| Parish Council News |
|
Parish Council
News from the Parish Council January 2012
News from the Parish Council
The following planning applications have been approved
Mr C Woodard, Installation of photovoltaic panels on land to the East of Ley Cottage Stone Allerton 15/11/00008
Mr E Warrender, Installation 6 roof lights in stables on land at Moor View Farm Ashton Drove Ashton 15/11/00011
Mr N Rosati Crown reduce by up to max of 30% 4 Beech Trees and 1 Ash Tree in a Conservation Area at Pelam House, Stone Allerton 15/11/00012
“Tesco Bus Service” Coombs Travel 491
In the latest revue of subsidised transport by Somerset County Council this route has been removed. You’re Parish Council has sent the following letter to John Perrett, Transporting Somerset, PPc 302, County Hall, Taunton TA1 4DY asking for it to be reinstated with a copy to Councillor John Denbee and Tessa Munt MP.
Chapel Allerton Bus Service: Coombs Travel 491
Dear John
We are very concerned to see that in the list of proposed Bus Route changes our “Tesco Bus” route 491 has been removed.
This bus service is a valuable lifeline for the older members of Allerton who either have no transport of their own or prefer to use public transport, in a Parish where we have no Post Office, no Shop or any other amenity.
This service has been much appreciated by the villagers providing them with the independence to shop in Weston Super Mere, taking this away will leave them with no other alternatives than Friends, Relatives or expensive Taxi’s
Chapel Allerton Parish Council asks that you reinstate this valuable service.
We would hope that parishioners of the Allertons will also write to support this service.
Patrick Smith During the last meeting of the Parish Council, members and Parishioners present were sad to acknowledge the illness of the previous Chairman; Patrick Smith. Their thoughts are with him and his wife Enid.
Next Meeting The next Parish Council Meeting will be at 7.30pm on Monday 12th March in the Old Schoolroom.
Gerald Prince Clerk to the Parish Council
Minutes of Parish Council meeting 12 december 2011
CHAPEL ALLERTON PARISH COUNCILMinutes of the Parish Council meeting held at the Old Schoolroom Stone Allerton on Monday 12th December 2011 at 7.30 pm
Present: Councillors Pomeroy, Blake, Morse, Ryder and Torrens-Spence. Robin Skidmore and Dennis Malpass
Clerk: Gerald Prince
1. Apologies for absence – None
2. Declarations of any new relevant interests. None
3. Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 7th November 2011 which had been previously circulated were approved and signed.
4. Matters arising. a) 7. Cllr Torrens-Spence asked if the minutes could be amended. It was agreed that we would add the amendments to the previous minutes by hand. Action GRP (done) b) 9.i Discussed possibility of a Mirror at the top of Rawlings Lane with Highways. They confirmed that Mirrors are an illegal structure and would not agree to have one at the top of Rawlings Lane. It was noted that in the LHS hedge on the corner is a metal fence which is overgrown and if this was exposed the site line would be improved. It was agreed we would write to the owner asking is this can be done. Action GRP 5. Somerset Waste Core Strategy Consultation Cllrs were happy with the conclusions of the report, but felt we needed to keep an eye on the treatment and disposal of radioactive waste as in the case of Hinkley C it was felt it should not be transported off-site.
6. Report back from SALK meeting The Localism Bill was discussed. It is not clear how this will affect the working of the Parish Council in the future and there will be a number of Training Courses for Cllrs to attend in 2012. There was some debate on how we consult with the Parishioners on these matters, particularly those who do not have access to the internet and are not able to visit noticeboards or the Parish Information Point in the Old Schoolroom entrance. It was agreed we will publish Cllrs Telephone numbers to try and encourage more contact. Action GRP
7. Gritting Cllr Pomeroy and the Clerk had met with Andrew Turner Highway Services Manager and Liam Gill Asst Highway Services Manager to discuss gritting and Highways issues
a) They confirmed that the outstanding 1 tonne bags of grit would be delivered; they would not agree to supply a bag for the Wheatsheaf car park to be used on the top road. However we can collect 10 small bags from the Dunball site. b) Although they would encourage the Parish to set up a “Snowperson” project they will not provide any monetary help or training, however they would provide the grit. It was agreed the Parish will purchase 2 grit/salt spreaders, one to be kept at Sleepy Hollow and the other at Hollow Trees. We will ask Highways to deliver a 1 tonne bag of grit to Sleepy Hollow and smaller plastic bags to Hollow Trees. The Parish should check its insurance re these volunteers Action GRP
c) We complained about the lack of gritting or snow clearing on the top road (a main school route) Highways will not make any changes to their programme and will only grit from Wedmore, up Lascott Hill to the Golf Course. They did provide details of the nearest farmer contracted by Highways to clear snow in the area; (located at West Harptree) this would have to be arranged through them and paid for by the Parish.
d) We asked for a more permanent solution to the potholes on Rectory Hill corner, they agreed to look at this.
