S T E W E P A R I S H C O U N C I L Chair of the Parish Council Clerk to the Parish Council Councillor Janet Lockyer [email protected] Ms Rose Hardisty Mill Cottage The Headlands Polmassick School Hill St Ewe Mevagissey ST AUSTELL ST AUSTELL Cornwall PL26 6TH PL26 6HA 01726 842869 M I N U T E S Parish Council Meeting St Ewe Village Hall Monday 13 January 2014 7.00pm – 9.35pm Officers Present:- Parish Cllrs – Chair Cllr Janet Lockyer, Cllr Allan Brooks, Cllr Diane Clemes, Cllr Trevor Harman, Cllr Trevor Johns, Cllr Will Richards, Cllr Sam Roberts and Cllr Lynne Tregunna Apologies Received:- Cllr Reuben Collins and Cllr John Dickinson In Attendance:- Cllr Malcolm Harris – Cornwall Council CC David Malen – Projects Group Manager, Property Services, CC Team Caroline Cragie – Assistant Project Manager, Property Services, CC Phil Osmond – Consultant Project Manager, Mace Mike Hawes – Landscape Architect, MeiLoci, working with CSA Architects Tim Strange – Renewables Engineer, Parsons Brinckerhoff Richard Hunter – Renewables Engineer, Parsons Brinckerhoff Rose Hardisty, Clerk Public Participation:- 12 members of the public in attendance 096/13 Declarations of interests • Cllr Will Richards declared he is a neighbour in relation to PA13/10703 • Cllr Diane Clemes declared she is a relative or Farmer Colgrove (raised under 099/13 mud on highway) 097/13 Previous Minutes The minutes of the parish council meeting held on 11 November 2013, having been circulated with the agendas, were considered a true record and were adopted (proposed DC, seconded TH). Public Participation An assessment was made of the public attendance and the council agreed that the chair would adjourn the meeting at intervals to take public participation on an item by item basis. 098/13 Planning matters • Lanuah and Levalsa Wind Turbines – Outline Proposals David Malen, Projects Group Manager from Cornwall Council Property Services and his team were in attendance to present the parish council with further information about plans to apply for wind turbines on county owned land. Two of these proposals are within St Ewe Parish. The public were informed that no public participation would be taken on this matter as it is to be an information giving/gathering exercise only. The CC representatives provided an email address for Phil Osmond, Consultant Project Manager to which the public could send any comments or questions they have about the proposals ( [email protected] ) as a result of the presentation. A reassurance was also offered that a formal public consultation would take place in due course. Cornwall Council is committed to a green energy programme and as part of that the council has been looking for some time at the possibility of benefiting from the green energy and the income which could be generated by wind turbines sited on land owned by the County Council. Cornwall Council feels that it is an advantage to local people as the income will stay in Cornwall and will help address the budget deficit. The turbines would be cash positive after the first year. There would be a considerable financial benefit direct to the parish community and a figure in the region of £90,000 for Lanuah and £80,000 for Levalsa to the parish over the 20 year lifetime of the project was mentioned. Original ratified and signed by Vice Chair 10.03.2014 ..377 A number of sites have been identified and matters have now reached the stage when screening applications are to be submitted and public consultations take place. It is proposed that a 67m turbine be sited at Lanuah and a 78m turbine at Levalsa. There are also two sites in neighbouring parishes under consideration at Trevaskis Farm and Barwick. Parish councillors commented that these sites are very close to parish boundaries and would have a direct impact on St Ewe residents. Clarifying questions were asked by parish councillors about the scope and size of the turbines. In addition, the site at Lanuah raises issues as it is only a few hundred meters from a private application which ran into difficulties with an MOD objection. Phil Osmond was clear that he was aware of this application and believed that the MOD objections would not apply or could be overcome. It was clear that there are general concerns about wind turbine applications and in particular where one department of the county council will be applying to another department for planning permission. David Malen pointed out that this means his team has to be especially robust in the application process and also that if the application is not successful there is no right of appeal, so the decision will definitely be made at a local level. St Ewe parish councillors are concerned about the number of turbine applications currently in process and the cumulative impact if all sites receive consent. Six representative of Cornwall Council left the meeting One member of the public left the meeting (11 