Amendments to the minutes, agreed by all and signed by the Chairman, are in green.
Withiel Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting held in the Village Hall at 7.15pm on
Wednesday 12th December 2012
Present: Cllr J Piper, Cllr N Mather, Cllr M Biddick, Cllr D Hore, Cllr E Harper, Cllr W I Martyn. Parish Clerk: Mrs C Wilson.
Also Present: Cornwall Cllr M Martin, PCSO Paynter, Michelle Cowie Environmental Enforcement Officer, and 15+ members of the public.
Cllr Piper apologised that, because of the number of people arriving, the meeting started 5 minutes late, at 7.20 pm. He welcomed all and gave invitation to members of the public to address the meeting.
Mr R Thomas:
• 50% of 2012-13 precept was paid for a non-priority item; 50% of precept was paid to one person.
• Why was the work not put to tender?
• Wishes to see those responsible for these payments formally sanctioned.
Mr P Malone:
• Why were the normal procedures not followed?
Mrs J Pentland:
• The stiles have never been the Council’s responsibility. They have always been the landowner’s responsibility.
Cllr Piper:
• Footpath maintenance was put to tender. The stile work was not expected to be so much.
• The Council is meeting with Sarah Mason of CALC (Cornwall Assoc. of Local Councils) Friday, 14 Dec, for advice and guidance about the possible future shortfall in the Council’s account and about next year’s Precept.
• The cheque for payment of stiles work was rejected by the bank because of a signature. The signature was a problem on other documents.
Cllr Biddick & Cllr Hore:
• The council has had complaints about stiles for many years and we decided to fix them.
• The stiles work was done to the standards of the Cornwall Council, all posts dug in 30”, etc. They are completed to a very high standard.
1. Members’ declarations of interest. Cllr Harper, Item 8.
2. Apologies for absence. None.
3. Minutes – The minutes of 7th November and 14th November 2012 were approved unanimously.
4. Matters Arising.
a. Local Council Planning Forum – meeting Tues 13 November. Attended by Cllrs Harper and Piper. Cllr Piper reports:
• In January, National Planning Strategy will be presented for consultation. Proposed target for Cornwall: 49,000 new homes in the next 20 years. 800 in Wadebridge. There are now 109,000 people in Cornwall under 18. Levy on new builds to finance the extra infrastructure needed for all the homes (sewage, power, etc.)
• A Neighbourhood Development Plan will not stop development if a planning proposal conforms to the National Strategy. In other words, rejections will be overturned if applications conform to National Strategy.
• Cornwall Council is fined if their Planning decisions go to Appeal and are overturned.
• Planning meetings will now start at 2pm (instead of 5pm) in order to finish at a reasonable time.
• The current 3 week consulting period for Planning applications will become 4 weeks in order to avoid extra-ordinary council meetings.
• Members of planning committee in future will be better trained/qualified and better informed about planning policies.
b. Visit to the Green Waste Company, Higher Brynn, Victoria, Roche, St Austell PL26 8LH – Sat, 8 December. Cllrs Mather, Hore and Harper attended. Cllr Piper sent apologies. It is a very interesting, large operation, privately financed. They were very hospitable. The Council was disappointed that no members of the public attended. Felicity Richards, from Green Waste explains:
The purpose of the facility at Higher Brynn is to divert material from landfill and increase recycling in Cornwall. Material was travelling from St Austell and Newquay areas to be recycled at Hayle, which we believed costly and unsustainable, particularly in the light of escalating fuel costs. Opening this new site at Higher Brynn means that it is viable to recycle more material in the county. As experienced site operators it made sense for us to replicate our original site using the knowledge we have gained over the past twelve years and currently the same team and equipment is used on both sites.
c. Payment for Stiles. Cllr Biddick proposed that he pay the bill and make the payment to Max Simpson for the work on the stiles privately; seconded Cllr Hore, passed unanimously. The stiles are no longer a Council financial matter. It was suggested that the stiles could then be removed if they wished. An ‘off the cuff’ remark.
d. The dormer window at Ruthern Chapel is a bat window.
e. The mandate to change the address for the bank statement was rejected because of an unrecognisable signature. Cllr Piper will visit the bank to sort it out.
