEST QUANTOXHEAD PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly held in the Village Hall on 22nd April 2015 PRESENT: Parish Cllr G Tizzard (Chair), D Litchfield, H Ross, R Hughes and S Sherry. Also Mrs J Mote(Parish Clerk), West Somerset Cllr S Dowding, Quantock Hills AONB Ranger Rebekah West, National Trust Head Ranger Nigel Garnsworthy and 6 parishioners. APOLOGIES: None. 1. MINUTES of the 2014 Annual Assembly were read, approved and signed. 2. MATTERS ARISING: None 3. TALK BY QUANTOCK HILLS AONB RANGER: Rebekah West Rebekah has been in post since February 2014, she is directly responsible for the Cothelstone Hill area. She has been involved in the archaeological dig at Seven Sisters with local schools and Bridgwater College. There have been 12 controlled burns on the hills, 4 were carried out by the National Trust, and 8 by the AONB. There has been some trouble with people off-roading around Wilmot’s Pool and Crowcombe Park Gate. Parking on grass verges instead of in the car parks is also a problem. Lots of talks and walks have taken place, Bushcraft days, bluebell walks etc. M Sanders asked about the abandoned vehicles on the hill, 2 cars have been cleared from the Cothelstone area and 1 remains on its roof which can’t be removed until the owner has been found due to the cost of removal. Bracken bashing no longer takes place as the Commoners get paid to take care of the bracken. Ticks are being collected for a health survey, and Rebekah reports this already appears to be a bad year. 4. POLICE REPORT: Read by the Chair. I am sorry nobody is able to attend this meeting tonight, but my colleagues PC Andy Ware, & PCSO Peter Bolton are both on rest days, and I am on an early shift, which leaves nobody available. We have recently adopted the new Operating Model, which has meant significant changes to our staffing levels. There is an amendment to the Williton & Watchet team, in that PCSO Sue Hurley is currently on a career break, and PC Mark Curran is not yet in post, so you can see this means a significant workload for all of us! We will however, strive to provide the best service possible covering the huge geographical area. Over the last year for the West Quantoxhead area, there have been 183 calls to the Force Service centre via the 101 number. Of these, 27 have been crimes, ranging from; 8 x theft from motor vehicles, 6 x criminal damage, 2 x dwelling burglaries, 4 x non dwelling burglaries & 7 x domestic related. With the lovely weather we have been having, we will be paying our beauty spots particular attention to deter car crime, & offer crime prevention advice to visitors/walkers who leave valuables on display in their vehicles. We have also been experiencing around the area, an increase in fly tipping, which we are working hard to deter/detect. PC Andy Ware has recently been dealing with a fly-tipping case which has successfully gone to court, so if you see or hear anything that may lead to a successful prosecution, please let us know. Rural crime has a huge impact on victims, and we are promoting our “Farmwatch” & “Horsewatch” schemes which are effective in deterring & detecting crime, so if you or anyone you know would like to sign up to either of these schemes, please do not hesitate to get in touch with either Peter or myself. 5. NATIONAL TRUST: Countryside Manager, Mr N Garnsworthy In 2010 the Staple plantation saw the loss of the lark trees due to disease; this left the plantation more open to the wind. Last winter we lost a lot of trees in the plantation due to high winds, so in September the NT cleared the remaining trees. The Plantation is now going to be replanted with broad leaved trees which are much better for the wildlife. These will include oak, birch, and rowan trees. The paths are going to be re-laid and a new picnic area created overlooking Exmoor. Replanting will start this winter; trees will be planted in tubes to protect them. S Sanders asked for more sitting to be provided along the paths. NG didn’t see a problem with this. The rhododendrons were cleared from Vinnycombe and the heathland vegetation is regrowing. The NT didn’t spray the area last year but will be respraying this year; they will also be spraying the bracken on the deer park side of Vinnycombe to allow for heathland regrowth. 