MEETING OF HAYDON PARISH COUNCIL AT 7PM ON 23 rd OF NOVEMBER 2017, AT HAYDON BRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTRE. Present : Cllrs. E. Charlton, E. Faulks (Chair), K. Richardson, D. Robson, A. Sharp, R. Snowdon, J. and L. Thompson, and D. Thornhill; press and public; C. McGivern (mins.). 1. Street lighting scheme discussions with NCC. It had been expected that an officer from NCC would attend the meeting, but this was not possible. Cllr Sharp had spoken to the Director of the dept. and he had promised to attend the December meeting. It was expected that the roll out of new lights would come to Haydon Bridge in February 2018. Cllr Charlton requested that someone higher up at NCC come to talk to the PC about issues such as the withdrawal of the Core Strategy, plans before the PC and the High School. Cllr Sharp agreed to arrange a separate meeting with an officer to discuss planning issues. 2. Public participation a) Members of the public reported that the problem caused by a number of cars being parked on the road near the top of North Bank was continuing. The Clerk said that this matter had been passed on to the Police. b) Members of the public had come along to seek guidance on how they could object to the planning application for the removal of 24 garages and creation of 6 homes on the estate. Cllr Sharp has requested a meeting with Karbon Homes, and will try to ensure that this application went to the Committee. Each individual who opposed the scheme needed to write to NCC to object. Karbon Homes intend to remove a grassed area in front of Langley Gardens. As this area is already used for parking in the evening, this will simply push these vehicles elsewhere on the estate. Those living in neighbouring properties expressed their concern that they would lose privacy that they have always enjoyed at the rear of their properties, would lose access needed for oil deliveries etc. It was also noted that the road down the centre of the garages is adopted by NCC. Cllr Charlton explained that during Storm Desmond drains in this area had been unable to cope with surface water, and building more houses would worsen the problem. There was also disquiet that those living in the new properties would be able to buy their homes under the rent to buy scheme. Many people living elsewhere on the estate are unable to buy the properties they live in. Cllr Robson said that while he understood the concerns he had heard other voices in the village who wanted more social housing. c) A member of the public asked why the bollard/island at the Church Street/Ratcliffe junction could not be removed. He was informed that the PC had requested this. d) Mr Juffs asked what the PC thought of the removal of the glass recycling bins. The Clerk promised to send him details of the correspondence on this matter. e) Mr Juffs asked what the PC s view on propane bird scarers was. This was the first time this issue had been raised with the PC. It was agreed that the Clerk would find out what the regulations were and pass these on to Mr Juffs.
3. Apologies - were received from Cllrs I. Burrows and V. Fletcher. 4. Declarations of interest were received from Cllrs E. Charlton and K. Richardson regarding the planning applications to be discussed. 5. Minutes of previous meeting having been circulated, these were agreed & signed. 6. Report from Northumberland County Council The Langley Brickworks application has been refused. A notice has been served at Willow Gap and if this is ignored NCC will look to prosecution. The Fire Station application will be considered at Local Area Council. NCC are unable to support the application, but they expect to receive a revised application. At present there is no question of the cherry trees being removed. Cllr Sharp said that if the scheme goes ahead it is possible the trees will remain. Photographs from the cameras on the Church Street/Ratcliffe Road junction had been received. There was surprise that none of these showed cars parked at the end of the old bridge. Cllr Sharp will request a separate meeting to discuss parking issues. Cllr Thornhill said that another camera had been put in place, looking along Ratcliffe Road. Both Cllr Sharp and the PC still wished to see the island removed from this junction. Mr. P. Charlton said that the fixings for previous signs were still in place near the subway. 7. Highways a) Two signs had been installed at Brigwood. One saying Brigwood leading to South Gables, and the other says Brigwood. These were felt to be adequate. b) There had been a request for a dog bin at Brigwood. The bin below the Showfield could be used if the joint was oiled to make it usable. A location to be agreed. c) Cllr Robson said that between John Martin Street and the old A69 a drain had sunk and a lake of water was forming in wet weather. This will be reported to NCC. d) The bin for the Railway Inn will cost around 500 and there would be a charge of 300 from NCC for installation. This was agreed. 8. Lighting A resident of Ratcliffe Road had reported that a light at the end of Brigwood Tce was shining into peoples bedrooms. It was thought that the new lighting would solve this problem. 9. Planning applications 17/03660/OUT : Outline permission for up to 9 dwellings. All matters are reserved - Haydon parish Council objects to this application on the basis that this site is designated as B1 and B2 Commercial use. There are very few such sites in the parish, and we would wish this site to remain for commercial use only. There are additional concerns about flooding.
