The Chair welcomed members of the public and invited them to address the meeting.

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Meeting of Quorn Parish Council held on Tuesday 5 th November 2013 at 7:00pm in the Council Chamber at Quorn Village Hall PRESENT Cllr Gary Hughes - Chair Cllr Tim Tyler Cllr Darren Gilbert Cllr Phil Child Cllr Ken Brown Cllr David Rennie Cllr Elizabeth Harrison Cllr Peter Lenthall Cllr Jim Orr Cllr Michael Moore Christina Gibbs - 13/159 Public Participation The Chair welcomed members of the public and invited them to address the meeting. Graham Stocks was the first to speak. He tabled a paper for members consideration and went on to read out the first paragraph which called for the Parish Council to investigate the methodology that had been used to assess the cost of repairing the community swimming pool at Rawlins. The Chair accepted the information on behalf of council and said that the matter would be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Celia Moore asked if there were any proposals for Tom Longs Meadow. The Chairman explained that the matter was to be discussed later on the agenda. Pam Darby pointed out that the path that runs across Tom Long s Meadow had become dark and overgrown and that there was a lot of litter in the area. The Chairman explained that tree works were about to begin in the area and the noted the comment about litter. She went on to say that there was a lack of litter bins on the walkway through the meadow. The chairman said that the matter would be passed to the Environment Committee. Roger Barber spoke to say that he represented some of the residents in Poulteney Drive and Warwick Avenue who were against proposals to create allotments on an area of Tom Long s Meadow. He called for comments that he had made on the recent Allotments Report to be raised later on in the agenda. The Chairman reassured Mr Barber that there was time to consider everyone s views and that the Council would consider the group s objections. Mr Hopkins of Willowcroft expressed his concerns about residents drives being blocked by parents dropping off or picking up children from St Bart s school. He said that the situation stopped residents parking in their drives which further exacerbated the problem to the point that small delivery vehicles were unable to access the school. He pointed out the added problem of an emergency vehicle being unable to get through and said that he felt this to be dangerous. The Chair said that the matter would be reported to the County Council Highways Department by the. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 1

2 Pam Darby spoke again to ask if it was too late to argue against the decision to grant permission for the new Co-op store on Loughborough Road. The Chair said that the item was to be discussed later on the agenda. Alan Southam called for an update on the long overdue marking out of the bus bay on Leicester Road. He pointed out that the bus stop marking did not need to go out to public consultation and asked why there was such a delay. The Chair said that the matter would be raised with the County Council member later on in the meeting. Terry Stirling spoke to say that the Old School Project was progressing very fast and that he wished to update members on progress since his last report. He advised that the Old School Trust had met with its consultant architects who will provide estimates for the refurbishment of the building by the end of November. Those figures will allow the completion of the latest business plan and enable the trust to apply for grant funding. The Trust had also commissioned a consultant to prepare a presentation in support of the Parish Council s recommendation for the S106 funding from the Fenny Copse Farm development to be reallocated to the Old School. He called for Council to decide who should make the presentation. He closed by saying that Lafarge had recommended that the project submit a bid in excess of their 50k limit and that other potential funders had been identified. He said that he intended to make a presentation to Council at the next meeting setting out plans to start the refurbishment programme The Chair thanked the speaker and said that further discussion on the issues raised would come up later in the meeting. 13/160 Apologies Apologies were received and accepted from PCSO Chris Kendall and Cllr Cawdell. 13/161 Declarations of Interest The Chair reminded members of their obligation to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in the items on the agenda. 13/161a Applications for dispensations - there were no applications. Cllr Child said that he would decide whether to declare a personal interest as discussions on the Co-op decision progressed. 13/162 Minutes of the last meeting - 1 st October /151b Cllr Orr questioned whether the 106k recorded was interest and maintenance. Cllr Child clarified that the figure was for interest only. 13/154c Members corrected the minute to read /155a Cllr Orr called for the results of the poll carried out by the Borough Council on the short-stay parking scheme to be reported back to Council. With the above corrections made, the minutes were signed as a true account of the meeting. 13/163 s Report Noted. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 2