5. Finance. Payments due: Clerk’s salary, £100.08. Proposed Cllr Hore, seconded Cllr Harper.
6. Neighbourhood Development Group. There will be an open meeting for the whole Parish to organise this group. Cllr Mather will be the Representative from the Parish Council. Please see future Parish Magazines for the date of the organisational meeting, or contact Cllr Mather or Richard Thomas. See the last point of Cllr Martin’s report.
7. Bus Shelter. There were damp problems. Cllr Piper cleaned out the shelter and it is now in good shape.
8. Motorcycling off road.
Cllr Mather: Has dealt with phone calls and emails from people in the Parish complaining about the noise and traffic. We understand that the land can be used 14 days of the year, but it appears to be more. The Council’s message is to please be a good neighbour.
PCSO Paynter: he has visited the site on various occasions during motorcycling. However, it is a civil matter, not a criminal matter; therefore, the police cannot interfere.
Michelle Cowie, Environmental Enforcement Officer:
• She has had numerous calls about the noise nusiance for some time. PCSO Paynter and herself have spoken at Lanivet Council about the issue. The field and woods are in Lanivet Parish, but the noise affects Withiel.
• A complaint must be registered to a name and address; otherwise, it has no legal significance. Your name remains anonymous until the matter goes to court – if it comes to that.
• Noise monitoring equipment can be installed at local residences. The noise equipment monitors noise levels in decibels; it does not record sounds or speech.
• No one is looking to ban the sport. Ideally motorcycling in the area would not be ‘ad hoc’, but well organised around the safety of the participants and only on specific dates, during specific times.
• Appeal to the public: information about the ownership of the woods that the motorbikes use. The Council has not yet found the owner.
• Pamphlets concerning Council procedures about Statutory Nuisances were distributed. If you need more information or a number to call, please contact a Councillor or the Clerk.
• Requested that Henry Harper make a record of the dates and times the motorcycling takes place on his land. When there is another complaint, the date and times can be checked. Henry agreed to keep the record.
• Ms Cowie has spoken with Shaun, friend of Henry Harper, who will probably take charge of the organisation of the events.
• Requests that the access to the woods which are not on Harper’s land be restricted by the Harpers when at all possible. Much of the nuisance comes from motorcycles in the woods.
Cllr Hore: asked how many motorcycles it takes to become a statutory nuisance. Ms Cowie and PCSO Paynter explained that it could be only one, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
9. Footpaths.
a. Hedge between Inches Crossroads and Lestormer. Cllr. Piper will check with St Wenn Parish Council whether the work has been done within their parish.
b. Wide hedge and ‘kissing gate’ stile. Cllr Piper has spoken with the landowners of Blackhay and Whitehay and the stiles will be attended to by them.
10. Planning.
a. PA12/10939. Land North Of Kerriers Withiel Bodmin Cornwall; Provision of photovoltaic solar park and ancillary infrastructure. Applicant Name: KS SPV22 Ltd.
Cllr. Martyn abstained. Cllrs Harper and Hore approved. Cllrs Mather, Biddock and Piper objected.
*** Objection. The look of the photovoltaic solar park would be a very large gray area. The council does not want to encourage more gray areas, which negatively affect the aspect of the Parish and Cornwall as a whole. Secondly, the major industry of tourism in Cornwall would be seriously affected. Thirdly, this area so large, any other electricity-producing project would not be able to upload to the grid without an expensive capital outlay for a higher capacity grid.
b. Planning decisions will be minuted. Recent decisions:
i. PA12/09452. Retention and repositioning of a solar photovoltaic. Higher Brynn Farm Roche St. Austell PL26 8LH. Status: Approved with conditions.
ii. PA12/08673. Retention of part light industrial B1(c) use class and retention of part to retail A1 use class. Higher Brynn Farm Roche St. Austell PL26 8L. Status: Approved with conditions.