This area of Station Road was flooded during Storm Desmond, and the adjacent allotment area regularly floods. 17/04061/FUL Proposed demolition of 24 garages and replacement with 6 no 3 bed 5 Person semi-detached 2-storey houses with associated gardens and parking bays and new off-site parking provision to replace spaces lost through demolition of garages. Garages East Of 3-6 Greenwich Gardens and Land North Of 62 Langley Gardens. Haydon Parish Council objects to this application for the following reasons - The Parish Council is about to embark on an exercise to look at where additional parking can be created throughout the parish. With this in mind they are extremely concerned by the proposed removal of 24 garages, which have all been in use. The plans suggest that some of the parking needed for the development can be provided outside the development, but within the estate. We understand that removal of an existing grassed is to be used for this purpose. However this location is already used for parking and this would simply shift the existing parked vehicles elsewhere on the estate. The Parish Council shares the concerns of residents living in neighbouring properties who fear that they will lose the privacy they currently enjoy. Many of the surrounding properties rely on access to the rear of their properties for oil deliveries etc. This will also be lost if the proposed development was to go ahead, and it is not clear that adequate access will be created for emergency vehicles. There are also concerns that this development would exacerbate the flood risk on the estate. During Storm Desmond the drains were unable to cope with surface water. Additional properties in this small area could only worsen this problem. Finally we note that in relation to housing demand the Design and Access Statement point 2 states that given the housing demand in Prudhoe it is anticipated that all properties would be occupied by local people, this is rather insensitive given that the proposed development is in Haydon Bridge. 10. Accounts - I) The draft budget for 2018-19 was agreed (see separate sheet), along with a precept request of 42,000.00. II) The draft list of burial fees was agreed. A fee of 1000 for green burials was agreed. Green burial fees to be discussed with Haltwhistle Burial Board. 11. Correspondence a) NCC had written to say the glass recycling bins would be moved to a layby the tunnel top. People are leaving bags of bottles at station yard. 12. Parish projects
a) Development Trust The DT are spending grant money from the Co-op on the restoring flower beds. The next stage will be signage, and then new picnic tables will be installed at the picnic area. The PC thanked the Co-op for this investment. b) Flooding.Cllr Robson said that the reseeded area was growing, and that Alan Batey thought that as this was mowed it would level out again. A meeting of the EA, NCC and residents at Lipwood had been arranged. Cllrs Charlton and Snowdon will attend as Cllr Robson will be away. The removal of vegetation from the island, gravel removal, blockage under railway arches, and the area of A69 which is being undercut by flooding, will all be discussed. c) Car parking Cllr Charlton said that the PC was looking for volunteers to form a committee to look at parking. This will be mentioned in the Haydon News and Cllr Charlton will be the point of contact. Cllr Sharp is happy to be involved too. d) Grass parking at picnic area It was agreed that Alan Batey will have his contract extended to cut grass at the picnic area and an additional area at the west end. 13. Haydon Bridge High School Cllr Sharp said NCC had received a letter from the Regional Schools Commissioner asking for details of the High School and asking whether it should be considered for closure. Approximately one year ago the Interim Executive Board had been replaced at the school, and they had been running the school during that time. Bright Tribe now intend to pull out of the deal, as they say that the school is not financially viable. NCC has now been asked to produce a consultation paper so that the community can respond to this. This report will be drawn up by the 25 th of November, and will go to Scrutiny Committee on the 6 th of December, and from there to the Cabinet on the 12 th of December. If the decision was to close the school this would go ahead next May. Cllr Sharp said that he had real concerns over the fact that it had taken BT this long to come to the decision to pull out, as things had been improving recently at the school. Cllr Thornhill said that those who had met with BT knew that their attempts to take on the school had been thwarted and delayed by NCC. The roll at this and other local schools was falling. The consultation will involve NCC, BT and the Schools Commissioner. It was felt that NCC want a super-school at Hexham they should not be involved in this process. Andy Johnson from NCC has agreed to meet with the PC, once the initial report has been produced. 14. Any other business a) Dr Ford said that there was government funding available for electric car charging points. Cllr Robson said that the PC was in favour of two points being installed near the library. He would discuss this with Scudamore s garage. b) Cllr J. Thompson said that the Christmas trees were being put up at the weekend and the Christmas lights ceremony would be held at 4pm on December 3 rd. c) Cllr J. Thompson said that she wanted to wish Cllrs Burrows and Snowdon, who would not be at December meeting, a merry Christmas.
d) On behalf of the PC Cllr J. Thompson thanked Steve Ford for all his work on the Haydon News.