THE LEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
: leighpc@hotmail.co.uk : theleighpc.org.uk
MINUTES OF THE ADDITIONAL PARISH COUNCIL REMOTE MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 9th June 2021 AT 7.30PM IN THE LEIGH PARISH CCHURCH
Present: Cllr J. Arkell (Chair), Cllr M. Chandler, Cllr L. Glazebrook and Cllr K. Morton.
In attendance: K. Tilling (Parish Clerk) and 8 members of the public.
1. Welcome and Apologies:
As from May 7th all meetings of local councils, their committees, sub committees or any other meeting held under the 1972 Local Government Act Schedule 12 10 have returned to physical, face to face meetings. This recent High Court ruling means that the facility to meet and make decisions using virtual meeting arrangements is no longer lawful. This is the first meeting of the Parish Council in the Church since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. All members of the meeting were asked to leave their contact details for track and trace purposes. These details will be destroyed after 21 days. All people present were reminded to wear masks, use the hand sanitiser and ensure the 2 metre rule was observed at all times.
There were no Councillor apologies for the meeting.
2. Declarations of Interest:
Pursuant to the adoption by the Parish Council on 14th November 2012 of Leigh Parish Council’s Code of Conduct, effective from 14th November 2012 and set out in the minutes of 14th November 2012, Parish Councillors are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the agenda to which the approved Code applies. The following declaration was made: Cllr Chandler declared an interest in the planning application relating to Court Cottage. Cllr Chandler, having completed the relevant dispensation request form was entitled to remain in the room whilst this planning application was discussed.
3.To discuss planning consultation requests and consider responses for the following:
21/00198/FUL: Erection of a ménage and timber fence at Court Cottage, Church Lane, The Leigh. The applicant kindly confirmed that this ménage is for family use only. It is positioned on flat land and screened by a hedge. No trees are to be removed to erect the fencing. The Parish Council are aware that there are a number of ménages in the parish already. It was felt that any attempts to introduce lighting may not be acceptable to the neighbours. The Parish Council was assured that there is no suggestion of outdoor lighting being added to the site. There were no known objections to this application therefore the Parish Council would record their no objections to the application.
21/00403/FUL: Erection of a conservatory at 2 The Wharf, Coombe Hill, Gloucester. The Parish Council are not aware of any objections raised by neighbours and therefore offer no opposition to this application.
21/00438/FUL: Retrospective change of use of existing agricultural buildings to form 2 no. workshops for vehicle repair and modification (Use class E (g) (iii) at Holborn Farm, Blacksmith Lane, The Leigh. This application follows on from an enforcement enquiry received by TBC on 19th November 2021. The Parish Council were notified of the enquiry in January 2021.
The Parish Council are not aware of any objections raised by neighbours and therefore offer no opposition to the retrospective change of use for the barns. It was confirmed by the applicant that there are toilets on site. They also explained that work activity onsite is minimal. It is not a full scale garage offering complete vehicle maintenance. There are minimal visits to the site from the public but there is sufficient parking on site to accommodate any vehicles if need be. It was noted that there is a PROW which runs through this site – ALH13 which has not been mentioned on the submitted paperwork. The PROW Officer has been made aware of this application. The footpath runs to the rear of the building and therefore should have little or no effect on this change of use. This footpath must not be blocked or altered
Enforcement Officer updates.
The current situations regarding Wellcroft and The Vineyards construction site have been circulated to Parish Councillors as various situations have arisen.
Planning Updates/Appeals:
There is a current appeal lodged with PINS for the new dwelling at The Lodge, due to non-determination during the required time frame. The Parish Council will not be making any further comments to PINS on this application.
The appeal for the Bovis/Hitchens site behind the petrol station has just been published. The inquiry was held over a number of days during March and April 2021. The Appeal was allowed and the maximum number of permitted houses was reduced to 95. The Appeal is subject to 12 conditions. Financial details outlined in the report total just over £935,000. This figure is index linked and although viability for the site was mentioned, it was considered that it “was a matter of little dispute at the Inquiry”. The Applicants have 3 years to submit all the reserved matters information and up to a maximum of 5 years in total to begin construction. The reference to the lack of the TBC 5 year housing supply was used heavily during this appeal and this appeal will, in turn have a knock on effect to other housing applications. Details are still emerging on the junction upgrade at Coombe Hill. This is part of a greater upgrade proposal for the M5 junction 10 area and future house building planned for two large sites on the outskirts of Cheltenham. (behind Gallagher Retail Park and the Golden Valley Cyber Estate).
4. To approve The Annual Accounts for 2020/2021 including the Annual Governance Statement and Exemption Certificate.
The Annual Governance Statement had been prepared and distributed to Councillors before the start of the meeting, together with details of full year summary accounts and explanations to the variances from the previous year’s accounts. All the paperwork is ready to go. It was resolved that the AGS be signed as a true record. Proposed by M. Chandler, seconded by J. Arkell. The vote was unanimous. The relevant paperwork will be published on the Parish Council website on 1st July 2021.
5. Public Rights of Way (PROWS)
There have been a number of different queries about PROWS – Public Rights of Way during the last few months. The Clerk will endeavour to research some useful information about PROWS and ask for this to be published in a series of newsletter articles during the coming months. The removal of many directional arrows has been noticed. The PROW Officer has left a sheet of sticky arrows but it was felt that some more permanent markers may need to be purchased and installed. The Parish Council wishes to remind everyone that PROWS are open to everyone at any time and give people the right to walk, ride a horse or cycle along certain routes. Some PROWS are open to vehicles. The information is based on a Definitive Map and its Associated Registers. The Definitive Map is a legal record of the individual PROWS. Any request to make changes to these routes has to follow a legal course – rather like a planning application. Under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 it is an offence to obstruct the free passage along a PROW. It is also an offence to display a notice that contains any false or misleading statements likely to deter the public from using the PROW. If you are unsure about any PROW matters feel free to send your query to the Clerk via email who will then forward your query to the PROW Officer. The GCC website is also a very useful resource for information.
6. Any other business
Jo Robson gave the Parish Council an update on the newsletter. Karen Morton has agreed to co-ordinate the newsletter and there will be guest editors. It is suggested that the editions are reduced to 6 per year. The newsletter requires a proof reader, someone to deliver the newsletters to those that deliver the paper copies and someone to arrange for the printing. It was noted that there is a lack of newsletter circulation with the residents at Coombe Hill. It is hoped to encourage more to sign up to the email version.
The Clerk has discovered a grant being offered by TBC – the Covid-19 Community Response Grant with maximum funding of £1,000. It is hoped that the Parish Council will apply for this small grant to cover the costs of installing a bench under the heading of Improving mental health and physical well-being. The clerk will circulate bench designs to the Parish Councillors.
Meeting closed 20:50
This meeting was held in accordance with the four Covid 19 Principles –
– How to meet the social distancing requirements entering and leaving the building and during the meeting –
The clerk will keep a record of anyone attending the meeting, asking public to sign in on arrival and keep the list for
21 days.
– What Person Protective Equipment (PPE) materials are required – hand sanitiser, masks and wipes
– How can you limit sharing documents and materials – copies of all paperwork is available on the Parish
Council website before and after the meeting
– Ensuring proper ventilation – can the windows be open during the meeting and beforehand if the room has
been used during the day.