iii. PA12/08675. Retention of part existing light industrial B1(c) use class and retention of part to retail A1 use class. Timber Store UK, Higher Brynn Farm Roche St. Austell PL26 8LH. Status: Approved with conditions.
iv. PA12/08674. Retention commercial building for light industrial use with subsidiary office space. Higher Brynn Farm Roche St. Austell PL26 8LH. Status: Approved with conditions.
v. PA12/06579. Construction of a detached dwelling. Ti Anao Withiel Bodmin PL30 5NN. Status: Approved with conditions.
vi. PA12/08570. Demolition of cottage and construction of replacement dwelling, detached garage and associated works. Lower Brynn Cottage Lower Brynn Roche St Austell Cornwall PL26 8LH. Status: Refusal.
vii. PA12/04009. Change of use of the agricultural barn to domestic use incidential to the enjoyment of the property known as Chapel House and the construction of a lean to extension and store and plant house (Retrospective). Barn At Chapel House Tregawne Withiel Bodmin Cornwall PL30 5NR. Status: Approved with conditions
viii. The Planning Inspectorate. Appeal Ref: APP/D0840/A/12 2172911, Tregustick Farm. CC Ref: PA11/04399. Planning permission given.
ix. The Planning Inspectorate. Appeal Ref: APP/D0840/A/12 2172348, Higher Tregawne Farm. CC Ref: PA11/07746. Planning permission given.
c. Recent planning matters.
i. Letter from the Ramblers Caradon Group about their objection to too many solar parks and wind turbines, which discourages tourism. ‘More people come to walk in Cornwall than to go to the beaches.’
ii. Letter of complaint from GP Planning Ltd about the access roads into the location of recent applications: PA12/08673 -674 -675.
iii. Cllr Mather had a point of concern about the recent approvals of wind turbines in the Parish. Denied planning by Cornwall Council, the denials were overturned by The Planning Inspectorate. He explained that more turbine applications were on the way and encouraged the Council to continue objecting to further turbines.
11. Correspondence.
a. PCSO Paynter’s report.
• 101 is the police non-emergency number. 101 is the number to call when you want to contact your local police in England and Wales – when it’s less urgent than a 999 call. 101 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• A notice about future Mobile Police Surgeries will be posted in the Hall. He is at Withiel Hall from 10.00-10.30 am every 1st Wednesday of the month.
• Staffing levels are permanently down.
• No recorded crime this month in Withiel.
• Two fuel thefts in St Maybn and St Breward.
• Scrap is at an all-time high. If you have scrap metal about it could ‘walk’.
• Looking to re-organise a Farm Watch, very much like a Neighbourhood Watch. More about this at a later date. It will be used as a communication and early-warning tool.
b. Other correspondence.
i. Single Person Council Tax Discount review.
ii. Seagull and Vermin-proof sacks for household rubbish are available from CC.
iii. Request for donation from the Cornwall Air Ambulance. Request not supported.
12. Cornwall Cllr M Martin’s report.
• Shared Service/Joint Partnership: A vote on keeping services in-house was rejected by 50 votes to 46. A few services will be in ‘Partnerhip’ with BT. There will be job losses.
• New strategies for Council Taxes are being discussed.
• The new dual carriageway for the A30 at Temple will begin in January 2015. It is an all-Cornwall project.
• A public exhibition about the project will be held at Blisland 10-11 January 2013.
• Local Landscape Character Assessment Workshops are coming to Penzance (31st Jan) and Liskeard (5th Feb). They will compliment the work of the new Neighbourhood Development Group. Please contact Cllr Martin or the Clerk for more information.
13. Business for the next meeting.
a. Precept, in light of meeting with CALC.
b. Damaged road between Inches Crossroads and Withiel Crossroads.
14. Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday 2nd January 2013 @ 7.15 pm (unless prior meeting required re planning applications).
Christine Wilson – Parish Clerk
24 December 2012