THE LEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
: leighpc@hotmail.co.uk : theleighpc.org.uk
MINUTES OF THE ADDITIONAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 13th July 2022 AT 7.30PM
Present: Cllr. J. Arkell (Chair), Cllr. L. Glazebrook, Cllr. K. Morton and Cllr. R. Theyer.
In attendance: K. Tilling (Parish Clerk) and 6 members of the public.
1. Welcome and Apologies:
Councillors and parishioners were welcomed to the meeting.
2. Declarations of Interest:
There were no Declarations of Interest required in relation to items on the agenda.
3. To discuss planning applications and consider responses for the following:
16/02000/OUT: Elms Park North West Cheltenham off Tewkesbury Road, Uckington. This application has been seeking permission for a number of years but due to its size and complexity needs to fulfil many planning conditions. It also crosses Borough Council borders – half in Cheltenham and half in Tewkesbury. There is much history for this site on the planning portal. It is a giant plan and there is potential for one or two issues to affect this Parish despite being some distance away. Concerns about water and flooding, including the sewerage treatment works are on-going. Lots of properties within the catchment area have been purchased which reduces the number of objections being raised. It is impossible to know the full extent of traffic issues that the additional vehicles will create – no amount of desk top modelling is 100% accurate. This land was identified and named in the Joint Core Strategy but as this area comes under Cheltenham and Tewkesbury it is not clear whose housing allocation this comes under. Clarification is needed.
22/00635/FUL: Leigh Farm, the Leigh, Gloucester. Conversion and alteration of an existing timber red brick barn to a single dwelling with associated car parking. This the first of two planning applications received for this site. This application seeks to create a 3 bed dwelling, utilising external walls and roof as much as possible. The barn is not used for agricultural use. The application is wrong as it states there is mains sewerage – there is no mains sewerage within the Parish – so this needs to be amended. A treatment package unit will need to be installed and if discharge into the road drain is required, then appropriate permission from GCC Highways will need to be agreed in advance of any work. The Parish Council support the retention of walls and roof, repairing where necessary, providing this is done very sympathetically. The barn is in a very prominent position within the heart of the village. The Parish Council are not happy to read that the pond is to be filled in. It is not only a water storage area; it is also of historic interest in the village. This is a ‘balancing’ pond which collects water not just from this site. Where will this water now go? Access to this site in times of flood is limited – Blacksmith Lane floods on an annual basis. Drainage from this building is inadequate to the existing (Farmhouse) septic tank – it will be overloaded. Current building regs will require a new treatment plant but this is not shown on any maps submitted with this application. There are minor concerns about the shared access and parking area with the existing farmhouse. The application as a whole does not sit easily with the Leigh Neighbourhood Plan. Other people in close proximity to this site have applied for barn conversions or new dwellings and have been refused, even on Appeal. E.g. Orchard Nook, The Lodge. Refusal has cited increased traffic in the narrow village lanes, lack of facilities, outside a designated building area. There is no green planning application sign currently on display. Planning policies are designed to ensure that development is in the public interest, they are not there to support commercial gain
22/00649/FUL: Leigh Farm, The Leigh, Gloucester. Demolition of an existing timber building and the erection of a new dwelling, including means of access. This application seeks to build a new 4 bed dwelling. It is situated on agricultural land but there is no mention of a change of use plus local information suggests there is a restricted covenant from a previous owner. Although this is not a material planning consideration, it needs to be mentioned. The new access on to the road is not suitable. This road floods and there is photographic evidence to confirm this. The lane itself is narrow and additional traffic is not welcomed. There are issues with grey and sewerage water. There are no mains sewers within the parish and if the land around this site floods regularly may cause issues with certain treatment plants. This field is another centre point of the village. Currently local authority polices and the Leigh NDP are encouraging people to plant orchards not pull them out. The only building on this site sits in the middle of a field and therefore this application is considered to be totally inappropriate for this location. The Parish Council cannot support his application as it goes against so many planning policies. Other similar applications have been refused and this is no different.
Planning Updates:
21/01458/FUL: The Bellows Tewkesbury Road Coombe Hill Gloucester Gloucestershire GL19 4AZ Residential development of four dwellings, revised access arrangements, landscaping and associated works. Planning permission has been granted.
Appeal Decision for Evington Manor, Tewkesbury Road, Coombe Hill, Gloucester GL19 4AS PINs reference: APP/G1630/W/22/3290655. LPA reference: 21/00063/FUL. The Appeal was dismissed in June; the building has to be removed.
Appeal lodged for Fieldview Bungalow, Tewkesbury Road, The Leigh, Gloucester, Gloucestershire
APP/G1630/W/22/3294458 Application ref: 21/01143/FUL. Appeal is currently under way.
21/00655/FUL – Windyridge. The clerk has also picked up that revised details have been submitted on 10th June. The Planning Officer has failed to notify the Parish Council, a Statutory Consultee As the alterations are not considered to be trivial and there is the issue of development in the greenbelt, the Parish Council are entitled to be consulted. The clerk has been asked to submit a formal complaint to the solicitor about this lack of consultation and send copies to the Chair of the Planning Committee, Head of Planning and our two Councillors. After discussion, it was decided that the Parish Council are still mind to refuse this application. It was noted that there is a fall-back position, and this is the only legally acceptable position for this site. A suitable note will be added to the planning postal to reflect this.
4. Neighbourhood Planning Referendum for the Leigh – 28 July 2022.
The NDP has now reached the next stage and contains all the amendments and recommendations from the Inspector. The plan encompasses the JCS and the recently adopted Tewkesbury Borough Plan. Tewkesbury Borough Council has arranged the referendum. The revised documents are on the Parish Council website and on TBC’s website. The notice for the intended Referendum has been displayed on the parish notice boards. Everyone is encouraged to vote on 28th July 2022. This plan adds further layer to planning considerations and also unlocks greater financial contributions from the CIL monies.
5. Highways Issues:
- a) Temporary road closure for Blacksmith Lane. Details have come through that the road is to be closed to allow for power cable rerouting works from 8th to 12th August 2022.
- b) Coombe Hill traffic lights upgrade update – The planning application has been submitted and the Parish Council will wait to be consulted.
Residents have complained about overgrown hedges on the footpath between The Leigh and Coombe Hill. Cllr Glazebrook will raise the issue with Highways and if necessary, photos will be taken and sent through. Make sure your hedge isn’t one that is causing a nuisance.
6. Purchase of Parish Council Equipment.
a) Printer – Parish Council agreed to replace the existing broken printer.
b) Parish Noticeboard for Coombe Hill – CIL money should be used to purchase and install a notice board for the residents at Coombe Hill. The obvious siting would be on the new estate. Cllr Morton agreed to contact the site manager and ask if this can be done if the Parish Council purchases it.
c) Clerks training – Clerk is considering the CILCA training in the autumn. Permission granted and the clerk will sort out.
7. Any other business.
It has been observed and noted that the water discharging into the ditch at Wellcroft is not operating correctly. The water is contaminated – often foul smelling, sometime smelling of detergent. Either way it is discharging into a ditch that does not go anywhere so the water is stagnant. Water from the treatment plant should be coming out clean. The Parish Council will raise this concern with the Environment Agency and also the EH staff at TBC.
There is a Caravan Club Meeting at Old Well on 21st July. 5 spaces are available. Parish Council not sure what impact this will have on the village and whether some kind of planning permission is required.
The Platinum Jubilee celebrations were given a budget of £4,000, funded exclusively from CIL monies. There was a contingency fund of £1,000 which was not used. The total, after the income from tickets sales, saw a final spend of £3,600.
Meeting closed at 21.15pm