Minutes of Keyworth Parish Council Meeting Held in The
DRAFT
MINUTES OF KEYWORTH PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD IN THE
CENTENARY LOUNGE ON MONDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 2016 AT 7.00PM.
PRESENT:
Chairman: Cllr Grice.
Parish Councillors: Armour, Cane, Chmara, Fitzgerald, Gracey, Kemp, Millband, Oakley, Pinder, Self, Seller, Watts, Wells.
Staff: Neil Grocock (Clerk), Debbie Cooke.
(Meeting minuted by Debbie Cooke).
Also present: Borough Cllrs Edyvean and Inglis; 18 members of the public.
17/8596 Apologies
q Apologies were received from Cllrs Caven-Atack and Valentine, and County/Borough Cllr Cottee. The reasons for absence were ACCEPTED.
q Cllr Grice commented that Parish Councillors should place high importance on attending Council meetings.
17/8597 Presentation by Phil Horsfield, Monitoring Officer, Rushcliffe Borough Council
q The Monitoring Officer had been expected at the meeting, but was not, in fact, in attendance.
17/8598 Declarations of Interest
q Cllr Millband declared an interest in 17/8604a below (reimbursements).
q Cllr Grice read out a statement on behalf of Cllr Wells regarding declarations of interest.
q Cllr Grice reported that Cllr Valentine had a short while earlier forwarded a statement to him by email, which he had wanted read out to the Council in his absence; due to much of the content not being Council business, Cllr Gricehad informed Cllr Valentine that he was not prepared to do so although the statement had been forwarded to all Councillors by email immediately prior to the meeting. Cllr Grice did, however, emphasise that, in the statement, Cllr Valentine strongly protested his innocence and denied any wrong doingregarding declaration of interests, stating that he had always declared interests in full and had never hidden anything.
17/8599 Minutes
q The minutes of the meeting on 26.9.16 were APPROVED and signed by Cllr Grice as a true record.
17/8600 Matters Arising
q (17/8591) Platt Lane Proposals: Cllr Seller reported that the Platt Lane Joint Management Committee was holding discussions with solicitors with regard to the organisational setup. Cllr Seller undertook to chase up the last set of minutes from the Joint Management Committee.
q (17/8591) Activity Park: Cllr Grice reported that, further to previous meetings with the project managers (Williams-Architects), additional discussions had subsequently taken place, and all issues had now been addressed. He added that he had spoken to Cllr Cottee who had confirmed that a barrier alongside Nottingham Road would be paid for and installed by the County Council.
17/8601 Correspondence
q The following items had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting:
- Email from resident re Neighbourhood Plan - Delays in Submitting Draft – NOTED.
- Emails from resident re Neighbourhood Plan advisory committee – NOTED.
- Email from Ian Machan, Community Concern re application for Aviva Community Fund donation; also circulated by email 27.10.16 – NOTED. Cllr Grice reminded Councillors that they could vote online.
- Email correspondence with Circus Tyanna – NOTED; further information required before a decision could be taken, particularly with regard to whether the circus involves animals.
- Letter from Cllr Ken Browse, chairman, National Association of Local Councils re Council Tax Referendum Principles, plus template letter; details of the Local Government Finance Settlement Technical Consultation also circulated by email 18.10.16 – NOTED; AGREED that the letter should be sent to Rushcliffe MP Ken Clarke.
- Details of Rushcliffe Borough Parish Council Peer Mentor Scheme received via Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire - NOTED.
- Email from Megan Johnson, Highway Trainee, Transport Planning and Programme Development, Notts County Council re Supporting Local Communities Fund; also circulated by email 6.10.16; attachments available from office - NOTED.
- Email from Julian Harrison, East Midlands Regional Support Worker, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust re Holocaust Memorial Day 2017; also circulated by email 30.9.16 - NOTED.
q A late item, an email re the Neighbourhood Plan, was read out by Cllr Grice – NOTED.
17/8602 Planning
a) Minutes dated 10.10.16
q The minutes of the meeting on 10.10.16 were NOTED and the decisions therein APPROVED.
q Cllr Grice explained the rationale for omitting ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ from the agenda of this particular meeting, i.e. steering group nothing to report; advisory committee bound by its terms of reference to report to Full Council.
b) Minutes dated 31.10.16
q The minutes of the meeting on 31.10.16 were NOTED and the decisions therein APPROVED.
c) Report from Neighbourhood Plan Advisory Committee
q A revised Neighbourhood Plan submission draft had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting.
q Cllr Grice pointed out that Cllr Seller had been elected as chairman of the committee.
q It was CONFIRMED that the correct title for the committee is the Neighbourhood Plan advisory committee.
q Cllr Seller read out a report from the committee as follows:
- The advisory committee met formally on Tuesday 1st November and Richard Mapletoft [Planning Policy Manager, Rushcliffe Borough Council] joined the meeting for the purpose of providing technical and procedural advice. Members' holidays prevented us from meeting any sooner although, due to the urgency to move forward without delay, individual members of the committee were working on the issues during October.
- Advisory committee members have reviewed the original draft plan, the results of the consultation exercise and other relevant documents including various items from other Council members. There have been no communications with third parties, in particular developers, except for acknowledgement by email of a letter sent to the committee by a member of the public.
- Following feedback on a working draft revised plan from Full Council tonight, the advisory committee will meet again on 15th November. At this point in time, committee members consider that there is no need to invite members of the public to that meeting. It is hoped that, following that meeting, a new draft plan will be presented to the Council for approval at the Full Council meeting on 12th December.
