Minutes of the Meeting of Quorn Parish Council held on Tuesday 4 th March 2014 at 7:00pm in the Council Chamber at Quorn Village Hall

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1 PRESENT Minutes of the Meeting of Quorn Parish Council held on Tuesday 4 th March 2014 at 7:00pm in the Council Chamber at Quorn Village Hall Cllr Gary Hughes - Chair Cllr Darren Gilbert Cllr Moore Cllr Peter Lenthall Cllr Jim Orr Cllr Tim Tyler Cllr David Rennie Cllr Elizabeth Harrison Cllr Phil Child Cllr David Cawdell Christina Gibbs - Clerk In attendance for part of the meeting were Borough Councillors Richard Shepherd and David Slater. 14/031 Public Participation The Chair welcomed members of the public to the meeting and invited those who wished to speak to make themselves known. Joan Bloodworth spoke on behalf of The Quorndon. She pointed out that The Quorndon was not a Parish Council publication and that any requests to deliver leaflets with the magazine needed to be agreed with its editor. Martin Hagger introduced himself as a resident of Meeting Street. He was concerned about a recent planning application by Lafarge to move its primary crusher closer to the village. He felt that the application had not been widely advertised throughout the village. He complained about the amount of dust that already existed as a result of quarry operations and feared the change would exacerbate the situation. He called for a public meeting to be arranged and that the whole of the village be made aware of it. Joan Davies of 123 Leicester Road complained that the Lafarge Liaison Committee had no representation from residents. She feared that the proposed changes at the quarry would lead to more noise, dust and vibrations. She felt that the primary crusher and surge pile should be moved further away from the village and that funds should be created to deal with noise and dust problems. She called for a new conveyor system and for the quarry to consider nearby residents before profit. She closed by saying that the noise in her garden was uncomfortable and that the new proposals would make it intolerable. Adrian Russell from Buddon Lane was the next to speak. He said that the consultation on the application had been a public relations disaster with the County Council not notifying those most affected by the proposals. He felt that it has had broken the trust of the community. He called for an open public meeting. His view as that the application was only about boosting profit for Lafarge as the County Council already had an oversupply of aggregates. He pointed out that Buddon Wood is designated as a site of special scientific interest and that the restoration of the quarry was a requirement of an earlier planning permission which the new application would require to be deferred. He closed by saying that residents could not rely on the planning authority to look after the village interests. He called for the Parish Council to take on the concerns that parishioners had raised and put in a robust objection to the proposals. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 1

2 Roger Walton introduced himself as the Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator for Beardsley Road and Gamble Road. He wanted to draw member s attention to the problem of cars speeding from the top of Woodhouse Road to the bottom of Farley Way. He pointed out that there has already been one fatality on Farley Way and that there had also been a serious accident last year when a wall was knocked down by a motorist in a stolen car. He feared that plans to build more houses in the area would make the situation worse. He stressed that speed reductions or traffic calming should be considered. He went on to say that poor maintenance of the Springfield Lake in the area was a health and safety issue which needs to be brought to the attention of the Borough Council. He said that missing railings around the lake could lead to someone falling in with little hope of getting out. The Chair agreed to pass the matter on to the Environment Committee and said that the Council is already looking at speed reducing measures for the whole of the village. Clerk Jane Cartwright-Sykes of Leicester Road was the next to speak and said that Lafarge were asked to put its operational hours on their leaflet about the proposals as the quarry is working outside of its agreed hours. She added that the quarry had told her that their leaflet was going to be distributed by the Parish Council. She feared that a lot of elderly residents in the village had not had the opportunity to comment as they do not understand and asked that the application go in the village magazine. Another lady said that she had been told by the County Council there is no limit on the time to receive objections and that the quarry is not going to hold a public meeting. Roger Walton brought up the matter of dog fouling by the Springfield lakeside. He understood that the Council is to employ a dog warden but that it would be for only one day a week. He urged that the problem of dog fouling be taken more seriously. The Chairman thanked members of the public for attending the meeting and proposed that planning be brought forward on the agenda to allow discussion to continue. RESOLVED: That Planning be brought forward on the agenda. 14/032 Apologies Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Brown, County Councillor Tony Kershaw. Borough Councillor Richard Shepherd had sent word that he expected to be late attending. 14/033 Declarations of Interest The Chair reminded members of their obligation to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in the items on the agenda. Cllr Child declared a personal interest in 10.2 and said that he would remain in the meeting but not vote. 14/034 Minutes of the last meeting - 4 th February 2014 The minutes were agreed as a true account of the meeting. 14/035 Clerk s Report There were no matters arising. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 2