3 The Chairman proposed that item 9 on the agenda be discussed at this point to allow members of the public to hear the debate on points they had raised on the Co-op decision. 13/164 Planning Cllr Orr tabled an audit report of applications and explained that, as there was little to report on the applications that had been received in October, he would like to explain how the Planning Scrutiny Group functioned. He said the purpose of the audit report was to enable members of the group to electronically navigate the Borough Council s planning portal. He said that, after the group s initial view of applications, the is instructed to ask for an extension to the consultation period for anything contentious. This allows the matter to be reported to Council and comments agreed. He urged members outside of the Scrutiny Group to send any comments they have on planning applications direct to the. 13/164a Statement of Community Involvement - Cllr Orr agreed to look at the consultation document from the Borough Council. 13/164b Applications discussed at Council P/13/0771/2-23 Loughborough Road, Quorn, Leicestershire, LE12 8DU - The Scrutiny Group felt that the Highways Authority was not privy to the objections on the portal and questioned why highway plans were not available for scrutiny during the consultation period. Cllr Orr said that the Parish Council was unlikely to be able to overturn the Borough Council s decision to approve the application as its case was based on highway concerns which had been approved by the County Council. He also said that the Co-op could operate a store from the building without a planning permission which, although somewhat smaller, would still present the same level of hazard. The Chair reported that there had been two letters of objection from parishioners about the decision which echoed the concerns of the Parish Council and questioned whether the highways authority had inspected the site at the critical time. He called for members to consider what further action should be taken. Cllr Moore suggested writing to the local MP. Cllr Child asked what members wanted to achieve? He pointed out that a judicial review would be very expensive and that there was no guarantee that the decision would be overturned. Cllr Orr reiterated that the store could still operate without a planning permission. Cllr Gilbert pointed out that it was the deliveries and traffic issues that the Council was objecting to. The Chair called for the views of BCllr Slater. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 3

4 BCllr Slater said that the option to call in the application was out of date and that a judicial review would be very expensive. He thought that the MP would say that she has no powers over planning and that a complaint to the Borough Council might be better received if it came from the Parish Council itself. He explained that the highway authority, as a statutory consultee, receives raw data to comment on and that the planning authority relies on those comments as from professional officers doing their duty. He said that, if the Parish Council believes that they have not made a correct decision, the highways authority should be asked to explain its decision. He went on to say that the number of objections received bears no weight to the planning officer s decision and that if only one objection was received, the planning officer would still deal with the application in the same way. Cllr Orr proposed that a letter be prepared for the highways authority pointing out the objections and asking how it can justify the position taken. Cllr Rennie seconded the proposal. RESOLVED: That a letter be sent to the highways authority asking for the background to their comments. 13/165 Policing Matters PCSO Chris Kendall had sent in the Crime Report for October. 13/166 Committee Reports 13/167 Reports 13/166a Park Management Committee - 3 rd October The Chair reported that the committee had objected to proposals to site the village defibrillator on the Park Services Building and had suggested that the telephone box in the location be used instead. Cllr Gilbert asked what the committee s objection was and it was advised that it was felt that the unit would spoil the look of the building and that, as it was a recognised practice to house defibrillators in telephone boxes, that should be considered as an alternative. 13/166b Village Hall Committee - 14 th October no matters arising. 13/166c Environment Committee - 22 nd October no matters arising. 13/166d HR Committee - 24 th October no matters arising. 13/167a Provision of Automated External Defibrillator (AED) The had investigate the option of using the telephone box on Station Road through the Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT). It had advised that it was normal practice and had cleared the installation with BT. The Chair explained that, once the unit was in place, training would be organised for parishioners. The reported that there had been no news from the Borough Council about whether funding had been granted for the cabinet to hold the AED. RESOLVED: That an updated report be given at the December meeting of Council. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 4