- All members of the committee share a common goal of being able to present a plan which can carry the support of a high percentage of Council members. Council members have all had the opportunity to see the working draft.
- The committee is confident that the suggested revisions to the plan do not require any further public consultation as existing evidence supports the suggestions made. This was a key aspect of our terms of reference. As was mentioned at the previous Full Council meeting, Council members have a duty to interpret the consultation responses and then act in the best interests of our community as a whole. On behalf of all members, the advisory committee has worked hard to enact this duty responsibly.
- The committee will also be pleased to receive relevant written comments, specifically regarding the suggested revisions, from Council members, which can be considered at our meeting on 15th November. These must be submitted to me no later than Friday, 11th November. I would also note at this point that we have acquired a quote from Urban Imprint to carry out the plan revisions professionally, particularly the maps, which is unlikely to be more than £315.
- I do not propose to go through the plan changes in word by word detail now, as you have all had the opportunity to read the working draft. I will, however, outline the rationale behind the main points, which are views held by all members of the advisory committee. After that, I and committee members will do our best to answer any questions you may have.
- Our top concerns have been... in no particular order:
- Reduce the quantity of land taken out of the Green Belt in order to reduce the risk of overdeveloping.
- Enhance the identification of heritage land with a view to preservation.
- Support concerns for providing accommodation for the elderly including sheltered/ warden assisted accommodation.
- Not to bring any previously excluded sites into the plan.
- The significant suggested revisions are as follows:
- Remove the small Platt Lane housing site from the allocation because of the many consultation responses that criticised the location as being unsuitable for elderly peoples' accommodation (not on bus route, on steep hillside, remote from village facilities) and because of the visual impact that would result from development on a hillside location. The Employment Zone site to remain in the plan.
- Remove land to the south of Debdale Lane from the allocation because it was identified as employment land in the draft and so has not had consultation in terms of housing perspective, although the increased traffic along Debdale Lane was a key element against it being developed at all, and because of the many comments about the value of the land as being of important historical, scenic and heritage value.
- Limit the extent of the development of land off Nicker Hill to maintain key views from the village and to minimise the number of houses that could be built.
- Maintain the allocation north of Bunny Lane up to the ridge of the hill despite there being many responses that shared concerns for the visual impact of this location. As this land is in the closest proximity to the central village facilities (in particular the health centre), we hope that any development will include accommodation for the elderly.
- Promote the land between Station Road and Platt Lane from safeguarded to allocated as it is flat and on two key routes out of the village for commuters, well-screened, low-lying and on bus routes, and therefore suitable for an element of elderly peoples' accommodation.
- These revisions, if agreed, would reduce the land taken out of Green Belt for housing from 43 hectares to 31 hectares.
q Cllr Kemp undertook to send the minutes from meetings to the Clerk, to be posted on the Council website.
q Cllr Seller reported that, although the committee meeting scheduled for 15th November would not be a public meeting, various documents would be made available via the Council website, and the work of the committee would be advertised in the Keyworth News.
q The Council APPROVED the costs of around £315 mentioned in Cllr Seller’s report.
q Cllr Grice queried whether 150 houses per site would be considered financially viable by developers.
The meeting was adjourned to allow comments and queries from members of the public, then reconvened.
d) Neighbourhood Plan Advisory Committee – Quorum
q AGREED that the quorum for the advisory committee should be three rather than four as previously specified in the terms of reference.
17/8603 Facilities
a) Minutes dated 3.10.16
q The minutes of the meeting on 3.10.16 were NOTED and the decisions therein APPROVED.
q Cllr Grice pointed out that there would be no increase in hire fees or burial ground fees in 2017/18 (17/0182c and 17/0185b).
b) Skatepark Grant Application
q An application for a Big Lottery Fund grant of £9522 to finance low-level solar lighting, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, was APPROVED.
q A letter from Rushcliffe Borough Council confirming no need for planning permission for the proposed lighting, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, was NOTED.
c) Facilities Committee – Revised Terms of Reference
q Amendments to the terms of reference for the committee, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were APPROVED – see Appendix 1.
q Cllr Grice pointed out that the effect of these amendments was that the Rectory field, including the activity park, would henceforth fall within the remit of the Facilities committee rather than the Finance Risk committee.
d) Activity Park Working Party – Terms of Reference
q Terms of reference, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were APPROVED subject to a number of minor amendments – see Appendix 2.
q After due discussion it was AGREED that Cllr Armour would act as leader of the working party.
e) Facilities Manager
q Cllr Grice reported that Steve Mottishaw had started work as Facilities Manager, and that all facilities maintenance issues should therefore now be addressed to him.
17/8604 Finance
a) Schedule of Payments/Reimbursements
q A schedule of payments and reimbursements, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, was APPROVED - see Appendix 3.
b) Minutes dated 24.10.16
q The minutes of the meeting on 24.10.16 were NOTED and the decisions therein APPROVED.
q Cllr Grice drew attention to the decision in respect of the proposed Memorial Garden at the Burial Ground (17/7621).
c) Finance & Risk Committee – Revised Terms of Reference
q Amendments (corresponding to the amendments in 17/8603c above), included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were APPROVED – see Appendix 1.
17/8605 Council Vacancy
q After due consideration, it was AGREED that Cllr Grice should contact a candidate previously interviewed in order to establish whether he was still interested in being co-opted as a Parish Councillor. It was further AGREED that, should the candidate no longer wish to pursue this, the position should be advertised.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting
at approximately 8.10pm.
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