3 14/036 Planning 14/036a Applications and Decisions discussed at meeting 13/037 Policing Matters 2014/CM/0011/LCC - EXTENSION OF THE MINERAL EXTRACTION AREA, RELOCATION OF THE PRIMARY CRUSHER AND SURGE PILE, RELOCATION OF QUARRY OFFICE, WORKSHOPS, LORRY AND CAR PARKS, CONSTRUCTION OF OVERBURDEN LANDFORMS AND PROPOSED RESTORATION AND AFTERCARE. MOUNTSORREL QUARRY, LOUGHBOROUGH ROAD, MOUNTSORREL, LEICESTERSHIRE, LE12 7AT Cllr Orr responded to the public s complaint about the lack of consultation by the Parish Council and explained that its role was one of a statutory consultee on the application. However he agreed that the County Council s consultation via their website was not as accessible as the Borough Councils planning portal. He added that the Neighbourhood Watch will not distribute anything political so it had not been possible to include anything about the application in the monthly Parish News The Quorndon had felt it too much of a Hot Potato and Spotted Quorn (whoever they might be) simply ignore the Plans Scrutiny Group s submissions. He went on to point out that public consultation about the proposals had been going on for up to two years and that the Council had been aware of the proposals for some time. He said that the dust problem had already been raised with the County Council. Cllr Cawdell agreed and said that the application had brought the matter to the fore. He said the Parish Council would do its best to support a public meeting and that it could offer a venue for the meeting but that it was residents that needed to call for the meeting to take place. Cllr Child agreed that the Village Hall should be made available for the meeting but that all the parties needed to be there and the outcome of that meeting be recorded accurately and sent to Leicestershire County Council. Cllr Child stressed to the action group that whoever chaired a public meeting must be seen to be open and above all the arguments or the meeting would fall into chaos. Cllr Cawdell offered the facility of clerking any meeting. P/14/0242/2 - Site for residential development (1.61ha) and creation of access. Land off Lodge End, Loughborough Road, Woodthorpe, Loughborough, Leicestershire Cllr Child said that he wished to raise a matter with BCllr Slater under Borough Council Matters later on the agenda. CPSO Kendall was in attendance and presented the crime report for the village. Members noted the content of the report. 14/038 Committee Reports Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 3

4 14/039 Reports 14/038a Village Hall Committee - 13 th January /038b Finance Committee - 11 th February 2014 Approval of the Annual Governance review and report. The Chair proposed that the Annual Governance review and report be approved. RESOLVED: That the review and report be approved. Approval of the revised Risk Assessment and Asset Register. The Chair proposed that the revised Risk Assessment and Asset Register be approved. RESOLVED: That the revised documents be approved. 14/039a Tom Long s Meadow Ecology Group - Report on boundary issues Cllr Child said that he was not present at the last meeting but he understood that a decision was made for a sub-committee of the Environment Committee to be formed and that present members of the Ecology Group be invited to form that committee. This was confirmed. He asked for the role of the Sub-committee to be agreed and proposed that the group manage and maintain the adopted management plan and see it seamlessly transferred to the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. RESOLVED: The motion was carried. Cllr Child went on to refer members to Appendix 4 of the agenda which was a draft letter to be sent to those properties neighbouring Tom Long s Meadow Ecology Area. He proposed that the letter to be sent. RESOLVED: The motion was carried with one abstention. 14/039b Tom Long s Meadow Allotment Sub-committee recommendations - Cllr Child proposed that this matter to be dealt with at the end of the meeting to allow the suspension of standing orders with minimum disruption to the members of public present. RESOLVED: The motion was carried. 14/040 Quorn Old School 14/040a Partnership meeting - 25 th February The Chair said that there had been a very successful meeting with the Old School Trustees and that important issues were discussed. He felt that there were a few areas of caution such as VAT and its implication for the future use of the facility and the Trust s charity status in relation to grants. He referred members to the latest copy of Schoolines and said that progress on the project has been enormous and that an expression of interest had been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and had been acknowledged. He said that the deadline had passed when the Trust was obliged to sign a lease but that the project was finding its own natural course. He expected the Trust to have a clearer picture of what grant funds were available by April. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 4