5 13/167b Tom Long s Meadow - Allotment Working Group Report The Chair pointed out that objections had been received from the public. The comments were tabled for members consideration. It was agreed that the objections raised earlier in the meeting be noted and that a working group be formed to take them into account along with any other objections raised. Cllr Child said that the objections raised were not insurmountable and that he felt that a positive outcome could be achieved. He said that the Council had bought the land to provide allotments for the village and if it did not go ahead with the plans then the land would have to be sold on. Cllr Brown proposed that the objections be presented to the working group and that they establish a plan to move the project forward. RESOLVED: That the matter be passed to the new working group. 13/168 Quorn Old School Soil Analysis Report - noted. Ecology Officer s comments re Badgers - noted. The Chair said that he was pleased to hear about progress on the project. 13/168a Monthly Progress Report The Old School Trust had circulated the latest Schoolines. Cllr Child brought up the matter of the S106 allocation and the presentation that the Trust was preparing for the Borough Council. He proposed that, as the Old School Trust had prepared the presentation, members should agree to them meeting with the Borough Council on the Parish Council s behalf. RESOLVED: That the Old School Trust present the case for the reallocation of the Fenny Copse S106 contribution to the Old School project. Cllr Brown asked whether there was a date for the lease of the building to be signed. Cllr Gilbert said that the Old School Trust is still to complete a business plan and questioned why it would be thinking of signing a lease without that in place. 13/168b Questions and Answers Cllr Child said that a number of new members had raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the Old School project following his presentation last month. He proposed that a question and answer session be arranged outside of the Council meeting. Cllr Orr asked does any past poll or Council s action irrevocably prevent this Council from taking lawful steps to dissolve this adventure. Cllr Child said that the answer was no. RESOLVED: That a special meeting of Council be arranged to discuss the Old School Project. Cllr Child Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 5

6 13/169 Finances 13/168c Car Parking Provision The Chair confirmed that discussions were on-going about parking provision for the Old School. 13/169a 2014/15 Precept Policy - Cllr Brown said that the Council had several projects on the go and there was an increase in staff costs due to work place pension provision, tree works relating to the acquisition of Tom Long s Meadow and the new Christmas lights scheme. Cllr Brown proposed a precept increase of 5%. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Lenthall. RESOLVED: That an increase of 5% be applied. 13/169b Payments List - members reviewed the list. RESOLVED: That the payment list be approved. 13/169c Bank Reconciliation - noted. RESOLVED: That the bank reconciliation be approved. 13/69d Statement of Account - noted. 13/170 County Council Matters CCllr Kershaw gave the following update: 13/170a Chaveney/Woodhouse/Leicester Road - Speed Monitoring The Chair reported that there had been further contact from the Chaveney Road petition group to say that the recent measures had not significantly improved the situation. RESOLVED: That the request that the Police be asked to monitor specific roads in the village that have a history of speeding traffic. 13/170b Leicester Road bus bay road markings - CCllr Kershaw said that he had it in writing that the matter will be dealt within the month of November. He pointed out that Traffic Regulation Orders do take around 12 months to complete. CCllr Kershaw promised to forward the confirming the works are to done to the for passing to Alan Southam. Cllr Child pointed out that it was unlikely that any lining will be done during the cold weather and that works may not be done until the Spring. CCllr Kershaw 13/170c The Slabs footpath - i) Quality of bridge woodwork - CCllr Kershaw said that work was planned to improve the appearance of the woodwork by sanding and staining. ii) Outstanding ground reinstatement works - CCllr Kershaw pointed out that the work is planned to be done in Spring of /170d Tactile paving on the bowling green side of the crossing by Rawlins were reported as dangerous - no news. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 6