6. PARISH COUNCIL CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Gordon Tizzard 1. Council Members: I was elected chair in May, Richard Hughes took the position of Vice Chair. Gerald Hargrave and Janet Sansom resigned from the Parish Council at the Annual Meeting, after many years of hard work, leaving 3 Councillor vacancies. Duncan Litchfield, Sue Sherry and Tony Dunn were co–opted into those vacancies in July. 5 parishioners have returned their nomination papers for the Parish Council election in May, and have therefore been elected as Councillors from May 2015, myself, Richard Hughes, Sue Sherry, Tony Dunn and new Cllr Pam Tolley. We again have vacancies to fill, please see Jo Mote Parish Clerk if you are interested. 2. Planning: 3 planning applications have been discussed. Sealands: Demolish Bungalow and replace with a 4 bed detached dwelling. Granted Tara: Single storey side extension. Granted St Audries Bay: 19 Caravan bases and reposition 1 existing base. Granted 3. Highways: We questioned SCC over the use of The Avenue/ Weacombe Road by heavy goods vehicles. However nothing can be done about it as there are no restriction on the road, however SCC did replace the signs showing the road is unsuitable for these vehicles. 4. Footpath: Vinnycombe footpath has now finally been repaired. 5. Telephone Box: The village hall has prepared a base for the telephone box to be relocated there, and we have accepted a quote from P Sherring to move the box. We are now waiting for BT to disconnect the electric; hopefully this will be done over the next few months. Once at the village hall the box will need some repair and shelves fitted in order to use as the new book exchange/information kiosk. Volunteers are welcomed both to repair and fit the shelving and to look after the books. 6. Health and Wellbeing fund: 23 people registered to swim at St Audries pool following our successfully bid from the Health and Wellbeing fund. Special thanks to Hugh Davies for getting this funding. Everyone really enjoyed getting together, meeting new people and maybe getting a little fitter as well! 7. Misc items: The Bus Shelters were cleared of overgrowth and the footpath on the A39 was kept cut thanks to Duncan Litchfield. The Bench at Staple Cross has been repaired with new wood, this was done by Les Manfield and myself. The Notice board at Staple Cross has also been repaired and painted thanks to Ivor Yeomans. 7. FINANCIAL REPORT: Clerk: Copies of the Income & Expenditure Account for the year were circulated. A precept of £2834 has been requested. This is an increase of £334 from last year. This increase is purely due to the fact we are in an election year and at the time of setting the precept we were unsure if we would need to pay for a Parish election, as the election is uncontested and the reserves have been met, I am unlikely to increase the precept next year unless something unforeseen happens. 8. COUNTY COUNCIL REPORT: None in the absence of Cllr H Davies 9. DISTRICT COUNCIL REPORT: WSC Cllr S Dowding: West Somerset Council finished the year on a positive note, recovering from our financial difficulties, with Parish and Town Councils taking over the running of public toilets in their areas. Car parking fees have increased, although not something everyone wants this does bring in a lot of revenue to the Authority. The Watchet regeneration plan has started. The biomass boiler at Staple Farm has now been resolved, with the chimney and boiler building being removed from site. SD didn’t realise the Solar Farm at Washford would be so visible, and the Solar Farm at Sampford Brett has again been turned down. Western Power are unable to take anymore Solar Farms at the moment. The new supermarket in Minehead is going before planning tomorrow and the Williton supermarket is yet to be submitted. Fly tipping in the area now carries a maximum fine of £50,000. 10 Cllrs are retiring at the May election. The tidal lagoon project is still in the very early stages. 10. REPORTS from VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS: (i) St.Audries Women’s Institute: Vicki Nash: Vicki became the new president at the May AGM, with Pam Tolley being elected as secretary. Both Daphne Wheeler and Daphne Yeomans were thanked for their years of work in office and on the committee; their expertise has been much missed. They have enjoyed a very varied programme compiled by Sue Sanders to include 2 open meetings on West Somerset Railway and Road Safety, (Vicki’s grandson enjoyed this, so all ages welcome). The WI had a day trip to Bath and Christmas lunch at the Northfield in Minehead. At the Village hall Christmas fair the WI had a stall for the first time and raised £97. This year the WI celebrates it’s Centenary with many events to be enjoyed by members from teas to full dinners in Village establishments. There is also a tea in the gardens of Buckingham Palace – needless to say they are sending Pam Tolley to report back.