8. Planning Matters a) Mr E Warrender, installation of 6 roof lights to Coach House element of Stable Block, on land at Moor View Farm, Ashton Drove, Ashton. The Council agreed they had no objections and a site visit was not required. Action GRP (done) b) Mr Rosati, Crown reduce by upto a maximum of 30% 4 Beech Trees and I Ash Tree at Pelam House Stone Allerton. The Council agreed they had no objections and a site visit was not required. Action GRP to inform planning (done)
9. AOB a) Hinkley C connection Cllr Torrens-Spence has agreed to represent the PC at the next National Grid forum meeting and asked for comments from the PC. It was agreed we will support undergrounding across the levels.
b) Hinkley C The Clerk handed out a CD of the planning application for the new Power Station to Cllr Ryder who will pass it on to other Cllrs Action All
c) Blue Badge consultation. The PC supports the increase in price from £2 to £10.
d) Cluster meeting 15th December, Cllr Pomeroy and the Clerk will attend.
e) Cllr Ryder asked about the building at Old Oak Farm. The clerk confirmed it is a garage block with an office above for which the permission was granted some years ago and that the old garage will have to be demolished.
f) Robin Skidmore congratulated the Council on its efforts in supporting the planning application for the Wheatsheaf
g) Mrs J Friend has written to the Council asking a number of questions about Grit Bins, Road Signs and Speed restrictions. It was agreed the Clerk will draft a response to include her comments regarding the Jubilee expenditure in the Allerton News.
h) Date of next meeting. Councillors will be summoned to the next meeting at 7.30pm on Monday 30thJanuary 2012 The meeting closed at 9.00 pm.
Future Meeting dates 5th March Annual Parish meeting 16th April AGM 21st May 9th July 20th August 1st October 12th November
Cheddar Affordable Housing Opportunity
Cheddar Housing Opportunity
Cheddar Parish Council has been working closely with Sedgemoor District Council since 2005 towards the building of much needed affordable housing. The construction work of 77 new affordable homes at Helliers Lane in Cheddar finally got underway in June 2010. These homes are being built to provide housing for local people in the village and those with a strong local connection. The project will ultimately provide 34 rented homes, ranging from two to four bedroom houses and one and two bedroom flats. A further 43 homes are being sold to local people on affordable sale basis. Local people who would be interested in knowing more about homes to rent or buy should contact Mary Chorley at Sedgemoor District Council 0845 408 2540 who can direct people towards the most appropriate person.
These are high quality homes being offered to local people. The houses are built to a high standard, and are very spacious compared to other new builds with some really good design touches and the energy efficiency measures.
The figures below provide an indicative rents and sales values at Helliers Rented Homes (34 units): 1-Bed Flat at £73pw, 2-Bed Flat at £86pw, 2-Bed House at £91pw, 3-Bed House at £101pw, 4-Bed House at £119pw
Shared Ownership Homes (22 units) - (prices based on 35% share purchase) 2-Bed House at £60,000 plus rent of £53pw, 3-Bed House at £69,000 plus rent of £61pw, 4-Bed House at £87,500 plus rent of £78pw,
Discount Market Homes (21 units) – (prices based on 80% purchase) 2-Bed Flat at £94,000, 2-Bed House at £120,000, 3-Bed House at £148,000,
Talking to Mary Chorley, people will be considered providing they live in Cheddar, or work there, or have a strong family connection to Cheddar.
G R Prince.
National Grid Announcement of Pylon Route
National Grid announces preferred route corridor for Hinkley Point CConnectionNational Grid has today announced its preferred route corridor for a new 400,000 Volt power connection between Bridgwater and Seabank near Avonmouth. The connection is needed to carry power from the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point along with other renewable energy planned for the South West. The announcement follows two years of extensive consultation with the public and other interested groups. After careful analysis of over 8000 responses we have chosen the corridor favoured by most people who expressed a preference between the options presented. For the majority of the route we will use corridor 1 option 1A. This option involves replacing the existing 132,000 Volt overhead line, owned by Western Power Distribution, between Bridgwater and Avonmouth, with the new 400,000 volt line. However, in certain places corridor 2 was favoured:
Chapel Allerton Parish Council
Chapel Allerton Parish Council
The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.
Parish Council Pilrow letter
Mr S Atkinson Group Manager Development Dept Sedgemoor District Council Bridgwater House Kings Square Bridgwater TA6 3AR 24th June 2011
Wind Turbines in Somerset
Dear Mr Atkinson
Chapel Allerton Parish Council is very concerned about the increasing number of applications for the erection of Wind Turbines in the Sedgemoor District of Somerset.
We note that the recent project newsletter from Broadview declaring their intention to build 6 Turbines on the Pilrow site each with a height to the tip of the blades of upto 140 metres. This will make them taller than Brent Knoll itself and visible throughout a wide area of Sedgemoor.