7 13/170f Pedestrian Crossing - Leicester Road by the Quorn Country Hotel - the reported an enquiry she had received at the Parish Office about the possibility of having another pedestrian crossing on Leicester Road by the Country Hotel. Some of the older parishioners were having difficulty crossing the road because of the speed and volume of traffic. CCllr Kershaw agreed to enquire. CCllr Kershaw 13/170g Willowcroft - St Barts School - Cllr Child brought up the matter raised by Mr Hopkins earlier in the meeting regarding inconsiderate parking by parents which would stop an emergency vehicle accessing the school. He said that the enforcement of parking restriction was to blame for problem and that the school should make a complaint to the County Council to encourage the enforcement team. The agreed to contact St Barts and the County Council about the matter. 13/170h Puddles in Sarson Street and the table outside Rawlins. Cllr Child asked for the engineering of the tables to be looked at. CCllr Kershaw 13/171 Borough Council Matters 13/171a Short stay parking - Station Road Car Park BCllr Slater confirmed that the item is being working on but that there is no further news to report. Cllr Orr asked for the results of the poll to be made available. BCllr Slater 13/171b Lack of response from Conservation Team re Co-op Application Cllr Child said that he had now received a response but that he hadn t received a full answer. BCllr Slater agreed to revisit the matter. BCllr Slater 13/171c Disabled parking Enforcement - BCllr Slater confirmed that he had spoken to the wardens and asked them to pay particular attention to wrongful parking in disabled bays. 13/171d One Ash Allotments - completion date. BCllr Slater said that the allotment company were required to prepare the ground and offer it for use and questioned whether it was felt that a S106 legal requirements has not been complied with. He confirmed that the requirement was to provide the land and actively market the availability of the allotments. Cllr Child confirmed that a private allotment society has been set up but that the advertising of the availability of plots has not been evident. RESOLVED: That the matter be passed to the Environment Committee. BCllr Slater asked that any matters relating to the matter of the Rawlins swimming pool refurbishment figures be addressed to Julie Robinson and Elizabeth Walling at Rawlins. BCllr Shepherd said that the Borough Council would be submitting its core strategy in early December. The fact that the Council has agreed to submit the strategy will allow it more weight. It was expected that the strategy should be formally adopted by the end of Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 7

8 13/172 Correspondence Cllr Orr questioned why the 5 years housing land supply wasn t mentioned at the last Plans Committee. He wondered whether there had been any significant change in the numbers. BCllr Slater said that, by the end of the year, the Borough Council is likely to receive its 5 year supply of development land. He added that, if the Council wants to put a plan together to accept more houses of a certain type, then that can be done through a neighbourhood plan. 13/172a British Legion invitation - The Chair called for an increase in numbers representing the Council at the remembrance service at the Memorial Garden. The suggested that a taxi be paid for by the Parish Council to pick up Geoffrey Gibson and return him home again. RESOLVED: That the contact Mr Gibson and make the offer. Cllr Child raised the matter of the village poppy appeal administrator who was looking for someone to take over the duties. He called for the Parish Council to help. Cllr Lenthall suggested that Rawlins Students get involved. The agreed to raise the matter at the next liaison meeting. 13/172b Eyes of Thailand - Members asked the to seek more details about the film. RESOLVED: That the seek more details. 13/173 Any other business 13/173a - Code of practice - noted. 13/173b Councillors/Staff/Volunteers - Christmas party. It was agreed that the date be 17 th December 2013 at 7:00pm. 13/173c Committee Room Table - Cllr Child raised the matter of the unsuitability of the committee room table. It was agreed to raise the matter at the Village Hall Committee. 13/173d Cllr Moore had brought the matter of the resin bonding on the Banks and suggested that the area be replaced with paviers. The matter was referred to the Environment Committee. 13/174 Date of next meeting Tuesday, 3 rd December :00pm, Committee Room, Village Hall Meeting closed at 9:42pm Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday 5 th November 2013 Page 8