MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF BISHOP’S HULL PARISH COUNCIL HELD AT THE FRANK BOND CENTRE ON THURSDAY, 30th JUNE 2011

Present: Mr R Porter (Chairman)
Mrs J Beaumont
Mr T Catherall
Mr G Everett*
Mrs S Faire*
Mr J Hamer*
Mrs M Jorgensen
Mr N Roper
Mr M Summers *co-opted

Also Present: - Cllr Ian Morrell (Taunton Deane BC), Cllr Alan Paul (SCC), Mr R Coombs (internal auditor).

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mrs Gottlieb was again critical of the Parish Council’s response to Persimmon’s planning application re the external finish of the show home. The Chairman acknowledged that the wording used was not appropriate and, as agreed at the previous meeting, action had been taken.
Mr Hunt complained that the Parish Council’s comments on his application at Fideoak Mill were inaccurate.
Ms Gurr observed that the water leak at Netherclay had NOT been fixed as had been thought.
With the Mountway Road bus gate being out of action for many months, a question was raised as to whether motorists were now able to drive through it. The Chairman replied that it was still an offence to drive through the bus gate and that the issue was on the agenda for discussion later.

E2320 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Mrs Kelly, Mr Stuart Thorn and Cllr Justine Baker (Taunton Deane).

E2321 CO-OPTION OF THREE COUNCILLORS
On the proposal of Mr Summers, seconded by Mrs Beaumont and carried unanimously, the following people were co-opted onto the Council – Mr Gordon Everett, Mrs Sue Faire, Mr John Hamer. The Chairman welcomed them to the meeting, and the necessary paperwork was then completed or taken for completion later.

E2322 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The Minutes of the meeting held on 19th May 2011 were signed as a correct record.

E2323 MATTERS ARISING
E2271 - Footbridge at Norton Fitwarren – the piling for the new footbridge was complete. The completion date was 18th July although it was anticipated that this would over-run. The closure notice was valid until 6th September. It was acknowledged by SCC that there had been considerable delays in getting this work underway.
E2300 – Increased fly tipping – the Clerk had now received a response from Martin Stoyles, Principal Environmental Health Officer at Taunton Deane saying that they had not received any complaints about fly tipping in the parish. However, Mrs Beaumont added that to her knowledge fly tipping had been reported four times.
E2309 – Repairs to Tytherleigh Bridge – these had been completed and a very good job done. It was agreed to write and thank the officer responsible.
E2314 – Persimmon update – the Chairman reported on the planning applications decided by the Planning Committee on 25th May and on the legal action taken by Taunton Deane. To the three charges of breaching planning conditions Persimmon had pleaded guilty and had been fined a total of £2400. They were likely to apply for a change in the condition regarding working times.
E2315 – Planning – Shed at 6 Mountway Road – noted that the new application had been withdrawn, but it was unclear what was happening about the existing shed.
E2319 – Trees in the River Tone – still nothing had been done about these, the Environment Agency denying all knowledge despite having issued a report number. The Clerk was asked to pursue this with the Environment Section at Taunton Deane.
New Dog Bin – the Clerk reported that a site for the new dog bin at the entrance to the footpath by Netherclay House had been agreed.

E2324 CORRESPONDENCE
A list of correspondence was circulated. Items of note included:-
 a letter from SCC concerning Civil Contingency Planning (the Chairman was to attend a meeting at County Hall),
 the lopping of the cedar tree at ‘Uplands’,
 the response from the DLO regarding weed clearance and drain empyting,
 details of a new SCC Rights of Way initiative, the Taunton Deane Strimmer Project, which planned to use volunteers for footpath vegetation clearance.

E2325 PLANNING
05/11/0019 – change of use of land to site a mobile home and erection of a storage building at Fideoak Mills – Mr Hunt, the applicant, had complained re the Parish Council’s response of 21st June that the comments made were inaccurate. After further discussion, it was agreed that:-
 the response had been made in the proper manner. This particular application was complex and a good deal of time and effort was spent in dealing with it thoroughly and to the best of the Council’s ability
 although Mr Hunt asked that the comments be withdrawn, the response should remain in place. However, this was on the understanding that the Planning Officer be fully and immediately advised of the points raised by Mr Hunt. Taunton Deane BC was the ‘deciding body’ in the matter and their officers had the necessary knowledge and expertise to consider and resolve the issue.
05/11/0020 – change of use from business premises to day nursery in part of Colourtone, Roughmoor – the Parish Council supported the application although access was somewhat narrow and could be a potential issue.
05/11/0021 – extension to side of 23 Morgans Rise – it was felt that this was rather too close to the boundary of the property. The neighbour was concerned about this.
05/11/0022T – management work on yew tree at Bramdean – no objections
05/11/0025 – change of use from church to single dwelling at the United Reformed Church, Bishop’s Hull Road – no objections.

E2326 PLANNING ADVISORY GROUP
It was agreed that a preliminary meeting should be held to recommend Terms of Reference for this Group and a decision made at the next Parish Council meeting, when the Group’s membership would also be confirmed. The Chairman would convene a meeting with Mr Hamer, Mr Summers and former member and Chairman, Mr Burgess.