At a recent meeting for local parish councils organised by Broadview we were unconvinced by their claims of the amount of electricity that will be generated from this site as the theoretical output is much greater than that that which is generally being achieved from existing sites in the UK which is in the region of 20%.
We are very concerned about the scale and pace of development of these Wind Farms and believe they are not in keeping with the historic landscape and will bring significant environmental issues in terms of wildlife, together with the large amounts of concrete used in construction, the acknowledged problems of noise and “flicker” to local residents while failing to provide the claimed output of electricity generation.
We worry that we will be faced with armies of these turbines marching across the Levels and Moors and would welcome your response
Yours sincerely
Gerald R Prince Clerk to Chapel Allerton Parish Council
Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting 2011
Chapel Allerton Parish Council Minutes of the Annual Meeting held – 4 April 2011
8 Parishioners, 5 Councillors, Kerry Rickards CEO Sedgemoor District Council, County Councillor Alan Ham and District Councillor John Denbee were Present.
Apologies for absence: None
Any New Relevant Interests: None
Minutes of the meeting held on 8 March 2010 were read and signed as a correct record of the meeting.
Matters arising:
Roger Fielder commented he was pleased that the Aeroplane site had been cleared.
Chairman’s report:
Cllr Patrick Smith welcomed everyone to the meeting. He confirmed that the PC would continue to oppose the Pylons and stressed the large amount of correspondence and meetings that had been attended on this issue.
He congratulated SDC on their rapid response to fly tipping and there action regarding pot holes is improving. He was pleased with the actions of parishioners who had spread grit from the bags around the Parish and we hope to get more next year. Polish Lorries from Premier Products have caused problems in Stone Allerton but the company and Highways had agreed to put up signs by the factory entrance.
He thanked the Environmental Group for the Litter picking and felt the Parish would have to be more self supporting in the future
The Chairman thanked Robin Skidmore who is retiring from the council after 20 years service.
Kerry Rickards CEO Sedgemoor District Council
He explained that SDC had already planned for severe cuts, had absorbed 28% and in agreement with local councils had passed on £300,000 of costs. The budget for 2012 is known but not for 2013, further cuts could be up to 40%.
They will only provide statutory services in the future and parishes may have to pick up the rest. CCTV is likely to be looked at next and they will be discussing with Parishes what else can be passed on.
He felt it was unlikely that Parishes would make more decisions in the future, the intension of the “Localism Bill” is that we would have more influence on planning decisions, but he felt the “developer” would become king.
In answer to questions he felt that SDC was very tightly managed, they had no fancy titles. He expected the 3 tier system to remain. Parish Councils will not be legally obliged to consult with parishioners.
Cllr Ham of Somerset County Council talked about their position and the problems of £400M debt and the ever increasing number of elderly. A recruitment freeze (excluding Teachers and Social Services) had saved £2M and many staff had asked for voluntary redundancy. There had been significant savings in “back office” functions, sales of office sites and less rules and regulations. The Council tax had not been increased for 2011/12 and they had received a £22M grant for road maintenance and have applied for a grant to improve Broadband in the County.
They will rebuild the economy of the County with SDC and build a new bridge over the Brue in Taunton which will release land for development and Hinkley C will bring employment and other benefits to the region.
Cllr Denbee of SDC talked about the continued success of the recycling programme. There will be a new 20 year plan for development, he expects there will be very little development in the Allertons but mainly concentrated in Cheddar and Highbridge. SDC has very low net debt of £4.5M and a lot of assets; they have recently sold a Bridgwater site to Tesco for £2M. Affordable houses are high profile. He asked for more grit bags this winter.
Questions from Parishioners related to SCC debt, Stones on verges and who has the legal liability, possible charges for recycling at Cheddar. Cheddar recycling will shut two days per week. It was agreed we will put advice about these in the Allerton News.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.45pm.
New Councillors for 2011
Non-contested election
As only two candidates put themselves forward for election the ward was uncontested and we welcome two new Councillors, Fiona Torrens-Spence and Bryan Blake both from Stone Allerton who join Henry Pomeroy, Joy Morse and Hayley Ryder
Henry Pomeroy has been elected Chairman and Joy Morse Vice Chairman; both have agreed to serve for two years.
Parish Council; Accessing the Planning Website
A number of parishioners have asked how to access up to date information on planning applications. You can find the planning site at Sedgemoor District Council.
Click Proceed and then put Chapel Allerton in the Parish drop down box and 2011 in the Year box and click on Submit.
This will give you the entire 2011 applications scroll down to the one you are interested in and click View. By following the links you can view Planning Documents, Consultee replies, Interested Parties etc and see the Decision Documents.
National Grid Undergrounding Consultation
Chapel Allerton Parish CouncilClerk: Mr Gerald R Prince, Ye Olde School, Back Lane, Chapel Allerton,
|
Chapel Allerton is a village and civil parish, south of Cheddar in the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets of Ashton and Stone Allerton.
Neighbourhood Watch: recent communication
Motley Penguin Web Design