5 The Chair reported that the car park proposals were on hold until the Council received a valuation of the land from the District Valuer. Estimates had been sought from various contractors for the construction work. Cllr Gilbert urged that careful consideration be given to creating further car parking in the centre in the village as it would encourage more cars. Cllr Cawdell advised that it was the intention to provide car parking for the newly refurbished park but that it had not come about. Cllr Gilbert said that there had been a car park survey done on the Station Road car park and that those results had not been thoroughly looked at. Cllr Cawdell pointed out that there was about to be a stretch of short-stay parking on the Station Road car park as a result of the survey. The Chair added that the feasibility study for the Old School facility had identified that potential users need car parking close by and that the Council is progressing the additional car parking on that basis. Cllr Orr said that any proposals for the additional parking should not jeopardise the sale of the Old School site for residential use. Cllr Cawdell pointed out that the car park proposals would not go forward until the plans for the Old School were clear. The Chair pointed out that the car park proposals were in step with Old School project and that the car park would not be created in isolation. Cllr Moore endorsed the point that had been made about jeopardising the viability of the site through the creation of additional parking. The Chair reiterated that it had been clearly demonstrated by the feasibility study that the additional car parking was essential. 14/040b Valuation report - The Chair said that the report was disappointing but was indicative of the financial climate. He said that the village was in favour of restoring the building and the work of the Trust was exceptional in that there was now a business plan in place and it was working toward gaining grants. Cllr Gilbert asked what was going to happen between now and April. The Chair said that the outcome of the Lafarge bid should be known, the Heritage Lottery Fund situation should be clearer and the cost of providing the additional car parking will be known. Cllr Cawdell asked when the decision was going to be made about the membership of the Focus Group to take the project forward. The Chair suggested that a decision be made in April about who should sit on the newly formed Focus Group. Cllr Child clarified that if the HLF say that the project is eligible for funding there will need to be a dedicated team to put together the bid of no more than six people. Cllr Gilbert said that the outcome of the project will be influenced by the VAT position. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 5

6 14/041 Finances Cllr Cawdell said that that matter could be clarified by the Focus Group. Cllr Gilbert asked what would happen if the HLF came back with a no. The Chair said that members would have to consider that if it happened. Cllr Rennie said that he thought that part of the problem is that things keep getting pushed back and that a firm decision needs to be taken. Cllr Moore asked if the merits of providing a new building on the site will be discussed. It was agreed that the Focus Group would look at all options. 14/041a Changes in banking arrangements - recommendations of the Chair of Finance and RFO. Cllr Gilbert proposed the move of all funds to the new bankers subject to the security limit being over 200k and leave a balance of 80k with the Council s present bankers if not. RESOLVED: That motion was carried unanimously. 14/041b Payment List - Members reviewed the items on the list. There were no matters arising. RESOLVED: That the payment list be approved. 14/041c Bank Reconciliation/Statement - Members reviewed the two documents. RESOLVED: That the bank reconciliation and statement be approved. 14/041d Statement of Account - noted. 14/041e S137 Applications St Bartholomew s Church Cllr Cawdell proposed that 50% of the sum be granted. RESOLVED: The motion was carried with one abstention. Pentanque Club Members discussed whether a donation should not be made to a facility that would benefit the Quorndon Fox. Cllr Rennie felt that the problem was just because the game is played at a pub and that if it were a bowls club the problem would not apply. Cllr Cawdell proposed that a contribution of 300 is granted to the Petanque Club. RESOLVED: The motion was defeated. 14/042 County Council Matters 14/042a Pedestrian Crossing on Leicester Road - The Clerk reported that she had received a response from the County Council to say that an assessment on Leicester Road was done in The results indicated that a Pelican or Zebra crossing facility could not be justified. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 6