E2327 LOCAL AUTHORITY CUTS
The financial cuts were beginning to bite at both Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane. It would seem that the budget for weed control was now zero, and drains would be cleared once every two years. There was some discussion about whether the Parish Council should now consider taking up part of the ‘lost’ local authority services. Possibilities included increasing the Street Cleaner’s duties and hours of employment, finding local volunteers, obtaining quotes from local contractors and working in conjunction with other parish councils. It was agreed that the Clerk should obtain as much information as possible on these options so that a full debate could be held at the next meeting and progress made towards a decision.
There was some good news at least - the Clerk had heard that the footpath maintenance and playing field grants would be forthcoming from Taunton Deane this year.

E2328 HIGHWAYS ISSUES
Safety Audit – the report had been written and sent to Persimmon for comment. Members were keen to get sight of it and, as previous attempts had been unsuccessful, agreed to write to the Solicitor at County Hall to formally request this under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.
The matter of kerbs along Bishop’s Hull Road by the new development was discussed as this had been raised by a parishioner at the last meeting. Cllr Morrell offered to speak to Richard Williams at Persimmon about this matter, also future plans for traffic calming. He added that the Audit Commission was investigating how the amended layout at the crossroads came about as Taunton Deane had got a betterment and Persimmon saved a large sum of money. He hoped to be in a position to report back to the next meeting.
SCC’s Local Transport Improvement Scheme – Cllr Alan Paul had circulated an email about this. He had submitted two bids under this scheme, one for Heron Drive speeding, the other in Comeytrowe, but the timescale had been very short.
Mountway Road bus gate – this had been out of action for a long time and no-one seemed to know what was happening. There had been talk about a camera being installed to catch the violators, but nothing had happened and now a large number of both locals and ‘rat-runners’ were using the gate. The fact that the bollards were not operational did not negate the closure of the gate to banned traffic but it was not being enforced. It was agreed to write to the Traffic Control Manager saying that something sensible was needed and the whole project needed to be reconsidered. It was clear that the bus gate was not fit for purpose.

E2329 FINANCIAL MATTERS
Accounts for 2010/11 –these were approved. The internal audit was fine and everything had been signed off.
External Audit forms (including annual governance statement) – the necessary forms were approved and signed – proposed by Mrs Jorgensen, seconded by Mrs Faire and unanimously agreed. The auditor was also advised of the following:-
a) The Parish Council had yet to receive local authority invoices for works carried out in the 2009/10 financial year. At that time, funds had been earmarked to cover a Parish Council contribution, but with the works long completed and no request received for payment, it was felt that such funds should be regarded as being available for use on other projects. It was agreed that clarification be sought.
b) There continued to be a contingent liability re non-payment of employer’s National Insurance contributions in respect of the Clerk. Despite reminders to HMRC this matter remained unresolved and the last letter to them (19th April) remained unanswered. The Chairman would continue to chase this.
Bank Mandate – the official form had been received from the Bank and it was RESOLVED that the authorised signatories in the current mandate, for the accounts detailed in Section 2 of the form, be changed in accordance with section 5 (to add Mr Porter and remove Mr Burgess, Mr Rose and Mrs Bulbeck) and the current mandate will continue as amended.

E2330 CHEQUES AUTHORISED
R Dezille (April cheque re-issued plus balance of NI refund) £683.05
S Watts – Clerk’s salary and expenses for June £519.16
R Dezille – Street Cleaner’s hours for June £312.00
HMRC (first quarter) £561.48
Somerset Assoc of Local Councils (councillor training) £140.00
R Moon (strimming) £198.00

E2331 KISSING GATE AT LONGALLER
It was agreed to pay £100 for the installation of a new kissing gate at Longaller.

E2332 REPORTS FROM OTHER BODIES
LAT – ten young people were to take part in a Tall Ships event in September and were busy fund-raising to help finance this.
VEG – the Party in the Park had been held indoors as the weather had been very bad. Numbers were well down on last year and a financial loss was made. It was hoped to link next year’s event to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in some way and involve as many village groups as possible.
Footpaths Advisory Group – it was noted that two stiles had been removed from the footpath behind the Hospice, and large and unsightly bike restrictors had been installed. This had been done without any consultation and the Chairman would find out who had initiated this.
Playing Fields Trust - had met, but there was nothing of particular note to report.

E2334 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Thursday 11th August 2011, at 7.30 p.m.

E2335 ITEMS OF REPORT
Overhanging Trees – reported on Silk Mills Road and in Haydon Close.
Taunton in Bloom – Mr Catherall asked whether the village had ever taken part in Taunton in Bloom. It was suggested that this be raised again when the estimates were being considered later in the year.
Future procedure – the Chairman suggested that, instead of waiting for the next Parish Council meeting, members should report matters to the Clerk as and when they arose. This would ensure early investigation and, should any action be required, this would be agreed between the Clerk and the Chairman and reported back to members.

CHAIRMAN