remain) • FULL PLANNING APPLICATION PA13/10703 Construction of a Stockman’s dwelling and associated works Penberlan Farm, Lower Sticker, St Austell, PL26 7JJ Parish Opinion Sought The applicant was in attendance but did not wish to speak, however, he indicated he was available to answer clarifying questions if councillors had any. The council considered the planning documents and thanked the applicant for his attendance. Councillors felt the proposal was reasonable and understood that an agricultural occupancy restriction would be imposed. On that basis the council resolved (proposed AB, seconded JL) to RAISE NO OBJECTION to the application. One member of the public left the meeting (10 remain) • Wind turbine applications in other parishes In advance of the specific planning matters included on the agenda the clerk has received correspondence asking that the issue of wind turbines in other parishes (especially neighbouring parishes) be highlighted to the parish council. There followed a short discussion about other applications that councillors are aware of nearby and in particular the proposals at Pittsdown Farm (PA13/03229 screening request) and Trecaine Farm (PA13/08105 application and PA14/00026 screening request). Concerns were raised about the general principal that these applications are being dealt with in the absence of a clear Cornwall strategy on wind turbines. It is a complete nonsense to ask parish councils to make recommendations on individual applications when it is clear that the issue of cumulative impact is so significant. It was resolved (proposed JL, seconded AB) that a letter be sent to the Head of Planning outlining the concern felt by St Ewe Parish Council that neighbouring parishes are not formally consulted with regard to proposals that are close enough to have an impact on parish residents, that applications are proceeding whilst there is still no clear Cornwall strategy in place and that it is unreasonable and lacking in any logic to ask parish councils to make recommendations on planning applications for wind turbines on a case by case basis when cumulative impact is such an overriding issue. Cllr Harris suggested also sending a copy of this letter to John Pollard who is the Head of Cornwall Council. Cllr Harris reassured parish councillors that cumulative impact is something which is considered in detail for applications which reach the committee. Cllr Roberts suggested asking that the issue of wind turbines also be included for discussion at the Community Network and it was agreed that the clerk write to Helen Nicholson about this. It was also agreed that, at the present time, the parish council would not formally comment on specific applications unless consulted. One member of the public left the meeting (9 remain) • FULL PLANNING APPLICATION PA13/10074 Wind Turbine 79m to blade tip and associated works Tregonan Farm, Tregony, TR2 5SN Parish Opinion Sought Meeting adjourned to allow public participation on this matter Original ratified and signed by Vice Chair 10.03.2014 ..378 Stephen Bailey has been nominated as spokesperson to present the views of Tucoyse residents and of nearby Gweltek Cottage, Greenhills and Trelissick Farm. This is a précis of his presentation. The properties at Tucoyse are about 680m from the proposed turbine site. There are 7 cottages immediately adjacent to Tucoyse Farmhouse and other houses nearby which would also be affected. The 79m structure is higher than the spire of Truro Cathedral and will stand out starkly in open countryside and will be visible for a long distance being set at a high level. The proposed site is almost due west of us and so at sunset particularly there will be a serious “flicker” effect and this can have health implications. According to the developers the noise impact at Tucoyse will be in the range of 30dB. I believe this could be greater, particularly as we are downwind of the prevailing winds from the West and in any event 30dB is not a reasonable noise level to be tolerated in this peaceful quiet countryside. The developer’s photographs of the viewpoints show the countryside under-exposed so that it appears dark diminishing the impact of the view of a turbine set against it. This misrepresents the impact of the turbine. It is clear the position and height of the wind turbine is such that it will dominate the surrounding countryside – an industrial structure of this size will not fit in and will de-value the environment. The Cornwall economy relies heavily on tourism and the south coast is a popular area for visitors to Cornwall staying locally in rented cottages, camping, caravans, bed & breakfast, hotels or with friends. This particular location is within 2 km of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and visitors come to see locations such as the Caerhays Estate, Heligan Gardens, beaches, coastal path, villages and general countryside.