7 14/042b Chestnut Tree Avenue - old entrance to Quorn Hall - Tree Officer s Report. Members noted the content of the report. 14/042c Cllr Child said that he had received an offer to have speed monitoring done in the village. Cllr Cawdell proposed that the offer be accepted and that he be informed of relevant areas. The Clerk noted Woodhouse Road, Farley Way, Wood Lane, Chaveney Road, Meeting Street, Leicester Road, Station Road and School Lane to begin with. 14/043 Borough Council Matters 14/043a Village Grounds Maintenance Contract - purchase of village mower The Clerk reported that a decision had been taken at the last meeting of the Environment Committee to delay the purchase of a village mower for a further 12 months. In light of that decision the Council would not be looking to undertake any of the mowing done by the Borough Council at this time. 14/043b One Ash Allotments - Cllr Cawdell said that the conditions under which the allotments were accepted as an alternative provision to Loughborough Road facility were not encompassed in the planning conditions and that they cannot be enforced. BCllr Slater said that a differential needs to be made between conditions on the planning consent and those promised by the developer. Conditions can only be proportionate to the planning application and can only be within planning law. He added that the planning authority can only levy conditions against certain criteria. The grant of planning was given on all the conditions that were given and the enforcement officer is satisfied that those conditions have been complied with. On top of that is a S106 agreement requiring the developer to comply with certain things. In this case the developer had to hand over the lease to an allotment society which has been done. Cllr Child raised the matter of Springfield Lake that had been brought to the meeting earlier in the evening. BCllr Slater confirmed that there had been a working party there recently but that if it needed further attention he would arrange that. The Clerk agreed to let BCllr Slater have the address of the complainant. BCllr Slater Clerk 14/043c Separation Policies - Cllr Child referred to a planning application P/14/0242/2 - Site for residential development (1.61ha) and creation of access. Land off Lodge End, Loughborough Road, Woodthorpe, Loughborough, Leicestershire. He pointed out that the area of land is 100% in Quorn and said that he was appalled to see the application on the planning portal. He said that BCllr Slater had on more than one occasion said that there is some form of community separation at that the Borough Council that will prevent Quorn being subsumed into Loughborough. He said that there had already been two applications south of Loughborough that are narrowing the gap between Quorn of Loughborough and that this application is also narrowing the gap. He questioned how the Borough Council can say it has a separation policy. Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 7

8 BCllr Slater responded to say that the current planning policy contains a saved policy from the previous plan and it is also written in the corporate plan to guard against coalescence. He said that Lodge End is not designated as local separation and that it was green wedge that is covered under polity CT/3 and that ward members would be opposing the application on that basis. He said that the best advice is for the Parish Council to object to the development on the basis of policy CT/3 and say that it does not relate to the village. Cllr Gilbert asked if the land of segregation is already in place. BCllr Slater confirmed that there are areas of separation around each settlement and that the judgement of what is separation is an officer judgement. 14/043d Wood Lane Appeal - Cllr Orr raised the matter of the Public Inquiry. BCllr Slater said that the Borough Council s officer had every confidence that the Planning Inspector would dismiss the appeal. Cllr Child proposed that standing orders be suspended to allow the findings of the Allotment Working Group to be discussed as agreed earlier in the meeting. Cllr Cawdell seconded the motion. RESOLVED: The standing orders be suspended. Members of the public objected to the suspension and refused to leave the room. Cllr Child suggested that, under those circumstances, discussion on the matter be suspended. Cllr Child proposed that standing orders be reinstated. RESOLVED: The motion was carried unanimously. 14/044 Any other business WW1 - Events in the village - The Chair confirmed that a meeting had been arranged with the British Legion, Church and Sue Templeman for later in the month to co-ordinate events in the village. 14/045 Date of next meeting Tuesday, 1 st April 2014 Meeting closed at 22.13pm Quorn Parish Council Minutes Tuesday, 4 th March 2014 Page 8